Captains Poll
by: Steve Dotzel
(posted Friday, August 5, 2022)
Been a minute since a Captains Poll has been released but with the final week of the regular season upon us, and plenty at stake, it felt like the right time to dive back in. The rankings themselves fall basically how you would expect, but I’ll work in some stats, milestones, and playoff scenarios as I run down the list of teams.
8. BDE (5-15)
What once was. At one point during the season, this team had a 5-1 record and was coming off a win over Nick Pugh and Scared Hitless. Since that game on May 29th BDE has lost 14 straight including two forfeit losses to close out the season this upcoming week. By my math, a sweep by the Diamond Dogs over Roadkill this week still puts BDE into the playoffs as the 6th seed at (5-15) thanks to a “record vs playoff teams” tiebreaker over both Diamond Dogs and Roadkill. An unlikely scenario but the team isn’t totally dead yet.
7. Diamond Dogs (3-15)
It’s been a rough season for the Dogs but you have to respect their ability to show up week in and week out, take their beatings like men, and shake your hand and tell you good game afterwards. The Diamond Dogs by my math are eliminated from playoff contention, however they can spoil the playoff party for Roadkill so perhaps that gives them a little added motivation for the final week.
6. Roadkill (5-13)
After a rough start, largely in part to a brutal schedule to begin the year, the Roadkill squad has rose from the ashes and now find themselves on the brink of a playoff berth. This rowdy bunch need just one win this week against the Diamond Dogs to secure their spot in the postseason. They’ll be without Jagar MacDonald who will miss the series with a suspension, but that shouldn’t be enough of a loss to cost the team a victory. It will be interesting to see what type of entrance Roadkill makes upon making the playoffs and if they can pull off a huge upset. They have wins over Scared Hitless, 5 Lokos, and Bases Loaded this year so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Wouldn’t that be something.
5. Bases Loaded (10-8)
Bases Loaded can still finish as high as the 3rd seed or as low as the 5th. They’ll be playing a highly motivated Scared Hitless so the matchup will be tough but that is one of the teams they are chasing to overtake in the standings. Regardless, this team will be involved in the opening round of the playoffs next week it’s just a matter of who they will see in the one game playoff. Bases Loaded players have accomplished several milestones over the past two weeks including Rob Hess becoming the 5th player in BWBL history to achieve 100 home runs for his career and proceeding to move into 4th place on the all-time list, Kevin Sickle moving into 3rd place on the all-time RBI list, and Joey Dougher becoming the 10th player in league history to record 30 wins on the mound.
4. 5 Lokos (10-6)
I’m not doing all the math but a quick glance at the standings and it would appear 5 Lokos can finish anywhere from the 2nd seed down to the 5th seed, but with four games to play this week there are a plethora of possibilities. If they can sweep both their series, which is a tall ask considering their opponents are False Idols and Scared Hitless, they will finish with a record of (14-6) which gives them the 2nd seed and the benefit of the bye that comes with that seed. A single loss on the day will eliminate them from that spot and they will have to settle for something between 3rd and 5th, both of which would mean an appearance in the one game playoffs. In what should be “playoff-like” conditions and matchups for 5 Lokos this week, we should get a good gauge of where this team stacks up headed into the postseason.
3. Scared Hitless (11-5)
Another team with four games left to play and several scenarios in play is Scared Hitless. They can finish anywhere from 1st to 5th. If they can manage to go 4-0 on the day they will guarantee themselves a top 2 seed and a bye from the opening round. They would secure the top overall seed if False Idols were to drop a game or if Hitless is able to make up 16 runs in differential as compared to Idols. A loss and a 3-1 finish on the day removes them from the possibility of the top seed but still puts them in play for the 2nd seed and a bye if False Idols were to lose two games or Idols lose one game and that run differential previously mentioned is overcome. It should be noted these tiebreakers are under the assumption Roadkill makes the playoffs, so they are subject to change. There may be a scenario where Hitless can also get the 2nd seed while finishing 13-7, which would mean a 2-2 day, but that’s something not worth getting into unless it happens. If the team can’t secure that 2nd seed, they too will find themselves in the one game playoff next week. However that shouldn’t be an uncomfortable situation for Hitless as they’ve begun their playoffs from that spot each of the past two seasons including their championship run in 2020.
2. Kings of the North (15-5)
The Kings had a chance to clinch the top seed last week but couldn’t pick up a victory in either of their games against False Idols. Now with their regular season complete, they’ll have to sit back and watch Sunday’s action to see where they wind up, which looks somewhere between 1st and 3rd. The Kings easiest path to the top overall seed requires both Idols and Hitless to lose at least one game each. If either of those teams were to win out, they would overtake Kings via tiebreakers. For Kings to drop to the 3rd seed, both Idols and Hitless would have to be perfect on the day. Just one combined loss by either team, and Kings clinches at least the 2nd seed and a bye which is likely the most realistic outcome. A recent milestone for the Kings was Andy Peck becoming the 4th player in league history to hit 100 home runs for his career.
1. False Idols (13-5)
The top team in the poll this week goes to False Idols who accounted for six of the eight 1st place votes, which comes as no surprise after their convincing sweep of Kings of the North last week. As well, Anthony Caladie is set to become eligible for the playoffs which puts this team on track to make their 4th straight championship series appearance. As far as seeding goes, they have the inside track to the top overall seed. To get it, they must win out and have Scared Hitless drop a game. If Hitless were to also win out, the Idols would still get the top seed assuming Roadkill makes the playoffs and Idols maintain their advantage over Hitless in run differential. A loss on the day for Idols eliminates from the top seed but still keeps them in play for the 2nd seed and a bye. With a loss, they’d be looking for two Scared Hitless losses or one Scared Hitless loss and maintaining their advantage in the differential tiebreaker. The 2nd seed may still be in play for Idols if they get swept, but we also won’t go there unless it happens. Something to watch for will be Brett Caladie who will attempt to complete a (9-0) season on the mound, coming off a (10-0) season last year. The only thing that stopped him this year from repeating that feat, assuming he gets the win this week, would have been COVID in Week 1. Quite the run of dominance.
8. BDE (5-15)
What once was. At one point during the season, this team had a 5-1 record and was coming off a win over Nick Pugh and Scared Hitless. Since that game on May 29th BDE has lost 14 straight including two forfeit losses to close out the season this upcoming week. By my math, a sweep by the Diamond Dogs over Roadkill this week still puts BDE into the playoffs as the 6th seed at (5-15) thanks to a “record vs playoff teams” tiebreaker over both Diamond Dogs and Roadkill. An unlikely scenario but the team isn’t totally dead yet.
7. Diamond Dogs (3-15)
It’s been a rough season for the Dogs but you have to respect their ability to show up week in and week out, take their beatings like men, and shake your hand and tell you good game afterwards. The Diamond Dogs by my math are eliminated from playoff contention, however they can spoil the playoff party for Roadkill so perhaps that gives them a little added motivation for the final week.
6. Roadkill (5-13)
After a rough start, largely in part to a brutal schedule to begin the year, the Roadkill squad has rose from the ashes and now find themselves on the brink of a playoff berth. This rowdy bunch need just one win this week against the Diamond Dogs to secure their spot in the postseason. They’ll be without Jagar MacDonald who will miss the series with a suspension, but that shouldn’t be enough of a loss to cost the team a victory. It will be interesting to see what type of entrance Roadkill makes upon making the playoffs and if they can pull off a huge upset. They have wins over Scared Hitless, 5 Lokos, and Bases Loaded this year so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Wouldn’t that be something.
5. Bases Loaded (10-8)
Bases Loaded can still finish as high as the 3rd seed or as low as the 5th. They’ll be playing a highly motivated Scared Hitless so the matchup will be tough but that is one of the teams they are chasing to overtake in the standings. Regardless, this team will be involved in the opening round of the playoffs next week it’s just a matter of who they will see in the one game playoff. Bases Loaded players have accomplished several milestones over the past two weeks including Rob Hess becoming the 5th player in BWBL history to achieve 100 home runs for his career and proceeding to move into 4th place on the all-time list, Kevin Sickle moving into 3rd place on the all-time RBI list, and Joey Dougher becoming the 10th player in league history to record 30 wins on the mound.
4. 5 Lokos (10-6)
I’m not doing all the math but a quick glance at the standings and it would appear 5 Lokos can finish anywhere from the 2nd seed down to the 5th seed, but with four games to play this week there are a plethora of possibilities. If they can sweep both their series, which is a tall ask considering their opponents are False Idols and Scared Hitless, they will finish with a record of (14-6) which gives them the 2nd seed and the benefit of the bye that comes with that seed. A single loss on the day will eliminate them from that spot and they will have to settle for something between 3rd and 5th, both of which would mean an appearance in the one game playoffs. In what should be “playoff-like” conditions and matchups for 5 Lokos this week, we should get a good gauge of where this team stacks up headed into the postseason.
3. Scared Hitless (11-5)
Another team with four games left to play and several scenarios in play is Scared Hitless. They can finish anywhere from 1st to 5th. If they can manage to go 4-0 on the day they will guarantee themselves a top 2 seed and a bye from the opening round. They would secure the top overall seed if False Idols were to drop a game or if Hitless is able to make up 16 runs in differential as compared to Idols. A loss and a 3-1 finish on the day removes them from the possibility of the top seed but still puts them in play for the 2nd seed and a bye if False Idols were to lose two games or Idols lose one game and that run differential previously mentioned is overcome. It should be noted these tiebreakers are under the assumption Roadkill makes the playoffs, so they are subject to change. There may be a scenario where Hitless can also get the 2nd seed while finishing 13-7, which would mean a 2-2 day, but that’s something not worth getting into unless it happens. If the team can’t secure that 2nd seed, they too will find themselves in the one game playoff next week. However that shouldn’t be an uncomfortable situation for Hitless as they’ve begun their playoffs from that spot each of the past two seasons including their championship run in 2020.
