Centurion 2 - The Choose your own ending dynasty

[Young Drachma]

If you've had the opportunity to read the original Centurion Sports Dynasty, then you'll enjoy this thread. If not, that's okay. You can join in now and not miss a beat.

This dynasty continues the Centurion Sports Management legacy and with fan participation this time. Remember those "choose your own ending" books? Well, this game will work similar to that. You're the "fan" and will be able to influence trades and other happenings in the game.

Tired of a specific player? Post your own "caller opinions" or be an ESPN pundit telling the team what they "really" need to do. Think we need to keep a player around? Lower the price of beer? If you can concieve it, it can be incorporated into the game.

It's the offseason in 2021. You'll need a synopsis of where teams are, who the key players are and the other dynamics of the league to be informed fans.

That's coming..stay tuned.

[Young Drachma]

NEW YORK YANKEES TEAM PREVIEW
11 Playoff Apperances
Best season: 2018, AL Champions (drew 5.4 million fans)
Empire Yankees Stadium is selling out like its Madison Square Garden, but the downturn has brought this club which had a string of seven straight 100-win seasons from 2013-19, to just 88 wins last season, good enough for their seventh straight AL (Least) East title. Nonetheless, the glory years of the 1990s seem a long time away since the Yanks haven't won a World Series since this dynasty began in 2002.

This season, there is no reason to think they can't improve on last year in the weak AL East. 35 year oldCF Damon Buchanan had a career high in homers (42) and batting (.271) last season and is establishing himself as a Yankees staple entering his ninth season in the Bronx. 2B Toby Siebern hit only .220 in 583 at-bats last year and at 28 years old, might be headed elsewhere if the Boss can find the right deal for him. 40 year old SS Antonio Perez is 72 hits shy of 3000 and is the active leader in games played at 2744. Korean LF Dong-Joo Kim (30) really established himself after playing partially for three years in Washington. Kim had 37 homers and batted .266.

On the pitching side of the house, the Yankees have future Hall of Famer Cliff Klebaner (39) who went 14-6 in his first season in the Big Apple. The rest of the aging staff includes 38 year old Bryant Bush who is closing in 3000 strikeouts (2914) and is 32 wins shy of 300. Bush has spent all but two years of his 20 year career in the New York Metro area (NJ, Brookyln & NY Yankees) Next is Craig Glodek who is entering his ninth season in New York and had an average 13-10 season last year. Closer Eric Kovalew is entering his third full major league season and seems to be improving constantly. He was 7-7 last year and had 28 saves. In 4 1/3 playoff innings, he's scoreless and had two saves in last year's playoffs.

Overall, the Yankees are bringining back a similar team and should be the favorite to win their eighth straight AL East title. The sad part is, it won't get them anything else. This team is too old to really contend with the juggernauts of the other divisions.

PREDICTION: AL EAST CHAMPS, Lose in Division Series

[Young Drachma]

ORLANDO LIONS
Expansion Team, Entered AL in 2014
Best season: 2021, 2nd place, AL East (86-76)
Though the Lions have had two 90+ win seasons in their short major league history, the club has never finished in second until last year.
The team has come close to that elusive first division title. This season, the Lions have restocked their arsenal in pursuit of that title and maybe something more...

The offense of the Lions added a juggernaut in LF Ward Bach, the career major league homerun leader. With 801 homers to his credit, this future HOFer is coming off his worst single season homer total in his 17 year career. The number? 40 homers. Bach attributes his longevity to playing in high altitude and being able to work hard in the off-season. The homer king was traded from Wyoming where he played his whole career to Los Angeles. "I grew up in Wyoming, so naturally I didn't want to go anyplace. But I figured that they would do what they could to get me a ring, while helping themselves out." said Bach.

Rounding out the offense in Orlando are many of last year's players, including 1B Rich Dalbello who rebounded after a subpar 2020 to hit 37 homers and 125 RBIs in 2021. SS Rudy Dienstein brings his 21 doubles and 23 homer season to the leadoff position this season.

The thing that really impresses about this team is their pitching staff. GM Chuck Rose went out and splurged on a staff that would bring Florida its first winning baseball team since the glory days of the Tampa Thundercats. Leading off the staff is SP Vladimir Montanes was 16-9 in Baltimore last year and struck out 239 batters in 252 innings. Second starter is SP Thomas O'Rear who at 27 years old is one of the most highly touted pitchers on the market this free agency season. Orlando wooed him with $100 million over four years. O'Rear won 22 games with DC last year and was runner up for the Bob Gibson. Christian Fedlonzza was once the apple of the New York Yankees eye winning 17 games in 2013. He's since become a journeyman pitcher that teams turn to hoping he can reclaim the spark, but this rugged lefty has a strong arm and once started 39 games for Kansas City in 2019. He'll be a great addition, if the offense can give him some run support. The last new addition to the rotation is 30 year old Abe Gammons who was quietly becoming a star in Carolina the past four years. Gammons won 18 games last year for the Bluefish and is poised to be one of the sleeper pickups of the year.

