Themed Task June 14th 2020- June 20th 2020

Hey SBLers, your girl is coming back at you with a more typical Themed task this week. Category is East vs West :

This weeks themed task is to write 200 words (or do a 5 min podcast on ) the East Vs West tournament. You can talk about the player stats, who made the teams or how they did to be honest you can be as creative as you want. If you are more of a role play person talk about what the teams did to get to know each other. Nights out at the bar or even activities to try to get people working as a team unit are common in sports, did the coaches make you do trust falls? Maybe you did team paint ball fights or even went whit water rafting. If your player didn't make the team maybe make up a story line where they got injured in a team bonding event and a "filler" had to take your spot.

If you are a graphic person give me an Ionic East vs West Graphic. It can be player based or just center along the this weeks theme.

So if you haven't heard Pingu's been lucky enough to make to the the All Star game. Go West! Lately everyone's been doubting Pingu Flipperson's stealing ability. They're absolutely astonished I managed to waddle my way to second base without the pitcher and catcher noticing. They find it's even crazier I can slide myself into home nearly undetected. Well they can all laugh, jest, and joke all they want but I suggested a test. We play a mock scrim and if I can steal bases they owe me a year's supply of shrimp. I very much so love shrimp.

So how did it go you might ask? Well. On base versus Bridges, and I knew how to throw him off his game. I let the first 2 pitches go through to build his confidence. Just before his third pitch I squeaked, "Your taste in music isn't that great." The kid was gutted. I stick my bat up into the air while on my flippy toes. The wild pitch rebounded into a ground drive. Everyone fielding was too busy laughing so I just waddled to first.


Bridges decided to shut me out so I decided to mess with our catcher. Coleman sat out because he already knew, but Hide was about to witness my prowess. I whispered loud enough for him to hear, "McGrath is looking out for that pitch." Hide got shook! He signed bridges to wait and with all that confusion. I kind of jog-waddled to second!


At this point it was going to be challenging. So I just bribed their coach a pack of anchovies.

Now my master plan was ready to unfold. I had Salomon start a ruckus by also insulting Bridge's music taste, and how Hide probably enjoyed free jazz. I'm surprised a fight didn't break out but I just slide into home.

Las Vegas Centurions starting pitcher Nate Nitro apparently made it to the All Star Game, representing the West. His appearance in the AS Game was one to forget... that is if Nitro can even remember it.

The story is, Nitro had recently pitched - so he assumed that he would be off the hook for the exhibition game. With this said, Nitro headed over to the bullpen before the start of the game with a contraband - a 1.75L Fireball cinnamon whiskey bottle. The folks in the pen decided to play a game where everybody had to take a shot for every strikeout recorded. It appears that Nitro got a little too carried away and clearly wasn’t ready when the manager called his number.

Nitro was sweating pure cinnamon alcohol on the mound and seemed very disoriented. His outing did not go very well as he got tagged for the loss and only recorded one out while allowing 3 hits and 1 run.

When asked about the AS Game afterwards, Nitro didn’t have much details to shAre, citing memory loss. This was a game to forget for Nitro, who had looked so promising over his last 7 starts for the Centurions.

Chien-Ming Wang was the the Yankees' ace for a brief period but he never had a chance to become an All-Stars -- until now! Sure, this is only the minor league but he is happy to be playing baseball again in what looks to be the highest caliber league of this Earth and its timeline. Wang was re-living the dream of playing baseball once again as a pro, and he certainly took his chance fully. He was the starting pitcher of the All-Star game, a true honor for all the hardwork he has done in the first half of this SBLM season.

It was not an easy start, it took him some adjustment but him and his team played great and he had a solid record coming in. This was not the end of world for him though, as the All-Stars Tournament was merely the beginning. There's no need to know the people in All-Stars either. With only six teams in this minors, the players pretty much knew each other by the middle of the season. It was no different from a regular game to Wang, and he pitched seriously too.

To him, the All-Stars was great, but he has far higher goals to go for. The road's still long.

