2036 SIMBL POSTSEASON SERIES REPORTS

TEXAS WINS 2036 SIMBL COVETED CUP CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES & ARE FIRST-TIME SIMBL CHAMPIONS

Roadrunners' Save Best For Last & Out-Pitch & Out-Hit Hitmen; Shut Down The SIMBL's Top Offense Holding To 15 Runs In 6 Games

Frustrated 109-Win Heavily-Favored Hitmen Lose Third Consecutive SIMBL Championship Series

The SIMBL charter franchise Texas Roadrunners of SIMBL charter GM Pat Flanagan start a celebration 32 long seasons in the making and win the 2036 SIMBL Coveted Cup Championship over the heavily-favored Chicago Hitmen of GM John Bowden.  The Roadrunners went 88-74 and won their first divisional title in 21 seasons and breaking up an 18-season reign of the UL Central by either Calgary or Dallas winning the division since 2019.  Texas advanced to it's third SIMBL CS and first in 23 seasons and behind four former first round picks, all in the top six, of: Michael Kilbane, Takuma Ito, Eric Richards and Jimmy Hayes, who effectively shut down the SIMBL's highest-scoring offense and limited Chicago to 15 runs in the six-game series stunning the 109-win Hitmen who have been upset now in three consecutive SIMBL CS and seek their first SIMBL championship now going 0-5 in five trips to the SIMBL title series.

The 2036 SIMBL season seen the emergence of the former #1 overall pick of the 2029 SIMBL Draft, Michael Kilbane (above) as a SIMBL superstar ace as Kilbane went 19-9 and led the SIMBL with a 2.37 ERA and was voted the soon-to-be-announced UL Hurler Of The Year by SIMBL GMs. The 2036 SIMBL postseason even cemented to that further as "Irish Mike" went 5-1 in 7 playoff starts with a blistering 1.94 ERA and an insulting 0.75 WHIP.  The 29 year-old allowed 31 hits, 12 ER, 11 walks while striking out 39 in 55.2 IP.  Kilbane threw two complete-game shutouts including a two-hitter in Game Six of the 2036 SIMBL Coveted Cup Championship Series to clinch the series and earn Texas the first SIMBL championship in the charter franchise's 32-season history.

2036 SIMBL CS:
TEXAS 4 CHICAGO 2

2036 SIMBL Coveted Cup Championship Series:
Game One: Texas 4 Chicago 1
Game Two: Chicago 5 Texas 2
Game Three: Texas 4 Chicago 3
Game Four: Chicago 4 Texas 0
Game Five: Texas 4 Chicago 2
Game Six: Texas 3 Chicago 0

Repeat Teams To The SIMBL CS:
2005-2008 San Diego (3-0)
2009-2010 San Diego (1-1)
2018-2019 San Diego (1-1)
2018-2019 Calgary (1-1)
2021-2022 Dallas (0-2)
2027-2028 New York (1-1)
2029-2030 Hawaii (1-1)
2034-2036 Chicago (0-3)

In a battle of two teams with some of the best pitching aces prospects who were drafted #1 overall in past SIMBL Drafts to specifically build around for moments precisely like this to get their teams to win a SIMBL championship, the Texas Roadrunners (88-74), led by this season's UL Hurler Of The Year and former #1 pick overall of the 2029 SIMBL Draft, Michael Kilbane, (19-9 2.37 ERA in regular season) outlasted the Chicago Hitmen's (109-53) elite 'Dynamic Duo' of former 2022 #1 overall pick and 10-time All-Star Joe Tarnowsky (23-6 3.04 ERA) and former #1 overall pick of the 2024 SIMBL Draft and 9-time All-Star Jimmy Wagner (24-7 2.74 ERA) to win the 2036 SIMBL Coveted Cup Championship and are SIMBL champions for the first time in franchise history.  To sum up the series, Texas only outscored Chicago 17-15 in the six games with both teams averaging less than 3 runs a game in one of the best pitching statistical SIMBL Championship Series in the league's 32-season history of the trophy series.

It's the first SIMBL championship in the 32-season history of the Roadrunners after two previous trips to the SIMBL Coveted Cup Championship Series losing to Las Vegas in five games 23 seasons ago in 2013 and losing the 2008 SIMBL CS in one of the most memorable title series in SIMBL history after blowing a 3-1 series lead and watch the Timberjacks came back to stunningly win the series and championship becoming the only team in SIMBL history to comeback from a 3-1 series deficit and win the SIMBL championship in the title series.

