The United States of Baseball: an online league Battle Royale

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USOB: Baseball saves America

There are a hundred different stories outlining the Russian invasion of the U.S.A. in 1962 and many different heroes who led the way out of Russian domination and back to the land of the free but our story is about baseball and that story begins in 2012 with the formation of the United States of Baseball. A 20 team league formed in the remnants of the United States, an expanded Canada, and the newly formed Kallipolis. The U.S.o.B. was formed on presidential order in an effort to bring America Pastime back from a forced extinction by the Russians and hopefully start to heal the damage done and find a way back after 42 years of occupation. For those interested here is my favorite account of the events leading up to and through the Russian occupation written by one of my favorite journalists Jimmy the Kid.


Posted 27 July 2012 - 01:09 PM
October 24, 1962

Washington, D.C., USA


“President Kennedy, we have Premier Khrushchev and the Kremlin on the Red Phone.”

It was quarter to midnight, and President Kennedy was exhausted. The Cuban Missile Crisis and naval standoff with Russian submarines was entering its tenth day. The last week and a half was full of political muscling, back room deals and military escalation. For the first time in the two years he held office, Kennedy was legitimately nervous. The United States was the only nation in the world capable of firing long-range nukes, but now the Soviets were arming the United States’ volatile southern enemy. The threat of nuclear war was real.

“Jack,” the President’s brother and US Attorney General Bobby Kennedy said. “Would you like us to wake Vice President Johnson.”

“Let him sleep,” President Kennedy responded. “This shouldn’t take long.” Before retiring to his bed chambers, President Kennedy had received a telegram from the Russian Premier. He referred to the Cuban blockade as “pirate action” and reiterated that the Soviet Union views military escalation as an act of aggression. Kennedy had a feeling about how this would go.

“Nikolai, this is Jack.” Strangely, the President and the Premier had developed a personal relationship, and spoke to each other on a first name basis. In the room, Kennedy was joined by his brother, Bobby, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and a handful of secret service agents. Khrushchev sat alone with Vladimir Semichastny, the head of the KGB.

The conversation lasted only 15 minutes, and it was the same old song and dance. As the clock struck midnight, and Kennedy was in the middle of reiterating the United States’ unwillingness to allow the armament of Cuba, a single gunshot was heard over the line, and Khrushchev screamed. There was frantic Russian, and then a second shot. Silence.

“Nikolai? ...was that us?” President Kennedy directed at Secretary of Defense McNamara. “WAS THAT US?!”

“No...uhh not that I know of,” stuttered McNamara. “Uh, can we get Langley on the phone?” He had removed his glasses and was rubbing his hand across his forehead.

As Bobby reached hand up the phone, there was a noise on the Russian end of the line, and the Americans froze. “Nikolai?” President Kennedy asked, breaking the silence. “Nikolai, is everything alright?”

“This is Commander Vladimir Semichastny. Nikolai Khrushchev and members of his cabinet have disgraced the Soviet Union, and have been relieved of their position.” Semichastny was reading from a prepared statement, and the finality in his tone sent chills down President Kennedy’s spine. “As the new Head of State, and Commander of the Red Army, I immediately enact Operation Red Mole, and openly declare war on the United States.”

“Have you lost your mind?” President Kennedy erupted. “The arsenal of the United States far surpasses that of the...”One of the secret service agents shifted, and the movement, though slight, caught the attention of the motionless leaders around the phone.

“Splotila naveki Velikaya Rus’!”, the agent shouted as he drew his firearm. It wasn’t until that moment that President Kennedy realized that he did not recognize the four agents in the room. As the first agent took aim, the other three agents drew their weapons, taking aim at the President and his accomplices.

The President was first struck in the left shoulder, and then in the head as he spun to the carpet of the oval office with a loud thud. Bobby Kennedy and McNamara were each shot in the throat, dying instantly. The barrage of iron was too much, and Rusk was struck in the abdomen. The agent who initiated the task stood over the helpless Secretary of State. “Yedinyy, moguchiy Sovetkiy Soyuz!” he preached as he fired a final bullet into Rusk’s skull.

Simultaneously, identical undercover attacks occurred against Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Speaker of the House John William McCormack, a number of high profile Senators and members of the intelligence community. Half a decade after Joseph McCarthy’s “Red Scare”, it was apparent that the Soviet intelligence network had infiltrated the United State at multiple levels, from local police departments to the Secret Service and Pentagon.

Many Americans woke the next morning to a standard Red screen on all major networks, issuing a statement that Semichastny and the Soviet Union were now in control of the United States’ Government. On every street corner in every major city, stood members of the Red Army. Flag and book burnings peppered every city block from San Francisco to New York. Churches were shut down and boarded up, and many of the countries wealthiest and powerful families were jailed in the first 48 hours.

The United States military was left crippled following the attacks on the Pentagon and CIA. Many high-ranking military officials were pulled from their beds the night of the Kennedy assassination. The few soldiers that were able to mobilized lacked numbers and organization, and were ousted quickly. Soon, the blue on the flag was replaced with red, and the stars replaced with the hammer and sickle.

In January 1963, the Red Army heard of a group of former Air Force pilots and Marines organizing in Seattle. According to Kremlin reports, they were using an old Boeing factory as a base and had established a network of underground passage ways to avoid Red Army foot traffic. Similarly, in Boston, a group of former Naval officers had formed a militia named the Sons of Liberty. The group had begun to pirate Soviet ships utilizing Boston Harbor as a port. The Sons were also suspected of smuggling English arms into the country to arm groups fighting back against the Red Army.

Intent on flexing their muscle and crippling any of Democratic Europe’s connection with the Occupied States, on January 16, 1963 the Soviets exploded a nuclear bomb in Seattle airspace, leaving devastation similar to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Boston, Red Army U-Boats attacked all unmarked ships in Boston Harbor, and fired on major buildings alongside the port. The day became known as the “Lowering of the Red Curtain”.

Seeing the strength and mindset of the Soviet Union, many of the United States’ allies withdrew the support of the Occupied States, leaving a crippled nation with no centralized military. The Soviets had finished their takeover in six months time, and became the largest and most powerful nation in the world.

In need of paying off quickly accumulating war debts, the Soviet Union sold Louisiana, parts of Souther Mississippi, parts of Alabama and Florida to Fidel Castro and Cuba in 1965. The newly acquired land was then gifted to Castro’s dear friend and fellow communist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Guevara renamed the area Kallipolis, which in Greek means “the Great City”.

Alaska, Washington, Northern Idaho and Montana were sold to Canada. Following the nuclear attack of Seattle, the Soviet Union did not have any use for the city’s resources, nor did they have the fund to properly clean the city. The money used from the transaction was put into the space program to develop a high-speed, high-altitude jet to shorten the distance between Moscow and the Occupied States.






2004


For forty-two years, the Soviet Union occupied what was once the United States. The USSR became the most powerful, uncontested nation in the world. They utilized new found natural resources and exported heavily, building a large cash-flow. The army crushed the few rebellions there were, and as time went on the American will that once thrives from Atlantic to Pacific was soon extinguished.

Together with Cuba and Kallipolis, the Soviet Union controlled both hemispheres. Canada was apathetic and had actually benefitted in acquiring much of the Pacific northwest, and without American intervention, Cuba was able to expand into South America. This included parts of Brazil and Venezuela, and Fidel Castro now controlled many of the Caribbean Islands. The entire political landscape had changed, and the number of communist nations in the world outgrew the number of democracies.

_____

Following her husband’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy was able to sneak Caroline and John Jr. out of the country. Drawing on the vast resources of the Kennedy family, mother and her two children were able to board a Russian freight ship and escape to Ireland. Luckily for the Kennedy family, the Soviet business enterprise was as corrupt as the government that controlled it. There, here family was safe under the Catholic rule of their new home.

