WBC 55 - Drawkland Road Trip

[Drawkland]

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CUTOFF for MD3 and MD4!
Enjoy today's cutoff song!

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METRO DISTRICT (GROUP A)

Furilisca                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Cassadaigua                  0 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 X  5

Kriegiersien                 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2  5
Drawkland                    0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

South Americanastan          0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1  4
Pizorty                      0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 2  6

Cassadaigua                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4  5
Pizorty                      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Drawkland                    0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 0  5
South Americanastan          6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 X  7

Furilisca                    0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Kriegiersien                 4 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 X 12

  Metro District (A)          Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Cassadaigua                   4    3   1    23   11  +12    0.750
2 Pizorty                       4    2   2    13   15   −2    0.500
3 South Americanastan           4    2   2    20   20    0    0.500
4 Kriegiersien                  4    2   2    20   11   +9    0.500
5 Drawkland                     4    2   2    20   19   +1    0.500
6 Furilisca                     4    1   3     7   27  −20    0.250

NORTHWEST (GROUP B)

TJUN-ia                      1 4 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 10
Anthor                       0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  6

Godchouzetsu                 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2
Rouyoute                     1 0 0 3 0 2 0 3 X  9

Brookstation                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  3
Chromatika                   0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4

Anthor                       0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
Chromatika                   0 0 3 1 1 3 1 0 X  9

Rouyoute                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Brookstation                 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 3 X  7

TJUN-ia                      0 0 0 6 1 1 0 0 0  8
Godchouzetsu                 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

  Northwest (B)               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Chromatika                    4    4   0    36   11  +25    1.000
2 Rouyoute                      4    3   1    31   14  +17    0.750
3 Brookstation                  4    2   2    20   16   +4    0.500
4 TJUN-ia                       4    2   2    22   37  −15    0.500
5 Godchouzetsu                  4    1   3    17   29  −12    0.250
6 Anthor                        4    0   4    14   33  −19    0.000

NORTHEAST (GROUP C)

South Newlandia              2 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 2 10
The Greater Nordics          0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  3

Catholic America             0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  3
Venmere                      0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

The Orion Islands            0 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 1  7
Eshialand                    1 4 0 0 1 0 0 2 X  8

The Greater Nordics          4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  7
Eshialand                    1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  8

Venmere                      0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2
The Orion Islands            0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 X  3

South Newlandia              1 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 1  6
Catholic America             0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2

  Northeast (C)               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 South Newlandia               4    4   0    25   10  +15    1.000
2 Eshialand                     4    3   1    25   21   +4    0.750
3 Catholic America              4    2   2    10   14   −4    0.500
4 The Orion Islands             4    2   2    22   21   +1    0.500
5 The Greater Nordics           4    1   3    20   30  −10    0.250
6 Venmere                       4    0   4     6   12   −6    0.000

KAYO'S EASTLANDS (GROUP D)

The Star Empire              1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  4
Delaclava                    1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  3

Bohr                         3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  5
Loyo                         3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 X  6

Super-Llamaland              2 2 0 1 0 0 3 0 2 10
Quebec and Shingoryeo        1 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0  6

Delaclava                    0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2
Quebec and Shingoryeo        0 0 1 0 3 0 0 1 X  5

Loyo                         1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  3
Super-Llamaland              1 2 0 0 3 0 3 2 X 11

The Star Empire              0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 2  6
Bohr                         0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

  Kayo's Eastlands (D)        Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Super-Llamaland               4    3   1    33   17  +16    0.750
2 Quebec and Shingoryeo         4    3   1    29   12  +17    0.750
3 Loyo                          4    3   1    17   19   −2    0.750
4 The Star Empire               4    2   2    11   16   −5    0.500
5 Delaclava                     4    1   3    14   21   −7    0.250
6 Bohr                          4    0   4     7   26  −19    0.000

WEST COAST (GROUP E)

Milchama                     0 0 0 2 2 1 3 0 0  8
North Cassadaigua            0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Elmyia                       0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
Zwangzug                     1 0 0 0 1 3 0 4 X  9

StrayaRoos                   1 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 2  8
Barnettsville                1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2  5

North Cassadaigua            0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  4
Barnettsville                0 2 0 0 2 2 1 0 X  7

Zwangzug                     0 1 0 2 0 2 1 1 2  9
StrayaRoos                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  3

Milchama                     0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1  4
Elmyia                       0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0  3

  West Coast (E)              Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Zwangzug                      4    4   0    39   10  +29    1.000
2 Milchama                      4    3   1    18   24   −6    0.750
3 StrayaRoos                    4    2   2    21   19   +2    0.500
4 Barnettsville                 4    2   2    26   25   +1    0.500
5 North Cassadaigua             4    1   3    12   22  −10    0.250
6 Elmyia                        4    0   4    15   31  −16    0.000

HEARTLAND (GROUP F)

Ranoria                      0 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 2  7
StrayaRoos Barrier Islands   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Liventia                     3 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 4 11
Tikariot                     1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2  5

Sea Dome                     0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Canadian Dominion            0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 X  3

StrayaRoos Barrier Islands   0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0  3
Canadian Dominion            0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 X  4

Tikariot                     0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  3
Sea Dome                     0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 X  4

Ranoria                      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Liventia                     0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  2

  Heartland (F)               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Canadian Dominion             4    4   0    17    8   +9    1.000
2 Liventia                      4    3   1    20   17   +3    0.750
3 Sea Dome                      4    2   2    15   16   −1    0.500
4 Tikariot                      4    1   3    18   18    0    0.250
5 Ranoria                       4    1   3    11   15   −4    0.250
6 StrayaRoos Barrier Islands    4    1   3    10   17   −7    0.250

SOUTH CLIFFS (GROUP G)

Banija                       0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
The Sherpa Empire            2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 X  3

Oscioru                      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ko-oren                      0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 X  4

New Eestiball                0 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 0  5
The 189                      0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0  4

The Sherpa Empire            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
The 189                      1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 X  2

Ko-oren                      0 0 1 0 3 0 0 5 0  9
New Eestiball                0 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 0  5

Banija                       0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0  4
Oscioru                      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

  South Cliffs (G)            Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 The Sherpa Empire             4    3   1     8    6   +2    0.750
2 Banija                        4    3   1    21   12   +9    0.750
3 Ko-oren                       4    2   2    20   17   +3    0.500
4 Oscioru                       4    2   2    13   12   +1    0.500
5 New Eestiball                 4    1   3    14   19   −5    0.250
6 The 189                       4    1   3    11   21  −10    0.250

ELLZIDAN'S SOUTHEAST (GROUP H)

Abanhfleft                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  3
Azevedocity                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Princess Rainbow Sparkles    2 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0  5
Nova Anglicana               2 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 X  8

Quintessence of Dust         0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 0 10
HUElavia                     0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Azevedocity                  0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 3  7
HUElavia                     1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  5

Nova Anglicana               0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  4
Quintessence of Dust         2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  6

Abanhfleft                   0 1 0 0 6 0 1 0 0  8
Princess Rainbow Sparkles    0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0  4

  Ellzidan's Southeast (H)    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Quintessence of Dust          4    4   0    28   10  +18    1.000
2 Abanhfleft                    4    3   1    23   24   −1    0.750
3 Nova Anglicana                4    2   2    20   19   +1    0.500
4 HUElavia                      4    2   2    23   24   −1    0.500
5 Azevedocity                   4    1   3    12   14   −2    0.250
6 Princess Rainbow Sparkles     4    0   4    13   28  −15    0.000

[Quintessence of Dust]

(Provisional) box scores as posted on the TalkBaseball.qd website.

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
T. Brøndum CF              5   1   1   1   0   1   0  .200   0   1
L. Chevalier LF            4   1   2   1   1   1   0  .364   0   1
K. Yutani 2B               5   1   3   1   0   1   0  .462   1   2
J. Theriault SS            5   1   1   0   0   1   4  .273   1   1
R. Weber DH                4   2   2   2   0   0   2  .250   1   2
H. Halvorsson 1B           4   1   2   1   0   0   1  .375   2   2
N. Ágústsdóttir 3B         3   1   1   0   1   0   1  .250   0   1
J. Ngọc Anh RF             4   2   3   3   0   0   1  .400   1   3
N. Tachikake C             4   0   0   0   0   0   3  .200   1   5

Doubles: N. Ágústsdóttir (1, 2nd inning, 0 on, 1 out), R. Weber (1, 8th inning, 1 on, 0 outs), K. Yutani (1, 8th inning, 1 on, 2 outs)
Triples: K. Yutani (1, 8th inning, 1 on, 0 outs), J. Ngọc Anh (1, 8th inning, 2 on, 1 out), T. Brøndum (1, 8th inning, 1 on, 2 outs)
Home runs: R. Weber (1, 7th inning, 0 on, 0 outs), H. Halvorsson (2, 7th inning, 0 on, 0 outs), J. Ngọc Anh (1, 7th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total bases: J. Ngọc Anh 8, R. Weber 6, K. Yutani 6, H. Halvorsson 5, T. Brøndum 3, N. Ágústsdóttir 2, L. Chevalier 2, J. Theriault
2-out RBI: T. Brøndum, L. Chevalier
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: R. Weber, N. Tachikake, J. Theriault
GIDP: N. Tachikake
Team LOB: 6

BASERUNNING
SB: J. Theriault (2)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
C. Barker W (1 – 0)        7.0  2   1   1   0   4   0  89  48  1.29
A. Butler                  2.0  0   0   0   0   0   0  17  12  0.00

Game score: C. Barker 69 (nice)
Batters faced: C. Barker 23, A. Butler 6
Ground outs – fly outs: C. Barker 13 – 4, A. Butler 2 – 4

Scoring summary:

3.2: RBI double.

7.0: Rémy Weber homers (9D). Rémy Weber scores.

7.0: Håkon Halvorsson homers (89XD). Håkon Halvorsson scores.

7.1: Jessica Ngọc Anh homers (9LD). Jessica Ngọc Anh scores.

8.0: Kaori Yutani triples (3L). Luka Chevalier scores.

8.0: Jack Theriault reaches base on error (E4). Kaori Yutani scores.

8.0: Rémy Weber doubles (89M). Jack Theriault scores.

8.1: Jessica Ngọc Anh triples (78XD). Rémy Weber scores. Natalí Ágústsdóttir scores.

8.2: Tom Brøndum triples (78XD). Jessica Ngọc Anh scores.

8.2: Luka Chevalier singles (6D). Tom Brøndum scores.

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
T. Brøndum RF              5   2   1   1   1   1   1  .200   1   2
L. Chevalier LF            6   2   2   2   0   1   2  .353   1   3
K. Kusumoto 2B             5   1   1   0   0   1   0  .200   0   0
J. Theriault SS            4   0   3   1   1   0   0  .400   1   2
R. Weber DH                4   1   2   1   1   1   2  .313   2   3
H. Halvorsson 1B           5   0   1   1   0   1   4  .308   2   3
A. Prosen 3B               5   0   1   0   0   3   4  .200   0   0
J. Stevens CF              5   0   1   0   0   2   1  .200   0   0
L. Ehrmantraut C           4   0   1   0   0   2   2  .250   0   0

Doubles: H. Halvorsson (1, 1st inning, 2 on, 2 outs), L. Ehrmantraut (1, 7th inning, 0 on, 2 outs), J. Theriault (1, 8th inning, 0 on, 2 outs), A. Prosen (1, 9th inning, 0 on, 0 outs), R. Weber (2, 10th inning, 1 on, 1 out)
Home runs: R. Weber (2, 4th inning, 0 on, 0 outs), T. Brøndum (1, 5th inning, 0 on, 1 out), L. Chevalier (1, 11th inning, 1 on, 2 outs)
Total bases: R. Weber 6, L. Chevalier 5, T. Brøndum 4, J. Theriault 4, H. Halvorsson 2, L. Ehrmantraut 2, A. Prosen 2, K. Kusumoto, J. Stevens
2-out RBI: L. Chevalier 2, H. Halvorsson
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: A. Prosen 4, T. Brøndum, H. Halvorsson, L. Chevalier
GIDP: R. Weber
Team LOB: 9

FIELDING
Double plays: 2 (Theriault – Kusumoto – Halvorsson, Theriault – Kusumoto – Halvorsson)
PB: L. Ehrmantraut

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
J. Sakaguchi               6.0  7   2   1   0   3   0  83  51  1.50
H. Reidarsson H (1)        1.0  1   0   0   1   1   0  22  13  0.00
B. Amundsen BS (1)         1.0  3   2   2   1   0   0  15   8 13.50
K. Wahl                    2.0  1   0   0   0   3   0  24  18  2.45
B. Beaufils W (2 – 0)      1.0  1   0   0   0   2   0  15  11  0.00

Game score: J. Sakaguchi 55
Batters faced: J. Sakaguchi 24, H. Reidarsson 5, B. Amundsen 6, K. Wahl 7, B. Beaufils 4
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Sakaguchi 6 – 7, H. Reidarsson 2 – 0, B. Amundsen 1 – 1, K. Wahl 1 – 2, B. Beaufils 0 – 1
WP: J. Sakaguchi

Scoring summary:

1.1: Jack Theriault singles (8LS). Luka Chevalier scores.

1.2: Håkon Halvorsson doubles (7LM). Kin Kusumoto scores.

2.1: Joey Carlson flies out (8LXD). Vincent Saint-Denis scores.

3.0: Wild pitch. Buddy Bohanan scores.

4.0: Rémy Weber homers (7LD). Rémy Weber scores.

5.1: Tom Brøndum homers (7LD). Tom Brøndum scores.

8.2: Michael O'Connor singles (34D). Vincent Saint-Denis scores.

8.2: Buddy Bohanan singles (34D). Joey Carlson scores. Michael O'Connor out at 3rd (9–2–5).

11.2: Luka Chevalier homers (8RXD). Tom Brøndum scores. Luka Chevalier scores.

[Ko-oren]

Games one and two betrayed the same underlying problems as in Classics past, with the team staying competitive with some of the bes in the Multiverse but then falling back when the bullpen comes out, with two fat losses for the closers. Losing in the ninth and in extra innings. That said, the national team hasn't been together for a while and with everyone focusing exclusively on their clubs, maybe some of the skillsets weren't balanced enough. That, and the fact that we played some of the best in the multiverse, as mentioned. So things would have to turn around quickly against the next best two teams in Group G: Oscioru and New Eestiball. Oscioru proved difficult, even if the score didn't reflect that. A lot of runners left on base, which could have turned this game around dramatically. In the end, it's a shutout 4-0 win, so we'd be crazy not to take some praise for it. The second game was the first offensive explosion since we've been back in the WBC, with a 3-run fifth inning and a 5-run eighth inning, while giving up 5 in total. We really needed the good pitching to build confidence in that unit: there are some great players there.