OUTLOOK: This club has all the makings of a sleep hit. However, we're not convinced the offense can really do the damage in the end. They'll scrap out for the Wild Card, but it'll be a tough go for them. Another second place finish, but out of the money for the Lions

[Young Drachma]

BOSTON RED SOX TEAM PREVIEW
2 playoff appearances
Best season: 2018, 112-50, Lost in ALCS
The Red Sox have retooled and despite their push several years ago to make the World Series, they have fallen short every time. Despite developing such talents at perennial batting champ Katie Simmons, upstart pitcher Thomas O'Rear and LF Carl Berube, the Sox lost all this talent and are now sitting on the remains of what could have been an empire.

SS Vic Evans one of the cornerstone of the cross-town trade a few years ago for the aforementioned players, hit 41 homers in 2020, but fell back to just 22 last season. He did have 108 runs scored, a career high and at age 28, he's certainly got plenty of time to rebound. This off-season, the Sox acquired catcher Corey Mack from the White Sox as a free agent. Mack - once one of the premier catchers in baseball - is on the downslide at age 38. He hit .236 last year and had 27 homers and 98 RBI. He'll provide a boon to the lineup, but not enough to put this team in contention. The Sox are very high on second year player Jeremy Vaksman who'll be in his first season a starter.

The pitching staff is the best part of this club and again that has not changed. At the top of the rotation is 33 year old Adam Himmelar who has five straight seasons of at least 16 wins. Trade rumors abound for the star, who is eight wins shy of 200 and is already over 3000 strikeouts for his career in this his twelfth season. Gary Swift enters his 18th season just 20 wins shy of 300 for his career. He'll be the second starter and one wonders if he'll be able to pitch his way to 300. He's been solid, but lost 13 games two years in a row while winning 16 and 15 respectively. The Sox are hoping fourth starter Juan Gavilan can find the form that led him to win 16 games in 2020. Closer Mike Borkowski would easily have 40+ saves on a better teams. He had 24 saves last season and was 6-5.

OUTLOOK: Their pitching will keep them in games, but their offense is still lacking. The question is whether the club will get the pieces it needs in the off-season to try to rebuild the club or if they're going to try and go for it another year. If they're lucky, they'll finish THIRD this season.

[Young Drachma]

PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS TEAM PREVIEW
Best season: 2019, 94-68 (2nd, AL East)
This team has had a lot of transition to deal with. Starting in Oakland in 2002 and now in Philadelphia , this club has a new park and a fan base that's glad to have baseball again. Unfortunately, that hasn't translated into wins for the club.

Offensively, this club isn't bad. Led by 3B David Truman doesn't hit much for average, but he can guarantee you 30-40 homers a season. RF Harry Anderson hit 36 homers last year and should bat cleanup.

Pitching notables include 23 game winner Wil Patel acquired in a deal from the New York Mets earlier this offseason. He joins 19 game winner Luke Klein who had a career year last year and added to that total with 214 strikeouts. All this from a guy who actually went 0-18 with a 7.78 ERA with Tampa in 2017. If he can rebound from that with a 19 win season, watch out for him in the rest of his career. Andy Armstrong is the fourth starter, also acquired from the Mets. Armstrong, a 4 time MVP & Bob Gibson winner is a future Hall of Famer with 275 career wins. Their closer is future Hall of Famer Jerome Williams who is the PLB consensus best closer of all-time.

OUTLOOK: With a pitching staff that is formidible and offense that could surprise, this team could contend for the Wild Card. Despite that prediction, they'll falter, trade all the valuable players and the A's will finish 4th.

[Young Drachma]

BALTIMORE ORIOLES TEAM PREVIEW
2 playoff appearances
Best season: 2003, ALDS Winner
The outlook is bleak. 1B Nolan Lerner hit 41 homers in his first season after playing in DC for the previous three years. The O's look like they could be rebounding after a nine straight 90+ loss seasons from 2009-2016. The team went back into the rut after a 96 loss year last season.

Ace Alexis Cautero had a .233 opponents batting average and won 9 games. The 30 year old pitcher heads a staff where the top starter had 10 wins last year. (James Marshall Otherwise, former Yankee Dan McNair hopes to regain his form after not being a regular starter since 2015 when he was 14-5. Bryant Fennesse is a solid closer and had 12 saves last year in a bad season for him.

OUTLOOK: See the first sentence. Rumors are that the Orioles might move from Baltimore. This hasn't been confirmed, but things are hopefully going to be better than they have been for the O's this season.

[Young Drachma]

TAMPA THUNDERCATS TEAM PREVIEW
8 playoff apperances 3 World Series Titles (2003-2005) Best season: 2004 - (139-23) World Champs
The Thundercats last made the playoffs in 2012. Since then, the club has been in rebuilding mode with eight straight 100-loss seasons. Despite that, the team won 57 games last year - an improvment of almost 20 from the previous season.

22 yr old 3B Gil Weathers is the most notable prospect on this club hitting 30 homers and 23 doubles. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting. Veteran RF Calvin Berger had another 20-20-10 season, (26 doubles, 12 triples, 25 homers) the third of his career.

Pitcher Jason Schiller hasn't started full-time since 2016 in Pittsburgh, but he'll get the chance this year as the 38 year old closes in on 100 career wins. Ace Thad Harty (29) lost 20 games last year, but no one in the league thinks he's that bad a pitcher. Look for him to get traded if he doesn't kick start it for a veteran arm in this rotation. 41 year old Jim Morgan is looking for a chance to start again after a two year hiatus from being in a rotation. The former Yankee star had nine straight years of at least 15 wins from 2011-2018, before being squeezed out of the rotation.

