Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#526 Post by Alleghenies »

Borealis wrote:So the question now is: Will this team, long describing itself as a seller during this year, suddenly become a buyer - and if so, is there anything left to buy after the crazy, trade happy Evil Evas, Bears, Alleghenies and Sandgnats have picked through the league. The Trade Deadline is in 8-days, and we should have an idea before then.

Fun fact of all about my trades I have made this season, only 2 guys I traded for this PEBA calendar year are on my team, the rest in the minors. Takaki and Byrd.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#527 Post by Borealis »

Alleghenies wrote:
Borealis wrote:So the question now is: Will this team, long describing itself as a seller during this year, suddenly become a buyer - and if so, is there anything left to buy after the crazy, trade happy Evil Evas, Bears, Alleghenies and Sandgnats have picked through the league. The Trade Deadline is in 8-days, and we should have an idea before then.

Fun fact of all about my trades I have made this season, only 2 guys I traded for this PEBA calendar year are on my team, the rest in the minors. Takaki and Byrd.
Well... sometimes Ray has tunnel vision and doesn't cross-check his facts that closely...
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#528 Post by Borealis »

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Borealis Move to Strengthen 'Pen at Deadline
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

July 23, 2029: Okinawa, Japan - Well, I guess it's official - the Borealis are going in on the idea of a playoff run, and not jettisoning players for picks or prospects. All we can hope is that it is not false hope that has brought them to this place, because it is picks and a pretty nice looking prospect that has just left town.

It was in the wee hours of the night, while the team was still out over the Pacific Ocean, when Aurora Boy Wonder GM Will Topham sat down next to me and gave me a nudge to wake me from my dozing. "We'll have company waiting for us when we land - and someone is chasing us across the Ocean as we speak." I was flustered by the unexpected intrusion, and all I could say was, "Huh?"

What I was to learn - after some loud cursing in the back of the plane began waking players, coaches and staff alike, was that Aurora is sending RP Ron Latour to the home dugout at the Shisa Dome for 34-year old closer Kichibei Kumata. Aurora's 3rd and 5th round picks will also be handed over to the Shisa. Kumata is a former-Badger and prior to that a member of the Morioka Aeros of the renewed LRS - post merger. He signed with Okinawa after the 2027 season and has recently signed a 1-year extension for 2030 at $1.12M. Kumata has an excellent fastball and slider that he typically keeps down in the zone - but if he doesn't, he tends to get in trouble. He's been closing for Okinawa and has a 3-4 record and a 2.14 ERA, with 36 K and 6 BB in 42 IP. It's expected he will take Latour's middle relief position.

Latour came to Aurora as an International Free Agent in the summer of 2022 and was an instant hit - and a member of that title winning team. He struggled in 2023, but since he's been a dependable cog in the bullpen. He left after the season to FA as part of Aurora's financial crisis, and after getting no offers, signed a minor league spring training deal with West Virginia. The Alleghenies, having no space after spring training, traded him back to Aurora for a minor league SS. 2029 has been hard for Ron, with a 4.03 ERA and a BB/K ratio of nearly 1.00, leading to a 1.52 WHIP. The exchange for Kumata is a matter of movement for control. In bringing in Kumata, Aurora hopes to see a reduction of walks over the remainder of the season.

One would suspect that Kumata will already have a locker staked out in the visitors clubhouse when the team arrives in Okinawa. Chasing the team on a plane back across the Pacific is Toyama set-up man Dan Ross, who will join the Borealis in exchange for RP Tam Lochhead (A) and a 4th round pick.

Ross, a 28-year old righty, is a native of New Orleans and is still under arbitration, so like Kumata, will be with the club in 2030. Ross has made 39 appearances with Toyama this year and has a 3-4 record and a 2.14 ERA. A hard thrower, featuring a fastball and slider that tops out over 100 mph, statistically his walk ratio looks rough, but if not for a bad outing or two, he's pitched extremely well, and the Win-D's were reluctant to move him. Despite being known as a fly ball pitcher, he doesn't seem to give up an inordinate number of homers - only one in his last 31 IP.

Tam Lochhead came to Aurora from the Scottish last season near the deadline in exchange for the Moya's - Tomas and Orlando, and had a fine 21-games at Mokule'ia last year and is 4-2 with 13 saves, with a 3.13 ERA in 38 appearances at SLRC this year. He has 31 K in 37 IP. It's a bit of a surprise that they have traded Tam, as the organization was very high on him. His departure is probably systematic of the club's financial-moral dilemma: 'money, money, money' v. win at all cost for the fans. As I've mentioned, they seem to be all in.

