A Wildcard spot for Riyadh (2048-13)

[Fat Nige]

Riyadh claim a Wild card slot, only 150 games left to hang on to it
In the second week of 2048, Riyadh, buoyed by the form of the Bancroft Boys, moved into a Wild Card spot for the first time ever in their short history. Now we just have to hang onto for the next 150 games. Seriously though, a 4-2 winning week this early in the season is an unheard of thing, Te “Bancrofts” Diesel “All-Star” Dave, Jose Leyva & Jose Lima have really put the team on their back and carried them through. Dave especially, who is on a two-game 2-homer hitting streak as well as picking up the first two BURT Player of the Week Awards. After our away tribulations in 2047, we are about to play our final game of the first road trip with a 6-4 record currently.

Lima’s control has been not 100%, allowing four walks in three games but he has picked up two wins and an ERA under three while new stopper, 33-yr-old Arturo Rivera, signed with the Bancroft fix money has pitched eight innings in six outings, allowing just five hits and two walks while striking out nine batters..

Dave is slugging away for his new club, eight homers and 18 RBI in 11 appearances with a triple slash of .465/.465/1.093. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen a single homer out of top man Masaki Sato, just one RBI from the #4 hole. That’s led us to splash out a two-year deal worth $3m for Ernesto Sousa who has hit 184 homers in the BBA during the ‘40’s. Only four last year in Mumbai but he only got 67 AB’s. In Riyadh he’ll start as the regular DH to give him the chance to boost his long ball tally back up to near his BBA totals. For the time being Roy MacGugan who was just starting to hit in the backup 1B/DH roles has been sent to Port Elizabeth while Rule 5 pick Umar Mutemi will mainly see his work as the impact bat off the bench. Mike Martin on a .074 hitting streak in 2048 will ride the pines for a bit to allow our other Rule 5 pick Vinnie Coalman to have a go at showing he’s worth more than a 4th/5th outfielder. Such early days yet but the Red Crescent hitters are 1st in the BURT batting stats in eight categories while the pitching, still lagging behind, has the best BURT bullpen ERA (2.44) so far.



2048 Riyadh Results against the UMEBA (up to Apr 13th)

Vs BURT

Team	HW	HL	AW	AL	RF	RA	Series
Baghdad	0	0	2	3	26	36	2-3
Beirut	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0
Jerusalem	0	0	2	0	21	8	2-0
Manama	1	1	0	0	9	10	1-1

Vs BANC

Team	HW	HL	AW	AL	RF	RA	Series
Athens	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0
Bucharest	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0
Cairo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0
Mumbai	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0
Tripoli	0	0	1	2	11	9	2-1

[mragland]

Riyadh's off to a good start. Interested in seeing if they can continue winning against the likes of Athens, Beirut, Bucharest, and Mumbai.

Diesel Dave appears to be a late bloomer. Those numbers are gonzo.

[Fat Nige]

Only 150 more games to go, what could possibly go wrong

[CTBrewCrew]

….so close you can taste it

[scottsdale_joe]

Reality hits home.