Boardwalk Empire - 2040.9 - Welch Injured

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Joshua Biddle
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Boardwalk Empire - 2040.9 - Welch Injured

Post by Joshua Biddle » Mon Dec 09, 2019 4:23 pm

Dusty Welch Fractures Elbow

The Atlantic City Gamblers have announced right-handed starting pitcher Dusty “Skid Row” Welch has sustained an elbow fracture of his pitching arm, and will be sidelined indefinitely. The injury marks another complication to Welch’s career, which has seen him go from a first round pick in the BBA Amateur Draft, top out as the #22 BBA prospect, and post two good seasons at the BBA level before a decline in performance that may not be salvageable.

The twenty-four year old Welch is beloved in Atlantic City - a fixture in the community and a clubhouse leader. A player who spends considerable time before games he’s not starting signing autographs and chatting with fans. For games he starts, he stays behind for the home crowd whether it’s a good or bad outing, making sure no child leaves the stadium without an autograph. In the clubhouse, he’s equal parts engaging and fiery, relating well to the veterans due to an unrelenting desire to be great, and his fellow young players through clubhouse video game tournaments that he organizes. But for Welch, the past year and a half has been equal parts depressing and frustrating. The harder he works, the more things seem to go wrong.

Just as he does with the fans, he is always willing to spend as much time as desired with the media, regardless of performance. But as time has passed over the past few years, his demeanor certainly seems more and more defeated. His answers have become shorter, and though he’s able to bury the frustration that has to be boiling below the surface with some of the media’s prodding questions, there is a desperation and exhaustion in his tone that is almost begging for the press conference to end. From past years, Welch is clearly an introspective, intelligent, eloquent speaker. He knows exactly what he needs to improve upon to establish an effective BBA career. He knows exactly what he has been doing wrong that has led to this stall in his progression. But the question now, in addition to questions that already have emerged about his overall ability, is physical – can he fix what already ailed him, in addition to now what physically ails him?

Thus far in his BBA career, he is 38-45 with a 4.53 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, a 4.35 FIP, a .527 quality start percentage, a .262 opponent’s batting average, 496 strikeouts, and a 10.8 WAR in 667 2/3 innings pitched (112 starts) over five seasons. His best season to date was his rookie season in 2036, finishing 8-6 with a 4.13 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, a 3.98 FIP, a .600 quality start percentage, a .246 opponent’s batting average, 103 strikeouts, and a 2.4 WAR in 124 1/3 innings pitched (20 starts). His ERA has risen nearly every season - the exception being an equal 4.46 ERA in both the 2038 and 2039 seasons – with his FIP doing the same following his second season in 2035 when it dipped from 3.98 to 3.91. Prior to his injury, he was having by far his worst professional season, going 1-7 with a 6.55 ERA, 1.87 WHIP, 5.22 FIP, .154 quality start percentage, .328 opponent’s batting average, 43 strikeouts, and a 0.4 WAR in 57 2/3 innings pitched (13 starts).

It’s expected Welch’s injury will end his 2040 season, so an offseason worth of rehabilitation and fine-tuning his craft will be the determining factor on whether 2041 can be a bounce back year. But it stands to reason that the deck is stacked against him.
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sjshaw
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Re: Boardwalk Empire - 2040.9 - Welch Injured

Post by sjshaw » Mon Dec 09, 2019 4:37 pm

Ugh... hate to see those CON declines.
GM, Louisville Sluggers, end of 2038 - current

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