One would expect that Ross will fill the bullpen spot that has lately been manned by Hugh 'Mister' Jones, Jesus Solis and 'I didn't get a chance' Xavier Diaz, who was called up for this road trip and now will sit around the Okinawa airport for a few hours and hop a plane back to Las Vegas to join his Thornton teammates in Henderson. Both Ross and Kumata are tough on right-handed hitters, but Ross is also tough on lefties, so we may see him pitch both in a specialist role and perhaps a shared 7th inning set-up role with Mike Monroe.

Wherever the two finally settle into, Aurora's 'pen should be steadier - if nothing else. What these moves show - at this point, is that Aurora's long held belief about pitching remains intact - you win with strong pitching.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#529 Post by DougO »

Great write-up on the trades. Here’s to our trade working out for both parties.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#530 Post by Borealis »

Thanks Doug! 1-inning in the book for Kumata, 2 K, 0 R... Good luck with Ron Latour - if nothing else, his family is into wine... :lol:
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#531 Post by Borealis »

White Flag in Pocket, Neely Added at Deadline
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

July 30, 2029: Aurora, Colorado - The Borealis may be enjoying today's off-day, recovering from the long journey to the Land of the Rising Sun and back, but the front office has been busy making sure that Aurora's improved play doesn't go for naught. Unhappy with the back-end of the rotation - and maybe with an eye to 2030, the Boy Wonder GM turned to a familiar deadline trade partner.

With the team filing off their charter flight, the press convened at a make-shift presser on the tarmac at Denver International to hear the news of the third Trans-Pacific deal in a week. The outbound flight brought Kichibei Kamuta from Okinawa and Dan Ross from Toyama, and the inbound flight brings us San Antonio starter Richard Neely, the 26-year old former #1 pick (11th overall) form the 2024 draft.

Neely is a hard throwing right-hander, who features a solid 4-pitch repertoire: Fastball, curve, splitter and change. He's in his third full season at San Antonio and is coming off a terrific 11-11, 2.21 2028 season. Thus far he is 8-8 with a 3.00 ERA, averaging less than 2-walks a game - contributing to a 1.02 WHIP - 7th best in the IL this year. He's averaging 5 K per 9 IP. He was the Calzones lone All-Star this year, throwing an inning and allowing a hit.

In exchange for Neely, the Borealis sent AAA RP Theo Holder, AAA infielder Bob Pinksen and AA CF Mario Flores to south Texas. Flores was Aurora's 2nd round pick in 2027 and after a respectable Short A season he's struggled the past two seasons, leaving the club and coaching staffs scratching their heads. Pinksen was a recent acquisition by the Borealis in a deal with the Akira for IC prospect Jesus Pezzo and a 7th round pick. The 30-year old Pinksen was picked up as insurance against injury on the major league roster, with a AAA average of .216 in 88 AB - and a bit of a sulking attitude about being stuck at Thornton. Perhaps the best of the lot, Theo Holder, was a mid-summer pickup via Arlington last year (for the now retired RP Pedro Vega and SP Robert Thomas), and pitched extremely well at AA and this year, AAA. The deal for Neely brought a quick end to rumblings in the organization regarding Holder's role - some suggesting a trip to winter ball and a shot at a starters position was in order.

Neely is an intriguing move for Aurora. Rob Imhoff, the former 2026 1st round pick by Aurora has had a frustrating run over the past two seasons - moments of sheer brilliance, followed by frustrating injury - he's had five identifiable injuries this year and has had two DL stints. In that time, Hugh 'Mister, Mister' Jones and Jesus Solis have shared Imhoff's 5th rotation spot, with mediocre results. Aurora hopes that Neely can translate his success at San Antonio to a higher level of success on The Front Range, as he goes from basement to the heat of the Sovereign League pennant chase.

But the pickup of Richard Neely may have a more lasting effect. He is arbitration eligible for the first time, after the season, and thus Aurora can count on him for at least the next three seasons - he becomes de facto insurance for the 2030 rotation should a certain other former-Calzone decide to bolt to free-agency. 'Tugboat's contract, with it's vesting option, will be voided at season's end for a failure to vest. It's almost a certainty that the club will tender him a Qualifying Offer - but should he chose to leave, they've already filled that hole. Nobody is likely to confused Richard Neely for Randy Smith - despite their uncanny likeness, but Aurora can look ahead to 2030 needing to fill only one rotation spot - not two.

Neely, who was scheduled to pitch tomorrow in London, got word of the trade just as the team bus pulled out of Heathrow, and is currently heading back across the pond to meet his new teammates in Aurora, where he will make his first start Thursday, against Neo-Tokyo.

Welcome to the SL, Richard Neely. Check your nerves at the door.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#532 Post by Borealis »

Hand in Pocket, Flag is Somewhere?
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

August 6, 2029: Aurora, Colorado - All that hard work and finagling to boost the bullpen for a stretch-drive title chase - POOF! Gone in a heartbeat.