Now 44 years old, John F. Kennedy Jr. was fully-grown, educated at Oxford and a successful business owner. Owning a shipping conglomerate in Ireland and the UK, Kennedy was one of the most influential and well-known business men on the Irish island. Rumors circulated about his involvement with the IRA, and they were neither uncommon nor unfounded. Kennedy had the ships the group needed, and the IRA supported both the spread Catholicism and democracy.

Though successful in Ireland, John Jr. always wanted to go home. His mother told him and Caroline stories of Boston, Washington DC and Long Island. She told him of America’s vast forests and high mountains. She told him stories of his father. Though happy and successful in Ireland, Kennedy knew, deep down, that his American story had not reached its end.

_____

By February 2004, the Soviet Union had grown into the largest economic power in the world. Together with Cuba and Kallipolis, the three nations controlled more than half of the world’s natural resources.

Out of good spirit and because the Soviets had such an abundance of lumber in the Motherland, they had historically allowed Cuba and Kallipolis to import lumber for North America without large taxes. This led to a number of construction projects in the two Latin nations, and they began to rapidly industrialize. This practice was known as “Red Tie”, symbolizing the common ideologies and cultures between the three nations. With this in mind, Cuba pledged to make Havana the “City on a Hill”-- a Utopia for all other nations to look up to. Operation “Ciudad del Monte” began on January 1, 2004, and Cuba rapidly became the largest importer of North American lumber and steel.

On February 4th 2004, the Soviet government withdrew the “Red Tie” legislation, and without any preceding noticed, heavily-taxed the largest steel shipment of the operation. The Cuban port refused to pay the taxes, and the Soviet ship turned around and returned to their home port. Enraged, Cuban diplomats demanded an explanation and that the Soviets immediately reinstate the Red Tie legislation. The Soviets refused, citing that they were missing a large economic opportunity and that they had allowed the Cubans to import at-cost for the last four decades.

Diplomatic relations quickly dissolved between the three nations, Kallipolis siding with Cuba, fearing that the high taxes would soon apply to them as well. At first their were embargoes, and then small naval clashes. What was once an indestructible and mighty alliance was rabidly deteriorating beyond repair.

_____

Because of long-standing peace in the western hemisphere, the Soviet Union had withdrawn most of its military from the region. There had also been a series of uprisings in Eastern Europe and members of the Soviet Union began to fight back against the government’s oppressive rule.

In this, John F. Kennedy Jr. saw an opportunity. Without Cuba and Kallipolis at its side, and with small wars brewing in Eastern Europe, the Occupied States were less of a priority to the USSR. Kennedy had the funds from personal wealth. He had the arms necessary with his IRA contacts. All he needed was an ally. Taking a great risk, Kennedy stowed away to New Orleans, where he had a secret closed door meeting with Ernesto Guevara, Fidel Castro and Canada’s President Megan Calvet. After three days of what would become known as the Third Continental Congress, Kennedy had himself two strong allies.

The revolution began on, suitably, July 4th, 2004. Without notice, and without provocation the Soviet Occupied States was attacked on all four sides. From the south came the land and sea forces of Cuba and Kallipolis. Kennedy’s ships and members of the IRA hit major ports along the east coast. Canada invaded from the north and west. By the time the greater Red Army had been notified, Kennedy and his allies had already controlled major ports and had crippled the Red Navy on the open sea. The modern day blitzkrieg has taken the Soviets by surprise.

By the end of the year, the Revolution received economic and arms support from Great Britain, Ireland and France. By June 2005, the list of supporters had grown to include Italy, West Germany, Spain and Portugal. At this point, the Revolution controlled all of the Occupied States’ borders and the Soviet control was slowly collapsing on itself.

The following happened quickly, and is best described in a timeline.
December 25th, 2005: Known as the Christmas Morning Uprising, troops take back Washington, DC. and Kennedy returns to the White House. The Soviet Union is ousted from American Soil.
January 16th, 2006: John F. Kennedy Jr. assumes control and reappoints himself President of the United States of America. For the first time in 42 years, the USA is its own nation.
January 17th, 2006: John F. Kennedy Jr. reinstates the Constitution of the United States and the governing document of the nation.
January 17th 2006: Kennedy signs a peace treaty with Fidel Castro, Ernesto Che Guevara and Megan Calvet. The three pledge to rejuvenate an “American culture” and return peace to the western hemisphere.
February 14th, 2006: The United States signs a free trade agreement with Cuba and Kallipolis, eliminating the high taxes of the Soviet Union. The mutually beneficial agreement allows the Cubans to finish operation “Ciudad del Monte” and allows releases economic burden from a now fledgling United States.
March 18th, 2006: The United States holds its first general election after Soviet occupation.
March 18th, 2006: John F. Kennedy Jr. is officially elected President of the United States, beginning his first of two terms.
November 8th, 2006: The Soviet Union collapses in Europe, spinning off 9 free countries.
______

In his second inaugural address in January 2010, Kennedy announced the Manifest Destiny Initiative. By this time, the United States, Kallipolis and Cuba had crawled out from their war debts. Their economies were recovering, they undertook advanced domestic projects and were enjoying an extended time of peace. The primary purpose of the initiative was to establish a common American culture.

Part of that doctrine was the constitution for the USoB: the United States of Baseball.



The early years of the USOB:

In the inaugaural season a solid Scottsdale team with a superior gm, took the championship of the the usob in a short 120 game season as the league got a late start that year. While 63-57 is by no means a dominant showing it was a herald of things to come as Scottsdale would win the next years championship and prove there first was no fluke going 84-60. The super snakes were led at the plate by the first truly great superstar of the USOB John Sharp who hit 43 dingers and posted 125 RBI's for the Copperheads in there 2nd Season.

2014 was a tough season in Scottsdale as the uber talented snakes proved they were human after all as they were destroyed by injuries and for the first time in USOB history someone else would lift the USoB championship trophy. The New Boston Heroes were great in 2014 and with a massive push in the playoffs the Hero's put an end to the talk of three-peats.

In the winter of 2014 the USob owners got together at the winter meetings and with a lot of fanfare voted to expand the league from 20 teams to 24 forming two more divisions and adding a 2nd wild card spot.

The City of St Louis was awarded a team and my time as a gm in the USoB began.

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The Teams of the USoB

IL Canadian Division

Winnipeg Warhawks- Managed by CornFed the Warhawks were a bottom feeding team for the first 4 years of their existence, but then 2017
started and all the early draft picks of the last 4 years, in particular the outstanding rookie SS Bob Boucher, 2nd pick overall behind
Jon Brewer made their way to the bigs. Boucher looks to be a future HOF as he posted outstanding numbers (.345/408/.670) with 42 hr's
in his first full season which saw the warhawks jump from 45-89 in 2016 to 85-59 in 17 winning their division. They look to be built for
the long haul and many feel they will be right at the top again.

New Seattle Whalers- Artemulch runs the Whalers and also runs the league. His Whalers have been dominant for the last few years winning the
division three times in a row, from 2014 to 2016, but have fallen off slightly in 2017 finishing 2nd to the new look Winnipeg team.
Even though they were My perennial favorites during that 3 year stretch to win it all they only won the one championship in 2015. Still this
is a very solidy ran organization and the Whalers are ready to compete again 2018.

Edmonton Inferno- The Inferno were fairly good in the early years of the league but have slowly dropped back in the pack over the
last couple years with the expansion and division realignment. Edmonton has a little talent though and picked up a lot of talented
young players from St. Louis at the deadline so there is hope for a turnaround in the near future. 3 playoff appearances in 3 years in 13,14,15
but the 60-84 finish this last year has got to be concerning.

Reno Railhawks- This is the team to watch in the next few years as the talent in their farm system and at the ML level has steadily
improved over the last 3 years. Another expansion team from the same time as my Cru but they have shown a patience that i have so far lacked.
With Adrien Charles leading the way in CF and talented arms in their minor leagues it is just a matter of time before they dominate the division
in my opinion.

