Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#466 Post by Sandgnats »

I've read too many of these great blogs with the Gnats on the losing end :) but I still love your insight. Thanks Mike!
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#467 Post by Ghosts »

Borealis wrote: The Borealis were once again division champs - for the 8th season in a row and 9th in 10 seasons; back to the start of their four Rodriguez Cups in 5 years. This years division crown (and playoff spot) was an odd journey - filled with inconsistent play across the board - and yet there was enough consistency to offset the poor play of other groups. Be it the starters or the 'pen, the offense or the defense, this team seemed to manage, and down the stretch, it was the unit that has long been this team's hallmark - the starters, that brought home the division title.
What a finish to an exciting division stretch run. Congrats again on taking the division. I look forward to trying to unseat Aurora as the perennial division winner, but it will be a steep challenge. Hopefully I can make another go of it next year, but for now I'll just hope the Bears can ride this hot streak to a playoff matchup with Aurora.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#468 Post by Vic »

That account of game 3 against Crystal Lake had me on the edge of my seat - well done, Michael!
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#469 Post by Borealis »

Bears wrote: but for now I'll just hope the Bears can ride this hot streak to a playoff matchup with Aurora.
We welcome the chance for an SL title tilt with a Vail - but we have our hands full with a tough Fargo club, and that won't be easy!!
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#470 Post by Borealis »

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Aurora Face Dinosaurs in Divisional Play
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

October 12, 2028: Aurora, Colorado - The Borealis managed to survive, in the end, both their own inconsistencies and the powerful surge of their arch-rival Bears, and now, winners yet again, the champions of the Desert Hills have a shot at another Rodriguez Cup - this time with the Fargo Dinosaurs in their way.

Fargo and Aurora are not post-season strangers - although one has to travel back to 2014 when the Wild Card Borealis swept the Dinos 3-0, and before that, in 2010 - The Rodriguez Clan's last season at the helm of the club, when Aurora would defeat Fargo 3-1 in the Divisional round. So, they may not be common playoff foes - like the 'Gnats and Evil Evas may be - but this isn't a unique series, either.

On the season, Aurora was 10-6 against Fargo, though the season series felt much closer than that. The teams first met at the end of May for four games at Northern Lights - where the teams split the four-game series. The most notable game of that series would be the second, a 6-4, 10-inning win for Fargo in which Gustavo homered in the 9th (off John Gray) to tie the game - and then hit a 2-run homer of Tomas Moya in the 10th to win it. Three days later the teams met in Fargo and Aurora swept the Dinos, highlighted by 'Tugboat's 8-inning, 5-hit shut-out. We'll hear more from Randy Smith later. Then, 10-days later, there they were again, 4-games on The Front Range, and again, splitting the series, with Fargo taking the first two games and Tuner and 'Chief' turning in gems: 3-1 and 2-1 (Turner matching 'Tugboat's previous line in this one).

Aurora was 7-4 against Fargo, coming out of the All-Star Break, where the two would meet once more - this time a pair in Fargo and the Dinosaurs took a heart-breaking pair of 2-1 games - with 'Bullets' Lopez once again with late game heroics - a 10-inning homer off Gray in Game one and a 9th inning homer off Latour in game two - both solo walk-off shots that gave him three game winning homers off the Borealis bullpen. Two weeks later they were back in Fargo and this time Aurora's starters were in full form - JT, a 3-1 win, 'Tugboat' a 4-0 win and 'Chief' a 2-0 win - a combined 12 hits over 20+ innings pitched by the three.

That was 16-games between the two teams in a 53-game span - just over 1 of every 3 games played by Aurora during that stretch. And what did we learn - what was the take away? Well, aside from don't let Gustavo Lopez hit in the closing moments of a game, we learned that both teams can win at the other's park, and both teams can win the high-scoring game and pitchers duel equally as well. Aurora may have the season's record 'edge' - and the 4-games between them was just about the final difference in the Sovereign League standings, but clearly these are two teams that are equal.

Of the 16-games, only 5 were decided by more than 2-runs - be they the pair of 2-1 losses after the Break, or the 6-4 and 7-5 wins in that opening series. 3 of Fargo's 6-wins were games they scored more than 4-runs. Only 4 of Aurora's 10 wins could the same be said. Suggesting pitching is going to really tell the tale here - and this is where it gets interesting.

