The Detroit Diesel (OTM)

[ukhotstove]

After a heavy 13-2 defeat to Providence in the last game a 6-4 victory over Pittsburgh was a welcome relief, specially with what was to come.

A slippery slope of a losing streak started with a 1-8 heavy defeat to Boston, another defeat to Lowell the second in ST this time 2-7. Detroit conceided another 7 this time in a 1-7 loss to Brooklyn.

This was followed in back to back 3-4 defeats, firstly 3-4 against the ValleyCats and a 3-4 (19) defeat against the Gothams after a strength sapping 19 innings.

The losing streak continued with a 1 sided showing against the Schenectady Blue Jays 0-8, the last of the 7 game losing streak concluded with a 2-4 loss to Asheville.

Back to winning ways Detroit took care of the Providence Reds in a 6-4 win.

[ukhotstove]

A 8-9 defeat to the River Bandits started the final ST games of the 2076 season, this was followed by a victory of 3-1 over the powerful Boston team. The Knights could be the main threat to a wild card slot and it seems they have Detroit's number, this time a 3-4 defeat.

The rollercoaster ride of a defeat followed by a win continued with a 4-8 loss to Brooklyn which was reversed in a 2-1 victory over Tri-City.

Three defeats followed the latest Detroit win when the Diesel lost 5-8 to the New York Gothams, 2-4 to the Blue Jays and a scoreline of 3-7 to Asheville.

A 12-3 win over the Providence Reds was the final win of the ST season as they finished on a mini losing streak going down 4-5 (11) to Pittsburgh and 3-7 to the Boston Ninja Black Sox.

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Jud Robertson

59,893 turned up for Opening Day, the 107 that didn't turn up will be kicking themselves in missing not only a shut out victory for Detroit but one of the best pitching displays on Opening Day in Diesel history.

Jud Robertson got the ball on Opening Day and repaid the confidence the management team had put in him, the first two innings he faced the minimum Lowell Knights hitters. Even when it came to the top of the 3rd when Mario Martínez got on base with a single after John Dawson and Brit Sullivan both returned after 1st pitch ground outs, Robertson threw only 5 pitches the 5th when Clarence Parkinson hit a 1st pitch line drive into the mitt of right fielder Willie Scott to end the inning.

Into the top of the 4th went Robertson and sent the requisite number of hitters back to the bench, the game moved into the top of the 5th still scoreless. Tony Ortíz and John Dawson got on with singles but were sandwiched between two outs, on the second out Tony Ortíz got greedy going for home plate only to be gunned down by Gene Stewart in centre. In the top of the 6th the Knights got greedy again, with one on and just the one out Clarence Parkinson reached third on a Pete Payton single but tried for home and was thrown out by right fielder. Payton was then thrown out trying to steal second on the next at bat.

Into the 7th and Robertson's final inning, Reynaldo Medine got on with a 1 out single but that's all she wrote for the Knights, first Wes Blundell popped out to Gene Stewart in centre then Tony Ortíz popped out to Willie Scott in right

In the 8th & 9th Doug Moss swept up the remaining Knights in the same manner that Robertson had, in the 8th he faced the minimum as he did so in the 9th but have up a single to Clarence Parkinson however a 4-6-3 ground out to a double play ended the game 3-0 to the hometown Detroit Diesel.

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The rest of the series petered out into disappointment with firstly a 1-6 defeat on the back of a fine 6 inning performance from Lowell's Rafael Pérez, this was followed by an extra innings 5-6 (11) loss, despite the loss it was Detroit's Jermaine Wilson who gained player of the game honour's. This latest defeat sent the Diesel to an early season 1-2 record.

[ukhotstove]

A loss is a loss no matter how you wrap it up, they may have been 3 road games, 3 games against a top quality opposition, even 3 close run games but they were 3 defeats.

Two extra inning games could well put an early strain on the Detroit bullpen, a strain they could well do without specially with there lack of quality depth. This game lasted into the 11th with a 5-7 (11) victory going to the Boston Ninja Black Sox, yet another Diesel player gained player of the game accolades in
Mal Richardson, if only they could put these solo performances into one game they could start putting a winning streak together instead of a losing one.

Spring Training games and games during the season are a whole different beast, just ask Detroit. A 1-3 defeat shows how far Detroit are behind Boston in the talent stakes, the pitching of Freddie 'Redbeard' Bennett and Pat Long held their heads up but with only 4 hits the hitters cannot say the same. The series finished with a 4-5 defeat, Boston taking the series 3-0.

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Héctor Caranza

With the 6th pick of the 1st round in the 2076 OTM Draft the Detroit Diesel picked the Strongsville, Ohio native Héctor Caranza. A 21 year old hard throwing pitcher as an above average fastball, cutter and forkball with a possible addition of a change up if worked in enough.