ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

I guess you could say that the 2066 Rolling Hills Racers the IPA regular season champion.

Yep... the regular season champ only.

It's tough to win the Pro Cup... even when you win 111 games.

In '65 and '66 Southport was a better all-around team than Rolling Hills... the Sun Sox had fine pitching and scored fairly well, too... the Racers were a one-sided team... they depended on offense to win a game... they lacked a bullpen in those years... their starters were fairly good, but the bullpen would lose it in the late innings.

Keep in mind, in my IPA, teams only play teams in their divisions during the season... there is no inter-divisional games... I had a special schedule made for me by a modder on the schedule forum to do this... so a team can play in a weak division and win a 100 games... a team in a strong division may only win 87 games, but is the superior team in the postseason.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Yep... the regular season champ only.

It's tough to win the Pro Cup... even when you win 111 games.

In '65 and '66 Southport was a better all-around team than Rolling Hills... the Sun Sox had fine pitching and scored fairly well, too... the Racers were a one-sided team... they depended on offense to win a game... they lacked a bullpen in those years... their starters were fairly good, but the bullpen would lose it in the late innings.

Keep in mind, in my IPA, teams only play teams in their divisions during the season... there is no inter-divisional games... I had a special schedule made for me by a modder on the schedule forum to do this... so a team can play in a weak division and win a 100 games... a team in a strong division may only win 87 games, but is the superior team in the postseason.

That's interesting, I didn't know that about your scheduling. Since I have the same exact setup as you in my IPA, perhaps I could use your schedule template and try it out. But I have no idea how to import a schedule, so I would have to learn how.

Also, you mentioned in another thread that your league has no financials. I wonder how that works in regards to free agency and trades.

I have seen several teams who relied on offense to win, but lack decent pitching and defense. That formula usually fails in the postseason.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

That's interesting, I didn't know that about your scheduling. Since I have the same exact setup as you in my IPA, perhaps I could use your schedule template and try it out. But I have no idea how to import a schedule, so I would have to learn how.

Also, you mentioned in another thread that your league has no financials. I wonder how that works in regards to free agency and trades.

I have seen several teams who relied on offense to win, but lack decent pitching and defense. That formula usually fails in the postseason.

Sorry, I can't help you with the schedule... as you know I am severely challenged with computers and zip files and such... it was quite a chore to download and install it... the guy who made it for me gave me detailed instructions on how to do it.

Luckily, once installed, the game reuses it each year.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Sorry, I can't help you with the schedule... as you know I am severely challenged with computers and zip files and such... it was quite a chore to download and install it... the guy who made it for me gave me detailed instructions on how to do it.

Luckily, once installed, the game reuses it each year.

That's all right, I understand. No big deal.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

That's all right, I understand. No big deal.

If you can find out how to do it and can show me how to upload my schedule file, I'll be glad to do it.

Go to the Schedule Forum and ask them how to do it... Joe from Chicago is really good about helping our OOTP Community.

[Eugene Church]

Wednesday, October 30, 2075

75TH IPA PRO CUP SERIES OPENER THIS SATURDAY... SLIGO FAVORED OVER ROLLING HILLS
It's hit happy Rolling Hills taking on the solid Sligo Rovers in the 75th Islandian Pro Cup Series... both clubs are hoping to end the season on the highest note possible on the baseball scale -- winning the revered IPA Pro Cup Trophy -- the symbol of baseball supremacy in the Islands... Rolling Hills is making it 24th trip to the postseason playoffs... 7 times in the club's history the Racers have come away victors... they hold the IPA record for the most Pro Cups... Rolling Hills would like nothing better than to come away with its record-setting 8th Pro Cup Trophy... it's been 5 years since they last made the postseason and 7 years since they won their last Pro Cup Trophy... the Racers are hungry and ready to roll.

Sligo doesn't have such a glorious Pro Cup past... the Rovers are making their 16th appearance in the IPA playoffs, but they only possess one Pro Cup Trophy... Sligo won it in 2021... 2069 was the last time they made the playoffs... the Rovers were the #2 choice to win the Pro Cup this season and they are well on their way to doing it... just one more obstacle -- the high-octane Rolling Hills Racers... the Racers were the #4 pick in the Pro Cup preview... Sligo is quietly, slyly and stealthily well on their way to another Pro Cup trophy.

