We Got Wood - 48.07 - 5-5 Start to Spring

[7teen]

Fans of the Lumberjacks got their first viewing of the 2048 version of the club this past week as the team kicked off spring training with a mediocre 5-5 stretch. The team never got on any major rolls, never winning nor losing more than 2 in a row during the opening week and a half. Fans also got a preview during the first game when the Lumberjacks defeated Vancouver by the score of 5-1. Portland travels to Vancouver for the opening series of the season. Last season, the Mounties owned the Lumberjacks, taking 12 of the 14 meetings between the two rivals. But with a new, familiar face back at the helm in Vancouver, Wilson is promising Lumberjack domination over the Mounties in 2048. In its first 8 seasons, Portland has only won more games than it's lost against Vancouver once.

Prospect Highlights Offense
Prospect Jiao-long Ma highlighted the offensive effort over the first series of spring games. Ma, who isn't expected to make the roster come opening day as he still has some development to do, hit .308 with a 1.092 OPS over the first 10 games which included 3 homeruns and 5 RBI. All 3 homeruns were solo shots in three different games, but his best game came against Hawaii in which Ma went 3-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.

The newest overpaid star in Portland, Ernest McBride, collected 6 hits in the first spring stretch while piling on 6 RBI. If McBride can produce like that over the regular season, I think fans may ignore the high price tag he came with.

Pitching Will Rule in 2048
All the talk this spring has been about the Lumberjacks pitching and it didn't disappoint in the first 10 games. Ken Sparks will try and prove his Gillstrom Award was no fluke and went out in his first 2 spring outings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits and a pair of walks. He threw 8 innings and struck out 8. Steve Warren has kind of turned into the forgotten about arm on this staff of late, but the former 5th overall pick went out and nearly matched Sparks. Warren allowed 2 runs on 6 hits while not walking a batter over his 8 innings. He did top Sparks by striking out 9. Finally, rookie Xuan Ngo saw his first taste of big league action this spring. The rookie will make his official debut this season as he's already been told he'll be on the opening day roster. Ngo didn't disappoint in his two trips to the mound. Ngo pitched 3.2 perfect innings of relief, striking out 7 of the 11 batters he faced. While the rotation is getting most of the talk, the Portland bullpen looks equally, if not more, impressive.

[scottsdale_joe]

Spark's Gillstrom Award?
He came in 2nd, didn't he?
Good showing, yes. Award, no.

[7teen]

Spark's Gillstrom Award?
He came in 2nd, didn't he?
Good showing, yes. Award, no.

He won the award. Recte made a mistake in game. Sparks won by about 50 points in voting.

[scottsdale_joe]

Ah, ok.
But at least you know I was reading your report.

[CTBrewCrew]

“Sparks” will fly this year in Portland! The dream of the 90s is alive in 2048!

[bschr682]

I’ll have to see if I can get the boys to dominate against Portland.