The Teams of the USoB

IL Kallipolis Division

Atlanta Black Knights- One of the founding teams of the USOB the Knights struggled for there first 4 years, but then they found
their way in 2015 and it has been great baseball in Atlanta since then. After falling in the playoffs the last 2 years they made the
world series in 2017, unfortunately they came up just one game short and lost in seven to the Copperheads. Still the talent in Atlanta
is ready to repeat and i feel they are an early favorite to run the table again.

Birmingham BlueBirds- The birds have had a rough go of it over there history as they have never truly been bad, but never really been
contenders to take home the title either. Ken Quick is there star pitcher who dominated in 2017 but unfortunately the birds came up
a few games short of the wild card and there are rumors of a rebuild.

Jacksonville Jackalopes- The Jacks have made the playoffs 3 times in their history but again like the Birds they lack the talent to
really scare other teams, good but not good enough is one of the worst feelings for a gm and where this team is headed is anybody's guess
The new gm will need to pick a road out of mediocrity and then stick with it. Still they have some talented players and could choose to
add or they could sell off. Will be an interesting story to follow

Miami Capitals- The Caps have had there struggles in the last 4 years after making the playoffs for the first 3. The Miami faithful had
better get ready for a long road back as there lack of talent (both in the majors and on the farm) will amount to a few losing seasons.
Still Alec Coleman will be a very good player and a team leader sooner rather than later and many fell he could be a great piece to build
around.

More teams of the USOb

IL Calvert Division

Tortuga Buccaneers-
Another of the expansion teams of the 2015 season the Bucs have seen a quick rise to the top of their division as thanks to the huge production of young gun winner Robert Mckinley and great production of young stud CF Robert Mckinley. The Pirates won 82 games this last year and one the division and had their first winning season in their history. They are young talented and looking to repeat as division champs in 2018.

Calgary Cowboys:

The Cowboys are a storied franchise that seems to always play second fiddle to someone else's cinderella when it comes to the playoffs. Four straight playoff appearances from 13-16 and yet they have never even sniffed the series. They were who I got Hernandez from and although they got a young stud in Ken Byrne I truly miss I feel like pitching will compensate for the loss. The Cowboys missed him this last season and it cost them there chance at the playoffs in my opinion still they have some talent and with a few moves could be back on top again

Vancouver Atlantics

The Atlantics need some attention as they had one of the worst teams in the UsoB last year. They have made the playoffs once in their 6 year history but they seem to lack a direction for the last few years. They do have a decent sized budget and should have some money to spend this offseason but the question is will they.

Havana Trogons

The Trogons were the worst team in baseball last year by one game but they do seem to have a sense of direction under there new Gm. He consistently raised his farm system ranking last year and I would not be surprised to see them start to get competitive as early as this year. I do feel they are still a couple years away from being a legit playoff contender but with the way there farm looks they could be dangerous sooner rather than later.


AL East

New Boston Hero's

New Boston has one their division four years in a row which is quite a feat as the AL east is one of the more competitive division in the UsoB. Led by Silver Slugger (MVP) Micheal Foley and a staff of Aces including the Current young gun (Stanley Green) this is a dynasty in the making if they can ever find their way past the Scottsdale team. With one championship back in 2014 Gm Snoblitz has already proven that his guys can do it the question now is can they keep this great roster together.

Brooklyn Aces


I always feel a little sorry for the Aces as they seem to always be the kid with his glass up against the window looking in at the big dogs of the AL east. They have been to the playoffs four times in 6 years but 3 of those were as the wild card and with the dominance of Boston I am hard pressed to see that changing soon. Still they have some of the best young OF in baseball, a decent staff and with the emergence of youngster Daniel Hebert at first I am pretty sure that Brooklyn fans will be thinking championship in 2018 once again.

Gettysburg Brothers in Arms

Gettysburg has struggled in its short history since joining the UsoB. The Brothers have made some definite improvement in the last year or so though. They won 76 games in 2017 but like my own cru came up one game short in the final weeks. Led by the huge bat of Miguel Guerrero who the offense is ready to win and win now, the question will end up being whether the young pitching staff led by ace Chris Sale can find a way to keep them in games.

Cincinnati Steeds

The steeds are a well ran organization who has made the playoffs in 3 of their first 6 years in the league. Unfortunately they are in the same division with New Boston and that has really limited what they have been able to do in the playoffs. The truth is that the American League has been dominated by Scottsdale and Boston and everyone else has suffered through as and also ran. The Steeds to have some nice bats in Matt Kemp and Fielder but lacked the pitching to compete this last year going 57-87, it may very well be time for a rebuild in Cincinnati.

Scottsdale Copperheads

Six season - six playoff appearances – 4 UsoB titles.

This is the evil empire of the UsoB these guys have the money, the stars, and on top of that
they have the highest rated farm in the UsoB. Ulms has built a absolute juggernaut and there is
no end in sight. They have a .615 winning percentage through 6 years and that is actually
trending up.

Las Vegas Gamblers

Las Vegas is the team to watch in this division if you are rooting against the snakes like I am.

Vegas has the bats to compete now making the last 4 playoffs as a wild card but it would be nice
to see them find the true stud for there staff as that could put them over the hump. Will they find that guy or will they continue to slam the ball out of the park in the hopes of scoring there way to a division championship.

Los Angeles Diablos-

The devils made the playoffs in the first two years the league operated but have been stymied due to the powerhouses of Vegas and Scottsdale since 13. They only won 59 games last year and they have one of the league worst farms according to the Bnn Scouts. I really think they will be looking to make a complete rebuild this year but you can never tell they may try and spend their way to the top in FA.

Alaska SeaWolves

Alaska has been in the league for 4 full years now and has consistently been the worst team going. Thankfully a new gm took over last year and there are signs of life as some of their youngsters are making waves in the show. Look for this team to continue to improve and possibly push for the playoffs in a few years.

more teams to come

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St. Louis names there team after War-hero's:

There were many ways the St. Louis franchise could have went with there name, but in the end only one moniker seemed appropriate to the fans, the owner, and the new Gm. The Crusader's of history were rough and rowdy biker's but patriots all the same. They led the resistance in the Mid-West from there base in the Lou and fought against the Russians at great personal cost. Many people feel that the Crusader's were a rallying point for middle America and historians have often theorizied that with out there actions there would be no US today. This is the story of men who proved that you cant judge a person by the clothes he wears are even the tattoos he has, but only by the actions he takes.



St Louis Crewsaders : Motorcycles, Tattoos and Guns in no particular order

October 25th 1962 found Jon "Spidey" Daniels and the I-70 Crew-Saders riding through the midwest crossing into missouri with the Arch sparkling in the cold winter sunlight. It was the very first day that had been even close too riding weather in what had been a very long winter for Jon and the boys, as they road along interstate 70 Jon noticed the lack of traffic and how people were literally stopped on the side of the road, just sitting with there hands on the wheel, heads bowed, some even seemed to be sobbing. By the time they left the city it was becoming fairly obvious that something was definitely wrong and Jon figured he had better find out what was going on. He led the Crew off of 70 and into the parking lot of a rough little bar known only as Joe's although no one seemed to know who Joe might be, inside the bar a crowd of toughs crowded around the radio listening to a new's report, the stunned looks on their face told Spidey it might just be worse than he thought. As he walked closer to the radio he heard the sentences that would change history for him, the crew and the whole damn country " I repeat the President is dead and we the representatives of the mother-country are now in complete control of this country. We will have more instructions for you fine new citizens of the great mother country but for now we ask only that you return to your homes and stay there until we have cleared you and issued you papers officially making you citizen's of the United Soviet Socialist Republic.The Radio man went on to say that a cufew was in place and that all would be expected to be in their homes by 8 p.m. Leo Cardelli, Leo Deberg, Jon's best friend and right hand man asked " Jon what are we gonna do now, I mean I hate them government guys you know that, but I am not gonna let the rooskies tell me what to do. As the rest of the patrons of the bar turned to Jon he gave his first speech on the subject of the occupation, it was two words, yes just two words but they became the rallying cry for an entire movement "We Fight".

