Geoghegan Series: Calgary vs Seattle

Team, Division, League, Playoff, and all other comprehensive previews go here.
User avatar
7teen
BBA GM
Posts: 9806
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2010 7:59 am
Has thanked: 223 times
Been thanked: 1135 times

Geoghegan Series: Calgary vs Seattle

Post by 7teen » Wed Aug 22, 2018 4:23 pm

It's that time of the year once again. The marathon is over and it's a sprint to the finish. First team to 15 wins claims the Landis title. Unless you're one of the bye teams, then you only need 12. But that's for another preview. Here, we are handicapping the early rounds, the Geoghegan Series. Let's first take a look at the matchup between the Calgary Pioneers and the Seattle Storm, teams that know each other quite well.

Calgary Pioneers
Calgary enters the 2035 post-season for the second consecutive season and it's their 8th trip in the last 10 seasons. They are on a 14 year drought since their last Landis Title which came back in 2021. They also won one in 2018, there only two since 1995. The franchise is also riding a high of winning seasons, having not posted a losing season in 12 seasons. Of course, losing the division in the final sim may sting a little.

Seattle Storm
The Storm are entering the post-season after missing out in each of the last 4 seasons. Surprisingly, the Storm haven't exactly been to the post-season a whole lot since 1995 as this is only their 15th trip to the second season. Most of those trips came with them as division champs, which is what they are this season after overcoming a 1 game deficit in the final sim to capture the division crown from the Pioneers. Seattle is still in search of its first Landis Title in the modern era.

The Offenses
Heads up!! That's the words you probably hear yelled a lot if you watch many games from the outfield stands in Calgary. The Pioneers were 2nd in the Frick in runs scored thanks to leading the league batting average, hits, on-base percentage, and slugging. Their 2nd place ranking in homeruns also helped across the board. Rupert Grant (.267/.333/.582, 62 HR, 157 RBI) led the Frick in RBI this season and was just shy of taking the HR crown as well. Juan Karyabwite (.353/.370/.526, 21 HR, 126 RBI) is a main reason the team had such a high team average. Juan lost out on the Frick batting title in the last sim to Edmonton's Dusty Rhodes. And then there is a young 20 year old Jose Rios (.271/.319/.501, 34 HR, 102 RBI) that gives Calgary and solid 3-headed monster right in the middle of the lineup.

Seattle's offense is good, but compared to Calgary it's very pedestrian. Ranked 7th in runs scored in the Frick, the Storm relied on walks and moving guys around via base hits. But they weren't looking to take an extra base as they ranked just 14th in steals this season. Lionnel Crepin (.278/.403/.508, 37 HR, 126 RBI) was the main force in the middle all season as he led the team in most offensive categories. Juan Escobar (.295/.366/.466, 27 HR, 90 RBI) rebounded some from a disappointing 2034 season. Seattle would love to see the 2026-2030 Escobar show up in this series and throughout the post-season.

Advantage: Calgary

The Pitching
For Calgary, their pitching stats are just eh. The one thing they do very well is they don't walk a lot of people as they ranked 1st in the Frick in allowing the fewest walks. That didn't exactly mean a lot of success though as they ranked 8th in runs allowed. Jimmy Greenwood (16 - 10, 3.95 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 122 K) comes over from Vegas and gave the Pioneers rotation a huge jolt and will be key in their chances in a short series. Cristobal Hernandez (15 - 7, 3.40 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 200 K) gives them that solid other starter. If these two guys can both win their starts, it could spell trouble for Seattle and give the Pioneers some hopes at a deep post-season run.

Seattle's starting rotation is clearly their strong suit and could be what takes them out of the first round. Their staff ERA ranked 3rd in the Frick and led them to the 4th fewest runs in the league. They were carried by 4 double digit win starting pitchers, anchored by Alfredo Contreras (17 - 10, 2.65 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 236 K) and his league leading ERA. 22 year old Ken Walter (17 - 10, 3.38 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 222 K) has finally burst onto the scene and will be a name to watch not just in this post-season but for many years to come in the league. Who Seattle goes with in games 3 and 4 are anyone's guess. They have the option of going 4 deep in the post-season rotation or they could ride those two horses out, use someone as a number 3 and then use their other starter as a reliever. It'll be interesting to see how they do things.
Advantage: Seattle

Head to Head
Calgary won the season series 8-3.

Calgary was also one of the rare teams in the BBA that seemed to like playing on the road in 2035. Home teams were pretty dominant this season. In fact, Seattle was that. The Storm had a losing mark on the road while completing dominating their foes at home. Oddly enough, game 163 between these two teams that settled the division was played in Calgary. Seattle won it.

Advantage: Calgary

Prediction
Which way do you go here!? Calgary dominated the season series but how do they shake off the fact they had a 1-game lead in the standings before the final sim only to lose it away in a playoff game that was AT HOME!? So despite the fact Calgary should have all the edge here, does that last week of the season play any bearing on how this series shakes down? I'm gonna go Calgary in 4. Calgary was the hotter team in the final month despite that final sim meltdown. And if Calgary's offense gets rolling, the Seattle pitching turns to the bullpen. A bullpen that ranked 12th in the Frick in ERA this season.
Chris Wilson

LB Surfers 95-96
FL Pac Champs: 95

Madison Wolves 99-2039
JL MW: 99-2009, 17, 20, 21
JL WC: 12
JL: 01, 04, 09, 12
FL Heartland: 32
FL WC: 31, 33
BBA Champs: 04, 09

Portland Lumberjacks 2040-
FL Pacific: 50
FL WC: 49, 51
FL Champs: 49, 51

Vic Caleca TN of the Year 2046

Return to “Previews”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests