August 27, 1920
Today, the Whiskeytown Ducks accepted their fate as they were mathematically eliminated.
Preseason predictions put them at dead even: 72-72, an impossible mark to achieve for them now as they sit at 62-73. It started off with a bang, 16-13 to kick the year off in March & April. Catcher Joel de Vries was so good, that he got batter of the month but the wheels fell off after that. They went 9-20 in May with de Vries injured late in the month. They lost their early momentum and after losing their best player they finished off the rest of the year 37-40. The bats remained sharp without de Vries, Vladik Zavalin was an absolute force to be reckoned with at First Base. He's currently third in home runs (46) and tied for first in RBIs (126). Plus strong contributions from J.R. Shouse and Gavin Utter. They also unearthed a gem at lead-off with Thad Pardue who leads the league in stolen bases (39, only caught 4 times).
Pitching was a problem. Logan Phillips won a trip to the All-Star game but his 4.30 ERA translated to a 8-16 record. That'll need to be the focus for next season if they can hold onto their hitters.
August 29, 1920
The Polar Bears haven't given up the fight as the media focuses in on the Turtles and Penguins fight for the last wildcard spot. They took down the league leading Spice District Roosters in an emphatic 13-3 win. Jon Jackson's two home runs in this game also took him to 50 for the season. He's still got a fair bit of heat for the home run title though, Odin Bendig (Spice District) is on 48 and Vladik Zavalin (Whiskeytown) is on 46.
The Turtles and Penguins both suffered a loss today and all of a sudden we've got the Turtles on 73-64, Polar Bears on 72-66, and Penguins on 71-66. Only one spot left as the Sugar Factory Elephants and Dustland Sharks have clinched their spots along with the Roosters. Butts are getting clenched in these clubhouses.
August 31, 1920
The Unicorns got smacked around by the Turtles 13-2 today which has spelled the end of their mathematical chance. Preseason predictions had them at 71-73... and they've pretty much achieved that though in all probability they'll end up slightly under. Losing star 3B Dennis Sullenger in early June about doomed them. At that point they'd put up a good record. They were in line for a wildcard spot and everything but Sullenger's injury threw the club into a depression that saw them go 9-16 in June and rendered playoff hopes as a pipe dream.
If they had any hope of all, it came from two of their starting pitchers: Tijs Oudenkerk and Liam Schmitt. Oudenkerk could transform into an unhittable beast at times as evidenced by the time he got 17 strikeouts in a game... and then did it again a month later. Out of 35 games that Oudenkerk started, he got 10 or more K's in 15 of them.
Unfortunately this brilliance was countered by off nights. There will be days he gives up multiple runs and there's little the rest of the team can do. Ultimately Oudenkerk has a 15-14 record, 3.56 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 314 K's.
Schmitt was a much more level force, he currently sits at an 18-11 record, 3.43 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 226 K's.
Number one priority for Unicorn management will be to resign 1B Kyle Lownes -- who was their most productive hitter aside from Sullenger and get a decent bullpen behind Oudnekerk.
Standings at the end of August. The Turtles are now in a prime position to get that final spot. They've got five games left, with four of them against Salt Quarter. These will be must-win games as the Polar Bears have two games against Hadestown and three against Whiskeytown to finish the season off.