Congratulations to Texas GM Pat Flanagan on his first SIMBL championship.  Pat is one of only five charter GMs left in the league from the beginning over 9 real-life years ago and now 32 complete seasons ago joining Calgary Clippers GM Christian DeMarco, Bend Bandits GM Ted Williams, San Diego Warewolves GM Paul Ware and Bristol Owls GM Greg Checovetes.  Pat has led the charter SIMBL franchise for 32 seasons and 9 real-life years and has held steady since the early beginning days of the SIMBL and now for the first time in those 32 seasons is a SIMBL champion.  He stayed calm, dedicated and resilient with his plan and long-time strategy of building around pitching, pitching and more pitching.  The Roadrunners rebounded from having the worst record in the SIMBL in 2027 and 2028 and drafted current five-time All-Star outfielder Jose Perez #1 overall in 2028 and four-time All-Star and this season's UL Hurler Of The Year and SIMBL ERA champion Michael Kilbane #1 overall the very next season in 2029.  Flanagan also watched either Calgary (14) or Dallas (4) win the UL Central Division that he shared with them for 18 years before the Roadrunners closed the door this season and won their first division title since 2015.

Flanagan's long-time SIMBL philosophy on building and drafting mostly pitching has the now defending SIMBL champion starting pitching rotation built with four high first round draft picks all picked in the top six: 29 year-old Michael Kilbane (#1 overall 2029), 26 year-old Takuma Ito (#2 overall 2030), 30 year-old Eric Richards (#3 overall 2026) and 22 year-old Jimmy Hayes (#6 overall 2032).  This foundation is set for seasons to come especially with one of the top 1-5 aces in the SIMBL, Kilbane, signed a $78,200,000/4-year extension earlier this season which will lock him up through the 2040 season.

After eight long losing seasons from 2024-2031 which included six consecutive 90+ loss seasons and three straight 100-loss seasons with a rock bottom 54-108 record in 2027 in the midst of seven consecutive last-place seasons, Flanagan's drafting started to gel implementing one draftee at a time to work their kinks out at the SIMBL level.  The Roadrunners improved in the win total for eight straight seasons from 2027's low point of 54 wins to 2034's high-point of 91 wins winning 54, 65, 66, 69, 73, 81, 85 and 91 games and even winning the UL wildcard berth with a 81-81 record in 2032 ending a 17-season postseason drought.

The Roadrunners put on one of the most intriguing seasons in SIMBL history about the decades-long debate on pitching vs. offense to win in baseball and in the SIMBL.  While obviously sporting one of the top rotations in the SIMBL while leading the UL with a 3.51 team ERA, #1 in starters ERA with 3.53 and #2 in team bullpen ERA with a 3.45 showing. The Roadrunners led the UL with 638 total runs allowed by a team, were second in hits allowed and allowed the least walks.

On the contrary, Texas' offenses were one of the weakest in the SIMBL especially compared to the explosive Chicago offense. Texas was 11th out of 12 UL teams in runs scored and dead last in team hits in the UL.  Small ball and pitching prevailed as Flanagan could be compared to as the SIMBL's very own Billy Beane this season as the Roadrunners also were second-to-last in home runs, last in extra-base hits and last in slugging percentage and OPS.  The new SIMBL champions were 10th out of the 12 teams in the UL with a weak .247 team batting average.

The Hitmen of GM John Bowden, a two-time SIMBL GM Of The Year for the 2023 and 2034 seasons, continue their hard luck and lost their third consecutive SIMBL Championship Series and are now 0-5 in SIMCL CS appearances.  One of the most competitive and emotional GMs in the SIMBL, Bowden's Hitmen became only the second team in SIMBL history to advance to three consecutive SIMBL Championship Series and frustratingly became the first team to lose all three despite featuring favored teams with significantly better regular season records as well. Barring any unseen blowing up of the roster this off-season, the Hitmen should battle a talented Rochester team led by last season's SIMBL GM Of The Year Tony Christman for the SL East title.  The Roosters went 102-60 and won the SL East in 2034 before getting bumped in the first round of the playoffs while the second-place Hitmen with a 95-67 record in the SL East won the SL wildcard advanced to the 2034 SIMBL CS losing to Dallas in five games.