Sligo has beaten higher-rated squads than Rolling Hills... the Rovers took care of #6 Valka in 6 games in round one in the Ruthlandian Union and then swept past #5 Marston in 5 games for the RU title... the Racers have been pushed to 7 games in both rounds by #8-rated Tuckanarra and #7-ranked Hartsdale... please note, however, the Hellcats eliminated the Pro Cup favorite Turon Typhoons in a 4-game sweep in the first round... that was very impressive... and they came close to defeating Rolling Hills in the TU title series.

As far as this year Pro Cup Finals, the baseball world is leaning toward Sligo in a high-scoring shootout... the Rovers may have enough pitching to slow down the Racers and may have enough scoring to put enough runs on the scoreboard to outscore them... Rolling Hills depends almost totally on their bats... pitching is their big problem.

In reality, both Sligo and Rolling Hills have been outscored by their opponents in the playoffs this year... the Rovers have been outscored 59 to 54 in 11 games, while the Racers have been outscored 88 to 83 in 14 games... it is shaping up as a rip-roaring, high-scoring Pro Cup Series... the Pro Cup prognosticators are picking Sligo in a 7-game slugfest... the Rovers will get a little better pitching than the Racers... that's the difference.

Sligo starters Major Rowling (19-4/1.93 ERA), Brayden Peters (12-8/3.63 ERA) and Andrew Saul (14-10/3.58 ERA) are given a good edge over Rolling Hills starters Carl Lindell (10-5/3.29 ERA), Carley Conner (13-10/4.28 ERA) and Benton Garrett (11-6/4.34 ERA).... Lindell could be a big plus for Rolling Hills... he has been out since July and missed the first two rounds of the playoffs... if Lindell has recovered, he will give them a big lift in the pitching department.

You can also give Sligo a slight edge in the bullpen with Butch Baird (4-2/2.23 ERA), Dwayne Chamberlain (9-6/2.77 ERA) and closer Jeffrey London (17-7/3.01 ERA) over Rolling Hills' Andre Zajac (9-5/3.33 ERA), Chet Henry (10-5/2.95 ERA) and closer Hal Christy (10-9/3.77 ERA)... both bullpens have struggled in the playoffs this year.

Both Rolling Hills and Sligo have handled the bats well this postseason... the Racers are hitting .313 with almost 6 runs a game and the Rovers are batting .303 with almost 5 runs a game... the Racers' big advantage is they have a rock-solid hitter at each spot in the batting order 1 through 8, while the Rovers have only 5 prolific run producers... Rolling Hills batted .302 in the regular season with seven .300 hitters in the lineup... Sligo had a .280 BA in the regular season with only two over the .300 mark... get ready for some runs... these teams can light up the scoreboard.

After all is said and done, Sligo will pull it out in 7 games... their pitchers will win it for them... they will slow the Racers just enough to beat them... it should be a "knock-down-drag-out" battle "right down to the very last out" Pro Cup Series... get yo' self ready, y'all... yep, get ready... it should be a darn good donnybrook.

(Very Special Thanks to knuckler for the excellent logo and uniforms)

[Eugene Church]

Rolling Hills Home Page

(Very Special Thanks to cephasjames for the racehorse and jockey image for the logo)

[Eugene Church]

Sunday, November 3, 2075

ROLLING HILLS RIPS ROVERS IN PRO CUP OPENER
Just what the doctor ordered... that was what the Rolling Hills Racers got in the first game of the 2075 Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup
Series... the Racers got decent pitching and coupled it with their blistering bats for an 8-4 victory over the Sligo Rovers on the road at Silver
Mountain Park... this was Sligo's first playoff defeat at home this year... they were 5-0 going into the game.

2075 IPA Pro Cup Series Stars of the Game


2075 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 1

[Eugene Church]

Monday, November 4, 2075

SLIGO SLINGERS SLOW DOWN HOT ROLLING HILLS SWINGERS, EVEN THE SERIES AT ONE GAME APIECE IN PRO CUP SERIES
Sligo manager Les Patterson finally found someone to cool off the red-hot bats of the Rolling Hills Racers... his Rovers nicked the Racers 2-1 in game two of the best-of-seven IPA Pro Cup Series... Sligo is seeking their
second Pro Cup Trophy and would like nothing better than to win it for 84-year-old Patterson, who will retire at the end of this season after 24 seasons at the helm.. the Pro Cup Series is now tied at one game apiece... game
three will be in Rolling Hills on Tuesday... the Racers will be the home team for the next 3 games.