2. Kings of the North (15-5)
The Kings had a chance to clinch the top seed last week but couldn’t pick up a victory in either of their games against False Idols. Now with their regular season complete, they’ll have to sit back and watch Sunday’s action to see where they wind up, which looks somewhere between 1st and 3rd. The Kings easiest path to the top overall seed requires both Idols and Hitless to lose at least one game each. If either of those teams were to win out, they would overtake Kings via tiebreakers. For Kings to drop to the 3rd seed, both Idols and Hitless would have to be perfect on the day. Just one combined loss by either team, and Kings clinches at least the 2nd seed and a bye which is likely the most realistic outcome. A recent milestone for the Kings was Andy Peck becoming the 4th player in league history to hit 100 home runs for his career.
1. False Idols (13-5)
The top team in the poll this week goes to False Idols who accounted for six of the eight 1st place votes, which comes as no surprise after their convincing sweep of Kings of the North last week. As well, Anthony Caladie is set to become eligible for the playoffs which puts this team on track to make their 4th straight championship series appearance. As far as seeding goes, they have the inside track to the top overall seed. To get it, they must win out and have Scared Hitless drop a game. If Hitless were to also win out, the Idols would still get the top seed assuming Roadkill makes the playoffs and Idols maintain their advantage over Hitless in run differential. A loss on the day for Idols eliminates from the top seed but still keeps them in play for the 2nd seed and a bye. With a loss, they’d be looking for two Scared Hitless losses or one Scared Hitless loss and maintaining their advantage in the differential tiebreaker. The 2nd seed may still be in play for Idols if they get swept, but we also won’t go there unless it happens. Something to watch for will be Brett Caladie who will attempt to complete a (9-0) season on the mound, coming off a (10-0) season last year. The only thing that stopped him this year from repeating that feat, assuming he gets the win this week, would have been COVID in Week 1. Quite the run of dominance.
Captains Poll
by: Steve Dotzel
(posted Sunday, May 29, 2022)
I was looking forward to this poll, as there have been several surprise results already in this young season. We are just two weeks in and there is already only one undefeated team left – a team that doesn’t even have a single first place vote and who is likely to pick up their first loss this week. There is also only one winless team remaining, something that will not last through the season for sure. It is nice to see the parity. With that said, the Captains aren’t quite convinced of some of the fast and slow starts we’ve seen so far, and the rankings remain mostly similar to where they were before the season. Nonetheless, let’s take a look.
8. Diamond Dogs (1-3) Previous Rank: 8th
Diamond Dogs weren’t able to follow up their surprise Week 1 victory with another in Week 2, falling to BDE by scores of 8-4 and 27-13. That matchup of course featured a bit of a rivalry between Dillan Ryman and TJ French, who were teammates last season. TJ got the last laugh but these teams will meet again later in the season.
7. Roadkill (0-4) Previous Rank: 5th
Roadkill is the last winless team left in the league for this season however they played Scared Hitless close losing Game 1 by the score of just 3-2. As I mentioned in the last article, the biggest issue facing Roadkill early on is the schedule. Barring what would be deemed an upset, they could be looking at a 0-8 record headed into June 19th. It’s a good enough team to perhaps pick off a win before then but keep an eye on this group in the second half of the season where I think they’ll make a real charge.
6. 5 Lokos (2-2) Previous Rank: 6th
Not much love for 5 Lokos here despite pulling off a stunning sweep over Kings of the North last week as they hold steady in the 6th spot. The addition of a sixth playoff spot this week is great news for this squad and the two wins over Kings will help make up for the two losses against BDE the week prior. If they can take care of business against Diamond Dogs this week they’ll have a four game cushion over both them and Roadkill for a playoff spot here early on.
5. BDE (4-0) Previous Rank: 7th
No surprise to see BDE make a climb in the rankings with their perfect start, though perhaps they expected to crack the Top 4. The Captains are apparently not quite sold yet, given the quality of their wins thus far. BDE can change that perception this week with a series on deck against Scared Hitless. It will be a revenge game for Julian Sperazza facing his former team. A win here for BDE and I’d expect them to start being taken more seriously.
4. Kings of the North (1-3) Previous Rank: 3rd
For a team which is typically known for its offense, it has been surprisingly missing thus far early on. The Kings have only mustered 13 runs this season, 9 less than any other team. Things won’t get any easier this week either against a Bases Loaded team with top tier pitching. Still too early to panic though for a team with this many veterans, and the Captains agree by keeping them in the Top 4.
3. Bases Loaded (3-1) – 1 1st place vote Previous Rank: 4th
Bases Loaded were not able to solve Brett Caladie last week, but did manage to pick up a win in Game 2 to come away with a split against division rival False Idols despite missing Joey Dougher on the mound. This team could be the wildcard of the rest of the season, having added Zach Artim to the team roster. Artim would obviously be a major upgrade on the mound and could vault Bases Loaded to the top of this list in the next few weeks if he were to make some appearances.
2. False Idols (2-2) – 2 1st place votes Previous Rank: 1st
Through two weeks False Idols have now matched their loss total from the entire 2021 season. It’s no surprise trying to replace Anthony Caladie both on the mound and at the plate is proving difficult, so a pullback was to be expected. On the positive side of things, Brett Caladie made his 2022 debut last week in dominant fashion with a one hit shutout. False Idols is trending towards a team that will win Brett’s starts and battle it out in close fashion when others start.
1. Scared Hitless (3-1) – 5 1st place votes Previous Rank: 1st
Last time around Scared Hitless had to share the top spot with False Idols, but this week they have it all to themselves. After squeaking out a 3-2 win over Roadkill in Game 1 last week, they coughed up a nine run lead in Game 2 before pulling out the win in the 5th inning. It speaks to the parity around the league this year when the 7th ranked team has a chance at two wins against the 1st place team. Shout out to David Brigido who made what was already the league’s all-time worst ERA, even worse by giving up 4 runs without recording an out. Hitless has what should be a fun series this week against the undefeated BDE squad.
Stats to Watch For
Alex Fuchylo needs 5 HRs to tie Bob Loftus, Sr. for 2nd on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Andy Peck needs 5 HRs to become the 4th player in BWBL history to hit 100 all-time.
Rob Hess needs 1 HR to tie Mark Belles and Doug Novitski for 5th on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Kevin Sickle needs 2 HRs to tie Mark Belles and Doug Novitski for 5th on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Steve Dotzel needs 6 RBIs to become the 12th player in BWBL history to record 300 all-time.
Steve Homza needs 1 hit to reach 200 for his career and would become the 27th player in BWBL history to achieve the mark.
Brett Rooney needs 11 hits to reach 200 for his career.
John Kotsko needs 18 hits to reach 200 for his career.
Josh Quick needs 16 hits to reach 100 for his career.
Alex Fuchylo needs 5 innings pitched to pass Bobby Loftus, Jr. for 3rd on the BWBL all-time innings pitched list.
Steve Dotzel needs 28 strikeouts to become the 5th player in BWBL history to record 500 all-time.
Joey Dougher needs 1 win to become the 10th player in BWBL history record 30 all-time.
Recent Milestones
Tom Hannon became the 2nd player in BWBL history to record 700 hits all-time.
8. Diamond Dogs (1-3) Previous Rank: 8th
Diamond Dogs weren’t able to follow up their surprise Week 1 victory with another in Week 2, falling to BDE by scores of 8-4 and 27-13. That matchup of course featured a bit of a rivalry between Dillan Ryman and TJ French, who were teammates last season. TJ got the last laugh but these teams will meet again later in the season.
7. Roadkill (0-4) Previous Rank: 5th
Roadkill is the last winless team left in the league for this season however they played Scared Hitless close losing Game 1 by the score of just 3-2. As I mentioned in the last article, the biggest issue facing Roadkill early on is the schedule. Barring what would be deemed an upset, they could be looking at a 0-8 record headed into June 19th. It’s a good enough team to perhaps pick off a win before then but keep an eye on this group in the second half of the season where I think they’ll make a real charge.
6. 5 Lokos (2-2) Previous Rank: 6th
Not much love for 5 Lokos here despite pulling off a stunning sweep over Kings of the North last week as they hold steady in the 6th spot. The addition of a sixth playoff spot this week is great news for this squad and the two wins over Kings will help make up for the two losses against BDE the week prior. If they can take care of business against Diamond Dogs this week they’ll have a four game cushion over both them and Roadkill for a playoff spot here early on.
5. BDE (4-0) Previous Rank: 7th
No surprise to see BDE make a climb in the rankings with their perfect start, though perhaps they expected to crack the Top 4. The Captains are apparently not quite sold yet, given the quality of their wins thus far. BDE can change that perception this week with a series on deck against Scared Hitless. It will be a revenge game for Julian Sperazza facing his former team. A win here for BDE and I’d expect them to start being taken more seriously.
4. Kings of the North (1-3) Previous Rank: 3rd
For a team which is typically known for its offense, it has been surprisingly missing thus far early on. The Kings have only mustered 13 runs this season, 9 less than any other team. Things won’t get any easier this week either against a Bases Loaded team with top tier pitching. Still too early to panic though for a team with this many veterans, and the Captains agree by keeping them in the Top 4.