The Roosters were expected to battle Chicago for the division title this season again in a highly-anticipated dogfight but were one of the SIMBL's most injured teams this season losing former first rounders and All-Star starting pitchers Brett Mester and Kerry Hannah, top reliever Matthew Ellis, five-time All-Star second baseman Valentin Santos for long periods of time and one of the top rated players in the SIMBL, former #1 overall pick of the 2030 SIMBL Draft and already a three-time All-Star at age 27, Logan Pickard, for the rest of the season as Rochester gave up a large lead of the SL wildcard berth in the last two weeks of the season to Las Vegas by two games.  The Roosters are also supplied with highly-touted prospects Matthew Morraco (#4 overall pick in 2034 SIMBL Draft), 22 year-old Japanese sensation Akato Sakata (#6 overall in 2033 SIMBL Draft) who hit .326 with 26 HR and 85 RBI in his second SIMBL season, and first full-time season, this past year and 25 year-old Ted Conley, a former third round draft choice in 2032, who surprisingly is a diamond in the rough and is currently rated at the SIMBL's 10th-rated player in the SIMBL Top 25 Players listing.

The Hitmen appear to be lined up to be a solid championship-caliber team for at least a couple more seasons to come.  Bowden went out and traded for 6-time SL Hurler Of The Year and 14-time All-Star Alan Alexander Anderson, the SIMBL's second-leading all-time wins leader with 308 current wins and only 6 wins away from breaking SIMBL Hall Of Famer Bobby Grimes' long-standing record of 313, from Las Vegas before the 2034 season to form the Hitmen an unprecedented and formidable "Big Three" that the SIMBL had never seen before in its long league history.

The "Big Three" of future SIMBL Hall Of Famers Tarnowsky, Wagner and Anderson were a combined force that has 712 wins, 33 All-Star Game selections, 7 Hurler Of The Year awards between them, twelve combined 20-win seasons and featured three of only 11 pitchers in the SIMBL's 32-season history to win 200+ games.  Tarnowsky and Wagner were #1 overall picks of past SIMBL Drafts while "Triple A" was an equally heralded #15 overall pick by the Hustlers in the 2019 SIMBL New File Era Inaugural Draft.  The three led the Hitmen to a 110-52 UL East title in 2034 and a 95-67 record and SL wildcard berth in 2035 in their two seasons together and won two SL championships and lost to Dallas in the 2034 SIMBL CS and to Westbury in the 2035 SIMBL CS before Anderson was traded back to Las Vegas mostly on the part of Hustlers GM Carl Hannah's wishes for "Triple A" to finish his career in a Hustlers uniform and in a strict payroll-directed move to relieve Bowden of "Triple A's" high salary so he could lock up his younger stars while remaining to keep two of the best front-line aces in the SIMBL.  While leading the Hitmen to becoming one of the most feared teams in the SIMBL both pitching and offensively and making two SIMBL CS appearances, the "Big Three" were upset in both of their SIMBL CS trips.

Texas put up a 2.37 ERA in the six games of this season's SIMBL CS holding the high-octane Chicago offense to only 15 runs in 6 games or a 2.5 runs a game average that isn't going to win a SIMBL Coveted Cup Championship Series.  Yet equally, the Hitmen allowed only 17 runs to the Roadrunners and sported an impressive 2.56 team ERA in the series. Chicago was third this season in the SL with a 3.68 team ERA.  They were third in starters ERA at 3.48 and behind the middle of the pack at 7th in bullpen ERA with a 4.32 mark in the SL.

The Hitmen's offense was the factor that made them heavy favorites over the vastly weaker Roadrunners offense.  Chicago led the SIMBL with 871 runs scored this past season. They also led the SL in slugging percentage, OPS, second in team hits, first in extra-base hits, first in the SIMBL with 227 home runs and first in the SL and second to Seattle in the SIMBL with 247 stolen bases.

A very potent and completely rounded offense with power and speed combined with two bonafide shutdown aces who combined for 47 wins this past season with a solid if unspectacular bullpen but with the best closer in the SL this past season as upcoming free agent middle reliever-turned-closer Alberto Barrios and his SIMBL-leading 48 saves and 2.14 ERA got him voted as this season's SL Fireman Of The Year as the SL's top closer.  This combined with 109 wins to prove it seemed to lock the Hitmen up as automatic 2036 SIMBL champions.

