Scottish Scoops: 29.024: Wildcard Clinched, Will GM Visit?

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Scottish Scoops: 29.024: Wildcard Clinched, Will GM Visit?

#1 Post by Vic »

By Hamish Campbell
The Edinburgh News

The Scottish Claymores have clinched a second consecutive playoff berth for just the second time in franchise history – and for the first time since joining the Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance in 2021.

Scotland clinched an Imperial League Wildcard spot on Sept. 22, and currently sport a record of 91-65 in the Trans Atlantic Division, 5.5 games behind Havana.

Team members congratulated each other in the visiting clubhouse in Amsterdam after clinching, but there was no champagne or wild celebration.

“Hey, we’re incredibly pleased to be in the playoffs – it’s not an easy thing to do, by any stretch,” said star outfielder Vincent Powell. “But this is not our goal: our goal is to win a championship, and we have a hell of a lot of work to do if we want to do that.”

The job was made even harder with word that starting pitcher Roger Keller reinjured the hamstring that already put him on the Injured List for 7 weeks. The latest injury, suffered on Sept. 19, will put him on the shelf for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

He joins Allen Guthrie, another key member of the Claymores’ starting rotation, on IL. Guthrie also is gone for the playoffs with a serious knee injury.

“These are difficult injuries to work around, but we will need to do it,” said Manager Hayato Sasaki. “We have brought up Lawrence Newman and Orlando Moya from AAA to help us close out the regular season, and we will give Clark Snow and Francisco Robles some well-earned rest so they go into the playoffs at full strength.”

Newman was 4-8 with a 3.12 ERA in Aberdeen this season, while Moya was 5-4 with 8 saves and a 4.68 ERA.

En route to their historic second consecutive playoff berth, the Claymores also made another bit of franchise history: they broke the all-time attendance record by drawing more than 3 million fans for the first time.

As of Sept. 24, Scotland had recorded attendance of 3,052,270, although that figure will rise in the coming week because the Claymores close out the season with three home games against Amsterdam. The Scottish have been averaging 39,132 fans per game this season in their newly-expanded stadium, which seats 40,000.

The previous franchise attendance record was 2,826,760, set when the team was based in Dayton, OH, and played as the Flyers. Their best attendance in the League of the Rising Sun, where they played as the Fushigi Yugi Celestial Warriors before moving to the PEBA, was 2,762,920.

One key question now circulating among front office staffers is whether General Manager Vic Caleca will make his first visit to Scotland to take in a playoff game.

Caleca famously manages the team via Skype and other online services from his base of operations in central Indiana. He has explained his failure to visit Scotland, variously, as fear of flying, fear of fog, fear of the Loch Ness Monster, and fear of plaid.

The team offered a polite no comment to questions about Caleca’s attendance plans, but there is hope among front office types that their reclusive GM will finally make a personal appearance.

“It’s a little odd that he hasn’t visited at least once, isn’t it?” one baffled staffer said. “You don’t suppose he’s on the ‘No Fly List’ or something like that, do you?”
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.024: Wildcard Clinched, Will GM Visi

#2 Post by Sandgnats »

Happy to see Yogi have another good season!
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.024: Wildcard Clinched, Will GM Visi

#3 Post by Borealis »

Sandgnats wrote:Happy to see Yogi have another good season!
And a new contract extension!!
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.024: Wildcard Clinched, Will GM Visi

#4 Post by Vic »

Borealis wrote:
Sandgnats wrote:Happy to see Yogi have another good season!
And a new contract extension!!
What can I say? I’m a sucker for the big guy ...
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.024: Wildcard Clinched, Will GM Visi

#5 Post by Sandgnats »

Claymores wrote:
Borealis wrote:
Sandgnats wrote:Happy to see Yogi have another good season!
And a new contract extension!!
What can I say? I’m a sucker for the big guy ...
At a not so bad price! He's a great guy.
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