It goes without saying that season 73 has not been going as planned for the Louisville Lions, who currently are in the basement of the Ocean Star East division with a horrendous 18-29 record. The team is in the midst of a four game skid, and they have not won multiple games in a row in 21 contests.
The city of Louisville has begun tiring of the constant losing of their home team that has seemingly fallen apart this season after putting together three seasons with at least a .500 winning percentage. Of course, of those three seasons, they have never been more than two games over breaking even, but the current state of the team is a disaster on another level. Pressure has begun coming in calling for manager Dylan Kane to step down.
It seems clear that Kane has other plans, as he launched a major roster overhaul on May 16th that intends to knock the team out of their major slump. Kane told reporters the move has two main goals: “The idea is that the team gets some new faces in the clubhouse, kind of pump up the guys. And obviously our pitching has been terrible this year, so we hope that some new arms in the rotation will help to solve that problem.”
Kane speaks the truth regarding the Lions’ pitching rotation. This season, Lions starters have an ERA of 4.57. Compared to the rest of the Ocean Star League’s 48 teams, the Lions are actually right in the middle of the pack, with the 26th best ERA. By no means, however, is this performance one to strive for. By bringing in three new starting pitchers, as well as a slew of relievers, Kane hopes that the team can improve to become one of the best pitching staffs in the league rather than a subpar one. The players the team signed recently definitely have the potential to carry the team to a new level. Most noteworthy is 23 year old prospect Nathanael Newman, who has demonstrated elite command on his pitches and can go late into games. In his career he holds a 7-6 record and a 3.68 ERA. The Lions hope he can add many wins to his career total and that he may be part of the answer to their woes. Additionally, the team signed multiple relief pitchers, including new closer Mio Deleon, a 22 year old rookie who has been reported to possess nasty stuff and should be a strong asset for the team in the 9th inning.
Clearly fully dedicated to righting the trajectory of the Lions, Kane also revitalized his lineup. First, he worked a trade that sent pitcher Darien Bach to the PRpride2 in exchange for shortstop Nathan Duval, a solid contact hitter who has already been inserted into the leadoff spot atop the Lion’s lineup. Many analysts see this trade as a potential steal for the Lions, as Bach had previously contributed little to the team, having only started 8 games for the team during his 9 year stint as a Lion. At 30 years old, Bach still has time to turn his career around, but he has seen little success as of late. Duval, on the other hand, is a 28 year old rookie hitting .361 with 11 home runs. Franchise Ball has him ranked at 91. It may be too early for a conclusive decision, but it seems highly likely this will go down as a great move for the struggling Lions. On top of this trade, the Lions called up CF Keanu Ibara, RF Alvaro Villareal, and 1B Colin Correa, all aged above 30. Some experts have questioned this tactic as it fails to introduce youthful energy to a clearly lethargic team, but ESQN analyst George Ricker has a different, more optimistic opinion: “By calling up these long-time veterans, the Lions are going to be able to get a more disciplined presence in the clubhouse. This team is absolutely reeling out of control right now, and they really need to be centered. I feel that calling up these guys to be in the clubhouse should get everyone focused again, and help get this team to win games. This team obviously has talent. They just need to find their focus again.”
Only time will tell if these moves will pan out and help the Lions begin to win again, but one thing is clear. General manager Dylan Kane isn’t going to take the calls to resign lying down. He has made it very clear he is dedicated to the revival of this team, and will do anything in his power to get the Lions back to their winning ways. It is clear that he has a difficult road ahead, and many obstacles to cross, but we hope his strategies work as planned.