The Crew had 40 members in the fall of 1962 and by January 1st that number had tripled, the roughest, meanest, Rowdiest of any group to take up weapons against the motherland, they were becoming known for there ability to disrupt the supply routes of the USSR troops. Spidey was known for his embarassing and often public belittling of the regime that had taken control of his United States. There's was a grass-roots campaign of resistance not seen since the revolutionary war, always it seemed that not only did the crew manage to stay one step ahead of the secret police but seemed to have time to do so in the most publicly mortifying way possible. As the resistance in the East and West died a whimpering death Jon and his crewmates were going strong making it almost impossible for goods to be moved through the midwest, Jon referred to this as closing the gates of the country. In the Summer of 63 as the Commies announced to the world their subjugation of the United States and planned a inaugural gala in Denver, Colorado to officially proclaim the U.S.A a territory in the Republic. At the Gala they would present the new territories chosen leadership with there very own flag, to be flown in conjunction with the great sickle and hammer moniker of the USSR. The flag was to be delivered by truck from New York to Denver and the truck would be traveling directly through St. Louis, proving that the "petty annoyances of a gang of hooligans could not stop the might and majesty of the People's Army". As the truck traveled West everyone waited with baited breath to see if the Crew would attack, but there was no problems and as they pulled into Denver on the third day out of New York it seemed as if the Commies were right.

The Day of the Gala arrived with something of an air of defeat in the air and as the Commandant took the stage to present the flag to the new Prime Minister of the new UnitedTerritories of the USSR, all hope seemed lost. The Commandant reached into the felt-lined case after a long winded speech proclaiming the greatness of the Soviet Republic, and promptly screamed and snatched back his hand. As the case fell to the floor the people closest to the stage screamed as RattleSnakes tattooed with miniature U.S flags all over there bodies slithered out. As the first snake's head came into view a violent explosion was set off, destroying each and every vehicle that had crossed Crew territory in the supposedly successful Convoy from New York.

Thus the movement known only as the Crew-sade for the Gates was joined in full and for Ten Months stretching from the Summer of 1963 to the late Spring of 1964 open warfare on the Streets of the Lou reigned. Although small in numbers the Crew always found a way to survive whatever traps were set and Jon and his Crew took on almost Super-Hero status among those who resisted the reign of foriegn power on the soil of these great United States. As April wound to a close though the Soviet leadership took new action to stop the Crew's effforts in the Mid-West. In a public Proclamation the New Prime Minister condemn the action's of this rebel band and declared St. Louis to be a hostile state. As such the citizen's of the Lou would be punished for any attacks against USSR troops, with the stated punishment being the execution of said citizen's in appropriate number's in response to said attacks.



Jon "Spidey" Daniels was a hard man in many ways, but he was unwilling to sacrifice other's for his own action's and so in a meeting held at the Joe's Bar he announced his intention to give up the rebellion to his Crew. He encouaged the men to seek sanctuary in Mexico and Canada and to enjoy there families and friends. When Leo Deberg asked Jon what his plan's were he simply smiled and said " I am going to give the Russian's what they want and I hope they choke on it". No amount of questioning by the crew could get any more information from Spidey and he would allow none to ride with him not even Leo, who finally turned his bike towards Canada after all other's had been gone for over a week. Alone Jon sat on his old school indian, He had a couple stops to make before heading out in the morning and not a lot of time to prepare.

As Dawn rose on May 1st 1964 Jon made his final preparations on a night full of plotting what would be the last act of the Crew-sades. He picked up the payphone underneath the Arch of St. Louis and with just a slight tremor in his hand dialed the operator and asked to be connected to the New Kremlin In New York. Jon negotiated his surrender with the Prime Minister himself at the Arch at 7:00 A.M., his only demand was that the local radio station be allowed to cover the events surrounding his capture as they saw fit with no interference by those in power. As the secret police pulled up at the Arch to take John into custody he smiled as he saw the van with the radio logo on the side. Jon stripped his jacket off, and then removed his ratty old T-shirt, showing the world his newest tattoo. The American Flag flew proudly that day on the chest of a man who at one time was considered to be the problem with the country that flag represented. As Jon pulled the detonator from the pocket of his jeans it is reported that his final words were " As long as one heart yearns to be free the Gates of this great nation will be forever closed to those who would take our freedom.



The Morning of May 1st 1964 will go down in history as the last gasp of the Crew-sade according to the Russians, but will be remembered by true Americans as the start of yet another type of resistance and every year of the 42 year occupation of America by the Russians thousands would be found, in the area of the wreckage that used to be the Arch of St Louis. As the actions of the morning of Febuary 4th 2004 arrived and the rebellion began once again in earnest one soviet troop reported in from the district which used to hold the Arch. On the ground where the Arch had stood thousands of American Flags had been drawn, painted and scratched into the cement.

[tacklesspoem8]

Well i have now spent 3 years with the Cru and we have shown marked improvement each year as we have slowly built our team at the MLB Level from within and with some key aquisitions in the trade market.

2015: Our first year in the lou was rough as it should be with a expansion team. We went 47 - 97 with the scrubs we picked up of the scrap heap and a few decent players we were lucky enough to get in the expansion draft. Our future will be the young studs we got this year in the draft, and in a special IFA round held back in the offseason. The best of those are Jon Brewer, a stud hitter/solid 2b and our first overall pick in the draft, Eric Braun, the future ace of our staff who started his career in AA and finished the season at AAA. He has 3 good to great pitches, good stamina, with the one knock being he is a little fragile. Pete White was the big bat get of the IFA season as he has light-tower power and a good contact rating but lacks eye. Ernie Berry was a little known prospect who exploded onto the scene in A ball flashing his amazing glove in CF combined with a decent bat. There were many others and really too many to list right here but these are the ones that bear watching in the future along with Ken Byrne, another power hitting CF.

2016: In 2016 we went 60-84, still bad but not nearly as bad as could have been expected. White made the jump to the ML sqaud in just his second year of professional ball and he crushed it, batting .270 with 24 hr's and 90 rbi's in the 3 hole. unfortunately his eye was a major weakness as he struck out 195 times, a true feast or famine player he still got consideration for the ROY and helped the offense. Braun was bounced up and down for most of the year as he would dominate at AAA and then get rocked in the USOB, a learning experience for him for sure but he still is very highly thought of by the organization and will be in the rotation next year, Byrne and Berry, were called up in june to bolster the OF production and both did just that with Berry hitting .248 with 13 dingers and 28 sb's and Byrne going .264 with 15 homers and 74 ribbie's. Overall a good year for our youngsters and it was a deep draft class where we were able to add a stud SS in Lorne Abbott and a couple good arms for the pen in Johnny Williams and Chris Douglas.

Up next the 2016 offseason and 2017 season

[atsather]

2012: The first year of USoB baseball is here! After the expansion draft, GM Andrew Sather figured to have a solid squad, led by superstar 1B Mike "Chump" Lemley. Other solid offensive players included RF John Riley and 3B Bob Meatyard. But the pitching staff was lacking in firepower and talent, making a playoff appearance very unlikely. The season started out slowly and the division (AL East) was very tough. A few veterans were dealt mid season for some prospects (a few of which turned out very poorly for Minneapolis) at the trade deadline. The Kodiaks had the #3 pick in the amateur draft in which 3B Alberto Garcia was selected. At the end of the year, the Kodiaks finished with a 56-64 record, which was good for 3rd in the 4 team AL East Division. Offensively the team was very good, but the pitching staff had a 5.70 ERA for the season.