OUTLOOK: A nice mix of young talent and veterans, might help this club contend for respectability in the AL East. I think this will be their first season away from 100 losses in nine years.

[Young Drachma]

CLEVELAND COSMOS TEAM PREVIEW
15 playoff appearances 4 World Series titles, 7 AL Championships
Best season: 126-28 WORLD CHAMPS
This was the first Centurion club after Tampa. Tampa had seven winning seasons AFTER Centurion left, before the wheels came off. Centurion left Cleveland after 2011. The team has had 10 straight winning seasons since Centurion left. 10 winning seasons, 10 division titles and 3 AL pennants since the human owner stopped controlling the team. In other words my friends, THIS IS HOW YOU BUILD A DYNASTY. Also, there are only about five or six regular starters from the Centurion regime left on the team.

There isn't much reason to think the Cosmos won't win another division title this year with the team the way it is.1B Vaughn Gray has established himself as one of the best leadoff hitters of all-time. He had a career high 43 doubles and scored 134 runs. He's the cornerstone of the original Centurion Cosmos clubs of the early 2010s. 2B Victor Schwartz hit .298 and recorded his first 30-30 season (39 homers, 32 doubles) with 110 RBI. 3B Lew Camus hit .264, had 34 homers and 111 RBIs. 25 year old DH Carl Seager tapered off with only 76 RBI a year after hitting 121 RBI in 2020.

The pitching staff is headed by 36 year old Juan Benet who has spent all but a half season of his 15 year career in Cleveland. He only won 13 games last season, signaling it might be time for his career to end. Sean Barringerwon 14 games last season and should be a factor for another solid season. Future Hall of Famer Dewon Brazelton who is 38 wins away from 400! He's won 20 games for four different teams and almost 5 (19 with the Yanks in 2020). At 41, he's etched his place among baseball's greats, yet he continues to pitch for the love of the game. Closer Bobby Jeffrieshad a career high 43 saves and led the majors.


OUTLOOK: The Cosmos are the team to beat unless we hear otherwise from one of the other teams in the AL Central. That said, we expect FOX Cosmos Park to have the eleventh straight division title banner raised at the end of the season.

[Young Drachma]

TORONTO HUSKIES TEAM PREVIEW
Expansion Club: Joined AL in 2006, as the Indiana Pride. Moved to Milwaukee...now in Toronto
4 playoff appearances 1 AL Pennant (as the Indiana Pride)
[i]Best season: 2006, (107-47, AL Champs)
Baseball is back in Toronto! The former Indiana and then the Milwaukee Pride are looking to capture the Pride as the Toronto Huskies. This club is stocked. With 4 players who hit 39 or more homers, this team should do great things offensively. LF Maury Long hit 40 homers and hit .282 last season, with 100 RBI. CF Aaron Donovan came over in a trade from Orlando this spring. He scored 94 runs last season, but hasn't reached his full potential. At 34, he'd better get it together quick. 2B Ed McTavish had a career high 36 homers at age 37 last year and almost hit .300 (.299) for the first time in his career for the former MVP.

The ace of the staff is 22 year old Darryl Danielson was only 9-10 last year, but should be able to improve on that in 2022. At 43, Jeremy Ledet is still going strong. He won 13 games last year (13-3) and closer Corey Hopper had a remarkable rookie year with 29 saves.

OUTLOOK: After winning the Wild Card last season, this team in a new city should be energized with new fans. However, with a lack of depth in pitching, this team will need to ride the back of its offense to get back into the playoffs. When the dust settles, the Huskies will be AL WILD CARD CHAMPS

[Young Drachma]

CHICAGO WHITE SOX TEAM PREVIEW
2 Playoff Apperances Best season: 2004, 91-71 - AL Central Champs

A seventeen year playoff drought has the Sox wondering if the corner is being turned. Last year, they won 90 games for the first time since the dream season of 2004. They finished five games off division champ Cleveland and missed the Wild Card by three games.

Their lineup consists of a few talented pieces and some nice veterans. Third player 2B Mike Oberdorser scored 107 runs, had 36 doubles and stole 58 bases last year. He's quickly becoming one of the leadoff men in baseball. Look for him to have a breakout year, since he becomes a free agent this season. 3B Dan Meyer was fourth in the AL in batting at .313, he also had 42 doubles and 117 RBI. 28 yr old CF Chris Briggs had 20 doubles and 35 homers in his first full season as a starter.

The ace of the staff is 24 year old Kerry Martin who was third in the AL in ERA, fourth in the league in wins with 22 and second in complete games. 42 year old Bruce Sampras is a two time Bob Gibson winner who was rescued from a subpar season in Orlando last year (7-12, 4.79) and joins the Sox just 23 wins away from 300. While I don't see him doing that this year, he'll still be able to return to the form that won him 2 MVP awards earlier in his career. Wendell Abend won 19 games for the first time in his career. Look for him to have a strong first half or he might get packaged in a deal for a stronger front-line starter.
Closer Pablo Ximenez solidified himself last year as the team's closer with a (4-3, 1.65 ERA, 32 saves) stellar season that saw him finish second in the Fireman of the Year award for the PLB's best closer.