That's what it feels like, at least, here on The Front Range as in the first post-deadline week Aurora went a ghastly 0-6, and on a 7-game losing streak (and 9 of 11). After Aurora followed a 27-27 first two months of the season with a combined June and July of 36-16 (heading into the Deadline), there was a hope in the mountain air. From Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, Aurora cap spotting had increased and fans returned to Northern Lights Park.

Then the calendar turned to August - and the door opened upon hell.

OK, we all expected August to be a rough month - hang in there, wait for September, stay close to Bakersfield... What with Neo-Tokyo, Crystal Lake and a pair of series with Fargo and Palm Springs - even .500 would likely work, but the Hounds grabbed hold of Aurora's bats and did not let go.

All the whining and they lost 2, 1-run games and a pair of 2-run games to the Akira - that's really not all that bad, you might say... and maybe they sweep Fargo and Duluth over the next 10-days, and you'd be right. But it's the underlying how of those losses that hurts. For instance...

Already riding a 3-game losing streak, Neo-Tokyo came to town and the newly acquired Richard Neely took the mound and with three straight singles to start the game, he was already down a run before recording his first out for Aurora - welcome to the SL, Richard. A fourth single in the inning made it 3-0 before the Borealis grabbed their bats - and it was to be a feeble day. He would allow 4-more hits over his total of 6 IP, but no further damage - he would strike out 6 and walk none, making his Aurora debut a bit more palatable, and the 'pen would keep NT at 3 runs. Nick Heath would homer in the first to make it 3-1, but Aurora would manage only 6 hits - twice managing to get a runner to scoring position, but failing to do anything with it.

Then there were games 2 and 3 of the series. Aurora would fall behind 3-0 and 4-1 before 'Fido' Castro's 3-run homer in the 8th tied game 2. 'Tugboat' would struggle in the 3rd to get Aurora behind early, but the 'pen of Kumata, Burns and Gray got the game to the 12th, before Justavo homered in the 12th, off Gray, for a 5-4 win - only Aurora's 2nd loss in extras (they are 9-2). In game 3, Neo-Tokyo once again grabbed the early lead - this time against JT, but that 1-run was the best they'd do against Turner, who allowed 6-hits and struck out 8, but this time it was the implosion of the 'pen, specifically the steady Mike Monroe, who allowed 4-runs inches 2/3 of an inning. Jose Torres would start an 8th inning rally with a lead-off homer, and the game would head to the 9th tied, once more - only to see newly acquired Dan Ross allow the Akira to score and win the game.

Bartolo Esquivel would struggle in game 4, a repeat 3-1 win for Neo-Tokyo as they would sweep the series. Bartolo would allow just 3 hits, but he walked four - two of which would score runs. He walked 3 in the weeks lead-off game, a 4-1 loss to Okinawa, and two of those walks scored - as did a runner that reached on Esquivel's own error. In that game Aurora had 7-hits and managed just a run, and in the week's finale, Aurora out hit Neo-Tokyo 9-4, and yet they didn't score until the 9th, when Loetzsch tripled with 2-outs, scoring on a Joyce RBI single.

We won't even delve into the 2nd game of the week with the Shisa, in which 'Chief' Nieves was bad (4.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2, 2-run HRs) and Kichibei Kumata wasn't any better. For what it's worth for Kumata, the runs allowed in that game were the only runs he's allowed in 4 outings for Aurora, where he's registered 8 K in 5.1 IP.

What's on Tap
Aurora will wander deeper into Dante's Inferno as they host Fargo at Northern Lights. Nieves will open the series for the Borealis, trying to get back on track. He's had a bit of a rollercoaster of a season - Back in early May he had a pair of starts where he allowed 9-runs - part of 6-starts where he's allowed 4-or more runs in a start - and he's allowed 13 in his last 3 starts. He'll be making his 22nd start, and first against the defensing Champs. Richard Neely's SL Baptism by Fire will continue in game 2, with 'Tugboat' going in game 3. Smith has had 10-starts since returning from the DL, and Aurora had won 9-straight before the rough 5-4 loss this week. He's 6-1 overall with a 1.93 ERA - which would lead the SL if he had another 60 IP under his belt...

Fargo will counter with Imai - who dominated Aurora in the SL playoffs last year, but went only 3-innings in his lone start against Aurora (at Fargo) this year. If there's any effect, he did leave his last start, against Reno, after only 6 pitches, with what they called a mild calf strain. He's expected to be good to go. Warren Manning, who also went just 3-innings in that same series, will go in game 2, and Front Range Fans will get another glimpse of 'Train Arollin'' in game 3. Provost is 9-5, with a 4.20 ERA. Of note is his 31 BB, which is almost as many as he had in all of the 2025-7 seasons combined (35). Michel had started strong for Fargo - by the end of May his ERA was 2.49, but over the last 11 starts he is 3-5, with a 5.93 ERA - including 4-or more runs surrendered in 5 of his past 6 games. Provost did face Aurora earlier in the year - a 4-1 Fargo win at Aurora on May 4, where Mike went 8-innings and gave up 6 -hits and a run.

