Yes, I know the Warriors and Ducks are also playing this week. Yes, I know those two are locked in a race for the final wild card spot, but guess what? They meet up again in two weeks to close out the season; I promise you that meeting will be the Marquee with everything on the line. Their fates will not be sealed this week, at least not in their series alone. Still holding a three game lead over the Ducks and a magic number of six, Westside has something more important to prove this week as a playoff contender: they need to hang with Whiteford, whom they would likely face in the first round, and at least threaten take a game at Poolside.
The Warriors pitchers staff also fell on hard times through this stretch. Their staff combined for an ERA of around 9.00 over the last eight games, which has ballooned their ERA up to 4.66, after allowing only 9 runs through their first ten games. The roster clearly has the potential to dance, but the second half has been a rough patch for the Warriors. They urgently need to turn things around with big games down the stretch. Perhaps they can take solace in three quarters of the last stretch having been played at home, where they will not spend much time in the coming weeks. The Wicked Aces, on the other hand, finish out the season with a long home stand. At Poolside the Aces are 3-1, and outscoring opponents 12-3. Mentioned their dominant, league leading ERA above, and Whiteford's WHIP is similarly elite: at 1.11 it is nearly 0.50 better than second best. The staff - which includes every player on the roster throwing in at least two games, by the way - has a K/BB ratio of 3.01; next best there is 2.20. For good measure, they also have the highest KPI (strike outs per inning) with 2.51. With the
It is not only pitching in the Aces bag of tricks this year, either. They added the Air Force style alternate look at home, and the offense has taken off with it: second in team batting average (.324) and OPS (1.069). Their numbers are down a bit at home - with a small sample size - where at least their next eight games will be played: a .262 team average and just one home run. Still, the important number at the friendly confines is the 3 RpG, compared to the 3 total runs against. Still quite friendly. That is the team Westside needs to be gunning for, the team that wins over the Ducks will get you the first week in August. Now, you cannot undersell the four remaining games with the Ducks, obviously, but right now Westside has a three game advantage over the Ducks. The Aces series needs to be a benchmark for the Warriors: if they play them close, they are getting back on track and that final series against the Ducks will be "must see TV." If they steal a game, they are in fantastic shape; however, most importantly, they cannot let this series look anything like the games two weeks ago. There is a lot at stake in both Westside series this weekend, but this is the one that will tell us most about the team and their chances right now. |
| The Island | The Swamp | Poolside Park | |||||
| 7/14 | 7/14 | 7/14 | 7/14 | ||||
| HB | 12|1 | WW | 1|9 | KF | 2|15 | WW | 0|0 |
| IS | 3|9 | DU | 6|0 | DU | 3|9 | WA | 12|2 |
| Unavailable Pitchers: 1 Game: Matt (BW), Morris (DU), C. Phillips (EL), Paquin (HB), Mundel (IS), M. Brannan (KF), Hatt (WW), Bortmas (WA) 2 Games: N/A |
|
Big week 11 for Chris, going 5-1. Every other Picker game in below the .500 mark: Alex was at 2-3, while David and Rich both went 2-4. In the first pick, 0 hits was still less than 1.5 even with 0 plate appearances, so Rich and Chris got points there; Chris doubled up with his lock. Picks 2a and 2b both came back negative, as there were no pool shot home runs and nobody getting wet; everybody got the first part wrong, but Rich and Chris got the second part right. The split in the Ducks/Balls series was correctly picked by David, Alex, and Chris, but David doubled up on it with his lock. Finally, Will Mundel went over the 10.5 K against El Diablos, so Alex and Chris both got a point there; Rich doubled down with a lock on the under, and came up wanting. The big happening out of all that: Chris has now pulled even with Rich at 33-20 to lead the pack with 3 weeks left to pick. In the last of two weeks focused on WSEM games, week 12 is all over the place. One basic series result pick in the most intriguing game of the week, one over/under for the most high-powered play in the league, one simple "yes or no" question for a short porch, and something entirely different for the fourth pick. If you're a fan of The Price is Right the premise of that last one will be familiar, but our guys can pick as low as zero. Also, if they get the number exactly, they only get double points instead of $1,000. |
 |
 David (20 - 32) |
 Richard (33 - 20) |
 Alex (16 - 26) |
 Chris (33 - 20) |
 @  Series Result |
1 - 1 Split |
Ducks Sweep Buhr promises to take the team out for ice cream if the get 2 hits. |
1 - 1 Split SPLIT it! |
Ducks Sweep Nader charges the mound after Pearson beans him. |
 @ Pearson HR hit: Over/Under 3 |
If I say over, then Pearson will certainly be over confident and hit under, therefore I can clearly not choose the over, however, if I say under, Pearson will feel like he needs to prove himself and hit more, therefore I can clearly not choose the over. Pearson has not built up an immunity to iocaine powder. Um... Under |
Under Lick it |
Under The Brannan's are shutting him DOWN! |
Over 4 ding dong daddy's. 1 off Hewlett, 3 off Brannan. |
@  Yes/No: Will Westside lefties hit a HR over RF short porch? |
No |
No |
No LICK IT! |
No Austin gets grounded; hits his mom in the head with a home run ball while she's in the pool. |
 @  Closest to it w/o going over: # of outs recorded before a run is scored |
2 |
4 |
10 IS the magic number. |
0 Lead off piss rocket, compliments of David Castle. |