OUTLOOK: The Sox have decent parts, but nothing that should overwhelm anyone in the AL Central. With some luck, they might sneak into a wild card spot. Its unlikely though, that they'll improve on last year's 90 win season. I say they'll finish THIRD in the AL Central.

[Young Drachma]

DETROIT TIGERS TEAM PREVIEW
5 playoff apperances Best season: 105-49, ALDS Winner: 3 ALCS Appearances

The Tigers are back in Detroit! After a hiatus spent in Grand Rapids, the team was sold to Kwame Kilpatrick, former Senator and Detroit mayor and was brought back home.

This year's Tigers have a team that with some luck could be very surprising. Starting with 3B/DH Marty Williams, this 27 year old 5th year player has all the makings of a star. Last year, he belted 39 homers, 28 doubles and had 107 RBIs. SS Rick Devine rebounded after two subpar seasons, to hit 27 homers and bat .258. The 40 year old should be able to pound out one more good year.

The pitching staff is led by newly acquired Tim Potter. The 31 year old 12 year vet, spent the last two years in San Antonio after 10 in LA. His best season was in 2017 when he was 12-11 with a 3.82 ERA. He should improve on those numbers with this club. J.M. Gold is a 2 time Bob Gibson winner who won 29 games for DC back in 2005. Last year, he was a spot starter in Seattle. Look for him to get the 10 wins he needs to reach 300 this season. Closer Zack Arcila was on San Francisco's 2017 World Series Championship Team. He had 38 saves for Atlanta in 2020. He'll be an improvement at this position for the Tigers.

OUTLOOK: The Tigers should be an improved team off of last year's 76 win season. Despite that, I'm not sure they can contend in the AL Central. Look for them to finish around the middle of the pack in fourth.

[Young Drachma]

KANSAS CITY KNIGHTS - TEAM PREVIEW
2 playoff appearances - Best Season: 2017 (116-46) AL Champions
The former Milwaukee Brewers became the Kansas City Knights in 2015. They saved the franchises high point for 2017. Though the Knights finished fifth in 2021, they improved their win total 10 games to 75 wins. I'm not sure they'll improve on that in 2022.

CF Anthony Hill hit 43 homers last season at age 38, his highest total since he hit 69 back in 2018. This homer machine should continue to spark this offense. RF Derrick Diggs is a capable leadoff hitter, who batted .253 last year with 26 steals and 102 runs scored. LF Merv Nova has a career high .328 batting average last year (2nd in the AL) and should return to follow that up.

The pitching staff is unimpressive. Dan Ritter at age 34 is the lone player on this club with a World Series Ring (Carolina in 2013 when he went 18-2) but last season he was tied for the team lead in wins with 12. He's still a capable pitcher with plenty of pop. Don't be surprised to see him shipped off to a contender for some youth this season. Arturo Iniguez is another strong pitcher who despite only winning 12 games (tying a career high) might be pitching for someone else later this year as he has lots of potential, but not much time left at age 35. Closer Jose Ginez saved 37 games for Brooklyn in 2016.

OUTLOOK: This team doesn't have enough weapons to do anything significant. Look for them to trade for younger players this year, as the Knights pack it in before mid-season. They'll finish sixth in the AL Central.

[Young Drachma]

PITTSBURGH BLUE JAYS TEAM PREVIEW
1 playoff apparance - Best season: 2005 (106-56) AL East Champs
This club isn't terrible. Really. Despite losing 100 games last year, this team has the potential to...not do that this year.

Led by RF Mark Botticello who had 42 homers and 21 stolen bases last year, this team has the firepower. Their big free-agent pickup was former Washington Admins star and former league MVP Doug McCloud who was dealt to the club in the off-season. It's extremely unlikely the 27-year old, 4-time Gold Glove Centerfielder will resign with the club, so expect that he'll be dealt to his fourth club in six major league seasons at the end of this year - provided that team can get him to ink a long-term deal. Joining him from D.C. is 1B Zach Tucker who has won five Gold Gloves and wants to make this club his own. Tucker actually signed as a free agent, despite many other suitors. He's convinced they can turn it around in Pittsburgh.

But with this pitching staff, that's going to be hard to do. The ace is 30 year old Charlie Thornhill who has never won more than 10 games in a season. 32 year old Rey Cervantes joins in from Cleveland, where he won 12 games last year. Victor Williams lost 19 games last year and looks to improve on that with an improved club.

OUTLOOK: The firepower is in place to make this team a juggernaut. But don't expect the fine pieces signed to stay in place. Expect McCloud and Tucker to be packaged away for prospects unless they can find some way to develop young talent of their own pitching wise in a short period of time. They'll finish Fifth in the AL Central.

[Young Drachma]

CHICAGO CUBS TEAM PREVIEW
Best season: 2003, 91-71 (2nd, NL East)
Well, without further ado here is the Centurion team of the moment. The Chicago Cubs have finished last in the NL East every year for the past eleven years. They've had seven seasons of 90+ losses. Centurion is here to clean up the mess.

