It is the final meeting of the season between our international franchises, El Diablos and Belgian Wiffles. Of course, the core of El Diablos roster broke onto the WSEM scene as members of Belgian Wiffles. Two Weeks ago, they returned to their once friendly confines - although, eviction slotted the games over to the "Side Griddle" next to the Wiffle Iron. Kyle Tomlinson poked 5 hits, 1 home run, 3 RBI and scored 5 runs; Chandler Phillips added 6 hits, 2 home runs, 5 RBI and 3 runs scored of his own while striking out 11 and allowing 3 runs as they swept their former club. Now, they get to show off their proud new digs, and Craig Skinner gets to take the field against Belgian for the second time after being traded to the Squirrels last July and losing the first showdown in last year's playoffs.
Speaking of ever-present threats: of the 110 outs recorded by El Diablos this season, 90 have been strikeouts. Skinner has been the anchor of the rotation with a 0.33 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 2.5 K/BB ratio. Chandler has struggled with walks at times, but has still gotten the job done as a solid number two starter: getting 3 wins with a 1.88 ERA and 2.00 WHIP. In 8 games played their entire rotation has given up only 5 hits, and this past week surrendered only a single hit to the increasingly lauded Westside squad. Both losses this season have been suffered by a single run. Even with those heart-breakers, El Diablos have been consistent in every facet of the game this season. On the other hand, the new Belgian crew jumped right on the rollercoaster upon entering the league. After a quick 3-1 start propelled them to #24 in the NWLA rankings on May 5th, they are now struggling with a six-game losing streak that has dropped them to third place in Garcia, four games below .500. Their team batting average has dropped to .154, seventh in WSEM. Belgian's slugging percentage is also seventh in the league at .217, although, their team on-base percentage is fourth at .426 - about .100 points behind the league best. They also find themselves in the middle of the league with 3.6 runs scored per game and 2.4 runs allowed per game. So, despite the slump the Wiffles find themselves in, they are still in the hunt.
Pitching seems to be where Belgian's struggles lie at the moment. It is a team effort, as six different pitchers have taken the mound - most of any team in the league. Their 6.42 ERA is seventh in the league; their 2.49 WHIP, sixth. Belgian pitchers have also been stolen on ten times, which is by far the most in the league. Mark Brannan has been their bright spot toeing the rubber. He accounts for more than half of the team's strike outs with 51; his 3.51 ERA is a team best, as is his 2.55 K/BB ratio. Mark appears to be getting better with each start and locking down the ace role for Belgian, as he held the potent Aces offense scoreless through nine innings. The real question remains, "can the Wiffles find a consistent number two starter?" Perhaps the remedy for Belgian is getting back out on the road, though. They were 2-0 on the season before coming home, moving homes, and going 1-7 on the long home-stand. "Better on the road" sounds peculiar, but there may be some merit to just having to show up and play without having to worry about set up or responsibilities. To that point, it was noted by someone who has witnessed both series at Pervis Memorial that if you want to beat El Diablos at home you have to get to them early and do it in the first game, because their bats come alive as the series progresses. In fact, El Diablos dropped there first game last week at home to the Warriors, then promptly rallied to a one-sided 6-0 victory in response. There may be something to this theory after all. |
| Holy Grounds | Wiff-Hill | The Swamp | Pervis Memorial | ||||
| 5/23 | 5/25 | 5/25 | 5/26 | ||||
| KF | 0|0 | IS | 2|15 | IS | 8|15 | BW | 0|1 |
| HB | 7|3 | BW | 12|12 | DU | 7|13 | EL | 7|12 |
| Unavailable Pitchers: 1 Game: Dancza (BW), Castle (DU), Paquin (HB), C. Phillips (EL), C. Coffee (KF), Mundel (IS), DeMaria (WW), Bortmas (WA) 2 Games: |
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Ouch! It was a rough week for David and Alex, who went 1-4 and 0-5 respectively. On the other end, Paquin only missed on the "Diablos sweep" pick that everyone else also made. Rich is still out in front by one over Chris, but the two of them have some separation from David and Alex, now. This makes it the perfect time to incorporate a new element to the Picks: Lock of the Week! Each Picker may make one pick per week their lock, which will count as double: 2 correct if they hit, 2 wrong if they miss. They don't have to use the lock every week, but why not? There are four series this week, and the Belgian vs. El Diablos Marquee gets the honor of being our first "Series Point Spread" pick of the season. These work the same as point spreads in any other sports betting, except it incorporates the score from both games in a series. There is also an over/under pick for total home runs in the Islanders vs. Ducks series, a simple Yes-or-No for the Thursday night special between Friday and the Balls, and one lone "Series Result" pick: Islanders at Belgian Wiffles. Can David and Alex close the gap? Will Rich give up his lead for the first time in three weeks? |
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 David (7 - 10) |
 Richard (12 - 5) |
 Alex (6 - 11) |
 Chris (11 - 6) |
 @  Series Point Spread: EL -11.5 |
Belgian Wiffles +11.5 Tough call as I know who I plan on having pitch, however, they may be off their game, and last series run spread was 12. I'm going with under- ever so slightly. |
El Diablos -11.5 I also pick the over on the 11.5% chance that David finds a way to bring up Les Misérables during a Wiffleball game. |
El Diablos -11.5 Blos blow it wide open. |
El Diablos -11.5 Greg Brannon kills a squirrel in an attempt to make a diving grab. |
 @ Series Result |
Belgian Wiffles Sweep |
Belgian Wiffles Sweep |
1-1 Split Islanders newest recruit, Will Mundel, throws a no-hitter in game 2 (but not perfect game). |
Belgian Wiffles Sweep In spite of Hollister's theory, the mayor WILL swing the bat. |
@  Total Home Runs: Over/Under 5.5 |
Over |
Over During a blowout in the second game Alex calls Parley then orders his own team to walk the plank. |
Under Definitely UNDER. |
Over DP hits 3 bombs and does the horse trot while rounding the bases with the bat between his legs on the 100th. |
 Yes or No: Will Bullard get his first hit of the season against King Friday? |
Yes |
No |
Yes ... but he gets caught stealing immediately after. |
Yes He will shotgun a beer in celebration with me. (All other players on the field may join in the festivities |