LPB Rosters, Ko-orenite clubs has the LPB rosters at a single glance. While we have great pitchers, you'll inevitably remark that most of the good pitchers on Ko-orenite clubs are foreign. Echizen's great season rested partially on Grady Good. The Originals couldn't have overcome their preseason expectations without McAllister. The Generals have both Kim and Reischauer, and the Whales's Arreaux and Stars' Harris, Osborn, and Suso have been the most influential pitchers for all of those clubs. What you also find out, is that those five clubs were by far the best in the Ko-orenite divisions. Screw the hypothetical youth crisis (more on that later), do we have a pitching crisis?

There's certainly evidence for it. Most of the individual statistics point at great fielding stats, decent hitting stats, and poorer pitching stats, with a few individual exceptions.

Generally, teams have their best pitchers (with wider arsenals of pitches) in the starting pitcher rotation, which in Ko-oren has five players on it. The remainder lands on the roster in the bullpen, which is somewhat talent-starved outside of De Castro (Silvers), and pretty much all of the Stars - there's a reason why they lit up the standings so much, only bested by the Whales. Interestingly, the Whales have probably the worst pitching outlook of the league, but they make up for it by investing more money in hitting and fielding than any other team, and realising that the DH would play a huge role in the LPB - the old domestic league had no such concept.

Pair that with the focus on the infield - which is where most hits end up - and Ko-oren developing awesome players there on most teams, and you get a clearer picture. There's a cycle of an emphasis on contact hitting, which leads to defences fielding better infields, and all the while the poor pitchers keep giving up hits, even if they don't concede all that many runs. The teams that break the cycle by going for power hitting - which, with the LPB going as it is, is what teams are preparing for more and more - are the ones that rose above their projections. The Originals with Chromatika's Gill as DH. The Dragon's better-than-average outfield. The Katashi Generals, the foreign legion of the Whales. The one exception is the Wanderers, who have Sullivan and Teklu but they couldn't cover up an otherwise poor roster.

So, yes, Ko-oren is partially in a pitching crisis. Players that are currently in the minors have a decent chance of getting callups to the LPB in the future, while coaching adapts and a new generation of modern pitchers pops up: a generation that handles itself in the LPB and rises up in the WBC. For now, if you are a reliever, please contact your nearest club.

Looking at the minors, we should be getting upgrades soon. Bieito Vasquez and Yurika Ohashi are a huge deal, both discovered by the Challengers but up for grabs in the Draft. Jean-Charles Andry and Bento Chan are somewhat limited in arsenal, but have great speed and control. Xesus Basquez has a broader skillset. Western academies are also watching this pitching trend, and we see Takanao Aiuchi, raised in the KCT, go all in on pitching as well. Don't be alarmed if you see teams select pitchers in both rounds of the draft, and then shop around for undrafted 22-year olds - the age at which they typically leave the academy and go to Triple A in an LPB team's system either way.

[TJUN-ia]

I don't think I need to explain to anyone just how bad the start of WBC55 was for the TJUN-ia Battin' Jaguars. Going 0-2 wasn't the best in its own right, but the way we fell to that mark was certainly the worst feeling we have ever felt as a team. Phillip Hellas-Verona was certainly horrified by what he saw, by the pain his team had suffered out in the many diamonds of Drawkland, but he also recognised that everyone may be...overreacting to everything that had happened. There were still 18 games left, after all, so he reasoned that there was still plenty of time to turn things around and everyone should calm down. Of course, some were still in a few panic stations entering "Exit 2", but the only thing that can really speak on matters like this...is baseball itself.

Up first in this unranked double-header would be against Anthor at Skyhawk Diamond Park and Harrison Kyle would start this time in a game that would actually see marked improvement from the others before. Sure, conceding 6 runs in the bottom of the 2nd wasn't in the plans at all, but the game stabilised once Kimi Holvanen entered proceedings from that point. We managed to find our groove once more and 10 runs would be scored to show this. Santino Fenatti got us off to the best of starts with a homer on ball 3 and from there, things would actually be good for us as a baseball team with Joe Gregory's 2nd inning Grand Slam starting a good trend in the right direction. 10-6 was certainly one way to bounce back as Svetlana Mykvinich (via Hunter Jakes RBI), Anastasia Mykvinich, Stefan von Shültz and 2 more from Anastasia rounded out our scoring.

Then came the 2nd road trip, this time to face Godchouzetsu at the Hellenmack Pitch. Kim Tsu-Ka would start this one but not for long as our esteemed "hosts" ran out into a 3-0 lead after 2 innings and forced the 2nd appearance out of 22-year-old Maddison "Missy" Jembembe, one of the icons of the Battin' Cubs squad that reached the IBS Championship Game last year. She certainly held the fort down and would register a 6.1-inning shutout, which would give us plenty of time to rack up the score...from the 4th inning on, of course. It was there that we managed to score 6 runs in the same inning, just like Anthor did to us, and it certainly felt glorious to see both Hunter Jakes' Grand Slam and von Shültz's 2-run bomb become souvenirs for the watching crowd. Fenatti would add another in the 5th, Killian O'Mally did the same in the 6th and that would be that - 8-3, back to 2-2 and everything just seems finer now.

The schedule we have means we play everyone 4 times in this group, we will have plenty of opportunities for revenge...and we will have our first coming up soon in a 2-game double-header. Hosting Brookstation will certainly be interesting as they are ranked #24 in the WBC, but our rematch with Chromatika will certainly make for entertaining viewing as a potential 5-0 squad face a side hungry for revenge after the 13-2 drubbing of MD1. This one is going to be stressful as all hell, no matter the final results. GO JAGS!

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Results: W 10-6 @Anthor (UR), W 8-3 @ Godchouzetsu (UR)
Standings: 2-2 (4th)
Next 2 Fixtures: vs Brookstation (24), vs Cromatika (6)

[Cassadaigua]

Making Corps Central Park home,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Corps Central Park is the official home of Team Cassadaigua over the course of qualifying, and their game against unranked Furilisca represented the first official home game for the Fillies. Their game against Drawkland was technically registered as a home game, but it was not played here at Corps Central. With every team having a designated home stadium for the Classic, there are multiple ways that this could be viewed: one being that no one is really home, or second to make this truly you’re home. The amount of Cassadagan companies that have taken the opportunity to promote their products here at this large stadium shows that for Cassadaigua, this stadium will truly be a home stadium.

Along a main gate that is down the left field line, CASE has set up “Little Cassadaigua”, where Cassadagan entertainers will be performing before the game. Prior to the game, popular alternative band Mind Control performed several of their hits, making a great experience for their Cassadagan fans and hoping to appeal to those from Drawkland in the process. On each end of the stage, the pink and black Cassadagan flag would fly. Near the stage area, some well known Cassadagan chefs provided fantastic eats for those looking to want a taste of home. Other exhibits were seen, such as memorabilia from the Matriarchy’s World Baseball Classic 50 championship and simpler exhibits to keep children occupied. Along the right field side of the stadium, many Cassadagan companies were on hand, such as Dagan Airways promoting their most recent starship model, which enables fans to easily travel from Cassadaigua to Drawkland. SubHouse and Pink Love were also present as well as smaller companies. On the stadium itself, below the stadium name, images of the Cassadagan flag on each side of a large banner with otherwise reads: “This is our house!” on the top line, “Four time World Baseball Classic Champions” in the middle, and the numbers 14, 16, 19, 50 on the bottom. All along the perimeter, outside the stadium, large banners of Cassadagan players that played on at least one of those championship teams are visible. Rachel Persson, from Victoriaville said of the fan fair, “You really have to give these guys credit. First of all I never expected to see Mind Control here. What a stunning surprise that was and I got Luke Stavely’s autograph. How amazing! Just the opportunity for that, and some of the food and all that. You really would feel like you were in Cassadaigua right now. This really did seem like home, they did a great job!”

This isn’t the only place that can feel like Cassadaigua, either, as CASE rented out a shuttered building about two blocks away from Corps Central and turned it into a large team store and fan headquarters. Shops have also been set up within the stadium, but this particular building is where Cassadagan fans can go on off days or simply at any time to hang out, and feel like home. Tailgating is expected to happen almost around the clock with in the parking lot, and inside there are additional Cassadagan eatries that will be open. It’s been nicknamed “Cassadaigua Central”, and it has been a big hit thus far. Paige Hendry, of Starksville said, “Yeah, I didn’t really think that we would be doing all of this, but you really have to give a shot out to CASE. They saw this as an opportunity and they have been successful in making this part of Drawk City to be like Cassadaigua. I wasn’t going to stay out here that long, but I took another week off at my job in order to remain here even longer. That’s the vibe we are getting, we are playing at this big, spacious facility and it really is feeling like home. I’m going to spending more time here, for sure!”

CASE is hoping the energy off the field begins to catch on with the team on the field, and while the last two games were against nations that the Fillies should beat, you still have to go out there and beat them. Against Furilisca, and in front of this home crowd for the first time, Lacey Maxwell, of the Stockton Heights Vikings completely shut down the opposing bats. Playing for a poor team, Maxwell’s production at home can be overlooked, but she has been the face of the Vikings organization. The 23-year old is making the most of her chance, and it’s not because she is motivated by getting a big contract from one of the CBL’s better teams in a few years. “Being on this team is a privilege, but I will say to be on a roster with many of the best players you have in the country is something really exciting. I’ve been able to get to know them passively over the last few years, but right now, to talk to them and talk about what they experience on stronger teams makes me want to lead Stockton Heights to the same type of glory. For now, I simply cherish the moment, but want to go out and there and pitch well. And I had my best stuff going today in shutting down those other bats.” Maxwell went the distance, throwing an efficient 114 pitches over the nine innings, and allowing just three hits (in the fourth inning, she needed to throw just five pitches, total!). In Stockton Heights, Maxwell often hits that pitch count after seven usually because, as she says, “You’re not going to get the same run support there as you can with the bats I have now. As a result, you feel like you have to be perfect and sometimes that works against you. I could be more relaxed with the sluggers I have backing me up here.”

At present, the team is 3-1, and in first place in the Metro District Group. Outfielder Emma Matthews thinks this can be the start of something good, “It’s a start, obviously, but you know all is good and we’re confident we can get this program back to where it was. We know we have doubters that we can do this, but in our locker room, we can get there. Matthews said that the team pinned an article on the locker room bulletin board from South Americanastan’s nationalnewsnetwork.com, highlighting the statement, “However, this was soon tainted by another upset, this one a loss to 32nd ranked Cassadaigua at "home" (Yes, we will be using those quotation marks throughout this tournament), by a score of 7-3.” Matthews said to me that, “On no planet is us beating them an upset. Screw the rankings, we know who and what we really are!”

It’s good to see the positive energy, but we are just four games in. Let’s hope they continue to build on it!

[Abanhfleft]

MUSINGS OF AN ARMORED DINNER JACKET
Official blog of Ibrahim Ahmadinejad, former Right Fielder of the Verbergerkinnh Cubs and the Abanhfleft Revolution

SOMETIMES IT REALLY IS HARD TO GET OFF THE GROUND

WRITING FROM CEMMENDY, DRAWKLAND - Hmm, I’m not really sure on how I should start this particular post. There’s nothing much of note that happened in the two games that Abanhfleft have played that allows me to open up a discussion at the start, so now you will all have to watch me struggling through a little bit of writer’s block before I can finally get to the meat of the matter. Brace yourselves, everyone. It’s gonna be a long ride, if not necessarily a wild one. But then again, that’s the thing with the Abanhfleft Revolution: any ride you go with them is a wild one, even if it’s not as eventful as other times.

Abanhfleft’s third game in the 55th World Baseball Classic is against newcomers Azevedocity. If I recall correctly, Azevedocity themselves made a whole show and dance of the fact that they finally managed to make it into the WBC, but now that they’re here on the big stage, I have to say that they’re not really doing anything of note about it. I mean, yes, there are points for participating and getting here in the first place, but you would think that after they celebrated getting into the Classic, they would actually put in the effort to at least do well even if it’s very likely that they’ll get beaten by most other teams out there. Having said that, they haven’t made themselves look like fools unlike some teams (I’m looking at you, Revolution). They’re not giving up a lot of runs, but they’re also not scoring a lot of runs themselves. Yes, sometimes it is indeed difficult to score runs in baseball, but for a nation who was really hyped up for their first ever WBC appearance, the hype hasn’t lived up to the on-field product.

To be fair though, the Abanhfleft Revolution’s on-field product hasn’t really lived up to the hype as well, at least coming into this game. It’s kinda hard to come back from being ten runs down in the first two innings of your first game, but I daresay that that narrow victory over Nova Anglicana poured some oil over the troubled waters that was our restive fanbase and bought Kurtis Lingenfelter and company a little bit more time. They certainly needed it, especially after the Revolution then went scoreless in the first seven innings of the game against Azevedocity. It wasn’t that Azevedocity’s pitcher was putting up a no-hitter; no, runners from both teams were able to get on base all the time. The only problem was that the subsequent batters couldn’t get the runners moving through the bases no matter which team was batting. That was definitely a problem on Azevedocity’s part, but it was also beginning to become a problem for us as well. It would take Gio Perkinson RBI’ing in Aedan Soto and Elbert Freeman to finally get the ball rolling in terms of runs scored, but those three runs would be the only ones that Abanhfleft would score. Azevedocity would be able to get one run back, but that was about it.

Abanhfleft’s next stop in their little road trip through their little corner of Drawkland sees them going up against the nation of Princess Rainbow Sparkles. I’m still not sure whether this name refers to the nation itself or just their leader, and I think there must have been something in the local food over in Cemmendy because I’m having trouble telling whether the Princess’s players are actual girls or unicorns and ponies. Can someone out there who hasn’t eaten the same stuff that I did tell me if I’ve got it right or wrong, because I know that ponies and unicorns are capable of playing baseball, but I just want to know if Princess Rainbow Sparkles' team is made up of humans or ponies. That’s all I’m asking.