2013: After a very quiet offseason in which the Kodiaks made very few moves, the team was not expecting a very strong season. But this season was a very different one than in 2012. The Lemley - Riley proved to be the most dynamic 3-4 combination in all of USoB. Lemley batted .343/.417/.664 with 46 HRs and 139 RBIs while Riley batted .304/.382/.539 with 31 HRs and 109 RBIs. Lemley was awarded for his oustanding year with the Silver Slugger Award (MVP). A few midseason trades brought in some quality arms in SP Thomas Lewis and SP Bryan Weese. The Kodiaks surged to a 85-59 record, winning the AL East. But the team did little damage in the postseason, losing to the eventual champions Scottsdale Copperheads. The lack of pitching was evident in the playoffs as the the big bats could not carry the load against superior talent.

2014: Big changes were in store for the USoB in 2014, as the league expanded from 16 teams to 20. A few players from the Kodiak's system ended up being drafted by other teams in the expansion draft, but nothing to substantial. The big news of the offseason came when Mike Lemley, impending FA and 2013 Silver Slugger winner, signed a 5 year contract extension worth 6.5M. The Kodiak front office were extremely excited when Lemley inked the deal, since they felt that Lemley was a very good value at 1.3M per year. The season started out well, and the addition of slugger 1B Miguel Cabrera from the New Boston Heroes figured to add even more to a loaded offense. But the team struggled to a 72-64 record, failing to make the playoffs.

2015: The Kodiaks shaked things up a bit after the disappointing 2014 season. CF Carlos Perez (all world speedster) was dealt to New Boston. This move immediately hurt the Kodiaks as Perez went on to post near 300 stolen bases in the next 3 years with the Heroes. The season got off to a great start, as Lemley, Riley, and LF Dave Sanders were a very supurb offensive trio. But again the pitching would hold the team back, even with the midseason trade fror SP Jose Mendoza of the Gettysburg Brothers In Arms. With relaligned divisions (and 4 new teams bringing the total to 24), the Kodiaks won the AL Kennedy division with a 83-51 record, but lost in the 1st round of the playoffs to the Scottsdale Copperheads.

2016: The Kodiaks had high expectations in 2016, and rightly so. With a division that consisted of 2 recent expansion teams, the Kodiaks were easily the division favorites. The team cruised to a 93-51 record, leading the league in almost every offensive category. The pitching staff was improved, but still not good enough to lead a postseason run. The playoff matchup this year was against the New Boston Heroes, but the result was the same.....a first round playoff exit. The silver lining in the year was that Lemley ended up winning the Silver Slugger again, becoming the first and only USoB player to do so.

2017: Minneapolis made a big deal following the 2016 season, adding a big offensive threat to fill a weak catcher spot in the Kodiaks lineup, catcher Antonio Alfonso (Alfonso ended up batting .331 in 2017). The price wasnt cheap though, as the Havana Trogons received several top prospects in return. A few other minor signings in the postseason and the Kodiaks were ready for the 2017 season, a season where they were again the favorite in the Kennedy division. The competition would be tougher this year with the surging St. Louis Crusaders ready to make a postseason push. In the end though the Kodiaks proved too tough to handle, posting a 92-52 record. Pitcher Francis Conner had 17 wins to lead the pitching staff, while Lemley, Riley, Sanders, and former top pick 3B Alberto Garcia led a offense full of firepower. Top prospect LF Joe Hathaway batted .370 in a superb rookie season too. The front office in Minneapolis figured this had to be their year. This would be the best pitching rotation the Kodiaks brought into the playoffs, and the offense remained one of the top 3 in the league. But, the Kodiaks lost again to the New Boston Heroes in the 1st round of the playoffs 3 games to 2. The playoff curse lives on!

[tacklesspoem8]

I admit it. As the 16 season came around I got a little impatient with all the losing in the Lou and that led too me making some trades to aquire vets at positions of need that maybe were not the best ideas for the long term health of the franchise.

I did look back at those deals towards the end of the 17 season and here is what my thoughts on them were by then.

St. Louis offseason trades in review

I thought it would be interesting to see how the trades i made this offseason have worked and what my view of them is a year removed

Trade 1: St. Louis and Brooklyn

St. Louis gets

Albert Pujols: .312/.346/.426 1.4 war
Larry Slaughter: 6-8 5.61 era with 1.1 war

Brooklyn gets

Jose Silva AAA Sp 2.33 era 13-3 record 4.9 war ( #5 rated prospect in USOB
Jesus Rivera AAA SP 4.11 era 8-4 record 2.5 war
Juan Vazquez AAA OF .297/.374/.646 4.1 war(at AA)

I am obviously fustrated with Slaughter performance so far as he has been a huge disappointment. He had averaged roughly 4 war a season up until this year when he goes out and lays an absolute egg for me. I honestly don't think Silva is as good as he looks on paper but still Brooklyn wins this deal hands down. Pujols has been very good for me though. Winner: Brooklyn

Trade #2:

St. Louis and Calgary

St. Louis gets
Felix Hernandez SP Usob 8-8 4.32 ERA 3.5 WAR
George Kelly CF AA .288/.394/.426 2.3 War


Calgary gets

Ken Byrne CF USOB .347/416/615 5.4 WAR
Sung Hwa Hung Sp Usob 8-7 4.55 1.4 WAR

This trade is much more balanced as both teams are benefitting from the players they got. That being said Byrne has been an absolute stud for Calgary and while Felix has been better as the season went on I don't know that I can say he has been worth the projected 8.6 WAR Byrne is
on pace for. Kelley is more valuable in my opinion than Hung as I feel he will have a better overall career and long term I feel I am satisfied with this trade as it got me a top of the rotation guy to pair with Braun. Winner Even slight edge to Calgary cuz of Byrnes amazing year


Trade #3

St. Louis and Scottsdale

St Louis recieves

Rapheal Bridges SP USOb 5-5 5.04 era 1.2 War

Scottsdale recieves

Lorne Abbott SS #13 prospect in usob A ball .236/.292/.350 .8 WAR

Johnny Williams A- AA Cl 10 sv 3.21 era

This is the deal that 5 years from now i will hate myself for, but I knew that when I made it. Due to the amazing play of Carrol, and the projected studliness of Brewer, Abbot was the odd man out in the middle IF. He is a stud we all know that but he is developing fairly slowly and I felt my window
to win will be in the next 3 years when he would still be learning the ropes in the minors. Williams is the same way, a young guy i didn't want to wait on.That being said I still think we have not seen the best of Bridges and I do expect his numbers too come down quite a bit next year as he gets more exp. If I am right I should be in position to compete next year and that is worth any talented prospect too me and the fans in the Lou
Winner: Hard to say me when Bridges has a 5 era

Trade # 4

St. Louis and Havana

ST. LOUis got
Fernando Vazquez OF USOB .278/.334/.476 2.0 WAR

Havana got

Steve Carlisle SP A-AA 2.2 WAR 3.62 War

Chris Douglas CL A .2 WAR 4.50 ERA

I feel this trade has been my best of the offseason as Vasquez has filled in nicely for the departed Byrne and he has been a key cog in my offense this year. Carlisle is pitching well and may possibly make it into a rotation but I still would make this trade any day

Winner ST. LOUIS (for now)


Overall we are now on pace to have a winning season in the Lou and we are still in the playoff talks come the trade deadline. Which is a major step forward for the 3 year old franchise. I honestly feel we have the pieces in place to make the jump next year from pretender to contender and we did that by aquiring pitching options that were ready now. I hope I am right as if not I will be kicking myself over Byrne, Abbott, and Silva for a long time but it was still time to make a push and I don't regret the choices I made, well (Byrne 8.4 war ) not too much lol .
+ - 0


I also made a deal to aquire yet another starting pitcher and potential stud in Pablo Cubi but i will talk about that in the 2017 post coming soon.

