Arena The Baseball Draft Seven - Say Hey From Baseball Heaven

Immaculate Grid 789 9/9:
Rarity: 4
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So based on trends, we're def doing Sat to counterprogram Game 6 of the ECF right?

 

Immaculate Grid 789 9/9:
Rarity: 1
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Rarity 3

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Rarity 7

All Cleveland today

https://immaculategrid.com/share/2SVQg2Y

 

Tried to go for all guys still playing this season, but couldn't think of answers for two squares and had to use two Performance Enhancers to get the grid completed. At least it's all guys who qualified for the FODEUSS playoffs this season as a theme ...

Rarity: 15
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i biffed the grid today. i can't believe ross barnes isn't in the hall of fame, or that i didn't know that.

 

Heads up. Running a little late tonight. I'm still good to do the games, but will likely be closer to 9:30 when I'm clear to start

 

@LloydChristmas Do you have a Zoom link for us?

 

Let's Roll

Tyler Betts is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3494835540?pwd=RjEwRWVuNVJOM3ltS2w0WkVGOWQrUT09

Meeting ID: 349 483 5540
Passcode: N73y69
---
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,3494835540#,,,,*935283# US (Washington DC)
+13052241968,,3494835540#,,,,*935283# US
Meeting ID: 349 483 5540
Passcode: 935283

 

Note: Logs and Box Scores have been uploaded for the two Game Six games.



The stone temple seattle pilots are off to the World Series!

But it didn't come easy.

Down a run and facing the best closer in FODEUSS - Fernando Valenzuela - LCS MVP George Sisler got the rally going with a leadoff single. A walk to Willie Mays put the go-ahead run on base, and a Mel Ott single saw Sisler - somewhat controversially - held at third to give the pilots bases loaded and nobody out. The league leader in RBI - Cal McVey - stepped to the plate, but his grounder to short saw Sisler retired at home for the first out of the inning. Valenzuela got another ground ball - this one from the pinch hitting Joe Kelley - only to have Hughie Jennings (and, to be fair to Hughie, he's likely been playing concussed all season) bobble it, allowing Mays to score as the tying run, and keeping the bases loaded. George Wright then lifted a fly ball that fell into shallow center field, and Mel Ott stepped on home plate to give the pilots a 3-2 win and a trip to the World Series.

They will host game one of that series, but against whom? That's still to be decided as Birmingham Shaq Barons forced a Game Seven.

After the game, while the other clubhouse tasted champagne, our reporters caught up with a distraught Jennings, who blamed himself for his team's season ending early.

"That one’s on me. I make that play 99 times out of 100, and tonight it was that one. I just got ahead of myself. If I turn two there, that's game seven. And so I was already thinking about the second out before I got the first. And that's just bad fundamentals. You never want to be the guy walking off thinking, ‘what if?’ But I’m gonna wear this, and I’m gonna use it. This team picked me up all year. I wish I could’ve picked them up in the ninth. But I tell you this. We will be back next year. And I will lead this team to the promised land."

Demonbags manager Wang Chi had a much more level headed take on it.

"I told the guys: hold your heads high. We played with heart. We gave the best team in the league everything they could handle. One bounce here, one call there — this could’ve gone seven. Could’ve gone our way. I’m proud of them. This one stings, sure. But we’ll be back. We’re not done writing this story.”

Demonbags fans will be left to wonder what might have been if even one of their big bats had been able to have a good series. Yes, credit to the pilots' pitching staff, but Ed Delahanty hit .125 in the series, Ken Griffey Jr. hit .182, and George Davis (.353) and Dan Brouthers (.292) were the only batters above the .250 mark with at least 4 at bats.

After the champagne had flowed a bit, we did get a chance to catch up with members of the League Champion stone temple seattle pilots.

Frist up is Toad Ramsey, who set the stage in allowing just two hits in his game six start.

"I felt like I had a little extra hop on the ball tonight. They’re a tough lineup, they make you work. But my guys had my back, the defense was locked in, and we didn’t flinch even when it got hairy. It’s a dream, man. World Series bound — I’m just happy to do my part.”

Then, from LCS MVP George Sisler.

"I just tried to keep my head down and do my job. This lineup is so deep, anyone can be the hero on any given night. But to come through in big spots, to help get us over the line — it means everything. We play the game the right way. And now, we’ve got four more wins to chase.”

From George Wright, reflecting on driving in the run that sent his team to the World Series:

"I didn’t try to do too much — just put the bat on the ball. When I saw that one bounce past short, and the crowd lost their minds... there’s no feeling like that. You grow up dreaming of that moment. And now? We get to keep dreaming for one more series.”

