Vicente Lamb, Stars Reporter
October 2, 2051
VALENCIA – On Monday, the Stars secured their place in the playoff bracket thanks to a 5-0 victory against the visiting Lumberjacks, made possible in large part by an excellent performance by starter Ken Arroyo (6.1 IP, 3K, 1BB, 4H, 0 ER).
Tonight, the Stars completed their sweep of the visiting Long Beach Surfers to improve their record to 90-72. Valencia has a symmetrical home-road split of 45-36 on the year.
Miller, known as one of the more mild-mannered and unassuming players in the game, took exception to this perceived beaning, and charged the mound. The benches cleared, and order was restored only after several minutes of effort by the umpiring crew and cooler heads from both teams.
The league subsequently handed down four-game suspensions to the two belligerent parties, Hernández and Miller. The loss of a reliever likely meant very little to the 59-win Surfers, but the suspension of Miller (who leads his team in many statistical categories, including WAR (5.4) and wRC+ (163)) will carry over to the first two games of Valencia's playoff series with Yellow Springs.
It is arguable that Miller should not have been in the lineup at all and that the Stars' best players ought to have been held out in the Long Beach series entirely. This was not the case, however, as Stars management seems to have been intent on improving the team's record. We will see if they come to regret that decision.
