[pauwoo]

2074 Season (8/31 – 9/2 Part I)
Phoenix Suns (68-65, .511, 3rd NL West) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (81-52, .609, 1st NL East)
When you are 81-52 it means that you are, at the very least, good at everything. Pittsburgh is good at everything, great at getting on base, and from 1 through 12 have the best pitching staff in the game. They are led by LF Tony Voorhis (3.7 WAR), 3B Andy Gardner (2.6 WAR), and C Jorge Teixeira (2.9 WAR) – by contrast, our best player has a 2.2 WAR so far and it goes downhill fast from there. If they’re soft anywhere, it’s in their minor league system where they rank 19th out of 24 teams… If we have anything going for us as we enter this series it is that Pittsburgh hasn’t been outlandishly good lately – they are 6-4 in their last 10 with all of those losses against teams well under .500 – so, they’re beatable. This is supposed to be their year… they have 5 banners, but it’s been 54 years since they’ve managed to hang a new one. This year that most ultimate of outcomes seems likely, difficult when Jacksonville & Seattle are on the other side of the bracket, but one of the more likely end game scenarios nonetheless.

134 of 162 @ Game 1 @ PIT – We needed this win – a must have if ever there was one. After coming out of the gate like gangbusters in April, our level of play has lived somewhere between poor and mediocre. A win here would mean our first >.500 month since April – so, as you can see, it’s a big deal. And… we didn’t get it. Michael Brisk went out and got it for us – for 9 innings he stood on the mound like Mufasa, head held high, surveying his kingdom below. Mean Mr. Mustache delivered our second CG shutout of the season, and it was a 3-hitter no less… throwing beebees. Yoshi Nakamura was solid as well, better than solid really – 2 for 3 with a double and a HR. Derek hit a double, and Jason Bland a triple, and Homer Wingard added a HR to go with Yoshi’s – another team cycle. We finish August with a 15-13 record. Dance and rejoice.

Roster Expansion: SP Cam Murphy gets his first taste of the Majors as the most notable call-up with the rosters expanding. Our 1st pick (2nd overall) in the 2073 draft has amassed an 11-10 record with a 3.59 ERA and 130 K’s in AAA.