2075 IPA Pro Cup Series Stars of the Game


2075 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 2

[Eugene Church]

Wednesday, November 6, 2075

ROLLING HILLS BATS COME ALIVE IN 3RD GAME, BASH SLIGO FOR 2-1 LEAD IN PRO CUP SERIES
It not how many hits you get in a baseball contest, it's how many runs you put on the scoreboard... in game three Sligo had a 13-8 hit advantage over Rolling Hills, but they were on the short end of a 7-4 score on the scoreboard
... it was an important victory for the Racers, who now possess a 2-1 edge in the IPA Pro Cup Series and their quest for a record-setting 8th Pro Cup Trophy... they could wrap up another IPA crown with two more victories at home
... games four and five are set for Rolling Hills... the Racers are really tough at home, posting a 59-18 mark at the Midtown Base Ball Grounds this season... they win 76% of their home games... the Rovers play well at home (50-27)
and even better on the road (51-26).

2075 IPA Pro Cup Series Stars of the Day


2075 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 3

[Eugene Church]

Thursday, November 7th, 2075

RACERS ON THE VERGE OF 8TH PRO CUP... HAVE 3-1 ADVANTAGE OVER ROVERS
The Rolling Hills Racers are sitting pretty after they nipped the Sligo Rovers 4-3 in game four of the IPA Pro Cup Series... all the Racers need is one win and they have three games to do it... only twice in IPA Pro Cup history
has a team come back from a 3-1 deficit and won the series.

2075 IPA Pro Cup Series Stars of the Day


2075 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 4

[Eugene Church]

(Very Special Thanks to txranger for the splendid IPA logo)

[jg2977]

Wow, it's been 61 years since a team prevailed in the Pro Cup after falling behind 3-1. Just like how it took 61 years for someone in the American League to match the 61 home run mark of Maris.

[Goody]

Hello Eugene. I am still here and checking in on your mega thread. This stuff is amazing and you remind me a lot of myself. I wish I had your focus which is unbelievable!

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Goody

Hello Eugene. I am still here and checking in on your mega thread. This stuff is amazing and you remind me a lot of myself. I wish I had your focus which is unbelievable!

Great to hear from you again, Goody.

No, it was your Laseron Baseball Association dynasty league that was amazing... my little old very long running "stats dump" Islandian Pro Alliance is pale compared to the LBA.

It was you and your brilliant dynasty league, the Laseron Baseball Association and DreamTeams' Metro League that inspired me to begin my IPA.

My goodness gracious, what a dynasty league... it had its own website... your LBA featured newspaper articles by each team owner, some of them brilliantly written, as good as any modern-day sportswriter... my writing is pretty good, but nothing in comparison to your writers, written with wit, love, heart and emotion.

The last time you posted and I searched and found some writings from the Laseron Baseball Association and posted them in this thread... one owner was really brilliant... can't remember his name... maybe it was Wireman.

In addition, your team graphics were outstanding... way ahead of its time.

I really miss the Laseron Baseball Association... wish you would just recreate it on your own... Dark Horse is still around here on the OOTP Dynasty Forum... he regularly checks out my IPA and even promotes it for me in his signature... Dark Horse had a team in the LBA... he was the proud owner of the Geo Bahn Rock Hounds.

[Eugene Church]

Here is a link for the Laseron Baseball Association.
Goody posted it.
It shows the map of the country and some team uniforms.... on their great website they posted complete uniforms... jerseys and pants for home and away... the website featured complete access to league stats and graphics... super well done... sadly it no longer exists.

The players' name were unique and special... sort of based on Scandavian and folklore-type names.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...ll+association

[Eugene Church]

Here is another thread about the history of the Laseron Baseball Association done by Delgadodawg:

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...ll+association

[Eugene Church]

Those two links posted above should give you a little taste of what the Laseron Baseball Association was and how good it was.