Many SIMBL pundits while watching Chicago and tabbing them "the Golden State Warriors of the SIMBL this season" didn't immediately factor in now the magic carpet ride Michael Kilbane and the Texas pitching staff has been on all season long that only got stronger as the postseason went on.

So a very bombastic Hitmen offense led by former MVP and SL MVP candidates superstar Jake Boles (.291 AVG 34 HR 121 RBI) and emerging SIMBL superstar Johnny Abraham (.330 AVG 34 HR 127 RBI 65 SB) was effectively shut down to 2.5 runs a game by Kilbane and his other three former first round picks who starting to gel this season as perhaps the best cohesive rotation in the SIMBL that should only getting better in the seasons to come much to the league's dismay.

Kilbane went 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his two 2036 SIMBL CS starts throwing 17.0 innings allowing only 6 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, one walk and 11 strikeouts.  "Irish Mike" went 5-1 in his 7 postseason starts with a blistering 1.94 ERA.  In one the most dominating postseason runs in recent SIMBL playoff history, he threw 55.2 innings, allowing 33 hits, 13 runs, 12 earned runs with 11 walks and 39 strikeouts and two complete-game shutouts include the championship-clinching two-hitter in Game Six.

Kilbane combined one of the best seasons in recent history going 19-9 with a SIMBL-leading 2.37 ERA, leading the UL with a 1.01 WHIP, 12 complete games and 5 shutouts.  Not only throwing a two-hit complete game shutout in Game Six to win the Roadrunners the 2036 SIMBL championship and the first title in the franchise's 32-season history, Kilbane will likely be certainly named the 2036 SIMBL CS MVP along with one of the two ULCS and/or ULDS MVP awards when SIMBL postseason MVP awards are announced now that the SIMBL Coveted Cup Championship Series has been concluded.

In another contrast, Texas hit .251 as a team with 4 HR and 16 RBI and a .645 OPS in the six-game series, all nothing to write home about.  But to show the Roadrunners' dominance especially by Michael Kilbane and #2 Takuma Ito (1-1 2.81 0.88 WHIP in two SIMBL CS starts), the highest-scoring offense in the SIMBL this season was held to a puzzling .176 team batting average on a Chicago team loaded with offensive stars and offensive power and might.  The Hitmen's OPS was .512 which is among the worst in at least a six-game SIMBL CS in league history.

As a solid #2 support of the ace Kilbane, Takuma Ito went 3-1 in five postseason starts to also help Texas to the title.  He sported a 2.79 ERA in 38.2 innings with a 0.96 WHIP allowing 32 hits, 12 runs all earned, walked only 5 compared to 35 strikeouts.

Leading the regular-season weak Texas offense in the postseason was unheralded first baseman Tim Lynn with a .325 AVG 0 HR 10 RBI.  A literal no-name outside the UL Central, center-fielder and .244-career hitting Glen Colbert hit .326 with 4 HR and 8 RBI with a .993 OPS in 17 games and 46 at bats after hitting only .246 with 5 HR and 25 RBI the whole regular season.

2033 big-name Supplemental Free Agent third baseman Rich Jordan, who Flanagan snagged with an original 4-year $105,500,000 contract and extended him with an additional $101,000,000 for four more seasons this past regular season, gave the Roadrunners some more production hitting .333 with 6 HR and 12 RBI while sporting a 1.004 OPS in 69 postseason at bats.

So, with a starting rotation which ranks in the top 1-5, if not top 1-3, in the SIMBL this season, who pitched even better in the postseason and saved their very best for the SIMBL CS when they undisputedly shut down the SIMBL's most explosive offense, the Roadrunners also brought their statistically near-the-bottom regular season offense to life and had other players other than stars Jose Perez and Rich Jordan step up and have outstanding postseasons to give the charter SIMBL franchise Roadrunners and original SIMBL GM Pat Flanagan his first SIMBL championship after a 32-season-9 real-life years wait.

