That's What Cheesehead: 37.30 - Wolves Exceed Expectations, but Fall Short of Prize

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That's What Cheesehead: 37.30 - Wolves Exceed Expectations, but Fall Short of Prize

Post by 7teen » Fri Feb 22, 2019 1:32 pm

It was a season of doubt in Madison in 2037. Many doubted the Wolves had what it took to be a legitimate contender. Many doubted the Wolves as a .500 team. And yes, for maybe the last time, many doubted the Wolves off-season moves and roster construction. The roster construction had many around the league, and even within the city of Madison, wondering whether it would work. But General Manager Chris Wilson, one to never shy away from trying something crazy if it might help win games, pulled it off this season and got the Wolves into the post-season.

Behind an offense that scored enough runs to rank third in the Frick League at 888, the Wolves were able to lay claim to a wild card spot and return to the post-season, a destination the team hadn't seen since 2033. Madison's "offense first" approach allowed the team to lead the Frick in walks and stolen bases while ranking second in batting average, on-base percentage, and hits. Nine different Wolves offensive players posted at least a 2.0 WAR in 2037, topped off by sophomore player Natanael Barral's 4.6 mark.

"Barral is the player that created a lot of our problems" laughed Wilson at the post-season interview. "He emerged last year as a guy we had to play. So it created a major log-jam at the 1B/DH spot so we had to get a little radical with our approach. For this year, that approach worked out well enough to get us into the post-season. We now have to figure out how we can take that next step and advance."

The season ended for Madison with a heartbreaking 3-2 series loss to division rival Omaha. The Wolves, who won games 1 and 2 of the series, were unable to complete the series win and advance to the Doubleday Series. For the Wolves, the loss in 5 marked the second consecutive time the club has been bounced out of the post-season in a deciding game in the Geoghegan Series. In 2033, Louisville sent Madison packing in 5. The loss in the opening round also keeps the Wolves drought of winning a playoff series alive now at 16 seasons. The last time Madison won a post-season round was 2021 when the team defeated Vancouver in the DoubleDay round only to lose to Louisville in a deciding game 7 of the Cartright Series. In 2032, the Wolves won the division and received an opening round bye. However, the club lost in 6 to Louisville yet again and was not able to win a post-season series.

"We showed this year we can get back into the post-season" said Wolves GM Chris Wilson. "Now we just have to figure out how to advance from that point on. We've been on the brink several times over the last 10 years but just come up short. It's an age old saying that pitching wins championships and clearly if we want to take that next step, we need to find some pitching. But that's easier said than done."

Nonetheless, the Wolves made great strides in 2037 and will look to advance back to the post-season in 2038. With a roster that's pretty much completely in tact going in to 2038, the Wolves will look to spend some of their added budget room next season to continue to boost a roster that can hopefully compete with the Frick's best.
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Re: That's What Cheesehead: 37.30 - Wolves Exceed Expectations, but Fall Short of Prize

Post by RonCo » Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:52 pm

Congrats on a nice season.
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