[Eugene Church]

Here are two more links that show the creativity of Goody and the LBA creators:

LBA website and radio show posted by satchel:

http://web.archive.org/web/200301231...w.laseron.org/

Power Ratings from LBA website posted by satchel:

http://web.archive.org/web/200302070...laseron/power/

[Eugene Church]

Here is a quick look at the great writing in the Laseron Baseball Association... these are classic quotes from a legendary skipper in the LBA named Hartoun Shinplaster and other quaint characters, players and mangers in the LBA... I think the writer's name is wireman:

SUMMERWIND -- Hartoun Shinplaster lay quietly on his bed of pain. The 125-year-old "Sage of Summerwind," who managed the Seagulls and was an informal adviser to the Laserus and Baltica franchises, was no longer struggling.

Shinplaster’s breathing was shallow now. He was dreaming, dreaming of all that had happened in his years with the LBA. He could hear the voices, his own and others', from the past two decades:

"We don't have a single real first baseman on the roster. We also don't have a single first baseman in AAA. Simple as that. In the circumstances, there was no choice but to move Buckshot Coles over from third. A lot of baseballs would slip through the infield if nobody was playing first."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, after taking over as Summerwind's manager

"It's no secret that Gallant had the worst year in the history of second base last year."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster

"We've been playing Shady Prescott in left. When I got here, they told me he could play ball but, so far, even the most advanced scientific instruments can't find a trace of his talent."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster

"Maybe I'm supposed to light a fire under them. I hope it's not a bonfire."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster

"The kid was just trying to get his head in the game. He's gonna have to learn to keep his face out of the strike zone."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, after Seagulls' outfielder Buster Kean was injured by a pitched ball

"I rushed out to the mound. The way this guy was acting, I thought, well, maybe his hand fell off or something. I was gonna help him look for it."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, remembering Will Scarborough's disastrous debut

"Feel? I feel like I'm in a marching band -- inside the bass drum."
-- Seagulls pitcher Will Scarborough, pitching with a hangover

"Do your job, behave yourself, get screwed."
-- Summerwind's grumpy star Carl Schroyer

"Now, if he can just keep his mouth shut. He's not going to hit too many homers with his tongue."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, speaking of Schroyer

"We're just a failure machine."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, suffering through a 44-110 Seagulls season

"It looks like the team is still thinner than a senator's comb-over."
-- Bleacher Buzz, No. 1 Seagulls fan

"Sometimes he plays shortstop like he's wearing the glove over his eyes."
-- Bleacher Buzz, of hapless Gulls infielder Johnny Beard

"While the GM was diddling around in the free agent market, he might have thought about picking up a starter. But I guess it slipped his mind or something. I did notice that he drafted about 40 starters, so if we ever need to start a 12-year-old, we're set."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster

"And then, I realize it's not just raining -- it's raining those vicious little Summerwindian gnats. I was so privileged and proud to be part of Laseron's first-ever 'Gnat Delay.'"
-- Carl Schroyer, enjoying the Summerwind spring

"Cleanup hitter Carl 'The Complainer' Schroyer couldn't clean up his locker."
-- Bleacher Buzz

"Defending batting champion gets no respect. Details at 11."
-- Gulls' catcher Bond Robospher, after being passed over for the All-Star team

"So here I was, 32 years old, I'd been piloting the pine in Baltica for the last two seasons and suddenly I was the starting first baseman for the worst team in the solar system. This was an occasion for mixed emotions, eh?"
-- Jason Smith, on being a late bloomer in Summerwind

"This is pretty much the same crew we had last season. A handful of them can be expected to improve this season; a handful will decline, or perhaps unravel altogether. But most of them would be in their primes if they had any."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, looking forward to another great year

"So, forgive me, but why would I want to spend a career in a weemus-hole like Summerwind?"
-- Gulls pitcher Gordon Wolf

"I think predicting they'd finish within 34 games of .500 might have put too much pressure on the lads."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, vowing to go easy on the expectation game

"Let's face it [John] Lowman's got a baseball-sized hole in his bat."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, of the career .194 hitter who played six seasons for Summerwind

"If we could hit for average or hit for power, draw a walk once in a while or pitch at all, we'd be a pretty dangerous team. We've got almost everything else we need to win."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, summing up

"Frankly, I can't figure it out. It's like every pitch is just hanging there, suspended in air, begging me to hit it. I can't help myself."
-- Gulls third baseman Harry Gelton (after winning Player of the Week with a .684 batting average)

