July 28, 2044
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
The Nashville Bluebirds have enjoyed great success in 2044 thanks to the part of consistent play by both the pitching staff and lineup. Calling star 3B Tony Frost’s recent struggles is a stretch and is more so the all-star coming back down to earth after he absolutely scorched Frick League pitchers in the first half of the season. While not quite the impact bat Frost is, Jaime Geerdinkck has been rather consistent for the Bluebirds, however was in the middle of a 7 for 51 slump with no homers in July before facing Madison on Monday where he laced five hits including a homerun.
“It’s good to have a game like that. America’s Independence Day always gets me really excited with all the fireworks and hot dogs. I guess I got a little distracted after that, but I’m back,” said Geerdinkck after his 5-5 performance.
LF Jaime Geerdinkck
The biggest disappointment this season has undoubtedly been the performance of José Machado, who was awarded $6.875M in arbitration after a 3.7 WAR 2043 season. Machado’s season shouldn’t be considered a slump, since he has been consistently atrocious from the start. Before last week’s three game series against the Louisville Sluggers, Machado had an abysmal .204/.277/.336 slash line – a great fall from the .951 OPS season just a year ago. However, he may have just begun to figure things out again.
RF José Machado
“It’s been no secret that Machado has struggled this year and we were forced to drop him in the lineup and even remove him from the lineup entirely when there’s a lefty on the mound. He’s been working with our hitting coach all season to figure it out and we began to see some promise last week,” said GM Chad Nason.
There have been rumors that Nason was looking to replace Machado with a more valuable asset in right field, but for now, Machado will continue to prove his worth. The struggling outfielder had 7 hits in 15 AB last week, including two homers and a 1.663 OPS. His glove has kept him in the lineup, but hopefully his bat will continue to come around and recover some of his value, otherwise he is looking to be non-tendered in the offseason.
Despite some recent struggles, Nashville was 6-1 last week, beginning by winning the rubber game against the San Fernando Bears. They then hosted Louisville and managed to win two of three from the back-to-back Landis champs. Tonight will be the final game of the homestand as the Bluebirds are looking to complete the four game sweep of the Madison Wolves. Hpefully the hot streak carries on into this week with tough matchups against Yellow Springs Nine and Long Beach Surfers
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