This one went better than the game against Azevedocity. It definitely went better than the game against Azevedocity considering that Aedan Soto finally scored a home run in the second inning, which is already a damn sight better than going seven straight innings without scoring a run. And, just to make sure that they could tell the fans that they are actually listening to their pleas and cries and are ready and willing to make up for what happened against Azevedocity, the Revolution finally scored their first grand slam in this particular Classic. And it wasn’t even the usual suspects who were responsible for seeing this one through. Cedric Colon, Ben Anderson, and Ainsley Malone somehow managed to get themselves on base, and then Maël Corneau absolutely sent it into the left stands to get what I think is his first ever grand slam for the Revolution. Yeah, that makes sense since this is the first time he’s starting for Abanhfleft anyway, so he wouldn’t have scored a grand slam yet in the previous Classics I’ve covered.

But the thing about Princess Rainbow Sparkles was that she (they?) wouldn’t take this grand slam sitting down. If we could do it then they should too, right? It was only right and fair, right? Well, it’s a good thing that the Revolution were already eight runs to the good before they allowed Princess Rainbow Sparkles to score a grand slam as well. I mean, what are the odds of that? Two grand slams in one game? Granted, it’s not one of those absolutely crazy stats like one player scoring two grand slams in the same inning and all that, but still, two grand slams in the space of a few innings has to be one of the stranger sights in baseball that I’ve ever seen. I don’t think that it’s that common here in Abanhfleft as well.

So that’s how Abanhfleft’s little road trip in Drawkland ended, with two grand slams in one game, one each for both teams. For the next two games they’ll be back in Ducentu, playing host to first Quintessence of Dust (whom I might have to start calling QoD because I’m not writing an essay and I’m not chasing a word count, thank goodness for that) and then… it’s the rematch that everyone is both looking forward to and dreading at the same time: HUElavia. The HUElavians have certainly had Abanhfleft’s number across two different sports now, and it’s definitely interesting to see how this particular game will shape up. HUElavia may have beat the Revolution in their opening game, but now they’ve lost two games on the trot and we’re just not sure which HUElavia will pop up at the Ducentu Municipal Stadium in two days’ time. No matter which team it is though, I will still be here in Drawkland to provide you all with a combination of recaps, writeups, personal opinions, and general fluff from this World Baseball Classic. This is the Armored Dinner Jacket saying ciao, peace. Catch you in my next post.

[Banija]

Banijan Baseball Digest

Banija mixing the past with the future to try and gain a winning formula for the present at WBC 55


Banijan closer Oyella Lagum throws a pitch at the end of Banija's 4-0 win over Oscioru

ARCHIFEL CAPITAL, DRAWKLAND- From our temporary home in Archifel Capital, we are looking at what is a curious construction of the WBC roster. Isaac Oladipo, of course, had a challenge. He had a championship worthy roster last time out- obviously, we weren't the best team at WBC 54 (that was the champs who beat us, South Newlandia), but I don't think anyone would doubt that this Banijan team was good enough. It was simply that the Elephants were the best team at the time. Oladipo obviously has ambitions to win at the highest level, as he's already got a world championship ring as a bench coach for this national team in WBC 47.

You'd think, a team that just went all the way to the Championship Series of the World Baseball Classic would run it back. That would be the obvious move- except, of course, for everybody's age. That team was already aging, with many players in their late primes. And then you've gotta wait three years to compete again- in an Olympic year, as well. We could've had a huge number of players in their late 30s. Just because you're there, of course, doesn't mean you can't contribute. But Isaac Oladipo brought some of the older players back, sent others packing, and brought in some younger players- who will be the core of the future, when at WBC 56, we'll be bringing in quite a few younger players.

Who's Back

We can start with our older players who decided to return, can't we? There are three obvious ones- 1B/RF Malik Solely, who is 36 years old, 1B/DH Luxolo Mbeki, who is 34 years old, and starting pitcher Faraba Conateh, who is 36 years old. Malik Solely came onto the scene so young, and has been a star for the national team for basically forever. He might be the best Banijan ever to swing the bat. Even at 36 years old, another international tournament was certainly possible. This will be his last, as he has killed any drama by telling reporters before the tournament that this Classic will be his last.

And then, of course, we have Luxolo Mbeki, as well as Faraba Conateh. Both playing in the LPB, they have different points of view. Conateh, especially. At 36 years old, he certainly could have retired. And then with Xolile Gola coming up, he obviously did not end up taking the #1 spot in the starting pitcher rotation for the Kingdom. Although he's earned a title at WBC 51, he wanted to be back. "I love this game- playing for my club, and playing for my country. TO turn down a callup... it would be awful." Although the Masmow Dragons may have concern with a 36 year old pitcher logging heavy innings at the Classic, it seems as if he will embrace being the graybeard of this rotation.

And finally, Luxolo Mbeki. Less controversial- a 34 year old 1B and DH, there wasn't any real surprise that he came back. Will he come back to WBC 56 at age 37, or will Oladipo opt for a full-fledge youth movement? Who knows. But these three are the anchors of what is certainly one of the oldest teams at this World Baseball Classic.

Who's sitting at home

Me. But you already knew that. What major contributors from our 2nd place run at WBC 54 did not return? The first, and most obvious, is Ramata Kabba. The long-time pitcher was a starter for 6 consecutive classics, and she had been outspoken about wanting to return for a 7th cycle, at age 39. And it seemed as if she was making her way towards a return. But suddenly, Oladipo told her that she could not- that her time has come and gone, and that he needed to get some younger pitchers into the rotation. Kabba, surprisingly, took it graciously. "Isaac's earned the benefit of the doubt." She told reporters after this was announced. "Obviously, I thought I was capable of one more classic- but he's got the long-term view as well. Wearing the jersey has been the greatest honor of my life, and there will be no bigger fan of this NT than me."

The most sticky situation could've been rough- but fortunately, it went very well. It probably helps that the Olympic Committee named her a scout, so she's still here, and still getting those NT bonus checks. Next, of course, is Nyaniso Hani. He's not what we would call a superstar or anything, but he would've been 35. He can play corner outfield at that age. But he retired for purposes of extending his club career. And then, lastly, Yoro Coulibaly. We had other relievers retire, but Coulibaly was reaching 40, and frankly, he was struggling at WBC 54. Most fans will be glad to be see the back of him.

Who's brand new

We're just gonna talk about two players here. THe first player we'll talk about, naturally, is Sadiiq Xoosh. He might be the greatest prospect in this sport that we have ever had. We've had great prospects- remember a young Malik Solely? Hell, look at Ugonna Akachi, who is just 22. But everyone believes Xoosh is gonna be a superstar. He's got the looks. The drive. He can field. He can hit. Hell- while his numbers for this Classic aren't great so far, that's explained mostly by the fact that he's simply 18. And out of the few hits he's had, he's hit a game-tying RBI double in the 9th inning of our last game against Ko-oren. Think about how insane that really is. He will be the core of this NT for the next decade and a half.

And the second, is Kopo Mosego. The 26 year old southpaw, he's not exactly young- making his NT debut just as he enters his prime. But while he is a late bloomer, simply put, there was no space to bring him up to the NT, with our consistent stable of starters. Oladipo even told reporters that he wanted to bring him up 3 years ago, but when the group stage was shortened from 30 to 10 games, his decision to go with a 4 man rotation meant that there was no more space for Mosego. He's got good, quality stuff.

Look at his debut. First ever WBC start? Against former world champions, and Banijan rivals, The Sherpa Empire. While he struggled initially in the first inning, allowing 2 runs and having to get out of a bases loaded jam, he settled into a nice groove. 6 innings, 3 Ks, three earned runs on seven hits and a lone walk. That's a strong performance, a solid outing.

Will this roster change up pay off for team Banija? Or will Oladipo pay for messing with a winning formula? Only time will tell on Oladipo's gamble.

[North Cassadaigua]

What’s with all the stats?
By Peter Fulton- Relief Pitcher

My teammate Roman Hickey provided the first blog from our North Cassadaigua side, and I have to say that my experiences were pretty similar. I had always loved the game of baseball, and we played it within our village, which is about 20 miles outside of Gastineau. If you know high school rivalries, then you can consider our feelings towards them to be pretty similar. We played people from Gastineau in pick up baseball games at times, and usually came out on top. They were cheaters, though. I won’t get into it, nor the devastation that happened in their town.

My family would have moved to Cassadaigua if we had the funds to do so. This is a story that is not enough from those of us who grew up in this region. We didn’t have the funds to move anywhere, so we stayed put where we were and made due. When the troops came into our village, it was a no-brainer to commit to becoming a citizen as now we could do it and stay within our home. As time has gone on, our pick up games have become a little more intense, and it was an honor to get chosen to represent North Cassadaigua. I’ll be coming out of the bullpen, which is fine with me, but if I do sign on anywhere I would be interested in starting. I think that’s what all pitchers say.

Arriving in Drawkland with this team, I was reading on the history of the Classic and many various media publications. It became pretty clear that I only know the basics of the sport, such as how to compute an earned run average or even WHIP. Looking at all the statistics that are out there is a complete alphabet soup. I get slugging percentage, but now they talk about OPS. I like batting average and feel that is more relevant, but OPS is not one of those complicated ones. But then, I had someone from another country come up to me and talk the spin rate on my curveball. I had no idea if the number he was using was good or bad, but he said that it could be better. So, I guess it was not good but then again, my curveball is not my main out pitch, anyway. I went out to a sports bar, and a group of people that might have been from Zwangzug were talking about the expected weighted on base average of a couple of their players. Then, they started talking about war. It seemed like a major conversation shift, until I realized that it was not combat they were referencing, but something called wins above replacement.

From my first appearance, I was asked if I was aware of the exit velocity of a home run that was hit off of me. Look, talk about my rubbing salt in a wound. All I know is that it went over the damn wall. But evidently, the exit velocity was lower than a line drive I got an out with, so it was supposed to make me feel better about giving up the home run. Well, it didn’t. Do all of these categories really mean something? Will I ever be bothered to learn what they all mean? Well, for that second question, I figure that I have to if I ever want to sign a professional contract in Cassadaigua but if they really mean something, I am not convinced. Either you got someone out, or you didn’t. They’ve made baseball a strange game, and don’t get me started on some of these shifts or using a “fourth outfielder”. Oh, those pick up games were so much simpler. But I guess no one was watching them. As long as I’m here, I’ll listen to any stat they come up with.

[South Newlandia]

Disclaimers:
* this project would not be possible without the efforts from Chromatika, Ko-oren and especially Super-Llamaland. The words and pictures on screen right now were made by me, but would not be possible without extensive background work from all of us. Please do grade accordingly.
* 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%

[The Greater Nordics]

Well, things went about as expected against the number 1 ranked team, South Newlandia. The Elephants crushed us 10-3, which we should have expected with this young team. Katharina Bosch got into trouble early and could not get out of it which forced manager Jennifer Christensen to stray from her usual tactic of letting pitchers pitch long into the game and pull her for reliever Elsje Kools but she could not stop the onslaught either. She finished the game because Christensen wanted to preserve the arms in the bullpen. Its no use wearing out your bullpen in a losing effort. The team really appreciated how Elsje stayed in there and kept getting hit and it gave her experience as well. The "home" crowd even cheered as she finished the game, appreciating her efforts. Even some Elephants fans were seen applauding the young reliever. This team is really coming together and become stronger. Sini Almstedt, the relief catcher and oldest player on the roster, was seen consoling her and Katharina after the game along with pitching Coach Alexandra Feldt. There were also a lot of tips and advice given during this conversation, which should help the young pitchers.

The Nordics next game, against Eshialand was a wild roller coaster. It started off great for the Nordics, with 4 runs scored in the first inning. A single from Bertil Heeren led off the game and after a strikeout by Thorvald Dahl, Carl Nelissen hit a powerful shot over the left field wall. A groundout followed but then Helen Koeman doubled and then Tordis Appelhof hit a ball that looked like it was going to stay in but somehow had enough distance to clear the fence. In the bottom of the inning Eshialand scored a run but Otto Aukes was shutting them down the next three innings. In the fifth they scored another two runs to but it did not seem to bother Otto. We scored another run in the sixth to give us some more room and everyone thought that this game was about done. But it was not done, not even close. Eshialand scored two in the 8th to tie it and seeing how no runs were scored in the 9th, it was going to extra innings. Jennifer Christensen's decision to save the arms of the bullpen against south Newlandia paid off as this game went 16 innings! It was a scoreless period of extras until the !6th as bioth bullpens and defenses were great. Unfortunately, Eshialand walked it off in the bottom of the 16th but it was a great game and will be interesting to see how the bullpens for both teams can rest and recover from this.

[Zwangzug]

"Chav," said Julian.

"Don't call him that," Istvan hissed.

"It's his name," said Julian.

"It's not," Istvan said, "and it's a derogatory term for lower-class people in many English dialects."

"Not mine," Julian said. "And I don't think he's insulted."

"He's not paying attention!"

"Well, then he can't be insulted, can he?"

Rachel whirled and snap-threw to Calvin. The Elmyian shortstop, who had reached on a sharp single to left-center, was picked off, and the Zebras were out of the fifth inning. The left fielder, who had worked a 2-0 count, was left twisting his hands on the bat in frustration, but he'd get another chance soon--the game was still tied.

As the announcers cut to their between-innings chatter (advertisements, of course, being prohibited by the socialist bureaucracy), Vincent turned his head to his fellow starters, the motion almost a shadow of Rachel's quick pickoff move. "What?" he asked.

Whatever Julian had been originally intending to ask slipped his mind, as he asked, "Didn't you hear me the first time?"

"I'm not deaf," Vincent said.

"He's ignoring you because you're insulting him," Istvan surmised.

"I'm not really interested in being distracted," said Vincent, "there's a game going on."

"Tryhard," Istvan said affectionately. "Look at this guy, first tournament and still hanging on every pitch. You'll grow out of it."

"Rachel's starting every game against Elmyria, I don't need a scouting report. I'm just trying to get--the rhythm."

"The rhythm of what?" Julian asked. "Gwen's pitch selection? She'll go over it with you--"

"The rhythm," Vincent repeated. "The pauses, the spaces in between."

"In between what? The pitches?"

"The--" Vincent held out his hand, palm down, fingers clenched like he was attempting a knuckleball (which he didn't actually know how to throw) or a very circuitous explanation. "The rhythm!"

"Forget it," said Julian.