Provost v. 'Tugboat' in game 3 - if that doesn't sell tickets in Aurora, nothing will!
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#533 Post by Ghosts »

The Bakersfield Bears organization would like to extend its shallowest condolences to the Aurora Borealis during this hilarious downturn.
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#534 Post by Borealis »

August Disaster, Season Done?
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

August 27, 2029: Palm Springs, California - The good news is, the Borealis will not lose today. That may be the only bit of good news the Dog Days of Summer have to deliver Aurora. Where were these losses 4-weeks ago, when a 12-wins in 14-games stretch out of the All-Star break put Aurora atop the Desert Hills and feeling like a real contender - enough to deal a few prospects, take on a little more salary, and risk a deeper financial hole?

Obviously waiting for the calendar to turn to August and rip the soul out of the team and the fans. And based on this past week, it's more than just their souls - it stole their bat's as well...

Let us refresh your memories: August started with 6-straight losses, which really was the tail end of an 8-game streak. A pair of wins at Duluth gave a small sense of things turning around - first JT going nearly the distance for a 4-hit shut-out, followed by Aurora pounding out 15-hits (5 from Paul Carlisle) in a 10-2 win - but since, Aurora has lost 11 of 13 games - 9 of which they've scored 3 or fewer runs. All told, Aurora is 5-18 for August and have dropped from just 1.5 games out of first at the trade deadline, to 8.5 games out as of this morning - losers of 9 of their last 10 games.

To make matters worse, they are even further back in the wild card - 10 games back of 2nd WC Shin Seiki. Start pressing those white flags, folks.

Where do the pointed fingers of accusation lie, as we analyze the most retched stretch of baseball in 20 years on The Front Range? Sorry to say, but we can start with the 'Big Whiskey'. Mike Britt is 11-78, with just 3 HR and even juster 5 RBI. That breaks down to the most pathetic .141/.230/.282 you've ever seen. But he's not alone. Teddy Loetzsch, the All-Star SS who had his average as high as .312 before the Mid-Summer Classic, has fallen of the Earth's flat edge at .174 for the month, and Jose Torres, mimicking what 2028 brought, sits a .182, despite 4 HR.

Sure, there are some pleasant surprises on the roster: Howard Joyce has his average at .288 for the month, as he's starting to get more playing time, and Paul Carlisle is hitting .293 - but with a total lack of power, as he sports only a pair of double. As a matter of fact, a lack of power is a major theme for this struggling club, as they are slugging just .300 for the month.

But you would be so wrong if you thought that a total lack of hitting the ball was the only cause of this catastrophic decline (though this past week, an 0-6 week, the team hit .203, Yes! That's .203, as in 2... 0... 3...with a .274 SLG). Would you like to hear about the Starters or the Relievers? Or maybe you'd like to hear about the new arms that Aurora brought in to strengthen the staff for that playoff drive? Yeah, let's start there.

Dan Ross (acquired from Toyama, and now on the DL with a slight hammy issue) has appeared in 8 games for Aurora and has allowed 17 H in just 10.1 IP - coupled with his 7 BB leaves him with a 2.32 WHIP, and the 4 HR he's allowed lead the way to explaining his 9.58 ERA (he was at 2.14 with the Win-D's, and 10.61 in August). Kichibei Kamuta has 11 K in his 12.1 IP, and he's allowed only a solo HR, but things would feel better (and that 4.38 ERA would look better) if his BABIP hadn't ballooned from .183 with the Shisa to .382 with Aurora. And Richard Neely? Teams are beating him up pretty good when they put the ball in play, taking advantage of a 1.48 WHIP to the tune of a 4.34 ERA. Clearly the Calvary heard the bell and rolled over for a siesta.

But those guys aren't alone. 'Chief' Nieves is 0-4 for the month, with a 5.90 ERA - he's allowed 7 HR in his 5 GS with a 1.41 WHIP. Bartolo Esquivel isn't much better (1-3, 4.01 ERA, 5 HRA) and even 'Tugboat' has struggled to a 3.42 ERA - though in 23.2 IP (his last start lasted 1-pitch) he has 19 K and just 1 BB. Dan Field continues to look bad, and in 8.2 IP over 6 appearances he has an 11.42 ERA with 13 BB - more than his hits allowed, giving him a 2.54 WHIP. John Gray (2 HR, 6 R, 4.26 ERA) - Bad. Mike Monroe (7.00 ERA) - Bad. Even Bob Burns was human, allowing 4 runs in 10 IP (3.60). The relief corps is sporting a 5.31 ERA.