Leadoff hitter is 2B Corey Clark, a Centurion player in Virginia, Clark is a former MVP who hit 47 HRs for AL Champ Seattle last season. He should provide an immediate upgrade for the Cubs. The Cubs just traded for the former DC duo of Zach Tucker and Doug McCloud. McCloud is another former MVP who should help this club out right now. He hasn't signed a new deal, but the rumors are based on this season, he might stay around a contending team. 41 year old SS Will Hetfield left Baltimore for Chicago because he said he wanted the chance to play for Centurion before he retired. 3B Alan Hainkel is a four-time Gold Glover who should shine after four years of not being a starter.

The pitching staff isn't impressive on paper. But Dark Cloud thinks this staff has what it takes to pull surprises. The ace of the staff is the first pick of the 2019 Entry Draft Daisuke Ishikawa. This 23 year old star has been talked about in Cubs circles for a while. They say he's the "Real deal", but with fairly unimpressive minors numbers (9-7 in AA), many are skeptical that its all talk. 24 year old Mark Rapaport lost 23 games in 2020 and lost 18 last year. Despite that, DC thinks this kid has immense upside. Will Kure is another young (24) pitcher obtained from obscurity. Kure played three seasons in Tampa going 7-15 last year with a 5.05 ERA.

OUTLOOK: This staff is unproven, young and many people are doubting the Cubbies out. They'll be better than last year, no doubt about it. But they're a few years away from being a real contender. They'll finish in third this year.

[Young Drachma]

MEXICO CITY FIREKINGS - TEAM PREVIEW
5 playoff appearances - 106-56 (2005, AL Division Series winners)

The Dakota club moves to Mexico City this year in what should be an exciting season for the newest international team in the majors. The Firekings are poised to challenge the AL West and make the playoffs for first time since 2019.

They signed 3B Heather Detwiler fresh off her first World Series title in D.C. The rest of the offense is the core that this team has had for many years. RF Andrew Glodek brings six World Series rings to the lineup, hoping to continue his production after hitting 36 homers last year. DH Manuel Botto is hoping to improve production out of the cleanup position after a 34 Homer/105 RBI performance last year.

Pitching is led by 300 game winner and future hall of famer Reilly Cooper is coming off his first 20 win season in five years. At age 39, he's dying to get his first World Series ring. Gene Coleman is here at age 38, hoping to return to the Series. Coming off a 14 win season in Hollywood last year, the 2-time MVP and 3-time Bob Gibson winner wants another smell of the post-season. Closer Geoff Roberge had 26 saves last year and hopes to improve on that.

OUTLOOK: Can the FireKings win in their first season in Mexico City? There is no doubt they'll win, but how much is the question. I predict they'll just miss the division title in 2022 and finish in second.

[Young Drachma]

In the essence of time, I'm going to give you the NL Preview as the teams in order of finish. Next season, I'll preview those teams.

NL East
New York Mets
St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs
Boston Terriers
New Jersey Pirates
Brooklyn Dodgers

NL South
Carolina Bluefish
Virginia Lancers
Washington Admins
Atlanta Braves
Louisville Fillies
Dallas Enforcers

NL West
San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Goldens
Colorado Rockies
Nevada Silverhawks
Arizona Diamondbacks
Wyoming Wranglers

[Young Drachma]

AL East
The Orlando Lions have a 9 1/2 game lead on the New York Yankees in the AL East. SP Vladimir Montanes is second in the AL with 14 wins. Thomas O'Rear has 10 wins so far this season. Orlando traded CF Doug McCloud in a sign and trade deal to Pittsburgh with a minor leaguer for CF Sean McGraw New York's SS Antonio Perez got his 3000th hit this year. Cliff Klebaner has a league leading 15 wins and is rumored as trade bait before the year is out.
Red Sox pitcher Adam Himmelar is also asking for a trade. He's been in Boston for seven years. Boston is in third, 13 games out. Philly is 19.5 games out, Baltimore and Tampa round out the bottom.

AL Central
In a big surprise (not!) the Cleveland Cosmos are 12 games ahead of the Toronto Huskies in the AL Central. 1B Vaughn Gray is leading the AL with a .324 batting avg. 2B Victor Schwartz already has 30 homers. New SS Miguel Pinzon has seven homers. His career high is 13. The Cosmos traded for last year's Bob Gibson winner Kerry Martin from the White Sox for six players and cash. Martin then signed a seven year deal worth $131.6 million. The Huskies are trying to stay in the wild card race led by 1B Ron Hopkins who has 22 homers so far this season. 22 year old ace Darryl Danielson has already tied his career high of 10 wins. LF Drew Carlson is leading the White Sox, with a career high 30 homers at mid-season.

AL West
Mexico City is tied with Maui for the AL West lead. Maui's pitching is helping it along, while Mexico City is on an 11 game win streak boosted by its offense. Houston's Carlos Torres is establishing himself as a Hall of Fame candidate at age 36, with another season (14 wins) that has him close to his 5th 20-win season of his career. And Seattle, is 9 games off the division lead. This disappointing club might go after newer players to try and defend their AL title. Newly acquired Ben Hauser has almost as many strikeouts as last year and is halfway to his 40 homer total of last season. Idaho and San Antonio are out of the running.

