Spring Training

Yeah, it's not spring yet, but in the world of my ghostly Field-of-Dreams-esque Strat-O-Matic historical baseball league, it's always springtime. I've completed all offseason transactions for the four teams -- the Blue Legs, Canaries, Haymakers, and Resolutes -- and finalized their rosters, so now it's time to get started with Season 7!

What's on tap this year? Well, the Resolutes are defending their first-ever championship after defeating the Blue Legs in an epic come-from-behind series that ended with back-to-back shutouts by Christy Mathewson and John Clarkson. Indeed, the Resolutes' co-aces blanked the homer-happy Blue Legs over the final eighteen innings of the series. These teams will face each other again on Opening Day, and I'm eager to see if the Blue Legs can recover from last season's collapse. I'm also keeping an eye on the Haymakers, who failed to reach the championship series after five straight appearances (including three titles). And what about the Canaries? They went 8-16 with a league-worst -18 run differential, but there's so much talent on the team that I think they'll experience a bit of positive regression, especially if second-year pitcher Addie Joss continues to build on his strong finish to Season 6.

Play ball!