And, finally, from Tom Selleck as Magnum PI:

"You know, I’ve been in some tight spots before — guys with Uzis, jealous exes, and exploding Ferraris — but playoff baseball? That’s a whole different kind of adrenaline. These guys… they don’t rattle. We don’t blink. Every inning, every pitch, they believed. That’s what gets you to the World Series. That and a mustache with experience.”

A reporter then asked Magnum if he preferred to face the Barons or Gales in the World Series. His response:

"Oh wow, that’s like asking me if I’d rather chase an international smuggler through a volcano or defuse a bomb taped to a surfboard — neither sounds like a vacation. (chuckles). Look, the Gales play like a Nor’easter — cold, relentless, and usually ruining someone’s weekend. Their pitching? Forget it. They’ve got more arms than a centipede. And that Bullet Rogan guy? He’s like if Bob Gibson and a Swiss Army Knife had a baby. But the Shaq Barons? That team’s like a reality show with better uniforms. A lot of talent, sure, but half the time you don’t know if they’re gonna hit a homer or lock themselves out of the dugout. Honestly, I don’t care who it is. This pilots team plays real baseball. We’ve got heart, hustle, and a bullpen meaner than Higgins after I borrowed the Ferrari without asking. Bring on the next challenger. Just tell them to pack a parka — the Pilots are bringing the cold front."

At mention of his name, Higgins did enter the press conference only to add "Frankly, I find this obsession with ‘who would you rather face’ rather unbecoming. It matters not whether it's the Gales or the Barons. The pilots are a class above — tactically superior, fundamentally sound, and, unlike some clubs I shan’t name, capable of fielding a routine ground ball in the ninth inning. Now if you'll excuse me, the lads and I have a champagne toast to prepare — and Magnum has, once again, let the Dobermans loose on the tarmac"

 

Well, here we are. Game Seven. One game to decide who gets to face the stone temple seattle pilots in the World Series. One game to decide whether baseball gets a worthy challenger … or if we all have to endure another few days of watching the Birmingham Shaq Barons stumble around like a junior varsity team that accidentally won a raffle to be here.

And look, I know the Barons are going to trot out Randy Johnson — the big midseason pickup, the supposed ace, the guy who’s supposed to scare batters with his hair and a glare. But let’s not act like he's been riding in on a white horse. Don't forget, he was too scared faced this Gales lineup all season. He dodged them in two different uniforms. Well, he can't dodge them anymore. This is playoff baseball, and if he gives Josh Gibson or Roger Connor anything in the zone, it’s going for a long, long ride.

Now, I don’t want to harp on Ted Williams—actually, who am I kidding, yes I do—but when are we going to have an honest conversation about the fact this man won’t even wear a glove? I mean seriously, how much lazier can you be? And then the other night, what does manager Shaq as Vic Harris do? Lifts ol' Teddy Ballgame for a *pinch runner*. That’s right, folks. Apparently, even jogging 90 feet is too much for the self-proclaimed greatest hitter alive. Maybe next season we can get him a rascal scooter and let him wave at pitches from the dugout.

And while we're handing out sarcasm, let’s talk about this miracle home run from Pete Browning in Game Six. He’s hitting .077 for the series. That’s not a batting average, folks — that’s a typo. It’s like watching a guy trip over a rake and accidentally land on a trampoline and bounce over the fence. Congrats on the one hit, Pete. Still doesn’t erase the other twelve at-bats that looked like he was swinging underwater.

Nomar Garciaparra? Batting .100. King Kelly? .120. The heart of the order for the Shaq Barons has gone *missing in action*. I’ve seen more action in a wax museum.

And let me tell you something else — the Gales aren’t perfect, but they’ve got grit. They've got a manager in Bullet Joe Rogan who doesn’t take innings off. They’ve got Lou Boudreau spraying singles like a lawn sprinkler. And I believe they’ve got Bert Blyleven on the mound for Game Seven, a man who’s about to turn the Shaq Barons’ postseason dreams into nothing but a… wait for it… a puff of smoke.

That’s right, Birmingham. I hope you packed light. Because when that final pitch is thrown, and Blyleven walks off the mound, all you’re going to be left with is your regrets, your gloves still unused by Ted Williams, and a trip back home wondering what could’ve been if you fielded like a real baseball team. Gales of November in seven.

And it won’t be close.

 

Spoiler

What a meltdown...

 

Rarity: 4
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Congrats making it to the Series, @tom

Rarity 9

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Immaculate Grid 791 9/9:
Rarity: 15
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