"Actually, I was astonished when Summerwind drafted me. I still can't figure out when they ever saw me play the game. But somehow, they decided I was the 785th-best player out there."
-- Harry Gelton

"Oh, great. I really wanted to wind up my career with this sorry bunch of gnat-inhaling losers."
-- Pitcher Mange Kopperhead, later mayor of Summerwind

"The Northern League's never seen anything like me before. Boy, are they gonna be surprised."
-- Greg Combest, before going 0-2 for the Gulls and getting traded back to the SL

"OK, I let one get away from me, gave up a grand slam that lost the game. But jeez, it was Grover Staggons. How can you concentrate when you're facing a .160 hitter?"
-- Laft Kaley, a great pitcher who threw 13.1 horrible innings in a Summerwind uniform

"I've been here since June and I'm still sharing jerseys with Todd 'The Wad' Walters! If this has to be the cheapest team in Laseron, they at least could let me share with Packard. Or somebody who takes a shower once in a while. It's no wonder I can't pitch sometimes; I've gotta chase Walters' jerseys around the locker room to get dressed."
-- Mange Kopperhead, on the Seagulls frugality

"Bring the money. Bring the money. Bring the money. And losers need not apply."
-- Mange Kopperhead, announcing his free agency

"Mange [Kopperhead] could be a jerk for a living. I hear he's going into politics."
-- Gulls outfielder Shady Prescott, who heard it right

"Right now, at 6-1, 150 pounds, he's just a shadow of his future self."
-- Seagulls batting coach Buckshot Coles, assessing rookie outfielder L.L. "Blade" Ballad

"On those days when Prince [Kinchen] feels like playing, there's actually nothing on a ballfield he can't do. On other days, well ... Prince is a dog's name, isn't it?"
-- Buckshot Coles

"Right now, he can't tell home plate from a dinner plate."
-- Seagulls pitching coach Soddy Gruzwall, of wild young reliever Todd Walters

"It is the desire of every good citizen of Summerwind that Mange Kopperhead be voted without further delay to his richly deserved place in the LBA Hall of Fame."
-- Mange Kopperhead, from his mayoral proclamation

"It was very peaceful. She just quietly went to sleep. I believe she mumbled something right at the end about [Erindel infielder] Catford Muuey, but I couldn't quite make it out."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, commenting on the passing of Summerwind mascot Louise the Cat

"I can catch a ball as well as anybody -- I've got a Nix around here someplace. I'm a Top 10 base stealer, all-time. And when I hit the ball, I can mail it out of town."
-- Seagulls outfielder Prince Kinchen, on his favorite topic

"I could hardly believe it, but there it was in black-and-white: My Dad's birth name was 'Fishwrap Kinchen.' I asked my Mom about it and, of course, she'd known all along. She said my Dad had wanted us to believe in ourselves, believe that we were somebody. Yeah, I thought, somebody we were not."
-- Prince Kinchen, after discovering his late father wasn't "King" Kinchen after all, and wasn't related to the famed baseball Kings

"People retire from sports and go into wrestling; they don't retire from wrestling and go into sports."
-- Ratt Rollo, the pro wrestler who became Summerwind's skipper anyway

"For a long time, I didn't say anything, but I had kind of a tingling sensation that told me I probably ought to take him up on it. Or my foot went to sleep."
-- Ratt Rollo, of being offered the Summerwind job

"Look, I'm 100 years older than Rollo. I'm not working for the money. I'm not working for the ego. I'm not working for the glory, such as it is. I've done the best I could, of course, but, primarily, I'm working just to keep from nodding off."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster

"It's just a world of chumps out there."
-- radio personality Mister Scary, after Rollo's hiring

"I saw Ratt Rollo wrestle the Masked Troglodyte back in '07. Great stuff! I wonder if he could get some of the Gulls' opponents to take a dive too?"
-- Bleacher Buzz

"The walk back to the dugout was so long, it felt like I was walking back to the minors."
-- Gil Galad, after fanning in his first big league at bat

"I know the way you feel. All your life, baseball has been fun. You played as much as you wanted, owned practically every pitcher you came up against, and really enjoyed yourself.

"Now you're finding out that even the thing you love, when it turns into work, can wear you down. You've gotta play when there's no joy in it, when you don't feel like you can do anything right. You've still got to get out there and do it.