NL East
The Chicago Cubs have exceeded all expectations by ending up first in the NL east so far. Despite the relative success, the club they'll likely go after some more talent in an attempt to get the club over the hump. The St. Louis Cardinals haven't made the playoffs since 2011, but are just a game and a half out of first place in the NL East. David Caio is an early MVP candidate batting .328 and with 36 homers at midseason. Fabio Ponnzi at age 37 is about to exceed his career high of 15 wins. The New York Mets are in the thick of the pennant race just 2 games out. Mark Prior at age 41 is 8-3 and five games away from 300 wins for his career. Oliver Hansenhas won at least 15 games in all but three years of his 16 year career. He's presently 15-3. New Jersey, Boston and Brooklyn are scrapping it out for last.

NL South
Carolina is cruising in the NL South. Virginia and Washington are dueling for second place, but Washington seems unlikely to repeat last year's World Series title.

NL West
Colorado is leading the NL West. Betty Carroll has tied her last season total of 25 homers and is batting .312. Razan Yamato is pitching well in the altitude, with a 14-2 record. Los Angeles is just a game behind seeking their first playoff appearance in franchise history. San Francisco is looking for their seventh straight NL West title this season, but its not likely that they'll do it.

[Young Drachma]

Our pitching staff average age is about 26. We've got an extremely nice young staff here, because I traded a lot of spare parts for underacheving starters on bad teams when I took over the club.

Look at our rotation:

Daisuke Ishikawa (23) Rookie
(10-6, 4.79 ERA, 114K)

Charlie Thornhill (30) 9th year
(11-5, 4.78 ERA, 144K)
Before coming to Chicago, his previous best year was 10 wins in his rookie year. He's lost 20 games twice and had eight straight years of losing 15+ games with Toronto and then Pittsburgh

Adam Linden (25) 2nd year
(3-3, 4.41 ERA, 28 strikeouts)
I just put him in the rotation. I have so many young starters that I'm trying to figure out which ones I want to use and the ones I want to get rid of. He was 9-15 in his rookie year for Tampa last year.

Will Kure (24) 4th year
(7-2, 2.96 ERA, 62k)
He was 7-15 last year for Tampa and lost 20 games the year before that.

John Deegan (24) 4th year
(7-4, 3.20 ERA)
He's been a Cub his whole career. His previous best season was 8 wins.

The relief core is made up mostly of guys who could probably start on a team if they wanted to. Our closer Korean Tae-Hung Chong (27) is 7-2 with 1.58 ERA. But he can start or relieve. Haven't decided his role yet. 24 year old Keith Caisse is a former first rounder from Tampa. He was part of a 9 player trade that sent Tampa's young and underacheving pitchers to Chicago.

Offensively, I struggle like with most of teams for offensive production. 3B Alan Hainkel isn't producing like I'd hoped. He's batting just .249, but has 11 homers. His career high is 18 back in 2017. He's still a great defensive player, which is redeeming. DH Will Hetfield is obviously not going to be around much longer. But he's batting .313 with 16 homers and I'll take it. 2B Corey Clark is an improvement at second base. He was acquired from Seattle in the off-season. 1B Zach Tucker is about to reach his homer total (24) from last year already since he has 17 in July.

I'm thinking we'll go after some bullpen help to shore things up there and after some producing players if possible. If not, we'll wait until the off-season to sign more players. Our payroll is the 28th in baseball, but we're making the 14th highest revenue. We'll be fine. My goal is a World Series title by Year 3.

[Young Drachma]

In an effort to maintain their position atop the NL East, the resurgent Chicago Cubs made a few trades as the deadline nears.

JULY 28, 2022
Yankees receive Colby Sawyer (1B)
Cubs receive Cliff Klebaner (SP) and cash.

Analysis: Sawyer had 26 homers in AAA last year. The former first round pick will no doubt be a star. But with Zach Tucker inked for four more years, it made sense to go after a player that could help the club now. In Klebaner, the Cubs get a proven winner. The two-time Bob Gibson and MVP award winner has 337 career wins in 16 years in the majors. Klebaner has never won a World Series. Presently he's having a career year. He's 17-3 with a 1.77 ERA.

JULY 21, 2022
Admins receive John Deegan (SP), Lamond Dellinger (1B) and Jules Neises (C) and cash
Cubs receive Luke Harris (SP)
Analysis: Deegan is a 24-year old stud of a pitcher. He becomes the front-line ace of the Admins staff. Dellinger was the DH for the Cubs for a while, but wasn't producing. At 21, he'll be a star, but Harris is the real deal now. At age 29, he was a former second round pick of the Cubs in 2016. He's signed until 2025 and won 28 games for DC in 2021. He's a huge upgrade for the Cubs pitching staff and will allow us to develop our young pitchers at a better rate than before to ensure long-term success.

[Young Drachma]

2022 Batting Team G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR BB K SB CS R RBI SLG OBP
Ahloe, Paul CHN 60 .293 123 36 2 1 8 8 25 0 0 22 20 .520 .336
Cherniss, Jon CHN 89 .265 373 99 13 0 24 46 78 14 1 71 68 .493 .346
Clark, Corey CHN 97 .273 359 98 11 2 27 77 59 2 2 67 78 .540 .416
Coelho, Luis CHN 88 .221 312 69 7 3 20 42 48 2 0 58 57 .455 .317
Connel, Eric CHN 92 .304 329 100 27 1 18 56 70 0 0 51 59 .556 .405
Dole, Adam CHN 67 .255 239 61 10 1 6 32 46 6 2 41 27 .381 .346
Donnelly, Mark CHN 94 .200 375 75 13 1 19 67 60 0 0 66 53 .392 .329
Dundee, Gary CHN 22 .286 63 18 3 2 1 1 7 9 0 17 4 .444 .308
Hainkel, Alan CHN 103 .240 383 92 14 3 12 36 55 1 0 55 50 .386 .305
Lyman, Zack CHN 10 .185 27 5 0 0 0 5 10 0 2 1 2 .185 .333
Reier, Daniel CHN 96 .307 387 119 16 0 29 23 32 0 0 64 74 .574 .356
Tucker, Zach CHN 105 .296 409 121 32 8 20 56 27 1 0 82 70 .560 .411