Expect Chicago GM John Bowden and his Hitmen not to go away anytime soon.  As previously said, with future SIMBL Hall Of Fame aces Joe Tarnowsky (33 years-old) and Jimmy Wagner (34 years-old) having a couple top-end seasons left in them, and several of his players locked up in the league's top-scoring offense, the Hitmen are on a run that will continue next season as the favorites to win the SL East and SL again as Bowden still has a great shot and expectations at that elusive first SIMBL championship that had and has eluded so many SIMBL GMs and franchises for so long as well.

With 5 new postseason teams of the 8 from last season including a total sweep of four new UL playoff teams this season and a SIMBL-record 16 teams finishing .500 or above this season and the 29th season that a defending SIMBL champion didn't repeat and defend their championship, more evidence couldn't be presented that the SIMBL is more competitive and challenging then ever as the league's reputation of having some of the best, competitive, dedicated and most savvy GMs online continues to get stronger by mere facts and numbers.  With Texas' first SIMBL championship, the league now is left with 8 franchises, that haven't won a SIMBL championship yet in the league's 32-season history of play.

Congratulations to Pat and John on a great series and great seasons.  Congratulations to all SIMBL GMs on another fun, exciting, successful (yet again challenged by health issues and a 23-day hospitalization-we still always march on) and competitive 32nd season, whether winning or losing, on a run or rebuilding or anywhere in between, the SIMBL forges on for some recreational enjoyment.

Next up is the formal announcing of the 2036 postseason MVPs, Westbury Cannons GM and SIMBL Financial Commissioner Bill Atteberry's annual end of season financial report looking to the 2037 off-season, the 2036 annual SIMBL GM Awards results, the start of the pecking away at the grueling updating the archives and history of the SIMBL Wall Of Fame and linked archived pages and the official 2037 off-season daily SIM schedule will be posted and announced shortly league-wide.

2036 SIMBL CS GAME ONE:

TEXAS 4 CHICAGO 1
Texas Leads Series 1-0
WP: Takuma Ito (3-0 2.35 ERA) LP: Anthony Morris (1-2 6.11 ERA) SV: Javier Torres (6)
HR: Texas: Dennis Martin (1) Chicago: Jake Boles (6)
Player Of The Game: Takuma Ito SP Texas
8.0 IP 7 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 7 K

2036 SIMBL CS GAME TWO:

CHICAGO 5 TEXAS 2
Series Tied 1-1
WP: Joe Tarnowsky (4-0 1.44 ERA) LP: Eric Richards (0-3 8.27 ERA) SV: Alberto Barrios (6)
HR: Texas: Luke Johnson (1) Chicago: Johnny Abraham (5)
Player Of The Game: Joe Tarnowsky SP Chicago
8.0 IP 9 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 2 K

2036 SIMBL CS GAME THREE:

TEXAS 4 CHICAGO 3 (TIM LYNN WALK-OFF DOUBLE OFF OF JIMMY KENNEY)
Texas Leads Series 2-1
WP: Javier Torres (1-0 0.00 ERA) LP: Jimmy Kenney (0-1 2.19 ERA)
HR: Chicago: Johnny Abraham (6) Justin Davis (2)
Player Of The Game: Michael Kilbane SP Texas
8.0 IP 4 H 3 R 3 ER 1 BB 5 K

2036 SIMBL CS GAME FOUR:

CHICAGO 4 TEXAS 0
Series Tied 2-2
WP: Burton Warren (2-0 3.67 ERA) LP: Takuma Ito (3-1 2.79 ERA)
HR: None
Player Of The Game: Burton Warren SP Chicago
9.0 IP 6 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 4 K

2036 SIMBL CS GAME FIVE:

TEXAS 4 CHICAGO 2
Texas Leads Series 3-2
WP: Eric Richards (1-3 7.09 ERA) LP: Joe Tarnowsky (4-1 1.88 ERA) HLD: Jimmy Hayes (1) SV: Javier Torres (7)
HR: Texas: Rich Jordan (5) Chicago: Johnny Abraham (7) Darren Peters (2)
Player Of The Game: Eric Richards SP Texas
6.0 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 7 K

2036 SIMBL CS GAME SIX:

TEXAS 3 CHICAGO 0
Texas Wins Series 4-2
WP: Michael Kilbane (5-1 1.94 ERA) LP: Jimmy Wagner (1-2 3.93 ERA)
HR: Texas: Rich Jordan (6)
Player Of The Game: Michael Kilbane SP Texas
9.0 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 6 K