"Well, welcome to the world. This is what everybody does; get used to it. But I'll tell you something: You're supremely privileged getting to play every day in the majors. And you might do it for 20 years, and you'll be privileged every day of it.

"At this point in my career, I wish I could play every day. In fact, if you don't want to play, I'll play second base. Any time you want."
-- Old veteran Shady Prescott's advice to rookie Gil Galad

"A wise man once said, 'That's life, that's what all the people say.
You're ridin' high in April, shot down in May, Or August, whatever.

"You're 20 years old, you've got talent enough to hold your own here in Summerwind. You've got what it takes, so don't you worry 'bout a thing.

"You've gotta look yourself in the mirror and say, 'I'm hot stuff, I will survive.' Just let it be."
-- Ratt Rollo's advice to Gil Galad, which left him humming

"I've got him on my own personal overeating regimen; it's gonna make him an all-star."
-- Ratt Rollo, commenting on his plans for L.L. "Blade" Ballad, who never gained an ounce but was an All-Star three times

"Where did we get all these slowball pitchers?"
-- Hartoun Shinplaster

"I didn't know what Rule 5 was -- I hadn't even heard about Rule 1 yet."
-- Seagulls' minor league veteran John Bloodworth

"I felt good that I was probably going to the big leagues -- maybe it's the only way it could have happened for me. On the other hand, it felt bad that I wasn't good enough for a team that had winkles exhibitions between innings."
-- John Bloodworth, after Summerwind left him exposed to the Rule 5 draft

"I think I'm up for mismanager of the year."
-- Louie Sword, Summerwind/Laserus/Baltica GM, and the LBA's foremost also-ran

"Hell, I caught him in the locker room once with a book, and it didn't even have any pictures in it."
-- Ratt Rollo, who thought starter Jeremy Raidenburner's IQ was too high

"I'll be a lot happier looking at the Masked Troglodyte than this bunch of losers. At least with him, I know what to expect. I mean, I really know what to expect, if you know what I mean."
-- Ratt Rollo, on returning to pro wrestling

"Winning games is not the important thing. No, really.. It's about the fulfillment of human potential. It's about growth and renewal. It's about sacrifice and dedication and, ultimately, redemption. And it's about the sweet smell of the new-mown grass. It's about the satisfaction of making good contact with a baseball. It's about the sheer, animal joy of running and jumping and throwing. It's about the warm silk of the summer breeze on your face, just when you'd almost forgotten you were really alive.

"In short, gentlemen, we don't have a winner this year either."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster, facing facts with whimsy

"I'm pretty old, all right. But you get so much stuff replaced, you start to feel like you're new again. No original parts."
-- Hartoun Shinplaster

"Let me lay out the terrain for you here, Double-D, because I want perfect transparency as we travel this path to ultimate victory. I am a businessman. I will make the balance sheets dance. I also will bring us a winning baseball team -- if I don't, it's Schroyer's fault. I demand accountability."
-- Cheap News Network exec Wylie Xmarx DuPree, seizing the purse strings in Laserus

"To make a long story short, the whole WWE thing just wasn't working out for him -- seems the audience for wrestling evangelists was not really as great as he'd thought."
-- Wylie Xmarx DuPree, of Ratt Rollo's return to the LBA

"He was raw. No, I take that back. Sobtec Bay spushi is raw. Espada was practically fetal."
-- anonymous scout, of the teenage Willie Espada

"The bullpen's a world-class mess; I don't even want to talk about it. They've all been in an advanced state of decomposition in August -- they stink. That's about all that can be said."
-- Harry Gelton, after becoming Baltica's manager

"It's hard to keep the stands filled when you're in the same division as Soni and Laserus, and nobody's gonna come out to see Rand's bank account."
-- Harry Gelton, alluding to outfielder Davie Rand's $12.5-million-a-year contract

[i]"How many times have you looked at some situation in your past and said, 'If only I knew then what I know now'? Well, with baseball, it's like you're born again every spring, born again -- really. Each season is a new lifetime you get to live. And, you know what? When you start, you KNOW what you SHOULD have known in the lifetime before."
-- Baltica pitcher Kenny English

"Life is shorter than we can imagine, and championships are fleeting. You've just gotta enjoy the ride, and try to make sure other people do, too. That's all."
-- Harry Gelton

Now, Shinplaster is still. He may yet be dreaming, but that is not for us to know.