Aurora's starters posted a 3rd best SL 3.05, while Fargo came in at 6th, a more than respectable 3.53 - again suggesting a close game. This shifts as we look at the announced rotations for the clubs: Fargo's quartet of Molina, Imai, Dempster and Miranda check in with an ERA of 2.72, while Aurora's Turner, Smith Esquivel and Nieves sit at 3.14. Now, we can point to numerous factors for this difference - Aurora's starting quartet have thrown 250 innings more than Fargo's - even if we discount Bartolo's work at Duluth. Then again, Aurora is notorious for their patience with their starters. If we look at some of the pitching numbers, Aurora's pitchers, shockingly (for the way things have gone over the past few seasons) gave up the second fewest homers in the SL - 121, while Fargo is 6th with 158. In their head-to-head match-ups - both hit 15. Fargo's pitchers struck out a league high 1330 hitters - while being the 3rd stingiest team to K (919 Fargo hitters struck out); Aurora posted 1278 K's as a staff (3rd in the SL), while their offensive mates struck out 900 times - 2nd lowest in the SL. In their 16 games, Aurora struck out 115 times, Fargo 105. Walks? Aurora's pitchers a far less likely to walk a batter, but Fargo's hitters perhaps are more patient.

And that doesn't even count the bullpen's, where Fargo's 'pen has the 3rd best SL ERA at 2.94, while Aurora's is 2nd best at 2.49. AND... very little separates these 'pens - Aurora's throwing a tad more than a games worth of innings over the course of the season, but aside from ERA, the Borealis firemen have struck out quite a bit more, walked fewer - both teams have an OAVE of .218, though Fargo's BABIP is a shade better (.009). It's fair to say that a team with a late lead might feel better about their chances. Then again, John Gray has 6-blown saves and allowed 11 homers in his 81 appearances that led to a SL best 44 saves. He also struck out 111 and walked just 17 in 87 IP for WHIP of 0.94. As Aurora fans have come to feel about John Gray - take those with a grain of salt; he is not Bryant Burris.

Sticking with the theme of starting pitching, Randy Smith threw 27 innings over 4 starts with a 0.33 ERA, with 9 K - and that'll be a key storyline in the upcoming series - Fargo puts the ball in play as much as the famously 'in play' Borealis and considering Fargo's late game heroics, 1 AB can make a difference. John Turner - the Game 1 Starter threw 20 IP in his 3 starts v. Fargo, and he struck out 16 to go with his 1.80 ERA. 'Chief' Nieves, made 5 starts and posted a 2.62, over 34.2 IP, with 28 K - but also 4 homers. Game 3 Starter, Bartolo Esquivel, did not face Fargo for Aurora, but for Duluth, he made one start, and pitched into the 7th, allowing a run on 4 hits. The bullpen has had a mixture of success and failure. Dan Feld, with 5-shutout, hitless innings, by far the best. John Gray allowed 3 homers and uncharacteristically walked 4 in 8 IP. A key in the series may be the work of Bob Burns, who will be facing the Dinos for the first time. Should Gray fail in the first two games, don't be shocked if Burns slides into the position he held at San Antonio.

If we look back over the final month of the season, it is Turner who has been the most consistent performer in the rotation. With a 4-1 record and a 1.95 ERA in 5 starts, JT has allowed just 7 runs on 21 hits over 32.1 IP, with a single homer allowed. He has earned the Game 1 assignment. Making the coaching staff nervous is Esquivel, who after an absolutely blazing start to his Aurora career, September was an about-face: 2-3, 6.34 ERA - teams hitting .291 against him with 4 homers allowed.

If we look at Fargo's starters, Ernesto Molina may have been 0-2 against Aurora, but his 2.70 belays the fact that Ernesto typically pitches well against Aurora. Though he did allow 4 homers in his 4 starts, he also struck out 28 and walked just 4. Imai, also with 4 starts, also was 0-2, with a 3.13 ERA, but he walked 8 and allowed 3 homers. Miranda had one start, a loss and Dempster has not faced Aurora, so the rookies first look at the Borealis will be game 3 at Fargo. What this tells us is that all 6 of Fargo's wins were by the bullpen - again, illustrating Fargo's late game heroics. Cristo Santiago, 8 IP, no runs and the winning pitcher in those hear-wrenching 2-1 losses after the Break. Kobayashi (3 IP) and Lucio Rodriguez (4 IP) - Fargo's newest closer also allowed no runs and picked up wins. Javier Gomez had the most relief innings (11.2) against Aurora and allowed just a run on 5 hits. Fargo"s bullpen allowed just one home run to Aurora over 16 games. Aurora's 'pen allowed 7, but only Gray and Latour (1 HRA) remain on The Front Range.