To say that the Sherbrooke Mohawks' season hasn't exactly gone to plan is a bit of an understatement. Seemingly stuck in an endless chase with the Pittsburgh Pioneers for first place in the Eastern Division, consistency has been an issue for a young Mohawks team that often features clutch hitting and strong pitching, but rarely together. Some of Sherbrooke's players, however, got a brief reprieve from the grind, representing the Eastern Division at the All-Star Game. Pitchers Jermaine Cole, Mario McRlwain, Dale Cooper X, Mike Oncorhynchusmykiss, and Dale Trooper were joined by fielder's Bobby Boucher, Golden Goliath, Lucas Peterson, Kurtis McKenzie, Sora Mekajiki and Wade Landry made the journey to Three Rivers Stadium to represent Sherbrooke at the first annual SBLM All-Star Game.

"It's a huge honor," Wade Landry remarked at a press conference during the All-Star festivities. "Being one of the first All-Stars is a big deal to me. It's tremendous validation for all of your hard work being recognized like that, but at the same time, now you've got to work harder to live up to those standards. It'll make you even better in the end."

The Sherbrooke contingent of All-Stars were frequently seen together during the break, with the most notable example involving all eleven Mohawks participating in a game of hatchet throwing in downtown Pittsburgh. Mario McRlwain and Jermaine Cole proved to be naturals at it, dazzling a growing crowd with bullseye after bullseye. Sora Mekajiki, however, couldn't help but be nervous.

"Mario with baseball, one thing," Mekajiki quipped. "Mario with axe, look out."

It's worth noting that nobody suffered any injuries during the game.

When it came time for the All-Star Game itself, no one shined brighter than Sherbrooke's shortstop, Lucas Peterson. Going 3 for 3 with a run scores and a walk, Peterson additionally drove home a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to make the score 4-2, which would be the final score. He was one of three Sherbrooke players with an OBP of 1.000, with Sora Mekajiki and Wade Landry, who both reached base in their lone plate appearances.

"We had some fun out there," said Peterson after the game. "We've got a great league and a great team and I'm not surprised we won."

The Mohawks are hopeful that the experiences their All-Stars had in the limelight will help propel them in the standings as the playoff race heats up. There's still plenty of baseball to be played, but the cool breezes of September will be here in a flash. The Mohawks' All-Stars will need to lead the way moving forward if Sherbrooke want to play in October this year.

Mario and his teammates were excited to start the final team building exercise. It was perhaps the best team building exercise of them all. This event was none other than an EXTREME doubles ping pong tournament, which everyone knows is the true test of being able to work together well. The teams were assigned randomly (including names) and Mario found himself paired with Gustav IsRealDaddy. They immediately clicked and started off the tournament hot. Going into the championship, they had won all of their games by a comfortable margin. However, they faced their toughest test yet in the finals. A team of Caleb Marko and Sora Mekajiki. In the championship, it was a best of 5 series. Team 2Hot2Handl (Marko and Mekajiki) jumped off to a great start and won the 1st game comfortably. However, in the 2nd game Team GOATed Ballers (McRlwain and IsRealDaddy) struck back and manhandled Team 2Hot2Handl. The 3rd and 4th games were much closer, with Team 2Hot2Handl narrowly winning in game 3 and Team GOATed Ballers squeezing out a win in game 4. This means that there would be a game 5 to decide it all. Team 2Hot2Handl jumped out to an early lead of 9-4, but Team GOATed Ballers fought back and tied the game up at 12 a piece. After that, the game went back and forth until Team 2Hot2Handl managed to create a 20-18 lead. Team GOATed Ballers was in trouble because it was match point. However, that didn't stop them from fighting back and tying the game at 20. The game then went back and forth again until Team GOATed Ballers took a 30-29 lead. It was match point in their favor. The 2 teams rallied the point back and forth until, finally, Team GOATed was given an opportunity to end it. McRlwain proceeded to use his forehand slam to finish the game and give victory to his team. After the game, the 2 teams congratulated each other on a well played match and couldn't wait to play again.
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When the news came out for the East vs. West Tournament that Jermaine Cole would be pitching, he was honoured.