3. Bases Loaded (3-1) – 1 1st place vote Previous Rank: 4th
Bases Loaded were not able to solve Brett Caladie last week, but did manage to pick up a win in Game 2 to come away with a split against division rival False Idols despite missing Joey Dougher on the mound. This team could be the wildcard of the rest of the season, having added Zach Artim to the team roster. Artim would obviously be a major upgrade on the mound and could vault Bases Loaded to the top of this list in the next few weeks if he were to make some appearances.
2. False Idols (2-2) – 2 1st place votes Previous Rank: 1st
Through two weeks False Idols have now matched their loss total from the entire 2021 season. It’s no surprise trying to replace Anthony Caladie both on the mound and at the plate is proving difficult, so a pullback was to be expected. On the positive side of things, Brett Caladie made his 2022 debut last week in dominant fashion with a one hit shutout. False Idols is trending towards a team that will win Brett’s starts and battle it out in close fashion when others start.
1. Scared Hitless (3-1) – 5 1st place votes Previous Rank: 1st
Last time around Scared Hitless had to share the top spot with False Idols, but this week they have it all to themselves. After squeaking out a 3-2 win over Roadkill in Game 1 last week, they coughed up a nine run lead in Game 2 before pulling out the win in the 5th inning. It speaks to the parity around the league this year when the 7th ranked team has a chance at two wins against the 1st place team. Shout out to David Brigido who made what was already the league’s all-time worst ERA, even worse by giving up 4 runs without recording an out. Hitless has what should be a fun series this week against the undefeated BDE squad.
Stats to Watch For
Alex Fuchylo needs 5 HRs to tie Bob Loftus, Sr. for 2nd on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Andy Peck needs 5 HRs to become the 4th player in BWBL history to hit 100 all-time.
Rob Hess needs 1 HR to tie Mark Belles and Doug Novitski for 5th on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Kevin Sickle needs 2 HRs to tie Mark Belles and Doug Novitski for 5th on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Steve Dotzel needs 6 RBIs to become the 12th player in BWBL history to record 300 all-time.
Steve Homza needs 1 hit to reach 200 for his career and would become the 27th player in BWBL history to achieve the mark.
Brett Rooney needs 11 hits to reach 200 for his career.
John Kotsko needs 18 hits to reach 200 for his career.
Josh Quick needs 16 hits to reach 100 for his career.
Alex Fuchylo needs 5 innings pitched to pass Bobby Loftus, Jr. for 3rd on the BWBL all-time innings pitched list.
Steve Dotzel needs 28 strikeouts to become the 5th player in BWBL history to record 500 all-time.
Joey Dougher needs 1 win to become the 10th player in BWBL history record 30 all-time.
Recent Milestones
Tom Hannon became the 2nd player in BWBL history to record 700 hits all-time.
First Captains Poll of the New Season
by: Steve Dotzel
(posted Friday, May 20, 2022)
I should have had this written last week, but hey, better late than never. I won’t be running the Captain’s Poll every week this season, as it just gets too mundane, but every two to three weeks I will get a sense of where everyone stands. How do teams stack up headed into the 2022 season in the eyes of the eight captains? Let’s take a look.
Note: Poll was conducted prior to Week 1 games.
8. Diamond Dogs
Not much of a surprise here with the Diamond Dogs kicking off the list. New teams typically find themselves at the bottom of the rankings and considering that the only recent experience many of the rostered players have on this team was on a 0-20 squad last season, expectations are low. With that said, that didn’t stop the Diamond Dogs from pulling off a huge upset win over False Idols Week 1.
7. BDE
Maybe a little surprising to see this team below a few of the others yet to come, considering the experience of Julian Sperazza, but nonetheless here they are. There are some athletic softball transplants on this roster that after some adjustments, might be able to have this team in playoff consideration by season’s end. They started the campaign off with a big sweep of the next team on our list. Which team can take advantage and pick up sweeps over other bottom tier teams will certainly determine a wild card spot.
6. 5 Lokos
That brings us to the 5 Lokos squad, the third and final of the “new” teams to the league for the 2022 season. The fifth playoff spot appears to be absolutely wide open coming into the season and the Lokos could find themselves right in the mix if they can take care of business against Roadkill and the other new teams. But a 0-2 start at the hands of BDE will have them behind the eight ball here early.
5. Roadkill
Roadkill enters the season as the captains pick as the fifth best team in the league, presumably making them a playoff team. As previously mentioned it should be a good battle for that spot all season long. Roadkill showed some flashes last season, especially at the plate, they will just need to find a pitcher out of the 261 players on their roster. They didn’t have much success there in Week 1 and were swept by Bases Loaded. However that was not a series Roadkill was expected to pick up a win in and thanks to a difficult early schedule, that might be the case through mid-June with matchups against Scared Hitless, Kings of the North, and False Idols to start the year.
4. Bases Loaded
Some major offseason moves has put Bases Loaded from a fringe playoff team to a legit title contender for 2022. The addition of Joey Dougher gives the team a 1-2 punch on the mound with Gerald Johnson returning, and Steve Homza and Rob Hess were brought in to bolster the offense. That paid dividends immediately with Hess driving in 14 runs, Homza scoring 7, and Dougher picking up a win all in an opening weekend sweep.
3. Kings of the North
Another team that retooled their roster in the offseason is Kings of the North. After struggling to field a team for much of 2021 the Kings added Steve Dotzel and Mikey Lenchak from the now defunct Wiffleball Junkies and coaxed George Moser and Joe Foose out of retirement. After a favorable draw in what’s perceived to be the easier division, it would be a major shock for anyone to claim the American Division crown besides the Kings. The Kings split the opening series with Scared Hitless which could be a very likely playoff matchup down the line.
1. Scared Hitless (4)
There was a tie at the top of the poll so Scared Hitless will enter as the co-favorites to take home the 2022 title. With one captain missing from the vote, Hitless’ four 1st place votes are the most. Led on the mound by Nick Pugh, where he should contend for both the Cy Young and MVP this season, Hitless will battle it out with Bases Loaded and False Idols all season in the National Division. There will be a very fine line this year between a top 2 seed and the play in game, the latter of which Hitless would like to avoid participating in for the 3rd straight season. Hitless came away with a split to start the season.
1. False Idols (3)
Making up the other half of the 1st place tie and picking up three 1st place votes is the defending champion team of False Idols. Had this team had a full time commitment from Anthony Caladie, they likely are the overwhelming favorite, however as it stands they’ll rely mostly on Brett Caladie and James Ziobro to carry the load. The team’s reliance on Brett showed itself early, falling in a surprise upset in Week 1 to Diamond Dogs in Brett’s absence. Not much to worry about here though assuming Brett is present more often than not, which he is expected to be.
Stats to Watch For:
Alex Fuchylo needs 5 HRs to tie Bob Loftus, Sr. for 2nd on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Andy Peck needs 5 HRs to become the 4th player in BWBL history to hit 100 all-time.
Rob Hess needs 1 HR to tie Mark Belles and Doug Novitski for 5th on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Kevin Sickle needs 2 HRs to tie Mark Belles and Doug Novitski for 5th on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Steve Dotzel needs 6 RBIs to become the 12th player in BWBL history to record 300 all-time.
Tom Hannon needs 3 hits to become the 2nd player in BWBL history to record 700 all-time.
Steve Homza needs 1 hit to reach 200 for his career and would become the 27th player in BWBL history to achieve the mark.
Brett Rooney needs 12 hits to reach 200 for his career.
John Kotsko needs 20 hits to reach 200 for his career.
Josh Quick needs 18 hits to reach 100 for his career.
Alex Fuchylo needs 8 2/3 innings pitched to pass Bobby Loftus, Jr. for 3rd on the BWBL all-time innings pitched list.
Steve Dotzel needs 28 strikeouts to become the 5th player in BWBL history to record 500 all-time.
Joey Dougher needs 1 win to become the 10th player in BWBL history record 30 all-time.
Recent Milestones
Kevin Sickle became the 7th player in BWBL history to record 500 hits all-time.
Steve Dotzel became the 6th player in BWBL history to record 300 career innings pitched.
Note: Poll was conducted prior to Week 1 games.
8. Diamond Dogs
Not much of a surprise here with the Diamond Dogs kicking off the list. New teams typically find themselves at the bottom of the rankings and considering that the only recent experience many of the rostered players have on this team was on a 0-20 squad last season, expectations are low. With that said, that didn’t stop the Diamond Dogs from pulling off a huge upset win over False Idols Week 1.
7. BDE
Maybe a little surprising to see this team below a few of the others yet to come, considering the experience of Julian Sperazza, but nonetheless here they are. There are some athletic softball transplants on this roster that after some adjustments, might be able to have this team in playoff consideration by season’s end. They started the campaign off with a big sweep of the next team on our list. Which team can take advantage and pick up sweeps over other bottom tier teams will certainly determine a wild card spot.
6. 5 Lokos
That brings us to the 5 Lokos squad, the third and final of the “new” teams to the league for the 2022 season. The fifth playoff spot appears to be absolutely wide open coming into the season and the Lokos could find themselves right in the mix if they can take care of business against Roadkill and the other new teams. But a 0-2 start at the hands of BDE will have them behind the eight ball here early.
5. Roadkill
Roadkill enters the season as the captains pick as the fifth best team in the league, presumably making them a playoff team. As previously mentioned it should be a good battle for that spot all season long. Roadkill showed some flashes last season, especially at the plate, they will just need to find a pitcher out of the 261 players on their roster. They didn’t have much success there in Week 1 and were swept by Bases Loaded. However that was not a series Roadkill was expected to pick up a win in and thanks to a difficult early schedule, that might be the case through mid-June with matchups against Scared Hitless, Kings of the North, and False Idols to start the year.
