| The Drey | Westside Reservation | ||
| 6/25 | 6/26 | ||
| AK | 0|0 | JM | 0|3|0|3 |
| FS | 3|3 | WW | 2|1|9|16 |
| AK fft | WW w 3 | ||
| Marquee Match-up: |
| June 26th | 2 PM | The Westside Reservation |
| Jason Mattseals vs. Westside Warriors |
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Both the Mattseals and Warriors were the incredibly unhappy recipients of wins by forfeit in Week 8. The Mattseals, riding the excitement of finally having broken into the win column, wanted to get out and play the Ass Kickers. Unfortunately however, Mike Constanti was forced to call in forfeits for his team and the two gifted wins were no consolation to satiate the gushing, new competitive excitement of the Mattseals. The Warriors went through an even worse situation in their forfeit victories.
Belgian brought only two players up to Farmington; so, while the teams went ahead and played four games, no stats from them can be recorded. The Warriors, as one would expect, are pissed off, want to play their asses off and show up the entire league. Both teams are going to come out with a "fuck all!" vigor to take out the aggravation from this past weekend when they meet up on Sunday. Alex Shore was already upset that the 'Seals vs. Kickers game got billed on the Marquee over his Warriors and Belgian, so with the added fuel in play this week we may get some spectacular fireworks in Farmington!
Due to the Ass Kickers forfeit, we did not get the opportunity to see if the Mattseals could keep their new-found success rolling on the field and be competitors in this league for real. This week the Warriors will be so much more than happy to test the Mattseals, and the potent Westside roster will prove an even greater measuring stick for Hewlett's arm and the 'Seal team's abilities as a whole. The Warriors lineup is full of good-to-great hitters, top to bottom. They can spread the ball around, hit for power, and have speed to burn. We will see for sure how much Hewlett's pitching has improved against this young, aggressive lineup. Hewlett will have to bring his "A" game, as the Warriors can make anything less look like batting practice and any mistake will surely be capitalized on. If he can keep them in the park and slow their carousel around the basepaths, then he has become a legit ace without question.
Whereas the intrigue around Hewlett taking the mound is once again on the question of his improvement, the story on the mound for the Warriors is one of renewed dominance. Maclin Malloy has his nasty stuff back, and more substantially: his accuracy. In the fourth game this past week he threw the first perfect game in WSEM. No matter what you say about the caliber of lineup he was facing, you have to admit that not throwing a single BB is an incredible accomplishment. Even though the games cannot count, the league has chosen to acknowledge Maclin's performance with an asterisked record that he did in fact throw a perfect game on June 19th, 2011 in a game against the Belgian Wiffles that was retroactively ruled an exhibition. Now, that it has been proven that Jeff Biegas (JM) can go without a hit in a game, could Malloy be poised to repeat his performance and throw another perfecto this week against the hit-or-miss Mattseals lineup? (*crossed fingers* Sorry! No jinx!)
Just like last week, the Mattseals will need to keep these games low scoring in order to win. It will be difficult for this 'Seals lineup to push more than a couple runs across home plate against this high caliber of opponent; with only 2 HR they have to manufacture runs, and against a team that can play solid defense behind the threat of dominant pitching that will make for a long day. The Warriors, as previously mentioned, have the potential to blow these or any game wide open with their offense. Not only does Hewlett need to bring his "A" game, but his defense needs to be mistake free behind him, as well: the Warriors' lineup is the exact reason that old adage, "you can't give the extra opportunites," exists. We know that Westside can bring good pitching, hitting, and defense to the field, and with them playing to make a statement to the league this week you can bet they will bring their best. If a truly turned around Mattseals team can also bring those things with them to Farmington, then we could witness a huge turning point in WSEM.
Elsewhere in Southeast Michigan: The Ass Kickers and Flying Squirrels will finish up their season series, started on Opening Day, with two games at the Drey on Saturday. The Squirrels took the first two games, and the teams have gone in different directions since. After going 2-2 to start the season the Ass Kickers have hovered around the .500 mark since (until the unfortunate forfeits this past weekend). The Squirrels took their 3-1 start and flushed it down the toilet, sinking to the bottom of the league and finally starting to bubble back up the standings and winning games. Both teams find themselves in the middle of the pack and trying to put a run together to carve out a safer slot for playoff seeding. Realistically, they are both fighting, along with the Commandos, for the 4th, 5th, or 6th places. One game can easily be the difference between drawing the Warriors in the first round or one of the middle of the pack teams currently in the dogfight with you. Every win from here out means a lot, and the two teams of those three that win the most will likely line up to see each other again on July 23rd.