2022 Pitching Team IP ERA G GS W L SV K BB R/9
Anton, Tony CHN 5.2 0.00 2 0 0 0 0 4 1 6.35
Caisse, Keith CHN 56.2 1.91 21 3 3 2 2 52 14 9.37
Caputi, Nathan CHN 25.0 6.12 4 4 2 0 0 8 9 16.56
Chong, Tae-Hung CHN 56.1 2.24 25 6 8 2 2 55 20 8.79
Harris, Luke CHN 141.1 3.18 22 22 9 8 0 148 63 11.08
Hicks, Xavier CHN 5.2 12.71 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 27.00
Ishikawa, Daisuke CHN 163.0 4.86 23 22 11 7 0 120 73 12.42
Klebaner, Cliff CHN 173.0 1.77 20 20 17 3 0 113 80 9.88
Kure, Will CHN 120.0 3.00 16 16 9 3 0 70 31 9.75
Linden, Adam CHN 51.1 4.38 15 3 3 4 3 30 22 11.57
Nason, Theo CHN 71.0 7.61 20 9 2 9 0 57 41 16.35
Pritch, Alex CHN 51.0 5.29 22 1 1 0 0 54 25 14.12
Rapaport, Mark CHN 89.0 5.26 15 10 6 3 0 46 21 12.03
Seda, Pedro CHN 20.1 4.43 10 0 1 3 0 9 12 12.84
Thornhill, Charlie CHN 122.1 5.30 20 19 11 7 0 155 46 12.07

Currently on the trading block:
Hainkel (29)
Donnelly (40)
Tucker (29)
Ahloe (40)

Also, any of the young pitchers are up for grabs except Ishikawa.

Who I'm targeting:
1B Nolan Lerner (31) Baltimore Orioles
.253 BA/28 HR/72 RBI/340 ABs

RF Derrick Diggs (30) Kansas City Knights
.303 BA/18 HR/14 SB/46 RBI/307 ABs

3B Irving Grieco (30) Houston Stampede
.278 BA/23 HR/57 RBI/334 ABs

The alternative is to stand pat with what we have and binge out during the off-season.

[Young Drachma]

Should the Cubs:
- Play the season out with the players we have now. Wait until the post-season to make deals.

- Go for broke now, win this year because you never know what will happen.

- Stick to your plan, develop your young talent and don't be quick to trade them off. It's better to win three years from now, than to end up like the '97 Marlins.

So which one would you choose? 1, 2 or 3?

[Young Drachma]

I made one trade:

JULY 28, 2022
Dodgers receive Will Kure (SP), Gary Dundee (LF), Pablo Riberol (CF), Paul Ahloe (SS) and Vernon McLaughlin (2B)
Cubs receive Pedro Diego (SS), Kyle Carter (LF) and Neville Stewart (RF) and cash

Anaylsis: Basically, I traded a kid pitcher who ends up becoming the second starter for Brooklyn and rid myself of my 40 year old shortstop, for a young kid with a lot of upside, a 30 year old rightfielder in his prime and another reserve outfielder who should start and do well. The cost was worth it, plus we got cash out of it. Should work out well for both clubs.

[Young Drachma]

Chicago Cubs
July 28th Team Report
66-39, First Place NL East (1.5 games ahead of NY and STL)

Next 8 Games
July 28-29: vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (40-65)
July 30-31 vs. Brookyln Dodgers (29-73)
Aug 2-3: vs. Los Angeles Goldens (62-43)
Aug 4-5: @ Virginia Lancers (61-42)

Preview
Cliff Klebaner (17-3) will make his first start as a Chicago Cub. This stretch will determine what changes we need to make to the lineup in order to see if this team can hold on in the newly tough NL East. We have more pitching than St. Louis or New York. So, I'm not terribly concerned, but we have a lot of young erratic pictures who aren't necessarily pennant race tested.

[Young Drachma]

Everything that was wrong with July hasn't been in August for the Cubbies. So far 12-3 in August, the Cubs are doing all the right things.

Putting SP Keith Caisse (7-2, 1.26 ERA) in the rotation in favor of Luke Harris (10-9, 3.39) - who was acquired from Washington earlier in the season - has paid immeasurable dividends for the Cubs. Manager Ryne Sandberg said he wanted to test some of their young arms that they've stockpiled since last season in addition to those they already had. Caisse has won both of his starts this month. The Cubs are hoping that a similar move away from Adam Linden (3-5 4.52) who has only started four games this year to 24 year old Mark Rapaport (7-3 4.96) who is in his fourth season with the Cubs and was a member of the rotation in those previous three seasons should be better suited. "We think Mark should be an outstanding contributor on the fifth day for us. He's been around a while and I think with more production helping him out, he'll keep games close", said Sandberg.