4. Bases Loaded
Some major offseason moves has put Bases Loaded from a fringe playoff team to a legit title contender for 2022. The addition of Joey Dougher gives the team a 1-2 punch on the mound with Gerald Johnson returning, and Steve Homza and Rob Hess were brought in to bolster the offense. That paid dividends immediately with Hess driving in 14 runs, Homza scoring 7, and Dougher picking up a win all in an opening weekend sweep.
3. Kings of the North
Another team that retooled their roster in the offseason is Kings of the North. After struggling to field a team for much of 2021 the Kings added Steve Dotzel and Mikey Lenchak from the now defunct Wiffleball Junkies and coaxed George Moser and Joe Foose out of retirement. After a favorable draw in what’s perceived to be the easier division, it would be a major shock for anyone to claim the American Division crown besides the Kings. The Kings split the opening series with Scared Hitless which could be a very likely playoff matchup down the line.
1. Scared Hitless (4)
There was a tie at the top of the poll so Scared Hitless will enter as the co-favorites to take home the 2022 title. With one captain missing from the vote, Hitless’ four 1st place votes are the most. Led on the mound by Nick Pugh, where he should contend for both the Cy Young and MVP this season, Hitless will battle it out with Bases Loaded and False Idols all season in the National Division. There will be a very fine line this year between a top 2 seed and the play in game, the latter of which Hitless would like to avoid participating in for the 3rd straight season. Hitless came away with a split to start the season.
1. False Idols (3)
Making up the other half of the 1st place tie and picking up three 1st place votes is the defending champion team of False Idols. Had this team had a full time commitment from Anthony Caladie, they likely are the overwhelming favorite, however as it stands they’ll rely mostly on Brett Caladie and James Ziobro to carry the load. The team’s reliance on Brett showed itself early, falling in a surprise upset in Week 1 to Diamond Dogs in Brett’s absence. Not much to worry about here though assuming Brett is present more often than not, which he is expected to be.
Stats to Watch For:
Alex Fuchylo needs 5 HRs to tie Bob Loftus, Sr. for 2nd on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Andy Peck needs 5 HRs to become the 4th player in BWBL history to hit 100 all-time.
Rob Hess needs 1 HR to tie Mark Belles and Doug Novitski for 5th on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Kevin Sickle needs 2 HRs to tie Mark Belles and Doug Novitski for 5th on the BWBL all-time HR list.
Steve Dotzel needs 6 RBIs to become the 12th player in BWBL history to record 300 all-time.
Tom Hannon needs 3 hits to become the 2nd player in BWBL history to record 700 all-time.
Steve Homza needs 1 hit to reach 200 for his career and would become the 27th player in BWBL history to achieve the mark.
Brett Rooney needs 12 hits to reach 200 for his career.
John Kotsko needs 20 hits to reach 200 for his career.
Josh Quick needs 18 hits to reach 100 for his career.
Alex Fuchylo needs 8 2/3 innings pitched to pass Bobby Loftus, Jr. for 3rd on the BWBL all-time innings pitched list.
Steve Dotzel needs 28 strikeouts to become the 5th player in BWBL history to record 500 all-time.
Joey Dougher needs 1 win to become the 10th player in BWBL history record 30 all-time.
Recent Milestones
Kevin Sickle became the 7th player in BWBL history to record 500 hits all-time.
Steve Dotzel became the 6th player in BWBL history to record 300 career innings pitched.
End of Regular Season Captains Poll
by: Steve Dotzel
(posted Saturday, August 28, 2021)
And just like that, the season is over. 2021 had its ups and downs but overall I think the BWBL had a pretty good season and kept things interesting right down to the final few series of the year. I wanted to wrap things up with one last Captain’s Poll, the first since July 18th, just to gauge what everyone was thinking headed into the playoffs. I imagine this will be the last article I write for the season, except for maybe an Awards run-down, so I hope you’ve enjoyed the polls, milestones, stats, and scenarios I have posted over the course of the year. Let’s see how the Captains have voted.
8. Waffle Bombers
No surprise here of course after finishing the season 0-20. If looking for a silver lining, the last BWBL team to go winless turned around and won the championship the following season. I’m not sure that will be in the cards for the Bombers but if they come back, I’d certainly expect some improvement. Anybody will tell you experience is a huge factor in wiffleball.
7. Roadkill
A disappointing debut season I’d imagine for the Kraus brothers, but with a roster as large and in-flux as there’s was all year, it’s hard to have much consistency. A positive takeaway for Roadkill however is some of these guys can actually hit. A more consistent roster and some pitching development and these guys could certainly find themselves in the Bases Loaded-Wiffleball Junkies level of teams next season.
6. Bases Loaded
I think Bases Loaded pretty much finished the season right about where they would have expected to be, fighting for the final playoff spot right down to the last week of the season. Unfortunately for them that went to the Junkies but Bases Loaded had some bright spots, such as Gerald who threw some really good games throughout the season.
5. Wiffleball Junkies
It came down to the wire but the Junkies were able to secure a playoff spot in the final series of the year. The Junkies had their struggles this year but despite that do end the season with wins over Kings of the North, Scared Hitless (2), and False Idols. It’s no secret their playoffs will go as far as my arm will take them, hopefully that can be pretty far. The Junkies will meet Scared Hitless in the play-in game.
4. Scared Hitless
After some struggles early in part to a difficult schedule, Scared Hitless was able to find their way into the playoffs fairly easily. They head into the playoffs in a similar spot to their 2020 championship run, with a matchup against the Junkies in the play in game. Last year they won that game 1-0 on a 5th inning RBI single. On paper, this looks to be another tight one with the Junkies. The Junkies swept the season series but one of those games went to extra innings and the other was decided by just 1 run. I expect Nick Pugh to get the nod and we’ll see if the 2020 hero can carry the team once again.
3. Kings of the North
Speaking of early season struggles that could also be said for the Kings who were winless all the way up until July 11th. Of course, they didn’t play that many games up until then but they made up for it with plenty down the stretch.
2. 1776
For the first time this season, 1776 does not find themselves at the top of the poll. It is also the first time they did not receive the majority of the 1st place votes, 3 this time around. I think the drop is more of a compliment to False Idols than a knock on 1776. While everyone was anticipating the 1776 – Idols show down last week, with little to play for 1776 pumped the brakes and didn’t show too much. If we are to get that long awaited matchup, it’ll be in the championship.
1. False Idols
With 5 1st place votes, False Idols jump to the top spot for the final poll of 2021. On the mound the Caladie brothers put together one of the best 1-2 punch performances in league history. Brett became the first pitcher in BWBL history to go 10-0 and Anthony finished the year with a league leading 0.40 ERA to along with a 0.88 WHIP. Both are top 3 marks all-time for a Medium Pitch season. It will be interesting to see what False Idols does with their lineup for the playoffs, regardless you know the Caladies will be at the top. Brett has put together one of the most incredible stats in league history, playing all 20 games and only striking out twice the entire season. False Idols await the winner of the one game playoff meaning they will either see a rematch of last year’s championship with Scared Hitless or the Junkies who Idols went 3-1 against this year.
Recent Milestones
Brett Caladie became the 1st pitcher in BWBL history to achieve 10 wins in a single season, going a perfect 10-0.
Anthony Caladie finished the season with a 0.40 ERA, which is the 2nd lowest mark in Medium Pitch history and the 3rd lowest all-time.
Zach Artim finished the season with a 0.47 ERA, which is the 3rd lowest mark in Medium Pitch history and the 5th lowest all-time.
Zach Artim finished the season with a 0.62 WHIP which is the lowest mark in BWBL history.
Anthony Caladie finished the season with a 0.88 WHIP which is the 3rd lowest mark in Medium Pitch history.
Andy Peck passed Doug Novitski for 4th on the BWBL all-time HR list with 95.
Steve Dotzel passed Steve Owazany for 9th on the BWBL all-time HR list with 83.
Alex Fuchylo achieved 400 RBIs for his career, making him the 5th player in BWBL history to reach that mark.
8. Waffle Bombers
No surprise here of course after finishing the season 0-20. If looking for a silver lining, the last BWBL team to go winless turned around and won the championship the following season. I’m not sure that will be in the cards for the Bombers but if they come back, I’d certainly expect some improvement. Anybody will tell you experience is a huge factor in wiffleball.
7. Roadkill
A disappointing debut season I’d imagine for the Kraus brothers, but with a roster as large and in-flux as there’s was all year, it’s hard to have much consistency. A positive takeaway for Roadkill however is some of these guys can actually hit. A more consistent roster and some pitching development and these guys could certainly find themselves in the Bases Loaded-Wiffleball Junkies level of teams next season.
6. Bases Loaded
I think Bases Loaded pretty much finished the season right about where they would have expected to be, fighting for the final playoff spot right down to the last week of the season. Unfortunately for them that went to the Junkies but Bases Loaded had some bright spots, such as Gerald who threw some really good games throughout the season.
5. Wiffleball Junkies
It came down to the wire but the Junkies were able to secure a playoff spot in the final series of the year. The Junkies had their struggles this year but despite that do end the season with wins over Kings of the North, Scared Hitless (2), and False Idols. It’s no secret their playoffs will go as far as my arm will take them, hopefully that can be pretty far. The Junkies will meet Scared Hitless in the play-in game.