Sorry about all the catchup and history reports but i am getting close to being caught up with the league now and hope you all are able to bear with me until we get caught up in real time

[tacklesspoem8]

The Cru went all in for the 2017 season and there play on the field showed that
they were ready to compete in a tough American League the roster had a lot of new faces but the overall goal was the same make the playoffs and give the Cru faithful something to cheer about.

Line up

C. Bob Gregory: Solid hitter great defense and an overall rocket for an arm only 22

1B: Albert Pujols: Veteran leader and solid player who can still go deep occasionally

2B: Tom Evans: another veteran with good contact skills and good D

SS: Stephen Carrol: Great defender and solid bat highly regarded young player

3B: Carlos Revelez: part of the first trade St. Louis made youngster with solid skills at the plate but has yet to put it all together

LF: Fernando Vazquez recent addition to help replace Ken Byrne

CF: Ernie Berry: heart and soul of the team and great young player

RF: The black hole in our lineup lol Dan Dunn was gonna be the guy here


Rotation
it changed during the year but looked something like this early

1. Felix Hernandez
2. Larry Slaughter
3. Eric Braun
4. Ramon Acuna
5 Rapheal Bridges

and ended up like this

1 Felix Hernandez
2 Eric Braun
3 Pablo Cubi
4 Ramon Acuna
5 Rapheal Bridges


April 4-6 lost key series against the Kodiaks getting swept at there place not a good start

May: 15-13 much better month although Slaughter and Hernandez struggled still Braun was pitching like an ace and Ernie Berry looked to be on pace for a 40/40

June: 16-12 Berry is still very hot and the offense is doing it's job but Slaughter is still horrible and is moved down in the rotation to the 4th spot.

July:11-15 July is where we found out we didn't have the horses to win the division, Slaughter was waived to make room for big get Pablo Cubi who came over in a trade with Edmonton. Edmonton recieved 4 young prospects in return for the 28 year old pitcher but we hope this will solidify my rotation

August:16-13 Jon Brewer is called up and immediately makes an impact he puts together a 20 game hit streak and takes over 2nd base. Pujols is an expensive veteran at 1B and we decide we need the cash to sign Cubi long term he is waived and picked up by Atlanta. Berry is still hot but has dropped off some he will get to 30/30 but never make the 40 hr mark.

September: 14-9 Good finish to the year as we close the gap for a wild card getting within 1 game on the last day but Brooklyn wins there game and we miss out on the playoffs. 76-68 and ready for an offseason in which we need to find a RF to go with the rest of this young team. We hope we can gain just enough at the plate too push us into the playoffs next year but i guess will see

Bob Gregory: .289 14HR's 59 RBI's
Tom Evans: .288 8 HR's 48 rbi's
Stephen Carrol: 303 1 hr 49 rbi's but had 36 2b and 15 triples
Carlos Revelez: .288 25 Hr's 79 rbi's great year for the youngster
Fernando Vazquez: struggled in the last 2 months and ended up at .243 15 hr's and 77 RBI's
Ernie Berry: batted .287 with 31 HR's and 105 rbi's did not commit a single error in center

Pete White: DH .257 avg and 36 HR's with 92 RBI's solid sophmore season for the guy still strikes out too much

Eric Braun: robbed in the Young Gun voting as he had a great year went 14-7 with a 2.79 era

Felix Hernandez: not as good as we hoped but a solid season by the end going 14-14 with a 4.28 era

Cubi: struggled this year with a super high BaBip of .389 but still went 7-4 in 11 games in the lou with a 4.6 era

[tacklesspoem8]

Arbitration for Vasquez who had a bad year last year but since we lack depth in the OF we will look to give one more year

Needs/Wants for FA: I need a solution in RF whether it is from within with Kelly Hunter (#21 prospect in the USob) or a veteran thru trade of FA this is a spot we have to get better.

2. 1b: White is good as a DH and could play first so i guess i am really looking for a power bat here who can feel a hole

3. Need to decide if i want to keep Evans as a utility IF at 700 k or try and move him in a deal. He is a very solid player but Brewer will own 2b from here on out and he is a man without a home. he could play first but he will not bring any pop to the position

[tacklesspoem8]

alright so financials range from roughly 14.2 million to 29.4 million in the league.
St. Louis is sitting at 17.4 mill for their total budget and has salary obligations at or around 9. million. leaving us with about 3 million to spend after the draft and player development is budgeted for.

Big names and proven players on the team

Sp: Felix Hernandez is our ace and although his era wasn't that great last year he is well worth the 2.2 million I am paying him this year. In his 4 years in the UsoB he has never thrown less than 200 innings and posted a record of 44-43 with a career era of 3.85. He will most likely be 0ur opening starter once again

Sp: Pablo Cubi is another guy i am really high on and expect big things from this year. He has been poorly handled in Edmonton over the last few years but he has the skill set to be a 12-15 game winner and I go in to the next year with expectations of getting at least that out of him

SP: Eric "Real Deal" Braun The 22 year old righty lived up to his nickname last year as he pitched us into the playoff hunt many times. Going 14-7 in your first full year in the rotation will get you noticed, doing it with a 2.79 era on a mediocre team will make you famous. He will be our number 2-3 but we expect better than that in his production.

Sp: Ralpheal Bridges: The 26 year old bridges came over in the trade with Scottsdale last year and got better as the year went on I think we will see a breakout performance from the youngster this year in fact i am betting on it.

CF: Ernie Berry - He was our best bat last year and led the team in RBI's, SB's, while finishing second in HR's too Pete White. He still strikes out a lot but Berry is the real thing and will anchor CF for the forseeable future.

3B: Carlos Revelez: he had a breakout year in 17 and we are hoping that he will continue to play at that level. If he does he will be one of the first bats we look to sign up long term as third is a weak position in our farm system.

2B: John Brewer: This guy was my first ever draft pick and he has the stats to dominate this league for the next 10 years. The only thing now is for him to prove it.


minor leaguers who will get a shot this spring.

Kelly Hunter: At only 19 we expect big things from Hunter and we base that on his half season in AAA last year where he just tore up the league. 252 AB's produced a .325 Avg with 13 HR's and 53 RBi's. I really want him to be able to take over RF this year but only time will tell if he is ready for that.

Dave Mullholland Sp: This guy is a young lefty and will hopefully push Acuna for the fifth spot in the rotation. He went 9-3 at AAA last with a 3.94 era but he pitched better down the stretch and overall looks ready for the jump.

[tacklesspoem8]

New Stadium being built in the Lou

I sit at my old desk in my new office overlooking the construction for the new Archway Field next to the hallowed ground that is the rubble of the Arch. Pouring over the scouting reports for players hitting Free Agency or available thru trades is a long, thankless task but it is the kind of work that is the difference between being a good gm and a great one. We desperately need a plan that will help us produce better at the plate, preferably while filling a hole in our existing line-up either at 1B or in the out field. Kelly Hunter is making a case to be the bat as he looks as ready as any player we have brought up in the last 3 years and is said to be working diligently on his swing this offseason in winter ball, but I hate to put that much pressure on a young man who is still only 19 and has never swung a bat at USOB level. The OF position is weak this year in FA but there are a few guys who could possibly be worth kicking the tires on. Adam Horton has been a very solid OF during his career and is a fairly decent contact bat. He does provide decent pop, but at 34 he is a wreck physically and seems to always be suffering through an injury of some sort. John Riley is expected to come available too and at 32 is much more likely to want a multi year deal, but in his six years with the Care Bears he has a career ops of over .900 and knocked out 166 hr's. There is very little other than these guys in the OF that I feel would upgrade the team. At first there is even less available as James Morrow is probably the best available bat, the 34 year old does provide some pop, although not what you want from a first baseman, and a decent average bat. There are rumors circulating that Joey Votto, of Scottsdale is available, but I doubt we have the farm pieces to get a guy of his caliber. In the minors we do have Victorio Gomez still who was our fifth rounder back in 2016 the young man has progressed nicely but I worry he will be a strike out waiting to happen at the top level.