But two days later, in the bullpen of Jets Revival Stadium, Julian could make out that Vincent and Gwen were indeed engaged in an in-depth strategy discussion. "Keep it simple the first time through the order," Gwen said. "Fastball, changeup. I'll signal the breaking stuff every once in a while, but those can be chase pitches--don't give them anything too substantial. Keep the pitch count low, aim for grounders. Second time through, that's when you want to start mixing it up a little more."

"Yep," said Vincent. "Looks like the Blue Jays are mostly right-handed, so I'll be going inside--gives you room to frame."

"Unless you hit anyone, I'm not taking responsibility for that."

He grinned. "That's not the plan, we can beat them on the field. Franklin I think is vulnerable to pulling, so if we get in a tough spot, may want to wait for him to foul a few off rather than committing over the plate..."

"Like I said," said Istvan. "Tryhard."

"No," said Julian. "It's not that, it's just that...that's how he processes pitching. By thinking about it, in words."

"Everyone thinks about it in words! Just be glad he's not around for one of Liu's pep talks, all that weird grain-of-rice stuff was hokey."

"And you think Griff's gonna be any better?"

"He was just on the field with us," said Istvan. "Recently enough to know how hokey Liu was."

"If you say so," said Julian. But something rubbed him the wrong way, and it wasn't Istvan's overly-delicate ears.

[Ranoria]

@VickHamiltonRSNN In full spirit of the great Drawkian road trip, Yahweh Bohannon and the Krauts came off the bus blaring appropriate music. This kid was locked in - we should've known he was gonna light it up in his debut. Eleven strikeouts!!! #Krauts #TheRoadTrip #TheCannonBohannon

Barry Bledsoe Stadium was witness to the first ever start by Yahweh Bohannon at this level, and if the seventeen-thousand-some fans were no strangers to big games after their local university's strong showings in their most recent NSCAA run.

Two strikeouts in six pitches to start, and Bohannon had fired just one off speed pitch. With a four-seamer that was averaging nearly a hundred miles an hour today, there was no need.

Well, he thought so anyway. Now eight pitches in, Barry Bledsoe Stadium was one shot away from seeing an immaculate inning added to the rich history of Raikennax.

@KrautsBaseball Yahweh Bohannon on the edge of history! He’s one strike away from an immaculate inning to open his WBC career! #FireTheCannon

Enter Emu 26 who, as a member of the most powerful species on any planet, had something to say about that.

When he first made contact, that ball damn near looked like it was going straight into the nearby volcano, Valsum, which broadcasters made sure to inform fans about to keep them somewhat invested in the blowout later in the game. Fortunately for Bohannon, it ended up being a double thanks to Julian Breit rocketing the ball back to to second, but a pitch hitting a second emu, and then a regular old walk, quickly took The Cannon's debut opening from potentially historic to on the edge of an eruption. (haha, see what we did there?)

Fortunately the next play was a groundout, and Yahweh, rattled, tried to shake it off as he went back to the dugout. That said - brief talk with Jonas Nuhl, the Krauts' assistant manager and the head man of Bohannon's LPB team, the Elephant Valley United, the young man settled in.

The Strayaroos Barrier Islands quickly went from 1-1 to 1-2 as Ranoria ran this one up in dominant fashion, piling on a half dozen runs in the final four innings while Yahweh pulled off a rare accomplishment for himself in going the full nine innings in the great crossroads, allowing just eight hits in total and managing to not walk any runners past that first inning in a shutout of a WBC debut.

Sure, the Great Crossroads isn't the biggest venue Drawkland has to offer, and the Emus aren't the class of the competition, but it was on the Cannon's arm that Ranoria earned their first win of many to come in WBC 55, and hell if it isn't something to get excited about.

[Canadian Dominion]

Canadian Dominion Baseball comes through with a 4-0 win streak in the group stage

With the Canadian Dominion managing a very fragile lead in this group stage, with 16 more games to play in this stage we do not know what the national team can do, all Canadian dominion can hope it to qualify with other major sports in the nation failing to meet the sports committees goals and hopes, with the national football (europian) team losing in the Ro16 to the national team of Kimi in the AOCAF Cup, and the national hockey team for Canadian dominion coming off of a 2 game losing streak in the AOHC and not qualifying for the WCoH Ro16. So with this dominant but fragile force taking the number one spot in their group, there are high hopes for the team! With the teams first win over Ranoria with a final score of 3 - 4, the second win coming from the team that still holds the second seeded place in the group Liventia, with a solid and dominant score of 6 - 1, the third and forth games being with Sea Dome and StrayaRoos Barrier Islands, with scores of 1-3 against Sea Dome and close match against the Roos Barrier Islands the score being 3-4, Soren Fessenden one of the Canadian Dominion players that has shown leadership and exilency when playing has clutched up the match with Roos Barrier Islands.

Canadian pitcher Daniel Point, about to throw the ball during the CD v Sea Dome game

[Loyo]

Loyo? We Have a Problem

The sun was in a grumpy mood, and made it everyone in Loyo’s problem. While some fans were away in Drawkland, enjoying the fruits of the Sunshine Tigers’ efforts, others were not so lucky. The clouds had gone on vacation, and the sun was in a very grumpy mood. The sun took that frustration out on the land, the rivers, and the lakes. It pushed down all of its heat onto the bare earth, sending the winds into a sizzling slumber.

In Hanseong, the plateau city was lumbering under the weight of the sun’s heat. Sueno Mashamashi, a man with a wide nose and wide glasses, knew that he was approaching a point his wife had told him was a “area of concern” for his mental health. Sueno knew that, yet he also knew that he had not a clue if the sun’s heat could melt salt. He grew increasingly terrified within his soul upon considering this.

Perhaps that could explain why Sueno Mashamashi was not inside like all the other residents of Hanseong, protecting themselves from the sun’s rage. He was instead at the grounds of Sim Baek-Hyeon Park, the home of Saint Donghai’s Rods, with his face pressed against the bothersome dirt between third base and home plate.

Sueno’s eyes examined the line of salt. It wasn’t right. Something was clearly wrong with it. That’s why the sun was in a grumpy mood. If it wasn’t the salt, it might be that the object beneath second base had been moved or stolen. If it wasn’t the object beneath second base, then it might be the golden twine across the outfield wall, perhaps it had been twisted or knocked loose. His mind ticked further down the list that was essentially endless.

He moved the pile with his shaking finger, carefully organizing the pile into a rough line. His shaking eyes dragged across the ground, looking for any hint of dirt beneath. He could not tell if it looked better than before.

As he got up and was dusting off his shirt, he noticed a small shine coming from the seats behind third base. As he walked closer and closer, he felt the heat growing hotter, and his own fear along with it.

Slumping up the steps, his heart dropped from its place and lay deep within his stomach. In one of the seats, a pristine pair of scissors lay in the middle of a circle of white string.

Sueno now knew what was wrong, and why the sun was in such a grumpy mood. He also knew the location of where that string originated. He could feel nothing but panic.

Nothing like this had ever happened within Loyo.

Bohr                         3 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  5
Loyo                         3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 X  6

Loyo                         1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  3
Super-Llamaland              1 2 0 0 3 0 3 2 X 11

Lineups for MD 5 & 6 (@Quebec and Shingoryeo, @Delaclava)
1B: #17 Shiryo Gerras, 31, R (St. Hayahoma’s)
RF: #22 Meung Boma, 30, L (United Sugar)
3B: #13 Jimi Fiazzo, 29, R (St. Yoosan’s)
SS: #18 Bo Ayoyara, 28, R (Narangara Motors)
LF: #20 Isabel Morata, 28, R (St. Yoosan’s)
DH: #9 Leo Miagara, 28, R (Loyo Athletic Reds)
2B: #11 Ra Min-Joo, 26, R (St. Mianho’s)
CF: #23 William “Billy” Yank, 32, L (St. Donghai’s)
C: #7 Ross Chariot, 31, R (St. Mianho’s)

Pitching: SP #15 Seung Hawoo, 27, R (St. Yoosan’s), RP #14 Kim Lin, 29, L (Loyo Athletic Reds), CP #24 Dongho Son, 30, R (St. Donghai’s)

[South Americanastan]

NATIONALNEWSNETWORK.COM
BREAKING: KANDESE FORCES STRIKE SOUTH OF KWALOMBO RIVER
Current Events | Editorials | SPORTS | Politics | Entertainment | Economy | Music

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OPEN->
NUWABALO - ACW ANNOUNCES WRESTLEWORLD XVII AS "BIGGEST SHOW YET"

Americanastanian Championship Wrestling announced that WrestleWorld XVII will be their "Biggest Show Yet" last Monday, featuring...

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OPEN->
FRALAKSAI - IAN ANDERSON TAKES VICTORY IN FRALAKSAI GRAND PRIX, LEADS CHAMPIONSHIP BY 19 POINTS

Nuwabalo native Ian Anderson took his first victory in Formula Americanastan this past Sunday, after rival Devon Smith suffered engine...

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<-CLOSE
DRAWKLAND - SOUTH AMERICANASTANIAN BULLPEN STRUGGLES, OFFENSE CARRIES TEAM TO SPLIT GAMES

South Americanastan has continued wading at .500 after 4 games, with the relieving staff throwing away a win against Pizorty and allowing 4 runs in 2 innings against Drawkland, turning what should have been a blowout into a two-run game. None of the pitchers in the bullpen seem to have settled in to the tournament, with setup man Kofi Woods and closer Matt Jackson particularly struggling. Both players have allowed 4 runs in 4 innings pitched, with Jackson allowing 3 runs in the past 2 games.

4 runs in 4 IP is bad for a setup man, and completely unacceptable for a closer. It's made even worse by the stellar outings by starters that these bullpen implosions often follow. Disregarding the thrashing of the usually consistent John Mikelanton by Team Cassadaigua, South Americanastanian starters have not allowed more than 1 run in an outing this WBC. Young starter Darby Nikolassen seems to have finally found his stride going into his fifth WBC appearance, showing some of the magic that fans have seen from him in domestic ball.

A small bit of comfort from the atrocities against baseball committed by the bullpen has been the Bears' bombastic offense, who have scored 3 or more runs in every game so far this WBC, including a 6 run first inning in the game against Drawkland. If any part of this team has stood out as the main proponent of its success, it is the offense. Frank Monteforte has hit the ball all over the yard, Jack Manning continues to not just evade father time but give him a wedgie and hang him from the dugout's roof, and Jacob Monte seems to hit every ball that touches his bat to the warning track.

However, even in the major offensive performances, the bullpen looms large. In spite of a miraculous first inning and 7 run outing against Drawkland, South Americanastan only won by two after another late bullpen collapse. In Pizorty, a 3-1 lead was blown by Sam Harrison and Kofi Woods, and even then, the offense would come back in the top of the ninth to tie 4-4.

A two-run home run allowed by closer Matt Jackson would lose them the game.

[Chromatika]

WBC 55 Games 3 and 4 Recap: Chromatika Escapes Brookstation, Dominate Anthor to Keep Perfect Record

Nobody thought Brookstation would be the first nation for the Chromatiks to really struggle against, but Hine Salle's first save attempt of the tournament went down the drain as she gave up a three-run home run at the top of the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Thankfully, Edith Ponce hit a solo home run to the bottom of the twelfth, and Chromatika would walk-off with a victory. Josh Malouf was the thorn in the Outliers' side, as the Stingrays shortstop made the most of all the opportunities. but the Outliers would escape their first really difficult game. Poor Miles Savey - he deserved the win.

Against Anthor, Karla Levey pitched into the eighth inning and the duo of Raitis Ranta and Kenra Annovar took over behind the plate, both driving in three runs. It was a return back to the normal as the Outliers have scored nine runs per game and conceded less than three. Hot start so far, with games against the new stars of Rouyoute and a revenge-seeking TJUN-ia coming up.

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The 3rd LPB Season - Chromatik Association - Retrospective - Part 3: CMT South
All Graphs Courtesy of South Newlandia


Magenta - Knetyohai Destroyers
Blue - Eyrods Pilots
Crimson - Felswyr Fire
Black - Umbar Corsairs



Knetyohai Destroyers: A Juggernaut in Motion
Manager: Leon Dumas

Pegged as the third best team in the division, the Destroyers, rebranded from the Dynamo to avoid confusion with the Esportivan counterpart, Knetyohai had Starting Pitcher Edwin Jarwin, Samuel Vaughn from South Newlandia, and one of the hottest prospects in Chromatik baseball: Mizaya Karuki, who will have to strive off Lidia Lisowska and Molina Ishkaya to make the Outliers as the backup to the legend Alisen Mayamoto. Not even the most loyal Knetyohai fan could've guessed on the season to come.

Knetyohai played some lights-out baseball. Knetyohai would have the best pitching in the Chromatik Association, led by their ace in Edwin Jarwin, supported by Cho Yung-Jin, Gregory Jackson, Veera Roland, and Breno Schmidt. Vaughn and Daniels ended up being great signings, and Keno Antwar, the left-hander from Lanar, was brilliant. With the team doing so well at the All-Star Break, Mizaya Karuki headed off to the Apple Valley Vipers to play in the Esportivan side of the LPB, getting Pansy Ward and some draft picks in the process.

Getting Kairos Synod from the Heroes was easy since they'd obtained Emery Wu, and the Destroyers made up for a little bit of ground that the Pilots would eventually make up to win the Division and stake their claim as one of the best teams in the country. Let a star go to a better association, get some collateral, and still win the Division? Perfect for this young club that is still on their rise.

Rebecca Saunders from Eshialand and Han-Go Dam the Designated Hitter are just extra pluses to a team that still leans on their Pitching more than anything else. What a staff they have heading into these playoffs.

Eyrods Pilots: Picking Up Where They Left Off
Manager: Alan Jackson

Heading into the first season of Chromatika in the LPB, Eyrods were the two-time defending Champions, having Arley Jones as their ace, Lidia Lisowska the shortstop prospect, Edith Ponce to anchor their batting order, and Sop Chi-Yong, the great young player from the Myana Merfolk.

It didn't work well to start. It wasn't till until about Game 130 that the Pilots started to bite on the heels of the Destroyers, and the team decided to make some moves at the deadline. Terry Soto came over from the St. Riecarn Saints, and though it took some time to get going, the Pilots started to come back, with Ponce being their best player. Ponce, Sop, Katawa, Pacheco, and Jones all made the All-Star team, and the Pilots did just enough to make up the ground to the Destroyers.

More on that race later, but there will be a Game 185 to decide the Division Winner. The winner makes it to the Chromatik Association Semifinals. The loser heads to the Wild-Card game.