4. Scared Hitless
After some struggles early in part to a difficult schedule, Scared Hitless was able to find their way into the playoffs fairly easily. They head into the playoffs in a similar spot to their 2020 championship run, with a matchup against the Junkies in the play in game. Last year they won that game 1-0 on a 5th inning RBI single. On paper, this looks to be another tight one with the Junkies. The Junkies swept the season series but one of those games went to extra innings and the other was decided by just 1 run. I expect Nick Pugh to get the nod and we’ll see if the 2020 hero can carry the team once again.
3. Kings of the North
Speaking of early season struggles that could also be said for the Kings who were winless all the way up until July 11th. Of course, they didn’t play that many games up until then but they made up for it with plenty down the stretch.
2. 1776
For the first time this season, 1776 does not find themselves at the top of the poll. It is also the first time they did not receive the majority of the 1st place votes, 3 this time around. I think the drop is more of a compliment to False Idols than a knock on 1776. While everyone was anticipating the 1776 – Idols show down last week, with little to play for 1776 pumped the brakes and didn’t show too much. If we are to get that long awaited matchup, it’ll be in the championship.
1. False Idols
With 5 1st place votes, False Idols jump to the top spot for the final poll of 2021. On the mound the Caladie brothers put together one of the best 1-2 punch performances in league history. Brett became the first pitcher in BWBL history to go 10-0 and Anthony finished the year with a league leading 0.40 ERA to along with a 0.88 WHIP. Both are top 3 marks all-time for a Medium Pitch season. It will be interesting to see what False Idols does with their lineup for the playoffs, regardless you know the Caladies will be at the top. Brett has put together one of the most incredible stats in league history, playing all 20 games and only striking out twice the entire season. False Idols await the winner of the one game playoff meaning they will either see a rematch of last year’s championship with Scared Hitless or the Junkies who Idols went 3-1 against this year.
Recent Milestones
Brett Caladie became the 1st pitcher in BWBL history to achieve 10 wins in a single season, going a perfect 10-0.
Anthony Caladie finished the season with a 0.40 ERA, which is the 2nd lowest mark in Medium Pitch history and the 3rd lowest all-time.
Zach Artim finished the season with a 0.47 ERA, which is the 3rd lowest mark in Medium Pitch history and the 5th lowest all-time.
Zach Artim finished the season with a 0.62 WHIP which is the lowest mark in BWBL history.
Anthony Caladie finished the season with a 0.88 WHIP which is the 3rd lowest mark in Medium Pitch history.
Andy Peck passed Doug Novitski for 4th on the BWBL all-time HR list with 95.
Steve Dotzel passed Steve Owazany for 9th on the BWBL all-time HR list with 83.
Alex Fuchylo achieved 400 RBIs for his career, making him the 5th player in BWBL history to reach that mark.
End of the Season Captains Poll
by: Steve Dotzel
(posted Friday, August 21, 2020)
It’s been a few weeks since a Captain’s Poll has been published, but it’s back as we head in to the final week of the regular season. The captains are confident at the top as all eight of them put the same three teams in each of the top three spots. Let’s see how the poll shook out and run through the playoff scenarios for each team.
8. Bases Loaded (2-16)
As expected Bases Loaded heads into the final week with nothing to play for, at least on paper. However that has been the case for several weeks yet the team has been playing much better in the 2nd half of the season, picking up two wins along the way, thanks in most part to some strong pitching performances from Gerald Johnson. Surely Bases Loaded will just try and enjoy their final series of the season.
7. Electric City Express (5-13)
Another team that has been a bit of a thorn in team’s sides is ECE who is coming off a surprising sweep of Bad Meets Evil last week. After crunching the numbers, it is possible for ECE to finish in a tie for the last wild card spot. That would require them to sweep Scared Hitless on Sunday along with Scared Hitless then losing both games to Kings of the North AND Bad Meets Evil losing both games to Flying Pierogies. This would put both ECE and BME at a 7-13 record, while Scared Hitless would be 6-14. This would result in a tiebreaker between ECE and BME. First is head to head, which is a 2-2 tie. Next would be record vs playoff teams which is another tie at 1-9 for both teams. That leaves run differential as the deciding factor. BME currently sits at -15 for the season, whereas ECE is at -90. So yes it is technically possible for ECE to make the playoffs but they would somehow have to make up that differential which is highly unlikely.
6. Bad Meets Evil (7-11)
BME has faltered down the stretch winning just one of their last ten games. This can likely be attributed to missing both Curtis Wagner and Doug Novitski for most of that stretch. In fact, both players are in line to be ineligible for the playoffs if BME were to make it. That is obviously a big blow for the pitching staff on this team. Regardless, playoffs are still a possibility for BME. I will discuss their scenarios below.
5. Scared Hitless (6-10)
Scared Hitless saved their season and kept them playoff dreams alive last week in a sweep over Bad Meets Evil. The two wins put the team in a very good position for the final wild card spot. It will come down to them and BME and the scenarios are a bit messy, so let’s get to it.
Scenario #1 – Both teams finish the season with a record of 7-13. For this to happen, BME would have to lose both games to the Pierogies and Scared Hitless would have to win one of their four games on the day (any more wins than one and Scared Hitless will get the spot). If this happens the tiebreaker will go to record vs playoff teams since the head to head on the year is tied at 2-2. BME would finish with a 1-9 record vs playoff teams whereas Scared Hitless would finish either 2-8 or 3-7 depending in which series they picked up their one win. Either way, if BME gets swept and Scared Hitless wins at least one game on the day, Scared Hitless will get the final playoff spot.
Scenario #2 – Both teams finish with a record of 8-12. For this to happen, BME would have to split with the Pierogies and Scared Hitless would have to go 2-2 in their four games on the day (any more wins than two and Scared Hitless will get the spot). If this happens the tiebreaker will again go to record vs playoff teams. BME would now have a record of 2-8 while Scared Hitless can have a record of either 2-8, 3-7, or 4-6 depending on where they got their wins. If they were to sweep ECE and then get swept by Kings of the North that would give them the 2-8 record which means the run differential tiebreaker would come into play. BME is -15 and Scared Hitless is -51. So it would appear BME has the edge on the last spot here. If Scared Hitless were to beat Kings of the North at least once in recording their two wins on the day, then they would take the final spot over BME.
Scenario #3 – Both teams finish the season with a record of 9-11. For this to happen, BME would have to sweep the Pierogies and Scared Hitless would have to win three of their four games on the day (4/4 would give them the last spot). If this happens the tiebreaker will once again go to record vs playoff teams. BME would be sitting at 3-7 and Scared Hitless would be either 3-7 or 4-6 depending on where they got their three wins. If they sweep ECE and split with Kings that would give them the 3-7 mark where they would likely lose the run differential tiebreaker yet again. But if they split with ECE and sweep Kings, they would take the final spot.
So in summary the easiest (and most likely) way for Scared Hitless to take the final playoff spot would be for BME to get swept by the Pierogies and Scared Hitless themselves wins one game somewhere. If BME can pull out a split, then Hitless would need to find a way to beat Kings of the North one time.
Got all of that?
4. Wiffleball Junkies (8-10)
The Junkies are securely into the playoffs as they hold the tiebreaker over Scared Hitless, if the two were to finish tied at 8-12. The Junkies can clinch the #4 seed with one win on Sunday against Bases Loaded OR by one loss from BME against the Pierogies. So it seems all but certain that is where they will end up. From there they will wait to see who they will face in the play-in game, either BME or Scared Hitless. The Junkies split with each team during the regular season.
3. Kings of the North (11-5)
2. Balls Deep (14-4)
-While the National Division title is still up for grabs between these two teams, the outcome matters very little. With no chance of either moving up to the top spot or dropping to the fourth spot, which one of these teams comes out as division champ will only determine who is home for next week’s playoff series between the two. It will be interesting to see how both teams approach their meeting this week, considering they will play again next week in a much more important series. It is possible you won’t see any of the top arms on the day.
1. Flying Pierogies (17-1)
-The Pierogies are the clear cut top team heading into the playoffs in terms of both record and perception. At 17-1 they already have the top seed clinched and in this poll they received all eight 1st place votes. They will sit back and wait to see who their 1st round opponent will be – either Wiffleball Junkies, Bad Meets Evil, or Scared Hitless. On paper a meeting with BME and Curtis Wagner would look to be the worst case scenario of that group (if he gained eligibility), but they can likely end BME’s season with a sweep this week. Regardless, the Pierogies are 8-0 against these teams this season collectively.
Good luck to all teams this week as we finish off the 17th Season of the BWBL!
8. Bases Loaded (2-16)
As expected Bases Loaded heads into the final week with nothing to play for, at least on paper. However that has been the case for several weeks yet the team has been playing much better in the 2nd half of the season, picking up two wins along the way, thanks in most part to some strong pitching performances from Gerald Johnson. Surely Bases Loaded will just try and enjoy their final series of the season.
7. Electric City Express (5-13)
Another team that has been a bit of a thorn in team’s sides is ECE who is coming off a surprising sweep of Bad Meets Evil last week. After crunching the numbers, it is possible for ECE to finish in a tie for the last wild card spot. That would require them to sweep Scared Hitless on Sunday along with Scared Hitless then losing both games to Kings of the North AND Bad Meets Evil losing both games to Flying Pierogies. This would put both ECE and BME at a 7-13 record, while Scared Hitless would be 6-14. This would result in a tiebreaker between ECE and BME. First is head to head, which is a 2-2 tie. Next would be record vs playoff teams which is another tie at 1-9 for both teams. That leaves run differential as the deciding factor. BME currently sits at -15 for the season, whereas ECE is at -90. So yes it is technically possible for ECE to make the playoffs but they would somehow have to make up that differential which is highly unlikely.