The new Stadium dimensions also have to be taken into account as our new home has a short fence, but that fence is about 20 feet further back than the next largest stadium in the USOB. A true throwback to the old days of baseball the 343ft to the poles and 425 to center easily makes this the worst hitters park in the UsoB. We designed the stadium that way to take advantage of our speed pitching and defense so we need to plan on taking advantage of that with our signings. The Left field fence buts up against the last standing piece of the Arch and we plan to put in Suites that will actually be inside the monument so you can watch the games from a piece of history. 25000 seats is huge increase from the old park and we have to be competitive if we want those seats filled. Now the question which one of these FA bats can help the Cru fill their stadium this year or would I be better served to take a shot at one of the young pitcher that are on the market in the hopes of improving our pen, which was rated 8th out 12 last year. Strasburg is out there, and although he has never been able to put it all together at the highest level as a starter he could possibly prove to be a great bullpen piece at the right price. The immortal Keith “Dino” Allison is the best starter available and could solidify my rotation making it the best or one of the best in the UsoB, but the price will most likely be high. Only time will tell what move makes the most sense for us and I plan on being aggressive this FA period but also will show restraint on long term deals as I refuse to get us in financial trouble.

[tacklesspoem8]

The Rule 5 draft was uneventful as no one from our list made it into the final draft pool, but we didn't lose any players either

In FA the Cru has been linked to a number of high profile players and sources within the organization says that fans should expect a major signing soon. The pool had some late edition from the International market which has really increased the level of player available in my opinion. There also talks ongoing with King Felix on a contract extension. Felix is 29 now and is under contract this year at 2.2 million but I would like to lock him up for the forseeable future.

[tacklesspoem8]

Huge Signing in the LOU

The level of excitement in St. Louis was high as a deal was announced officially today between St. Louis and highly sought International Free Agent Ercole "Long Haul" Semitocolo. The Venezuelan national was highly regarded by many baseball experts after his impressive youtube video's showed what an outstanding physical specimen he really is. Semitocolo led the Venezuelan National team in all offensive category during the World Baseball Classic this offseason and apparently that was enough for the GM of the St. Crusader's to pony up big money. Ercole will make 10.9 million over the next 5 years and will be expected to put up amazing numbers at the plate and on the basepaths as he is touted as the fastest Venezuelan on the planet. The Cru's Front office is rumored to still be looking to add pieces this offseason and may not be done in FA.

[tacklesspoem8]

There were a number of trades in the early part of December as teams started looking at their needs for next year. Five deals have been finalized so far and I hated to see These two as the care bears (AKA my nickname for the Kodiaks) dont need anymore young pitching, that being said I will not miss Sanders bat.

Sanders is a consistent 5+ war OF and he will continue to be so in Gettysburg but Cecil Wallace has absolute Ace potential and if you look at his FIP, which was a full run lower than his ERA and you begin to wonder if he wasn't an ace already just having some bad breaks. At 22 he has plenty of time to figure it out, But personally I hope he never does lol.

The Care Bears were not done as they then flipped under-performing starter Thomas Lewis to the Winnipeg Warhawks for a solid young SS in Sadeo Shimada. The spot Lewis held will most likely go to Wallace next year making him expendable and Shimada is younger and has great value as a starting SS or utility man. Lewis had a stellar rookie year in Birmingham in 2012 but has never quite put it all together in Minneapolis.

[tacklesspoem8]

Riley signs in Lou

John Riley has been a thorn in the side of the crusaders for the last 3 years as part of the Kodiaks but that is over now as Riley and the Cru work out a 4 year deal that will pay Riley over 2 million a year during that period. The 32 year old veteran was one of the Crusaders top targets this offseason and he will most likely be there DH for the 2018 season. Riley has a career .309 AVG and has hit 166 HR's in his six years in the league with 19.2 career war. He will be expected to add power to the CRU's offense and the front office over at 1 Crusader way was ecstatic to have him on board. Many pundits feel Riley is past his prime and will not be able to perform at the level he has before, always financial responsible the Crusader's worked a vesting option into the last two years that requires Riley to play in a 100 Games are the deal shuts down after two years.

[tacklesspoem8]

Braun traded, Votto on his way to the LOU

In a shocking move Eric Braun was traded today along with the Cru number 1 pitching prospect for Joey Votto, Grant Skinner, Scott Clay and Chris Denman

Votto is an all star 1b and consistenly one of the best bats in the league
Skinner is a future all star although he lacks the range to play SS
Clay will be a great addition to the staff as he transition to starter in the Lou in the near future
Denman is a quality relief prospect

Braun is an ace and will anchor the Snakes for years to come
Mullholland in my opinion lacks the stuff to really be an impact arm but could suprise me

Overall I got two good bats and what i hope is a starting caliber pitcher for An Ace not a bad haul

[tacklesspoem8]

The Crusaders backed up there dealing of ace pitcher Eric Braun by moving to more of their players shortly after.

Pete White was moved to Gettysburg for reliever Ian Mckee- White has great power but k's way too much and with Votto Riley and Skinner on Board his playing time will be limited. Mckee is a solid arm and will help our pen.

Tom Evans was our starting 2B last year but with the emergence of stud John Brewer he became expendable. Wille Jones is more of a fringe prospect but this move saves us 700 k and Jones might become something as he is still young enough to improve his stuff

Overall we cut the salary of our team by 500k with these deals and hopefully added a bullpen piece while clearing out the logjam at first

[tacklesspoem8]

Well after yesterday's trade flurry we are stuck with an interesting problem.

How to get everyone there at bats.

C Bob Gregory- only real option here great defense
1b- Joey Votto - will anchor the lineup but Grant Skinner is good here too
2b - John Brewer - The key to our offensive plan-great contact and power
3b - Carlos Revelez - good defender here coming off a good season .284 25 hr's
SS- Stephen Carrol -great defense but lacks power / Grant skinner -better bat but lacks D
LF- John Riley OF Defense sucks bat is golden / Fernando Vasquez- coming off a down season good D
CF- Ernie Berry great glove and bat for sure CF
RF- Ercole Semitecolo -great bat and speed but his defense yuck/ Kelly Hunter- His Defense is better the bat is great but is he ready for the bigs?

DH - Grant Skinner/ John Riley/ Ercole Semitecolo

No matter how i arrange one of these guys will be on the bench, or in AAA tough decisions

Braun Trade breakdown

Eric Braun is a stud i get that but I would point out that we got Votto who is an all star first baseman- Skinner the # 13 prospect, and Clay who is now rated the # 50 prospect and my scout feels could be a #2-3 in a USOB rotation. The Fans are pissed about Braun but I hope will forgive me when they see what the Cru does at the plate this year.

[tacklesspoem8]

Spring Training report in the Lou

The Crusaders were able to stay healthy thru the spring and played very good ball going 15-9 and competing with the Kodiaks for the division. Here is a closer look at the lineup and rotation along with a couple of my big prospect invites who didn't win a job out right.


The lineup

Catcher: Bob Gregory: Struggled at the plate this spring .200/.292.240 but had a great year last
year and we will expect him to quickly get out of this funk

1B: Joey Votto: just a consistent stud went 18-59 for a .305/.400/.458 line and will expect more power this season.