What a division.

Felswyr Fire: Tending the Flames
Manager: Ilyana Petrova

Why was Felswyr the #1 ranked team in the Chromatik Association of the LPB? Just look at their players: Izzie Ramone joined by the veteran ace Hilary Angelou, Carson Beckett in the Bullpen, and the combination of Gary Light, Val Thornton, Miles Villeneuve, Nya Hollow, and Isaiah Jore in the starting nine. They would be chased by the Pilots and the Comets, but they were the favorites.

Then, the season came, and things never really got going. Besides one stretch early in the season where they may have caught the Pilots and the Destroyers, the Fire never got really close. Adding Bethany Riddle to a team with five All-Stars was supposed to get the job done and make the playoffs, and everyone that was a fan of the Fire knew that Angelou would be on her way out soon.

They'd do enough to force that Game 185. Against the Heroes. With the loser not making the Postseason.

Not what they wanted as the top team in the country.

Umbar Corsairs: No Loot for the Wicked
Manager: Mai Smolett

There was some hope for the Corsairs heading into this season. With Miles Savey as the team's ace and Joseph Edward. Jr. from the bullpen, there was some hope in their pitching staff. Having the tenth ranked Bullpen and ninth ranked Outfielders in the league, though, meant that they were seeded eighth.

Nothing went right for the Corsairs. Already 20 games below .500 by Game 100, Miles Savey wanted out of the club, and went to the Walstreim Stingrays, bringing in Huna Gugor. It was too little, too late, though, and the Corsairs ended up with the worst record in the Chromatik Association. Yes, even worse than Alnio and Lanar.

With Mai Smolett getting sacked, whoever comes in next will have their hands full. At least they have most of a blank slate to start with, with two pitchers in the bullpen that can be sold to generate more draft stock if needed. As part of a Division with three perennial playoff threats, they will have a long road back up from the bottom.

Next Up: Game 185

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Avalon

PART 12 - Coast

'The Throne.'

Their uttering of the word, which had coincidentally come at the same time, placed a particular weight of the topic into Christine's mind. Then, after several seconds, Christine felt the weight get into her head like how she had felt so in the earliest occasions she had worn the throne. Being the son of a 6'5 giant, Christine was a fairly tall woman at 180cm height, but in here, where the physical dimensions didn't exactly translate perfectly into the relatives, Christine felt shorter and more powerless once again.

The weight of the throne is both relative and absolute, she thought to herself, remembering some of the words uttered about it. And really comes down to the capacity of the person who wears it...it can either enlighten them further to achieve greater heights of their power, or to kill them.

'That assessment is correct. The power of it really comes down to those who are wearing it, and the full extent, while rarely reached, is only doable by those who have ability to believe in something greater than what they could see,' Henri said to her granddaughter as he took a couple of steps just half a metre above the floor and into the Jakdu. Christine then followed, and upon realising that the sword itself wasn't dangerous to walk on, took a couple of steps forward and then backward.

'See? Walking above a Jakdu, or on water, isn't as bad as you think,' Henri said, before lifting his left hand with palm facing the air. With the swish a holographic screen appeared before their eyes. Next came various pictures of varying quality, as they showed the picture of a happy, young family of two parents and four children who were at countryside retreats and at the Daemyeonggong Palace. They showed the four children, who all eventually outgrew their mother and three of them did outgrow their five-foot-ten father, at various stages, and it was in them Christine could figure out that those were her father Jacques IX, uncles Laurent and William, and Alexandrine.

'These pictures aren't from the albums in Daemyeongoong Palace or Thetford Castle,' Christine said as she recognised few other figures that came at various points. Those aren't normal though. Some friends, some Elvabyen relatives, some tutors...but maman's not there, and we see lot more of this woman often. Christine thought to herself, as she kept getting caught up with a specific figure of a woman roughly princes Laurent and William's age. She, a short straw-haired woman dressed in cobalt sundress, had a certain, quirky charm to her that did not exactly match with the house.

But the charm was apparent enough to the rest of the family, and in particular William, a teenager with lousily-combed curls and taste for navy-styled clothings, and looked bit more in the style of his mother, a well-beloved commoner princess at the time. 'Another correct assessment, Regina Christine,' Henri said as he nodded along to the curious mind that was Christine. By now it was clear enough to him that his granddaughter, who was born in the times of absolute peace and relative stability, held attributes more similar to his younger self. 'But I see that you have not checked everywhere. These are from Queen Nathalie, your grandmother, who of course has them back at the S'Gaang Gwaay.'

'Makes sense, but you are likely showing me them as selective instruments of what you want me to say about dad and uncles and tante.' Christine answered, her eyes glowing upon the coincidence. 'And that Swangard woman and Prince William comes up a lot. The lost aunt and the uncle who had passed in the liberation of Holy Republican Empire, isn't it?'

'Yes, that's William, my favourite,' Henri sighed as he took a step back. His second son, William, was someone who he had a particular affection for. 'Katherine de Kitemah, Lord Swangard's eldest. Your uncle, three years below Jacques, met Katherine by a "matter of chance" on summers when we all used to spend summers there.'

This part surprised her, for that had implied a longstanding tradition were either changed, or the very opposite had happened. 'So spending time at the S'Gaang used to be in the summers?' Christine asked, surprised that she had missed a detail of her parents' childhood. Those memories up in the northwest, where Queen Nathalie had spent in five decades since her husband's unfortunate passing, were some of those Christine had cherished the most, and now the nature of it, like the stability of this family at times, were being questioned altogether. 'Nowadays it's in the autumns when Caspian and I would visit granny, and sometimes the Fitzlawrence cousins would come along too.'

'Yes. The visits to that specific cottage were supposed be during the summers, when those spending their schooling years or work term out east or in Joongyeong or Songak would return for vacationing. Think about around you, dear. It's good to know them but not always sit with them, and find time to rest and quietly work when it's raining on the northwest.' Henri nodded, the late monarch not exactly the one who enjoyed those outings. Everybody had known that late Henri VIII was not really the man of the outdoors. He, a Farrerite who was a more radical, active version of his father Sylvain IV, was a man known for his preference noting details from parliamentary sessions. In those interests alone people knew that he, perhaps feeling the weight with too much ease, to the point where the last decade of late Sylvain IV's reign, when the great-grandfather of the current regent was sickly more often than not, saw little change to the usual matter of course.

So it was perhaps a great degree of surprise, at least to his and his wife's friends, that a scholarly prince would eventually marry Nathalie Ginzbourg, a Jewish Kingstonian with interest in social causes and urban planning at the University of Prince Raoul Islands. The match, however you put it, did not make sense at the time, and in the decades past this would pop up among their children too. 'Of course, none of my four children were like me, and only my middle children were really like Nathalie.'

'I see,' Christine sighed, as she remembered the outgoing, troublemaking ways of the uncle. 'I know father and uncle Laurent didn't always get along with each other, but it's sometimes hard to explain everything. Like I know about their stories and whatnot when it comes to that step-aunt and my cousins and whatnot.'

Henri briefly smiled upon his granddaughter's wishes to know a bit more about Laurent and William, before his face turned dark. 'Do you really wanna know about them, and why your father, on his deathbed, wanted you to hold off on Prince Laurent to second marriages until Claire Lundrigan enters the palace?'

[Drawkland]

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CUTOFF for MD5 and MD6!
Enjoy today's cutoff song!

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METRO DISTRICT (GROUP A)

Kriegiersien                 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 3 0  8
Cassadaigua                  0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  2

South Americanastan          0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 6  8
Furilisca                    0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0  3

Pizorty                      0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  3
Drawkland                    0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 X  5

Cassadaigua                  0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0  3
Drawkland                    0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

Pizorty                      0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Furilisca                    0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  5

South Americanastan          1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0  5
Kriegiersien                 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3  4

  Metro District (A)          Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 South Americanastan           6    4   2    33   27   +6    0.667
2 Cassadaigua                   6    4   2    28   21   +7    0.667
3 Kriegiersien                  6    3   3    32   18  +14    0.500
4 Drawkland                     6    3   3    27   25   +2    0.500
5 Pizorty                       6    2   4    18   25   −7    0.333
6 Furilisca                     6    2   4    15   37  −22    0.333

NORTHWEST (GROUP B)

Godchouzetsu                 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1  5
Anthor                       0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0  4

Brookstation                 0 0 0 4 3 5 0 0 0 12
TJUN-ia                      0 0 1 0 3 0 1 2 2  9

Chromatika                   3 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 3 10
Rouyoute                     0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0  4

Anthor                       0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2  4
Rouyoute                     1 1 0 4 1 0 0 0 X  7

Chromatika                   3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  4
TJUN-ia                      0 0 0 4 3 2 1 3 X 13

Brookstation                 2 0 1 1 1 0 4 0 0  9
Godchouzetsu                 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0  3

  Northwest (B)               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Chromatika                    6    5   1    50   28  +22    0.833
2 Rouyoute                      6    4   2    42   28  +14    0.667
3 Brookstation                  6    4   2    41   28  +13    0.667
4 TJUN-ia                       6    3   3    44   53   −9    0.500
5 Godchouzetsu                  6    2   4    25   42  −17    0.333
6 Anthor                        6    0   6    22   45  −23    0.000

NORTHEAST (GROUP C)

Catholic America             0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
The Greater Nordics          2 0 5 0 1 0 1 0 X  9

The Orion Islands            2 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0  6
South Newlandia              0 0 0 3 1 1 0 7 X 12

Eshialand                    0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Venmere                      2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

The Greater Nordics          0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0  5
Venmere                      1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  3

Eshialand                    0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0  3
South Newlandia              0 1 2 1 0 2 6 2 X 14

The Orion Islands            0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Catholic America             0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 X  2

  Northeast (C)               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 South Newlandia               6    6   0    51   19  +32    1.000
2 Eshialand                     6    3   3    29   38   −9    0.500
3 The Greater Nordics           6    3   3    34   34    0    0.500
4 Catholic America              6    3   3    13   24  −11    0.500
5 The Orion Islands             6    2   4    29   35   −6    0.333
6 Venmere                       6    1   5    12   18   −6    0.167

KAYO'S EASTLANDS (GROUP D)

Bohr                         2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Delaclava                    2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5  7

Super-Llamaland              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2
The Star Empire              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Quebec and Shingoryeo        0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Loyo                         1 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 X  8

Delaclava                    0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0  4
Loyo                         0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2

Quebec and Shingoryeo        0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
The Star Empire              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Super-Llamaland              0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0  5
Bohr                         0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

  Kayo's Eastlands (D)        Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Super-Llamaland               6    5   1    40   18  +22    0.833
2 Loyo                          6    4   2    27   24   +3    0.667
3 Quebec and Shingoryeo         6    4   2    33   20  +13    0.667
4 Delaclava                     6    3   3    25   27   −2    0.500
5 The Star Empire               6    2   4    11   21  −10    0.333
6 Bohr                          6    0   6    12   38  −26    0.000

WEST COAST (GROUP E)

Elmyia                       0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  3
North Cassadaigua            3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 X  6

StrayaRoos                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  4
Milchama                     0 3 1 0 6 1 0 0 X 11

Barnettsville                0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2  5
Zwangzug                     0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 4  9

North Cassadaigua            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Zwangzug                     0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 X  4

Barnettsville                0 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0  5
Milchama                     1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

StrayaRoos                   0 1 6 2 0 0 0 1 0 10
Elmyia                       0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 0  5

  West Coast (E)              Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Zwangzug                      6    6   0    52   15  +37    1.000
2 Milchama                      6    4   2    32   33   −1    0.667
3 StrayaRoos                    6    3   3    35   35    0    0.500
4 Barnettsville                 6    3   3    36   37   −1    0.500
5 North Cassadaigua             6    2   4    18   29  −11    0.333
6 Elmyia                        6    0   6    23   47  −24    0.000

HEARTLAND (GROUP F)

Liventia                     0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4  5
StrayaRoos Barrier Islands   2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Sea Dome                     0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1  3
Ranoria                      0 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 X  6

Canadian Dominion            0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Tikariot                     0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 X  4

StrayaRoos Barrier Islands   1 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0  6
Tikariot                     0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  3

Canadian Dominion            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2
Ranoria                      2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

Sea Dome                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Liventia                     0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 X  2

  Heartland (F)               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Liventia                      6    5   1    27   20   +7    0.833
2 Canadian Dominion             6    4   2    20   15   +5    0.667
3 Ranoria                       6    3   3    20   20    0    0.500
4 Sea Dome                      6    2   4    18   24   −6    0.333
5 Tikariot                      6    2   4    25   25    0    0.333
6 StrayaRoos Barrier Islands    6    2   4    19   25   −6    0.333

SOUTH CLIFFS (GROUP G)

Oscioru                      2 1 0 4 2 0 0 0 0  9
The Sherpa Empire            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3

New Eestiball                0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Banija                       0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 X  4

The 189                      0 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 0  5
Ko-oren                      0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

The Sherpa Empire            2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2  6
Ko-oren                      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

The 189                      0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1  4
Banija                       0 1 1 1 4 0 0 2 X  9

New Eestiball                4 0 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 10
Oscioru                      0 2 0 0 0 0 7 5 X 14

  South Cliffs (G)            Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Banija                        6    5   1    34   19  +15    0.833
2 The Sherpa Empire             6    4   2    17   16   +1    0.667
3 Oscioru                       6    4   2    36   25  +11    0.667
4 Ko-oren                       6    2   4    23   28   −5    0.333
5 The 189                       6    2   4    20   32  −12    0.333
6 New Eestiball                 6    1   5    27   37  −10    0.167

ELLZIDAN'S SOUTHEAST (GROUP H)

Princess Rainbow Sparkles    2 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0  8
Azevedocity                  0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0  3

Quintessence of Dust         5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  6
Abanhfleft                   4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  5

HUElavia                     1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  4
Nova Anglicana               0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0  3

Azevedocity                  0 1 0 0 1 2 1 5 0 10
Nova Anglicana               2 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 4  9

HUElavia                     1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  3
Abanhfleft                   0 1 0 0 0 3 0 5 X  9

Quintessence of Dust         0 2 0 0 0 2 0 5 1 10
Princess Rainbow Sparkles    0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0  5

  Ellzidan's Southeast (H)    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1 Quintessence of Dust          6    6   0    44   20  +24    1.000
2 Abanhfleft                    6    4   2    37   33   +4    0.667
3 HUElavia                      6    3   3    30   36   −6    0.500
4 Azevedocity                   6    2   4    25   31   −6    0.333
5 Nova Anglicana                6    2   4    32   33   −1    0.333
6 Princess Rainbow Sparkles     6    1   5    26   41  −15    0.167

[Quintessence of Dust]

(Provisional) box scores as posted on the TalkBaseball.qd website.

