Texas had a new GM at the helm (Carroll), and Carolina was manned by the always tough Rodney Baylor but So Cal general manager Brouillette thought maybe, just maybe he had a chance at finally gaining some ground in the division.
Alas, the 2015 season started the same way the 2014 season ended.
So Cal would enter the season with the number one ranked farm system. Excited for said ranking in year one, and maybe year two - but in year four... it signaled the piss poor job that GM Brouillette had done with molding the franchise.
2014 saw a new strategy. If you can't stop them from scoring, then score a shitload yourself. Bad defenders with monster bats NEED APPLY in So Cal. Moran, Everett, and the etc lead the Republic to an awesome offensive season but the lack of defense and pitching crushed the team through-out the year.
The Republic mid-2014 decided to finally cash in some of their chips and dealt away GM favorite 70SB guy Speedtrap along with blue-chip starting pitcher Cliff Clark (who has seemed to regress tons, like everyone else in ABL), uber-prospect Jorge Rosas (whose now in South Carolina?) and elite-MR prospect Jeff 'gettin' wiggy with it' Wiggins for starter Evan Warner, then promptly gave him a 7-year 48-million dollar extension before the Los Angeles native even threw his first pitch.
It was simple for Warner. The Republic would be okay " ", (eventually) and he was from Los Angeles. No brainer.
That, and GM Brouillette allegedly helped Warner have sex in the champagne room. How, we still aren't sure.
So onto 2015, number one farm and the etc.
The Brouillette's are ranked 1st and 2nd in the teams system overall, with Cohen 'Thor' Brouillette rating 3/5* and Lincon 'Odin' Brouillette rating 2/5*. The say hey kid, Leonardo 'King of the Hill' Reynoso (first sim in ABL history, scout-find) is rated 2.5/5* and sits at #6 with .5/4.5* (7th overall last-draft) Oniji Nakashima ranking #3.
Needless to say, I'm very excited about the pitching in my organization.
This list of nearly ready players (Oniji excluded) and this doesn't include additions to this years roster Gotti Gutierrez 2.5/4* and Luis Lopez 2.5/4* as well as 2.5/3* 21 year old Daniel Diaz.
The relief corps are in fantastic shape going forward as the pen is young and potentially stout with Bowman, Gallegos, and Turner on the come up.
If this sounds like gloating, trust me it's not. The team has been brutal for the better portion of three seasons and just now the pieces are starting to (sorta) fall into place.
The team sits .5GB of the Wild Card, and 2.5GB of the division (remarkably) with all the injuries the team has had, it's a shock the team is anywhere close to where they are at this point in the season.
The huge rumor going around the ABL, is that the city of Seattle infested the franchise with some sort of disgusting disease, etc, etc and this is why all this is happening.
So Cal has officially submitted a ticket to the league offices in regards to this rumored event(s) from happening over the last year or so.
All in all, (and all joking aside) 2015 looks a bit better than 2014, 2013, and 2012 had.
So going forward, #ToWinOrDieInSoCal
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