Llamaphant Pro Baseball (CLOSED) -> Season 4 Posted

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Jun 01, 2022 10:05 am

Nolan Ramsey had just celebrated his twenty-third birthday days ago. He had been born in Elephant Valley, the biggest city in South Newlandia, and grew up playing baseball from a young age. When he was twelve, he watched the Elephants first play in the World Baseball Classic. When the second series, where South Newlandia would host Northwest Kalactin, came to Elephant Stadium, Nolan and his father were there. Nolan watched a then-19 year old Adam King power the Elephants to a 3-2 win thanks to a 2-run home run in game one, his destiny was certain. He was going to become a first baseman, just like his idol, King, and he wanted to play for the Elephants too.

On the playground, he tried his best to emulate the swing of his idol; and it worked rather often. Nolan Ramsey became a star player in his high school. Just like him, the Elephants became stars, too. When Nolan was eighteen, the knockout stages of the WBC came to South Newlandia, and when the Elephants took down Sarzonia in the Elephant Stadium, Nolan was there to watch the series go the distance. Just months later, Ramsey accepted a scholarship at his local Elephant Valley University; which, in recent years, has made some noise with their gridiron program; but Nolan was there to play baseball. He became the starting first baseman in his freshman year, and he made himself known as an elite speedster who can easily hit got average. He was never the best slugger or walking all that much, but he was a great lead-off bat for the Red Elephants who could easily come through in the clutch. He and his team ended up winning two national championships in his four years with the Red Elephants.

Now, months after he graduated, he sat in the LPB draft room. It was not going to be a usual draft; for the first time in LPB history, Llamaphant Pro Baseball had made a unique agreement with the Chromatik Baseball League. This would allow LPB Teams to select established Chromatik talents for their draft picks, including the reigning CBL MVP, Raitis Ranta; but there were also two Chromatik first baseman in this draft, which had Ramsey a bit worried. Aside from him and the two Chromatiks, there was only Celina Campazzo to be reasonably debated in the first round; Campazzo, meanwhile, was two years younger than Nolan, a power-bat with lacklustre defense that graded out with a C-grade from the established draft analysts, when Nolan had received an A.

Nolan had wondered for months when he might be selected. From his perspective, there were eight other guys with an A-ranking, seven of them position players like him. Nolan knew that he could be better than any of them, aside maybe from his teammate, Mike Oeland. The two infielders had played together for three seasons in Elephant Valley. Nolan was sure that he was going to go in the top ten, top five if scouts properly evaluated his talents.

Where would he land, was another question. Of course, there were about even odds that he would land somewhere in Super-Llamaland, one of the most accomplished countries in the history of baseball. His favourite landing spot would be the Elephant Valley Homers, his home-town team, but Nolan knew that was never going to happen. The Homers controlled the 18th pick. By that time, Nolan would be long off the board; and the Homers were highly unlikely to trade up for him. They already had a great first baseman in Adam King, after all, and he was only thirty.

The Elephant Valley Sports Mail had arranged to follow him and some of his fellow players on draft day; the four South Newlandians with A-grades, to be exact. Next to him and Oeland, that were going to be third baseman Leo Jiminez and catcher Tyler Danson. Danson and Oeland were well-known to the public, having appeared on the International Baseball Slam in Hannasea.

From the first five picks, Nolan’s favourite landing spot would be South Falls. The Athletics had a promising team, and were gearing up to contend, and despite the fact that they just traded for Banijan All-Star first baseman Luxulo Mbeki, maybe they had a role as DH for Nolan. Other exciting teams with early picks included the Saints at 6, who had just traded Mbeki, and, of course, the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox, who were in possession of the first overall pick. They had traded for the pick before the last season had started, in a move that the Peninsulara Kingfishers surely regret now. Nolan didn’t expect the Sox to choose him, but he thought it was possible. After all, the Blue Sox had Tom Abbott, a Sanfordian, pencilled in at first; Nolan thought he would be an upgrade there.

It was an exciting day for the young South Newlandian, possibly the most exciting day in his life. This decision would shape the largest part of his life as an athlete. All day, he had wondered where he might land; Nolan had mostly accepted that it was out of his hands. He just hoped he would not somehoe be a Kingfisher after all. Nolan, his former teammate Mike, Leo, and Tyler sat around a table, getting ready to get drafted. The first pick was in. The Rüsselsheim Blue Sox had made their decision.
“With the first pick of this Llamaphant Pro Baseball Draft, the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox select: Raitis Ranta, Second Base, Chromatika!”
That checked out to Nolan. The Blue Sox were contending in the SNL Central, it made sense for them to pick the reigning CBL MVP to a position they were weak at.

The Chariots were next up. They didn’t have a great first baseman, either, so maybe that was it?
“With the second pick, the South Bryant Chariots select: Will Gutierrez, Catcher, Super-Llamaland!”
Fair enough. The Chariots needed a catcher, too, and that’s an extremely important position.

The Cosmos and the Athletics were next up. Neither of them picked any of the South Newlandian 4, including Nolan. It made sense; the A’s had an elite first baseman, and they both picked great Llamanean talents.

“With the fifth pick, the Denison Dynamo select: Mike Oeland, Second Base, South Newlandia!”
Mike stood up, ready to go to the podium. “Congrats, bro”, Nolan was happy that his friend and teammate had gotten his talents recognised, but he couldn’t deny that he had hoped to be the first South Newlandian coming off the board. Oh well, there was plenty of time. Surely, someone was going to pick him up eventually. Picks 6 and 7 were the Saints and Mariners; neither of them were the most exciting landing spots, but neither currently employed a strong first baseman. Maybe it would be one of those?

It would not be one of those. The Saints and Mariners both passed up on the remaining trio, before the Monarchs scooped up Leo Jiminez at 8, and Danson went to the Greens at 9. All of a sudden, Nolan found himself all alone at the table, all the cameras still pointed on him. When the Flames, who had drafted a great first baseman in Tiffany Grey the previous season, passed on Nolan, he had officially dropped out of the top ten.

Nolan was getting quite anxious. For weeks and months, he had thought of himself as a possible top-3 pick. Had he been wrong all along? Or were the scouts wrong, somehow? There was only one other player on the board with an A-grade, a Llamanean named Jeff Huang, third base. Huang went to the Renaissance at 11. As Nolan he got smaller and smaller in his chair, he watched team after team pass on him. Twelve, Fourteen, Sixteen, when suddenly, he noticed that the Elephant Valley Homers were up, at pick number 18. He had never even thought about falling all the way to his home-town team naturally. Nolan knew they had King – but maybe his hometown team was going to come to his rescue anyway?
“With the 18th pick, the Elephant Valley Homers select: Niles Pandolt, Pitcher, Chromatika!”
They would not.

Nolan had almost entirely stopped listening now. He really just wanted to be somewhere else, he wished it was all over. Why him? Why did this have to happen? He just wanted to have a good day.
“Nolan Ramsey, First Base, South Newlandia”
Nolan was flashed back awake by hearing his name. He looked up to see what pick it was. The Malidridad Mariners had just selected him 22nd overall. The Mariners, seriously? Oh well.

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Jun 01, 2022 10:06 am

Disclaimers:
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them; but keep in mind that scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB.
* quick note on amateur draft grades: S is best, followed by A, B, C, D, F)
* meaning of the dots next to players: Blue: All-Star | Silver: Silver Slugger | Gold: Golden Glove | Red: MVP | Purple: Evan Masorka winner | Lime: Reliever of the Year (each as of last season)

South Newlandian League

Roster Movements, Drafts, Rosters – Part 1

SNL North

Elephant Valley Homers

Offseason Movements:
After Tanya Ericsson led the Homers back to the postseason, prevailing in a close race in the SNL North, which was followed by an exciting playoff series with the Stingrays, in which the Homers fell just barely short, the Homers are positioning themselves to keep winning. Beyond retaining their key talents, headlined by Alisen Moyamoto, the reigning MVP, at shortstop - if the Chromatik can have another season like the last, the Homers will be in good hands – and their three key South Newlandian bats in King, Zimmerman, and Ventura. They were also able to keep Horace Choo, their Quebecois star catcher, and Darien Rodriguez, their Drawkian fire-baller, on the pay-roll.
However, the Homers weren’t content with just keeping their existing talent; they also added in free agency, signing a new ace pitcher in Kevin Buchanan, who could easily turn up in the top ten of Evan Masorka voting; and a couple of minor pieces; Jordan Jam-Jams from Qasden will provide some extra bullpen help, and Lachlan Cocrine, a Sylestonian cricketer, was signed to play for the Homers as well. Despite all of these moves, the Homers had one of the less hectic off-seasons out there; but after this season, some important contracts will expire, and the Homers will have to get busy.

Draft: (Position: 18)
Having traded their second round-pick to the Cyclones, the 18th-overall pick became by far the most important asset for the Elephant Valley Homers. The Homers made use of the rule that allowed LPB teams to draft a selected amount of players from the Chromatik Baseball League, spending their choice on the 29-year-old Niles Pandolt, who was previously with the Eyrods Pilots, playing as a short-term reliever. The Homers will elevate the Chromatik to their closer role; a position they struggled at last season. Pandolt will give the Homers a reliable option to close out games, making sure they can secure the wins they’ll need every single one of this season.

Outlook:
The Homers remain in pole-position to defend the SNL North, and go right back to the playoffs. They retained their biggest strengths (one of the best lineups in the league) and added at their weak spots (pitchers). Both Buchanan and Rodriguez can be top 10, top 5 pitchers in this league, and Niles Pandolt is an immediate answer to their bullpen struggles. The Homers aren’t quite on the same level as the Dolphins or Blue Sox, but they have a team that will contend for the pennant.

Masmow Dragons

Offseason Movements:
After narrowly making the playoffs last season, where they ended up losing a close wildcard game to the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox, the Dragons are looking to conquer the North this season. The team of Jack Kingsman has made a couple of exciting additions, signing a pair of Solderan pitchers; David Maxwell, an elite starter, and Vince Nelsen, an excellent addition to their already powerful bullpen. Next to those major additions, they also signed Jeff Bitches from Qasden to provide depth for their rotation. Beyond that, they also made an exciting trade for one of the best catchers in baseball; receiving Laure Valle from the Sun City Flames in return for their first-round selection in the third LPB draft. The only notable loss for the Dragons was shortstop Jason Valbuena, who left for Malidridad in free agency.

Draft: (Position: 16)
Like the Homers, the Dragons had traded their second-round selection prior to this draft; and like the Homers, the Dragons used their first-round pick on a position of need, choosing an established Chromatik star in shortstop Molina Ishkaya with the 16th-overall pick, who was previously with the Chromia Comets, who will be an upgrade to the departed Valbuena at least at that plate.

Outlook:
The Dragons are in a position to go toe-to-toe with the Homers. Their rotation features three international stars; Kramer, Maxwell, and Donaldson; and so does their bullpen, in Butt, Nelsen, and Frazier. They also kept their elite batting lineup, with Acosta always a threat for the batting title, along Burrows, Caamano, and Dunlop; adding Valle to the mix will only make the Dragons more dangerous. This Dragons team is a likely playoff contender, and will be a serious threat to conquer the North. However, there are concerns; nearly all stars are on the wrong side of 30, and the Dragons, still stuck in a stadium that seats only 4,500, are stuck in negotitions with the city that don’t seem to go anywhere. If an agreement can not be reached, it is possible that this team might be leaving Masmow.

Ruditown Dachshunds

Offseason Movements:
The Dachshunds came as close as you possibly can to a playoff berth last season; finishing with the same exact record as the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox, but losing a tie-breaking game 161. In this season, the Dachshunds will be looking to re-bound, and exercise old demons, hopefully on their way back into the playoffs. To help them accomplish this, they traded for TJUN-ian ace Jose Almas. In return, thy sent over Phil Dunn and their first-round selection in the third draft, although they will also receive the second-round selection of the Denison Dynamo in the same draft. Beyond that, the Dachshunds made no major additions, but they did manage to keep their elite starting potation on the payroll, including Almac (no relation to Almas) and Fitch.

Draft: (Position: 14)
With the 14th-overall pick, the Ruditown Dachshunds selected a young South Newlandian relief pitching prospect. Samuel Vaughn, a B-graded rookie, has great velocity for his age, but the 20-year-old struggles with home runs, giving them up more frequently than you’d like; he’s definitely a developmental piece. The Dachshunds were up again at 35, thanks to a previous pick-swap with the Renaissance, but chose to trade down, receiving a player to be named later and the 48th selection. (Fun fact: The Renaissance didn’t pick the 38th pick they got from the swap, either). At 48, the Dachshunds picked up a D-graded pitcher prospect in Griffin Henderson. The 23-year-old Llamanean has a great fastball, but struggles with his temperament; the Dachshunds will try the best to develop him.
Outlook:
The Dachshunds remain in position to contend. They have the pieces; a strong starting rotation featuring two TJUN-ian stars and one from Newmanistan, a solid good-enough bullpen, led by Tori Fuller, and a very decent batting lineup. This could be the season the Dachshunds finally break through to the playoffs, even though the North might be just out of reach at the moment.

Elephant Valley United

Offseason Movements:
After an unlucky season where United won more games than they lost, yet still finished last in the hyper-competitive SNL North, United had to prioritise keeping Hillary Angelou, the reigning Evan Masorka winner who had an ERA of 1.95 last season, on the roster. They managed to pull that off, and also added a few minor pieces; including Wota Radinka, corner outfielder who left in Newport Owls in free agency. However, they failed to make any big splashes, and didn’t sign any international stars.

Draft: (Position: 13)
With the 13th-overall pick, United decided against picking up established Drawkian talents, and instead choose B-graded starting pitcher Lola Marques. The right-handed starter is 21, and is known as a great teammate. On the field, her biggest weakness is a struggle with command that typically results in too many walks. At 37, the team selected a young second baseman in Arpit Seth. The 24-year-old B-graded recruit had dropped all the way down to the middle of the second round; despite a strong arm, even if it lacks power at the plate. He practically fell into the lap of United, who didn’t have a great second baseman on the roster.

Outlook:
It’s hard to interpret the offseason moves, or rather, lack thereof, as anything but a sign that United is starting to enter a rebuild. Angelou will likely be traded at the deadline to the highest bidder, and even though the team will still have a great pair of bullpen arms in Jang Hyo-Seung and Connor Harris, the lineup will likely have to be rebuild slowly around Julian Breit and Hansel Eriksen, the young, budding stars of the team. It’s unclear for how long the two Tikariotian studs Ghirardello and Baines will stick around; and same goes for McFadden.

EVSM Estimated odds of | Winning the division | Making the playoffs
Elephant Valley Homers: 44% | 76%
Masmow Dragons: 27% | 51%
Ruditown Dachshunds: 24% | 45%
Elephant Valley United: 5% | 13%

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Jun 01, 2022 10:07 am

Disclaimers:
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them; but keep in mind that scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB.
* quick note on amateur draft grades: S is best, followed by A, B, C, D, F)
* meaning of the dots next to players: Blue: All-Star | Silver: Silver Slugger | Gold: Golden Glove | Red: MVP | Purple: Evan Masorka winner | Lime: Reliever of the Year (each as of last season)

South Newlandian League

Roster Movements, Drafts, Rosters – Part 2

SNL Central

Newport Dolphins

Offseason Movements:
The defending LPB champions from Newport got to work on trying to defend their title. They were able to keep their stars on the payroll, including some of the best players in the world like Kelly Tallis, Quodite Luka Chevalier, Chromatik Kendra Annovar, their reliever duo in Ying and Beaufils; Paterson, Hernandez, and a quintet of Elephants. What was there to improve? The Dolphins had an answer, acquiring one of the best players in the multiverse, Quodite star pitcher Haakon Kalberg, for two first-round picks from the South Bryant Chariots. They also signed Alvin Jiminez from the Flames for a second as an afterthought. All in all, the Dolphins are committed to this championship window, giving away most of their draft picks to win big now. This strategy puts the Fins’ future in jeopardy, but if they can bring even more titles to Newport, it’ll all be worth it.

Draft: (Position: 23)
Without a first-round pick, having traded it last season as part of a package to acquire Ryan Hunter from the Sun City Flames, the Dolphins had to wait until deep in the second round to get in on the action. They had the 46th-pick, thanks to an old pick-swap with the New Llama Wizards that moved them up an entire draft pick, using it to draft 22-year old Jon Zheng, a starting pitcher. Maybe he’ll somehow turn out to be good.

Outlook:
The Dolphins are the defending champions for a good reason. They had arguably the second-best rotation in baseball last season, and the addition of Kalberg will only make them stronger. Their lineup is also one of the best you can get; despite somehow only featuring two all-stars,

2B Hernandez is actually Tikariotian. Please pretend I got that right in the graphic

this lineup definitely has the tools to win another title. It’ll be a fight between the Dolphins and the Blue Sox for supremacy in the Central, and the Dolphins are the favourites.

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox

Offseason Movements:
The Blue Sox were the biggest story of the last season. Despite having, on paper, the best pitching rotation in the league, they struggled, and only really got going in the last quarter of the season. But they got on a run, managing to catch up to the Dachshunds in the nick of time, beating them in a tie-breaking game 161, before going on the road to Masmow, winning the wildcard game. However, they ended up losing to the Dolphins in the SNLDS; which they certainly want to get revenge for.
Throughout the season, it was mostly the bullpen that gave the Sox trouble, despite employing a great closer in DiVincenzo. To give him some support, the Sox traded for Llamanean Morgan Hedegaard and Facundo Saavedra Cicerón from Montana Verde, who were both in the SLL South most recently. This cost them a significant chunk of draft capital, but bolstered this particular weakness. However, their biggest signing prior to draft day was Quodite Slugger Rémy Weber, who will be the Sox’s DH. The WBC champion will add another option to the terrific lineup also featuring his teammate Theriault, and an outfield comprised of three international stars. Have we mentioned they kept the best pitching rotation in baseball on their payroll? Because they did do that, too.

Draft: (Position: 15)
Did we mention yet that the Blue Sox also controlled the first overall pick? After a disastrous trade from the perspective of the Peninsulara Kingfishers, the Sox found themselves proud owners of the first overall selection. They used the option to sign a Chromatik star, drafting Raitis Ranta, reigning MVP of the CBL, at a position of need, second base. Pretty smooth. Later on, with the 43rd pick they had acquired from the Suns in the deal that landed them Hedegaard, they also got a shortstop; C-graded Llamanean Jake Persson had fallen far into the second round, and the 22-year-old with especially good defense might be a useful option for depth.

Outlook:
The Sox have built a super team to contend with the Dolphins. A pitching rotation featuring four international stars, topped by an extremely talented Llamanean, one of the deepest bullpens in the league, and an extremely strong batting line-up – what more could you possibly want? The Dolphins and Blue Sox exist on another level in the SNL, and one of the two will likely win the pennant again.

Newport Owls

Offseason Movements:
After a season hovering around .500, the Owls remain on the periphery, with a team good enough to fight even the best of the SNL, but arguably not good enough to make the playoffs. The Owls remain locked in their fierce rivalry with the Dolphins across the city, and seeing them win a title surely didn’t make them happy. The Owls are looking to contend with the other two strong teams of the SNL Central, are looking for a playoff berth to satisfy their fans.
In the off-season, they made a pair of big steps towards that goal, signing a pair of national team players from Daskel; reliever Rokukawa Daisuke and Outfielder Nakajima Yasunobu. In addition to that, they shipped out their 12th-overall selection to Peninsulara, picking up Designated Hitter Israel Harper and Alana Gonzalez. However, they also had some notable players leave; Ian Capan forced his way out and was traded to South Falls for picks, while Gary Promises ended up in Nikcoro, and Wota Radinka left for Elephant Valley United in free agency. At least they got Liam Desjardins as a band-aid from Nikcoro in that trade.

Draft: (Position: 12)
As mentioned before, the Owls traded away their first round pick; and they didn’t have a second-rounder anymore either, heading into draft night without a pick in either round. That didn’t mean they just lazily sat around, though; they sacrificed some further future draft capital to get the 32nd pick from the Cyclones. They used said pick on some immediate help; signing Chromatik starting pitcher Kim Jung-Wook, a great fireballer most recently seen with the Chromia Comets.
Outlook:
The Owls are a solid team, but will likely be on the outside looking into the playoff picture. They have a dynamic Chromatik starting duo in Savey and Kim, alongside a very strong bullpen around Reliever of the Year Paige Bell; and their lineup features stars like Harlow, Sauter, Nakijima, Gonzalez and Brentwood; but they’re not on the same level as the Dolphins and Blue Sox. Having to play 16 games against both will likely hold them back in the wildcard race.

Sophie City Monarchs

Offseason Movements:
How the mighty have fallen. Just two seasons removed from their unexpected title in the last season of the South Newlandian Baseball League, the Monarchs are a shell of their former selves. As the other teams built, the Monarchs fell apart, and they project to be the worst team in the division this season; playing in the division with the two superteams probably doesn’t help, either.
Sophia Smiths was shipped to the Cyclones for picks, and many other stars are on their way out, too, probably heading to the highest bidder at the deadline. The only noteworthy signing was a big one, at least, bringing in Sarzonian first baseman Cody Frazier, who might end up the only good player at this organisation at this rate.

Draft: (Position: 8)
With the 8th-overall pick, the Monarchs signed third baseman Leo Jiminez, A-graded recruit from South Newlandia. The 20-year old shines with his bat especially. The Monarchs had traded their second-round pick to the Cyclones in the Smiths-trade to land future picks, so they only got to make this one selection. Tough scene all around.

Outlook:
This team isn’t very good. You can count the good players on one hand; Frazier, Bains, Bookmer, Wheeler, Jiminez, Niemi, and Conrad. Okay, evidently you need one hand with a couple of extra fingers on it. Still, this is not a competitive team, and they will not be making the playoffs. The Monarchs are entering a rebuild.

EVSM Estimated odds of | Winning the division | Making the playoffs
Newport Dolphins: 49% | 86%
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox: 38% | 82%
Newport Owls: 12% | 34%
Sophie City Monarchs: <1% | 1%

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Jun 01, 2022 10:07 am

Disclaimers:
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them; but keep in mind that scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB.
* quick note on amateur draft grades: S is best, followed by A, B, C, D, F)
* meaning of the dots next to players: Blue: All-Star | Silver: Silver Slugger | Gold: Golden Glove | Red: MVP | Purple: Evan Masorka winner | Lime: Reliever of the Year (each as of last season)

South Newlandian League

Roster Movements, Drafts, Rosters – Part 3

SNL South

Walstreim Stingrays

Offseason Movements:
After falling just a single save short of an appearance in the Multiverse Series, having previously won the South and dispatched the Homers in the SNLDS, the Stingrays are looking to get another run at the trophy in the playoffs. They remain one of the better teams in the SNL, playing in what has to be the weakest division. This allowed them to do, honestly, not much of anything in the off-season aside from keeping their roster around. Three internationals playing for Hapilopper, two playing for TJUN-ia, two playing for Chromatika; the Stingrays had some players from the best teams in the multiverse, and they didn’t feel like breaking up their dynamic. The Stingrays, historically a team that rarely trades with others, choose to not make a single trade in the entire off-season, and failed to sign a single notable new player.

Draft: (Position: 20)
Just like in the off-season, the Stingrays let the draft fall to them. With the 20th-overall pick, the Stingrays hoped to sign the next-generation edition of Hine Salle, already having the regular edition Hine Salle on the roster; Chromatik reliever Hona Gugor, the 21-year old Southpaw, had just been sitting there for the Rays to pick up. Later on, with the 44th pick, the rays again refused to make a move, choosing instead the best player on the board; that being D-graded shortstop Karl Freeman. The 22-year-old South Newlandian was a maniac on the basepaths in college, but fielding and hitting will have to be properly coached into him first.

Outlook:
This Stingrays team stagnated in the off-season; which is a pretty acceptable thing to do following a 93-win season that ended in the SNLCS. The team still has a strong pitching rotation, of course spear-headed by Kyle McNash and Nolan Jefferson, the latter of which hasn’t blown up any gas stations since he arrived in Walstreim. You know your situation’s good when Sanford’s own Crissey Battey is your fifth-best starter, she probably won’t do any too remarkable things this season, but she’s solid. In the pen, the Rays have a pair of Chromatiks spearheading a good unit; we don’t have much to add about Hine Salle here; and the line-up features four all-stars despite the fact that Aiden Beasley wasn’t selected for it last season. The Rays will handily win the South; they’re set up to be above .500, and no other team in this division is going to be doing that.