Offensively, Fargo managed to hit just .212 against Aurora, and averaged just about 3-runs a game - which is amazing since in 10 of those 16 games Fargo scored 3 or less - including 3-shut outs and 3-games where they scored just 1. Of their starters, Lopez was the main threat - he hit .275, but his 5 homers (although just 7 RBI) made a huge difference. Aurora keeping Gustavo from beating them will be a key. Interestingly, RF Jose Diaz, who played in 7 games, hit .381 with 2-2B, 2 HR and 5 RBI while hitting .381. Luis Mercado led the team with 9 RBI, off 2 homers, but he hit just .220. With a team OBP of just .257 - and only 4 SB in 6 attempts, Fargo isn't getting on base much against Aurora - over the course of their 16-games, and not doing much while they are.

For Aurora, LF Nick Heath grabbed the the lead-off spot early and ended the year hitting .303, with 16-2B, 3-3B and 8 homers - and he stole 23 out of 32 steal attempts. Disturbingly, he struck out 23 times against Fargo - but as we know, stats are deceptive - 9 of those 23 were in one 3-game series - series at Fargo that Aurora sweet back in early June. Aurora's lead-off hitter hit .254, but the line-up released today has him in the lead-off spot. Aurora's Big Guns - 'Big Whiskey' and Paul Carlisle swung strong bats against Fargo - Britt at a .325 pace with 4 HR and impressively just 6 K, and Carlisle .288 with 5 HR and just 7 K, and 17 RBI between them. C 'Fido' Castro hit .315, and will be slotted in the DH spot against lefties - River Pope's .220 split against lefties taking precedence over his .275 mark against Fargo. Of concern for Aurora is 2B Derrick Dwyer's 1-10 against Fargo in Aurora Blue - and an overall 4-37 (.108) with his CL ABs added in. A potential wild card for Aurora is (not so much a) rookie 1B, Jose Torres, who hit .269 against Fargo, with 3 HR and a team-leading 12 RBI. Torres was third on Aurora with 23 homers (behind Britt and Carlisle's 30), but he finished with a rough September - hitting .200 with 3 HR.

So after this forensic dissection, what have we learned? That what we saw during the season - mostly tight games, and the team with the late lead is the likely winner. Aurora did more offensively, head-to-head, which is reflected by the team's season record against Fargo. For what it's worth, that feels like an Aurora 4-2 win - which puts 'Tugboat' on the mound for another series winning start - and with a career 13-2, 1.64 ERA in the post-season for Aurora, I think everyone would take those odds!

That said, 'Bullets' may have a lot to say about that before this series is over.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#471 Post by Ghosts »

Borealis wrote:The Borealis managed to survive, in the end, both their own inconsistencies and the powerful surge of their arch-rival Bears, and now, winners yet again, the champions of the Desert Hills have a shot at another Rodriguez Cup - this time with the Fargo Dinosaurs in their way.
I always did love Dinosaurs. Fitting that the Bears will be rooting for them against Aurora!
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#472 Post by DrewV »

Hard not to root for the Great Lakes, but good luck!
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#473 Post by Vic »

Looks like a heck of an interesting pitchers’ series. Strong write-up, Mike. Good luck to everyone!

(Had to laugh that the only reference to Moya was him serving up a 10th inning homer - a sight that’s all too familiar. Worth noting, however, that he kicked butt at Aberdeen as a closer, and has yet to allow a run since his recall from AAA. And, since I just jinxed him, under no circumstances can I allow him to pitch against Havana ...)

Addendum after 2nd Divisional Round Playoff Game:

Ya know, I really ought to follow my own damn advice. Check out how Game 2 against Havana ended up. Hint: a lot like that 10th inning you wrote about, Mike ...
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#474 Post by Borealis »

Botched Decisions, Botched Plays, Botch Borealis
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

October 13, 2028: Aurora, Colorado - It feels like the Dinosaurs sauntered through the front door as they hopped out of town and slammed it in the Borealis' face. That wasn't quite what Organization and fans alike had expected.

And now, the hard job of getting back into the series.

Ernesto Molina and John Turner took the mound for the Opener of the Divisional Series match-up between Aurora and Fargo, and this game would start out looking good for Aurora as they would take a 3-1 lead after 4-innings. Aurora jumped on Molina quickly - a lead-off single and stolen base by Nick Heath and a 2-out single (don't expect a theme here, you'll be disappointed) by Paul Carlisle gave Aurora a short-lived 1-0 in the first, only to see Pat Watson tie it for Fargo not long after with a lead-off homer in the third. Aurora grabbed the lead back in the 4th as Pope singled, Torres walked and Teddy Loetzsch tripled deep in the right-center gap - scoring both and handing John Turner a 3-1 lead after 4.

Except one, perplexing thing - It was Lando Lagerveld who came out of the dugout to start the 5th.

Sure, JT had labored. Sure, he walked 4 and struck out 3, but he had also allowed just the 1-run and 3-hits. Ok... 89 pitches is getting up there, but still... Post-game the word was vague, suggesting that he was ill, but other than that, everyone in the clubhouse was tight-lipped.