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
T. Brøndum RF              3   1   0   0   2   2   1  .174   1   2
L. Chevalier LF            4   1   0   0   1   3   1  .286   1   3
  a–J. McCallum LF         0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
K. Kusumoto 2B             5   0   0   0   0   1   2  .100   0   0
J. Theriault SS            4   2   2   2   1   2   0  .421   1   4
R. Weber DH                4   1   1   0   1   0   1  .300   2   3
H. Halvorsson 1B           4   0   0   1   1   2   1  .235   2   4
A. Prosen 3B               4   1   3   3   0   0   0  .444   1   3
J. Stevens CF              4   0   2   0   0   0   3  .333   0   0
N. Tachikake C             4   0   1   0   0   0   4  .214   1   5

a–J. McCallum substituted for L. Chevalier in the 8th

Doubles: J. Theriault (2, 1st inning, 2 on, 1 out), A. Prosen (2, 4th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Home runs: A. Prosen (1, 1st inning, 1 on, 2 outs)
Total bases: A. Prosen 7, J. Theriault 3, J. Stevens 2, R. Weber, N. Tachikake
2-out RBI: A. Prosen 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: N. Tachikake 2, T. Brøndum, L. Chevalier
Team LOB: 7

BASERUNNING
SB: J. Theriault (3)

FIELDING
Errors: K. Kusumoto (1)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
R. Duverger                3.0  6   5   5   1   4   0  64  55 15.00
N. Waismann                1.0  2   0   0   0   2   0  24  14  0.00
C. Rogers                  1.0  1   0   0   0   0   0  20  13  0.00
J. Issachar W (1 – 0)      2.0  0   0   0   1   3   0  36  23  0.00
A. Butler H (1)            1.0  0   0   0   0   2   0  14  11  0.00
K. Wahl SV (1)             1.0  1   0   0   0   0   0  14   8  1.93

Game score: R. Duverger 30
Batters faced: R. Duverger 17, N. Waismann 5, C. Rogers 5, J. Issachar 7, A. Butler 3, K. Wahl 4
Ground outs – fly outs: R. Duverger 1 – 4, N. Waismann 1 – 0, C. Rogers 2 – 1, J. Issachar 0 – 0, A. Butler 1 – 0, K. Wahl 1 – 2
Inherited runners – scored: N. Waismann 1 – 1, J. Issachar 2 – 2
Balk: K. Wahl

Scoring summary:

1.1: Jack Theriault doubles (7D). Tom Brøndum scores. Luka Chevalier scores.

1.1: Håkon Halvorsson grounds out (5–3). Jack Theriault scores.

1.2: Aleksej Prosen homers (9LD). Rémy Weber scores. Aleksej Prosen scores.

1.1: Booker Draves singles (6S). Maël Corneau scores.

1.1: Elbert Freeman doubles (78D). Hashim Bansamun scores. Aedan Soto scores.

1.1: Giovanni Perkinson singles (6MD). Booker Draves scores.

4.0: Hashim Bansamun singles (7LS). Ben Anderson scores.

7.1: Aleksej Prosen singles (34D). Jack Theriault scores.

                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Ngọc Anh CF             6   0   1   1   0   3   6  .313   1   4
L. Chevalier LF            4   1   3   5   2   0   0  .360   2   8
K. Yutani 2B               4   0   0   0   2   1   4  .353   1   2
J. Theriault SS            5   0   1   0   1   0   5  .375   1   4
R. Weber RF                2   2   0   0   3   1   2  .273   2   3
H. Halvorsson 1B           5   3   3   0   0   0   3  .318   2   4
N. Ágústsdóttir 3B         4   1   2   1   0   0   3  .333   0   2
B. Amundsen P              0   0   0   0   1   0   0  .000   0   0
  a–J. Stevens PH          1   0   0   0   0   0   0  .300   0   0
  M. Manginelli P          0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  K. Wahl P                0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  b–L. Ehrmantraut PH      1   0   0   0   0   0   1  .200   0   0
  C. Rogers P              0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  H. Reidarsson P          0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  c–T. Brøndum PH          0   1   0   0   1   0   0  .174   1   2
  B. Beaufils P            0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
N. Tachikake C             3   2   1   3   2   0   1  .235   2   8

a–J. Stevens pinch-hit for B. Amundsen in the 4th
b–L. Ehrmantraut pinch-hit for K. Wahl in the 6th
c–T. Brøndum pinch-hit for H. Reidarsson in the 8th

Doubles: L. Chevalier 2 (3, 1st inning, 0 on, 1 out; 9th inning, 1 on, 2 outs)
Home runs: N. Tachikake (2, 6th inning, 1 on, 2 outs), L. Chevalier (2, 8th inning, 3 on, 2 outs)
Total bases: L. Chevalier 8, N. Tachikake 4, H. Halvorsson 3, N. Ágústsdóttir 2, J. Theriault, J. Ngọc Anh
2-out RBI: L. Chevalier 4, N. Tachikake 2, J. Ngọc Anh
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Theriault 3, K. Yutani 2, H. Halvorsson 2, N. Ágústsdóttir
GIDP: L. Ehrmantraut
Sac Fly: N. Ágústsdóttir
Sac Bunt: B. Beaufils
Team LOB: 10

BASERUNNING
SB: J. Theriault (4)

FIELDING
Errors: J. Theriault (2)
Double plays: 1 (Theriault – Yutani – Halvorsson)


                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
B. Amundsen                3.0  2   1   1   1   3   0  45  25  7.20
M. Manginelli              1.2  6   4   4   2   2   0  41  25 27.00
K. Wahl                    0.1  0   0   0   0   1   0   6   4  1.80
C. Rogers                  1.0  0   0   0   0   1   0   9   8  0.00
H. Reidarsson W (1 – 0)    1.0  0   0   0   0   1   0  10   7  0.00
B. Beaufils                2.0  0   0   0   1   2   0  33  21  0.00

Game score: B. Amundsen 53
Batters faced: B. Amundsen 12, M. Manginelli 12, K. Wahl 1, C. Rogers 3, H. Reidarsson 3, B. Beaufils 7
Ground outs – fly outs: B. Amundsen 1 – 4, M. Manginelli 1 – 1, K. Wahl 0 – 0, C. Rogers 1 – 1, H. Reidarsson 1 – 1, B. Beaufils 2 – 2
Inherited runners – scored: K. Wahl 1 – 1

Scoring summary:

2.1: Naritoshi Tachikake draws a bases loaded walk. Rémy Weber scores.

2.2: Luka Chevalier draws a bases loaded walk. Håkon Halvorsson scores.

2.2: Misty Daffodil flies out (8RM). Heather Sweet scores.

4.0: Bonny Nightshade singles (34D). Velvet Moonlight scores. Celestial Plummelon scores.

4.0: Dapple Dipplecheeks distracts the fielders with her spectacularly twee name and sneaks an infield hit (56S). Flash Starflower scores.

5.2: Misty Daffodil doubles (5L). Orchid Darling scores.

6.2: Naritoshi Tachikake homers (7LD). Håkon Halvorsson scores. Naritoshi Tachikake scores.

8.0: Natalí Ágústsdóttir flies out (8LD). Rémy Weber scores.

8.2: Luka Chevalier homers (9D). Håkon Halvorsson scores. Tom Brøndum scores. Naritoshi Tachikake scores. Luka Chevalier scores.

9.2: Jessica Ngọc Anh singles (6MD). Natalí Ágústsdóttir scores.

[TJUN-ia]

Bouncing back is sometimes hard but for the Battin' Jags of TJUN-ia, they certainly managed that against unranked opposition. Maybe these were the perfect opponents to use for bouncing out the negativity that surrounded this side not that long ago, but Phillip Hellas-Verona didn't see it that way and instead focus on trying to bring the old momentum to a team certainly changed by the passage of time. At 2-2, the Battin' Jaguars were certainly feeling a bit more stable than before...but how long would that last?

Up first in this double-header at Sixth Drawkionel Park would be the one team we were yet to play, David Bayi's Brookstation, and this introduction with the #24 team certainly didn't go our way. All I can say about this contest was that it featured 21 total runs and both starting pitchers, Jason McRae and Pat Jensen, would be pulled. Going through every single run scored in this contest would take an amount of time I do not have so for now, I can summarise this contest through scores. We scored first before the chaos began, with 1-0 turning to 12-4 pretty quickly before the rest of the game was spent by the Jags trying to catch up. Unfortunately, 12 runs were just a step too far from our diminished potential and we end the first quarter at 2-3...certainly a bit of a fall from grace.

Still, we have time on our side and our rematch with Chromatika certainly showed this as Gene Almac and Clara Anoyara faced off once more. Losing 13-2 on an opening day to this side was certainly very painful at all levels, but we felt as though we needed to fight back if we wanted any chance of advancing into the playoffs from here...and so, we proved that the old TJUN-ia isn't dead at all. Rose Dawson would strike first with a 3-run bomb in the very first at-bat but from there, Almac slowed things down and would allow one 1 more run for the entire game. That would allow us to score 13 runs on the Outliers, an act of perfect revenge for 5 games ago, with most of them seeing the ball flying out of the park and into whatever was in the outfield that night. Hunter Jakes' Grand Slam, Santino Fenatti with 3, Stefan von Shültz with 2, Anastasia Mykvinich's 1-out solo bomb and Martina Andrade de Souza adding 3 more - it was pure baseball bliss. The demons had been exorcised in a single night and from here, 3-3 felt like more than a dream...it felt like the start of something new.

Rouyoute will have to be treated in a similar way in due course, our loss to them still recent in the mind, and then we face Anthor once more. Are we back to previous strengths or is this just a blip? Who knows but right now, everyone will be hoping that today will be the final one where we don't have a winning record. GO JAGS!

---

Results: L 9-12 vs Brookstation (24), W 13-4 vs Chromatika (6)
Standings: 3-3 (4th)
Next 2 Fixtures: @Rouyoute (UR), vs Anthor (UR)

[Abanhfleft]

MUSINGS OF AN ARMORED DINNER JACKET
Official blog of Ibrahim Ahmadinejad, former Right Fielder of the Verbergerkinnh Cubs and the Abanhfleft Revolution

ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO (QUINTESSENCE OF) DUST

WRITING FROM DUCENTU, DRAWKLAND - Ah, it does feel good to see some semblance of normality restored to the world of Fleftic baseball. It was kinda getting weird seeing the Revolution winning two games straight, so for some strange and perhaps sick reason, getting that second loss against Quintessence of Dust (hereafter QoD) seemed to have restored the balance in the universe. It’s almost like Abanhfleft can get good, but they can’t get too good or else the whole multiverse is going to collapse in and of itself. And if you ask me, the multiverse collapsing in on itself is really going to put a dent into my future travel plans.

To get back to the point of this whole blog post though, QoD paid Abanhfleft a visit at the Ducentu Municipal Stadium. There still aren’t enough Fleftic fans to fill all 81,000 seats in this place, but the number has been getting larger and larger as this Classic goes on. Well, if the wins keep outpacing the losses then the numbers will certainly follow but, even as it is, there’s still almost enough fans of the blue, orange, and green turning up here to support the Revolution, so the fans definitely won’t be a problem at the moment. If the results start taking a turn for the worse, it might get a bit rowdy, if not downright nasty, but for now, the mood is light and happy.

For all of those who were expecting something a bit different from the two previous games where Abanhfleft didn’t score any runs early on in those games, they were about to be in for a treat here against QoD. It was going to turn out to be a short treat, but when it was happening, the fans were eating it all up. Nine runs in the first inning alone between both teams! Nine runs! If that isn’t a crazy game of baseball then I don’t know what is. And the truly crazy thing about it all is that there wasn’t a whole lot of home runs involved in this massive glut of runs as well. Normally, Fleftic baseball strategy revolves around getting as many hitters on base and then banking on the likes of Aedan Soto, Booker Draves, and Gio Perkinson to hit those doubles, triples, and even grand slams. Today, there was none of that. This new-look Revolution team isn’t yet known for their base-stealing ability, but they definitely looked like they were learning this particular skill on the fly against QoD. I’m not gonna lie; it wasn’t a pretty sight. I mean, they definitely know how to steal a base, but actually executing it is a bit iffier than they probably expected. Still, they survived, and though the Revolution lost, a one-run loss against QoD is perhaps the best possible outcome for Abanhfleft that actually involves a loss.

No use moaning over that result now though, since the game is over and the result is in the books. We’ll have to bide our time and enact our vengeance against QoD later on. But do you know on whom we could actually enact our revenge immediately after the QoD game? HUElavia. Yes, the very same team that put the Revolution down by ten runs within the first two innings is now in our sights, and the boys are out for blood. Or at least that was the plan. Abanhfleft might have been out for revenge, but HUElavia were only here to play a game of baseball, and that bloodlust certainly might have messed up Kurtis Lingenfelter’s game plan because the Revolution players weren’t focused enough on their jobs. This allowed HUElavia to get their runners on base, and while Bertram Benedetto was doing a good enough job of not letting the HUElavian batters from scoring home runs this time around, he was still allowing them to get enough hits that they could start scoring via RBI. That’s not as bad as giving up homers and grand slams, but giving up RBIs is the baseball equivalent of death by a thousand cuts: it’s slow and quite painful.

Despite Benedetto managing to stop much of the rot, that still wasn’t enough to stop HUElavia from going 2-0 up coming into the bottom of the second inning. It’s definitely not good since HUElavia were beating Abanhfleft once again, but at the same time, it’s not 10-0 so… Little victories and all that. But that did have the effect of lighting a fire underneath the players’ bums, and they finally realized that just wanting revenge wasn’t going to mean squat if they didn’t play their part in getting it. Cedric Colon was the first guy to get the ball rolling for the Revolution, first stealing second base after an error on the part of the HUElavian right fielder (I feel your pain, bro, even if you do play for the other side) and then capitalizing on another error from the center fielder this time on a Ben Anderson hit to finally make it back home. Once again, we didn’t score on a home run, but all of those runs matter in the end no matter how we score them.