Sun City Flames

Offseason Movements:
Oh boy, it’s the Flames, the team known to make only good decisions, nothing but. Last season, they were within view of a .500 record; far from the playoffs after initially starting strong, but ultimately still pretty far off. In the off-season, those Flames, who packed a respectable mount of draft picks, were looking to get even better, to maybe get closer to the playoffs. To accomplish this, the Flames first traded away basically all their good players with the exception of Banijans Mesuli Calata and Faraba Conateh. All-Star reliever Ayo Abe and Manoel Candia, both from Ko-oren, headed to Apple Valley for picks, All-Star catcher Laure Valle headed to Masmow, where she can hopefully make the playoffs, for picks and Bradley Jenkins, a Drawkian who apparently also plays catcher. Alvin Jiminez was shipped off the Dolphins. What did they get instead? After an issue regarding pass-ports regarding Francisco Adam was cleared up, the Delaclav will play for the Flames this season. The mistake was entirely with the Flames, but you could have guessed that. They also signed a very special player. In this off-season, the Sun City Flames added, the man, the myth, the legend, Franklin Bell. Yes, you read that right; the legendary Drawkian closer would be the closer for this Flames team. That tells you all you need to know.

Draft: (Position: 10)
We mentioned earlier that the Flames traded all their good players away; but this at least implied that they now had an abundance of draft picks to play with, including four in the first round. With their own first-rounder, at ten, they chose Karla Levey, Chromatik most recently with the Eyrods Pilots, who’s a very strong pitcher at just 24, and will be a great number two in the rotation behind Conateh. At 19 (this pick had belonged to the Suns), they selected B-graded Amano Sachi; a right-handed South Newlandian reliever has great off-speed stuff that he sometimes struggles to control; the 22-year old will be part of a very special bullpen, to say the least. 23rd (this pick was the Fins’) the Flames selected B-graded Vincenzo Beard, 21-year old Newlandian Middle Infielder, and pretty decent hitter, before also picking at 24 (this was the Vipers’ pick), where they chose Ava Llorente, a 19-year old power hitting third baseman who’d received a C-grade. To cap off the draft, the Flames also had the 34th pick (this one was the Flames’ from the start), which they spent on Llamanean C-graded catcher Morgan Hunter, who’s a 23-year-old defensively strong catcher.

Outlook:
I’m not sure what the Drawkian coach Al Krauss has cooking here, but I’m not sure it’s edible. Sure, they have a rotation headed with two strong pitchers in Conateh and Levey, but their bullpen is suspect (the closer will be Franklin Bell, for crying out loud), and while their line-up features highlights like strong depth, first baseman Tiffany Grey, shortstop Mesuli Calata, and Francisco Adam, they also start a 37-year-old Sevendian in Left Field, which scares me. This team isn’t normal. I’m scared.

Malidridad Mariners

Offseason Movements:
The Mariners remain in the middle of a re-build. Manager Luis Pinalla is working on building this team from the ground up, and they’re not particularly competitive yet, but they’re working on it. They didn’t do too much in the off-season, outside of delaying a couple of their draft picks into the future in a trade with the Owls, and signing Jason Valbuena from the Masmow Dragons. These Mariners aren’t doing much; maybe someone needs to tell them that this is a league that requires acquiring foreigners at this rate. The most interesting thing to come out of this off-season was a threat of moving the team if they don’t get a bigger stadium, a threat probably not much will come out of.

Draft: (Position: 7)
The Mariners had the 7th pick in the draft, and after weathering attempts from Sun City to trade for that pick, selected A-graded Lewis Hunter, a 22-year-old Llamanean outfielder who is primarily known for his speed. They were not in line to have any other picks, but that didn’t mean that they had to just sit around; instead making a draft day trade with the New Llama Wizards, receiving the 22nd pick and a future second; sending over their next first-rounder to Super-Llamaland in return. They used said pick on A-graded Nolan Ramsey, who had dropped all the way here. The very fast 23-year old might prove to be a great pick-up, but sacrificing their likely-top-10 pick in the next draft for him might be too great of a cost.

Outlook:
The Mariners are still rebuilding. They have a couple of promising young players in Webber, Zhu, Ramsey, Goodson, Brock, Guthrie and Hunter, but this team barely has a good starting pitcher, and will be fundamentally uncompetitive and without a first-rounder in the next draft.

St. Riecarn Saints

Offseason Movements:
The Saints have a new manager in Quebecois Dana Hussel, former manager of the Quebecois national team, for their rebuilding efforts. He started out by making the tough decision to jettison the Saints only true star, Banijan Luxolo Mbeki, to the Athletics in a three-team trade. In return, the Saints got a number of draft picks, including the 12th-overall pick in the upcoming draft. Aside from that, the Saints didn’t do much of anything, but Hussel was able to make a few moves. For one, she managed to sign a capable starting pitcher from Qasden in Lester Plattsburgh. For another, he made the decision to finally give shortstop Josh Malouf, international team player from Brookstation, the airtime he deserved. Nevertheless, this Saints team remains about on par with the M’s, lodged deep in a rebuild.

Draft: (Position: 6)
Like the Flames, the Saints had a good number of draft picks to spend. Their own 6th-overall pick was used to select Angela Wu, a 20-year-old starting pitcher from Super-Llamaland. The B-graded prospect went earlier than most experts had expected, but the Saints desperately had to address their starting pitching. Later, with the 12th-overall pick they had landed in the Mbeki trade, they signed his replacement, choosing 22-year-old Chromatik Marea Homaly, most recently with the Knetyohai Dynamo, a great fielding first baseman in the mould of Gammond. Later, with the 41st also picked up in that trade, they took a flyer on outfielder Gena Smith, a D-graded Newlandian with a strong arm and not much else.

Outlook:
Like the mariners, this team is in a rebuild. They may be just at the beginning of their rebuild, but they have a better guide in the experienced Dana Hussel. Despite the fact that Josh Malouf is the most recognisable name on this team, Dana Hussel has the skills to eventually turn this team around. It’ll just take a while.

EVSM Estimated odds of | Winning the division | Making the playoffs
Walstreim Stingrays: 77% | 82%
Sun City Flames: 21% | 34%
Malidridad Mariners: 1% | 3%
St. Riecarn Saints: <1% | <1%

by **Super-Llamaland** » Wed Jun 01, 2022 10:09 am

LPB PREVIEWPERLATIVES: SEASON 2, PART 1
Damian Griffin-Smith, LSN Baseball

The first season of Llampahant Pro Baseball saw the full spectrum of baseball emotions hit Super-Llamaland. Whether it was the Vipers coming out of nowhere to win 105 games and the pennant, Vargas City dropping a billion dollars to build a wild card game flameout, or the Kingfishers trading their first-round pick and going 49-111, the Llamanean conference saw no shortage of storylines in their first LPB season. Instead of straightforward team-by-team previews, we thought it would be more interesting to really focus down on the narratives behind each team as we head into a hotly-contested LPB2. Who's on the rise, who's declining, and who's Peninsulara? Today, we'll cover six of the twelve Llamanean LPB teams, and the superlatives that best embody them heading into the season.

Most Likely to Steamroll the League: VARGAS CITY

When tech mogul Mark Donovan and GM Jason Arguiz's multi-million-dollar project was bounced in the wild card round by a young Cyclones team, the pair could've taken it personally and rebuilt everything. But instead, they kept calm, trusted the analysis that told them only bad luck and an inhumanely stacked SLL Central stopped them from going all the way, and remain the consensus favorite to advance to the Multiverse Series. The Lions will be running back the core that won ninety-five games last season and named an absurd eight players to the all-star team.

WBC MVP and Evan Masorka winner Clara Ayonara anchors a rotation comprised of Llamanean ace Isaac Colón, Newmanistani flamethrower Megan Reardon, and a rapidly improving Anna Guo. And the lineup is a veritable murderer's row, with all-stars Edith Ponce, Noah Slater, Marius McNeesh, Lucas Robinson, and Trevor Mikkelson-Yao all hitting between twenty-one and thirty-six (Ponce) home runs last season. The Lions are very low on assets after going all-out last offseason, but they managed to fill the only two holes on their roster all the same, signing second baseman Juan Alvarez from Soldera and drafting young outfielder Annalise Bright with the twentieth pick.

The pressure will be higher than ever to deliver a ring to Vargas City, and another early flameout could see Abraham Kakay fired and the start of a roster shakeup. But it's undeniable - with the core fully settled in, the only thing that can stop the Lions from the pennant are themselves.

Spookiest / Brightest Future: XINGCHENG

One way that analysts like to measure how young a team's core is is by averaging the ages of their starting lineup. For instance, a team whose average age was twenty-five might not be expected to shock right away, but would be full of potential for the future. You might have guessed that 25 represents the average age of the Xingcheng Renaissance's starting nine, since we're talking about them. Guess again - it's actually the oldest starting position player that they have, Ethanian catcher Benjamin Wilden. The rest of the lineup could be mistaken for a list of Western Cuba's greatest WBC performances: 24, 23, 22, 22, 24, 23. Yet this isn't just a team of raw prospects, either. Center-fielder Schuyler Duffy won rookie of the year, first baseman Nicolas Perez was a key contributor to South Newlandia's national team, and Quebecois outfielder Jean-Noël Bellefeuille was one of the most coveted international free agents this offseason. With Yousuf Henry returning from his ACL injury, and Jeff Huang and TJ Wagner critically acclaimed choices in the draft, the future of this young lineup is very bright.

There's reason to believe that the pitching, already respectable last season, could be greatly improved as well. Chris Harris, Syd Masterson, and new signing Nakamura Jossei bring stability and a veteran presence, but the real breakout star could be Tigers fifth starter Solveig Jørgensen, the 23-year-old fireballer. Relief depth could be an issue, as could the lack of a calming presence amongst all the young bats (as good as Jacinta MacRaun has been, "calming" is not a word that describes her well). But with Nikcoro starting to flag, and Peninsulara and South Bryant, well, being Peninsulara and South Bryant, the future might be sooner than we thought in Xingcheng.

Offseason Champions: SOUTH FALLS

There's something to be said for patience when you've just gone 64-96 and finished forty-one games behind the division winners. Especially when you have a young core on its way up, the fourth overall pick in the draft, and some veteran pieces that can be swapped for players that fit your timeline. But sometimes you just have to go "fuck it" and trade for an all-star first baseman, sign five free agents, deal your twenty-one-year-old shortstop who was your first-round pick last season, and take advantage of any opportunities you get.

Whether South Falls' attempt to blatantly disregard the rebuilding "meta" that has swept most of the LPB North will work out is still an open question. But it's certainly way more fun for the fans to watch their GMs do this than to root for the draft. And it's undeniable that they've added impact players who know how to win at basically every weak spot in their roster. The big move was trading for Banijan star first baseman Luxolo Mbeki from the St. Riecarn Saints. Thanks to the Kingfishers inexplicably being willing to hand over three picks for young shortstop Sylvi Vermark in a three-team deal, they were able to pry Mbeki loose for just a single first-rounder (and not their precious fourth pick, either, which they ultimately spent on collegiate flamethrower James Concepción). But they weren't remotely close to being done, choosing to continue strengthening one of the league's weakest lineups with Quodite outfielder Jude McCallum and Sarzonian DH Luke Brinkley, injecting firepower into an offense desperately in need of it. They took care of run prevention, too - Daskel catcher Suzuki Daigo was signed in free agency, while trades saw the arrival of relievers Capan and Kamiizumi and TJUN-ian ace Davis Johnson. On paper, it's a team that could challenge Apple Valley for the division, or maybe fight for a wild-card spot. Of course, games aren't played on paper - but things are still looking up in Ruby Falls.

Most Likely to Close their Championship Window: NIKCORO

It's a little weird that we penciled in the Suns as "most likely to disappoint" after they won the division, made a blockbuster trade for Gary Promises, and then signed Jeff Fucking Parrish to spearhead their rotation. But the fact of the matter is that Nikcoro has already peaked with their five consecutive divisional titles - and their heartbreaking loss to the Wizards in the President's Cup Final two years ago may have been their best shot to get this core a ring. While they navigated a rocky start to win the SLL South (in fairness, the .500 Renaissance were their closest competitors), they never looked particularly threatening while getting swept by the Wizards. The offseason felt like the end of the era in one sense, as the Suns retooled for one last shot at the title. Beloved longtime Michael Shelby left, replaced by Jason Wu (formerly of Xingcheng), and the likes of Koumura, Desjardins, Bridges, and Reefe were all shown the door.

There is some hope that the new acquisitions can spark a second wind in the bay. Jeff Parrish was the ace of a very strong Sarzonian rotation and will leapfrog all-stars Edward Zhuang and Danielle Nørregaard in the pecking order. Fifteenth-overall pick Mason Dirk terrorized opposing catchers on the basepaths with the Rhonin, and slots in nicely for the retired all-star Momoko Koumura. Hiroka Ryosuke and Matt Stallings fill important holes in the Suns' offense, while a retooled bullpen sees Daniel Peterson and Mike McQuimberton join the fray. But the signing with the biggest risk and the biggest reward is the team's decision to flip steady right-fielder and former national team starter Liam Desjardins for the volatile Gary Promises. Promises has a big bat and a lot of potential that Desjardins can't quite match, but what he doesn't have is the defensive stability, the arm, or the emotional maturity. Credit to the Suns for swinging big changes instead of being content to run things back under Shelby - but if their moves don't work out, we could be seeing a new LPB South champion very soon.

Best New Hire: SOUTH BRYANT

Over a decade ago, the South Bryant Chariots hired a young ex-catcher by the name of Michael Shelby to manage their team. Shelby was able to grow a young core containing the likes of Summer Huang and Lily Scutaro into shock division champions before leaving to join the Suns. Now, the Chariots find themselves in a similar position to the pre-Shelby years - cast adrift near the bottom of the league, but with the beginnings of a young core. Who did they turn to? None other than Michael Shelby again, worn out by years of trying to manage an actual contending team in Nikcoro, and looking to go back to doing what he does best. There's the outline of a young core composed of #2 overall pick Will Gutierrez, dynamic shortstop Miles Villeneuve, his Quodite double-play partner Yutani, and a starting rotation with four young starters with ace potential. If Shelby can pull a second rabbit out of the hat, there really could be something here in a few years.

To entice Shelby back (rather than taking a bigger job, like the Llamanean NT), the Chariots gave him increased power to build his core, rather than just develop it. It was his choice to take the catcher Gutierrez in the draft. And while it hasn't all been Shelby's influence, this past offseason was startlingly competent for the Chariots. Aging ace Haakon Kalberg was dealt for a bounty of picks, and to mentor all the young pitchers, the Chariots dealt for cerebral veteran Cedric Wei to replace him. Don't expect immediate results with a largely young and raw group. But with enough time, the Shelby rehiring could spark a new era in South Bryant City.

Fishiest: PENINSULARA

Diehard fans of the Kingfishers have learned to really appreciate all the idiosyncrasies that make their team, their team. To this end, they've embraced the concept of "fishiness", the kind of thing that only the Peninsulara Kingfishers would do. This is largely because anybody who watches the Kingfishers for long and expects them to be a real baseball team quickly succumbs to insanity. Fishiness therefore becomes a coping mechanism of sorts for the faithful. Your team, which is bad, just dealt their first overall pick for an outfield upgrade? Classic fish things. Signed an eighteen-year-old to be your shutdown relief pitcher? Just the fish. Hired Leo de la Cruz, who was not only a coach in a different sport, but also not an especially good coach in that different sport, to manage your baseball team? Typical fish.

The latest Fish was over the offseason, which had otherwise been following a surprisingly normal rebuilding path, when GM Sebastian Weiss realized that South Falls shortstop Sylvi Vermark was the next big thing. So convinced was the front office that they inserted themselves into the Luxolo Mbeki trade to deal three picks, including the one they'd just gotten for star infielder Alana Gonzalez, for last season's #12 pick. Other than that, the main reinforcements have been Baek, the aforementioned eighteen-year-old, and Okay Chromatik Starter Frederick Jones, who they tapped to lead their rotation in the draft. It's looking like another summer of fish in Peninsulara.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Wed Jun 01, 2022 10:09 am

LPB PREVIEWPERLATIVES: SEASON 2, PART 2
Damian Griffin-Smith, LSN Baseball

The first season of Llampahant Pro Baseball saw the full spectrum of baseball emotions hit Super-Llamaland. Whether it was the Vipers coming out of nowhere to win 105 games and the pennant, Vargas City dropping a billion dollars to build a wild card game flameout, or the Kingfishers trading their first-round pick and going 49-111, the Llamanean conference saw no shortage of storylines in their first LPB season. Instead of straightforward team-by-team previews, we thought it would be more interesting to really focus down on the narratives behind each team as we head into a hotly-contested LPB2. Who's on the rise, who's declining, and who's Peninsulara? Today, we'll cover the final six Llamanean LPB teams, and the superlatives that best embody them heading into the season.

MOST LIKELY TO WIN THEIR DIVISION: APPLE VALLEY

There are still those who doubt that the Vipers' run last season, where they went 105-55 before making a run to a Multiverse Series, was the real deal. Admittedly, it's just fans of the New Llama clubs and Vargas City at this point, but there were genuine doubts after their thorough demolition at the hands of Newport in the finals. But any doubts must have been assuaged by their high-flying offseason, and there's no doubt coming into the season that they are almost certain to recapture the SLL North. While there's no doubt that the sweep in the MS took the wind out of their sails, GM Kevin Weiss wasted no time improving the team. He started by absolutely fleecing Sun City in a trade for Ko-orenite NTer Manoel Cardia and all-star reliever Ayo Abe. He then dealt for Nikcoro reliever Connor Reefe before making arguably the signing of the offseason in aging but dominant Quebecois outfielder Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya.

Of course, the haters had their point last season - it's doubtful that Dinesh Mohn's team were really a 105-win squad by true talent. But they showed an ability to turn up when it mattered (except the Multiverse Series), and Weiss's big improvements have addressed two of the team's biggest holes in third base and outfield. With a strong rotation of all-star Emily Innis, Jason McAllister, and rapidly improving young draft pick Carter Wilkinson, relief ace Evangeline Lu shutting down every late comeback possible, and the likes of Emery Wu and Rose Dawson holding down the lineup, this would be a team to watch even if they hadn't just won 105.

UNLUCKIEST DIVISION PLACEMENT: KYRINSON

If you squint hard enough, you could convince yourself that this young Cosmos team is ready to maybe make a run at a Wild Card spot, or at least .500. Center-fielder Silvia Wang, taken third in the past draft, is a can't-miss prospect with blazing speed and elite plate discipline. Madison Verdugo, last year's #3 pick, is blossoming into a future ace in front of Cosmos fans' eyes, while a third #3 pick, Tikariot's Kieran Fletcher, showed above-average power and ahead-of-schedule defense. Add in the likes of veteran catcher Roland Harlow, Quodite utilityman Teijo Watanabe, and Ethane's Christian Hanks, and there's absolutely something for Bobby Mohs to work with here. Sure, the pitching is a little sparse, with the Cosmos flipping ace Davis Johnson for a pick and draftee Benny Singleton their only good reliever, but the sky's the limit (which I guess isn't really a compliment for the Cosmos. The Boundary of the Observable Universe is the limit?)

There's only one small problem - they play in the SLL Central. They knew this would be an issue going into the LPB, and lobbied to play in the softer North (after all, the North's Emerald City Greens is technically further south than Kyrinson is). But their petition was unsuccessful, and they're now faced with the prospect of playing with Vargas City and both New Llama clubs for years to come. It means that, despite being severely outgunned financially, they'll have to construct a genuinely championship-contending core through player development in order to stand up to the big boys. This has likely made them more patient in their approach to team building, and another can't-miss prospect certainly wouldn't hurt as they try to do so. But even if they do look on track to be ahead of schedule this year, it's a long, long schedule ahead.

LEAST IMPROVED: EMERALD CITY

Below, a list of players that the Emerald City Greens traded for, or signed, in the offseason:

To be fair, they did draft controversial catcher Tyler Danson with the ninth pick, and by many accounts got one of the steals in the draft thirty-third in second baseman Gordon Chernenko. But that's just not enough to compete when you went 72-88 the year before and are in a division with the dominant Vipers and the greatly improved Athletics. It's reported that manager Ernest Telyatin steered the front office away from making some win-later moves, like trading Ralphie Bloggs or Miranda Gray. But while Telyatin may hate tanking, and did get a respectable record out of a team whose true talent was probably in the mid-60s, there just isn't a clear enough path to relevance for the Greens to continue on like this.

There are players to watch, of course. Miranda Gray has put up four 5-WAR seasons in a row while manning third base, even if she is starting to leave her prime. Bloggs and knuckleballer Eddie Headley headline a surprisingly solid roster, and Lauren Allen is a shutdown reliever even at the NT level with Newmanistan. Valery Robiquet and Darrell Striker are international-caliber players as well. But the Greens have nowhere near the star power or depth needed to contend, and have a pretty clear choice to make - continue improving at the margins, like Telyatin wants, or blow it all up. Depending on how this year goes, they may have no choice.

MOST BALANCED: NEW LLAMA CYCLONES

Ask a group of five Cyclones fans who the most important player on their roster is, and you'll probably get five responses. Is it former NT ace April Bendtner, who anchored the team's rotation and impressed in the playoffs? Chromatik NT starter Jerome Delapier, who mastered the art of inducing weak contact en route to a sparkling sub-3 ERA? All-star second baseman Lonnie Hayter out of Hapilopper, who took home a Gold Glove for his highlight-reel season at the keystone and arguably could've won the silver slugger too? Young shortstop Rene Corbin, who shook off the bust label and staked a strong (and, to Cyclones fans, snubbed) case for Rookie of the Year? Or veteran outfielder Jenna Schuster, who earned a Silver Slugger for her legs as much as for her bat, and who emerged as the emotional center of a relatively unproven team? Whoever you pick, there's no denying that they played a key role in upsetting Vargas City and holding their own against Apple Valley last season.

With the rebuild fully over, the Cyclones have turned to improve their team in any way possible. But rather than spending big on a single star, they've again spread the contributions out. Slugger Sophia Smiths of Sophie City will serve well as the team's designated hitter, and was relatively cheap to acquire. Alongside Chromatika's Redwina Maxx and Celina Campazzo, both taken in the second round, she forms a powerful triumvirate that will cover 1B and DH. Bendtner and Delapier will be backed up by the steady Leif Best and promising young pitcher Malinda Drake, also taken in the second round. And a fourth second-round pick, Vickie Lang, projects as a reliable everyday option at third base. Why all the second-round picks? The team was inexplicably able to trade for five total second-rounders, numbering 28, 30, 31, 40, and 42. It was likely more of a publicity stunt than anything - what the numbers mean is left as an exercise for the reader - but had the secondary effect of really bolstering the team's depth. It's clear that the Cyclones have no real weak spots. Now, the only thing between them and championships is who will step up to be the team's star.

HARDEST TANK: DENISON

It must've been pretty disappointing to Dynamo fans when they were given the fifth pick in the LPB draft. There's no lottery, of course, so it's entirely the fault of the Dynamo for playing so well. But 66-94 is usually enough to at least be in the conversation to get the first pick, and not fifteen games away. With the team nowhere near contention, the missive for this year appears much simpler: bottom out as much as humanly possible, so you'll be in perfect position to strike once the Vipers and Athletics are starting to fade. There's pieces to work with, certainly. Draftee Mike Oeland may not be a Gutierrez or a Wang, but he's a young second baseman who's already seen IBS time with South Newlandia. Taketa Seison is limited by his lack of raw physical tools, and dropped to twenty-ninth as a result, but still projects to be an immediate contributor in the outfield. And young DH Tod Pittman and 22-year-old ace Jonathan Roe would fit in on any rookie of the year ballot after what they did last season. But there's just not enough surrounding them.

As such, the motivation this season appears to be to burn the team to the ground. It started a bit in the offseason, as ace Jose Almas was flipped for a draft pick and the young Phil Dunn, but it'll likely spiral into the trade deadline. Kathryn Riggins, Carla McInnis, Killian O'Mally, and maybe even twentysomethings like Rebecca Saunders might be deemed too good right now to fit into the team's strategy. Of course, there's still room to maneuver - a strong start to the season could result in the Dynamo, who do still have a few win-now players, changing course. But with the Vipers and Athletics set up to rule the SLL North for the foreseeable future, Denison can only hope that the race to the bottom won't be as competitive this year.

