Hold My Log - 49.13 - Springs Ends for Portland at .500

[7teen]

The spring training season has ended for the Portland Lumberjacks. The season should begin with some of the highest optimism in franchise history following the team's first ever winning season in 2048, however, a toughening Pacific Division, one that has surpassed the Heartland in quality, has made the Lumberjacks aspirations of making it to its first ever post-season a little more difficult. That difficulty was made evident by the team's 15-15 finish on the spring table, good enough for just 6th best in Pacific Division.

"We were truly hoping for a solid finish this spring" commented AGM Kate Fiscus, "but the division and league as a whole is tough. We won't complain too much about a .500 finish in the division for spring. Again, many don't think spring matters, and we agree with those sentiments. But when you're playing many of your regulars you'd like to see a good showing. But fortunately for us, no major injuries occurred during spring. And aside from 1 or 2 roster decisions to make before next week's opener in Hawaii, I think we have everything squared away."

The spring season was highlighted for Portland by a 4 game winning streak. Oddly enough, that winning streak was preceeded by a 4 game losing run. The team sort of jockeyed between wins and losses after that. Offense again appeared to be a key problem for the squad. The team maxed out a game with 9 runs in a game but scored 6 or more runs in a game just 4 times over the 30 contests. Granted, the pitching looks to be strong yet again heading into 2049. The pitching staff allowed more than 5 runs just 5 times all spring. The team was also 9-6 this Spring against the Hearltand, but was a dismal 6-9 against the Pacific, confirming the fact that the Pacific is going to be a tough division to plow through in 2049.