IL/SL Writing Challenge: Other teams

[John]

The IL/SL Writing Challenge has concluded, and now it's time to hear your thoughts on the best stories produced during the week-long event! Polls are being set up to take your votes for most of the award categories. Every owner who contributed at least one article will receive +3 bonus CP for each award a member of their division wins. The exception is the Trading deadline reviews: for that category, every owner in the league with the winning review who contributed at least one article will receive +5 bonus CP.

Every last article that was submitted was worthy of consideration for an award. Sadly, it's necessary to whittle down the options to keep things manageable. Therefore, some limits were put in place. No more than five articles are up for any one category (EXCEPTION: Six for trade deadline reviews), and owners can't have more than one nomination in a category. Also, a number of extremely high quality articles are not up for consideration because they are outside the scope of the awards categories (notably ones focused on humor, draft analysis and the minor leagues). If you wrote such an article, do not be dismayed by its absence here: your efforts have been noted and your article will be a candidate for an end-of-year "Best Of" writing award.

Because you guys have a stake in this, the final results won't be determined by popular vote. Your votes will be added to the opinions of the League Presidents and the Commissioner. The Commissioner will ultimately decide the winning article for each category.

Please don't cast votes with the goal of winning CP!! Take the time to read these articles. Believe me, they're all worth reading! When you've finished cast your vote based on which one you honestly feel deserves to be labeled as the best of category.

Our new LRS owners are absolutely allowed to vote, and are in fact highly encouraged to do so. And now, without further ado, let's get to the voting...

Best Article About Another Team

• Reno - A Closer Look at Aurora

They're in the midst of a season for the ages. Now Reno examines the Aurora Borealis in detail to find out what makes them tick.

• Kalamazoo - Arrrrrgh-lington!!!

Kalamazoo offers suggestions to the Bureaucrats on how best to conduct their rebuilding project.

• Duluth - The Life and Times of John Rodriguez (Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3)

Duluth delves deeply into detail about the man at the helm of the Borealis and the PEBA itself.

• Charleston - How to Bake a Calzone

Charleston's top-to-bottom examination of the San Antonio organization, with quotes from "Trader Matt" himself.

• Arlington - A Look at the 2009 Kalamazoo Badgers

Arlington returns the favor by exploring the state of the Badgers.

[Cole]

Here are some highlights from all the articles up for award:


A Closer Look at Aurora

The biggest question is obviously: can anyone in the SL take out Aurora come playoff time? Yes, they did win 112 games and a divisional title last year… only to see their divisional rival Bakersfield take them out in a 3-game sweep in the divisional series. So saying no one can beat Aurora in the playoffs is definitely a crazy statement.

It will certainly be interesting to see the decisions that Aurora makes in terms of lineups in September. Obviously, the fans of Aurora would have an interesting reaction if they met up with Bakersfield again – a mixed reaction of, “Let’s get some revenge,” and, “Oh….. no”.


How to Bake a Calzone

Silas Boone heads a plethora of promising young infielders. After suffering a fractured rib, he has picked up right where he left off. He doesn’t project much as a power hitter, but the security he provides at SS rivals that of a nuclear missile silo.

Whether or not they are looking for cheap infielders or platoon players, what this organization really needs is time. Although you could argue that there is not really anybody you could call a scout’s dream in the Calzones’ organization, what you can be sure of is that they have the resources to weather any flameouts from the ones that do possess PEBA potential.


Arrrrrgh-lington!!!

The knowledgeable Arlington faithful told me before I even delved into the numbers that 3B Kiril Nijenboer and SS David Teague were integral to any success the team might have now or in the future, and I agreed. This tandem has been the silver lining to this mine-laden campaign of 2009.

What would really get the folks talking on Fairfax Drive is if the franchise could come up with a few more draft picks in rounds four and above. Just because the people in Arlington will not be able to experience quality baseball for the next couple years doesn’t mean the families of Newport News, Hampton, Alexandria and Kilauea should be deprived too.

Since it does not look like Arlington will be causing the scoreboard operator much reason to sweat next season, an emphasis should be to make sure the troops coming in are capable defenders.


A Look at the 2009 Kalamazoo Badgers


At this point in the season anything can happen, but it might be more prudent for the Badgers to set their aim on one of the Sovereign League wild card slots. If they play solid baseball in order to obtain a wild card placement it might even be possible for them to catch the Sandgnats, but as of the writing of this article it appears that the Crystal Lake ball club is determined to run away with the division.

Currently the middle of the bullpen is a bit of a question mark, but there are several young arms in Grand Rapids that look like they should be able to contribute in the next year or so. The minor league system as a whole is solid, though the talent seems to be concentrated in the high minors