MOST ALL-IN: NEW LLAMA WIZARDS

The Wizards' five best players last season, by WAR: Kelsie Carmichael, Kai Söderstrom, Joe Gregory, Summer Huang, and George Ducat. Their ages when the season after this kicks off? 34, 33, 30, 34, and 31, respectively. It's pretty clear that this core has precious little time to waste in their pursuit of a first LPB trophy to go with their final President's Cup, won over Nikcoro the season before the LPB was formed. Of course, the good news is that they're already in great position to do so. Gregory, Huang, Ducat, young slugger Vincent Valtrone, and veteran outfielder Victoria Irving (acquired by trading malcontent pitcher Cedric Wei) form one of the best top-to-bottom lineups in the league. Huang in particular has continued to put up superstar numbers en route to back-to-back MVPs thanks to her doubles power, elite on-base percentage, and defense.

The pitching is also a strength, although the back of the rotation is somewhat thin. Carmichael, Söderstrom, and Delaclav ace Bedin Egozhevy form a top three that can go against anybody else's on short rest in a playoff series, although an injury to one of them could prove disastrous. And with the addition of Chromatik Vette Beux to a bullpen that already had three NT relievers (Quodite Jan Scherer and Llamaneans Sam Vandenberg and Courtney Mikkelson), opposing teams would do well to take the lead in the first six innings - because it's likely the only chance they'll get. In other words, with a lineup of big-game players, a stacked top of the rotation, and a shutdown bullpen, this is a team built to go deep into the playoffs. And they've already taken some preventative measures to build for the future, including dealing for Malidridad's (likely top-10) pick this season. But if they don't win it all this season, the future will start to look bleak for the core that briefly became New Llama's biggest team.

by **South Newlandia** » Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:04 pm

Disclaimers:
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them; but keep in mind that scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB.
* quick note on amateur draft grades: S is best, followed by A, B, C, D, F)
* meaning of the dots next to players: the colours stand for the teams that the All-Stars represent

The All-Star game: A short summary

After the first ever Llamaphant Pro Baseball game, which was played in Cyclone Park, New Llama City, Super-Llamaland, it would normally have been the turn of South Newlandia to host the second All-Star game; however, that would present itself to be quite difficult. Compared to the size of Cyclone Park (and all other Llamanean ballparks, for that matter), South Newlandian stadiums pale in comparison. The only serviceable stadium, Elephant Stadium in Elephant Valley, was currently undergoing construction to make it, well, bigger than 15,000 seats. It would actually be the second time the stadium was expanded in just over a decade; but much had changed since then.
Anyhow, the South Newlandian League looked to play the All-Star game somewhere else, somewhere that fans could properly attend, a stadium worthy of the occasion. Now, if you’d just think for a second; what iconic stadiums do you know in Esportiva, maybe even in a place that’s especially good at baseball? Some well-known, culturally important spot in a nearby country?

The second LPB All-Star game would be played at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Newmanistan*. They’ve got 61,000 seats, more than quadruple of what any South Newlandian stadium has, and that’s just in the baseball stadium has itself, not including all the other facilities. These days, it is most known for hosting the important NSSCRA races, including the finale, but it has also hosted the final series of the World Baseball Classic multiple times. It’s truly a spectacular stadium, perfect for the second Llamaphant Pro Baseball All-Star game.

It was the Super-Llamanean All-Stars taking the upper hand early, when the starter for the South Newlandian team, Juzo Sakaguchi, who had so far played for an ERA of just barely above 2 and a record of 9-3, allowed two to reach base before Banijan Luxolo Mbeki hit a two-out 2-RBI double that gave the Llamanean side a lead they’d never relinquish. Mbeki had notably played in the first All-Star game as well, but he’d been on the other side, losing with the South Newlandian team, before the Saints traded him in the off-season. The Super-Llamanean team did not relinquish this lead, ultimately winning 6-2; with Jenna Schuster, one of four Newmanistanian All-Stars able to play the All-Star game at home, of the New Llama Cyclones driving in two with a home run in the eighth inning. This earned her All-Star Game MVP honours, thanks to a 3 for 5, three RBI performance.

*as agreed to with Newman

by **South Newlandia** » Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:05 pm

Disclaimer:
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them; but keep in mind that scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB.

A collection of memorable moments of the LPB season (in South Newlandian ballparks)

MD23: South Bryant Chariots @ Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (Bot 8th, 10-2)
Jack Theriault is now up to bat with one out and Raitis Ranta on first. Theriault, 3 for 4 on the night with three RBI, including a home run, is looking to pile on a bit to the Sox’s lead. First pitch, ball one, lets it go. The 1-0, swung on, deep drive toward left-center field, base hit, Yousuf Conway dives for it, and he can’t get it, this one will roll, Theriault is running, one run will score, and Theriault is charging for three, and he’s going to be… safe! Safe at third, a triple for Jack Theriault, and he has just hit for the cycle! This one’s a moment for history for sure, and it’s now 11-2; Theriault becomes the first player to hit for the cycle in the South Newlandian league!

MD41: Ruditown Dachshunds @ Sun City Flames (Top 9th, 0-2)
Top of the ninth here, Franklin Bell will be trying to preserve the lead for the Flames. Of course, it’s more than that; winning this game would not only be the fourth consecutive Flames win, but Bell has a chance to finish what Banijan Faraba Conateh started; the Dachshunds are hitless through nine innings tonight. After Conateh pitched seven clean innings of no-run ball with four walks and a hit-by-pitch, Grady Reuters came into a tied game, pitching a clean 1-2-3 inning, before third baseman Ava Llorente uncorked a home run to give the Flames their 2-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth. Bell’s in here now with a chance to earn another save; the Drawkian closer is yet to blow a save opportunity this season. With two outs here in the top of the ninth, Franklin Bell has the chance to complete the first no-hitter in the South Newlandian League this season. The last one standing is TJUN-ian international Pedro Moires, who has reached safely twice tonight. First pitch, fastball, Pedro Moires lets it go, 1-0. Second pitch, swung on, and that one’s headed to deep right field, a high fly ball, Francisco Adam is going back, at the track, at the ball, and he’s made the catch! About four feet away from the right field wall, it’s a no-hitter! The Flames no-hit the Dachshunds to take game one of the series!

MD65: Sun City Flames @ Masmow Dragons (End of game, 21-7)
[do I even need to add anything, aside from the fact that this game was, annoyingly, the 776th in my files for this season. Ah well, this is my 777th ever forumpost, that'll make up for it]

MD74: Peninsulara Kingfishers @ Ruditown Dachshunds (Bot 10th, 3-2)
With Fred Hodgson on third base and just one out, excitement couldn’t be higher here in Dachshund Stadium. The Kingfishers, having just taken the lead in the top of this inning, are looking to prevent Hodgson from being the tying run after he was already able to advance 90 feet on a wild pitch. Newmanistanian Hannah Mitchell is at the plate, she’ll try to get the Bollonischian home here. The Kingfishers are playing a five man infield setup to prevent just that. Here’s the 1-1 pitch, and that’s a deep drive into deep left field, that will score the run easily, Mitchell might have a chance for three here, she’s rounding second, the ball is now being scooped up; they’re gonna wave her in! Rounding third, throw’s coming in, and it is not in time! A walk-off inside the park home run for Hannah Mitchell, the Dachshunds win this game 4-3! Mitchell showing off her speed, there, and the Dachshunds come back!

MD85: Walstreim Stingrays @ Newport Owls (Bot 4th, 0-0)
Bases loaded for the Owls with a good chance to go ahead. Eshian Harry Brentwood up to bat with two outs; this is a make-or-break scenario. Larry Cain is trying to strand the runners here in the fourth. First pitch, ball one. Larry Cain, taking his usual long wind-up. The 1-0, ball two. And there goes Brooke Sauter! Slides home, and she’s – safe! Safe! Brooke Sauter has just stolen home, and the Owls lead 1-0! A daring play from the Newmanistanian, but it works, what a move! 1-0 Owls, Cain was looking away for just about a second or two too long, and Sauter takes advantage!

MD91: Masmow Dragons @ Elephant Valley Homers (Bot 9th, 5-0)
Jay Kramer is looking to close out the game against the Homers, after the latter won 12 of their 13 last games. Of course, there’s more on the line for Kramer, who’s got a no-hitter going with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and an error on the game so far through 8.1, in which Kramer struck out eleven. He’ll have to get through the scary part of the line-up one final time; Alisen Moyamoto is up at the plate, the Chromatik WBC Champion struck out twice tonight. Kramer, first pitch, falls behind 1-0. Second pitch, swung on, fouled off. 1-1 count, next pitch, swung on, and Kramer’s 2-seamer gets behind the infield for a base hit! Moyamoto on first base, she’s broken up the no-hitter.

MD110: Elephant Valley United @ Masmow Dragons (Bot 11th, 7-7)
Acosta has a chance to break the tie here with a man on second, one out. Lexi Burrows, national teamer from Newmanistan on second base is probably fast enough to score the game-winning run on an average hit here. Llamanean Acosta is 3 for 5 tonight including a pair of home runs, a third one now would win this as well. Reliever Marcel Adams with the pitch, ball one. 1-0, ball two. The 2-0, strike one called. 2-1 count now, swing and a miss, it’s now a 2-2 count. That one’s high, full count. Adams, swung on, fouled back. Still a full count; swung on, and this will end it if it stays fair! Hit high, hit far, and it’s out of the Dragon Island Arena! Gabriel Acosta walks the thing off to conclude his three-homer game; what a game for the Llamanean!

MD136: Walstreim Stingrays @ Sophie City Monarchs (Bot 9th, 7-0)
It’s the bottom of the ninth inning here in Sophie City Field, where the Monarchs are hosting the Rays. The game’s 7-0 in favour of the Rays, with the Monarchs on pace to lose the second game of this series and their 16th dropped game from the last 19; but the far more interesting story is Crissey Battey on the bump having a no-hitter going through eight innings. The Rays’s starter from Sanford is playing a solid, although unspectacular season with so far, as the fifth wheel to the impressive Stingray rotation, but this might just be her night. She’s struck out nine, walking five with an error in there, too, and there’s one out with Sarzonian Cody Frazier on first base. Rookie Leo Jiminez is up next, picked with the 8th-overall, he has proven to be a capable hitter so far. Here’s the pitch, strike one called, Jiminez stares at the high heat. The 0-1, swung on, flying high, it’s deep, but safely hauled in in right field by Llamanean Alejandro Rivera. Two down, Battey is one out away from the second SNL-based no-hitter on the season. That’ll be Designated Hitter George Webber, traded for at the deadline by the Monarchs. Here’s the first pitch, ball one, just a little outside. The 1-0, swing and a miss, 1-1 count. Here’s the next pitch, Battey’s just surpassed 100 on the night; strike two called, which Webber doesn’t seem happy with. The 1-2, a strike away, swing and a miss, Crissey Battey has just no-hit the Sophie City Monarchs! The Sanfordan has just thrown an LPB no-hitter for the Walstreim Stingrays to defeat the Sophie City Monarchs, this one’s for history!

MD143: Newport Dolphins @ Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (Bot 2nd, 2-0)
Rémy Weber now up to bat with two on and none out, good chance for the Sox to get some runs back. Theriault on second, Hahn on first, a good opportunity for the Slugger chasing the 50-home run mark he’s fallen behind on lately, although he still leads the SNL. His fellow country-man, Haakon Kalberg, is pitching for the Dolphins. The first pitch, swung on, chopper to third, Kelly Tallis steps on third for the force, to second, Hahn’s out, to first, out! It’s a triple play, the Dolphins turn a triple play! 6-4-3 triple play, Tallis showing off her awareness and arm, gets Hahn out by a step there, and Weber isn’t fast enough to first to beat the throw from Hernandez! Triple play, the inning’s over!

by **Super-Llamaland** » Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:05 pm

The LPB S2 TRADE DEADLINE (live tweets from @LPBUpdates:)

LPB UPDATES ✓

With there now being less than 48 hours until the Llamaphant Pro Baseball Trade Deadline, let's take a final look at the standings after 120 games:

Who will trade for some help in order to make a playoff push, and who'll trade away assets for the future? Find out by following @LPBUpdates!

Opinion Piece by an Elephant Valley United fan blog (this was written by SNL btw)

Well, that’s weird. And potentially concerning. Hillary had said multiple times that she wants to compete for titles, that she’s not looking to play for a bottom-feeding team that’s nowhere near contention. And, let’s be honest here; that’s just what United is right now. We’re 53-67. We’re not making the playoffs, with or without her. So, going into the deadline, I was sure she was leaving town, to South Falls or Nikcoro, maybe the Lions, or possibly the Owls if they got desperate; but she’s still here. I don’t understand why? I mean, I’m not complaining, but the trade deadline is the perfect moment to get value out of a player. We’re not going to get back as much in the off-season, and it looks like the interest was there. I mean, if I were a competing team, I’d want the reigning Evan Masorka winner and former WBC champ, but maybe that’s just me.
It just doesn’t make sense to me. Clearly, United saw their situation for what it was, with Jang heading to Apple Valley. And they still have a capable starting pitcher in Conroy to teach any eventually incoming youngsters. Truthfully, I don’t get it. I think something smells fishy here; there has to be some underlying weird reason we don’t know yet. What do you guys think?

by **South Newlandia** » Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:09 pm

Disclaimers:
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Hot damn, does this one mention numbers. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them; but keep in mind that scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB. The average most commonly used position player in the South Newlandian league slashed .253/.314/.406 and hit 15 home runs.
* The Evan Masorka award is our version of the Cy Young award.
* meaning of the dots next to players: Blue: All-Star | Silver: Silver Slugger | Gold: Golden Glove | Red: MVP | Purple: Evan Masorka winner | Lime: Reliever of the Year (each as of last season)
* if you’re interested in seeing all the 1920 LPB game results, or a specific subsection of them, feel free to dm me about it!
* The players shown on the batting line-ups are “The average most commonly used position player”, at their most common position, at the most common spot in the line-up, excluding players that were traded mid-season.

South Newlandian League

SNL North Recap

P                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
 1 Elephant Valley Homers   160   96  64   735  591 +144    0.600
 2 Masmow Dragons           160   82  78   710  675  +35    0.512
 3 Ruditown Dachshunds      160   79  81   707  709   −2    0.494
 4 Elephant Valley United   160   67  93   665  704  −39    0.419

Elephant Valley Homers

Last seasons:

Season 2: 49-23, 1st in NW, lost in conference round (2-4 Dragons)
Season 3: 48-24, 1st in NW, lost in divisional round (2-3 Dachshunds)
Season 4: 38-34, 3rd in NW, missed playoffs
Season 5: 38-34, 3rd in NW, missed playoffs
LPB Season 1: 90-70, 1st in SNL North, lost in SNLDS (1-3 Stingrays)

Expectations
The Homers were expecting to defend their title in the North, and maybe make a deeper playoff run than last time. They were still the same very competitive team they were the season before, especially with a high-powered batting lineup, even when their pitching staff was not quite up to the speed of most other units in the conference, although Buchanan was a very welcome off-season addition. They still had reigning MVP Moyamoto on the payroll, and Tanya Ericsson is the kind of coach that can get the best out of a team. Despite playing in a conference that had all teams above .500 last season, the Homers were the favourite to win it, estimated to win around 90 games again.
Recap: Overview
The Homers were flying high early on, starting their season with a 36-19 record through 55 games. They regressed a bit after that, but they still led the SNL North since very early in the season, and led the North by a wide margin ever since the All-Star break. Speaking of all-stars, the Homers had only two, King and Zimmerman, with Moyamoto, Ventura, Buchanan, and Pandolt curiously absent. Nevertheless, the Homers proved to be one of the top teams in South Newlandia, and especially proved that they were the best team in Elephant Valley, absolutely demolishing their city rivals 14-2 in 16 games Head-to-Head. They didn’t quite obliterate the other division rivals that badly, winning 9 against Masmow and 8 against Ruditown, but it was still enough to comfortably lead the North. Heading into the final series of the season, the Homers were still looking to improve their seeding in the conference, and successfully did so by sweeping United at home, 4-3 and 3-2, with the former coming on an extra-innings walk-off home run by Adam King.
Recap: Pitchers

You might have expected the Homers to dominate with the bats, but it was actually the pitching that propelled the Homers to the top of the division. All in all, they only surrendered 591 runs, about 3.69 (nice!) per game, which was the best mark in the South Newlandian League, and the second-best across the entire LPB. They were, of course, spearheaded by Kevin Buchanan, who sported an ERA of 2.83, and Darien Rodriguez, who took his demotion from the top starter on the team in stride and finished with an ERA of 3.02, as they each ended up in the top 10 of Evan Masorka voting. The bullpen was stout as well, with closer Niles Pandolt finishing with a 2.56 ERA and 30 saves, and Hoosier, Fang and even new acquisition Jam-Jams proving to be some of the best relievers in the game. Jordan Jam-Jams in particular finished a strong season with an ERA of 3.21, proving he belonged in this league.
Recap: FieldersThe Homers outdid their performance last season with a total of 735 runs, good for 2nd in the South Newlandian League. In the notoriously slugger-friendly Elephant Stadium, the Elephants put up the third-best home run total, and combined for a team-wide OPS of .748 between the main starters by position. They were also the only SNL-team with three players that hit 25 home runs, with Ventura, King and Zimmerman driving the teams offensive production. Zimmerman and King indeed finished top-two in OPS in the SNL, a pretty incredible feat, and while Moyamoto had a down-year by her standards, she still finished with the best OBP of all shortstops. Another contributor to note was Horace Choo, who had a strong season behind and at the plate, along Val Thornton in her second season, where she was able to show off more of her offensive talents, finishing third among SNL second baseman by OPS. Defensively, this team was rock-solid as well, with the middle infield of Thornton and Moyamoto, and the rangy Zimmerman in Center Field. All in all, the Fielders were really solid, even Cochrine, who did his best for someone who’s main occupation is playing cricket.
Awards
As mentioned before, both Rodriguez and Buchanan finished in the top 10 of Evan Masorka voting, while only King and Zimmerman appeared in the All-Star game. Niles Pandolt was among the best relievers, and Adam King and Shawn Zimmerman each took home Silver Sluggers for their contributions, while Alisen Moyamoto ended up with a Golden Glove at Shortstop. Not quite as good as winning all the awards, as she’d done last season, but a very good year nonetheless.
The future
The Homers are heading back to the playoffs, and they took the 2-seed this time, which will give them home advantage for the SNLDS. Long-term, with the addition of Chromatika to the LPB, the future of Moyamoto is uncertain, and players like Ventura, Rodriguez, King and Choo are slowly getting older. Nevertheless, as long as they’re managed by Ericsson, who made the smart decision to reject an offer to coach the Llamanean Tigers in mid-season, these Homers will be competitive.

Masmow Dragons

Last seasons:

Season 2: 48-24, 1st in NE; lost in SNBL Final Series (2-5 Rhinos)
Season 3: 45-27; 1st in NE; lost in Divisional round (2-3 United)
Season 4: 47-25, 1st in NE; won SNBL Final Series (5-0 Blue Sox)
Season 5: 46-26, 1st in NE; lost in SNBL Final Series (3-5 Monarchs)
LPB Season 1: 88-72, 2nd in SNL North, lost SNLWC game (0-1 Blue Sox)

Expectations
After making three SNBL final series in four years, the Dragons took a step back last season, failing to win a single playoff game after losing the division to the Homers. This season, they were hoping to outperform the mark of 88 wins, and get back into the playoffs; including, hopefully, winning the division. After all, they had the best run differential in the North last season. To accomplish this, they had made some major additions, and now had a three-headed monster as their starting rotation, a rock-solid bullpen, and a scary line-up.
Recap: Overview
When an early 8-game losing streak put the Dragons at 7-16, it became clear pretty quickly that the Dragons were not exactly gearing up to win the division. They fought their way back, eventually going back to .500 shortly after the All-Star break, but the Homers remained far out of reach. Instead, their second half of the season was spent fighting over the second wildcard spot, with it constantly going back and front between three teams. Thanks to some help from the opposition, the Dragons had a chance to clinch the final wildcard in the last series of the season, hosting their division rivals and direct contenders, the Ruditown Dachshunds in a series where a sweep would guarantee them a spot. They demolished the Dachshunds, 10-2 and 9-7, thanks to a trio of Acosta home runs in the series, who accounted for 9 RBI all on his own, and taking the Dragons back to the playoffs at least.
Recap: Pitchers

The Dragons surrendered 675 runs on the season in total; relatively mediocre and only the 6th-best mark in the South Newlandian League. Their three main pitchers, Kramer, Maxwell and Donaldson, were all good, but not quite elite, with ERAs of 3.24, 3.18, and 3.58 respectively; while Jeff Bitches, their new acquisition, proved to be mediocre at best and finished with an ERA of 6.12. He’s still just getting used to the environment, he surely can improve in the future. The bullpen was solid; Barnaby Butt had a typical year with an ERA of 2.67 and 36 saves, leading the SNL in that particular category, while Vince Nelsen also finished with an ERA under 3.
Recap: Fielders
The Dragons scored 710 runs, fewer than they had last season, despite a seemingly improved lineup. They still hit more home runs than any other SNL team thanks to the almost comical dimensions of the Dragon Island Arena, but were only 6th in runs scored in the SNL. They key contributors were, as expected, Dunlop and Acosta; the former an amazing lead-off bat that had the best OBP in the league, the latter a great clean-up hitter that hit 35 home runs and drove in more than 100 runs. Other players with good seasons were Len Pijpenbroek, a rock-solid second baseman; and of course Laure Valle, who led the catcher position in home runs. Denis Caamano also had a great season, with a top-20 OBP in the SNL, and Lexi Burrows did Lexi Burrows stuff at third. Meanwhile, Molina Ishkaya wasn’t quite what the Dragons had hoped for at short, and Sophie Lawrence, the Dragons’ trade deadline acquisition, largely disappointed.
Awards
The Dragons had three All-Stars; Maxwell, Butt and Burrows. The former two each finished in the top ten of the award voting of their respective positions, while Burrows won the Gold Glove at third. However, more notable than that was the surprising MVP award for Gabriel Acosta, who hadn’t been an All-Star, a Silver Slugger, or Golden Glove winner; but was seen as the complete package that led the Dragons into the playoffs with clutch homers. It’s a compelling case, alongside him finishing top three in OPS and performing well in defensive metrics.
The future
It’ll be a second straight wildcard game for the Dragons, this time on the road. It’ll be no easy task, but at least they reached the playoffs; with the current core, they will have only so many additional opportunities to pull that off. When seven of your nine players in the line-up are on the wrong side of 30, that is commonly seen as a bad sign. The Dragons, who are still fighting for a new stadium in Masmow, live in uncertain times; will they remain in Masmow at all? In an ever-shifting LPB, everything seems possible.

Ruditown Dachshunds

Last seasons:

Season 2: 29-43, 3rd in NW, missed playoffs
Season 3: 41-31, 3rd in NW, lost in conference round (2-4 United)
Season 4: 40-32, 2nd in NW, lost in conference round (2-4 Dragons)
Season 5: 46-26, 1st in NW, lost in conference round (2-4 Dragons)
LPB Season 1: 87-73, 3rd in SNL North, missed playoffs

Expectations
Heading into the season, Lee Bradley had the simple task of getting the Dachshunds back into the playoffs. They had fallen just short the season before, losing in a tie-breaking game 161 to the Blue Sox. They still had a strong team; with a pair of TJUN-ian star pitchers, and a very decent lineup. Sure, they weren’t quite on the same level as some of the other teams in the SNL, but a playoff appearance seemed within reach.
Recap: Overview
The Dachshunds kept bouncing up and down all season, and they could never quite establish themselves above .500. Instead, they were fighting for the second wildcard; we’d already mentioned that they got slapped by the Dragons to miss the playoffs for a second straight season. A sweep would’ve ensured them a path to the postseason, but they fell short yet again. An eight-game losing streak wrapped right around the All-Star game proved too much to come back from, as they got swept by a quartet of contending teams, including a crucial series against Masmow. In the end, they went 5-11 against the Dragons, which they ultimately finished three games behind of.
Recap: Pitchers

Conceding 709 runs in total, the Dachshunds were middle of the pack in that category. However, they did have one star in Gene Almac, who finished with an ERA of 2.48, while his countryman in Jose Almas (no relation) had an ERA above 3. Brianna Fitch had been pitching decently for the Dachshunds, but she was traded to the Lions mid-season to get Lucas Robinson, who we’ll get to later. While righty starter Griffin Henderson had the typical growing pains as a rookie, Samuel Vaughn in the bullpen was much more fortunate. The right-hander routinely pitched around 100 mph, had an ERA of 2.87, and proved to be a capable addition to the bullpen. Closer Tori Fuller was good as always, sporting an ERA of 3.01, while McGuire and Robertson each had an ERA above 4.
Recap: FieldersThe Dachshunds put up 707 runs; fewer than they had the previous year and only good for 7th in the SNL. TJUN-ian Pedro Moires was their best bat, finishing with the second-best batting average in the league, but the Dachshunds mostly had good-not-great hitters, with Mason Bennett the best of the remaining bunch. At least they had four players hit 20 home runs or more; one of only two such teams. The other? Those damned Dragons, who had five players like that. There was no beating these guys that season. Lastly, we have to acknowledge Lucas Robinson. The former Lion did little for the Dachshunds, barely being an improvement compared to Rufus Salas, while the absence of Fitch was felt immediately.
Awards
The Dachshunds had only one All-Star, Gene Almac, who also ended up winning the Evan Masorka award; while Pedro Moires added a Golden Glove in Right Field to the Dachshunds and TJUN-ian tally.
The future
Once again, the Dachshunds are stuck without a playoff berth; the team will certainly keep trying, but it’ll be hard in a still very competitive division and without a lot of draft capital. The Dachshunds will focus on refining their skills in the off-season, and don’t be surprised if they bring in a couple of foreign players.