If only Lando had seemed to have a tight-grip on the concept of getting outs.

Luis Mercado - lead-off homer. Rob Raines, single. But Lagerveld got the troublesome Lopez on strikes and Castaneda on a fly ball, and things looked hopeful. Nope. Single from Murillo. Wild pitch. 2-run single from Collins - and just like that Lando gave up 4-hots, 3-runs and the lead.

Meanwhile, Molina seized the day. Over his final 4-innings, he allowed three solitary singles to finish 8-strong innings, with 9-hits, 3-runs, 6 K and a walk. But before Molina Finished his day, his Dino mates would get a pair more after Ron Latour walked the bases loaded and fed Mercado a fat 3-2 pitch that he laced past a diving Mike Britt, driving home runs 5 & 6, as Fargo would go to the bottom of the 9th with a 6-3 lead.

Lucio Rodriguez, the former-Yuman reliever-turned Fargo closer, come on in the 9th and promptly walked Jose Torres to give hope to the crowd. He followed that up with a full count walk to Loetzsch. Dwyer strike out and Heath loft a lazy fly ball for the second out - bringing up Tomas Flores. Flores would lift a ball that the deep playing Mercado couldn't reach, for a single - but the plodding Torres had to stop at third. That brought 'Fido' to the plate, who would look at strike three - and Fargo had game 1 in their pocket.

Down a game, Randy Smith took the mound for game 2 and his hefty post-season success was in his pocket - but on this day, that success was just words in the history books.

'Tugboat' looked good - for one batter. Castanieda struck out to start the game, but then Wiggins single, Raines doubled, and Ortega hit a grounder to Dwyer at second for the second out, but Wiggins scored. But Fargo wasn't finished. Collins singled Raines home and Pat Watson singled to right - Paul Carlisle charged hard, and came up throwing - with the ball ending up in the Aurora dugout. Collins scored the third run of the inning and Aurora was again facing a deficit.

Fargo would make it 4-0 in the 4th, but then Aurora began to show some life against Imai - who had allowed a couple of baserunners, but nothing else. Flores greeted him in the 4th with a deep homer and Carlisle two batters later went even deeper and Aurora had cut the lead in half. But 'Tugboat' just could catch a break. Wiggins would triple in the 5th and score on a wild pitch. In the 6th, Watson dropped a bunt for a hit and Murillo would triple him home, and suddenly it was 6-2.

Imai would struggle with his control - though he'd pitch into the 7th before walking Pope - his 6th walk of the game. Dan Boorman would enter the game and give up hits to Dwyer and Torres, the latter driving home Pope, making the score 6-3. Boorman stayed on in the 8th - long enough for 'Big Whiskey' to drive a 2-out, 2-run homer and suddenly the 6-2 lead was 6-5.

Rodriguez came on in the 9th for Fargo and instantly was in trouble. Torres singled. Loetzsch doubled - but Torres stopped at third - almost anyone else on the roster likely would have scored the tying run. Dwyer struck out and then Heath was walked to load the bases. With that, Javier Gomez came on and on his second pitch, Flores dubbed a ball out front of the plate. Fargo's catcher Dan Collins jumped from behind the plate, grabbed the ball and, with no chance of getting Flores, dove back to the plate and his glove just beat Torres to the plate for the force - if not for the intentional walk to Heath, Torres would have scored. Loetzsch, standing on third, Heath on second and Castro came to the plate - for the second time in the series two games with the game on the line. Fargo chose Castro over Carlisle, and 'Fido' didn't disappoint, swinging at the first pitch and popping up to left for the final out - and Fargo came to Northern Lights and walk away with a 2-0 series lead.

Now the series shifts to Fargo and two former Great Lakes pitching stars - Bartolo Esquivel and Luis Nieves, will try to get the Borealis back into the series. Bartolo, while with Duluth this year, faced fargo just once - back in the season's first week, and he would throw 6.2 innings in that one, allowing 4-hits and a run in Duluth's 3-2 loss to Fargo. 'Chief' faced Fargo 5 times this season, and the first two games were ugly. But in the last three starts, he went 22 innings and allowed 2-runs, total. Aurora is going to need the recent Nieves if this series is to return to The Front Range.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#475 Post by Borealis »

Borealis Dig Hole too Deep to Overcome
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

October 20, 2028: Aurora, Colorado - It's been 5-years now. Polishing up those four Rodriguez Cups and putting them up for display at Northern Lights Park can only buy you so much cache. After the latest flame out in the Sovereign League playoffs - twice to The Evil Evas, the 'Gnats, Duluth and now Fargo, it may be time to start asking the hard questions about this team - not that they haven't been asked before, but... Where is this older, high priced team going - because it's clear that the younger, cheaper teams are starting to make themselves known.