Speaking of offense, one of the most surprising players on this year's club is LF Eric Connel. The sixteen year vet has 459 career homers, but hasn't been as valuable to teams as he has been for his defense - as a first baseman. Signed by the Cubs as someone who'd platoon or be a bench player, he's turned out his best batting season of his career and doing it in left field no less. Batting .305, he's over sixty points higher than his career batting average of .242. "I'm happy to be having this kind of year for a team that's in the thick of a pennant race", said Connel who has previously played for San Francisco, the NY Mets and most recently 3 1/2 years in Philadelphia with the A's.

NEXT THIRTEEN GAMES
The Cubs finish up a mini-two game set with the Cardinals at home, then hit the road for two-game sets against New Jersey, Dallas and Colorado. The month ends with a two-game set at home against the Brooklyn Dodgers, a three game road trip against the Boston Terriers and a two game home set against the Wyoming Wranglers.

[Young Drachma]

The Cubs are the most unlikely team in first place this year. With a roster full of scrappy players from other teams, as well as its own - Centurion management - is elated, but surprised at the Cubs success. "We're not going to rest on our laurels regardless of this season's outcome. We expected to be middle of the pack, so to take this club with the patchwork we've done and to be 9 games up in the NL East in September is remarkable. We're happy with the hustle and chemistry of the club. But we're not done yet." said Dark Cloud.

The Cubs have won 14 straight games and now lead the NL East by 9 games over the St. Louis Cardinals. Some changes in the lineup have produced amazing results. "After we had a subpar July, I knew we need to do some things if this team was going to contend for a pennant." said Manager Ryne Sandberg, in his first year with the club. Sandberg took CF Mark Donnelly who was acquired from Orlando for a hefty price - CF Doug McCloud, who at age 27 already has 4 Gold Gloves, an MVP and a World Series ring. "We wanted to do anything we could to make our club better said newly hired GM Greg Maddux. "So it meant shipping off a talented and highly touted player who should be a star. But even though it didn't work out like we planned, we've adjusted." said Maddux.

The Cubs put RF Neville Stewart who was acquired from Brooklyn in the Will Kure trade, as the leadoff man. While his batting average is an absymal .223 since coming to the Cubs, he provides enough speed on the basepaths - when he gets on base - and power to warrant leaving him in that spot for now. A player signed at mid-season has provided immeasurable dividends. Nick Peebles was the starting first baseman for the Yankees in 2021, but was released this year when the club decided to go with Damon Johnson and will eventually start former Chicago Cubs 1st round pick Colby Sawyer at that position. Peebles came in, moved to third base and in 45 at-bats is batting .356 with 3 homers and 10 RBI.

Mark Rapaport has earned a spot back in the rotation at 9-4 and has 13 starts. 30 year old Charlie Thornhill was acquired from Pittsburgh amidst little fanfare. After all, in his eight previous major league seasons between Indiana/Milwaukee (now Toronto) and Pittsburgh he never won more than 10 games and lost at least 17 games five times. This year, he's 18-7 and is a virtual lock for comeback player of the year honors.

So sitting atop the NL East, tied with Carolina for the best record in baseball can the Chicago Cubs do what Centurion clubs are supposed to do and run the tables in the playoffs? "We need to win our division first." said Dark Cloud.

[Young Drachma]

PLB announces merger
The Professional Leagues of Baseball announced that in the 2023 season, the PLB will become a single league with six geographic divisions. Each division champion and one wild card, will advance to the league playoffs like normal and be crowned league champions. Interleague play will be reinstituted to create a truly national schedule among the teams.

The change is aimed at increase competition among the teams in the PLB. "We want an exciting product that fans want to tune into. In order to do this, we want to create divisions that increase fan involvement and keep teams in contention. This plan will help achieve that." said League Commissioner Bob Costas.

The American League will house the MidAtlantic, South and Midwest Divisions. The National League will house the North, Gulf South and West divisions.

The following franchises will move:
Idaho Discovery will move to Wilmington, Delaware to become the Delaware Discovery
Chicago White Sox will move to Memphis, TN to become the Memphis Hound Dogs
Dallas Enforcers will move to New Orleans, LA. and become the New Orleans Enforcers
Boston Terriers will move to Portland, ME and become the New England Ambush

AMERICAN LEAGUE

MIDATLANTIC
BALTIMORE
WASHINGTON
NEW JERSEY
PHILADELPHIA
VIRGINIA
DELAWARE (IDAHO)

SOUTH
ATLANTA
CAROLINA
ORLANDO
TAMPA
MEMPHIS (CHICAGO)
LOUISVILLE

MIDWEST
ST LOUIS
KANSAS CITY
CHICAGO
DETROIT
CLEVELAND
PITTSBURGH

---------------

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NORTH
TORONTO
NEW YORK
NEW YORK
NEW ENGLAND (BOSTON)
BOSTON
BROOKLYN

GULF SOUTH
NEW ORLEANS (DALLAS)
ARIZONA
NEVADA
HOUSTON
MEXICO CITY
SAN ANTONIO

WEST
SAN FRANCISCO
LOS ANGELES
WYOMING
COLORADO
SEATTLE
MAUI