Elephant Valley United

Last seasons:

Season 2: 37-35, 2nd in NW, lost in divisional round (2-3 Homers)
Season 3: 43-29, 2nd in NW, won SNBL Final Series (5-3 Flames)
Season 4: 41-31, 1st in NW, lost in divisional series (1-3 Dachshunds)
Season 5: 40-32, 2nd in NW, missed playoffs
LPB Season 1: 85-75, 4th in SNL North, missed playoffs

Expectations
Raymond McFadden had the difficult task of working out what to do with an 85-win team that had the reigning Evan Masorka winner, a lot of young talent, and also somehow still finished last in their division last year. United had faint playoff hopes, but all in all, this team was just that crucial but weaker than other competitors. Most fans were just hoping for a solid developing, winning a couple of games, and maybe not losjng 14 games to their cross-town rivals.
Recap: Overview
After a surprising strong start, United started sliding, and sliding, and sliding. They just could not string more than a couple wins together, and whenever they looked like they might turn the corner, they dropped all those games right back. They concluded their season with a 4-14 run, that also included four more losses to the Homers, as they went into the off-season a bruised and beaten 67-93, regressing 18 wins from last season, one of the worst marks of the league, along with finishing last in the division again.
Recap: Pitchers

After her Evan Masorka season, Hillary Angelou was not quite herself this time. The team only surrendered 704 runs, better than most teams around that win range, and Angelou still finished with a strong 2.76 ERA, but it wasn’t the same. Jacob Conroy had another off-year, and Lola Marques simply wasn’t very good; and the bullpen was one of the worse ones in the LPB. After Jang Hyo-Seung was traded, the dam completely burst, with Connor Harris the only remaining capable reliever on the squad. He finished with an ERA of 3.18, but he simply didn’t really have any help at all, and United underperformed their expected win total based on run differential by 8 wins, the most in the SNL.
Recap: Fielders
There was some good fielding to be had, though. Before all else, Julian Breit established himself as one of the leagues best hitters, finishing with the fourth-best OPS in the league along with hitting 30 homers and nearly driving in 100 batters. Bronson Ghirardello also had a strong season at first, Hansel Eriksen led the catcher position in OPS, beating out Laure Valle, while Harper Yumizuka and Carlton Baines each had solid seasons. All in all, United scored 665 runs; 4th-worst in the SNL, but only 70 less than second place. This wasn’t as bad of a team as their record might make them out to be.
Awards
Eriksen was the only All-Star on United, and he also ended up with a Silver Slugger, while Angelou ended up in top 10 of Evan Masorka voting. Julian Breit, meanwhile, failed to capture an award, despite producing high finishes in a variety of awards, including a top-5 finish in MVP voting.
The future
United is spiralling downwards. The future of Angelou is more than uncertain, the bullpen is not good, and the few flashes in the lineup are not enough to carry the team to relevance. Most experts expect United to scrap the team for parts; whatever they’ll do, they’ll do it without Raymond McFadden, who had his contract terminated after the season. It’s unclear whether his Tikariotian players will go with him.

by **South Newlandia** » Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:12 pm

Disclaimers:
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Hot damn, does this one mention numbers. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them; but keep in mind that scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB. The average most commonly used position player in the South Newlandian league slashed .253/.314/.406 and hit 15 home runs.
* The Evan Masorka award is our version of the Cy Young award.
* If you read this disclaimer, you're legally obligated to send me any cute elephant videos you find.
* if you’re interested in seeing all the 1920 LPB game results, or a specific subsection of them, feel free to dm me about it!
* The players shown on the batting line-ups are “The average most commonly used position player”, at their most common position, at the most common spot in the line-up, excluding players that were traded mid-season.

South Newlandian League

SNL Central Recap

P                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
 1 Rüsselsheim Blue Sox     160   97  63   774  607 +167    0.606
 2 Newport Dolphins         160   92  68   729  632  +97    0.575
 3 Newport Owls             160   79  81   730  742  −12    0.494
 4 Sophie City Monarchs     160   58 102   562  776 −214    0.362

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox

Last seasons:

Season 2: 35-37, 2nd in SW; missed playoffs
Season 3: 44-28, 1st in SW; lost in divisional round (1-3 Flames)
Season 4: 39-33, 2nd in SW; lost in SNBL final series (0-5 Dragons)
Season 5: 30-42, 3rd in SW, missed playoffs
LPB Season 1: 87-73, 2nd in SNL Central, lost in SNLDS (0-3 Dolphins)

Expectations
After only truly getting cooking well after the All-Star break, the Sox turned their season round in spectacular fashion, going 34-9 over the final 43 games of their season; just enough to tie the Dachshunds for the second wildcard spot, which they promptly beat on the road to earn the playoff spot, before beating Masmow in the wildcard game to complete a wild 36-9 stretch. Unfortunately, their magic ran out in the SNLDS against their newest rivals, the Newport Dolphins, who swept them before going on to win the Multiverse Series. However, the Blue Sox showed that they were an extremely talented team with probably the best pitching staff in the league and a highly talented batting lineup. If they could project their final games over an entire season, this team would be able to contend at the top of the SNL again.
Recap: Overview
The season before, the Sox only remembered that they were supposed to be a decent team well after the All-Star break. This season, they went to work earlier. After a mediocre 7-12 start, they went to the moon, winning 20 of their next 22 games. However, they did not exactly have a comfortable lead at the top of the SNL Central, with the Dolphins constantly in pursuit; around the All-Star game, the Sox and Fins kept trading leads back and forth with each other. The Sox eventually took the lead for good by sweeping the Dolphins in games 139 and 140, and later held them off with another sweep, this time in Newport, games 151 and 152. All in all, they beat their rivals 10-6 Head to Head on the season. Had the Dolphins taken the season H2H advantage, the Blue Sox would have lost the division to them; like this, they won 97 games and captured the top seed in the South Newlandian League, thanks to once again finishing strong – 19-6 over the final 25.
Recap: Pitchers

Last season, the highly talented Sox’ pitching lineup struggled with injuries, inconsistencies, and the occasional injustice, but this season, the Sox were able to show off their true colours. It’s rare for a team to have even three true aces; this team basically had five. They were led by WBC champion Juzo Sakaguchi, who pitched for an ERA of 2.56, and had Zwangzugian international Rudolph Vocar-Dijo, Hannasean international Noah Harris, and Kohnheadian international Fletcher Crouch. Rounding out their rotation, they had young phenom Griffin Gonzalez, who was the worst of the five with an ERA of 3.65. They also had a powerful bullpen, with another trio of internationals, led by Hannasean closer Tom DiVicenzo, who had a solid, albeit unspectacular season with an ERA of 2.98.
Recap: Fielders
The Sox already had a terrific line-up the season before, and this time, they were even able to lead the SNL by scoring 774 runs in total. They were led by Quodite Designated Hitter Rémy Weber, who led the SNL in Home Runs, RBI, and Slugging. They also had his countryman in Jack Theriault, who finished with the fourth-best AVG in the league, with Hahn and Ranta joining him in the top ten. Lucca Hahn was his usual self, playing at an elite level at everything he could do, while Ranta slotted nicely into the team, leading all second baseman in the SNL in all major statistical categories except for Home Runs. They also got a nice hitting season from Tom Abbott, a strong OBP season from Placido Taboada, while Videtake Aoyama led all SNL catchers in slugging, as well as having Mathis, who hit 20 home runs, while Will Rentería hit 16. As a team, the Sox led the league in all major offensive categories. However, we do have to acknowledge that the defense overall was slacking, with only Hahn really standing out as a positive contributor in the field, while the entire infield was slacking. They did draft Jake Persson, who was able to make up for some of that as a defensive substitute, but the Sox had a higher ground ball hit rate than teams of this calibre should realistically allow.
Awards
The Sox had six All-Stars, with pitchers Sakaguchi and Vocar-Dijo making the cut – both would later finish top five in Evan Masorka voting – while Hahn, Ranta, Theriault and Weber were included in the field. All of them would later win a post-season award, too, with the latter three taking home a Silver Slugger, while Hahn won the Golden Glove for Center Field.
The future
As the top seed, the Blue Sox will enjoy home advantage throughout the playoffs, as well as getting to host a wildcard team in the SNLDS that will have just used up their ace. Of course, most Sox fans are hoping for a rematch with the Dolphins. Long-term, this team is terrific, and it’s hard to see that change any time soon.

Newport Dolphins

Last seasons:
Season 2: 43-29, 2nd in NE, lost in divisional round (1-3 Dragons)
Season 3: 38-34, 3rd in NE, missed playoffs
Season 4: 35-37, 3rd in NE, missed playoffs
Season 5: 41-31, 3rd in NW, lost in divisional round (2-3 Dachshunds)
LPB Season 1: 104-56, LPB Champions (4-0 Vipers)

Expectations
After a number of seasons of playoff heartbreak in the SNLBL, the Dolphins finally put it all together, winning 104 games before earning two sweeps and a seven-game SNLCS win in the post-season to become the first LPB Champions. With a very similar team, the Dolphins were gunning for another one, and despite the Sox and Owls each fielding competent teams, the Dolphins were favoured by the experts to repeat as SNL Central Champions.
Recap: Overview
Despite playing another good season, the Dolphins failed to defend the Central. They were always close, after a mediocre 7-9 start, they mostly kept pace with the Blue Sox for the division lead. It seemed like the Fins just needed to get hot at the right time, to string together a decent winning streak, but they never did, and ultimately got caught up in a 2-8 stretch toward the end of the season, including getting swept by the Sox and losing a brutal home game against the Wizards, 3-18. They seemed like they’d turned the corner after that, sweeping the Sox back on the road to get within a single game again, only to get swept in Peninsulara immediately after, losing sight of the Sox for good. Nevertheless, the Fins still played a really solid season, won 92 games, and made the playoffs.
Recap: Pitchers

The pitching, which had been the Fins’ biggest asset last season, wasn’t quite as good as in the season they won 104 games, but they still surrendered only 632 runs, good for the 3rd-best mark in the South Newlandian League. They were driven by their three stars, with Hunter and blockbuster trade acquisition and Quodite international Kalberg each keeping their ERA under three, while Ben Gonzalo struggled a bit and finished with an ERA of 3.45. They were not the issue, and neither was the bullpen led by Quodite Benoît Beaufils and Llamanean Y. P. Ying. Instead, they lost ground with their back-end of their rotation, with Garry Gordon, Adam Gilchrest, and rookie Jin Zheng having a rough time out there. Zheng in particular had an ERA above 7 while also having the highest error rate of all starting pitchers in the league, and is expected to move to the bullpen for the upcoming season.
Recap: Fielders
After dominating in the previous season, the Fins’ bats slowed down a little bit. They still accounted for 729 runs, tied for 4th-best in the SNL, but it wasn’t quite as good as the season prior. They were, in many ways, driven by their stars; with Zwangzugian Kelly Tallis, the only qualified batter that exceeded a batting average of .300 in the SNL, and Quodite Luka Chevalier, who hit 43 home runs; each producing a top-6 OPS season in the SNL. They also had Mike Larsen, who had an OPS of .790, David Drum and Brad Moore, all very good with the bat in their hands compared to their position. However, they didn’t get another season of batting wizardry from Kendra Annovar, while Stuart Hernandez was solid especially accounting for his defensive value, Alvin Jiminez and Addison Paterson didn’t do too hot this time around. Despite that, as a team, they had the second-best batting average in the league, behind only the Sox. To make up for that, the Fins were better rounded defensively.
Awards
The defending LPB Champions captured five All-Star spots; with Beaufils, Chevalier, Annovar, Tallis and Larsen all having the honour. Notably missing were Hunter and Kalberg, who only really heated up in the second half, but ultimately produced top-ten Evan Masorka finishes. Tallis and Chevalier also took home silver sluggers, while Moore and Hernandez each captured Golden Gloves.
The future
The Dolphins are hosting the Dragons in the wild-card game, and assuming they win it, will go on to battle the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox in a SNLDS rematch, which is likely colliding the best two teams in the South Newlandian League, once again. In the long-term, the Dolphins are still a power-house team, with most key players in their prime; but regardless of how the playoffs shake out, they’ll look to add talent on in the off-season to re-capture the SNL Central.

Newport Owls

Last seasons:

Season 2: 34-38, 3rd in NE, missed playoffs
Season 3: 39-33, 2nd in NE, missed playoffs
Season 4: 39-33, 2nd in NE, lost in divisional round (2-3 Dragons)
Season 5: 42-30, 2nd in NE, lost in divisional round (0-3 Dragons)
LPB Season 1: 79-81, 3rd in SNL Central, missed playoffs

Expectations
After a season of roughly .500 baseball, the Owls were looking to improve. They added in a couple of crucial places, and while they were still lagging a bit behind the top two teams in the division, they were certainly in position to fight for one of the wildcard spots. It would be about time, too, with the Owls never having won a playoff series in the modern era and their coach on an increasingly hot seat because of that.
Recap: Overview
The Owls dipped into the red pretty quickly, and stood 36-44 at the All-Star break. However, they started to make a run for the second wildcard spot, and eventually clawed to a 56-56 record. They kept climbing, and were in sole control of the second wildcard spot with six games to play. Following a sweep of the Dragons, they were 79-75 with six to play, with a trip to South Falls, a home series against the Monarchs, and hosting the Fins for the final series of the season on their schedule. South Falls and the Monarchs were two teams deep in the red last season, and while the Dolphins obviously were not, and had beaten the Owls up 10-4 in the Head-to-Head so far in that season, they would have a chance against their hated cross-town rivals with their home fans at their back and a playoff spot on the line.
The Owls lost all of those six games. Most of them were close, with the most decisive game being a 4-8 against the Monarchs, but they lost all six games, in the process tumbling out of the playoffs and dropping the season series 4-12 to the Dolphins.
Recap: Pitchers

The pitching had been shaky all season, surrendering 742 runs, tied for the second-worst mark in the South Newlandian League. Their Chromatik starting duo in Miles Savey and Kim Jung-Wook was solid, finishing with an ERA of 3.14 and 3.42 respectively, while Isabella Hart and Tina Calibri, the two Llamanean starters, failed to be league-average. The bullpen was solid, having Rokukawa and Bell to work with and little else – enough to make them a league-average bullpen, with Bell taking back closing duties half-way through and pitching a season ERA of 2.67.
Recap: Fielders
The bats made up for the bad pitching with 730 runs, the third-best mark in the South Newlandian League. They had Chelsea Harlow, who did typical Chelsea Harlow things, and Alana Gonzalez, who had the highest walk-rate of all qualified SNL batters, propelling her to an elite OBP. Harry Brentwood had a solid season, and Brooke Sauter was pretty awesome. Nakajima also had a career season for the Owls, and Liam Desjardins quietly cobbled a good hitting season together. The only bats that were mostly unproductive were Wilson Moore and Jeremy Moss, who each made up for it with defensive value, while trade deadline acquisition Kurt Sweet proved to be a major upgrade at DH compared to the floundering Israel Harper. As they say, you can take the man out of Peninsulara, but you can’t take the Kingfishers out of the man. Anyhow, the Owls also were great in the clutch, having the highest OPS of all SNL teams with two outs and RISP.
Awards
With their mediocre start, the Owls had only three All-Stars, the Daskelian duo and Brooke Sauter. In the end, Savey finished in the top ten of Evan Masorka voting, but the Owls failed to win a positional award at the end of the season, a testament to how they were quite well-rounded and not as star-driven as other teams.
The future
The Owls were at the doorstep, and they came up short. The players are still there, but Rick Shepard isn’t. Following the season-crushing end to the year, he choose to resign, and the Owls are now officially looking for a new coach.

Sophie City Monarchs

Last seasons:
Season 2: 30-42, 4th in SE, missed playoffs
Season 3: 28-44, 4th in SE, missed playoffs
Season 4: 36-36, 3rd in SE, missed playoffs
Season 5: 40-32, 1st in SE, won SNBL Final Series (5-3 Dragons)
LPB Season 1: 69-91, 4th in SNL Central, missed playoffs

Expectations
The Monarchs had no expectations. Do I really have to talk about them?
Recap: Overview
I guess I do. The Monarchs had won the last SNBL out of nowhere, and quickly went back to being irrelephant. After briefly pretending to be a decent baseball team, they quickly fell apart, and didn’t do much of anything. They ended up losing 102 games, setting a new record for losses in the South Newlandian League. They were pretty bad.
Recap: Pitchers

The Monarchs sold out at the All-Star break, jettisoning their only good pitcher, Maike Bookmer, and reliever Sally Rivera. By seasons end, Abby Conrad was the only capable piece left in their pitching staff – she is expected to sign with a new team in the off-season. They surrendered 776 runs, which, clearly, they weren’t even good enough to hit 777. Just a disappointing season all around.
Recap: Fielders
After not managing to cobble 600 runs together last season, the Monarchs somehow got even worse, finishing with 562, worst in the SNL. Sarzonian Cody Frazier, who had a top-5 batting average, is the only remotely decent bat on this roster. Okay, that’s not completely fair; Malika Bains, who stuck around for some reason, was decent, finishing with the second-best OBP of SNL second baseman, and rookie Leo Jimenez was a roughly league-average bat – maybe they’ve got something in him. Fiona Niemi was okay, I suppose.
Awards
Hahahaha! Of course, all teams are guaranteed an All-Star game representer; in this case, it was Cody Frazier.
The future
The Monarchs are now coach-less and have basically no good players. Whoever takes the job will have a tough time. They do have a bunch of picks, though, and a nearly blank slate – if the coaching staff and management can be creative, maybe the Monarchs can rise to mediocrity again.

by **South Newlandia** » Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:14 pm

Disclaimers:
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Hot damn, does this one mention numbers. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them; but keep in mind that scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB. The average most commonly used position player in the South Newlandian league slashed .253/.314/.406 and hit 15 home runs.
* The Evan Masorka award is our version of the Cy Young award.
* If you read this disclaimer, please let me know if you have any feedback!
* if you’re interested in seeing all the 1920 LPB game results, or a specific subsection of them, feel free to dm me about it!
* The players shown on the batting line-ups are “The average most commonly used position player”, at their most common position, at the most common spot in the line-up, excluding players that were traded mid-season.

South Newlandian League

SNL South Recap

P                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
 1 Sun City Flames          160   94  66   729  642  +87    0.588 
 2 Walstreim Stingrays      160   76  84   682  674   +8    0.475
 3 Malidridad Mariners      160   70  90   608  722 −114    0.438
 4 St. Riecarn Saints       160   63  97   606  742 −136    0.394

Sun City Flames

Last seasons:

Season 2: 36-36, 2nd in SW, lost in divisional round (1-3 Rhinos)
Season 3: 36-36, 2nd in SW, lost in SNBL Final Series (3-5 United)
Season 4: 32-40, 3rd in SW, missed playoffs
Season 5: 29-43, 4th in SW, missed playoffs
LPB Season 1: 75-85, 2nd in SNL South, missed playoffs

Expectations
After a relatively good start as an expansion franchise, the Flames slowly seemed to burn out. They had fired up the Jets for a final run in just their second year of existence, but since then, they had produced mediocre baseball under Al Krauss. Then again, they had made some interesting off-season moves. Before everything else, they signed the man, the myth, the legend, infamous Drawkian closer Franklin Bell. They also had a bunch of picks slowly panning out, a young core with just the right amount of foreign excellence sprinkled in. No one would’ve seriously bet on a deep Flames run, but then again, no team is as unpredictable as this one.
Recap: Overview
The Flames caught on fire early in the season, sprinting out to a 6-1 record in the first seven games. They had a truly marvellous season that really went in unpredictable directions. However, despite that, the Flames kept winning more games than they lost. Never before had they finished a season with more wins than defeats, but those Flames were consistently above .500. They were able to consistently win close games, as evidenced by a strong record in 1-run ballgames and in extra innings, and were simply a well-functioning baseball team that avoided disaster. They had a 10-game lead on the rest of the division, managed to clinch it well before any other team in the LPB, and finished 18 games ahead of the Stingrays in the final standings. A crucial piece of the puzzle were the direct games between the two teams. Heading into the final series of the season, the Flames had a 10-4 record over the Rays, before those Stingrays obliterated the Flames in a combined 18-1 sweep. It was all the revenge they were going to get this season. The Flames simply refused to lose.
Recap: Pitchers

The Flames had, surprisingly, one of the better LPB pitching staffs. Allowing 642 runs, they clocked in at the 4th-best mark in the SNL. Farabeh Conateh had a career year with an ERA of 2.74, Karla Levey proved to be an excellent draft day addition, pitching to an ERA of 3.02, while second-season starters Dean and McBride were massively improved from the previous season. Even spot starter Talvin Mankira finished above replacement value. However, the piece de resistance for the Flames was their closer, Franklin Bell. He rocked an ERA of 1.77, along with finishing with the most saves in the South Newlandian League. Until the Flames mercifully got him some help, he carried this bullpen on his back. Help eventually arrived in the form of Sally Rivera, who was a good contributor to this team, but Bell takes the Lions’ share of credit for the Flames finishing four wins higher than expected by run differential, the highest mark in the South Newlandian League.
Recap: Fielders
The Flames put up 729 runs, tied for 4th-best in the South Newlandian League. It was a cumulative effort; the Flames were one of just two SNL teams with two players reaching 30 dingers (the other being literally called the ‘Homers’). In her second season, Tiffany Grey made a major step up, finishing with the 5th-best slugging in the entire league, while proving strong defense at first base; while rookie Ava Llorente caught on fire down the stretch, finishing with 33 home runs, the 6th-best mark in the entire SNL – as a rookie, taken #24 overall! With the corners of the infield taken care of, we move inwards, where Mesuli Calata had a typically great season, finishing as the third Flame with an OPS north of .800. The other, next to Grey, was traded Left Fielder Killian O'Mally. The Flames shelled out for him, and he rewarded them with an OPS of almost 1.000 in the games he played for them. Opposite of the TJUN-ian, they had Francisco Adam, who finished top 20 in batting average, and Wesley Reid, who mostly played DH. The former 4th-overall pick in the SNBL is finally appreciating, getting close to a league-average bat. All in all, this team had strengths; and more importantly, they kept momentum going.
Awards
The Flames had only Bell on the All-Star team, as they were victims of quite egregious snubs and the general assumption that they were just going to blow it again in typical Flames fashion. This was rectified somewhat, as Conateh ended up in the top 10 of Evan Masorka voting, and Franklin Bell won the Reliever of the Year award. O’Mally was also rewarded for a great season he played for two teams. SNL Voters are typically open to giving rewards to players that were traded mid-season, and thanks to an especially hot late stretch, the TJUN-ian ended up the only SNL player to take home a Golden Glove and a Silver Slugger. On top of that, coach Al Krauss managed to win the Coach of the Year award.
The future
The Flames are back in the playoffs, where they will battle the Elephant Valley Homers in the SNLDS. As always, there’s no telling where this team might go next; but in the mid-season trades, they lost almost all of their draft capital. This is the Flames’ chance to make an impact.