6. Bad Meets Evil (7-11)
BME has faltered down the stretch winning just one of their last ten games. This can likely be attributed to missing both Curtis Wagner and Doug Novitski for most of that stretch. In fact, both players are in line to be ineligible for the playoffs if BME were to make it. That is obviously a big blow for the pitching staff on this team. Regardless, playoffs are still a possibility for BME. I will discuss their scenarios below.
5. Scared Hitless (6-10)
Scared Hitless saved their season and kept them playoff dreams alive last week in a sweep over Bad Meets Evil. The two wins put the team in a very good position for the final wild card spot. It will come down to them and BME and the scenarios are a bit messy, so let’s get to it.
Scenario #1 – Both teams finish the season with a record of 7-13. For this to happen, BME would have to lose both games to the Pierogies and Scared Hitless would have to win one of their four games on the day (any more wins than one and Scared Hitless will get the spot). If this happens the tiebreaker will go to record vs playoff teams since the head to head on the year is tied at 2-2. BME would finish with a 1-9 record vs playoff teams whereas Scared Hitless would finish either 2-8 or 3-7 depending in which series they picked up their one win. Either way, if BME gets swept and Scared Hitless wins at least one game on the day, Scared Hitless will get the final playoff spot.
Scenario #2 – Both teams finish with a record of 8-12. For this to happen, BME would have to split with the Pierogies and Scared Hitless would have to go 2-2 in their four games on the day (any more wins than two and Scared Hitless will get the spot). If this happens the tiebreaker will again go to record vs playoff teams. BME would now have a record of 2-8 while Scared Hitless can have a record of either 2-8, 3-7, or 4-6 depending on where they got their wins. If they were to sweep ECE and then get swept by Kings of the North that would give them the 2-8 record which means the run differential tiebreaker would come into play. BME is -15 and Scared Hitless is -51. So it would appear BME has the edge on the last spot here. If Scared Hitless were to beat Kings of the North at least once in recording their two wins on the day, then they would take the final spot over BME.
Scenario #3 – Both teams finish the season with a record of 9-11. For this to happen, BME would have to sweep the Pierogies and Scared Hitless would have to win three of their four games on the day (4/4 would give them the last spot). If this happens the tiebreaker will once again go to record vs playoff teams. BME would be sitting at 3-7 and Scared Hitless would be either 3-7 or 4-6 depending on where they got their three wins. If they sweep ECE and split with Kings that would give them the 3-7 mark where they would likely lose the run differential tiebreaker yet again. But if they split with ECE and sweep Kings, they would take the final spot.
So in summary the easiest (and most likely) way for Scared Hitless to take the final playoff spot would be for BME to get swept by the Pierogies and Scared Hitless themselves wins one game somewhere. If BME can pull out a split, then Hitless would need to find a way to beat Kings of the North one time.
Got all of that?
4. Wiffleball Junkies (8-10)
The Junkies are securely into the playoffs as they hold the tiebreaker over Scared Hitless, if the two were to finish tied at 8-12. The Junkies can clinch the #4 seed with one win on Sunday against Bases Loaded OR by one loss from BME against the Pierogies. So it seems all but certain that is where they will end up. From there they will wait to see who they will face in the play-in game, either BME or Scared Hitless. The Junkies split with each team during the regular season.
3. Kings of the North (11-5)
2. Balls Deep (14-4)
-While the National Division title is still up for grabs between these two teams, the outcome matters very little. With no chance of either moving up to the top spot or dropping to the fourth spot, which one of these teams comes out as division champ will only determine who is home for next week’s playoff series between the two. It will be interesting to see how both teams approach their meeting this week, considering they will play again next week in a much more important series. It is possible you won’t see any of the top arms on the day.
1. Flying Pierogies (17-1)
-The Pierogies are the clear cut top team heading into the playoffs in terms of both record and perception. At 17-1 they already have the top seed clinched and in this poll they received all eight 1st place votes. They will sit back and wait to see who their 1st round opponent will be – either Wiffleball Junkies, Bad Meets Evil, or Scared Hitless. On paper a meeting with BME and Curtis Wagner would look to be the worst case scenario of that group (if he gained eligibility), but they can likely end BME’s season with a sweep this week. Regardless, the Pierogies are 8-0 against these teams this season collectively.
Good luck to all teams this week as we finish off the 17th Season of the BWBL!
Week 4 Captains Poll
by: Steve Dotzel
(posted Friday, July 10, 2020)
There has yet to be any movement in the polls this season, as all four conducted have yielded the exact same rankings. However, with Kings of the North set to make their debut this week, that could finally change. In the meantime, let’s run through the eight teams again as they stand.
8. Bases Loaded
-The unanimous #8 ranked team has had their struggles so far this season, as expected. They had one close call against ECE where they lost 16-13 but have been outscored 73-0 in their other five games.
7. Electric City Express
-ECE almost pulled a major upset a few weeks back against BME but faltered in the later innings. Another close call with Scared Hitless in the opener and realistically ECE could be (4-2) right now. However at (2-4) with the meat of the schedule upcoming, and no more Bases Loaded on tap, I suspect the train to be fully off the rails in a few weeks.
6. Scared Hitless
-Last week was proof that this team should be in the mix for the final playoff spot all season as Scared Hitless was able to split both their series. Stealing a win against Balls Deep could go a long way. Picking up both wins on the day was Nick Pugh who in 4 starts is now (3-1) with a 2.38 ERA and 41 K’s and is the clear frontrunner for the rookie of the year.
5. Wiffleball Junkies
-The Junkies have only allowed 2 runs thus far in their 4 games played en route to a (3-1) start. The 3 wins matches their total from last year. While the pitching has been the story, they have yet to play one of the league’s top offenses as will be the case this week in a matchup with Flying Pierogies.
4. Bad Meets Evil
-BME bounced back from an opening weekend sweep for a sweep of their own against ECE in Week 2. Despite not having Curtis Wagner on the mound, Tom and Doug were able to piece together enough to come away with two wins. Another sweep seems imminent with Bases Loaded on the schedule this week.
3. Kings of the North
-Headed in to the fourth week of the season, we have still yet to see the 2020 version of Kings of the North. That will change with four games on tap for Sunday. However, we might not get to see their full arsenal with the potential to be missing Jake, Bert, and Hart. If all three were to miss, it could be a tough start to the year for the Kings.
2. Balls Deep
-The defending champs were upset in surprising fashion last week at the hands of former Balls Deep player Mikey Grebeck’s squad. It was the first time this season Balls Deep had allowed any runs. They will be off this week as they prepare to face another former teammate next week when they play the Junkies.
1. Flying Pierogies
-The Pierogies were idle last week but will make up for it this week with four games on the schedule. With Balls Deep’s loss, they were able to pick up two additional 1st place votes bringing their total to 7 of the possible 8. With matchups against two possible playoff teams, it should be a good week to gauge just how much better the Pierogies are than the rest of the league.
Recent Achievements:
-Zach Artim became the 7th player in league history to record 30 wins all-time
-Tom Hannon passed Andy Peck in Runs scored to take over the BWBL all-time lead. Tom now leads 570 R to 565 R. It is likely this could flip-flop throughout the season.
-JJ Neely became the 51st player in league history to record 100 hits for his career
-Steve Dotzel became the 14th player in league history to record 300 hits for his career
Stats to Watch:
Pitching:
-Alex Fuchylo needs 8 strikeouts to become just the 4th player in league history to record 500 strikeouts all-time
-Tom Hannon needs 3 wins to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most wins in league history
-Tom Hannon needs 24 strikeouts to surpass Bobby Loftus, Jr. for the 2nd most strikeouts all-time
-Sean Hart needs 27 strikeouts to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most strikeouts in the Medium Pitch Era
-Steve Dotzel needs 28 strikeouts to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most strikeouts in the Medium Pitch Era
-Alex Fuchylo needs 37 strikeouts to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most strikeouts in the Medium Pitch Era
Hitting:
-Curtis Wagner needs 3 hits to reach 100 hits for his career
-Andy Peck needs 5 RBIs to become just the 4th player in league history to record 400 RBIs all-time
-Derick Kearsh needs 5 hits to reach 300 hits for his career
-Rob Hess needs 8 hits to reach 300 hits for his career
-Zach Artim needs 14 hits to reach 200 hits for his career
-Tom Hannon needs 33 hits to become just the 2nd player in league history to record 700 hits all-time
8. Bases Loaded
-The unanimous #8 ranked team has had their struggles so far this season, as expected. They had one close call against ECE where they lost 16-13 but have been outscored 73-0 in their other five games.
7. Electric City Express
-ECE almost pulled a major upset a few weeks back against BME but faltered in the later innings. Another close call with Scared Hitless in the opener and realistically ECE could be (4-2) right now. However at (2-4) with the meat of the schedule upcoming, and no more Bases Loaded on tap, I suspect the train to be fully off the rails in a few weeks.
6. Scared Hitless
-Last week was proof that this team should be in the mix for the final playoff spot all season as Scared Hitless was able to split both their series. Stealing a win against Balls Deep could go a long way. Picking up both wins on the day was Nick Pugh who in 4 starts is now (3-1) with a 2.38 ERA and 41 K’s and is the clear frontrunner for the rookie of the year.
5. Wiffleball Junkies
-The Junkies have only allowed 2 runs thus far in their 4 games played en route to a (3-1) start. The 3 wins matches their total from last year. While the pitching has been the story, they have yet to play one of the league’s top offenses as will be the case this week in a matchup with Flying Pierogies.
