Week 2 Marquee and Picks

When the Westside Warriors step onto the field May 4th it will have been 654 days since the franchise last played an official WSEM game. It is a triumphant return trumped only by that of Rod Farva to the road, and the Warriors are doing it with all the pomp and circumstance of a home opener double header. The first opponent to come into the Warriors Den will be King Friday, fresh off a tough opening week and looking to build momentum in the right direction coming off this series atop the hill. Westside Warriors at Satellite #1 The Warriors Den is the only carry-over tying Alex Shore to his time spent with the Donkeys last season: built in the same location as the Zoo. Looking back to 2011 Westside you will also see only sparing similarities to the 2013 version. The rebooted Warriors franchise is stocked with new faces for their everyday roster. Part of what Shore described as, "just playing ball with friends again," this new group brings a team-wide interest in Wiffle that the last incarnation often lacked. What they bring in enthusiasm, they more than match in fundamentals, skill, and speed. They were the only team to threaten El Diablos at the first satellite tournament, eventually losing 12-8. An impressive performance for a tournament that, according to Shore, was just about the rookies learning the game. Learning the nuances of game is always the first - and often the most difficult - hurdle when depending on new Wifflers. Westside could actually get a boost by having new blood at pitcher this season, however, since they do not have to adjust to the new 48' pitching distance. Whatever command of the Wiffleball that slated rookie pitchers Keifer Haffey, Thomas DeMaria, and James Barone may lack in these early season games will potentially be offset by veteran pitchers acclimating to the new distance. Mike Myers on the mound at Sat. #2 King Friday has an entirely different thing going with the new faces on their roster. After being shut-out in their week one series loss to El Diablos, Captain Hurd lamented, "all new faces, same old story for King Friday." To be fair, El Diablos are said to be, "on a totally different level," and honored with the greatest respect, "any time I see EL, I'm calling a sweep." To Friday's credit, though, they hung in the first game with El Diablos. Mike Myers shined in that game, taking the mound and holding a dangerous lineup to just two runs on a home run off the bat of Skinner. Not a pitcher by trade, this was just Mike's third time starting a game on the mound, and it was a massive improvement from first appearance of the year during Satellite #2. Both appearances came after the last-minute loss of a starter, but his week one performance (2 R, 6 K, and 2 BB in 4 IP) coupled with his only other start - last May against the Aces (1 R, 4 H, and 5 K in 5 IP) - looks to give Friday a good third option that can help them weather this upcoming four week stretch in which Adam Cosby is expected to be out of the lineup. Myers also provided Friday's only hit in week one on their way to a .045 team average. Again, though, that number comes against two potential Clown Shu candidates. All of the King's new faces are veterans out to erase those zeroes and begin changing the image of the King Friday franchise. Last season, in their first series, Friday hosted Whiteford on this same hilltop and in both games wound up on the wrong side of perfect games, making this Saturday the perfect place and time for them to start that turn around.

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Warriors Den				Holy Grounds		Wiffle Iron
5/4		5/4		5/5		5/5
KF	0|0	IS	0|0	EL	4|2	DU	11|7
WW	1|1	WW	1|10	HB	0|3	BW	1|8

Unavailable Pitchers:    1 Game:  Matt (BW),  Constanti (DU),  Paquin (HB),  Hewlett (IS)    2 Games:  N/A

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It was a plus week for everyone to start off the year. Three pickers went 3-1, while the fourth was a perfect 4-0. Rich and Alex both missed picking their team to split and win, respectively. David and Chris both picked each series result correctly, which left it up to the total runs scored over/under to decide who would start the season on top. The number was set at 56.5 - David took the under, Chris the over - and it couldn't have been any better. Teams combined for a total of 57 runs, just edging to the over and giving Chris the early bragging rights. Picks for Week 2 are straightforward: 4 series, the guys are asked to pick the result (sweep, sweep, or split) for each.

	David (3 - 1)	Richard (3 - 1)	Alex (3 - 1)	Chris (4 - 0)
@ Series Result	1-1 Split	1-1 Split	Ducks Sweep Pearson with 2 home runs. Buhr switches it up and bats from the middle of the plate.	Ducks Sweep
@ Series Result	El Diablos Sweep	El Diablos Sweep	El Diablos Sweep 30 runs scored in total.	1-1 Split
@ Series Result	Warriors Sweep	Warriors Sweep	Warriors Sweep Friday plays game 2 shirtless.	1-1 Split
@ Series Result	1-1 Split	Warriors Sweep	1-1 Split Joe Seto throws a shutout and hits a home run.	1-1 Split