Walstreim Stingrays

Last seasons:

Season 2: 44-28, 1st in SE; lost in Conference round (2-4 Rhinos)
Season 3: 44-28; 1st in SE; lost in Conference round (3-4 Flames)
Season 4: 41-31, 1st in SE; lost in divisional round (1-3 Saints)
Season 5: 37-35, 2nd in SE, lost in divisional round (1-3 Mariners)
LPB Season 1: 93-67, 1st in SNL South, lost in SNLCS (3-4 Dolphins)

Expectations
The Rays had made the playoffs every time in the modern era, including four division titles. With them retaining their core, everyone expected the Stingrays to handily win the South again, and make another deep run in the postseason.
Recap: Overview
They did not. The Rays weren’t above .500 at any point in the season, following a game one home loss to those pesky Flames we’d already mentioned. They just were not the same team they’d been; and while everyone else in the league improved, the Stingrays were floating dead in the water. They were pretty much out of contention by the All-Star break, but they never even made an attempt to fight, not even for the still-in-reach second wild card spot. It’s hard to pinpoint where the Rays went wrong; they were simply busted.
Recap: Pitchers

674 runs surrendered isn’t such a big difference to last season, with Kyle McNash and Nolan Jefferson each finishing with ERAs around 3, while second-season starter Felix Correa started to improve and finished with an ERA of 3.87. Crissey Battey also had a very good game. Not necessarily season, though.
The bullpen is the place where the Rays had issues. Hine Salle was very un-Salle-like this; proving that she could, in fact, be shaken sometimes; her ERA of 3.78 was more than a half run worse than her FIP, but it was still a bad season by her standards. Draft addition Hona Gugor struggled; first with command, later with shoulder issues that sent her to the DL for about half the season.
Recap: Fielders
682 runs were too few for the aspirations of the Rays. The 8th-best mark in the South Newlandian League, far from playoff calibre. They simply lacked any particularly strong bats. By OPS, their best hitter was Aiden Beasley, who finished 32nd in the SNL in that metric. Despite Ford and Kagawa also cracking the top 40, that’s simply not enough to do much of anything. Mattieu Gammond was never known for his hitting, but league average should be possible for him; Grady Elliott wasn’t terrible, but also league average at best, while everyone else except for Kagawa, Ford and Beasley was simply not good compared to their positions. Despite having a better batting average of the Flames, the Rays had the worst walk rate in the SNL, and only hit 116 home runs between their 9 main starters. That just isn’t going to cut it.
Awards
The Rays featured four All-Stars; Jefferson, Halle (who had been better in the first half), Kagawa and Elliott. In the end, the only one who actually won anything was Gammond, who won the Golden Glove at first base, while Jefferson finished in the top 10 of Evan Masorka voting.
The future
It’s difficult to judge where the Stingrays go from this disaster of a season. Following their first missed playoffs in ages, they are now without coach or identity, and with the LPB expansion, the future of basically their entire cast of good players is uncertain.

Malidridad Mariners

Last seasons:

(as Southwestern Baselanders)
Season 2: 30-42, 4th in SW, missed playoffs
Season 3: 14-58, 4th in SW, missed playoffs
(as Malidridad Mariners)
Season 4: 30-42, 4th in SW, missed playoffs
Season 5: 32-40, 1st in SW, lost in conference round (1-4 Monarchs)
LPB Season 1: 67-93, 3rd in SNL South, missed playoffs

Expectations
The Mariners are clearly rebuilding. Just two members of the team are over 27; the Mariners are working on the future. They have prospects all over, and will be looking to add more before truly becoming a contender in roughly 2-5 seasons. The seasons up to then will be filled with testing and experimentation to see what works.
Recap: Overview
And that’s what it was. They had an 0-13 streak early in the season, that’s all you need to know.
Recap: Pitchers

The M’s surrendered 722 runs over the season. That’s quite surprising considering they don’t really have great pitchers, but Kristen Osborn, former third-overall SNBL pick, made strides for an ERA of 3.14, while Michaelson and Fletcher also pitched good seasons by their standards. The M’s also had a good bullpen, led by Webber with an ERA of 2.56.
Recap: Fielders
608 runs aren’t amazing, but there’s good news for a couple of Mariners. Rookie Nolan Ramsey proved he’s a good player with a top-25 batting average in the SNL, Jason Valbuena had a good defensive season, Hugo Brock was solid at the plate and at third, while Goodson continued being a top-tier defender at short and an embarrassment at the plate. There were also good news for Kurt Sweet, who got a one-way ticket out of town and plays for the Owls now. The Mariners had an elite infield, which likely helped them get their very low BABIP that really helped out their pitching staff, but the upside just wasn’t there.
Awards
While Dhruv Webber made the All-Star team (as every team had to have one), the Mariners failed to win a single award at seasons’ end.
The future
The rebuild continues. At some point, the Mariners will have a dangerously good team, surely, but now is not that time. Whether that time ever comes in Malidridad is unclear, as the M’s are, much like the Dragons, in a stadium dispute that might see them leave the extremely small market for greener pastures.

St. Riecarn Saints

Last seasons:

Season 2: 35-37, 3rd in SE, lost in divisional round (0-3 Stingrays)
Season 3: 37-35, 2nd in SE, lost in divisional round (2-3 Stingrays)
Season 4: 38-34, 3rd in SE, lost in conference round (3-4 Sox)
Season 5: 33-39, 3rd in SE, lost in divisional round (0-3 Monarchs)
LPB Season 1: 66-94, 4th in SNL South, missed playoffs

Expectations
With their new Quebecois coach Dana Hussel, the Saints were going to try and establish a good culture in St. Riecarn, with little on-field contention expected.
Recap: Overview
It did not go well for the Saints. They won just 63 games, which at least got them the 3rd-overall pick in the next draft. A 9-35 stretch midway through ensured they would be nowhere near contention.
Recap: Pitchers

742 runs allowed was an improvement compared to last season, with Angela Wu notably pitching a very good rookie season. The bullpen was garbage.
Recap: Fielders
606 runs were also a slight improvement compared to last season. Much of that was thanks to the emergence of Josh Malouf. The shortstop from Brookstation, after finally getting the chances he deserved under Hussel, had an OPS of .777, along defending pretty well. Among shortstops, that’s fourth in the league, and the three ahead of him are all experienced national team players as well. Marea Homaly was the only other Saint that was decent with the bat and the glove.
Awards
Malouf was the lone Saints’ all-star. No awards here, either.
The future
Hussel is slowly trying to build this team into one that can contend, but right now, that seems like a very hard task.

SNL Wildcard hunt:
(showing all teams either currently in a wildcard spot, or no more than 5 games behind. Excludes division-leading teams unless that lead is tied)

Playoffs:

SNL Wildcard Game: Masmow Dragons (82-78) @ Newport Dolphins (92-68)

SNLDS: [Wildcard winner] – Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (97-63) Best of 5
Sun City Flames (94-66) – Elephant Valley Homers (96-64) Best of 5

SNLCS: [SNLDS Winners] Best of 7

Multiverse Series: [SNLCS Champion] – [SLLCS Champion]

by **Super-Llamaland** » Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:15 pm

S2 SLL North Recap

The story of the LPB North early on? Weirdly enough, the Denison Dynamo of all teams - basically anchored to the basement the last few years, they were 25-25 roughly a third of the way into the season, at least suggesting that they could be average. Fueled by a breakout season from Jonathan Roe (3.35 ERA, 9.7 K/9), respectable performances from Dunn and Calderón, and the success of rookie second baseman-turned-all-star Mike Oeland (.281/.340/.455), their .500 record put them…at the top of the division?

Well, in that case, maybe the real story of the LPB North was how awful of a start the Apple Valley Vipers got off to. The A’s weren’t great either, careening to a 20-30 near-last-place start to the season, but they at least had the excuse of building up team chemistry with a completely reworked roster. Not so for the Vipers, where a team that had won 105 games and made the Multiverse Series (before apparently boycotting it for ethical reasons) all turned back into pumpkins. 23-27 after 50 and still not over .500 until well over halfway into the season, a late rally ultimately wasn’t enough to stop the ex-champions from the humiliation of an early elimination. The reason for their 83-77 record and failure to make the playoffs? All-star Evangeline Lu (1.18 ERA, 12.5 K/9) was dominant again, but the bullpen behind her failed to protect much of anything. Combined with BABIP and injury luck regression from the rotation (especially Emily Innis, who stopped outperforming her FIP by a full three-quarters of a run) and lineup (Charlie McCray crashed back to earth so hard that the Vipers might be in a market for a new second baseman), it was enough to turn them from world-beaters into…this. At least new addition Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya (.288/.355/.467, 28 HRs, all-star) was good? But Manoel Cardia and Ayo Abe both struggled with injury, making Elliott’s offseason less impactful than fans might have hoped for.

With Apple Valley down early and never able to pull within five games, things became a race between South Falls and Den…oh, Denison finished the season 30-70 after taking undisputed control of first? Never mind - maybe next year, since they did just enough to get themselves the first pick in the draft class to end all draft classes. With Denison city boy and wunderkind shortstop Apollo Sündstrom declaring for the draft, maybe this will be a blessing in disguise. The division then fell to the South Falls Athletics somewhat by default, and Chris Elliott’s win-now gamble paid off as the team won 88 games and the division. First baseman Luxolo Mbeki shone in particular, starting in the all-star game and mashing thirty-eight home runs. He earned serious consideration for the MVP, ultimately finishing fourth, and won a silver slugger as well. And free-agent signing Luke Brinkley one-upped him with thirty-nine, although Mbeki got on base at a significantly higher clip. Combined with a sparkling season from Savanna Wladecki (17-5, 2.79 ERA, 1.2 BB/9), the midseason acquisition of Ralphie Bloggs behind her, Jude McCallum’s .388 OBP, and a few diamonds in the rough like Cora Schwartz and Ian Capan, it was enough to get them over the line.

While South Falls rose, though, the Emerald City Greens finally fell. Despite anti-tank Ernest Telyatin’s best wishes, the team traded away franchise cornerstone Miranda Gray to the Wizards and ace Ralphie Bloggs to the Athletics. In return, they at least got a decent haul, including #4 pick James Concepción and the #8 pick in next year’s (loaded) draft. And the development of the double-play pairing of Valery Robiquet (.268, 18 HRs, 25 SBs) and Gordon Chernenko (.259/.347/.402 with an elite UZR), as well as the second-half surges of Eddie Hedley (13-10, 3.27 ERA) and first-round pick Tyler Danson (23 HRs), gives Telyatin hope that this rebuild will be more of a retool.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:15 pm

S2 SLL Central Recap

We start with the Kyrinson Cosmos, who were surprisingly…fine? While they ultimately finished sixteen games under .500, they flirted with respectability all season, and were 52-58 before an elite tanking job guaranteed them a top-ten pick. Of course, in such a stacked division, they were never seriously in contention. But it’s a great sign for the future of Hannasean Bobby Mohs’ young core, who showed serious signs of growth. Teijo Watanabe, who had some growing pains in his first LPB season, blossomed into a defensive juggernaut (and gold glove winner at SS!) who slashed a respectable .267/.340/.428 while playing three positions. Third pick Silvia Wang played elite center-field defense and stole twenty-six bases, and likely would’ve been a RoTY candidate in a normal year. Second-year players Madison Verdugo (3.48 ERA, 9.1 K/9) and Kieran Fletcher (.352 OBP, 21 HRs) were strong as well, although last season’s surprise all-star, Ian Zhuang, took a step back. Still, there’s a lot of potential in this young Cosmos team, and they could be gearing up for deep playoff runs within a few seasons.

With that out of the way, we can talk about the real teams, who were in a dogfight for the two DS spots from start to end. The start of the season belonged unequivocally to the New Llama Cyclones, who opened the season with a red-hot 35-15 run. While the previous year, despite their wild-card victory, had been accepted as a transitional season with a new core, this start made Cyclones fans start to believe that this could be their year after nine years without a title (an eternity in Cyclones terms). Lonnie Hayter (.316/.380/.499) in particular got off to a scorching start, batting over .410 in the first month of the season, and was a major contributor on both sides of the field even after cooling down somewhat. His double-play partner in Rene Corbin (.289, nineteen HRs) took a major step forwards as well, while April Bendtner and Jerome Delapier combined for a 35-12 record (and a 16-1 start) to anchor the rotation. But the Cyclones went just 26-24 in their next fifty games, and while that shouldn’t be backbreaking in any normal division, it was in the hypercompetitive SLL Central, as the Cyclones never got within five games of the division lead in the second half of the season. It wasn’t really an issue of underperformance or injuries - while closer Kennedy Schumacher did tear her UCL, Quodite setup man Kaspar Wahl (1.56 ERA, 9.7 K/9) filled in so admirably that he won reliever of the year. Instead, it was just a team that still isn’t as stacked as the Lions or Wizards playing to their true strength. They finished somewhat strong (38-22) to go 99-61 anyways, fueled by a late run from deadline acquisition Maike Bookmer (3.11 ERA, 1.6 BB/9) but in this division, all that’s going to get you is being the away team in the wild card game.

The next team to assume the mantle of Central Juggernauts were the ever-stacked Vargas City Lions, who briefly took the lead a week after the Cyclones’ high point and flirted with first place for the rest of the season. It was another dominant year for Abraham Kakay’s team, which finished with 102 wins even after playing .500 ball for the last month of the season (an 81-39 start will do that to you). The brightest member of their star-studded lineup was undoubtedly third baseman Edith Ponce (.306/.411/.549, 34 HRs), who took a slight step back in power but massively improved her on-base and defensive output en route to a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and the first foreign-born MVP in the Llamanean half of the LPB. Noah Slater (.384 OBP, 31 HRs) also excelled for a second season, while Trevor Mikkelson-Yao earned some MVP votes by putting together a truly five-tool season (.307, 30 HRs, 27 SBs, Gold Glove). While Isaac Colón (4.27 ERA, 101.2 IP)’s past injury and inconsistency issues came back to haunt him, a nucleus of Clara Ayonara (2.74 ERA, 10.1 K/9), Megan Reardon (3.01 ERA, 192 IP), and Kris Headley (12.4 K/9, 37 SV) led a dominant pitching staff. Flipping defensive outfielder [b]Lucas Robinson for Ruditown starter Brianna Fitch (5-2, 3.27 ERA) provided additional reinforcement for the ailing Colón, while rookie Annalise Bright (.267/.343/.402) stepped in admirably in Robinson’s absence.

But when the Lions faltered late in the season (helped by a short-term injury to Mikkelson-Yao), it was the division’s most consistent and most dominant team, the New Llama Wizards, to clean up their mess. Nikki Wang again led her team to an incredible season, one-upping her past self with a record-breaking 106 wins. Shortstop Summer Huang (.317/.374/.499) put together another MVP-quality season, and many diehards might claim she was only snubbed because she won last year, but she probably wasn’t even the best hitter on the team. That honor would belong to Chromatik outfielder George Ducat (.336, 27 HRs), who rode a wave of BABIP luck to the hitting title. Vincent Veltrone (30 HRs, .336 OBP) made a massive leap forwards, while midseason acquisition Miranda Gray filled a massive hole in the team’s lineup and won a fourth consecutive Gold Glove. On the pitching side of things, Kelsie Carmichael turned back the clock to author a sensational season (2.89 ERA over 205 innings), and the “death bullpen” of Beux/Vandenberg/Scherer/Mikkelson kept the leads she gave them, although Kai Söderstrom’s underperformance meant the team somewhat lacked pitching depth. Still, an incredible 21-9 run to end the season allowed them to pull away from the chasing Lions and enter the playoffs on incredible form.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Thu Jun 02, 2022 2:16 pm

S2 SLL South Recap

The Peninsulara Kingfishers had somewhat of a…perplexing offseason. Whether it was signing Mediocre Football Manager Leonidas de la Cruz to run their (checks notes) baseball team, giving up a boatload of picks for Sylvi Vermark, who they could’ve easily drafted the prior season but didn’t, or throwing a multimillion dollar contract at Quebecois teenaged reliever Isaiah Baek, GM Sebastian Weiss did not inspire much confidence. But they surprisingly got off to a 18-12 start, leading the division a month in, with all three moves making huge contributions to the hot start. Sure, they collapsed again after that, finishing 63-97 (third-worst in the entire league), but given what they did in the offseason to improve a 49-win team, this is probably the best they could’ve hoped for. It’s hard to see how they mess up the third pick in a three-player draft, but knowing the Fishers, they’ll find a way.

A few dozen miles to the north, South Bryant didn’t do much better, finishing just five games ahead of Peninsulara in the first season of the second Michael Shelby era. How much of that was atttributable to missing talent and how much of it was deliberate tanking is tough to say. Cedric Wei (4.49 ERA) was disappointing both as a pitcher and a mentor, although second-year starter Jarred Zhen (3.49 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 2.1 BB/9) did take an important step up. The hitting side of things wasn’t much better, with unfortunate Quodite Koari Yutani (.292, 25 SBs) a rare bright spot despite an injury-plagued season, and Miles Villeneuve (.242/.300/.391) hugely underperforming. They did have unexpectedly good bullpen performance that kept things from being even worse recordwise, though - Edward Jordans (2.07 ERA, 8.1 K/9) and Max Bridges (2.32 ERA, 9.6 K/9) emerged as shutdown relievers and earned some hipster reliever of the year consideration, while Hambone Fakenamington (3.30 ERA) emerged as a credible middle reliever en route to helping the team overperform their Pythagorean expectation by nine games.

This was the direct mirror of the young Xingcheng Renaissance, who had the run differential of an eighty-eight win team (best in the division, incredibly) and finished with…seventy-five. The chief culprit was the bullpen - Urkwen Bharadhwaj regressed to a 3.97 ERA, Eliza Guo was hurt for much of the season, and the previously-reliable Martiño Siquieros walked a career-high 4.1 batters per nine innings while trying to pitch through injury. The pitching behind Masorka Winner Solveig Jørgensen (2.71 ERA, 254 strikeouts, 0.91 WHIP) was somewhat underwhelming was well. On the offensive side of things, historic underperformance in close games meant that some of the blame could be pinned on the lineup. However, things in general were much brighter for the starting lineup. Rookie Jeff Huang (.286/.355/.453, 19 HRs) showed serious promise as the team’s third baseman of the future, while Nicolas Perez hit thirty-two home runs and won a second straight Gold Glove award. Similar potential could be found in the outfield, where Quebecois signing Jean-Noël Bellefeuille slashed .282/.364/.431 and former Rookie of the Year Schuyler Duffy (.290/.345/.452) won a Gold Glove. Jacinta MacRaun came under some criticism for her quixotic style of late-game management, which some fans argued contributed to the team’s underperformance, but her strength as a developer of players has convinced the front office to keep her around for another season.

Ultimately, though, despite an aging core, an inferior run differential, and a few locker room flareups, it would be the Nikcoro Suns, led by Jason Wu, to win the South yet again. They were led by a dominant starting rotation fronted by all-star Jeff Parrish (3.07 ERA, 191 strikeouts), Edward Zhuang (3.23 ERA, 215 strikeouts), and Danielle Nørregaard (2.94 ERA, 8.9 K/9, but an injury-shortened 117 innings). Offseason acquisition Daniel Peterson (31 saves) impressed as well, and was considered by many to have been snubbed for the all-star game. The offense got off to a considerably slower start, which was the main reason the team was still under .500 a full third of the way into the season (29-31 after 60 games). Gary Promises had a tough time integrating into the clubhouse, hitting just .211 in the first half of the season before waking up to slash .334/.429/.601 in the final month. Additionally, early injuries to Ian Hart and Tyson Long meant the team wasn’t really at full-strength for much of the season’s beginning. Still, though, the team finished strong (going 61-39 to finish with ninety wins), owing to breakouts from Promises and Long (.244/.330/.501, thirty home runs), as well as a strong rookie season from shortstop Mason Dirk, who led the league with forty-one stolen bases and played excellent defense. It’s not clear if they’re better than the red-hot South Falls or any of the central teams heading into the playoffs - but for another season, the Suns’ window remains open.

by **South Newlandia** » Fri Jun 10, 2022 10:54 am

SNL Wildcard Game (Masmow Dragons @ Newport Dolphins)

Baseball can be a cruel game. 160 games journeys take close to two years, and it all, success or failure, comes down to a single game. Such is the Llamaphant Pro Baseball Wildcard game. You can do your best for an entire season, win all sorts of games, but a single mistake in a single game might just cost you your entire season. Such was the case for the Newport Dolphins. The defending LPB champions had won 92 games; but that was only good enough for second place in the SNL Central. Therefore, the Dolphins had to win the wildcard game against the Masmow Dragons, who had won just 82 games. Both teams had the luxury to put their aces on the mound; pitting two South Newlandian national teamers against each other. Ryan Hunter and Jay Kramer, each elite in their own right, would be the men to fight it out. In the regular season, Dolphins and Dragons had faced each other eight times – seven of those ended in Dolphins’ wins, including every single home game.
Jay Kramer was rocked early, with Luka Chevalier going yard in the first, scoring Tallis and Larsen and putting the Dolphins up 3-0. However, the Dragons chipped at the lead early, with a 2-RBI single by Laure Valle cutting the lead to just one run. Kramer ended up being pulled in the third inning following a bases-loaded two-out single for Stuart Hernandez that made it 4-2 Dolphins.
While Hunter was able to settle in after that, the Dragons’ bullpen got the situation mostly under control. In the sixth, the Dragons cut the lead to one with a homer by Gabriel Acosta, but the Dolphins immediately re-established the two-run lead with a Kelly Tallis double. In the seventh, Hunter loaded the bases, which led to the Dolphins going to the bullpen as well; but Montaro Wakajoshi gave up a two-run single to Daryl Dunlop, tying the game at 5 apiece. No more runs followed in the coming innings, sending the game to extras; following four scoreless innings with no shortage of relievers and pinch hitters, the Dragons got something in the 12th inning in a Daryl Dunlop lead-off double. Lexi Burrows laid down a bunt, moving Dunlop to third; and a Denis Caamano deep fly ball was enough to score a run for the Dragons.
In the bottom of the 12th, Barnaby Butt came out with a chance to grab the save that could send Masmow to the SNLDS, but he was up against the scary part of the Dolphins’ line-up. Lead-off man Mike Larsen hit a soft grounder to Acosta, before Drum struck out on three pitches, making Kelly Tallis the last one standing for the Fins. On a 2-2 count, she launched a fastball down left; only for it to settle harmlessly into the glove of Daryl Dunlop. The Dragons had managed to come into Dolphin Stadium and upset the reigning LPB champs to move on to the SNLDS, where a date with the Blue Sox waited. For the Dolphins, there was only heartbreak. They had chances. In the bottom of the ninth, they put two on with one out, only for Vince Nelsen to escape the jam with a pair of strikeouts; and in the bottom of the tenth, Kelly Tallis was 90 feet away from walking it off, but Kendra Annovar grounded out to end the inning instead. Baseball is a cruel game.

Masmow Dragons          0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1  6
Newport Dolphins        3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  5

by **Super-Llamaland** » Fri Jun 10, 2022 10:55 am

SLLWC: New Llama Cyclones @ Vargas City Lions

After the Lonnie Hayter RBI double in the top of the inning made it 2-0, and that strikeout Bendtner got to open the bottom of the seventh, the Cyclones are just eight outs away from eliminating the Lions in the Wild Card round for the second consecutive season. And how big of an upset would this be, if it happened again! Just goes to show that money can’t buy everything - especially not a berth in the divisional series.

It’s April Bendtner still on the mound for a seventh inning, although you have to imagine Feliz will be managing her usage closely, as she’s already pushing one hundred pitches tonight. But she’s been cruising, with just three hits allowed, so the Cyclones are trusting their ace for now. Due up for the Lions, it’ll be the bottom of the rotation first, starting with the eight-hole hitter, Juan Alvarez of Soldera. It’ll be important for Bendtner to get the next two outs to end the inning so she can face the top of the order without any pressure.

First pitch, fastball low, and Alvarez turns on it! That’s down the left-field line, and that will be a fair ball! Angel Enrique slides to cut it off, keeping Alvarez from extra bases, but they do get the leadoff man on! Never a good start to an inning, but Bendtner is still one of the best pitchers in the league for a reason.

First pitch to Annalise Bright is high and inside for a ball. And how good has she been, stepping in for Lucas Robinson after the Robinson-Fitch trade with Ruditown. The rookie and hometown girl hit .277 after becoming a full-time starter while providing solid - if not Robinsonian - defense in center. Second pitch, a slider, outside for ball two. And it looks like Jackson Feliz is a little worried now, as he signals to the bullpen to get someone up. It’ll probably be Kennedy Schumacher or Kaspar Wahl, given the situation. Here’s the third pitch - runs inside, Bright hits a chopper down the first-base line, and it takes a bad hop and goes over Redwina Maxx’s head! Bright will reach safely, Alvarez to…he’s going for third! Ivy Werner fires a bullet to Lang, but it’s just a fraction of a second late! Runners on the corners with nobody out on an awful bit of luck for the Cyclones!

