| < Week 8 | Week 10 > |
| Knockout Park | LaFayette Park | ||||
| 6/22* | 6/24 | 6/24 | |||
| BW | 0|0 | KF | 0|0 | CC | 11|0 |
| MP | 1|4 | CC | 6|11 | KF | 5|1 |
One match-up has been added for Week 9, and there is one thing we can tell you for certain: Friday and/or the Commandos will come out of this week with their first on-field wins of the 2012 season! Both teams received forfeit wins from the DeLoppes inability to read a rules page - three for Friday, two for the Commandos - and Friday also got two wins for a similar snafu from Belgian, which actually has them sniffing the possibility of a playoff berth at five wins.
Forfeitures aside, King Friday has improved every time they have taken the field this year: being on the wrong-end of perfect games twice in their first series, getting hits against the Squirrels then runs against the Ducks in week two, and recently carrying a lead into the fourth inning against the Mattseals in Week 8. Despite playing better, it seems Friday has continually been bit by the same bug: one bad inning in the field. This is common, especially among new teams and teams pressing to get things going. Once they are able to get in the win column they should settle down and start finding themselves in position to win more games. They have the pieces to be a decent team once they get the confidence.
Early in the season Tristan Birotte established himself as a capable pitcher in the rotation, getting the ball over the plate, not walking opponents, forcing them to put the ball in play, and getting a few strike outs along the wall. He has taken on a lesser role with the team, but in 4 games pitched (13 innings) he has struck out 18 while walking only 8. Brandon Mushinski has since become Friday's horse on the mound. Brandon has the lowest WHIP on the team at 2.04, and lowest ERA of regular players at 3.80. In 25 IP over 8 games he has 35 K to 23 BB, though one-third of those walks came in his first start. Friday just had potentially impressive pitching cavalry arrive, as well, in Ryan Hurd Jr. In his two Week 8 starts he struck out 19 while walking just 9. He also threw seven scoreless innings, surrendering his eight runs in two innings across both games: bitten by that "one bad inning" bug. The pitching for Friday is beginning falling into place.
Friday's hitting (team AVG of .108) still looks dismal, however it is perking up. As proclaimed by captain Richard Hurd, "At least we have a 3 digit team batting average now. Ha!" Joe Markos is their biggest threat with the bat leading the team with 8 TB, having hit the only Friday home run, and also having the team's second highest OBP (.294). Friday's on-base lead is shared by Jake Mushinski and Arvie Coffman at .333. Jake may be figuring out Wiffle pitchers as he tripled his hit total for the season in Week 8, and Arvie (in limited time) also leads the team with a .200 AVG. If the offense is starting to come around for Friday, then four games with the Commandos will be a good test to see what they are capable of producing.
The Commandos have been hot-and-cold, on-and-off all season; not from game to game, either, rather in the course of one game. Similar to Friday, one miscue or trouble finding the zone seems to snowball until they are effectively taken out of the game. This, in large part, is what has led to the Commandos biggest trouble getting wins on the field: 94 runs allowed and a -67 run differential. With that said, let us ignore the runs while talking about their pitchers.
Seven different pitchers have been tried by the Commandos, but two have been ridden for seventy-five percent of the innings: Alex Linebrink and Daniel Egan. Even with that many innings on the backs of those two, the Commandos have only thrown six complete games this season: another sign of struggles on the mound. Linebrink, a second year pitcher, is averaging nearly two strike-outs per inning (31 K in 16 IP). However, he also has 35 BB to go along with that, building toward a 3.56 WHIP. Egan, a rookie, has 36 K in 21.1 IP, and has his walks more under control with 23, just over one per inning. Being more around the zone means bats run into the ball more often, though, resulting in 32 hits allowed and a 2.58 WHIP.
Offensively the Commandos as a team are hitting .140, thirty-two points higher than Friday. Their slugging percentage is double the average at .280, which puts them in stride with the Squirrels and Punchouts (.281 and .282, respectively), and they have an on-base percentage of .295. A large part of that latter number is Adam Grant again making a bid for the Texas Ranger award with 17 BB of the team's 41, eleven more than anyone else on his roster. Grant, therefore, has the highest OBP on the team with .357. As for doing it with the bat, Linebrink leads the team in batting average with a .214, while Eric Pfefferle provides the most extra-base power with a .500 SLG (3 HR, 1 2B). Egan is also providing a good dose of power with 3 HR, 1 2B, and a team leading 8 RBI. The numbers may not be outstanding, but if the Commandos can quiet down an opposing offense, they are good enough to win a game or two.