But, let's save that dialog for another day. Let's look at burrowing down the rabbits hole and not being able to get out.

After a pair of heart-wrenching losses at home to the Dinosaurs, the teams headed off to Fargo, where unseasonably warm temperatures met the teams at Jurassic Park. Bartolo Esquivel - who struggled down the stretch, and rookie Nathan Dempster - he with a grand total of 14 major league starts and a 2.11, would take the mound and both would be stellar. Esquivel would pitch into the 7th and allow 3 hits - though he probably did himself in with his control struggles - 5 BB against only 3 K. Dempster, who also walked a few (3), would throw 8, 4 hit innings, and allow only a run - Aurora's only run on this day. Paul Carlisle would leadoff the 6th with a double, and a 2-out RBI by Medrano would drive him home. The game would stay 1-0 into the bottom of the 9th, as Bob Burns would relieve Bartolo and provide 4-key outs.

As many the Borealis fan has seen over the past few years - as good as John Gray may be, he can be exceedingly frustrating. He would walk Mercado on 4-pitches to open the 9th. Then he'd walked Lopez on 5-pitches, and just to make matters worse, he hit Castanieda on the first pitch - loading the bases with no outs. That the history books will tell that this game went 14-innings is frankly shocking, but for a moment, Gray righted himself and struck out Murillo, and got Ortega to sharply hit a ball to Dwyer at second, who got the force at home for the second out - and hopes rose in the Aurora dugout - and then Gray walked Gilbert Murray, to force in the tying run. Gray salvaged some face by striking out Salazar to end the inning - but yet again, the Borealis see Fargo come back in the late innings.

On to extras and after a quiet 10th, and top of the 11th, Gray - still in the game, walked Lopez, again, to start the 11th - ending Gray's night. Ron Latour came on and got Castaneda to ground a ball to Loetzsch to force Lopez at second, and Murillo to fly out to Flores. Fargo's late inning magic looked to be brewing when Jaime Villanueva singles to center, with Castanieda rounding second at full speed and trying to get to third, but a strong throw from Flores and a quick tag by Britt and the third out was made at third - infuriating Fargo manager Kenny Butler. The teams exchanged nothing in the 12th and 13th - a lead-off single from Carlisle in the 14th bought a moment of tension, but Fargo wasn't having it - a season's worth of comebacks simmering and waiting to explode. And the walks that did Aurora in back in the 9th, would do it again. Latour would walk Castaneda, giving way to Dan Feld, who would promptly walk the pinch hitting Yamasaki and allow singles to Villanueva and Wiggins to end the game - a 14-inning nightmare and another heart-breaking loss for Aurora - sending them to the brink, with a 0-3 deficit in the series.

With their backs to the wall, 'Chief' took the mound against Roberto Miranda, and Nieves instantly was in trouble - Pat Watson lead the game off for Fargo with a single, a stolen base, a wild pitch and a sac fly - just like that, it was 1-0. Not to be deterred on a day that vacation could begin for Aurora, Carlisle - who was Aurora's one consistent hitter, would single to open the second, in front of Mike Britt's 411 foot drive that gave Aurora a 2-1 lead. Then again, 'Big Whiskey' would boot a grounder from Castaneda for an error, and after another wild pitch - Castro was having a tough time with Nieves on this day, Murray hit a grounder to Dwyer - who threw it away, and with Castaneda scoring from second, the game was tied. Clearly the Borealis couldn't catch a break. For the second time in as many days this one would go on-and-on. The teams would exchange zeros - Aurora with a couple of innings with a pair of runners, but it never felt like they would break through - and that was true in the 9th - Pope singled to start the frame and Torres followed with a single that sent Pope around to third with no outs. Loetzsch hit a slow grounder to second, but with the infield in, Pope held, Torres went to second and Teddy was out at first. Dwyer was walked, but neither Nick Heath or Tomas Flores could get the big hit.

Fargo would get a shot in the 10th and 11th, but they failed to deliver the crushing blow, and in the 12th, Lady Luck smiled for ever a brief moment on Aurora - Heath singled to start the 12th, and Flores bunted him to second. With one out and Carlisle hitting, Jose Rios threw a wild pitch, moving Heath to third and two pitches later he'd balk! And Aurora, for a change, had the late inning run. Feld, who already had gotten four outs, began the 12th - and after getting the first two outs, walked Watson. Mike Monroe came on and was greeted by Rob Raines with a single, before he struck out Mercado, ending the game and getting Aurora on the scoreboard - down 1-3.