And now the top of the order is up, with leadoff woman Rachel Estrada hoping to get the Lions on the board. First pitch to Estrada is grounded to second, Lonnie Hayter ranging to his left for a sliding stop. Throws to Corbin - that’s one - the throw to first, just too late for the speedy Estrada! Alvarez scores, and it’s two-one, but the Cyclones so close to turning two and getting out of the inning! I think Corbin bobbled it a little, although it’s not clear if a perfect throw would’ve beaten the runner. But now Estrada is on first with just one out and the heart of the order up, and it looks like Trevor Mikkelson-Yao is going to be the last batter faced by Bendtner. Here’s the first pitch, fastball over the middle, and that’s a high fly ball to center field. Jenna Schuster desperately tracking back, uh oh, that is…off the wall! Schuster scrambles for it and holds Mikkelson-Yao to a run-scoring double, but Estrada speeds around to score, and it’s a tie game! Just inches from a backbreaking Lions lead there, but Feliz is going to the ‘pen in a newly-tied game, and we’ll be back after a short break…

…Schumacher is now in to face Noah Slater. Mikkelson-Yao is the go-ahead run on second, but the recently-returned closer just needs one more out. The first pitch to Slater is swung on and missed for a strike. But if she can’t get this out, then the Lions will take a 3-2 lead to their heresofar dominant bullpen, and all but punch their ticket into the divisional series for the first time. The second pitch is low and outside, and that evens the count at 1-1. Lots of worried Cyclones fans in the park - Corbin looks sick after bobbling that potential double-play ball, although Estrada likely would’ve been safe anyways. Here’s the 1-1…high and away, 2-1 count now. Looks like a quick mound visit from Hugh Marquez, he seems worried about something in Schumacher’s pitching…

…Marquez back, signals, and the 2-1 is…punched into right-center for a base hit! Mikkelson-Yao comes around, he’ll score! Slater rounds first, then heads back for the go-ahead single! Bad luck and poor execution have put the Cyclones on the back foot, as Noah Slater delivers a crushing blow to their hopes of advancing! And it’s the Lions now who are six outs away from themselves advancing to play the Wizards!

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Jun 15, 2022 2:51 pm

SNL Divisional Round Series (1) (Masmow Dragons @ Rüsselsheim Blue Sox)

Surely, most fans had expected the Dolphins to pull it off in the wildcard game, which would have teed up an SNL Central clash between the Blue Sox and Dolphins, one of the hottest new rivalries in South Newlandia. Many fans were hoping for an epic clash between two of the strongest baseball franchises not just in South Newlandia, but beyond – an SNLDS rematch between the reigning champs and the team that took their division crown from them. It would have been an instant classic – not only do both teams have extremely strong pitching staffs, but combine for 5 silver sluggers and 3 gold glove awards.

However, the surprising extra-inning elimination of the Dolphins around Hunter, Tallis, Chevalier and the other stars meant that the Blue Sox were instead going to have an SNLWC rematch with the Masmow Dragons, who they had beaten in the wildcard game the season before. While the two teams share less history with each other, it was still promising to be an exciting matchup, one that had been fun in the regular season. The Sox had taken five of the eight encounters, including three at home; but all games had been competitive, with no game decided by more than 5 runs. It had featured some notable moments, including the staff-wide two-hitter the Sox dealt in a 1-0 home win, or the Gabriel Acosta walk-off grand slam to break a 3-3 tie in extra innings.

The Blue Sox were the undoubted favourites – the Dragons had just had to use Jay Kramer and a large part of their bullpen to even get them into this series, which meant that they’d have to hand the ball to Solderan David Maxwell in game one, while the Blue Sox had their entire staff well rested and Quodite WBC champion Juzo Sakaguchi on the bump. The Sox also had the better hitters – comparing by position, the Dragons were only really ahead with Gabriel Acosta at first, while the Sox were better at second with Raitis Ranta over Len Pijpenbroek, at shortstop with Quodite Jack Theriault over Molina Ishkaya, in Center Field with Lucca Hahn over Marcia McMahon, and at DH with Quodite Rémy Weber over mid-season trade acquisition Sophie Lawrence. The remaining positions (C: Valle/Aoyama, 3B: Burrows/Taboada, LF: Dunlop/Mathis, RF: Caamano/Rentería) were approximately evenly matched between the Dragons and Blue Sox.

Point being, the Sox were better at pitching, and hitting, they would have home advantage, and they were well rested. They proved this in game one, quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead against Maxwell via 2-RBI single for Jason Mathis in the first and a Weber solo-shot in the third; but the Dragons eventually got to Sakaguchi, too. In the fourth, Molina Ishkaya got the Dragons on the board, and Laure Valle tied the game with a 2-run home run in the 5th inning, driving Sakaguchi from the game. However, the Blue Sox eventually retook the lead in a three-run 6th against the Dragons’ relief pitchers, with a bases-loading hit for Raitis Ranta, followed by an RBI-walk to Theriault and a two-run single for Lucca Hahn. The Sox held the line after that, with Hannasean closer Tom DiVicenzo shutting down the Dragons for good with a 1-2-3 ninth to take a one-nothing series lead.

Game two saw the Blue Sox send out Rudolph Vocar-Dijo. The man from Zwangzug was arguably an even better pitcher than Sakaguchi, but a WBC win comes with its perks. Against Julia Donaldson, the Dragons’ Newmanistan-based starter for game 2, he certainly proved to be capable in the clutch, shutting down the Dragons for eight innings, allowed just a pair of walks and a single base hit to Daryl Dunlop. Meanwhile, the Sox had struggled at the plate for long, with only a Tom Abbott RBI double in the second and nothing else on the board until the 7th. After that, Ranta and Rentería each launched multi-run homers in the 7th and 8th, for a total score of 6-0 into an easy Blue Sox win, shifting the series to the Dragon Island Arena, with Masmow on the brink of elimination.

Going into the series, it was entirely possible that this game could be the last LPB game ever played in Masmow. A stadium deal had still not been reached, with the park of not even 5,000 seats increasingly inadequate for an LPB franchise. Masmow itself was a small market, and trying to build a new, LPB-worthy stadium proved to be difficult in the largely preserved nature of the Dragon Island. Plan after plan fell through, both to build a new stadium in Masmow or to sell the team, with potential suitors in New Colk, Ratzupalfu and Kinjestad, but it was ultimately decided that the Dragons would remain in Masmow for at least the upcoming season.

This meant that game three of this series was basically just a regular old playoff game. Llamanean Nico Cagliari, first-round pick for Masmow 2 seasons ago, would take the ball against Hannasean international Noah Harris, in yet another obviously Sox-sided mismatch. The Sox drew first blood with an RBI base hit for Taboada in the second, but Laure Valle answered immediately by launching a two-run double in the bottom of that same inning. This 1-2 score remained into the ninth inning, with both pitchers allowing little across the board. In the top of the ninth, South Newlandian international closer Barnaby Butt had a chance to get a save to keep the Dragons alive in the series. He started out well, getting both pinch-hitter Bob Flowers and second baseman Ranta to ground out; but Jack Theirault’s ground ball to Pijpenbroek found its way under the glove of the second baseman to keep the Sox alive. Lucca Hahn drew a full-count walk, setting the stage for Rémy Weber, who sent a 2-seamer down the center-left gap to score two un-earned runs thanks to the go-ahead run, Hahn, wheeling around the bases and just beating out the throw by Ishkaya. Save blown. The Dragons were down 2-3, setting the stage for DiVicenzo showing Butt how it’s done by completing a 1-2-3 inning, finished off with an Acosta groundout to Ranta. The Sox had earned a sweep, and were moving on to the SNLCS with home advantage.

Masmow Dragons              0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  3
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox        2 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 X  6

Masmow Dragons              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox        0 1 0 0 0 0 3 2 X  6

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox        0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3
Masmow Dragons              0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Jun 15, 2022 2:51 pm

SNL Divisional Round Series (2) (Sun City Flames @ Elephant Valley Homers)

The Sun City Flames were easily the upset team that had reached this SNLDS; even more so than the Dragons. Hardly anyone would have predicted this slap-dash roster around a team with little identity would rise to dethrone the Stingrays. However, they assembled an incredibly good season, were the first team in LPB to clinch their division, and were not to be underestimated leading into this series. They were led by Drawkian coach Al Krauss, and had built an identity as a team that wasn’t only clutch, with Drawkian star closer and Reliver of the Year winner Franklin Bell leading the charge, but also as a remarkably consistent team that just kept smoothly riding to wins and rarely collapsed. Adding TJUN-ian star O’Mally at the trade deadline had already proved to be a helpful addition to an a batting lineup that was already pretty good, led by elite Banijan shortstop Mesuli Calata, Delaclav Francisco Adam, and a pair of emerging draft picks in Tiffany Grey and Llamanean Ava Llorente. This was a 94-win team that wouldn’t have to be afraid of anyone – even if they limped into the postseason, losing out on a potentially better seed by getting absolutely obliterated by the Stingrays in the last series of the season.

Their opponents would be the kings of the North. Dealing with an extremely difficult Northern division, the Homers had once again risen to the occasion, with Llamanean coach Tanya Ericsson leading the team to comfortably win their division in a season they won 96 games, just one fewer than the Blue Sox, who were really stacked beyond belief. Like in the previous season, their MO was great pitching, allowing an SNL-best 591 runs over the course of the 160-game season, led by a pair of stars in Drawkian Darien Rodriguez and Quebecois starter Buchanan, and their newly acquired closer Niles Pandolt, a Chromatik they’d just acquired in the draft. That’s not to say their hitting wasn’t good, because it was – with three South Newlandian national teamers in the lineup, it was always going to be, and they also had the services of shortstop Moyamoto, who won the MVP the season before, and a couple of other good pieces.

The two teams matched up evenly throughout the season, with both sides taking four of eight; although, notably, the Flames took the last three, when they had access to their post-trade deadline weapons. None of the games stand out particularly, except for the first game, which saw Fabio Ventura walk off the thing in the bottom of the ninth. Lastly, it is worth noting that when the Flames lost in their only SNBL Finals appearance, they did so to the other Elephant Valley team, United, in eight games. They had not made the playoffs since that season.

The Homers were still the clear favourite going into the series. They had the long-running, successful momentum, they had the better hitters, the better pitching, and home advantage. But, I mean – they still play the games for a reason.

Game one, played in the Homers’ Elephant Stadium, also the venue the Elephants play in, pitted the Homers’ Quebecois ace Kevin Buchanan against Farabeh Conateh, the Flames’ Banijan star pitcher. Even though Conateh struggled out of the gate, allowing a pair of early runs, he quickly settled in and ended up pitching a great start, seven innings, just two earned runs; a lead-off home run for Ventura in the first at-bat of the game and an RBI-hit for Lachlan Cochrine in the second. Meanwhile, the Flames eventually erased the deficit, with a 2-run double for Mesuli Calata tying the game, sending it into the eighth tied at 2. This is when total lunacy unfolded. First, Homers’ reliever Bert Hoosier allowed an RBI single for Ella Carlson that gave the Flames an eighth-inning lead. Second, setup pitcher Sally Rivera, another trade acquisition for the Flames, surrendered a two-run home run to Val Thornton, giving that lead right back. Third, Chromatik closer Niles Pandolt blew the save for the Homers in the top of the ninth when Mesuli Calata crushed a ball over the left field wall, giving the Flames a 5-4 9th-inning lead. This set the stage for Franklin Bell to get a playoff save to get the Flames ahead in game one. Franklin Bell, reliever of the year, the all-year reliable closer for the Flames. When has that guy ever blown an important save? I mean, what are the chances that surrenders a Lachlan Cochrine infield hit, walks Horace Choo, the Quebecois catcher, on four pitches, before allowing a three-run walk-off homer to Fabio Ventura. Basically zero.

Game two, still in Elephant Stadium, saw Drawkian Darien Rodriguez pitch against the Flames’ Karla Levey. They added the Chromatik pitcher last season, and she quickly became a reliable asset. In this game two, the runs poured in early, and the Flames had a 4-2 lead heading into the 7th. There, an RBI-hit for Moyamoto cut the deficit to one, but the Flames went into the eighth still ahead. Sally Rivera allowed three runs, surrendering a pair of singles before Lachlan Cochrine cleared the bases with his first post-season home run. This time, Pandolt allowed only one run in the top of the ninth. The series shifted to Desertfire Stadium, Sun City, with the Homers up 2-0.

There, the Flames started Zachariah Dean, former first-round pick, against the Homers’ Jack Beard. The Flames fell behind early, with Dean surrendering four runs in the first three innings, but they rallied back for eight unanswered runs, avoided a complete bullpen collapse (possibly because it wasn’t a save situation), and avoided a sweep, in the process finally winning another playoff game.

Game four, the Flames had Rickie McBride against Myron Pacheco. In an anti-climactic game four, the Homers shut out the Flames, won 6-0, and advanced to the SNLCS.

The Flames had their chances. They had late leads in games one and two in Elephant Valley. And then, when the bullpen needed to show up most, it all went up in – you know.

Sun City Flames             0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2  5
Elephant Valley Homers      1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3  7

Sun City Flames             2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1  5
Elephant Valley Homers      1 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 X  6

Elephant Valley Homers      0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Sun City Flames             0 0 4 1 0 3 0 0 X  8

Elephant Valley Homers      0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3  6
Sun City Flames             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

by **Super-Llamaland** » Wed Jun 15, 2022 2:52 pm

SLLDS1: Vargas City Lions @ New Llama Wizards

The Vargas Daily Herald
AYONARA, PONCE DOMINATE; LIONS DRAW FIRST BLOOD
Marta Anderssen, SPORTS

NEW LLAMA CITY -- In the fiercely anticipated first battle between divisional rivals Vargas City and the Wizards, it would be Chromatika to come out on top. Clara Ayonara pitched seven shutout innings, while Edith Ponce broke the game open with a towering three-run home run off of Jan Scherer in the seventh inning, as the home side won 5-2. While the Wizards showed some signs of life late against the Lions’ beleaguered bullpen, as Summer Huang drove in two runs in the eighth, it was too little, too late, for the two-time divisional champions, as the Lions stole home-field advantage in the series in their quest to win their first Multiverse Series…

THE NEW LLAMA TIMES
Lions 2, WIZARDS 7
SLUGGING WIZARDS SCORE EARLY, LATE, EVEN SERIES
Jonathan Ayton, WIZARDS

NEW LLAMA CITY -- After a disappointing Game One defeat, the New Llama Wizards bounced back big-time, scoring seven runs and comfortably tying up the Divisional Series at one game apiece. Vargas City manager Abraham Kakay chose to trust the underwhelming Isaac Colón and Kris Headley to be their past selves, but neither could deliver; Colón gave up four runs in a shortened start, while Headley’s late-game meltdown conceded the other three. For the Wizards, Kai Söderstrom managed six solid innings, while George Ducat and a resurgent Victoria Irving drove in five of the team’s seven runs from the corner outfield spots…

THE NEW LLAMA TIMES
WIZARDS 7, Lions 3
WIZARDS RUN RAMPANT AGAIN, ONE GAME FROM SLLCS
Jonathan Ayton, WIZARDS

VARGAS CITY – The Wizards have decisively stolen back the advantage in the series with a second straight shellacking, and now stand one game away from a second consecutive appearance in the LPB Llamanean Championship Series. The heroes on the night were Bedin Egozhevy, who fanned nine over six sparkling innings, and presumptive MVP Summer Huang, who drove in four of the team’s seven runs while authoring another signature playoff performance at shortstop. “It goes to show, you can’t just buy success in this league,” manager Nikki Wang stated postgame, noting that the Lions had still won only two playoff games in their two seasons in the LPB…

The Vargas Daily Herald
YOUNGSTERS SHINE BRIGHT AS LIONS FORCE GAME 5
Marta Anderssen, SPORTS

VARGAS CITY -- The Lions have well and truly clawed back, and now hold all of the momentum heading into a franchise-defining game 5 in New Llama, after a late rally saw Vargas City claim a 3-2 road triumph. It would be Annalise Bright to single in two runs in the top of the eighth to give the Lions the lead for good, on a night where another twentysomething, Anna Guo, held her own against a tough Wizards lineup to keep the Lions in it. For the regular season champion Wizards, it would again be the bullpen to falter at the last hurdle, as Courtney Mikkelson and Sam Vandenberg simply couldn’t hold onto the lead that ace Kelsie Carmichael had procured with her six runs of shutout ball…

THE NEW LLAMA TIMES
Lions 1, WIZARDS 5
SÖDERSTROM MASTERPIECE FUELS WIZARDS’ ADVANCEMENT
Jonathan Ayton, WIZARDS

NEW LLAMA CITY -- Kai Söderstrom stifled the Lions’ roar, allowing just four scattered hits, two walks, and one run over eight innings to send the New Llama Wizards to the SLLCS for the second consecutive season. With the team’s veteran second starter stepping up in such a major way, it would only take a third-inning rally fueled by George Ducat and Joe Gregory to put the Wizards up for good and send the Lions home. The Wizards will now advance to a playoff rematch with the Nikcoro Suns, who they have eliminated in the previous two postseasons, but who are the only team between them and a chance at their first Multiverse Series…

SLLDS1 GAME ONE
Vargas City Lions           0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0  5
New Llama Wizards           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2 
W - Ayonara (1-0), L - Carmichael (0-1), SV - Le (1)
SLLDS1 GAME TWO
Vargas City Lions           0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2 
New Llama Wizards           1 0 0 1 2 0 0 3 X  7
W - Söderstrom (1-0), L - Colón (0-1)
SLLDS1 GAME THREE
New Llama Wizards           0 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 0  7
Vargas City Lions           0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0  3 
W - Egozhevy (1-0), L - Fitch (0-1)
SLLDS1 GAME FOUR
New Llama Wizards           1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2 
Vargas City Lions           0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 X  3 
W - Ibsen (1-0), L - Mikkelson (0-1), SV - Headley (1)
SLLDS1 GAME FIVE
Vargas City Lions      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1 
New Llama Wizards      0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 X  5
W - Söderstrom (2-0), L - Ayonara (1-1)
Wizards win the series, 3-2.

SLLDS2: South Falls Athletics @ Nikcoro Suns
Selected quotes from the Athletics before Game One of the SLLDS:
Fu Webb, Manager: “We’re feeling incredibly confident heading into the playoffs. Ending the season, what, 20-4? And winning that division race early against last season’s Llamanean champions, was a huge confidence booster for our boys. We genuinely think that we can stack up with any team in the league - and that includes the Wizards and the Lions in the next round. This team is dangerous.”
Savanna Wladecki, SP: “It’s been so amazing to see this team turn around and show how serious they are about winning. And part of that has been our rotation - with me, Ralphie coming in, and Simon and Davis being so solid - we think we can go toe to toe with anybody, especially the Suns.”
Korban Pitts, 2B: “How do I feel about Jeff Parrish? I’m not scared of him. I don’t think anybody in our lineup is scared of him. You know, we’ve got my MVP this year, Luxolo Mbeki, and of course Luke Brinkley knows Parrish pretty well from the Stars. I think he’ll find our lineup a little tougher than those of the LPB South. You’re not in Peninsulara anymore, Jeff!”
Webb: “We think Savanna is much more proven in these kinds of spots than any LPB newcomer is. The pressure of the LPB playoffs is just different. And that’s no disrespect to Jeff Parrish, who is an incredible pitcher on the international level, and who’s had a great season. But Savanna is battle-tested.”
Britt Mandel, Team President: “It’s interesting, because Nikcoro are pretty clearly a team in transition. They’ve had a rough time getting adjusted to this season, and they’ve got a lot of guys coming in - you know, having Gary Promises coming in is a tough adjustment for any clubhouse to deal with. And so I really view this series as a team on the rise playing a team on the decline.”
Pitts: “Athletics in three, baby. We’re manifesting it.”

Selected quotes from the Athletics before Game Two of the SLLDS:
Wladecki: “I’m obviously very disappointed with my performance, you know, because I wasn’t able to get the team that important game one win. But this is going to be a long series between two very good teams, and when my name gets called again Game Four or Five, I’ll be ready. In the meantime, I’m very confident in Davis’ ability to get the dub today - he’s a big game pitcher.”
Pitts: “Yeah, that late error was definitely all my fault. It’s just a play I should’ve made. But we had chances to get out of it, and we didn’t, and we succeed and fail as a team.”
Webb: “All credit is due to Nikcoro, of course. They went out and took the initiative. But it’s a five-game series, and we’re confident that we can be the better team over five games.”
Ty Gardner, celebrity superfan: “Edward Zhuang’s washed, y’all! Washed! This is the A’s game - easy!”
Ian Capan, RP: “I agree that the bullpen didn’t execute yesterday, and obviously I share some responsibility in that. There are some pitches where if I get the outcomes I want, you know, things look different. But, you know, the most important thing for a reliever is a short memory. We’ve still got an incredibly talented group of guys, and we’ll be ready this time.”
Webb: “This is no time to panic, and I would thank the journalism community to take note as well. We see this as needing to win three games in four - that’s doable for us, and we think if we stick to the plan and execute properly we’ll pull it off.
Pitts: “Athletics in four, baby. We’re manifesting it.”

Selected quotes from the Athletics before Game Three of the SLLDS:
Webb: “It was a good performance from Edward Zhuang, sure. But far from unbeatable. If we execute better and get some better calls in key spots - like that 3-2 to Luxolo with runners on the corners that was called strike three - then we hang some more runs on him, and it’s an entirely different game. But we’re confident that when things equalize, we’ll be able to come on top. It’s a special privilege to be able to come back from down 0-2 - I believe it’d be an LPB first for us when we do it - so we’re just looking forward to the next game.”
Ralphie Bloggs, SP: “I mean, nobody wants to go down 2-0 in a series. But I’m not thinking about the series - I’m thinking about the game three that I’m taking the mound for. You can’t come back if you don’t win game three, so tonight is really about just focusing on what we can control and getting that first win.”
Wladecki: “I’m one thousand percent confident that Ralphie is going to get us this win, even if it means putting the team on his back. He’s just built different as a pitcher. At this point, the only thing I’m focusing on is winning game four. I’m just assuming we’re getting there - no doubt about it.”
Mandel: “We’re going to do whatever it takes to win in the offseason, and we’ll look at any necessary roster changes, or personnel changes, at that point. But this series is far from over. We really believe we can take this in five, and that we are the more talented team.”
Zhu Kun, IF: “I’m not worried about starting tonight - I’m really excited. Danielle Nørregaard is a good pitcher, but I’ve had success against her this season. But I’m not going to say I’m just happy to be here, because I’m not. I always knew I was capable of this. I won’t be happy unless we win the whole thing. And I know we’ve got that inside of us. Y’all haven’t seen the best of the Athletics yet.”
Pitts: “Athletics in five, baby. We’re manifesting it.”

Selected quotes from the Athletics after Game Three of the SLLDS:
Webb: “I’m just proud of the boys for all the fight they showed in the season. You know, despite how things ended, this still marked a huge turnaround for us - what was it, a twenty-two game improvement? And we have some great pieces that we’re confident that we can build into a title-winning core. I don’t want to dwell too much on who was better this series - you know, we had a lot of bad luck - but, uh, yeah, congrats to Nikcoro and to Jason Wu for a great series and for moving on.”
Mandel: “Is Korban Pitts a championship-level second baseman? Well, I don’t know the answer to that right now. But we’re going to keep working on his defense, on his mental game, and we’ll do the best we can next season to end up on top.”
Zhu: “It’s kind of a wash. I’m grateful to be in this position, starting at shortstop in the LPB playoffs for such a great team. But it’s frustrating to be in the game, and then just…you know, some errors and lapses on our parts taking us out of the game and of the series. I don’t think we showed our true talent this series, and I think we’re having a very different press conference if we had.”
Wladecki: “It’s really disappointing to go out that way, and only being able to get one start. I wish things were more under my control, but that’s what you accept when you become a starting pitcher. I’m proud of all of our effort this year and know we’re going to move on to great things.”
Pitts (when asked if he wanted to manifest the Athletics winning in seven) “Go fuck yourself.”