And, I gotta tell you, it's weird - Aurora hitters walked 23 times more than the opposition and struck out 66 fewer times than the opposition. When pitchers weren't allowing homers (26, to the Borealis' 12) Aurora's defense has clearly been a sieve (15 errors never helps anyone and half the staff has a BABIP of .370 or higher). And when you can't hit... well... you get swept 4-games to Neo-Tokyo, swept 3-games by Crystal Lake and Canton!, lose 4 of 6 to Fargo and 2 of 3 to the Codgers, that's well...

So Aurora is 68-62 and they have 32 games left to play and only 12 of them are at home. It's been a very, very long time since .500 was a threat this late in the season, and if they don't start playing like they are capable, this could be a sub-.500 ball club. A potentially softer September may save their bacon - but this team needs fans to come out to the ballpark - as they started to do in July. What a difference a month makes - Northern Lights is threatening to look like a vacant lot...
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#535 Post by Lions »

Borealis wrote: And Richard Neely? Teams are beating him up ... to the tune of a 4.34 ERA.
...
Bartolo Esquivel isn't much better (1-3, 4.01 ERA, 5 HRA) and even 'Tugboat' has struggled to a 3.42 ERA - though in 23.2 IP
Those ERA's all seem pretty amazing to me! !+)
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#536 Post by Borealis »

Well, when it comes to Tugboat, it's all relative...

Of course, expectations on The Front Range are high...
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#537 Post by Borealis »

August Over, Race On?
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

September 3, 2029: Crystal Lake, Illinois - Phew. That's about all that can be said. After losing 2 of 3 to the Codgers to end the month (a Bob Burns blown save in Game 1, a 6-5 loss), Aurora ended the month on a positive note (a 5-3 win over Canton, with Richard Neely getting win #1), then carried that good feel into September by sweeping the Longshoremen - and extracting a bit of revenge for the 3-game sweep Aurora experienced in Ohio.

The result? Thanks to Neo-Tokyo taking 2 of 3 and the 'Gnats following that with a sweep of Bakersfield, Aurora picked up a couple of games, to stand 5.5 GB of the Bears and 5 behind Palm Springs. Seeing that as of Saturday morning they were 7.5 out, there's some semblance of hope - and it looks like fans haven't given up yet - with Saturday's proud of 52,000 and Sundays at 51,400, the Organization had a moment of financial calm.

What went right for the week? Well for one, Nick Heath continues to look like a keeper. With four starts on the week, he hit .600 with a pair of doubles, a triple and a pair of homers - giving him 17 for the year - more than double last year's total and by far the best of his career - as are his 24 doubles and 27 SB... 'Big Whiskey' looks like he's finally waking up, as he was 6-17 on the week with a pair of homers. The month's time he missed through May and into June seem to have really effected him, as the 34-year old Britt has just 14 HR and is hitting only .224.

Not working for Aurora at the late was Derrick Dwyer - who has looked rough most of the year. A 1-15 week hasn't helped, as Teddy Loetzsch's 4-21 (though he did hit triple #12).

On the mound, 'Tugboat' returned to normal - Canton managed a 2-out RBI in the first against the Aurora Ace - the only run allowed, but he finished with 8 IP, allowing just 5 H and a pair of harmless walks. The win was Smith's 7 (against 2 loses) and dropped his ERA to 2.04. The big number is 18 - the number of starts - he will get 5 0r 6 more starts - with a pair of off-days coming up, Aurora may move to a 4-man rotation so that 'Tugboat's turn lines up with the Bears (otherwise, it looks like he misses that huge series), but the message as all Aurora fans already know is - he won't reach the 28 GS his contract requires to vest. Smith may move to free agency, but expect Aurora to offer an extension or at least the $15M Qualifying Offer. Esquivel wasn't bad in his start - but his defense failed him - Torres dropped the throw from short in Palm Springs 3-run 4th, that included a 'should have never happened' 2-run homer in the Codgers rubber match 4-1 win. Bartolo would go 7 and allow just 4 H, but all the same, he saw his record drop to 9-11.

Not working on the mound was 'Chief' Nieves, who couldn't get out of the 5th in Aurora's lone win against Palm Springs. He gave up 7 H, 3 BB and 5 runs in his 4.2 IP. Mike Monroe tried to give the game back to the Codgers in the 9th, allowing 2-runs, but Aurora's 6-run 9th against the Codger 'pen was sufficient for the 13-7 win. The Big 3 - Britt, Carlisle and Torres all homered in that game. John Turner opened the week with a ragged 4.1-inning, 7-hit, 4-run performance - and yet he left a tie game, only to see Imhoff blow a lead and Burns surrender the win.