Game 5 was a peculiar night. It would be yet another long night as the teams would play three games in Fargo for a total of 40-innings. The peculiarity began when 'Terror' Diaz came out of the dugout to start the game in place of expected starter John Turner. Pre-game, post-game, no clear explanation was given, but at first, it looked like a genius move. Raines would double for Fargo in the first, scoring on a Lopez single with 2-out, but that's all Fargo would get - aside from a pair of solitary hits, until the 7th. Meanwhile, in the third, Heath would leadoff with a walk, and back-to-back doubles by Castro and Carlisle gave Aurora a 2-1 lead off Molina, looking to close this series out. Then in the 5th, Fargo showed they could play bad D and walk batters just as well as Aurora has all series - Flores reached on an error by the shortstop, Carlisle walked, and 'Big Whiskey' hit a Big Fly - a 3-run homer which gave Aurora a 5-1 lead going to the bottom of the 5th.

Diaz looked in control. On a day he would only give up 4-hits, it was his turn to let the defense fail him. After one out, Murillo singled and Collins walked on a close 3-2 pitch that literally had 'Terror' walking off the mound as out came Katagawa, and in came Mike Monroe. The former-Bureaucrat got Murray on a flyball, but Salazar hit a come-backer and Monroe rushed the throw, bouncing it past Torres, Watson scored and it was 5-2. Monroe was clearly angered at giving away the third out, and was overthrowing to Pat Watson, falling behind 3-0. He found his control, got the count to full, before grooving one down Main Street and watching Watson's short, 354-foot homer - an out at Northern Lights, tie the game at 5.

The teams would trade singles and walks through the late innings - Lando Lagerveld giving fargo the best chance to close the series out in the 12th with a pair of walks and a balk - but he was able to wiggle out of the jam. In the 14th, Derrick Dwyer greeted Dan Boorman with a double, to which the Dinosaurs responded with an intentional walk to Heath. Flores tried to bunt the runners over, but instead, popped it up for the first out. Not to be deterred, Dwyer and Heath pulled off a double steal with 'Fido' at the plate, and Castro responded with a 2-run single, making it 7-5 Aurora. With Lagerveld still in the game, he would sandwich a groundout and a flyout around a double, before the weird night made yet another bizarre turn - John Turner came in to face Salazar - whom he struck out to end the game and inch Aurora closer to even, making Fargo's series lead 3-2.

Afterwards, both all parties remained mum on the use of Turner. Katagawa's door remained closed - save for the brief moment pitching coach Ken Hennessey opened it, walked out and slammed it shut - storming out of the clubhouse. Something surly amiss there.

The teams would return to The Front Range for game 6 and 64,834 fans showed up to encourage their team - and with 'Tugboat' on the mound, hope was there - but on this day, it appeared that Aurora left the offense in Fargo. Smith would pitch well enough - 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R and 3 K, and only an Ortega solo homer off Burns would sully a 3-inning, 3-hit bullpen effort, but on this day, Aurora's bats had nothing. Noboru Imai was dominant. Nick Heath would double to lead-off the game for Aurora and they wouldn't get another runner on base until Dwyer walked with 1-out in the 6th - and he was promptly erased trying to steal. Imani would finish-up after getting an out in the 7th, with 8 K. Evan Humphrey's would come on in relief and give up a hit to Torres and a walk, but this game never felt in danger for Fargo, as the Dinosaurs would win, 3-0, take the series 4-2, and head home for the SL championship series against Neo-Tokyo.

The series loss illustrated the frustratingly inconsistent play that haunted Aurora all season. There would be days they'd show a potent offense - then they'd be miserably shut-out. The pitching, always a strong suit, would be awesome, and the next they couldn't find the plate. Aurora struggled against their Japanese rivals - most who host young rosters, and the Bears have had a revival and look poised to capture the Desert Hills crown that Aurora has held now for 8-years. To make matters worse, the Borealis look to have their worse financial finish in their history - and fourth year finishing with a season net-loss. With big salaries on the books and big arbitration awards on the near horizon, things don't look promising for the immediate future. Perhaps the cost of winning - and trying to win, may have finally come home to roost on the Borealis. Certainly more is to be known in the coming weeks.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#476 Post by Borealis »

PEBA Mystery to be Revealed?
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

November 7, 2028: Asheville, North Carolina - I missed the Commissioner's big press conference the other day - I had decided to take a little 'R-and-R' on Maui - Crystal Lake's GM RJ Ermola having given me a tip on a place he liked back at the season's end, and with no League Championship for the Borealis - much less PEC, I figured it was down time for Ray.

