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Commish

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September, 2020

Chapter Five (Plus!) Recap

Things are a tad-bit hectic in Glanderville lately. As if 2020 weren't chaotic enough, what with the global pandemic, the shutdowns, the forced quarantine, the economic collapse, the rioting and looting and arson and murder, the raging forest fires, and the dreaded murder hornets, the Glander family decided this was the perfect time to uproot the entire family and move from New Hampshire to Florida.

So, throughout the entire months of July and August, and for two weeks in September, we emptied the house that we have occupied for twenty-two years, down to the last picture hanger. We painted most of the house, including the ceiling. We sold or gave away every piece of furniture in the house and everything else we found in our attic. This vast undertaking can only be compared to the greatest feats in human history: the pyramids of Giza, Hoover Dam, the transcontinental railroad. Frankly, those feats pale in comparison, as I'm sure they took much less effort.

Needless to say, I've had to put the BDBL on hold for a while, so I missed writing the Chapter Five recap by a couple of weeks. To make it up to you, I'll make this recap as up-to-date as possible, including all games that have been played as of this minute.

Players of the Chapter

Dylan Bundy is enjoying a fantastic MLB season this year. He owns a career-low 3.29 ERA, and has held opposing hitters to just 51 hits, 5 home runs, and 17 walks in 65+ innings, with 72 whiffs. With 2021 being the final year under contract, Bundy would be a terrific asset for the Southern Cal Slyme next year. Unfortunately for Bob, we're not using MLB stats next year. Bundy's mediocre projection (4.56 ERA in 156 IP) will be used instead. Why do I bring this up? Because two winters ago, Sylvester traded Starling Marte to the Akron Ryche in exchange for Bundy and Monte Harrison. And Marte (.323/.366/.720, 10 HR, 29 RBI) is our OL Hitter of the Chapter.

Just because baseball is such a fun game with so much symmetry and poetry, it seems fitting that the EL Hitter of the Chapter should be a member of Sylvester's SoCal Slyme -- and that his name should also be Marte. Ketel (no relation) hit .402/.448/.713 for the Slyme in Chapter Five, with a league-leading 32 runs scored and 39.8 runs created.

Sticking with the Slyme, the EL Pitcher of the Chapter could have been SoCal ace Lucas Giolito, who went a perfect 6-0 in Chapter Five, with a 3.47 ERA and a league-leading .156 opponents batting average. Instead, I'll give it to his teammate, Trevor Bauer, who posted a more impressive triple-slash line of .188/.256/.300, while leading the league with a 2.03 ERA and 71 strikeouts.

The Salem Cowtippers paid a whopping $15.5 million last winter to acquire Max Scherzer. It's well past time for that investment to show some dividends. The OL Pitcher of the Chapter went 5-0 in Chapter Five, with a league-leading 1.16 ERA, and a .189/.235/.261 opponents batting line.

Top Stories of the Chapter

Story #1: Three Contenders, Two Playoff Spots

Heading into this final chapter, there were only two legitimate playoff races remaining in the Ozzie League: the Benes Division title and the wildcard. Those two playoff spots are intertwined, as the Ravenswood Infidels, Akron Ryche, and Bear Country Jamboree all battle for those final two spots.

As always, Brian Potrafka wasted no time playing the bulk of his games during the first two weeks of the chapter. As I type, he has already played twenty games, and has gone 15-5 in those games. As a result, Ravenswood went from being one game behind at the start of this chapter to two games ahead.

Akron has gone a more modest 6-2 so far this chapter (including a 2-2 split with Ravenswood), while Bear Country split their only series of the chapter (against Ravenswood, naturally.) This currently puts Akron in a one-game lead over Bear Country in the wildcard race.

In terms of strength of schedule, it looks as though Bear Country is facing an uphill climb:

AKRON   BEAR COUNTRY   RAVENSWOOD
               
DBW .326   SAL .652   KCB .417
ALN .417   SLF .493   DBW .326
BCJ .596   AKR .586     .372
LVF .479   KCB .417      
SLF .493   LAU .662      
  .462   ALN .417      
        .538      

The Benes Division appears to be Ravenswood's to lose. That leaves the wildcard, where four of the five opponents left on Akron's schedule are sporting sub-.500 records. That race could very well be decided by the head-to-head battle between Bear Country and Akron, which takes place in Bear Country. Akron is 3-3 against the Jamboree at home this year, and lost both games they played in Bear Country. This one could be a thriller!

