Diamonds and Pearls 2041.9 - It's Alive! The Playoff Streak is Alive!

[tallywood]

For the fifth straight year, the Manama Pearls have made the UMEBA postseason. This also continues the streak of never missing the postseason dating back to the inception of the Pearls. (Note: The Pearls also won the championship in their inaugural year of 2037)

Finishing with a less-than-stellar 79-83 record, the Pearls roll into the postseason as the BURT Wild Card team. They will face the dominant Istanbul Bosphorus who won the BURT with a 90-72 record.

The question that will dictate the series is: can the Manama Pearls' bats hit just enough to keep them in games against the Bosphorus' staff? The Istanbul staff ranks 1st in every pitching category except for BABIP and Home Runs Allowed... and the Pearls' offense only ranks 1st in one category: Home Runs.

The Players to Watch will be the Manama Pearls' young new pitcher that has solidified his spot in the UMEBA: SP Johan Trojka and the 2041 BURT Batting Title king, 1B Scott Hoover.

- Trojka, in his first 16 starts as a big-leaguer, pitched to 8-3 record, 2.75 ERA, and 2.8 WAR. According to Pearls manager Roger Brown, the young pitcher will be slotted in the second spot of the 3-man rotation that will also consist of SP Feheen Silvester and SP Alfredo Cuellar.

- Hoover has played in 135 games this year and hit for a BURT-leading .309 average, 27 HR, 96 RBI, and a 2.0 WAR.

The X-Factor will be CF Rhett Lawson who finds himself as the starting CF after season-long starter CF Armando Ojito went down with a concussion, and long-term prospect CF Juan Castillo has not delivered so far.

A small celebration is due for RF Laurent Fernandez as he becomes the first Pearls player to hit over 100 RBI in a season. He hit for a .281 average, 40 HR, 109 RBI, and a 3.0 WAR.

The series kicks off against Istanbul on Tuesday, 10/8 with SP Alfredo Cuellar taking the mound for the Pearls, and SP Vladimir Reichel taking the mound for the Bosphorus.

[recte44]

Still can’t figure out how Trojka got in the draft pool, but damn he’s good.

[tallywood]

Still can’t figure out how Trojka got in the draft pool, but damn he’s good.

Not complaining about that over here -- 21 years old and about to be the face of the franchise for as long as we can hold onto him!