Winning or not, these teams represent what is great about this league and sport. They show up, they joke around, laugh when something that can only be described as "Wiffle-y" happens, are having fun playing the game and are salivating at the chance to be in the driver's seat of the John Hill for the Thrill. Wrapping their arms around a couple wins on the field is only going to make them enjoy playing this game more!
Forfeitures aside, King Friday has improved every time they have taken the field this year: being on the wrong-end of perfect games twice in their first series, getting hits against the Squirrels then runs against the Ducks in week two, and recently carrying a lead into the fourth inning against the Mattseals in Week 8. Despite playing better, it seems Friday has continually been bit by the same bug: one bad inning in the field. This is common, especially among new teams and teams pressing to get things going. Once they are able to get in the win column they should settle down and start finding themselves in position to win more games. They have the pieces to be a decent team once they get the confidence.
Early in the season Tristan Birotte established himself as a capable pitcher in the rotation, getting the ball over the plate, not walking opponents, forcing them to put the ball in play, and getting a few strike outs along the wall. He has taken on a lesser role with the team, but in 4 games pitched (13 innings) he has struck out 18 while walking only 8. Brandon Mushinski has since become Friday's horse on the mound. Brandon has the lowest WHIP on the team at 2.04, and lowest ERA of regular players at 3.80. In 25 IP over 8 games he has 35 K to 23 BB, though one-third of those walks came in his first start. Friday just had potentially impressive pitching cavalry arrive, as well, in Ryan Hurd Jr. In his two Week 8 starts he struck out 19 while walking just 9. He also threw seven scoreless innings, surrendering his eight runs in two innings across both games: bitten by that "one bad inning" bug. The pitching for Friday is beginning falling into place.Friday's hitting (team AVG of .108) still looks dismal, however it is perking up. As proclaimed by captain Richard Hurd, "At least we have a 3 digit team batting average now. Ha!" Joe Markos is their biggest threat with the bat leading the team with 8 TB, having hit the only Friday home run, and also having the team's second highest OBP (.294). Friday's on-base lead is shared by Jake Mushinski and Arvie Coffman at .333. Jake may be figuring out Wiffle pitchers as he tripled his hit total for the season in Week 8, and Arvie (in limited time) also leads the team with a .200 AVG. If the offense is starting to come around for Friday, then four games with the Commandos will be a good test to see what they are capable of producing.The Commandos have been hot-and-cold, on-and-off all season; not from game to game, either, rather in the course of one game. Similar to Friday, one miscue or trouble finding the zone seems to snowball until they are effectively taken out of the game. This, in large part, is what has led to the Commandos biggest trouble getting wins on the field: 94 runs allowed and a -67 run differential. With that said, let us ignore the runs while talking about their pitchers.
Seven different pitchers have been tried by the Commandos, but two have been ridden for seventy-five percent of the innings: Alex Linebrink and Daniel Egan. Even with that many innings on the backs of those two, the Commandos have only thrown six complete games this season: another sign of struggles on the mound. Linebrink, a second year pitcher, is averaging nearly two strike-outs per inning (31 K in 16 IP). However, he also has 35 BB to go along with that, building toward a 3.56 WHIP. Egan, a rookie, has 36 K in 21.1 IP, and has his walks more under control with 23, just over one per inning. Being more around the zone means bats run into the ball more often, though, resulting in 32 hits allowed and a 2.58 WHIP.Offensively the Commandos as a team are hitting .140, thirty-two points higher than Friday. Their slugging percentage is double the average at .280, which puts them in stride with the Squirrels and Punchouts (.281 and .282, respectively), and they have an on-base percentage of .295. A large part of that latter number is Adam Grant again making a bid for the Texas Ranger award with 17 BB of the team's 41, eleven more than anyone else on his roster. Grant, therefore, has the highest OBP on the team with .357. As for doing it with the bat, Linebrink leads the team in batting average with a .214, while Eric Pfefferle provides the most extra-base power with a .500 SLG (3 HR, 1 2B). Egan is also providing a good dose of power with 3 HR, 1 2B, and a team leading 8 RBI. The numbers may not be outstanding, but if the Commandos can quiet down an opposing offense, they are good enough to win a game or two.Winning or not, these teams represent what is great about this league and sport. They show up, they joke around, laugh when something that can only be described as "Wiffle-y" happens, are having fun playing the game and are salivating at the chance to be in the driver's seat of the John Hill for the Thrill. Wrapping their arms around a couple wins on the field is only going to make them enjoy playing this game more!
Unavailable Pitchers:
1 Game: Castle (BW), Linebrink (CC), Malloy (DK)*, Ry. Hurd (KF), Bortmas (MP), N. Braden (TD)*, Kincaide (SM)*
2 Games: Corbett (FS)*, Cosby (JM)*, Crozier (WA)*
* Team not active this week. Will carry over to next games.