Notable performances included: Britt was 3-4, with a double in game 2 v. Codgers... Carlisle was 3-4 with 5 RBI, 2 R and a 3-run homer in Game 3 v. Codgers... Richard Neely finally got off the schneid with 6.2 innings of 7-hit ball, allowing 3-runs - not exciting, but he did get his first Aurora win in the 5-3 game 1 win v. Canton... Nick Heath was 4-4, with 2-RBI in that game... Heath was 3-4, with 2 R, 3 RBI and a pair of homers in Aurora's 3-2 win in the weeks final game - a 3-2 win over Canton...

What's on Tap:
Three at The Lake and three at The Zoo, as Aurora has 26 games left (only 9 at home - which may be a good thing as Aurora is 'how can this be true' 32-40 on The Front Range) and only 6 with a team better than .500 (the 3 with the 'Gnats and 3 in the last week with Bakersfield). A Wild Card is, realistically, out of the question, but with a touch of luck, the division is still in hailing distance.

SLRC had made the post-season for 14 of the NAFTA's first 15 season, but the past 8 seasons have been bare - until now, as the Rapidos Blancos clinched the 2nd wild card and will take on Takaoka (Toyama) in the wild card round. SLRC was 2-4 against the Win-D A Ball club. Last year's 5th round selection, Humberto Hernandez, who was 11-7, with a 2.30 ERA (136 K, 53 BB in 156 IP) will be the game 1 starter for SLRC. He faced the Shiko once, a 4-0 loss for the Rapidos...
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#538 Post by Borealis »

And The Bell Whimpered
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

September 10, 2029: Aurora, Colorado - All the gut-wrenching, hand-wringing, wheeling and dealing, and in the end, it was all too simple - despite taking 2 of 3 from the white-hot Sandgnats, the Borealis couldn't beat the Badgers. Well, couldn't beat them enough - especially when the Bears would sweep their way through a 6-0 week, and the Codgers would nearly match that with their own 5-1 stretch, that included a series win against Neo-Tokyo. And so, a Borealis week that finished 4-3 saw their spot in the Desert Hills go from 5.5 GB to 8, and with 18-games left to play it's a given - this roller coaster of a season has finally come to a finish. 76-wins gets you a wild card spot in the Imperial League, but in the Sovereign League it'll end Aurora's 8-year hold on the division title and 8-year stretch of playoff appearances, which started with Aurora's unprecedented Rodriguez Cup three-peat in 2021-2023.

Ah... 2021... 'Big Whiskey' was on that team, and so was Paul Carlisle. John Gray was in his first season with the Borealis after being drafted in the 4th round of 2015's draft, and 'Tugboat' was in his first season on The Front Range, coming to Aurora in a mid-season trade. Why do I bring that up, when it's all doom and gloom about Northern Lights today? I bring it up because an era is about to end - multiple era's to be more specific.

Mike Britt was on the 2019 Aurora team that won the 2nd overall Borealis title, but the first under the guiding eyes of Golden Entertainment. Twice previously the team had made the PEC (2011 and 2014), only to be thwarted by the F-heads and Statesmen. 'Whiskey' is the lone tie to the start of Aurora's Dynastic run and his contract is about to get filed in the 'not vesting' category as he needs 500 PA, and with 413 on the season, he would need 21 games with 4 PA per game to vest. Did I mention there were 18 games left? He will just fall short - and it's doubtful a tactic such as batting leadoff will do the trick. It's also doubtful the team really needs that to happen - his 2030 salary is clocked in at $28M, and it feels like, at 34-years of age, Father Time is knocking on his door. This past week Mike hit .240, which isn't far below his career average, but on a season where he's hitting .226, it feels of a little too late. His 2-run HR in the 1st inning of Aurora's game 2, 9-3 win got things started, but other than that, he was mostly invisible on the week. And as befitting a .226 season mark, it's felt like that all year...

It's suspected that the team will offer Britt a Qualifying Offer (in the neighborhood of $15M) - probably as a means of mollifying the fans more than a real desire to keep him around - one suspects he may find himself coaching one day in the organization, though. Aside from the 'playing your entire career with one organization' card, there seems little value in keeping the 'Big Tennesseean' around.

