| Lafayette Park | Frenchtown Field | Westside Reservation | |||
| 5/26 | 5/27 | 5/29 | |||
| FS | 2|5 | AK | 0|0 | GD | 12|14 |
| CC | 5|0 | GD | 1|2 | WW | 1|4 |
| split 1-1 | GD w 2 | GD w 2 | |||
| Marquee Match-up: |
| May 29th | 2 PM | The Westside Reservation |
| Westside Warriors @ Git r' Done |
WSEM's biggest rivalry is Git r' Done and the Westside Warriors . Two younger generation teams, hyper-competitive, lots of energy, little restraint. Since Westside began playing with us last June they have an 14-11 record (3-2 in 2011), and Git r' Done has an 18-9 record (7-1 in 2011). Both were runners-up in a 2010 tournament. They have met up twice in each tournament, with GRD holding a 4-2 series lead. Including facing off for the Preseason "Wind Up" championship last week (GRD victory). They were originally slated to play Opening Weekend, but that got wiped from the schedule and now, finally, they get to go at each other on Memorial Weekend. What a backdrop! Making it an even more exciting affair is that this series will mark the opening of The Westside Reservation, the Warriors' home field.
On the field they are in each others' faces, loud, always trying their damnedest to show the other up. Their games draw everyone's attention in with the excitement they produce. Neither just wants to win, they want to make the other look horrible in the process: send them home totally disenfranchised with their heads between their legs.
Off the field they're still always on. Always loud. Once a week a roster member from one of the teams will take a jab at someone from the other and a new round of trash/shit/smack talk takes off. Usually it starts off with the game, a measuring contest with pitching or hitting numbers, calling out a poor performance, then subverting the numbers, escalating the war of words, and eventually just boiling down into a good old fashioned pissing contest over the internet. They get all eyes on them again. Commissioners have had to step in and shut down a few of the most recent shouting matches. The only things that have been left out of the back-and-forth so far are their mama's and the kitchen sink.
The rivalry's done both teams well, as every move/word from either team is can't miss entertainment. Literally. The talk between the two is unavoidable, the games are thrilling, and everyone is excited to see what they both are capable of accomplishing... or possibly demolishing.
On the field they are in each others' faces, loud, always trying their damnedest to show the other up. Their games draw everyone's attention in with the excitement they produce. Neither just wants to win, they want to make the other look horrible in the process: send them home totally disenfranchised with their heads between their legs.
Off the field they're still always on. Always loud. Once a week a roster member from one of the teams will take a jab at someone from the other and a new round of trash/shit/smack talk takes off. Usually it starts off with the game, a measuring contest with pitching or hitting numbers, calling out a poor performance, then subverting the numbers, escalating the war of words, and eventually just boiling down into a good old fashioned pissing contest over the internet. They get all eyes on them again. Commissioners have had to step in and shut down a few of the most recent shouting matches. The only things that have been left out of the back-and-forth so far are their mama's and the kitchen sink.
The rivalry's done both teams well, as every move/word from either team is can't miss entertainment. Literally. The talk between the two is unavoidable, the games are thrilling, and everyone is excited to see what they both are capable of accomplishing... or possibly demolishing.
| Memorial Weekend Match-up: |
| Thursday May 26th | 6 & 7 PM | Lafayette Park |
| Flying Squirrels @ Campus Commandos |
Two teams once nationally ranked, now no longer. A city once booming, now no longer. This is an underdog story. This is a comeback story. ... Or so Hollywood might hype it up that way. True points, though. Both the Squirrels and Commandos were flying high early in the season when they got to see their names put up in the lights of the NWLA rankings, but now they have both fallen off and slid out of the national spotlight.
It's uncertain to say having played so few games so far, but the Commandos may just be returning to Earth. A .500 record is nothing to be ashamed of, especially for a team with little prior wiffleball experience that jumped into a league with a lot of unknowns. Sure, their 2 wins have come against the 0-10 Jason Mattseals, but they did take the feisty, armed-to-the-teeth Warriors to 12 innings before falling short this past weekend. So, they can definitely compete with high-quality teams in the league. The entire Commandos roster has an OBP of .419 or higher. Captain Adam Grant has 16 BB and Alex Linebrink isn't far behind with 12, so you know they are patient, willing to wait and build their success.
It is safe to say, however, that the Squirrels have slid completely off the table. They are a team that came into the season with a 13-7 franchise record, went 3-1 in the first week taking 2 from the Ass Kickers (5-3) and splitting with Belgian Wiffles (1-3), but since then they are on a 7-game losing streak. And the losses have not been close. The Squirrels' hitting is gone. Sure, the 7 straight losses have come to the Warriors (1), DeLoppes (2), and Git r' Done (4), who are all in the top-half of the league, but they didn't even put up a real fight against these teams. Once thought to be a contender for the WSEM championship, the Squirrels are teetering on now looking like a complete joke.
The Squirrels are shaking up their roster in Week 5, though, as it has become evident that Jon McKinnie will not be available. Mike Merlo will fill McKinnie's spot on the team and bring another pitching arm to their rotation, much needed with Murtha's absence this Thursday. Maybe the new blood in the lineup and the co-commissioners want to impress him will be the spark that can get this Squirrels lineup clicking again and climbing back up the standings.
I can hear the murmuring, the question in your head turning, as you're reading this. You are asking: how does a match-up between teams with records of 3-8 and 2-2 get highlighted? Well, itis the only series on the bill this Memorial Day Weekend was the only series on the bill this Memorial Day Weekend until late Tuesday night. So, you could go with that reason, or think about it cinematically: what's the drama in this series? What effects could the outcome of these games have? And there is and are plenty. Both teams have slid from their early lofty expectations; this Thursday is a chance for these teams to stand back on their feet, retake command of their season, and start climbing their way back up the league. Take that question turning in your head and turn it on itself: this match-up is a turning point in the season.
It is safe to say, however, that the Squirrels have slid completely off the table. They are a team that came into the season with a 13-7 franchise record, went 3-1 in the first week taking 2 from the Ass Kickers (5-3) and splitting with Belgian Wiffles (1-3), but since then they are on a 7-game losing streak. And the losses have not been close. The Squirrels' hitting is gone. Sure, the 7 straight losses have come to the Warriors (1), DeLoppes (2), and Git r' Done (4), who are all in the top-half of the league, but they didn't even put up a real fight against these teams. Once thought to be a contender for the WSEM championship, the Squirrels are teetering on now looking like a complete joke.
The Squirrels are shaking up their roster in Week 5, though, as it has become evident that Jon McKinnie will not be available. Mike Merlo will fill McKinnie's spot on the team and bring another pitching arm to their rotation, much needed with Murtha's absence this Thursday. Maybe the new blood in the lineup and the co-commissioners want to impress him will be the spark that can get this Squirrels lineup clicking again and climbing back up the standings.
I can hear the murmuring, the question in your head turning, as you're reading this. You are asking: how does a match-up between teams with records of 3-8 and 2-2 get highlighted? Well, it