SLLDS2 GAME ONE
South Falls Athletics       0 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 1  6 
Nikcoro Suns                0 0 1 3 0 0 1 2 X  7 
W - Peterson (1-0), L - Capan (0-1), SV - Dawson (1)
SLLDS2 GAME TWO
South Falls Athletics       0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1 
Nikcoro Suns                1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 X  4 
W - Zhuang (1-0), L - Johnson (0-1), SV - McQuimberton (1)
SLLDS2 GAME THREE
Nikcoro Suns                0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 2  6 
South Falls Athletics       0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1  5
W - Dawson (1-0), L - Capan (0-2), SV - Peterson (1)
[i]Suns win the series, 3-0.

by **South Newlandia** » Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:28 pm

South Newlandian Championship Series (Blue Sox – Homers)

The Rüsselsheim Blue Sox and Elephant Valley Homers shared very similar trajectories. Both teams are among the oldest teams in the country, having existed for a relatively long time. However, neither team had been particularly successful in the last couple of seasons. The Elephant Valley Homers had been relatively reliablely good, but never quite great. Despite being above .500 every year since, their last playoff series win was already 5 seasons ago; a small drought they’d now finally broken by defeating the Flames in 4. Likewise, the Sox had more than a couple good seasons in recent memory, but since their finals run that ended in getting swept by Sofia Rasmussen’s Dragons, the Sox hadn’t won a playoff series either; and they hadn’t won any outside of that year in the last half-dozen series. Like the Homers, they had finally won another playoff series as well, in the process taking revenge on the Dragons by sweeping them right back. Both teams had been dominant in the regular season, winning their divisions despite some stiff competition, and they had cruised past the underdogs they faced in the first round without trouble. These two teams, led by Tanya Ericsson, experienced Llamanean coach on the Homers’ side, and Ember Marshall, a likewise experienced Kohnheadian coach for the Sox, would face off to decide who would move on to face the Llamanean champion.

Both teams surely sported an abundance of talent, but it’s easy to say that the Sox had the better pitching staff. A room overflowing with aces, led by recent WBC champion Juzo Sakaguchi of Quintessence of Dust, Zwangzugian international Rudolph Vocar-Dijo, Hannasean international Noah Harris, and Kohnheadian international Fletcher Crouch, rounded out by second-year starting pitcher Griffin Gonzalez, the Llamanean the Sox had recently selected 2nd overall; this Sox team certainly would not have any trouble finding talented starters. However, the Homers also sported some elite talent; led by Quebecois Kevin Buchanan, a legitimate ace in his own right, and Drawkian Darien Rodrgiuez. Nevertheless, the Sox clearly had the superior depth up and down the rotation.

The bullpens were far more level throughout the season. Neither one had been playing particularly well throughout the season, both hovering around middle-of-the-pack and below their own expectations. The Sox had Hannasean international Tom DiVicenzo fulfilling closing duties, with Llamanean international Morgan Hedegaard and South Newlandian reliever Gostaf Sjabard being two other notable names to keep your eyes on; the Homers countered this with Chromatik Niles Pandolt, who’d they just picked off the Pilots, fulfilling closing duties, and Bert Hoosier and Qad Jordan Jam-Jams also on the list of players to note.

Likewise, the line-ups were also oozing with talent. Catcher might be one of the weaker positions, relatively, on either team, and they still have a pair of Anaian stars in Quebecois Horace Choo (Homers) and Ko-orenite Videtake Aoyama (Sox) there, with Aoyama being the superior batter in the regular season while Choo was arguably more valuable defensively.
At first, the Homers had Silver Slugger winner Adam King, likely a significant upgrade over Tom Abbott of Sanford for the Sox, who was nevertheless a good hitter for Rüsselsheim all season.
Second base had Chromatik Raitas Ranta come away with the Silver Slugger for the Sox, while Val Thornton was notably not bad in her second year for the Homers.
Third base, the Sox had Placido Taboada, a Ko-orenite who’d been hitting well all season, while the Homers’ Llamanean Albert Vaughn had been struggling at the plate somewhat, failing to reach double-digit home runs this season.
At short, both teams employed legitimate superstars, with the Sox having Jack Theriault, Silver Slugger and WBC53 winner with the Quodite team, while the Homers’ Alisen Moyamoto had won the Golden Glove and the WBC an edition earlier with Chromatika. Not much needs to be added about either player, they do speak for themselves.
Heading to the outfield, both teams also had shining stars in Center Field, with Shawn Zimmerman picking up the Slugger for the Homers and Kohnheadian Lucca Hahn the Golden Glove for the Sox; while the corner outfield spots saw the Sox employ two above-average players in Hannasean international Jason Mathis (Left) and Llamanean star Will Rentería (Right); while the Homers had Fabio Ventura doing his thing in right, with Llamanean Michael Kennedy hitting about league average in left.
That leaves only the DH-spot, where the Sox hold the edge with Silver Slugger winner and Quodite WBC champ Rémy Weber, while the Homers had the services of Lachlan Cocrine, a Sylestonian who you may also know from the Sylestonian cricket league.

All in all, even though the Sox had the slightly better averages across the board, the Homers had some of the better stars; with Zimmerman and King finishing top-2 in OPS, and Quebecois Kevin Buchanan having the lowest season-ERA of anyone in the series. The Sox would host games 1, 2, 5, and 7, if it came to the latter two, having captured just a single win more across the season compared to the Homers (97/96), giving them the Blue Sox Stadium crowd in the majority of games, while the Homers were going to have the already three-times larger Elephant Stadium, also known as the home ground of the national team, in the middle of renovations supposed to about double the capacity of the stadium.

Game one in Rüsselsheim saw both teams put their aces on the bump, well rested after cruising through the DS; Buchanan vs. Sakaguchi. After Sakaguchi got through a clean first inning, Buchanan surrendered a 1st-inning RBI-double to Weber, giving the early lead to the home team; a lead the Sox didn’t relinquish as they continued piling on the runs. A solo-shot by Tom Abbott made it 2-0 in the second, A two-out rally punctuated by a 2-RBI single for Theriault made it 4-0 in the fourth, and a two-run home run in the fifth off the bat of Will Rentería made it 6-0 drove the Quebecois starter from the game before the Homers had even gotten on the board. They would eventually, but they never got close, and the game ended with a blowout 10-4 win for the Sox to start the series.

Game two saw Drawkian Rodriguez matched up with Zwangzugian Vocar-Dijo; and things started off quite similarly. Vocar-Dijo pitched a clean first frame, before Rodriguez allowed the Sox to get on the board first, this time via a Weber sac-fly. This time, however, the Homers brought some run support themselves, with Zimmerman bringing Cocrine home to tie the game; but the Sox quickly took control of the situation back with Remy Weber hitting his first home run of the series with runners on the corners, giving the Sox a big 4-1 lead. The Homers chipped away at it, with a Kennedy RBI-single in the 4th and a Ventura home run in the 5th bringing the game back within a single run, but once again, the Sox didn’t wait long, making it a two-run game again via a Theriault RBI-double, in the process also driving Rodriguez out of the game. In the seventh, the Homers loaded the bases with no outs against Vocar-Dijo, forcing the Sox to go to Morgan Hedegaard in the bullpen. The Llamanean managed to get out of it only surrendering a single run after turning a quick 4-6-3 double play against Albert Vaughn, scoring Zimmerman but leaving Moyamoto on third with two outs, before Thornton popped out harmlessly to preserve the lead for the Homers. Raitas Ranta quickly made the score 6-4 in the bottom of the same inning, restoring the same two-run difference. After Hedegaard finished the 8th after only a 2-out Horace Choo double and no further damage, it said the stage for Tom DiVicenzo to try to get the save against the scary part of the Homers’ line-up, still holding on to the 6-4 lead. Zimmerman struck out, before Moyamoto drew an 8-pitch walk, bringing the tying run to the plate. King popped out harmlessly, making Albert Vaughn the last man standing. He managed to put a single into right field, putting runners on the corners, with the Homers pinch-running at first base, which quickly brought the tying run to second via a stolen base on the first pitch. With the tying run in scoring position, it was on the young second basewoman Thornton to deliver, but her line drive was smothered up safely in the glove of Lucca Hahn. 2-0 series lead to the Sox.

Now, finally in Elephant Valley, the Homers had to act quickly to bring themselves back into this series. Jack Beard took the ball for the Homers against Hannasean Noah Harris. Both pitchers worked through a pair of clean innings before Beard surrendered the first run of the game, with Theriault taking a 2-out fastball deep to give the Sox a lead in the top of the third. The Homers never found an answer against Harris; while the Sox were once again able to pile on the damage, with a Ranta sac-fly in the fifth and a Mathis RBI-double in the sixth making it 3-0. The bottom of that frame saw the Homers finally get on the board with a Moyamoto RBI-single making it 3-1 and keeping the bases loaded with two outs, but Adam King failed to capitalise on the opportunity to pile on. The Sox, now going to the pen after getting 6 strong innings from Harris, were able to keep the Homers from getting any closer, before a towering two-run blast for Rémy Weber, the deepest home run of the playoffs so far, pushed the score to 5-1 in the ninth. Despite putting a pair of runners on in the 9th, the Homers could not undo this, and the Sox had themselves a 3-0 lead in the series.

In game four, Ericsson have Buchanan the ball on just three days’ rest. The Quebecois starter pitched only 4.2 innings in game one, but this was nevertheless an aggressive approach; but with their backs to the wall, the Homers weren’t confident in giving the ball to Myron Pacheco, the second-year starter who was just starting to hit his strides. The Sox, meanwhile, had the luxury to go down the road with Kohnheadian international Fletcher Crouch, who could not possibly operate on more rest after not pitching at all in the DS sweep over the Dragons. Both starters, anyhow, sustained their first damage in the second inning; after dispatching the scary top of the Sox’ lineup, Tom Abbott drove in a pair of runs in the top of the second with a two-RBI single down the right field line; Ventura had a chance to gun down Rentería at the plate with a perfect throw, but it was well short and off-line. As mentioned, the Homers were able to answer back with Adam King leading off the bottom of the second with a solo shot into deep left, but despite loading the bases after that, they were stuck with just the one run. In the fourth inning, the Blue Sox made another step towards a possible sweep by adding another run to their total, thanks to a two-out RBI-double by Aoyama, making it a 3-1 game. While Crouch cruised through the game, ending with a line of 7 IP, 1 ER, and just five hits, Buchanan was pulled after five strong innings on barely any rest, nevertheless on pace to take a second loss for the series. In fact, the Sox were close to adding on even more runs, loading ‘em up against Kyle Fang in the sixth, before he got bailed out by Mathis trying to go home on a shallow sacrifice fly, only to be gunned down by Zimmerman to keep it a two-run game. After Bert Hoosier and Crouch each pitched a clean seventh inning, the Sox were just six clean outs away from consecutive sweeps. Morgan Hedegaard, in the bottom of the eighth, did not get those outs; instead loading the bases with one out, prompting Tom DiVicenzo to try his hand at a 5-out save. He did only get one, striking out Zimmerman before Moyamoto came through with a clutch game-tying single to push this game into a tied ninth inning. Despite the fact that it was not a save situation, the Homers gave Chromatik closer Niles Pandolt to hold the line in this make-or-break inning, and he managed to do just that despite fellow Chromatik, Raitis Ranta, leading off with a double. Still tied, the game headed to the bottom of the ninth, where the Sox gave the ball to Gostaf Sjabard, opting to preserve DiVicenzo’s arm. Fellow Elephant Adam King drew a walk to lead off, before Sjabard struck out Vaughn, got Thornton to pop up, and again struck out Kennedy, bringing up Sylestonian Lachlan Cocrine with a man on and two outs. Sjabard left a changeup hanging in the middle of the plate, and the Sylestonian capitalised, walking the game off in style to push the series to a game five Rüsselsheim.

Game five, back in Rüsselsheim, saw the Homers make another risky decision playing Rodriguez on three days’ rest. Like Buchanan, he had gone less than five innings in his first start; but the Drawkian was well regarded as a workhorse starter who just ate innings for the Homers all season, and seemed ready to go for game 5 even on short rest, hoping to bounce back from the game 2 loss. Meanwhile, the Sox gave the ball to Griffin Gonzalez. The Llamanean playing in his second year after being drafted 4th-overall by the Sox was slowly developing, but this was certainly the highest leverage he’d ever played at. The Sox were hoping to preserve Sakaguchi for game one of the Multiverse Series, if that would be possible; clearly quite confident they would avoid the Homers completing the reverse-sweep. The Homers, however, came hungry out of the gate, with Ventura homering on the first pitch of the ball-game; but the Sox immediately struck back when Rodriguez surrendered a two-run home run to Weber, hitting his third homer of the series. The Sox added on in the second with an RBI-single for Taboada, while Gonzalez was able to hit his stride. At the end of the day, he’d gone six strong, allowing just two runs. That run, in the top of the sixth, wasn’t even earned, scored with two outs when a hard-hit ground ball by Kennedy got under the glove of Theriault, a rare error for the usually reliable shortstop. Nevertheless, that brought Adam King home to make it a 2-3 game. However, as we’ve seen so often in this series; whenever the Homers got close, the Sox usually had an answer. This time, that answer was a solo-shot for Lucca Hahn, with the Kohnheadian restoring the 2-run cushion, before a Tom Abbott single brought home another run in the 7th to make it 5-2. After allowing the Homers a comeback the day before in Elephant Valley; the Sox bullpen insured that this would not happen again. In fact, the final time through the lineup, the Homers did not manage to get on base once in the final three innings. With the Sox slamming the door on a comeback early, they’d won the series in 5, and were ready to face a difficult foe in the Multiversal Series, the champions of the SLLCS.

It's always easy to finger-point if you’re a Homers fan, but it is really hard to be to upset over this loss, given that the Sox had the better roster through and through. Nevertheless, it is slightly disappointing that their stars weren’t quite able to deliver. Buchanan and Rodriguez both started two games and did not win a game between them, though they both showed gutsy performances on short rest. Nevertheless, it seems maddening that their strongest players just didn’t quite manage to deliver, with King only going extra bases twice all series, while their biggest star, Shawn Zimmerman, failed to hit a home run and in general never quite came through in the important moments.

Elephant Valley Homers      0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2  4
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox        1 1 0 2 2 2 1 1 X 10

Elephant Valley Homers      0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0  4
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox        1 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 X  6

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox        0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2  5
Elephant Valley Homers      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox        0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
Elephant Valley Homers      0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2  5

Elephant Valley Homers      1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox        2 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 X  5

by **Super-Llamaland** » Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:35 pm

SLLCS: Nikcoro Suns @ New Llama Wizards

SLLCS GAME ONE
Nikcoro Suns                2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  3 
New Llama Wizards           3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  4 
W - Carmichael (1-1), L - Parrish (0-1), SV - Beux (1)
SLLCS GAME TWO
Nikcoro Suns                0 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 0  5 
New Llama Wizards           0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 X  6 
W - Scherer (1-0), L - Peterson (0-1)
SLLCS GAME THREE
New Llama Wizards           0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 1  6 
Nikcoro Suns                1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2 
W - Egozhevy (2-0), L - Nørregaard (0-1)
SLLCS GAME FOUR
New Llama Wizards           0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2 
Nikcoro Suns                0 1 0 5 0 0 0 4 X 10 
W - Parrish (1-1), L - Carmichael (1-2)
SLLCS GAME FIVE
Nikcoro Suns                0 4 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 10 
New Llama Wizards           0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  4 
W - Zhuang (2-0), L - Söderstrom (2-1)
SLLCS GAME SIX
New Llama Wizards      0 1 0 0 0 0 3 4 3 11 
Nikcoro Suns           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
W - Egozhevy (3-0), L - Nørregaard (0-2)
Wizards win the series, 4-2.

by **Super-Llamaland** » Sat Jul 09, 2022 4:21 pm

MS: Rüsselsheim Blue Sox @ New Llama Wizards

It breaks your heart.
The stadium is full, all forty-three thousand seats in Tyler Rocke occupied by nervous, shifting fans, but Will Rentería stands alone in the batter’s box. It’s not quite the “bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, full count, two outs” scenario that every kid dreams about, even if the stage of the Multiverse Series is a relatively young one. But it’s pretty close. The LPB championship has come to the top of the ninth, in game seven, in a one-run game. There are runners on the corners, second base staying unoccupied for now, but the count is full, and Rentería’s Rüsselsheim Blue Sox are down to their final out. The game is simple for Rentería. A hit would be ideal, but a walk would still load the bases and give Tom Abbott a chance to be the hero. On the other hand, any out ends the season.

Hahn and Weber take their leads, and sixty feet away, Chromatik flamethrower Vette Beux steels herself for the sixth and final pitch of the at-bat. The crowd is deafening.

It is designed to break your heart.
The Blue Sox have been clawing back from early holes for the entire series. It wasn’t like this before the Wizards, of course. They won ninety-seven games in the regular season, best in the nation, before almost contemptuously disposing of Masmow in the SNLDS in the minimum three games. The Homers had at least managed to get on the board in the SNLCS, but still Rüsselsheim had barely broken a sweat en route to the Multiverse Series. They had an almost obscene starting rotation and a similarly stacked offense. Nobody in South Newlandia had even gotten close to them, and now they were hoping to win a second LPB title for South Newlandia. Viewed next to their roster that read like a WBC all-star game lineup, the Wizards almost seemed pedestrian in comparison. The front of their rotation could match up with anybody, sure, but Carmichael, Söderstrom, and Egozhevy had been ridden to the ground just to squeeze by the Lions and Suns. And while their lineup had superstars like George Ducat and Summer Huang, it also had a few holes. They might have had the better regular-season roster, but the Blue Sox were still reasonably favored going into the series.

All that had changed when they arrived in New Llama City.

The game begins in the spring,
It hadn’t been a traditional blowout. They hadn’t clearly been overmatched from the first out, and had even had their chances in the first inning when Remy Weber doubled Jack Theriault to third. But they hadn’t converted, and then the slow, steady drip of Wizards runs had began. Two in the third, on a little dinked George Ducat single and a flared double from Miranda Gray, was acceptable. Another in the fourth after yet another squandered Blue Sox chance, slightly less so. But when Juzo Sakaguchi of all people got lit up for four runs in the fifth, that was when they knew this series would be different. Sakaguchi left after Summer Huang’s two-run triple, but the bullpen crumbled even faster than the Quodite had. Two more gut-punch rallies late, despite the Blue Sox finally getting on the board, turned a baseball game into a funeral procession. The Wizards had just hung fifteen runs on arguably the best pitching staff in the league.

Nobody said a word in the clubhouse afterwards.

when everything else begins again…
So they’d had to reset, and fast, after how thoroughly they’d been eviscerated. But, just like every other time they’d needed him, Rudolph Vocar-Dijo had stepped up to the plate, tossing six sparkling shutout innings, striking out nine to just one hit and one walk. The offense had a solid game, getting on the board early against Kai Söderstrom and tacking on late insurance with a two-run blast from Tom Abbott, but it was barely needed.

For Blue Sox fans, the series had finally begun.

…and it blossoms in the summer…
And the next night, it was their turn to administer a beating. But not the way the Wizards had in game one, by toying with them a little, giving them some chances, before bringing the hammer down with eight runs in the seventh and eighth frames. This was a more traditional rout, laced with visceral anger over game one and blatant disrespect for the unlucky Bedin Egozhevy. The Delaclav had quietly been the team’s best pitcher throughout the playoffs, but that ended with the first pitch of Game Three, which was calmly deposited 428 feet into right-center by Raitis Ranta. Five batters later, after Ranta and Theriault had already come around to score, it was Will Rentería who had stepped up with the bases full and cleared them with a thundering triple down the line. Egozhevy had been taken out after that, still not having gotten a single out.

So the top of the bullpen had come out to try to salvage the game for the Wizards…and given up six more runs in two miserable, drawn-out innings full of HBPs and sac flies and singles just out of the defense’s reach like drips of rubbing alcohol in a cut. Having fully given up by now, Nikki Wang threw the end of the bullpen in, and watched in silent fury as they pitched five shutout innings. The hope of game two had progressed to a return of the quiet arrogance that had floated them through the SNL half of the bracket.

filling the afternoons and evenings…
But that was not a feeling they could afford to have, even at home with the chance to go up 3-1 in the Multiverse Series. Against some teams, the Blue Sox might have had time to play out the nerves and reacclimate to the highest standard of competition. Against the 106-54 New Llama Wizards, even the slightest misstep could prove fatal. And that night in Rüsselsheim, it was Will Rentería’s misstep that put the Blue Sox in a deep hole early on. In the top of the second inning, Kohnhead’s Fletcher Crouch gets into a bit of a jam, allowing George Ducat, Vincent Veltrone, and Devon Jimenez to reach base in order. Victoria Irving steps up and hits what should be a sacrifice fly - but Rentería is just a step slow in reacting to the windy Rüsselsheim sky, and misplays the ball at the wall, clearing the bases just as Rentería had the night before. Rüsselsheim fights back to the best of their ability - Videtake Aoyama, Jason Mathis, and the confusingly red-hot Tom Abbott all drive in runs, the latter two coming on solo shots - and load the bases in the bottom of the ninth down 4-3. But Vette Beux manages to escape yet another jam, and the Wizards have levelled the series.

“If we lose this series,” a tired Ember Marshall says after the final out ends a four-hour-long game filled to the brim with runners stranded in scoring position, “it’ll be because we didn’t take full advantage of the opportunities we were given.” The fight for Esportivan baseball now comes down to a best of three.

…and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone.
History will most remember Juzo Sakaguchi’s performance in the Multiverse Series for the 15-6 meltdown in game one. The fact that only five runs were scored off of Sakaguchi, and the majority of the fifteen runs were scored in the seventh and eighth innings, will be buried in memes. If his game five is mentioned at all, it will be a mere footnote that focuses on the fact that the Blue Sox lost to fall behind 3-2 in the series. But today, the Quodite ace is let down by his team. He gives up a solo home run to the incredible George Ducat in the first inning, and for a moment Rüsselsheim worries that another 15 is going to show up on the scoreboard. But although he gives up another run in the second, it’s entirely unearned, coming from Taboada and Abbott errors and a few productive outs. And he proceeds to retire eleven batters in order, leaving with 5 innings of one*-run ball. But he gets only Jack Theriault’s RBI single for run support. And the moment he leaves, a bullpen that was so reliable during the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs drops the ball again, putting the Blue Sox down 4-1 as Huang and Ducat run rampant. Even when the Blue Sox claw back, with Rentería’s solo home run and Raitis Ranta’s RBI double (can Emil Hurley do that?) narrowing the gap again, a third run conceded by the bullpen is too much to come back from.

When Jan Scherer slams the door on a 5-3 win, the Wizards are suddenly one game away from winning the Multiverse Series. But like game one, the Blue Sox quickly come together and resolve not to let the Wizards win in their house. Nobody says this louder than Will Rentería, who knows his home run was not enough to make up for the costly mistake he made in game four.

You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time…
But there would be no need for offensive heroics in game six. There rarely is when it’s the playoffs and Rudolph Vocar-Dijo is your starter. While not even the most optimistic of fans could’ve expected him to better his six shutout innings in game two, he did just that, this time going seven and one-thirds before handing things to the steady Tom DiVincenzo for a five-out save. Twelve strikeouts, two walks, and three hits marked Vocar-Dijo’s final line, rendering run support basically unnecessary. This was convenient, as Bedin Egozhevy had also pitched a beautiful game, slipping in the second and fifth innings but otherwise doing the best he could. Jason Mathis drove in both runs, but Vocar-Dijo was undeniably the hero.

So after 1956 games between 24 teams, it would all come down to one last game between two.

…to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive…
The first three innings of Game Seven feature Rüsselsheim at their best. In the top halves of the innings, they work the count, forcing Kelsie Carmichael to labor for every single out, and make the most of their chances. Carmichael is mostly good enough to keep them down still, but they make their presence known in the batter’s box. Lucca Hahn doubles home Jack Theriault in the first to ensure that the Blue Sox would dictate the flow of the game, and Theriault pays it forward in the top of the third, plating unlikely star Tom Abbott with a run-scoring single. On defense, they ride their dominant starting pitcher - today is Noah Harris’s turn in the rotation - and avoid mistakes. While a few chances are missed in the fourth and sixth innings, Carmichael recovering from a shaky start to finish a quality start, they remain in control.

Then the bullpen fucks it again. When Harris, instructed by Ember Marshall to pitch as hard as he can, starts to run out of gas in the bottom of the sixth, the Blue Sox react quickly and bring on Facundo Saavedra Cicerón with runners on first and second and one out. It does not work. Two batters later, George Ducat and Vincent Veltrone have struck again, and it’s a tie game. Will Rentería manages to reclaim the lead in the top of the seventh with a long home run, but he knows it’s only redemption if the team wins. And in the bottom of the seventh, Gostaf Sjabard and Morgan Hedegaard contrive to give up two more runs, Nikko Norsholm’s double driving the Wizards ahead again.

The next three half-innings are quiet. And suddenly it’s Vette Beux stepping up to find the last three outs on a whirlwind of a series. It’s not expected to be easy. And the Blue Sox put up a fight, first Lucca Hahn working a walk, then Jason Mathis singling him to third, to bring Will Rentería up. He works the count full, then waits…

and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most…
The milliseconds turn to hours as Vette Beux winds up to deliver a perfect knockout slider on the outside edge - a pitch that couldn’t be taken or swung at with much confidence. But Rentería is ready for it, reaching out and making contact - not exactly barrelling it, but delivering a slicing, knuckling line drive into shallow right. It’s not clearly a hit, with the backtracking Devon Jimenez and Drawkian veteran Victoria Irving both running after it. It’s not clearly an out, either, with the ball slicing away from the both of them. Weber takes off; he’ll score comfortably if the ball lands. Hahn, who was off with the pitch, digs down and prepares to go for third base. He represents the go-ahead run if Tom Abbott is given the chance to drive him in.