4. Bad Meets Evil
-BME bounced back from an opening weekend sweep for a sweep of their own against ECE in Week 2. Despite not having Curtis Wagner on the mound, Tom and Doug were able to piece together enough to come away with two wins. Another sweep seems imminent with Bases Loaded on the schedule this week.
3. Kings of the North
-Headed in to the fourth week of the season, we have still yet to see the 2020 version of Kings of the North. That will change with four games on tap for Sunday. However, we might not get to see their full arsenal with the potential to be missing Jake, Bert, and Hart. If all three were to miss, it could be a tough start to the year for the Kings.
2. Balls Deep
-The defending champs were upset in surprising fashion last week at the hands of former Balls Deep player Mikey Grebeck’s squad. It was the first time this season Balls Deep had allowed any runs. They will be off this week as they prepare to face another former teammate next week when they play the Junkies.
1. Flying Pierogies
-The Pierogies were idle last week but will make up for it this week with four games on the schedule. With Balls Deep’s loss, they were able to pick up two additional 1st place votes bringing their total to 7 of the possible 8. With matchups against two possible playoff teams, it should be a good week to gauge just how much better the Pierogies are than the rest of the league.
Recent Achievements:
-Zach Artim became the 7th player in league history to record 30 wins all-time
-Tom Hannon passed Andy Peck in Runs scored to take over the BWBL all-time lead. Tom now leads 570 R to 565 R. It is likely this could flip-flop throughout the season.
-JJ Neely became the 51st player in league history to record 100 hits for his career
-Steve Dotzel became the 14th player in league history to record 300 hits for his career
Stats to Watch:
Pitching:
-Alex Fuchylo needs 8 strikeouts to become just the 4th player in league history to record 500 strikeouts all-time
-Tom Hannon needs 3 wins to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most wins in league history
-Tom Hannon needs 24 strikeouts to surpass Bobby Loftus, Jr. for the 2nd most strikeouts all-time
-Sean Hart needs 27 strikeouts to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most strikeouts in the Medium Pitch Era
-Steve Dotzel needs 28 strikeouts to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most strikeouts in the Medium Pitch Era
-Alex Fuchylo needs 37 strikeouts to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most strikeouts in the Medium Pitch Era
Hitting:
-Curtis Wagner needs 3 hits to reach 100 hits for his career
-Andy Peck needs 5 RBIs to become just the 4th player in league history to record 400 RBIs all-time
-Derick Kearsh needs 5 hits to reach 300 hits for his career
-Rob Hess needs 8 hits to reach 300 hits for his career
-Zach Artim needs 14 hits to reach 200 hits for his career
-Tom Hannon needs 33 hits to become just the 2nd player in league history to record 700 hits all-time
Week 2 Captains Poll
by: Steve Dotzel
(posted Saturday, June 27, 2020)
Back for what is now its third season, is the weekly BWBL Captains Poll. Pretty self-explanatory but the poll is made up of the votes of the eight BWBL captains who rank each team in the league from best to worst based on whatever metric they deem fit. I then drop the highest and lowest ranking for each team and take the average of the remaining six votes to calculate the poll. I did not get around to posting the pre-season poll, though I do have the results, so I will work that in with the Week 2 results. Spoiler alert: both poll results were the same. Going forward the poll results may be shared in a podcast format once again, but you get an article for at least this week. So let’s get into it.
Note: One captain vote was missing in the pre-season poll.
8. Bases Loaded
-Kevin Sickle’s squad garnered five 8th place votes out of the seven voters in the pre-season poll. Coming off a (2-18) season which was followed by an off-season that saw Bases Loaded lose their best player, Christian Faulkner, it is easy to see why they were ranked so low. The team did little to instill any confidence in Week 1 losing both games by a combined total of 28-0. As expected they held their #8 ranking again in the Week 2 poll.
7. Electric City Express
-Another team that was hit hard by off-season departures was ECE - losing Jonathan Fernandes, Brett Rooney, and JJ Neely. Last year’s pre-season darling, little is expected from ECE this season and that is reflected in their #7 ranking. Perhaps with the weight of expectations off their shoulders the team can cause a few upsets throughout the year. The bright spot here if he can hone in his accuracy could be Mike Cinti who struck out 20 batters in a Week 1 loss.
6. Scared Hitless
-The new team on the block is the one with the most uncertainty headed into 2020. Some newcomers to the league coupled with some familiar faces in new places, how good this team can be remains to be seen. On paper they should beat out the two teams ranked behind them, one of which they swept in Week 1. That will leave them trying to chase down one more team in order to reach the post-season. While unlikely to be a championship contender, Scared Hitless should be in the playoff hunt throughout the year.
5. Wiffleball Junkies
-The Junkies debut season in 2019 did not go as expected and they failed to make the playoffs. In the off-season they added Jonathan Fernandes and Steve Dotzel in an attempt to get there this year. Key to the Junkies success will be whether captain Josh Sorber can recapture his dominance on the mound after a subpar 2019 campaign. The team was off on Week 1 so they will make their debut this Sunday.
4. Bad Meets Evil
-A perennial contender, BME enters 2020 with little fanfare which is likely a welcome sight for a team always in the spotlight. Curtis Wagner leads the way on the mound, and in the playoff format gives the team a chance to win any series. There are some question marks in the rotation behind him, but that can be covered up by one of the league’s top offenses led by Tom Hannon who returns from a season-ending injury in 2019 that forced him to miss the post-season. The team was thrust right into a playoff-like atmosphere Week 1 against Flying Pierogies, which resulted in two losses. They will need to overcome the Pierogies if they want a division title, but at worst a wild-card is well within the range of likely outcomes.
3. Kings of the North
-Behind an offense in 2019 that exceeded every other team in the league by far in terms of run production, Kings of the North easily won the National division while cruising to a (17-3) record. The division figures to be a tougher battle this year with defending champs Balls Deep in the fray. These two are set to square off this week in the first of two meetings this season. The Kings gave Balls Deep their worst loss of the season in 2019 and return nearly the entire team. The availability of Sean Hart on the mound could prove to be the most important factor in their success for 2020.
2. Balls Deep
-The defending champs kicked off their title defense in style by routing Bases Loaded 28-0 in Week 1. Despite the strong showing they dropped from three 1st place votes in the pre-season poll, to two 1st place votes this week. In both polls they came in at #2. The team returns the two key arms from the 2019 Championship team – the Caladie brothers – along with John Kotsko and James Canesso. They have an early ‘measuring stick’ opportunity this Sunday in what should be the series of the week with Kings of the North. As previously mentioned, the Kings gave Balls Deep some trouble in 2019 so a convincing win here could go a long way with the voters.
1. Flying Pierogies
-The Special K and Team Backpack love child took the top spot in the pre-season poll and garnered four of the seven 1st place votes. After a sweep of Bad Meets Evil in Week 1 they have added two additional 1st place vote bringing their tally to six. There is little doubt that this is the most talented team in the BWBL, top to bottom, on paper. Reigning Cy Young Award winner Zach Artim leads the way on the mound with Christian Faulkner and Joey Dougher rounding out the best trio of arms in the league. This was on display right out of the gates holding BME to just one run in two games. The Pierogies find themselves in the first Saturday night series of the year this week, but are expected to have little trouble handling Scared Hitless. The better test might come next week against Kings of the North.
Stats to Watch
This off-season the league was able to update many of the stats on the league website. You can check that out on your own time but here are a few to watch for:
Pitching:
Zach Artim needs 1 win to become just the 7th player in league history to record 30 wins all-time
Alex Fuchylo needs 8 strikeouts to become just the 4th player in league history to record 500 strikeouts all-time
Sean Hart needs 27 strikeouts to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most strikeouts in the Medium Pitch Era
Tom Hannon needs 29 strikeouts to surpass Bobby Loftus, Jr. for the 2nd most strikeouts all-time
Hitting:
Curtis Wagner needs 3 hits to reach 100 hits for his career
JJ Neely needs 4 hits to reach 100 hits for his career
Steve Dotzel needs 4 hits to reach 300 hits for his career
Andy Peck needs 5 RBIs to become just the 4th player in league history to record 400 RBIs all-time
Zach Artim needs 20 hits to reach 200 hits for his career
Tom Hannon needs 38 hits to become just the 2nd player in league history to record 700 hits all-time
Note: One captain vote was missing in the pre-season poll.
8. Bases Loaded
-Kevin Sickle’s squad garnered five 8th place votes out of the seven voters in the pre-season poll. Coming off a (2-18) season which was followed by an off-season that saw Bases Loaded lose their best player, Christian Faulkner, it is easy to see why they were ranked so low. The team did little to instill any confidence in Week 1 losing both games by a combined total of 28-0. As expected they held their #8 ranking again in the Week 2 poll.
7. Electric City Express
-Another team that was hit hard by off-season departures was ECE - losing Jonathan Fernandes, Brett Rooney, and JJ Neely. Last year’s pre-season darling, little is expected from ECE this season and that is reflected in their #7 ranking. Perhaps with the weight of expectations off their shoulders the team can cause a few upsets throughout the year. The bright spot here if he can hone in his accuracy could be Mike Cinti who struck out 20 batters in a Week 1 loss.
6. Scared Hitless
-The new team on the block is the one with the most uncertainty headed into 2020. Some newcomers to the league coupled with some familiar faces in new places, how good this team can be remains to be seen. On paper they should beat out the two teams ranked behind them, one of which they swept in Week 1. That will leave them trying to chase down one more team in order to reach the post-season. While unlikely to be a championship contender, Scared Hitless should be in the playoff hunt throughout the year.
