It's been eight seasons since the Sex Panthers have made the playoffs, and with only two winning records since 2012, it's been a long struggle for the franchise that has only won 42.5 percent of its matchups in the last five seasons.
The rebuilds have been marred by unlucky prospects that never came to fruition.
For the longest time, she was faced with decisions, accept trades for coveted top prospects or stay the course with the rebuild.
She stayed the course, and of course, we saw Jarred Kelenic fail, and Byron Buxton continually get injured — to name a few.
But history shouldn't dictate the future.
And that's why there's hope for the next group, like newly acquired Isaac Paredes, who hit 31 homers last season, and Nolan Gorman, who struggled to put it together at times but still hit 27 homers and drove in 76.
It's going to take top pitching prospects of old, Mackenzie Gore and Nick Lodolo, getting out there and making 31 starts to become the front-line starters they were touted to be.
The Panthers know this and she's ready for them to do just that.
"The Panthers will rely on some key young vets on the team like Bo Bichette, Steven Kwan (hoping for a comeback year from him) and our reigning batting champ Luis Arraez on the offensive side," the Panthers said. "We are hoping our young arms like MacKenzie Gore can get his control under wraps and Nick Lodolo can come back from injury to help us on the pitching side, along with vets Joe Ryan and Cristian Javier. We’ll see if they can mesh together. Honestly last year the team wasn’t doing terrible until we were hit with a lot of injuries, so hoping that doesn’t happen this year."
And the Panthers are right in how 2023 went.
She was in third place after four weeks with a winning record. She was a few games back at 107-107-26 after eight weeks. She was back in third a week later, only to have the worst week of her season against the soon-to-be four-time champion Breakfast.
The 19-2-3 loss in Week 10 sent her from third to last, but she battled back to fourth place in Week 13 where she sat three games ahead of Topton, who wound up making the playoffs.
The Panthers were oh-so-close.
So maybe we shouldn't count her out.
"I know everyone, including [the Jargon] obviously counts me out every year, and that’s fine," she said. "I realize that I’m not living and breathing baseball like the rest of you in this league, so I apologize that I don’t always know the latest and greatest prospect who’s playing at a small college in Ohio.. but I try. I’d like to think I know more than most people (and women!) and still am more active than others in this league in years past. What I lack in knowledge I try to make up for in being an active member of the league and making moves, setting my lineup, etc. I do enjoy being competitive each week and if I’m not making a run, trying to mess with everyone else who is. (Especially the weeks I beat Choo every year!) So while I may not live and breathe fantasy baseball like the rest of you, don’t count me out. Look at what the diamondbacks did last season!! You never know…it may all click at the right time! I’m coming for you!"
If it's going to click, it's really going to take Gore and Lodolo, along with Brandon Pfaadt, her top Green Draft selection from 2023. Pfaadt struggled early in the regular season in 2023, but he came on strong late, which included some great performances in the playoffs.
"I also think Brandon Pfaadt (how do we say his name?!) could be a bit of a sleeper," she said. "Perhaps he continues his run from the playoffs last year. We hope!"
Pfaadt pitched to a 4.32 ERA in four September starts, and he had a 30:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 25 innings.
In the postseason, he made five starts and posted a 3.27 ERA with 26 strikeouts and five walks. His strikeout rate is high, and if he keeps the walks low, he could really be that sleeper that Gina is looking for.
He's one of the many "Ifs" on the team, and with smart moves throughout the season, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Sex Panthers being in a similar position as 2023 — right in the mix for that No. 3 seed late in the season.
Hey, look at that.
I didn't count her out.
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