| Frenchtown Field | Constanti Field | ||||||
| 6/5 | 6/5 | 6/5 | 6/5 | ||||
| BW | 3|1|1|1 | WW | 4|7 | CC | 4|1 | CC | |
| WD | 2|0|6|2 | AK | 5|6 | AK | 2|1 | WW | |
| Split 2-2 | Split 1-1 | CC w 2 | PPD | ||||
| Marquee Match-up: |
| June 5th | 12 PM | Constanti Field |
| Campus Commandos @ Ass Kickers |
Who would have thought this? It is Week 6 and the Ass Kickers and Campus Commandos meet at even .500 records! Preseason predictions had these teams heading in opposite directions away from that number: Ass Kickers up, Commandos much further down. In fact, the Commandos (3-3 )are already at commissioner Coffee's three-win over/under betting line! The Ass Kickers 5-5 record may be selling them short and overly harsh at an outside glance, as three of those losses have come against the red-hot DeLoppes and dominating Git r' Done squad. The latter of which were both close games lost in walk-off fashion. So, don't let that record fool you, the Ass Kickers are still an elite team in WSEM and they will start to push back up the win column.
Like any good marquee the story here isn't limited to the numbers and play on the field, but also has some off the field, behind the scenes fire to it. It is no secret that both the Ass Kickers and Commandos are scrapping to piece rosters together week in and week out. Actually that hurdle has plagued many teams around the league, including the Warriors and the commissioner's Squirrels. So, a recent roster addition to the Commandos had Mike Constanti, captain of the Ass Kickers, upset with the way it went down.
Evan Bortmas (P) was put on the Squirrels roster before the season began as a spot-starter/occasional call up, but never played a game or met a Squirrel in person. He was subsequently removed from the roster around Week 2 of the season as the reality of him ever playing was looking increasingly unlikely. Although, communication between Bortmas and Coffee did persist. Jump forward to Week 5 where, as it happens, the Commandos were looking desperately for a second pitcher. Adam Grant, Commandos captain, being face-to-face discussing the need with Coffee was offered Bortmas' services and accepted, still unsure about his regularity of availability. Constanti immediately took issue with the move, seeing it as a sign of favoritism on the part of the front office members of the Squirrels not wanting to help teams ahead of them. His feelings on the issue were especially enticed in the wake of the problems facing what to do with players in fallout of the potential Westside Warriors fiasco. Constanti was told he could not outright sign Alex Shore of the Warriors to the Ass Kickers, because Shore had played games on a league roster [Ed. note: what to do if this situation presents itself is being talked about. Warriors players will be allowed to play in the league, most likely put on the rosters in the most need of them.]. The perceived double standard of giving one roster a player, and denying another the ability to pick one up does not sit well at all with Constanti.
And it just happens that those two rosters will be playing this Sunday at Constanti Field! At high noon! There has been no word on whether Bortmas will be in attendance, but the specter of this scenario surrounding him will for sure be looming over the proceedings. As if this isn't already building into a perfect storm of a series, the disheveled Warriors with all of their questions are the slated third opponent for Sunday's tri-meet. It is a lot of unstable ingredients in a volatile recipe, but hopefully the teams will channel their frustrations into the game and take it all out on the field. Belt a few HRs, burn your opponents with a few first-pitch Ks, and maybe even steal a call in the field to get even. ;)
On the field the game seems to slant in the Ass Kickers favor, despite offensive numbers being fairly even. The Ass Kickers as a team are hitting only 19 points higher than the Commandos (AK: .253,CC: .234) and slugging only 15 points higher (AK: .442, CC: .427), while the Commandos have a significantly higher OBP (AK: .369, CC: .428). The big factor, however, is pitching, and depth of pitching. Mike Constanti's ERA is continuing to drop week after week, and is down to 1.50 right now, compared to the 3.39 of likely number-one starter for the Commandos, Joe Seto. If Bortmas does not make his debut for the Commandos, then Seto will likely have to pitch all four games on the day without a dependable number-two in their bullpen. That could give the Ass Kickers all the looks they need to start teeing up Seto's stuff and turn the day into a hitting derby. Brian Constanti, number-two pitcher for the Ass Kickers, on the other hand has a respectable 3.38 ERA (1 point better than Campus' number-one, even) giving his brother the option of coming off the mound and saving his arm.