But my good friend and colleague, Francis Ferry was there, and she filled me in on the mysterious comments 'Harry' Castle had made. Definitely peculiar. His references to old news - the contraction - that brought game 5 starter Edgar 'Terror' Diaz and catcher Domingo Gutierrez to Aurora, and the WIL were perplexing. My fellow PEBA bloggers Scott and Howard seem to be tweeting up a storm about some hot lead they are following, but for the life of me - I couldn't tell you what it is. I do find it strange that their travels are taking them to old PEBA haunts - Manchester, New Jersey, and Charleston - where, just to get side-tracked, I did go on a cool Haunted tour one night years ago, when the Borealis were embarrassed by the Statesmen in the 2014 PEC. Yeah... that whole trip was a 'Ghost Story'

And what of Drew Street? I never liked the man - too flashy for my taste, his highfaluting life style, his Vegas image - I'd suspect he'd have the F-heads moving to Vegas one day, just to use his Featherhead play thing to entertain his high-rolling guests. Mark my words.

Before I left the islands, to see what's going on in Asheville, as the Commish is about to make another grand announcement, the Maui County Board was in the process of approving a land use permit for a sports facility. An old friend from high school, who now works in the county offices, told me paper work was being sent to Indiana. Strange.

I'll be catching up with Francis shortly - We both suspect the announcement will be more information about League finances - Castle is, after all, at the end of the day, a 'bean counter'.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#477 Post by Vic »

Paperwork to Indiana, eh? Hmmmm ....
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#478 Post by Borealis »

Shake-up In Aurora Dugout - Kata Out, Oshima In
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

November 12, 2028: Asheville, North Carolina - It didn't take long for a pair of Manager's fates to be determined. In the span of 5-days it was out with the old and in with the new - and the old finding a new uniform in his office.

As the final chapter on the 2028 season closed, Aurora manager Kata Hayagawa spent no time packing up his things, and bolting out the door. With hardly more than a, "I'm going home for the off-season" - home being some undisclosed place in Greater Tokyo, Aurora was left empty-handed as their long-time hitting coach (10-seasons), and Manager for the past three - not to mention manager at AAA Thornton for 6 years (2010-2015), decided he was done with Colorado and bolted, with a contract offer sitting on his desk. "I'm over this dry air, cowboy culture and American life-style. I need to get back to my roots."

And, just like that, Aurora was in need for a manager.

During his time at AAA, Kata lead the FasTrax to a pair of GBB titles, while making the playoffs every season. He was Aurora's hitting coach during their 4-titles in 5-year stretch and promoted to manager when Octavio Rios likewise decided his time on The Front Range had come to an end, and traveled to Scotland for a year with the Claymores, before retiring. During Hayagawa's 3-year tenure as Aurora, they made the playoff's three times, being ousted all three years by the eventual champs - Duluth, Shin Seiki and Fargo. He, ironically leaves with the same record (307-179) as his predecessor did.

5-days later, at a press conference in Tokyo, the Akira announced they had signed Hayagawa to a 3-year deal, at $912K a year - $36K less than he had made with Aurora, and certainly less than was reportedly on the offer sheet he left on his desk. With Neo-Tokyo, he takes his skills as an offensive-minded coach to a young team that shocked the Sovereign League (and Aurora) throughout the 2028 season, and then knocked off the defending champion Evil Evas in the Divisional round of the playoffs.

To fill the vacancy, Aurora did not turn to the organizational charts, but instead made an interesting choice by hiring 53-year old Kumanosuke Oshima, who on the same day Kata walked, was released by the Hartford Harpoon. Kumo, as he's known, was the manager at Hartford's Cheyenne A Ball club during the 2026, '27 and the start of the '28 campaign, where he compiled a 172-153 record. He was promoted to interim manager at Hartford in mid-July as part of an internal personal shuffling. In 75-games, Hartford was 38-37 under his leadership. Previous to his hiring with the Hartford organization, Oshima won back-to-back titles with Nara in the League of the Rising Sun.

Sumo brings with him a personality and nature that young people gravitate to. That may grate some of the veterans on this team, but it may also be a sign that the Borealis may finally be starting to recognize the inevitable. Though he comes more from the old 'Earl Weaver' school - power and don't give away outs with the bunt, he is also more willing to let his race horse run, in comparison to his predecessor. That seems to be more in tune with the squad that Boy Wonder GM Will Topham has built. How that translates is, as always, to be determined.