Belgian brought only two players up to Farmington; so, while the teams went ahead and played four games, no stats from them can be recorded. The Warriors, as one would expect, are pissed off, want to play their asses off and show up the entire league. Both teams are going to come out with a "fuck all!" vigor to take out the aggravation from this past weekend when they meet up on Sunday. Alex Shore was already upset that the 'Seals vs. Kickers game got billed on the Marquee over his Warriors and Belgian, so with the added fuel in play this week we may get some spectacular fireworks in Farmington!
Due to the Ass Kickers forfeit, we did not get the opportunity to see if the Mattseals could keep their new-found success rolling on the field and be competitors in this league for real. This week the Warriors will be so much more than happy to test the Mattseals, and the potent Westside roster will prove an even greater measuring stick for Hewlett's arm and the 'Seal team's abilities as a whole. The Warriors lineup is full of good-to-great hitters, top to bottom. They can spread the ball around, hit for power, and have speed to burn. We will see for sure how much Hewlett's pitching has improved against this young, aggressive lineup. Hewlett will have to bring his "A" game, as the Warriors can make anything less look like batting practice and any mistake will surely be capitalized on. If he can keep them in the park and slow their carousel around the basepaths, then he has become a legit ace without question.
Whereas the intrigue around Hewlett taking the mound is once again on the question of his improvement, the story on the mound for the Warriors is one of renewed dominance. Maclin Malloy has his nasty stuff back, and more substantially: his accuracy. In the fourth game this past week he threw the first perfect game in WSEM. No matter what you say about the caliber of lineup he was facing, you have to admit that not throwing a single BB is an incredible accomplishment. Even though the games cannot count, the league has chosen to acknowledge Maclin's performance with an asterisked record that he did in fact throw a perfect game on June 19th, 2011 in a game against the Belgian Wiffles that was retroactively ruled an exhibition. Now, that it has been proven that Jeff Biegas (JM) can go without a hit in a game, could Malloy be poised to repeat his performance and throw another perfecto this week against the hit-or-miss Mattseals lineup? (*crossed fingers* Sorry! No jinx!)
Just like last week, the Mattseals will need to keep these games low scoring in order to win. It will be difficult for this 'Seals lineup to push more than a couple runs across home plate against this high caliber of opponent; with only 2 HR they have to manufacture runs, and against a team that can play solid defense behind the threat of dominant pitching that will make for a long day. The Warriors, as previously mentioned, have the potential to blow these or any game wide open with their offense. Not only does Hewlett need to bring his "A" game, but his defense needs to be mistake free behind him, as well: the Warriors' lineup is the exact reason that old adage, "you can't give the extra opportunites," exists. We know that Westside can bring good pitching, hitting, and defense to the field, and with them playing to make a statement to the league this week you can bet they will bring their best. If a truly turned around Mattseals team can also bring those things with them to Farmington, then we could witness a huge turning point in WSEM.
Elsewhere in Southeast Michigan: The Ass Kickers and Flying Squirrels will finish up their season series, started on Opening Day, with two games at the Drey on Saturday. The Squirrels took the first two games, and the teams have gone in different directions since. After going 2-2 to start the season the Ass Kickers have hovered around the .500 mark since (until the unfortunate forfeits this past weekend). The Squirrels took their 3-1 start and flushed it down the toilet, sinking to the bottom of the league and finally starting to bubble back up the standings and winning games. Both teams find themselves in the middle of the pack and trying to put a run together to carve out a safer slot for playoff seeding. Realistically, they are both fighting, along with the Commandos, for the 4th, 5th, or 6th places. One game can easily be the difference between drawing the Warriors in the first round or one of the middle of the pack teams currently in the dogfight with you. Every win from here out means a lot, and the two teams of those three that win the most will likely line up to see each other again on July 23rd.