When it comes to the value of keeping a guy around, 'Tugboat' may resemble that hope. After missing two months of the first part of the season - a season that saw him reach his 2,000 career strikeout (he currently sits at #17 at 2029, just 1 behind his former-Yuman pitching mate Gunner MacGruder - whom he's likely to pass be season's end), Randy is 7-2 with a 2.20 ERA. His WHIP is identical to last year, and in line with his career numbers and his 3.9 WAR on the year is on par with Suitani's League-leading 5.9 - on a per start basis. His last start wasn't pretty (5 IP, 3 R, 3 BB, 0 K against K-zoo), when the team really needed a strikeout, but all-in-all, upon returning from his injury, 'Tugboat' has been 'Tugboat' - but, he, too, has a vesting option that requires 28 starts, and short of starting every other day, that $28M option will fade away - an option that this time the team wouldn't be sad to pick up. Smith was the Golden Arm recipient for for 2025 and 2027 - part of a 6-year run that saw Aurora dominate that Award, as Mike Provost won it 4-times. The 2022 season was a magical one for Randy Smith. He pitched in 5 games for Aurora, posted a 1.35 ERA as he allowed only 5 runs - winning both the Divisional Round MVP (in Aurora's 4-2 series win over Shin Seiki) and the PEC MVP (also a 4-2 win, over Arlington) awards. You can take it to the bank that Aurora will off 'Tugboat' a QO - and they'll pray that the to-be-37 year old (come spring training) will accept it - despite the fact his stuff isn't as devastating as it used to be, and for the first time in his career he's getting fewer than 50% of his outs on the ground ball. Looking ahead, one suspects he may opt for free agency, but one suspects he'll soon be coaching, too, as well...

John Gray (though 2030) and Carlisle (a player-opt out after 2030) will be with the club at least another year, and may very well be the last vestiges of the past glory. Carlisle is hitting .299 and with 17 HR, has a shot at 20 homers for the 7th straight season and likely to finish with 80 RBI for the 7th year in 8 (only the injury-shortened 2027 had fewer). The .299 looks to be his highest finish since his 2023 (.318, the only .300 season of his career). Paul has been a model of consistency, and there was worries early this season that the 34-year old was on the slide downhill, before he picked up the pace and caught up to his career averages. The team has options with their star RF for 2031 and 2032, so next off-season will be interesting. Gray, who lost his closer job to Bob Burns, has been quiet and done his job - to the tune of a 1.53 ERA in 54 appearances (70.2 IP). He's slated to make $13M next year, while the 2-years younger Burns is slated to hit arbitration and earn just about the same. If the 2030 season looks as bad as it projects (though a lot of free money may change those prospects), a lot of teams could use a guy like John Gray.

But time flies. It's been 6-years since Aurora's last title, and aside from the aforementioned players, only Pablo Medrano and Teddy Loetszch (34 AB) were on that last title team. And the soon-to-be free agent Medrano is likely to be gone as well. Come October 2030, who would have thought the only vestige to the championship era would be Teddy Loetzsch?

This week marks the last home games before the final series of the year with Reno, giving fans just 9 games left on the Front Range to guarantee seeing Britt and Smith one last time. 'Tugboat' is scheduled to pitch tomorrow against Duluth and Sunday against K-Zoo - in what look to be his last home starts, as the schedule has him lined up to face Bakersfield in the penultimate series. The Borealis have developed a series of creative ticketing deals in an attempt to entice fans to honor the team's longtime stars one last time.
Michael Topham, President Golden Entertainment & President-CEO of the Aurora Borealis
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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#539 Post by Leones »

Teddy Loetzsch? say it ain't so ... :-?

"Of course, Shakespeare never met a man quite like you, Teddy. You've died at least a thousand times. And yet, it doesn't dull your courage. Tell me, is that all you aspire to, Teddy?"
Patrick Hildreth
- La leña roja tarde pero llega

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Re: Aurora Storialis - The Borealis Blog

#540 Post by Borealis »

Mercifully Over, Now Painful Offseason to Begin
by Ray D. Enzé, NLN baseball blogger

October 1, 2029: Aurora, Colorado - It was all but done in the wee hours of the morning, as the Borealis trudged out of Washoe Field, losers in a difficult 13-inning game to the Zephyrs - Reno All-Star CF Steve Boyer hitting a walk-off homer off rookie reliever Volmer van de Loo (the 4th in what would amount 7.2 IP at the major league level this year) - knowing the Bears had already taken care of business at home v. Yuma - and likely in their den's snoring as Aurora boarded their charter for Bakersfield. And it was really over when Henry Carter - that Henry Carter whom perhaps the Borealis could have snaked away from Duluth if they had just tried, left the mound after 7-shut out innings. And when Aurora failed to get more than a simple lazy single off the Bakersfield 'pen, the curtain was lowered on the 2029 season - the first in nine seasons that did not include a playoff game and the fourth overall in the PEBA's somewhat short (23-seasons) history.

Little solace is there in the fact that Aurora would beat Bakersfield 4-1 behind 'Tugboat' in game 2 (Mike Britt hitting his 19th homer and Bob Burns earning his 39th save), or that Richard Neely would shut out the Bears for 6-nnings for his 3rd excellent outing in 4 starts (and dropping his ERA with the Borealis to a still not pretty 4.07) - even if those two wins contributed to the Bears needing a playoff game with Palm Springs to decide the Desert Hills title. Even John Turner's ugly season ending start at home v. Reno (4.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R) meant nothing - though large crowds (50,000+ turned out for all three season finishing games with the Zephyrs). Even Teddy Loetzsch's 4-4 on Closing Day, including his 15th triple - his second-best personal mark - which would have been just shy of tying the triples record had London's Kelvin McDonald not hit three in September to blow past Aurora's shortstop's record of 16 (set in 2027) and finish with 18.