UPDATE: THIS JUST IN! Akron has won three of four from the Vegas Flamingos! This cuts Ravenswood's division lead to one game, and puts Akron and Bear Country in a virtual tie for the wildcard. It also reduces Akron's strength of schedule from .462 to .458.

Story #2: The Return of Kyle Robinson

The Saskatoon franchise has been a revolving door of sorts ever since Tony Chamra left us in 2012 (before returning two years later.) After three changes in ownership in the two years that followed, Kyle Robinson brought some much-needed stability when he took over in April of 2014.

Earlier this year, Robinson decided to take some time off from the BDBL. That opened the door for Jason Gargac, who took over on March 1st. Unfortunately, Gargac's hands were tied, as his trading VORP cap was mostly maxed out by the time he took over. Predictably, after several months of merely going through the motions and handling usage issues, he lost interest and disappeared.

That was the bad news. The good news was that Robinson reappeared at that time and expressed an interest in reclaiming his franchise.

Story #3: Bobby Resigns

On the list of things that have happened in 2020 that I never could have possibly imagined happening, Bobby Sylvester resigning ranks ahead of a global pandemic, shutdowns, and all of the other craziness that we've come to accept as our "new normal" in 2020.

Given his lengthy history in this league, and everything that he brings to the BDBL, we decided to hit the pause button on the St. Louis franchise instead of hunting for a replacement owner. If Bobby decides to turn his sabbatical from the BDBL into a permanent retirement, then we'll move on from there, and I will give him the proper farewell. Until then, here's hoping that he gets his affairs in order and returns to the BDBL sooner rather than later.

Story #4: Salem First to Clinch

After two nightmarish chapters in a row, the defending champions returned to form in Chapter Five, went 21-7, and managed to clinch their second McGowan Division title in a row. The Cowtippers are the first team to do so in 2020, in large part thanks to a dearth of competition in that division. Salem is the only team in the division with a record above .500, and that will be true regardless of how many games the rest of the division wins the rest of the way.

Salem's division title in 2019 was their first title in over ten years. The second came much easier than the first. Two other teams in the BDBL have moved into single digits in the Magic Number column: Southern Cal (6) and Chicago (9). This will be division title number ten for Bob Sylvester, and his second in a row. For John Gill, it will be title number nine, and also his second in a row.

Story #5: EL Wildcard

The Kansas Law Dogs, Slyme, and Black Sox have all but clinched their divisions, but the final spot in the EL postseason is still very much up for grabs. As I type, the Great Lakes Sphinx currently cling to a one-game lead over the Cleveland Rocks, which the Charlotte Mustangs (4 GB) and Buckingham Sovereigns (5 GB) still within range.

Let's take a look at the strength of schedule for those four contenders:

GREAT LAKES   CLEVELAND   CHARLOTTE   BUCKINGHAM
                     
CLT .522   KAN .621   GLS .551   NIA .455
SCA .659   NIA .455   SCS .485   MBH .227
MBH .227   SCA .659   SCA .659   STL .450
CHI .621   MBH .227   NIA .455   SCS .485
KAN .621     .491   CHI .621   SKS .371
SKS .371         MBH .227   KAN .621
  .504           .500     .435

Buckingham is furthest away from a playoffs spot, but has the easiest schedule the rest of the way. They face only one .500+ team from here on out. All four teams get the benefit of facing the Myrtle Beach Hitmen. (More on that below.)

The current wildcard leader has the toughest schedule of them all, by far. Great Lakes not only has to face all three division leaders, but will also play head-to-head against Charlotte.

Story #6: Hitmen are Whacked

The Myrtle Beach Hitmen could set a few records this season -- none of them good. They are on pace to finish with 124 losses, which would obliterate the league record of 120, set in 2012. They have currently scored 497 runs, which is already one more than the 496 runs scored by the 2015 Mississippi Meatballs, so that record is safe.

They have already allowed 894 runs, which is a long way from the league record of 1,046, set by the Wapakoneta Hippos in 2004. But Myrtle Beach also has 28 games left to play. At their current pace of 6.8 runs allowed per game, they could easily allow another 190 runs to score, which would put them at 1,084 for the season.

The Hitmen's ERA of 6.36 would top the 2012 Lightning's 6.20 league record. It would be only the third time in league history that a team posted an ERA over 6.00.

For the sake of the mental well-being of every person associated with this franchise, let's hope that all of those youngsters named at the top of the Farm Report develop more rapidly than usual.