"Honestly, my main goal this season was to just go out there and not embarrass myself. I just want to win games for my team, so to be going to the All-Stars is something that I will not forget at this age. Being able to go out there will all of the league's best is an honour."

Before the game, some of the league's best pitchers got together and had a bit of a dart contest to see who is the ace on the dart board. Cole was less than stellar, saying, "I haven't played darts too much growing up, so really, when aiming at a dart board, I don't really know where to start. I just tried to throw for the bullseye every time, but I sucked. It was a fun game though."

In the actual All-Star Game, Jermaine Cole actually got the win for his eastern team. He only allowed 1 hit in what was a pretty low scoring affair for a bigs tournament. Eastern bested the West by a score of 4-2, while Dale Trooper was perfect in the 9th for the East to win the game.

Kurtis McKenzie was a shoe in for the All-Star game almost from the time he was drafted. All that needed to be decided was if he would start or not. Of course, with his incredible skill, and sweet swing, he easily earned a starting spot. Still, it was exhilarating to hear his named announced over the PA system. "Batting 4th, and starting in LF, from the Sherbrooke Mohawks, Kurtis McccccKennnnnnnnzieeeeee" The only downside was that Sora Mekajiki didn't get the opportunity to start in CF alongside him. Then, he walked out onto the field and was started to find... No one was at the game. Even the most hype of minor league all star games doesnt get fans. He was disappointed. This disappointment had been there the day before. It was very hard to hit those Home Run Derby bombs with only crickets to cheer him on. He lost in r1 of the Derby, but sitting second on the leaderboard currently, he doesn't mind. He did enjoy being among the best of the best. He knows that is where he belongs, but for the first time, he actually got to experience it. Kurtis McKenzie is a star in this league. Shine Kurtis Shine.

Dale Cooper got to start for the East in the All-Star game this season, and was slotted into the #2 spot in the lineup while starting in center field. "It was an honor to be invited to play in the game, and I am happy that I was given the opportunity to bat so high in the order. It was also great to see so many of my teammates get honored alongside me. In the bottom of the first it looked like a regular Pittsburgh game with IsRealDaddy, me, and Marko batting, and both of my teammates in the outfield made the game with Fungo getting in as a reserve. Overall it was a really fun experience to team up with some of the best players in the league, and then to have the chance to play in a game that was laid back and a bit less serious, while also being able to watch an event like the HR derby and cheer on Marko, it was just a great weekend. It's the refresher that I think the whole league needed as we get ready to sprint to the playoffs now, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

So, Sora Mekajiki did make the East vs West SBLM All-Star Game. But he did not start the game. He was fairly sad about it. Some would argue that he is the best center fielder in the whole league, and while it might be right when you look at offensive statistics, Dale Cooper deserved the starter spot simply because of how dominant he is defensively. The two deserved to be in the game, and they deserved to be called all-stars. Cooper did well defensively, retiring batters on five occasions in 7 innings, but his bat was cold, as he went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in that time.

Centurion pitcher Berocka McGrath had a great start in the bottom of the 7th inning, retiring Cherry Bloomington and Bobby Boucher back-to-back, but after allowing a double to Lucas Peterson and a base on balls to catcher Cheeky Delight, Western All-Star's skipper decided it was time to bring Nate Nitro in the game. At this point, the score was still 2-0 for them, but with runners on 1st and 2nd bases and 2 outs, the Western All-Stars really needed Nitro to get them out of this jam.

He did not. After Hunter Scott and Gustav IsRealDaddy both hit RBI singles, it was finally Mekajiki's time to shine. He was called to pinch hit for cold-bat Cooper and didn't disappoint. He hit an infield single that saw Hunter Scott score from the 3rd base, giving the Eastern All-Stars their first lead of the night, and one that they will never lose. The Eastern All-Stars didn't hit well at all in this game. They got 7 hits through 30 at-bats, but a 4-hit, 3-run 7th inning helped them steal the way from the claws of the Western heathens and Mekajiki was proud to be a part of this impressive late-game comeback.