October 19, 2056
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
Being one of the most feared teams heading into playoffs creates a big target on your back. Just ask the Bluebirds who are heading home early after being ousted in the Doubleday Series by the Twin Cities River Monsters. Despite scoring the most runs in the Frick League, Nashville’s bats went silent against their Heartland rivals.
The Bluebirds accumulated a team batting average of .233 while hitting 9 HR. The homer total is impressive, but 8 of the 9 were with no runners onboard. And if you remove Juan Rivera’s 5 dingers, you’ve got a team with a bunch of cold bats. Much credit has to be given to Twin Cities GM, @ae37jr , who was able to weaken Nashville’s lineup by removing the league’s biggest slugger, Roger Kidd, from the equation with a slew of southpaws on the mound. The southpaws didn’t slow down Rivera, but had an impact on other left-handed hitters like rookie CF Crissy Tingle. Top prospect, Alfonso Gonzáles, was added to the playoff roster and was considered to be a candidate to play CF with lefties on the mound, but was limited to a bench role. Ideally, right-handed sluggers, Helmut Grün and Wafid Bishr, would step up for any deficiencies, but they were held to 9 hits and a pair of homers between the two stars.
“We got outplayed,” said GM Chad Nason. “It’s as easy as that. We went out there with a stacked roster and showed up to a chess game with a bunch of baseball players. We got beat before we stepped onto the field and I take responsibility for that. Our guys had a helluva season and we will come back hungrier next year.”
The Bluebirds lost home field advantage by quickly dropping the first two games at home, including an extra inning loss in Game 2. They clawed back to win two games in Minnesota and forced a Game 7 after winning the first game back home. However, the Birds were limited to just 3 hits and lost the game 2-1, erasing a powerful performance by SP Eric Stevens, who allowed only 3 hits himself. Ollie Lowry came in relief, but allowed a leadoff triple that scored on a sacrifice fly one batter later. Eric Buckson came in to close out the game for the third time in the series. He was named series MVP after 7 IP of scoreless ball.
Nashville will now set their sights on the offseason with the likely departures of Lowry and Grun. CF Ragheb Burhan will likely head to free agency, as well. Gonzales will be lined up to replace him and should be the front runner for Gillstrom Rookie of the Year in 2057.