2B: John Brewer: What do we love about this kid, Well his spring shows you his potential as he
went 26-68 with a .382/.386/.662 and crushed 5 Hr's

3B: Carloz Revelez batted .288/.368.515 picking up where he left off last year

SS: Stephen Carroll: batted .303/.387/.530 good enough for a 9 hole

LF: Fernando Vasquez: Was the weak link last year but looked decent this spring
.259/.319/.341. Good enough to get a shot for the first month but will need to produce

CF: Ernie Berry: Had a 30/30 season last year and looks good to go this spring
.292/.338/.400 with 5 SB's

RF: My big pickup Ercole Semitecolo came out blazing batting .309/.333/.412 with 5 SB's. Will hopefully keep it going for the year

DH: John Riley: Didn't have a great spring but did enough .269/.290/.448 to lock up the Dh spot

Kelly Hunter: .250/.333/.464 Didn't kill it will get some more seasoning

Grant Skinner: .333/.467/.500 Great spring and will be in the majors this year but I am going to send him down to work on his defense


This lineup is down right scary but the rotation is where I need to figure some things out

Felix Hernandez: 2.81 era in 16 IP 11 k's Ready to go
Pablo Cubi: 2.81 era in 16 IP 14 K's Ready
Rapheal Bridges 3.38 Era in 16 IP 19 K's Ready
Ramona Acuna 3.38 Era in 16 IP 12 K's Ready
Ron Champion: Struggled too miss bats will go to AAA in the hope he figures it out
Machado: Struggled with the talent in the USOB- AAA
Hoover will be my 5th starter as he has the experience and was a late FA pickup

[tacklesspoem8]

Every year i like too look at the teams around the USOb and try and play psychic and pick the winners in each division.

Prediction


IL Canadian Division

New Seattle Whalers – Division Winners

The whalers have the pitching and a history of winning on their side and I still feel they are
the most talented squad in this division. With Leake and Watanabe on the mound they are going to win their fair share of games and their lineup in my opinion actually disappointed last year. Look for the whalers to be back on top in 2018 with Warhawks a close second.

Winnipeg Warhawks- Darkhorse/ Wildcard pick

The Warhawks are led by all-world SS Bob Boucher who put up an amazing .344 avg with 42
42 HR's last year on his way too 7.7 War. Their staff is led by Dan St. John who was very good
last year posting 17 wins to 5 losses with a 3.76 ERA. The Warhawks will be in it til the end an d should make the postseason but I think the Whalers get it done this year.

Rookie to watch- Glenn Williams will suprise some people this year as he has skills not seen in any other 2b in the IL. That being said the young Warhawk will have to work to find at bats in a tough lineup in Winnipeg.

IL Kallipolis Division

Atlanta Black Knights – Division Winners

I like some of the moves being made by other teams in this division but I don't think we will see much change at the top as the Knights are a juggernaut with a huge amount of talent at the plate
combined with a very solid rotation. The Knights won 94 games last year and if anything are
better than they were last year look for them to push the 100 win mark again and could be the
odds on favorite to make the series in the IL.

Rookie to Watch- Keith “ Locomotive” Lewis
The number 2 rated prospect in all of baseball and an absolute monster bat at SS he came up
late in the 17 season and in 71 AB's hit 4 HR's and drove in 10 while batting .408. He will start
the year in Atlanta and will help to anchor the lineup and should contribute some amazing
numbers on his way to the ROY in the IL

IL Tortuga Buccaneers- Division Winners

The Pirates have been drinking rum all winter long celebrating their first ever division crown
but with the season getting ready to start look for the Peg-Legs to rally behind the arm of Ace
Robert Mckinley as they go for the repeat. Mckinley may very well be the best pitcher in the
USOB and will look to prove it in 2018. Stanley Carver is one of the best pure speed guys in the
league and will anchor the CF spot while batting first I would assume. Manny Arevelo is the big big bat for Tortuga and may hit upwards of 30 Hr's this year

Calgary Cowboys-Division Darkhorse/ Playoffs

The Cowboys will look to rebound on the mound after a horrible year from some of the better
pitchers in the game including Roku Takahashi, the 2016 Young gun winner in the IL. Thomas
Garcia was lost early in the year last year due to elbow surgery and will be looking to make a
comeback. At the plate Calgary will begin and end with superstar Ken Byrne who put together a fabulous sophmore season in 17 and will look to find the playoffs in 18.

AL East

Gettysburg Brothers in Arms – Division Winner

This is my suprise pick of the year as I like the team Jimmy has built in Gettysburg. I dont know that he has the arms needed to unseat the Heroes but if Sale and Allison live up to there ace status then look for the Brothers to shock the world. There lineup is strong and led by Danny Mcdonald and ROY Miguel Guerrero. If the pitching keeps them in games....... New Boston will fall

New Boston Heroes- Wild Card

The Heroes will make the playoffs. With Green and Foley they have legitimate contenders for both the Young gun and the MVP award. I will not be shocked if Boston wins the division again with a power packed lineup and the best pitching in baseball but I figured that it will be close enough at the top of this division that I could give the nod to the Brothers this year

AL West-

Scottsdale Copperheads- Division Winner

The Snakes will continue to roll over the division in my mind and may even break the 100 win mark again this season. With the addition of Eric Braun to an already loaded staff I would be shocked if they don't lead the league in most pitching categories. At the plate the Snakes will be the snakes and with there top end bats of Rouse , Martin and Ford leading the way they should own the division.

Al Kennedy.

Minneapolis Kodiaks-

I am so sick of the Care Bears lol. I really want to put the Cru up here this year but I am not sure we have the pitching that will be needed to take this very tough division. Look for the Kodiaks to be at the top of the pitching heap to as they have a 3 very good ace like pitchers in Conner, Cruz, and Wallace who I feel can shut down teams. There lineup is young and very talented but I don't know if they have enough experience to really dominate this year like the ratings would suggest they will.

St. Louis Crusader's -

The Crusader's have went all in this year in the hopes of producing a playoff caliber sqaud and I feel I should at the very least be able to get in as a wildcard. With a lineup full of power and speed we will be different than last years team as we are built more around bats than around pitching. Berry is batting 2nd now which I feel is his natural slot and with Votto and Brewer behind him he could see a huge amount of very good pitches this year. The rotation will be charged with doing enough rather than winning games and I don't plan or expect to be the best on the mound. Still we are projected to win 84 games this year and that should get us into the dance.

[tacklesspoem8]

3-1 start for the Cru in 18.


Game 1
STL vs LA- We sent our boy Felix Hernandez to the bump and that was the only pitchers LA
would see as he went the full 9 giving up 4 runs on 10 hits but striking out 12. Jon “Big Gulp”
Brewer went 3-5 with a double, triple and HR to lead us too a 10-4 victory

Game 2
STL vs LA- Cubi took to the hill and pitched very well thru 7.2 innings with 8 hits 3 walks and
6 strikeouts. He gave up 3 runs 2 of which were solo HR's but the offense was still clicking and
todays hero was Ercole “Long haul” Semitecolo who hit 2 big fly's along with a single driving
in 4 of our 9 runs by himself. Ernie Berry, Joey Votto and Bob Gregory also hit bombs in the
rout.

Game 3
STL vs LA – We sent Rapheal Bridges to the hill and he laid an egg in all honesty as he lasted 5.1innings while giving up 5 runs on 7 hits and getting trounced in all honesty. The offense was down a little bit but still they kept it close and then the hero of the day Stephen Carroll stepped to the plate in the 9th inning with the score knotted at 5. Carrol crushed the first pitch
he saw out of the park and we sweep to start the season.

Game 4
STL @ Reno – Ramon Acuna to start for us and right off the bat gives up two runs in the second
After that he settles in going 5.2 inning giving up just the two runs and hands it over to Hoover
Hoover was a FA acquisition and a veteran presence in the pen but he didn't pitch like it today
giving up 4 hits and 2 runs in 1.2 innings and losing us the ballgame 4-3. Nobody went deep
although Brewer did smack a double, as did Semi.

Around The League
Minneapolis Kodiaks starter Juan Ordonez pitched a shutout to start his season right
As did New Boston righty Bob Reed and Miami Capitals ace Akihiro Kichida.

At the plate the story of the week is Ivan Martinez who spanked gettysburg pitching for 5 hits in
one game, including a 3 run HR, a RBI double and 3 single's
Ercole Semitecolo had the leagues first 2 HR game of the season