Two nations hold their breath. Rentería needs the ball to land. It must land.

it stops.
Victoria Irving lays out onto the grass and plucks the third out from the air.

MULTIVERSE SERIES GAME ONE
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1  6
New Llama Wizards         0 0 2 1 4 0 4 4 X 15
W - Carmichael (2-1), L - Sakaguchi (2-1)
MULTIVERSE SERIES GAME TWO
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (0-1)     1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0  5
New Llama Wizards (1-0)        0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
W - Vocar-Dijo (3-0), L - Söderstrom (2-2)
MULTIVERSE SERIES GAME THREE
New Llama Wizards (1-1)        0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  4
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (1-1)     5 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 X 12
W - Frazier (2-1), L - Egozhevy (3-1)
MULTIVERSE SERIES GAME FOUR
New Llama Wizards (1-2)        0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  4
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (2-1)     0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  3
W - Carmichael (3-1), L - Crouch (1-1), SV - Beux (2)
MULTIVERSE SERIES GAME FIVE
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (2-2)     0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  3
New Llama Wizards (2-2)        1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 X  5
W - Söderstrom (3-2), L - Sakaguchi (2-2), SV - Scherer (1)
MULTIVERSE SERIES GAME SIX
New Llama Wizards (3-2)        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (2-3)     0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 X  2
W - Vocar-Dijo (4-0), L - Egozhevy (3-2), SV - DiVicenzo (4)
MULTIVERSE SERIES GAME SEVEN
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox (3-3)     1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  3
New Llama Wizards (3-3)        0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 X  4
W - Vandenberg (1-0), L - Hedegaard (0-1), SV - Beux (3)
Wizards win the series, 4-3.

by **South Newlandia** » Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:09 pm

Disclaimers:
* this RP series may, on occasion, mention numbers about your players. Feel free to ignore them if you don’t like them; but keep in mind that scoring rates are lower in the LPB, with roughly 10% fewer runs than in the MLB.
* quick note on amateur draft grades: S+ is best, followed by S, A, B, C, D, F)

South Newlandian League

Roster Movements, Drafts, Rosters – Part 1

SNL North

Elephant Valley Homers

Offseason Movements:
Coming off of two consecutive SNL North titles, but with neither of those ending in satisfying playoff runs, the Homers, still led by a trio of Elephant stars in the lineup, a pair of strong starting pitchers and a solid bullpen, were going to try to run it back once again. However, with the roster slowly aging, Tanya Ericsson would have a difficult task on her hands, with the Llamanean not exactly helped by extremely few offseason additions. While the team lost long-time contributors in reliever Bert Hoosier and a pair of would-be third-season infielders to Anaia, mainly second baseman Val Thornton and Albert Vaughn, both having been high draft picks, the Homers only added two meaningful players in the offseason via free agency; that being long reliever Dennis Miles, with the former Elephant having been cut by the Sun City Flames; and fellow former Elephant second baseman Igor White, pried off of Elephant Valley United across the city. With both men in their mid-30s and far beyond their best days, barring a massive surprise, neither of them will contribute too much to the team.

Draft: (Position: 20)
The draft was slightly more promising. Holding the 20th and 44th selections, the Homers packaged the 20th pick along with their first-round selection next year to land the Stingrays’ 11th-overall pick, which they spent on Andrea Pellegrino; an S-graded prospect at second base. Pellegrino’s balanced skillset will allow the South Newlandian hopefully to seamlessly replace Val Thornton. With the 44th pick, the Homers added Preston Barnes, 22-year-old Llamanean relief pitcher, graded as a D-ranked prospect, to fill out their bullpen; Barnes has a great, hard-breaking slider, but not much else to speak of. Later, they also added a C-graded shortstop prospect in Fatima da Silva that somehow fell out of the first two rounds, who showed impressive plate discipline, but very little with his actual bat; the South Newlandian could be a replacement for Moyamoto eventually at best, but more likely projects as an utility infielder.

Outlook:
The Homers’ grip on the North is certainly loosening; despite still having an impressive selection of elite players, including a pair of strong starting pitchers in Quebecois Kevin Buchanan and Drawkian Darien Rodriguez, along with Niles Pandolt handling closer duties in the bullpen; and a stacked lineup featuring Quebecois catcher Horace Choo, one of the best players to ever suit up for Chromatika (Alisen Moyamoto at SS) and one of the best players ever to suit up for South Newlandia (Shawn Zimmerman in CF) alongside King and Ventura; but at the same time, it’s impossible to ignore the warning sign that all those players listed are on the wrong side of thirty, much like some other key contributors to this team. The championship window for this team can only remain open for so long, and the Homers will need to make the most of their opportunity while they can. With a notable lack of star offseason additions, these Homers may struggle to do that.

Masmow Dragons

Offseason Movements:
After surprising by winning the wildcard game over the Newport Dolphins, the Masmow Dragons were quickly flushed out by the Blue Sox; nevertheless, they had played above .500 yet again, and are presenting as serious challengers to the rest of the South Newlandian league yet again. First, however, they’ll have to replace some key losses; losing a pair of Dragonflies in Len Pijpenbroek and Denis Caamano in the line-up, along with fan favourite starter Jeff Bitches from Qasden, to Anaia. They were able to make a few additions, signing second baseman Samuel Winter from the Dachshunds in free agency, with the man from Ethane projected to start at second base, and trading for Right Fielder Josh Ludwig, sending 1B Bucky Jimenez to the Saints instead, who was clearly never going to see playing time behind Gabriel Acosta. However, the big signings were from outside the LPB; with the Dragons being able to add a pair of Drawkian WBC starters, namely elite starting pitcher Leo Roy and Designated Hitter Franky Jones, who are surely going to make this squad even better.

Draft: (Position: 14)
The Masmow Dragons entered the LPB draft without holding a pick in either the first or the second round, the only SNL team to do that; having traded those picks away in deals that landed them Catcher Laure Valle and RF Sophie Lawrence respectively. However, that doesn’t mean the Dragons didn’t stay active on draft day. They were able to mortgage more of their future by giving up their next first-round selection to St. Riecarn in exchange for the 28th and 30th pick. They spent the 28th on 2B Emmy St. Clair, expected to split some time with Winter. The Llamanean is a decent contact hitter with little pop, projected with a B-grade. The 30th pick went into Llamanean Annie Klostermann, a relief pitching prospect with a C-grade and decent velo, although her command needs work. Later, the Dragons also added an F-graded shortstop, South Newlandian Vega Chevalier. The teenager has a little bit of everything, but nowhere enough to move the needle; he’s expected to be a utility man at best.

Outlook:
The Dragons are definitely still competing. One of their big strengths, surely, is the four-headed beast that is their starting rotation, featuring the aforementioned Leo Roy, Elephant Jay Kramer, Solderan David Maxwell, and Julia Donaldson from Newmanistan. They also have Llamanean international Justin Frazier, alongside Elephants’ closer Barnaby Butt, who turned in a perfect report card in WBC54; for a playoff-calibre pitching staff. The lineup is stacked, too, featuring Chromatik internationals in catcher Laure Valle and shortstop Molina Ishkaya, Llamanean international Acosta, the reigning MVP, at first base, Elephant Daryl Dunlop in left field, and Lexi Burrows from Newmanistan at third base, and the earlier mentioned Franky Jones from Drawkland. All told, this is a playoff calibre team; however, in a tough division, the Dragons, who are led by experienced yet boring Jack Kingsman as manager, who are also dealing with a growing relocation threat in the small market of Masmow, will certainly face some uphill battles.

Ruditown Dachshunds

Offseason Movements:
It’s not easy to be a Dachshunds fan. After two consecutive years of ~.500 ball that each resulted in no playoffs, missing out by three games and by a literal tiebreaker game respectively, the Dachshunds are facing a bit of a transition. Nova Anglican Lee Bradley still holds the reigns, but the roster saw some turnover. The bullpen lost Elephant Samuel Vaughn (to Anaia), and Erik McGuire from Nova Anglicana (free agency, to Xingcheng); but the lineup was almost picked clean completely. No longer employed by the Dachshunds are (inhales) first baseman Fred Hodgson from Bollonich (also Anaia-bound), second baseman Samuel Winter from Ethane (free agency, to Masmow), third baseman Angela Bengtsson (traded to Vargas City in her home country), Ko-orenite Left Fielder Mason Bennett (Anaia-bound), Center Fielder Rufus Salas (traded to St. Riecarn), and also Center Fielder Lucas Robinson, with the outfielder from Ethane joining Elephant Valley United in free agency. So, who did they get in return? In the Bengtsson trade, they landed Llamanean international relief pitcher Kris Headley, and in the Salas trade, they picked up catcher Wilson Moore from the Newport Owls in a three-team deal. The rest of the additions came from outside the LPB; with the addition of a pair of Nova Angliacan pitching prospects in Ian Klein and Jason Saunders, and a pair of young players from Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom in 2B Uros Josipic and CF/RF Lukas Halein. However, the big additions were undoubtedly adding LF Killian O'Mally, a TJUN-ian international (the fourth on this team btw) in free agency from Sun City, and securing Vincent Saint-Denis. The elite first baseman from Nova Anglicana will be one of the faces of the team.

Draft: (Position: 13)
Due to the Jose Almas trade of the previous season, the Dachshunds did not have a first-round pick; instead holding picks 25 and 37. They did trade up back into thr first, to 22, giving up picks 25 and a future second, which landed them Miles Feliciano, a teenage Llamanean B-grade prospect in Right Field, a decent hitter but questionable fielder who will struggle to stay in the outfield. With the 37th, the Dachshunds added David Lange, a fellow Right Fielder from South Newlandia, considered a C-grade prospect, who has great plate discipline, but lacks a great throwing arm in the outfield. Both are likely to see play at DH or as utility outfielders in their first year.

Outlook:
It’s an interesting year for sure for the Dachshunds. They still have four TJUN-ian internationals (SP Almac and Almas, and OF O’Mally and Moires), and added Saint-Denis, but the lineup as a whole still lacks some serious star power beyond those five. With how stacked the North is, it’s difficult to project the Dachshunds as a playoff team, but they will likely not be terrible, either. It could very much end up being a transition year for the Dachshunds.

Elephant Valley United

Offseason Movements:
Elephant Valley United is coming off a pair of last-place finishes in the SNL; falling from a very reasonable 85-75 to a very terrible 67-93. On top of that, the team is playing with a new manager, and lost some key pieces in the offseason. They lost former Evan Masorka [re: Cy Young] winner Hillary Angelou back to Anaia, along a pair of lineup contributors in 2B Arpit Seth and CF Harper Yumizuka from Diarcesia; and they weren’t able to hold on to Brookstation international reliever Connor Harris, who left for Walstreim in free agency. They also failed to hang on to corner infielder Wota Radinka, who left for Peninsulara, and Igor White, who went to the Homers across the city. So, this team is terrible, and going to tank? Not so fast.
The new manager, who was formerly with the Ranorian Krauts’ coaching staff, Jonas Nuhl, has some new additions for himself as well. OF Lucas Robinson was added in free agency from Ruditown, and, more notably, the team added a quintet – yes, five – of Ranorians. These include Yahweh "The Cannon" Bohannon, who is a teenage pitching prospect with an epic name, and 2B John Solomons, also a teenager, slightly less epic name. On top of that are three established Krauts – SP Jorge Billing is a true ace to pair with Conroy who could very well replace Angelou if all goes well. Miellen Walker is a lockdown closer. Both Billing and Walker are also under 25; but that’s not to forget the biggest signing. Shortstop Leonardo Harrison, one of the most recognisable names in baseball, has signed with Elephant Valley United as well.
We’re not done, either. EVU also added a pair of internationals from Tikariot, reliever Nicholas Canterbury and 3B Foster Fleming, and a young outfielder who already made national team noise with Dotivija in Ivana Lozanović. That’s a quick roster overhaul.

Draft: (Position: 6)
And lets not forget the draft, either. Holding picks 6 and 27, United was able to get SP Brandon Jackson 6th-overall. The S-graded pitching prospect is extremely raw, but also extremely promising, featuring an upper-90s fastball he still needs to fully tame. He’ll come out of the bullpen at the beginning of the season, thanks to a strong, deep United pitching depth chart. At 27, they added 2B Maxine Eckstein, who is undersized, but far from without talent. The B-graded prospect will provide, if nothing else, solid utility in tandem with Solomons.

Outlook:
All of a sudden, EVU is right back in the conversation. Led by a great pitching unit headlined with Conroy and Billing, followed by one of the best bullpens that among Jackson, Walker and Canterbury also features Llamanean international Connor Reefe, and a fantastic lineup that beyond the aforementioned additions in Solomons, Harrison, Fleming, and Lozanović also still has Tikariotian internationals Carlton Baines and Bronson Ghirardello, another Kraut in LF Julian Breit, and former first-overall picked Hansel Eriksen at catcher, who’s already making noise in Super-Llamaland. Somehow, this is all of a sudden an elite group that can challenge for the SNL North or more; provided that Jonas Nuhl is able to make everything come together in year one. On paper, this squad is terrific, but there might very well be some growing pains along the way.

EVSM Estimated odds of | Winning the division | Making the playoffs
Elephant Valley Homers: 34% | 60%
Masmow Dragons: 25% | 48%
Ruditown Dachshunds: 5% | 13%
Elephant Valley United: 36% | 59%

by **South Newlandia** » Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:10 pm

Roster Movements, Drafts, Rosters – Part 2

SNL Central

Rüsselsheim Blue Sox

Offseason Movements:
It breaks your heart, is all you can really say. The Sox were the team to beat in the LPB, and the Wizards beat them in seven games in the final. The Sox, having taken an SNL title for the first time in decades, are now going to try to run it back, with most of the absolutely elite players back aboard, but many key roleplayers missing that they’ll have to replace. They saw two key Ko-orenite starters leave for home, catcher Aoyama and third baseman Taboada, and also lost Hannasean starting pitcher Noah Harris in the same direction. As if those weren’t costly enough, they also were unable to hang on to some other players, with ex-Elephant RP Sjabard and their blooming 2B Carolyn Sexton heading for South Falls in free agency, utility infielder Bob Flowers jumping ship to their biggest rivals in the Dolphins. They only made two meaningful signings themselves in the off-season; Starting Pitcher Mark Warren, who will be the second player from Sanford on the roster, and, more importantly, Naritoshi Tachikake, who will be the new backstop. With experience in the national team of Quintessence of Dust, this will hopefully prove to be an upgrade over Aoyama; but with every other team entering the space race, the Sox are treading water at best, and it’s hard to predict them to run the country again.

Draft: (Position: 21)
At 21, the Sox drafted Cade Templeton; a Llamanean teenager to play third. Considered a B-ranked recruit, the infielder with high home run potential will step into the lineup immediately, although splitting some time with Sneider; but with their defence not quite sharpened properly yet, they’ll certainly still a bit of a project, with the Sox hoping that they can outgrow the billing. Cade was the only high pick for the Sox, as they were without a second-rounder, having traded it in the deal that landed them RP Cicerón from Peninsulara.

Outlook:
The Sox definitely still have one of the best teams in South Newlandia, but domination like the previous season would be a surprise. The starting rotation is still one of the best in baseball, headed by Qoudite Juzo Sakaguchi, Rudolph Vocar-Dijo of Zwangzug, and Fletcher Crouch from Kohnhead, all three of which have national team experience; and rounded out with Griffin Gonzalez, who is expected to make another jump in season three, and the new addition in Mark Warren. However, the bullpen, while decent, isn’t quite as good as some others (although it still features a pair of NT-experineced players in Hannasean DiVicenzo and Llamanean Morgan Hedegaard). The lineup is good too; they’ll surely have great defense with Chromatik National Teamer Raitis Ranta and Quodite NTer Jack Theriault locking down the infield, and Lucca Hahn patrolling Center Field; and there’s the great power of the bats of Rémy Weber, another Quodite, and Llamanean NTer Will Rentería. It’s a good team, and one that has decent chances at making the playoffs, but it’s hard to imagine another run as deep as the previous one. However, the sun isn’t setting on the Sox quite so fast; Ranta, Theriault, and Gonzalez are still relatively young, and with the right pieces around them, they can keep prospering.

Newport Dolphins

Offseason Movements:
It was a title defense that was cut short immediately. The season hadn’t gone perfectly, but a home wildcard game against Masmow should have been winnable. Instead, the Dolphins went home without winning a playoff game. Well, they’re going to be back with a vengeance. They’ve constructed a true super-team. They managed to limit the damage of the incoming problem of “how do we pay all the players”, although they still lost Garry Gordon and a pair of Ko-orenites in RP Wakajoshi and LF Paterson to Anaia – fine players, certainly, but not quite the faces of the team, either – and they held on to everything but first baseman Alvin Jimenez, who’s spot will be occupied by Kelly Tallis shifting across the diamond anyway. Jimenez heads to Kyrinson. Who did the Dolphins get in return? Bob Flowers joined as a backup infielder in free agency, but that’s not who matters. Instead, the signed Boom Tekblam, already a fan favourite just based on the name alone, from Milchama, and they added a trio of hyphenated Zwangzugians in SP Julian Mecc-Sanders, RP Leslie Caell-Amoy, and third baseman Enrico Nieves-Gau. Where they find all the money to make those additions is beyond me, but it leaves the team absolutely stacked.

Draft: (Position: 18)
Initially, the Dolphins entered the draft with only a second-round selection, having traded their first to South Bryant to land Kalberg. However, they made a big jump by giving up Adam Gilchrest, their starting pitcher from Ethane, and their second-rounder to trade into the 24th slot from the New Llama Wizards. There, they selected a new left fielder to step in for Paterson, picking B-graded recruit Stephen Morgan, a quick-footed South Newlandian who’s supposed to plug in right away.

Outlook:
The Dolphins have a ridiculously stacked team now. 16 players that played in WBC54 for various national teams; that including four starters (Hunter, Gonzalo, Kalberg (QOD) and new addition Mecc-Sanders (ZWZ)), four arms in the bullpen (Benoît Beaufils, also from Quintessence of Dust, who will be closing; Y. P. Ying (SLL), and the new additions from Milchama and Zwangzug respectively) and 8 players in the lineup – in other words, literally everyone except for Morgan, who they just selected in the first round. Tallis, Annovar, Chevalier, not to mention Moore, Drum, and Larsen – you probably know some of those names already. It’s hard to see the Dolphins missing the playoffs under any circumstances, and looking at both the ages of their players and the state of their salary cap, farm, and draft capital, this is Multiversal Champion or bust for the Fins.

Newport Owls

Offseason Movements:
Two consecutive seasons, the Owls have punched well above their weight, often staying relevant in the playoff picture for far longer than expected. There’s something to this team that just seems to invite a certain type of chaos ball, but we don’t know yet if the team can necessarily back that up. This season, anyway, could very well get hard for Owls fans to stomach – not only have the Dolphins built a juggernaut across own, but the Owls have torn it down in a big way, with unforeseen effects. No fewer than eight players left the ballclub, including their ace, Miles Savey, who’s heading home to Chromatika, and Matt Townsend, one of their bullpen arms from Nova Anglicana, who left in free agency. They also lost two former first round picks, SP Isabella Hart, and C Wilson Moore; with the former Anaia-bound and the latter joining Ruditown as part of a three-way deal. Long-time outfielder Liam Desjardins (Anaia), 1B/DH Kurt Sweet (free agency, to New Llama Wizards), SS Jeremy Moss (traded to Denison) and failed DH experiment Israel Harper, who they acquired from Peninsulara (traded to Sun City) round out the losses. So, who’s coming in? In the trades already mentioned, the Owls landed RP Richie Higgins, a former SNBL first-round pick; C Morgan Hunter, and Southpaw starting pitcher Jaden Calderón. In other words, a few nice pieces to work with, but not why you’re here. They also added six other players from outside the LPB; for one, there’s starting pitcher Morrigan Lyall, who will be the first player in the LPB from Brenecia; she doesn’t have overwhelming stuff, but can eat innings nonetheless. There’s also another pair of players from Eshialand to make a trio with Brentwood; with Hannah Gray expected to be the ace of the rotation, and Kevin Dunbar providing reliable defense at short. Like Brentwood, they’re all national teamers. Last, but certainly not least, there’s a trio of fielders from Gortelekua, with catcher Adrian Bautista, shortstop turned third baseman Veronika Santiago, and young left fielder Gunvor Ready.

Draft: (Position: 12)
The Owls eventually landed with the 16th pick, having traded their first-rounder to Malidridad, but they still had the 17th pick after trading for it from Nikcoro. For cash considerations, they swapped that with the 16th of Kyrinson (a pick Kyrinson only had after getting it from South Falls). Anyhow, the Owls selected Alexander Chand 16th-overall, with the South Newlandian Right Field A-graded recruit projected to be a significant power threat, but with his plate discipline still needing major work. Later on, they also got their hands on starting pitcher Nicholas Cox, who had been considered an F-grade recruit; the Owls will try to have him out of the pen at first, but it remains to be seen if they can get any use out of the South Newlandian.

Outlook:
It’s hard to see the Owls work their magic to end up in the playoff hunt again. This is, by all means, a capable team; but they lack the kinds of star power other teams have. They still have their three stars from Newmanistan, including Harlow, Brooke Sauter, and former reliever of the year closer Paige Bell, but entering their thirties, they’re all slowly starting to trend down. This shouldn’t be a terrible team by any means, but they fail to excel in any particular area, and are unlikely to remain in the playoff hunt as long again.

Sophie City Monarchs

Offseason Movements:
The Monarchs have officially established themselves as a bottom-feeder in Llamaphant Pro Baseball, just a few seasons removed from being the final South Newlandian Baseball League champion. Sure, that team had already been lightning in a bottle, punching far above their weight all season, but the Monarchs still don’t seem to quite have moved on. Maybe, that’s until now. Sophie City has decided to split up with their championship-winning coach, and gave the job to Phurwa Thapa from the Sherpa Empire. Having previous experience with one of the premier national teams in Esportiva, she’ll bring fresh wind and more – but let’s get into the losses first. Surprisingly, the Monarchs just about retained all their players despite a 100-loss season. Sure, the three players that are heading to Anaia - Jasmine Daniels, a former SNBL 1st-round selection, and Tina Ross and Phoebe Ross, each young, solid bats - will certainly be missed. They also saw ex-Elephant George Webber hang up the cleats; but that’s about it. Meanwhile, there were a couple notable additions. Phurwa Thapa brought along a player from the Sherpa national team, shortstop Kai Liao, who will be a significant boost, and the team also brought in a pair of outfielders from the Licentian Isles in Nat McCann and Harriet Wright, who will likely patrol the large Monarchs’ outfield in Sophie City Field. They also brought in ex-Mariner Andrea Montanari in free agency.

Draft: (Position: 2)
The Monarchs certainly had a draft you could describe as dubious. While they chose not to make a pick among the top prospects including King or Sündstrom at the #2 pick they held (instead trading it to South Bryant for more picks), they picked 5 times within the first two rounds, including 4 in the first 26 picks, although without netting a single digit pick. They focused on pitching development, drafting four pitchers in total. 18-year old Ramirez, the tenth pick, provides the most upside, although he’ll pitch out of the bullpen for now. Shaw, Bauer, and Harvey are all solid pieces, and could provide good depth for a core of stars the Monarchs just do not have. Arthur White, for a change, is a slugger for the outfield, or as Designated Hitter.

Outlook:
This team has a surprising number of decent pieces. They’ve added some significant pitching depth, and they have a rock-solid infield between Cody Frazier of Sarzonia, Malika Bains (one of two Elephants next to RP Abby Conrad), Kai Liao and the rapidly ascending Leo Jimenez. They have good pieces, for sure, but they lack the kinds of star power you can’t go without if you want to compete. Make no mistake, this is a team that can play good baseball every evening, but good enough to play playoff baseball, with how strong these rosters have become? Surely not.

EVSM Estimated odds of | Winning the division | Making the playoffs
Rüsselsheim Blue Sox: 35% | 73%
Newport Dolphins: 58% | 92%
Newport Owls: 5% | 26%
Sophie City Monarchs: 1% | 4%

Llamaphant Pro Baseball (CLOSED) -> Season 4 Posted

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