Things quieted down in and around the middle third of the game. People were still getting on base in the third and fifth innings, but they couldn’t capitalize on those gains. But come the bottom of the sixth inning, Elbert Freeman would get things rolling once again with a single home run, and then Cedie Colon and Ben Anderson would steal themselves a few bases, waiting for either a home run strike or an error to bring them back home. Relief pitcher Glenn Smith managed to get Colon back to home plate with a sac bunt, and then Maël Corneau did the same for Benny boy but with a far ball that bounced off of a wall or two before being fielded back into play.

So it was now advantage Abanhfleft, and by a decent margin as well. 4-2 is not a score to be scoffed at, at least depending on the sport. I know that in some sports like baseball, soccer, and both forms of hockey, this is a perfectly reasonable score, but there are other sports where 4-2 is a score just at the start of a game like basketball, or it can't be achieved because of some weird scoring rules like gridiron or rugby union. But once again, I digress. We're talking about baseball and baseball alone, not any other sport out there. Getting back to the original point, the Abanhfleft Revolution finally had the lead against the HUElavian team. But with the end still some distance away, there was still enough time for HUElavia to claw their way back if the Revolution weren't careful. So what did Kurtis Lingenfelter's men do? They increased the lead, plain and simple. And this is how it happened.

Ben Anderson got a double after three pitches from the HUElavian reliever. Glenn Smith then got a single while allowing Benny boy to move to third base, thus filling up the corners. Maël Corneau got a single, allowing Anderson to come home. Hashim Bansamun got walked, loading the bases. Jarred Hardwick struck out, and so did Aedan Soto, thus presenting the possibility that a lot of Fleftics could get stranded. But then came Elbert Freeman to the rescue! Elbert found a gap in between second base and the shortstop into which he sent the ball, allowing both Smith and Corneau to touch home plate. And Gio Perkinson would wrap it up with a two-run homer to seal the deal for the Revolution and complete part one of the team's revenge against the team that put them ten runs down in the first two innings of their very first game in this Classic. Yes, that still stings, and no, we won't stop talking about it ever.

Abanhfleft will embark on a short little road trip up to Nova Anglicana's quote-unquote "home stadium," ORTC Park in Shire-Port, to square off against the Lions yet again before we play host to Azevedocity in Ducentu. My gut tells me that this will be another 1-1 split, but this is baseball, and we are Abanhfleft. Literally anything can happen with this team, just as we had proven these past few days. And once again, I will be covering all of the action and reporting them all on my blog. This is the Armored Dinner Jacket saying ciao, peace. Catch you in my next post.

[Banija]

Banijan Baseball Digest

As more Banijan stars opt for the LPB over the WBBL, the question is asked- how can the WBBL keep up? And does it even want to keep up?


An uncolored photo of the Herzegovina City Ice Nightwalkers winning a WBBL championship

BUSUKUMA, NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION- The Western Banijan Baseball League. Banija's professional league created in the shadow of World Baseball Classic 47, which, of course, was our first trophy earned in the sport. The Western Banijan Baseball League has mostly served its primary purpose- ensure that Banijans are playing competitively throughout the year, so that our golden generation that delivered us a bronze medal from nowhere in WBC 46(we hadn't even gone past the group stages in any of the previous 5 tournaments), and a world title at 47, wouldn't just wither and die- but that it would build the foundation of consistent Banijan success. And to that measure, the league has absolutely succeeded.

Of course, in the last 9 WBCs, we've won 2 world titles, made at least the quarterfinals at 8 of those 9 tournaments, and won at least one playoff series in every single classic. We are certainly near the top in terms of total playoff wins since WBC 46. We've also earned a regional title, and a pair of Londinium Challenge Invitational titles as well throughout that period. To put it meekly- the WBBL has absolutely succeeded at that charge. And so the Olympic Committee of Banija, who's charge is developing national teams, are absolutely content.

But the OCB's content has rankled a lot of baseball folks within the country. And it's the words of Banija's old manager, for 8 of those aforementioned classics, the two-time world champion, Ousman Kakay. "Obviously, who doesn't support the national team? Certainly, we want a strong national team." Ousman Kakay told reporters. "But we need to have strong domestics as well. We're getting crowds, there's support- but the neglect will come to bite us." Let's dive deeper into this, shall we?

Problem #1- Every player's goal on the national team, seems to be to play in the LPB

The LPB, which started as a joint venture between South Newlandia and Super-Llamaland, has turned into a giant behemoth- and, by far, the highest class of professional play anywhere you'll find in the entire sport. 12 teams each from South Newlandia, Super-Llamaland, Chromatika, and Ko-oren, this forms a bi-regional, 48 team beast of a league. And, of course, with 25 man rosters, that means there are 1,200 professional contracts that teams from that league give out. 5 of them currently go to Banijan national teamers- and more certainly want some.

Sadiiq Xoosh's agent told the press, right before Banija's second matchup against The 189 on Matchday 6, that Xoosh would not leave college early for a WBBL contract. "If the LPB came calling, well- that's another story. I'm sure basically any player here would give up their WBBL contracts in a heartbeat to go to Esportiva or Anaia and play in this league." It was on a small-time podcast, but the words caught fire on twii.tur and went viral. And can you blame em? Higher standard of play, higher pay, etc... Lots of things to support that analysis.

Problem #2- The League is simply too damn small- and ignores all of Eastern Banija

There are 14 teams in the WBBL. The 10 original teams, and only 4 expansion teams since the league was created. Here is the list

Busukuma Killer Catfish(Busukuma, National Capitol Region)
Busembe Orcas (Busembe, Kitara)
Kitara Athletic Association(Sisonke, Kitara) - Connected to Kitara AA of the S-FPL and the GFLB.
Kabakono Werewolves (Kabakono, Kitara)
Kosactus Mummies (Kosactus, Moravica)
Iziarad Cavaliers (Iziarad, Moravica)
Istria Purple Nymphs (Istria, Moravica)
Wakiso Steel Banchees (Wakiso, Istria, Moravica
Herzegovina City Ice Nightwalkers (Herzegovina City, Moravica)
Herzegovina City Elephants (Herzegovina City, Moravica)
Busemlu Triceratopses (Busemlu, Buganda)
Luguyala Black Bears (Luguyala,Aksum)
Mynda Warriors(Mynda, Aksum)
Mukeruzi Roos (Mukeruzi, Ankole)

14 teams seems like a decent size for a baseball league, right? Well, Look further into this. We have a pair of entire regions simply left off of this map entirely- Hangaza, Banija's second most populous region, and then Bunyoro, both don't have a single team. And It's not just that. Hoima, the nation's 5th largest city, also lacks a team. There could easily be teams in the Busoga Islands, which basically every other Banijan sports league does. Busukuma's growth over the years has been rapid and stunning- the capitol could probably support a second team.

One might say that you shouldn't be surprised that a league called the Western Banijan Baseball League ignores the eastern half of the country? But remember, there's no Eastern equivalent. There are no eastern professional teams. At least this avoids the problems we have in, say, basketball, where you've got a bunch of rival leagues diluting the talent pool. The name isn't set in stone. But whenever there's been push to add eastern teams, the OCB has, stunningly, rebuffed it. It's far easier to simply limit travel to Banija's West Coast (plus Mukeruzi and Busemlu).

This could easily be a 20 team league. This alienates Banijan baseball fans from many quickly growing baseball hotbeds. Which leads to our third problem...

Problem #3- The WBBL is the second most popular baseball league in Banija, after the LPB

The WBBL gets strong attendance. Everybody's able to consistently put butts in seats, and there are a number of teams that are consistent sellouts on the weekends. But on television? It's a different story entirely. When Matong Sports Television, just last season, bought the broadcast rights to LPB in both Banija and the Busoga Islands, it was for quite a hefty fee increase. While the exact NSD amounts are not public, those in the know have claimed that they are 'well above' the WBBL.

"The LPB gets great ratings in Banija." Said one sports business professor at Loyola-Busukuma. "In fact, while I can't reveal dollar amounts, their broadcast deal in here and the Busoga Islands(which were sold jointly), are probably worth 2X the TV dollars of the WBBL in our home country. Just a huge financial gap."

Those are the problems facing the WBBL- they help explain the gap. How does the OCB view these problems? What are the courses of action the WBBL is considering taking? We'll find out in tomorrow's edition of this very magazine...

WBC 55 Roundup
- Banija picked up a pair of wins to bounce back from our loss to The Sherpa Empire. With a 4-3 win over New Eestiland, and then a 9-4 victory over The 189, that puts us at 5-1, in good enough position for first place in the group- although, of course, it is still extremely early, with over 2/3s (14) of the matchdays remaining. In this tournament, the group winners get a bye to the round of 16, while the runner-ups and third place teams have to play in the Round of 24. Makes it an imperative goal of the national team to try and avoid those rounds, simply so that we can set our rotation for the playoffs.
- Elsewhere, only 3 teams remain undefeated- the defending champions, South Newlandia, the WBC 53 champions, Quintessence of Dust, and then Zwangzug, who all sit at 6-0. And within our group, there is likely to be fierce competition to reach the knockout stages, as The Sherpa Empire and Oscioru both sit just one game behind Banija, while everybody expects Ko-oren to climb out of the early hole that they've dug for themselves.

[Cassadaigua]

Fillies earn another split as Classic chugs along,
by Chelsea Dufrense, Concord Heights Times

We are now six games into the World Baseball Classic, putting us past the point where everything is brand new and people talk about getting off on the right foot to preparing that middle period that in domestic leagues are called the “dog days” of a season. As we look at the Metro District Group, we see everyone being somewhere between 4-2 and 2-4. Everyone is still in it, and no one has dug themselves into too deep of a hole. Fortunately for our beloved baseballers, we are one of the teams at 4-2 so you want to keep that momentum going.

Now, before I get into recapping the last two games, I want to address what has become a hotly debated topic on Cassadagan social media: should South Americana’s calling of our win against us, “an upset”. Ryan Jancox, a senior at Brattleboro Technical Institute took a simple approach, posting that, “I look at the rankings. South Americanastan is #17, we are #32. Mathematically, their ranking is almost half of our ranking. Why are we discussing this? Obviously it is an upset, and probably a pretty big one. It’s called math people, look into it.” Some will reply, whether they believe Ryan or not, that such an attitude would be pretty typical of a senior from Brat Tech, but that’s the subject for another type of article which will not be coming here. Holly Merrick, of Concord Heights was one of several disagreeing with him, “So, Ryan, and everyone else, tell me what exactly South Americanastan has done in the World Baseball Classic. I am looking for their name somewhere on the past champions list or even the we did something good at one time list. They don’t have a single Hall of Fame point. We were hall of fame nation decades ago. Congrats to them on their average finishes and having the ranking that they do. I don’t think it’s as much respecting their ranking as much as I doubt anyone really believes we are 32nd. If you think nations like Bardney and Mylderm are better than us, then something is wrong with you.” Some have criticized the structure of World Baseball Classic 54 as being destructive to rankings, with Cassadaigua being a major victim. Jessica Freestone, also from Concord Heights, posted, “The hosts of World Baseball Classic 54 did a great job with the running of the tournament, so please do not interpret my criticism as being against them. But a ten game group stage, and Cassadaigua in the same group as The Sherpa Empire and Super-Llamaland? With a longer group stage, things could have balanced out a little with others in that group, but not enough games were played. It was almost like 17 (World Baseball Classic) where the group stage was too short. It also allowed for some teams in weaker groups to move up the rankings. Our result is understanable, but that result put us way lower than we really are. I respect South Americanastan, and can understand why they would call it an upset but from our perspective, we know we are much better.”

The last two games for the Fillies saw the pink and black earn a split, losing to Kriegiersien 8-2 before rebounding against the Drawks, 3-2. Against the Buccaneer Pirates, Tessa McElvain started well, allowing just one run in the first four innings, but she would become unglued in the fifth. The man known simply as Nappo led the inning off with a homer to right, and Tessa looked to be more rattled by it than you want, missing with location of a sinker to Wasnogood that was drilled for a double (simply did not have the height to clear the fence), then walked Cherry on four pitches. It was the start of a three run inning for the group’s top seed, and they would not look back. The Fillies went to the bullpen after the inning but could not generate significant offense against Sally. It was mentioned by some that the difference in Kriegiersien using a four-player rotation and us using a five player rotation resulted in their ace being up against our #5. In a six team group, the same pitchers will pitch against one another, as scheduled, but maybe Allyson McIntosh will change things up with that rotation. “Right now, it is not my plan to do so, but it is something that I am monitoring. Having Stella (Freeman) against Drawkland is a good matchup for us and Breanne matches up against South Americanastan. In that regard, I really like it. I may change things up in the second half, but right now it is not my plan. Stay tuned, though.”

In her second game against Drawkland, Stella Freeman was strong, pitching seven innings, and allowing two runs on six hits. That’s a big difference from her first game, where she was knocked out after just two innings, and allowing six runs. Freeman seemed a lot more comfortable, and did not struggle with her control at all. She said that she was not nervous in the first game, even though she couldn’t find the strike zone for the first two batters, and opted to give credit to the Drawk Corps hitters. While we can think otherwise, what is not disputable is that she looked a lot better here, only walking one and even that was after a ten pitch battle. Cassadaigua did not have any big offensive stars, as there was not anyone in the lineup with more than one hit, and there were no home runs, but the biggest hit of the game came off the bat of Kristen Martorella, who singled in Tabitha Serrano in the top of the 8th, to break the 2-2 tie. That allowed Freeman to get the win, since she was still the pitcher of record.

The next game for the Fillies is against South Americanastan. Maybe they have another “upset” ready to hand out.

[-Anthor-]

Anthoran National Baseball Team
"The Thunderheads"

Returning to the international stage for the first time since WBC 51, the Thunderheads are going to look quite different compared to any of the prior appearances. The most obvious change is the new captain at the helm, Brendan Rogers who replaces Aarron Cannon, after the ABL declined to extend Cannon's contract. Rogers is a 49-year old native of Malshiel in north-western Anthor, and has enjoyed significant success within the ABL through a five year stint as the manager of the Sherbourne Chargers, capturing 3 titles and making the playoffs each year. He has resigned his post there to fully enthrall himself with the Thunderheads, and it's hoping that in particular his focus on a developmental program for the team will enhance it's opportunities for success.