Elsewhere in Southeast Michigan: The Belgian Wiffles (1-3) will make their triumphant return onSaturday Sunday against the Wiffling DeLoppes (10-2)! WSEM has not seen this fan favorite team since Week 1. Captain David Buhr has since been on National Guard Drills for a few weeks and his team was unable to get their roster together in his absence. Belgian will be jumping straight into the thick of it again playing their full 4 game season series against the DeLoppes. Absolutely no slowly working back into things, just jumping straight into the action! Gotta love that. One last thing: given the teams sharing "wiffle" in their names, we have to give this series a name, like college football rivalries! Don't we? Dueling Wiffles... The Wiffle Cup... someone say something that sticks!
Like any good marquee the story here isn't limited to the numbers and play on the field, but also has some off the field, behind the scenes fire to it. It is no secret that both the Ass Kickers and Commandos are scrapping to piece rosters together week in and week out. Actually that hurdle has plagued many teams around the league, including the Warriors and the commissioner's Squirrels. So, a recent roster addition to the Commandos had Mike Constanti, captain of the Ass Kickers, upset with the way it went down.
Evan Bortmas (P) was put on the Squirrels roster before the season began as a spot-starter/occasional call up, but never played a game or met a Squirrel in person. He was subsequently removed from the roster around Week 2 of the season as the reality of him ever playing was looking increasingly unlikely. Although, communication between Bortmas and Coffee did persist. Jump forward to Week 5 where, as it happens, the Commandos were looking desperately for a second pitcher. Adam Grant, Commandos captain, being face-to-face discussing the need with Coffee was offered Bortmas' services and accepted, still unsure about his regularity of availability. Constanti immediately took issue with the move, seeing it as a sign of favoritism on the part of the front office members of the Squirrels not wanting to help teams ahead of them. His feelings on the issue were especially enticed in the wake of the problems facing what to do with players in fallout of the potential Westside Warriors fiasco. Constanti was told he could not outright sign Alex Shore of the Warriors to the Ass Kickers, because Shore had played games on a league roster [Ed. note: what to do if this situation presents itself is being talked about. Warriors players will be allowed to play in the league, most likely put on the rosters in the most need of them.]. The perceived double standard of giving one roster a player, and denying another the ability to pick one up does not sit well at all with Constanti.
And it just happens that those two rosters will be playing this Sunday at Constanti Field! At high noon! There has been no word on whether Bortmas will be in attendance, but the specter of this scenario surrounding him will for sure be looming over the proceedings. As if this isn't already building into a perfect storm of a series, the disheveled Warriors with all of their questions are the slated third opponent for Sunday's tri-meet. It is a lot of unstable ingredients in a volatile recipe, but hopefully the teams will channel their frustrations into the game and take it all out on the field. Belt a few HRs, burn your opponents with a few first-pitch Ks, and maybe even steal a call in the field to get even. ;)
On the field the game seems to slant in the Ass Kickers favor, despite offensive numbers being fairly even. The Ass Kickers as a team are hitting only 19 points higher than the Commandos (AK: .253,CC: .234) and slugging only 15 points higher (AK: .442, CC: .427), while the Commandos have a significantly higher OBP (AK: .369, CC: .428). The big factor, however, is pitching, and depth of pitching. Mike Constanti's ERA is continuing to drop week after week, and is down to 1.50 right now, compared to the 3.39 of likely number-one starter for the Commandos, Joe Seto. If Bortmas does not make his debut for the Commandos, then Seto will likely have to pitch all four games on the day without a dependable number-two in their bullpen. That could give the Ass Kickers all the looks they need to start teeing up Seto's stuff and turn the day into a hitting derby. Brian Constanti, number-two pitcher for the Ass Kickers, on the other hand has a respectable 3.38 ERA (1 point better than Campus' number-one, even) giving his brother the option of coming off the mound and saving his arm.
Elsewhere in Southeast Michigan: The Belgian Wiffles (1-3) will make their triumphant return on