The Borealis finished 2029 with a 89-73 record - only the third time they have failed to win 90-games (the inaugural year team won 87 and the 2017 team won 88 - both non-playoff years; that fourth non-playoff season was in 2020, when they won 90 and still finished in 4th place). 2029 is also the first year since 2020 (3.2M) that the team has failed to draw over 4M fans - at 3.941,585, they were just one good day, or a few better days earlier in the year from hitting that milestone. As a result, the running tie with The Evil Evas has been broken, as Shin Seiki now has 9 consecutive 4M+ attendance seasons, and Aurora will settle for eight.

Much has been said about this year and the failures - be it age (Mike Britt) or inconsistency (Esquivel and Nieves) or a lack of depth (Duke, Zamora, Field) or just poor play (Imhoff, despite injuries, and Dwyer), there is plenty of blame to go around - and not enough pages to document the frustrations that abound. Aurora went out on a limb in hiring manager Kumanosuke Oshima, who was a quiet force, publicly, but who didn't exactly excite some of the key players on the squad - such as Dwyer, Britt and Nick Heath (who above it all had an excellent sophomore season). Does Oshima stay? He has two more years on his contract, but the last time Aurora failed to make the playoffs, they canned their manager - Don James, who managed two of those non-playoff teams (2017 was his second season) 2020 was his last.

Aside from the manager and, perhaps, the coaching staff, what of the team itself? AAA Thornton finished with nearly 100 loses and they were last in virtually every offensive category - and the pitching was marginally better. So help, if it's to come, will need to do so from outside. The rotation of Turner, Esquivel, Nieves and Neely are guaranteed to be back for 2030, with only 'Tugboat's spot open. With Smith's contract not vesting, it'll be a matter of does he want to stay. He clearly still has it, based on his numbers (he was 9-3, with a 2.13 ERA in 23 starts). At worse, one will expect a Qualifying Offer will be placed on the table. Maybe the bigger question is whether the 34-year old Nieves and 33-year old Esquivel still have it. Their numbers were pretty looking (and both threw over 200-innings), but their inconsistency was disconcerting. Aurora brought in three relievers (Erickson, Ross and Kamuta) back when the solid play of June and July gave hope - and none of them showed the stuff of a championship reliever. Erickson did go his final 11 IP without allowing a run, but some early meltdowns didn't help. Ross allowed runs in 6 of his 11 outings - 5 in which he allowed crooked numbers. Kamuta wasn't so much bad, as when he was, it wasn't pretty. At least John Gray and Bob Burns held up their end of the bargains - Burns, who finished with 39 saves was one strikeout away from 100 - the mark Gray hit square on the nose. Can this group, as it is constructed return to the dominance they've shown in the past? Certainly the weaknesses here didn't help the cause.

Offensively, it starts with a lack of power. Aurora's .375 SLG was bested only by K-zoo (.370) and Yuma (.335) - none of which are pretty numbers. The big number here to notice is the 114 HRs the team hit - fewest in the SL - and only Charleston (112) hit fewer in all of the PEBA. A team that sought to get better has reversed course. (for the record, Canton was second worst at 125). Drops in production by Britt and Carlisle didn't make up for the improved power of Nick Heath (who hit 18). The lack of power was pronounced when one looks at the fact that they got runners on base - they had the 4th highest hit total, 5th highest walk total and the fewest strikeouts by a large margin. It's hard to win games when you need three hits to score a run. The team's .262 average was the worst in team history - for the second straight year, which makes it even harder.

Britt's contract also failed to vest (though he got close), and his poor play brings to question if he will even get a QO from the club. Jose Torres showed he's looking to be a consistent force, if not overly spectacular, and Paul Carlisle has one more guaranteed year to his contract, but Dwyer and Tomas Flores are both headed to FA - barring QO of their own. Aurora is looking at $146M in salary - pre-arbitration accounted for, with those vesting contracts off the books, and one would think that for financial health, clocking in around $180M might be a sane approach for a team that has had their first consecutive money losing seasons. And even that might be too high if attendance nose dives with the prospects of a really bad season on the horizon - dare I say $140M might be a money winning proposition? If 'Tugboat', 'Big Whiskey' Dwyer and Flores are all offered QO and all accept - suddenly 2030's salary structure baboon's above 2029's - and financial disaster looms...

Did I mention painful offseason? I think I did... We've seen doom and gloom on the horizon for a number of seasons, now, and it looks like Aurora has slammed into that horizon at Warp 12...
Michael Topham, President Golden Entertainment & President-CEO of the Aurora Borealis
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