Home Stadium: Marblerose Park(72,000), Summercliff, Anthor
Manager: Brendan Rogers
Bench Coach(Takes over in case of ejection): Braylon Marlen
Hitting Coach: Coreen McAllister
Pitching Coach: Stephen Maddox
Jerseys:

• Home: Burgundy base with white pinstripes and grey pants
  Away: Grey base with burgundy lettering

Full Roster (Please note that ratings are on a true 20/80 scale):

Starting Pitchers
[RHP] Ben "Snake" Gibson (Bardney) - #4, Aged 34
Mov: 60 Con: 65 Vel: 80
Repertoire: Cutter, Slider, Changeup
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 11-3, 1.63 ERA, .80 WHIP, 264 K's, 168 IP

[RHP] Daniel Franks (East Kilbride) - #9, Aged 22
Mov: 55 Con: 60 Vel: 75
Repertoire: Fastball, Curveball, Slider, Forkball
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 18-7, 2.32 ERA, .98 WHIP, 249 K's, 209.2 IP

[RHP] Daniel Robertson (Nottingham) - #50, Aged 28
Mov: 55 Con: 60 Vel: 70
Repertoire: Fastball, Circle Changeup, Slurveball, Splitter
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 16-8, 2.66 ERA, 1.1 WHIP, 235 K's, 220 IP

[RHP] Travis "Danger" Killian (Sherborne) - #42, Aged 35
Mov: 70 Con: 65 Vel: 65
Repertoire: Fastball, Changeup, Cutter, Forkball
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 22-7, 1.78 ERA, .91 WHIP, 213 K's, 252.2 IP

[RHP] Wayne McDonald (Bristol) - #7, Aged 30
Mov: 55 Con: 60 Vel: 65
Repertoire: Knuckleball, Slider, Splitter
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 14-12, 2.49 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 213 K's, 244.3 IP

Relievers
[RHP/CL] John Kelsey (Sherbourne) - #19 , Aged 28
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 2-0, 43 SV's, 86.4 IP, .80 WHIP, .64 ERA, 12.8 K/9 (120 K's)
[RHP/CL] Mike Lighell - #61 , Aged 33
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 6-6, 46 SV's, 85.1 IP, 1.05 WHIP, 1.69 ERA, 10.8 K/9 (102 K's)
[RHP/RP] Jude Cooke (Bristol) - Setup #13, Aged 32
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 2-0, 1 SV's, 77 IP, 10.4 K/9, 2.49 ERA, 0.97 WHIP
[LHP/RP] Elliot Dougherty (Warwick) - Setup #44, Aged 30
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 1-3, 1 SV's, 57.2 IP, 11.9 K/9(76 K's), .92 WHIP, 1.25 ERA
[RHP/RP] Logan Grange (Nottingham) - Setup/Middle Relief #51, Aged 34
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 2-1, 18 SV's, 55.1 IP, .69 WHIP, 9.1 K/9(87 K's), .98 ERA
[RHP/RP] Julian Arscott (Warwick)- Mid Reliever #55, Aged 35
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 3-6, 28 SV's, 77.2 IP, .98 WHIP, 12.6 K/9(109 K's), 1.62 ERA
[RHP/RP] Bryan Richardson (Luton) - Middle Relief #34, Aged 32
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 5-5, 1 SV's, 54.2 IP, 1.35 WHIP, 14.7 K/9(89 K's), 4.28 ERA
[RHP/RP] Clyde Cherry (Coventry) - Middle Relief #31, Aged 35
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 2-1, 1 SV's, 60.1 IP, 0.86 WHIP, 9 K/9 (60 K's), 0.90 ERA
[RHP/RP] Steve Millar (East Kilbride) - Long Relief/Stopper #69, Aged 31
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): 12-1, 1 SV's, 74.2 IP, .79 WHIP, 12.7 K/9(105 K's), 1.57 ERA

Catcher
(R) Brandon Lyr (Wayford) - #54, Aged 29
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .285 AVG, .522 SLG, .377 OPS, 494 AB, 141 H, 29 HR, 79 RBI, 92 R
(R) Jason "Steady" MacKey (East Kilbride)* - #12, Aged 35
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .286 AVG, .571 SLG, .382 OPS, 483 AB, 138 H, 37 HR, 97 RBI, 88 R


First Base
(R) Peter Eaves (Alnwick)* - #90, Aged 30
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .333 AVG, .640 SLG, 1.035 OPS, 633 AB, 211 H, 49 HR, 122 RBI, 115 R
(R) Eddie Sissons (Sherbourne) - #19 Aged 28
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .311 AVG, .556 SLG, .458 OBP, 1.078 OPS, 548 AB, 184 H, 33 HR, 87 RBI, 98 R, 126 BB

Second Base
(L) Tony Russell (East Kilbridge) - #31, Aged 37*
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .376 AVG, .548 SLG, 1.040 OPS, 551 AB, 207 H, 18 HR, 79 RBI, 92 R, 59 XBH
(S) Gael "Bronco" Luke (Holywell) - #33, Aged 31
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .340 AVG, .670 SLG, 1.102 OPS, 470 AB, 160 H, 40 HR, 94 RBI, 78 R
(R) Taylor "Slap" Townsend (Bradford) - #2, Aged 36
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .315 AVG, .681 SLG, 1.107 OPS, 492 AB, 155 H, 51 HR, 109 RBI, 115 R

Shortstop
(L/R) Brad "Buck" Green (Sherbourne)- #21, Aged 30
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .336 AVG, .570 SLG, .433 OBP, 589 AB, 198 H, 33 HR, 12 RBI, 96 R, 38 XBH

Third Base
(R) Ryan Hardy (Alnwick) - #11, Aged 35
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .273 AVG, .410 SLG, .377 OBP, 227 AB, 62 H, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 35 R
(R) Bill Jacobs (Buckfast)* - #1, Aged 33
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .303 AVG, .515 SLG, .391 OBP, 585 AB, 177 H, 26 HR, 84 RBI, 87 R, 43 XBH

Left Field
(L) Clive Harness (Plymouth) - #4, Aged 26
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .341 AVG, .590 SLG, .384 OBP, 580 AB, 198 H, 33 HR, 84 RBI, 96 R, 44 XBH
(L) John Kirby (Bournemouth)* - #26, Aged 26
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .330 AVG, .585 SLG, .410 OBP, 610 AB, 201 H, 41 HR, 95 RBI, 106 R, 32 XBH


Center Field
(L) Christopher "Broadway" Rogers (Morecombe)* - #7, Aged 28
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .350 AVG, .772 SLG, .455 OBP, 391 AB, 137 H, 42 HR, 94 RBI, 91 R, 24 SB, 34 XBH
(R) John Neary (Sherborne) - #40, Aged 31
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .335 AVG, .521 SLG, .397 OBP, 641 AB, 215 H, 18 HR, 65 RBI, 115 R, 57 XBH, 62 BB, 24 SB

Right Field
(L) Shane Kennedy (Luton)- #16, Aged 28
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .315 AVG, .480 SLG, .362 OBP, 537 AB, 169 H, 12 HR, 60 RBI, 75 R, 45 XBH
(R) Kyle Patterson (Nottingham) - #17, Aged 36
Last Full Season Stats(Last Season): .272 AVG, .699 SLG, .378 OBP, 541 AB, 147 H, 69 HR, 138 RBI, 117 R, 24 XBH

LF Clive Harness (S)
SS Brad Green (S)
2B Gael Luke (S)
CF Christopher Rogers (L)
3B Ryan Hardy (S)
C Jason MacKey (R)
RF Shane Kennedy (L)
1B Peter Eaves (R)
DH Taylor Townsend (R)

LF Clive Harness (S)
SS Brad Green (S)
2B Tony Russell (L)
CF Christopher Rogers (L)
3B Ryan Hardy (S)
C Bradley Greer (R)
RF Shane Kennedy (L)
1B Peter Eaves (R)
Pitcher's Spot

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my runscorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: Yes
Follow my pitching rotation: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes (TG first)
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes (TG First)
Eject my players: No
Godmod other events: Yes (TG First)
Use DH at home: Yes

[South Newlandia]

How to play Herd Game, with Shawn Zimmerman, Darlene Le, and Jay Kramer

The Elephants have planned a session to show you how every South Newlandians’ favourite card game is actually played, because, admittedly, it is quite difficult [OOC: I initially also meant to make a couple more graphics to make this slightly easier to follow along with, but its too late for me now, sorry]. Center Fielder Zimmerman (8-for-31, 2 HR, 2 SB), Relief Pitcher Darlene Le (3 IP, 1 ER) and Starting Pitcher Jay Kramer (1-0, 5.1 IP, 2 ER) have agreed to showcase how it‘s done.
To start, Le is the youngest of the trio, and with Kramer sitting counter-clockwise from her, he’ll deal out the cards. Let’s see what everyone gets!

Darlene Le: She’s got a green Matriarch, a green Aunt, a yellow Matriarch, a yellow Aunt, and a yellow Mother, a red Matriarch, a red Calf, and five blue cards: a Matriarch, an Aunt, both Fathers, and a Calf. This is a very decent hand; not only does the relief pitcher already have all four Matriarchs, which are not only worth 100 points, but will also be quite strong in the later phase; but she’s only missing the blue Mother for a complete herd. Additionally, she also has three Aunts, which aren’t going to worth any points, but they’ll still be fairly strong later. She’ll also be allowed to play the first card later, because she’s the starting player in this round, which gives her additional leverage. Right now, just her hand cards are worth the 100 points from the Matriarchs.

Shawn Zimmerman: He’s got a blue Matriarch, a blue Calf, a yellow Father and a yellow Calf, four green cards (a Matrirach, an Aunt, a Mother and a Calf) and four red cards (an Aunt, a Mother, a Father and a Calf). This is a pretty good hand as well, because Shawn can draw two different cards to make a herd – either a green Father or a red Matriarch. Don’t forget, there’s still four cards on the table that the winner of the auction will get access to! Shawn also has all four Calfs (worth 40 points), but that doesn’t tend to be very useful because Calfs are very weak down the line. He also has a red pair of Father and Mother, worth 20 points, or 40 should they be golded; up to 80 as of now; and he also the Elephant’s Ear with a yellow Father and green Calf (it is worth noting that Zimmerman only has one green Calf, but it is allowed to count for both the all-Calfs and Elephant’s Ear at the same time), putting him up to 120. However, those are all relatively weak cards in the second phase.

Jay Kramer: Kramer has the worst hand on this table; with three cards of each suit: a green Mother, Father, and Calf; a blue Aunt and both Mothers; a yellow Matriarch, Father, and Calf; and a red Aunt, Mother, and Father. Being not very strong in all suits is a disadvantage later, and Kramer also just has a single Matriarch and no good drawing chances. He does have pairs in Green and Red, worth 60 points if either suit is golded, and the Elephant’s Ear, but this doesn’t appear very playable.

Le starts off by offering 150 to Zimmerman, who answers with 200; eventually Le gets up to 280 in the back-and-forth, and Zimmerman decides to give up. Kramer could try to bluff, offering 290 in hopes of Le keeping going and making things a bit harder with a higher target for her, but the starting pitcher decides that it’s too risky. Le takes the game, worth 280.

Le takes up the four remaining cards in the middle to find a green Father, a yellow Aunt, a yellow Mother, and a red Matriarch. That’s not what she was hoping for; not only did she not get the family, but she didn’t get another card for her strongest suit either, and nothing that would add points for her, either. She decides to gold yellow; there is an argument to make for red, where she has both matriarchs, but having five strong golded cards is preferable to just three, one of which is a Calf. She puts down her red Calf, green Father, one of her blue Fathers, and her blue Calf, and shows that she has four Matriarchs, and announces that she golds yellow for this game. With 100 points secured, she will need to reach 180 of 250 available points in the second phase to win the game – a tall order, but with five Matriarchs and four Aunts, it’s not impossible; certainly not bad enough to try.

Now, Zimmerman and Kramer get to declare their points – both are beating themselves up because the four cards that were just about useless to Le would have each secured them herds. Incredibly, Zimmerman would have hit both (two families in one hand are extremely rare), which would have set him up for a dominating win, and Kramer would have picked up a yellow family. However, you never know what cards you’ll get; and they’ll have to try and stop Darlene Le from winning this round. Kramer has his green and red pairs and the Elephant’s Ear, which award him 80 points; and Zimmerman has a red pair as well, in addition to having all Calfs and the Elephants’ Ear, worth 100 points in total.

Le is now allowed to start the second phase. She starts with her green Matriarch, which Zimmerman and Kramer each follow up with their green Calfs. Le takes the first trick. Next, she plays her first golded card; with the yellow Matriarch being followed, again, by two yellow Calfs. Looking to take some more golded cards out of the game immediately (she knows both Shawn and Jay still have yellow cards because they each showed the Elephant’s Ear earlier), she now plays her yellow Mother; Zimmerman, with only one choice, plays his yellow Father, and Kramer takes the trick with his yellow Matriarch.

Kramer would love to play a Matriarch, but because he doesn’t have another, he hopes to set up Shawn with his green Mother. He knows Le only played one Matriarch, and might’ve played both had she had both; and any point that goes to Zimmerman is a point that doesn’t go to Le, which is Kramer’s main objective right now. The green Mother is followed by Le, forced to play her green Aunt, and Zimmerman taking the trick with his green Matriarch.

Zimmerman is hoping that Le still has more green cards left, and plays his Aunt; Kramer plays his last green card, his Father, and Le takes the trick by playing her golded yellow Mother.

With Le back to decide, she plays her blue Father, hoping to get rid of one of her weaker cards; Zimmerman plays his Matriarch to secure the trick, and Kramer plays his green Mother. Even if he’s still have a weaker card, like a Father or Calf, he’d have added the Mother, because it’s another ten points kept away from Le.

They play out the rest of the cards, but with Kramer and Zimmerman each out of Matriarchs or strong golded cards, Le is able to take the remaining six tricks in full. Having kept track, she knows that this secured her 5 Matriarchs, 7 Aunts, and 5 Mothers; each worth 10 points for a total of 170. Adding the 10 points for securing the final trick, which she was careful to secure, that gives her exactly the 180 points she needs to take the win. 100 points from the first phase and 180 from the second means she can add 280 points to her total.

Kramer and Zimmerman have each secured at least one trick too, which means they get to keep their phase-one points in addition to their phase-two points; which amounts to a total of 100 points for Kramer (80+20) and 150 for Zimmerman (100+50). Le may have a lead, but this is far from over, and Darlene Le shuffles the cards to get the next game started.