Empire vs. Lynx
Lynx sat at home watching the first round of the School’s Out Blowout waiting to see if they would face off against Empire or TechEast. Both teams would provide a challenge to the newest Elite team so they knew that Wednesday night would be a hard fought first game. Lynx has been one of the most dominant teams in recent memory, and they have gone up and down Netamin’s tournament level system exactly the way Netamin intended them to. They leveled together and gradually became good enough to shift to Elite. Lynx knows all about tournament play, and the only thing that might surprise them is the difference in skill between the AS and Elite leagues. Lynx has no big name players that would wow you just yet, but this Elite team can collectively annihilate anyone thrown at them. Jeeps and Weller have dominated most of the AS tournament innings, with Weller having a better WHIP. Both pitchers have a sub 2 WHIP in the pickup server which is impressive. Jeeps has played in 23 games but has only gone on record for 10 of them, going 5-5. ThatMan and xSwiftx are solid hitters, and they are the only two players hitting over 600 in tournament play. Manager EWade has become one of the most respected managers of the game, but like most managers his on the field play goes unnoticed.
Empire is coming off of a convincing win against TechEast. The Empire offense involved a total of 7 hitters and 2 pitchers last night and they scored 10 runs against Baptista and Kiku. The pitching combination of KMAN and Fire911 had TechEast off balance the entire night. Homers by D1nonly2, MelkyNYY, Big123, EduaNYC and Pete998 kept the pressure on as Empire defeated TechEast 10 to 3. The veteran Empire players will need to take Lynx very seriously, as the community is very aware of how good Lynx really is.
Melky’s Prediction: Empire 16, Lynx 4
Newbert’s Prediction: Empire 12, Lynx 6
Melky’s Players to Watch: KMAN, xSwiftX
Newbert’s Players to Watch: Pete998, xSwiftx
Bombers vs. Insanity
The newest manager on the elite scene, Roguee, led the Bombers to a solid 11 to 5 win over the veteran Roto NL team. Led by the arm of iPwn, the Bronx Bombers held a solid Roto NL team to only 5 runs on the night. Gimmepie was the star of the game and will look to repeat his performance against Curtis92 and Insanity. Cunning, Roguee, ThePope, and company want to keep the runs high against a young team like Insanity. 2007-3 All Aces winner Precision makes his return tonight and will probably get the nod against Insanity. Does Precision still remember how to pitch?
Insanity is coming off their first ever win in an Elite tournament and have gotten their franchise off to a very good start. Against Rejected, Curtis92 pitched 6 innings of 3 run ball and earned himself attention from the Real Baseball Online community. Pitching is incredibly difficult and he has seemingly come out of nowhere to hold a team that can hit to only 3 runs. Though the win was marred with controversy from complaining Rejected players, Insanity manager Killerboy kept his cool and his team moves on to the second round looking to make a Cinderella run into the finals. For this to happen, Luna21 and Killerboy have to continue to get on base, and Colacino2 has to prove that his grand slam was no fluke. Other sluggers to look out for include Proto, Dual, and AraBBeast. Insanity has a shot, but they all have to click and not be intimidated by the Bombers offense.
Melky’s Prediction: Bombers 13, Insanity 5
Newbert’s Prediction: Bombers 17, Insanity 3
Melky’s Players to Watch: Roguee, Curtis92
Newbert’s Players to Watch: Dual, Precision
Rage vs. FlightNL
TechWest fell to Rage last night in convincing fashion. That Rage offense just seems to push and push and push until they get into double digit runs. Nataliamo is clearly Rage’s best hitter as he has hit over .700 in 62 Abs with 14 homeruns and 25 RBI. To beat FlightNL, Rage has to rely on their bats to score on Smokeout and if possible SlayerXX and Her0 have to pitch to their impressive sub 2 WHIPs. Driller made a solid debut for Rage, and if he continues the way he is going he might actually make a name for himself as a tournament threat. DanIAm had a great round 1 and will definitely be a key factor in the outcome of the game. Rage has now gone from underdog, to a legitimate winner every night. Let’s see if they can keep the ball rolling.
FlightNL proved that activity is overrated when it comes to veteran players. Papi and Crede24 at least, were able to overcome any inactivity concerns and mash the ball to the tune of 2 homeruns and 4 RBI each. SmokeOut pitched 5 innings of 6 run ball to keep FlightNL in the game throughout. FlightNL may be the favorite, but a shorthanded roster with no clear cut bullpen needs to rely heavily on their starter. SmokeOut is very capable of going deep into games, but if he somehow fails to do so, Papi will have to step in and try to play damage control. With only an 8 man roster, FlightNL has to have bodies show up.
Melky’s Prediction: Rage 8, FlightNL 6
Newbert’s Prediction: FlightNL 12, Rage 4
Melky’s Players to Watch: Nataliamo, SmokeOut
Newbert’s Players to Watch: Papi, Her0
Hybrids vs. FlightAL
Hybrids have made a great run in their franchise history but it all seems to be coming to an end. Reports out of Hybrids camp deem the School’s Out Blowout the final tournament of the Hybrids organization. Inactivity and other problems have ended the Hybrids time here at RBO. In a short time, they went from potential champions of the Cinco De Mayo tournament managed by a great player in Toyboy, to a team that resembles a fish out of water. I have no information on whether or not SniperX will see the mound, or if Toyboy, Gawd, and Pesto will be there to take the field behind him. Will there be a game? Does Haverford have the ability to reassemble his team for this once tournament? We will find out soon enough.
FlightAL had a bye in the first round and will be on the other side of the field against Hybrids. With no inhouse turmoil, FlightAL already has the upper edge off the field. On the field they may have that same edge. SEC, Puddles, and ClarkKent are dangerous tournament hitters, and if ZachAtack can ever translate his PUG success to tournament play they would be that much more destructive on the offensive end. Dr.Death has regained his pitching prowess that led him to a 2007-4 MVP award. FlightAL takes the field at 9PM EST attempting to advance to the semifinals of their second consecutive tournament.
Melky’s Prediction: FlightAL 9, Hybrids 3
Newbert’s Prediction: FlightAL 12, Hybrids 4
Melky’s Players to Watch: SEC, ToyBoy
Newbert’s Players to Watch: Puddles, Haverford
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