Amongst other news, long-time pitching coach Ken Hennessy retired and long-time Palm Springs SP and minor league pitching coach, Felipe Lara, was signed to replace him. Lara, and original member of the Codgers in the PEBA's Inaugural 2027 season, where he pitched for 6-years, compiling a 72-45 record and a career 3.25 ERA. He was a 2-time All-Star. After retiring in 2012 the Codgers brought him in as pitching coach for National City (A), where he served as their pitching coach through 2024. The Bankers made the playoffs 6 of 9 years under his eyes, and their team ERA mostly improved over time - suggesting he got better at his job. In 2025 he was promoted to AA Edmonton, where they made the playoffs all four seasons he was there - and likewise seeing an improvement in team ERA each of those seasons. It is unclear why the long-time Codger was let go by the organization, but the Borealis are pleased to bring him into the fold - many have felt he'd make an excellent manager some day. At 54, perhaps one day we may just see that on The Front Range.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#479 Post by Borealis »

Provost, Borealis Part Ways
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

November 27, 2028: Aurora, Colorado – It almost happened well before it mattered. It was the offseason of 2018 when the Borealis management and GM Will Topham had nearly been fed up with the money they had invested in a young Canadian nobody. After some positive results at AAA, a 4.78 ERA was not good enough after 40 appearnaces and 26 starts for Michel Provost. 169 IP, 15 HR allowed, a 1.38 WHIP? None of that mattered. What did matter was that the young Albertan from Stettler, with no organized experience at all, was carrying a $14.5 M deal and it was results that the team wanted. They considered a trade. Imagine that. They almost let him go – only an injury to Edgardo Rojas –imagine THAT – Edgardo Rojas, encouraged the team to extend the pitcher who in a few years would be known as Train Arollin’’.

Today was contractional D-Day for the PEBA – Arbitration hearings, Qualifying offers due – and accepted, or not, and contracts with team options needing to be decided upon. One of those contracts – Michel Provost’s $35M deal for 2029, was declined. And a dark day in Aurora Borealis baseball history was born.

It was, in the end an easy one for Aurora brass. The 36-year old Provost – to be 37 by Mother’s day 2029, a torn flexor tendon took him down, not even 4 innings into spring training’s first game. Season over. Aurora career over. Career over? Ah… That’s to be determined.

Signed out of a small Alberta community, Provost had promise galore – and as team that regularly faced ‘Fireworks’ – both with Tempe and Bakersfield, Aurora needed their own, promising stopper. And it was in 2019 that not only propelled Michael Provost over the hump of mediocrity and onto the platform or stardom – but he helped the Borealis get over the hump and into the realm of elite.

Out of nowhere in 2019, Provost finished the year with a 16-6 mark and a stunning 1.52 ERA, and in his 224.2 IP he struck out 258 and walked only 9. For a team that continues to show a lack of patience for it’s young players (might ‘Fudd’ Martinez be an example of this?), they suddenly had a Golden Arm winner – something he would go on to accomplish 5-times. Provost may not have been the star of the 2019 post-season – but Aurora won their first title since 2009 and the first in the Topham era – despite 7-previous playoff appearances (and two PEC’s).

But Provost was just getting started. Twice he would lead the SL in wins – his 21 in 2023 – Aurora’s third title in their ‘three-peat’ effort being his personal best. Once he lead the League in K – in 2022, at 207 – far away from his career best 258 in that breakout season. 5-times he had the SL’s best WHIP and from 2019 through his last ‘competitive’ season with Aurora (2027) he has lead the SL in BB/9 – an astonishing 9-straight seasons. He was the SL Golden Arm winner in 2019, ’22, ’23, ’24, and 2026. After the fourth overall title in 5-years, Provost signed one of the most lucrative contracts in the PEBA and richest in Aurora history – a 5-year, $175M deal – to which 2029 would have been the last.

But today, Monsieur Provost officially packs his bags and heads into the great unknown. The only organization he has ever known lacks the funds to bring in a back-up utility infielder, much less pay an aging-star pitcher, whose time may have come. How he will come back from the elbow surgery is a mystery. What isn’t a mystery is the money the team took on in 2028 in a last-ditch effort to win that last title for the core group they have. With Arbitration deals for newcomers Mike Monroe (est. $4.6M), Bob Burns (est. $8.5M) and Derrick Dwyer (est. $9.75M) that far exceed the projected budget for the 2029 season, Aurora has dug themselves a hole – and the only way that hole didn’t get deeper was saying adieu to ‘Train Arollin’’ and his $35M for 2029.

There have been many an outstanding pitcher for Aurora over the years: ‘Pep’ Roach, Kojima, Tillerman, ‘Sawmill’, ‘Quagmire’ and ‘Tugboat’ – but when that 25th Anniversary team is announce in a couple of years, there is one name that will stand above all others for this franchise with a rich history – Michel Provost. And to think they almost let him go.

The best trades often can be the ones never made. Just ask that Train Arollin’ into the sunset.
Michael Topham, President Golden Entertainment & President-CEO of the Aurora Borealis
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#480 Post by DrewV »

Outstanding write-up, Mike! Hats of To Train-Arollin, and best of luck to him!
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