5. Wiffleball Junkies
-The Junkies debut season in 2019 did not go as expected and they failed to make the playoffs. In the off-season they added Jonathan Fernandes and Steve Dotzel in an attempt to get there this year. Key to the Junkies success will be whether captain Josh Sorber can recapture his dominance on the mound after a subpar 2019 campaign. The team was off on Week 1 so they will make their debut this Sunday.
4. Bad Meets Evil
-A perennial contender, BME enters 2020 with little fanfare which is likely a welcome sight for a team always in the spotlight. Curtis Wagner leads the way on the mound, and in the playoff format gives the team a chance to win any series. There are some question marks in the rotation behind him, but that can be covered up by one of the league’s top offenses led by Tom Hannon who returns from a season-ending injury in 2019 that forced him to miss the post-season. The team was thrust right into a playoff-like atmosphere Week 1 against Flying Pierogies, which resulted in two losses. They will need to overcome the Pierogies if they want a division title, but at worst a wild-card is well within the range of likely outcomes.
3. Kings of the North
-Behind an offense in 2019 that exceeded every other team in the league by far in terms of run production, Kings of the North easily won the National division while cruising to a (17-3) record. The division figures to be a tougher battle this year with defending champs Balls Deep in the fray. These two are set to square off this week in the first of two meetings this season. The Kings gave Balls Deep their worst loss of the season in 2019 and return nearly the entire team. The availability of Sean Hart on the mound could prove to be the most important factor in their success for 2020.
2. Balls Deep
-The defending champs kicked off their title defense in style by routing Bases Loaded 28-0 in Week 1. Despite the strong showing they dropped from three 1st place votes in the pre-season poll, to two 1st place votes this week. In both polls they came in at #2. The team returns the two key arms from the 2019 Championship team – the Caladie brothers – along with John Kotsko and James Canesso. They have an early ‘measuring stick’ opportunity this Sunday in what should be the series of the week with Kings of the North. As previously mentioned, the Kings gave Balls Deep some trouble in 2019 so a convincing win here could go a long way with the voters.
1. Flying Pierogies
-The Special K and Team Backpack love child took the top spot in the pre-season poll and garnered four of the seven 1st place votes. After a sweep of Bad Meets Evil in Week 1 they have added two additional 1st place vote bringing their tally to six. There is little doubt that this is the most talented team in the BWBL, top to bottom, on paper. Reigning Cy Young Award winner Zach Artim leads the way on the mound with Christian Faulkner and Joey Dougher rounding out the best trio of arms in the league. This was on display right out of the gates holding BME to just one run in two games. The Pierogies find themselves in the first Saturday night series of the year this week, but are expected to have little trouble handling Scared Hitless. The better test might come next week against Kings of the North.
Stats to Watch
This off-season the league was able to update many of the stats on the league website. You can check that out on your own time but here are a few to watch for:
Pitching:
Zach Artim needs 1 win to become just the 7th player in league history to record 30 wins all-time
Alex Fuchylo needs 8 strikeouts to become just the 4th player in league history to record 500 strikeouts all-time
Sean Hart needs 27 strikeouts to surpass Bob Loftus, Sr. for the most strikeouts in the Medium Pitch Era
Tom Hannon needs 29 strikeouts to surpass Bobby Loftus, Jr. for the 2nd most strikeouts all-time
Hitting:
Curtis Wagner needs 3 hits to reach 100 hits for his career
JJ Neely needs 4 hits to reach 100 hits for his career
Steve Dotzel needs 4 hits to reach 300 hits for his career
Andy Peck needs 5 RBIs to become just the 4th player in league history to record 400 RBIs all-time
Zach Artim needs 20 hits to reach 200 hits for his career
Tom Hannon needs 38 hits to become just the 2nd player in league history to record 700 hits all-time
Week 2 Coaches Poll
by: Steve Dotzel
If Week 1 of the 2019 BWBL season was a glimpse of what to expect the rest of the year, we are in for a treat. There was no shortage of drama throughout the day in what could arguably be one of most competitive days in Diamond City Park’s history. Of the seven games that were played, five were decided by two runs or fewer, four by one or less. With so many close games, the captains certainly had their hands full sifting through the teams for the rankings this week. Let’s see how things turned out as we head to Week 2.
8. Bases Loaded
Record (1-1)
Last Week Rank: 8th
-Bases Loaded holds steady at the bottom of the rankings despite splitting their series with ECE. We knew pitching was going to be the biggest problem for Bases Loaded, and that manifested itself in the form of the 30 runs they allowed on Sunday, by far the most of the day. However in Game 2, thanks to a patient approach at the plate, they scored 14 runs despite getting just three hits. That is not a typo. Mike White entered in relief and got three strikeouts to preserve a 14-12 victory and showed perhaps he is worthy of a start this week. Bases Loaded will take on Team Backpack this week, a matchup where their patience could prove valuable once again.
7. Electric City Express
Record (1-1)
Last Week Rank: 6th
-ECE drops one spot this week in the rankings after their split with previously mentioned Bases Loaded. The talk leading up to the season in regards to ECE was their free agent signings and lack of pitching. Both were on display Sunday. The new additions of Neely, Rooney, and Fernandes drove in 22 of the team’s 30 runs including five home runs by Neely. On the mound, things did not go as well as presumed #1 starter Josh Quick could not find the zone and was replaced before getting through the 2nd inning. On the positive side, Neely did look okay on the mound so assuming Quick can get back on track there is hope ECE can outslug their opponents to victory on a weekly basis.
6. Wiffleball Junkies
Record (0-2)
Last Week Rank: 5th
-The Wiffleball Junkies also dropped one spot this week after a sweep at the hands of Special K. Navigating the Special K lineup is no easy task and Junkies #2 pitcher Curtis Brieling found out first hand Sunday on the losing end of a 7-2 game. Game 2 was a classic pitcher’s duel involving Junkies ace Josh Sorber but the offense couldn’t provide any support and they lost 1-0. It was only Sorber’s fourth ever loss in the regular season. The only member of that offense to account for any runs was Aiden Smith who’s two-run home run off of Zach Artim proved to be their only runs of the day. The Junkies will look to rebound this week against Balls Deep.
5. Balls Deep
Record (1-1)
Last Week Rank: 7th
-Balls Deep jumps up two spots this week after pulling off a split against Bad Meets Evil, which snapped John Kotsko’s winless streak at 644 days. As I stated in last week’s article, we have some great arm talent and that was on full display Sunday. Anthony Caladie got the nod in Game 1 and held the BME offense in check to just two runs. Granted that wasn’t without some controversy, as when the radar gun was functioning in the 2nd inning he had pitches reach as high as 82 mph. Once he was forced to slow down, the control wasn’t quite there. Learning to pitch within the BWBL rules will be something Anthony will have to work on. For Game 2, with myself unable to pitch, Brett Caladie took the mound and pitched a gem recording 17 strikeouts and allowing just one run. Unfortunately for us, that was all BME needed to come away with a 1-0 win. Regardless, the emergence of the Caladie brothers certainly alters the outlook of the Balls Deep team for 2019.
4. Kings of the North
Record (0-1)
Last Week Rank: 3rd
-Down one spot, Kings of the North formerly known as Alex’s Team dropped their lone game of the day to Team Backpack 3-2. Jake Lukachik pitched five strong innings but was ultimately outdueled by Joey Dougher in extra innings. Game 2 was forced to be postponed due to rain. We didn’t get to see who Kings of the North was going to use as their other starter, but it would be safe to assume that game would have went to Alex Fuchylo. With a veteran group of guys like this, one loss is nothing to worry about.
3. Team Backpack (2)
Record (1-0)
Last Week Rank: 4th
-Dougher continued his hot start to 2019 leading Team Backpack to a win over Kings of the North. He threw six innings allowing just two runs and struck out 15. Perhaps most importantly he issued just seven walks. These two teams figure to battle for the division all season so an early win for Backpack has to give some confidence to this group. The voters are showing some confidence as well as Team Backpack moved up a spot this week and account for two of the 1st place votes given. A match-up with Bases Loaded could be just what Team Backpack needs to keep their early season success going.
2. Bad Meets Evil (1)
Record (1-1)
Last Week Rank: T-1st
-After being tied for the top spot last week, Bad Meets Evil drops to second this week coming off a split with Balls Deep. The usually potent offense could only produce three runs on Sunday however between some elevated pitching speeds and terrible field/playing conditions it isn’t hard to see why runs were at a premium. The addition of Doug Novitski provided immediate dividends as his sixth inning home run proved to be the winner in Game 2 of the series. With Bob Loftus on the shelf, Tom Hannon delivered a solid three-hit performance on the mound to give his team a chance to win. In the other game, Curtis Wagner wasted no time getting back to his Cy Young winning form with a six-inning shutout. There is no rest for BME, as they’ve got a highly anticipated matchup with our top team looming this week.
1. Special K (5)
Record (2-0)
Last Week Rank: T-1st
-The co-preseason favorite did not disappoint and opened the season with the week’s only series sweep. Free agent signee Fran George lived up to expectations and started the year off with a complete game shutout, out-dueling former Cy Young winner Josh Sorber. On the offensive side, their other addition James Ziobro also made an immediate impact with a home run in Game 1. Zach Artim had a great day all-around and was named NEPA WiffleInsider’s Player of the Week. He had two home runs at the plate along with a walk off single and on the mound went five strong with 14 strikeouts while allowing just two runs. A matchup with Bad Meets Evil awaits this week which could very well be a playoff or championship preview.
That’s a wrap on Week 2 of the Captain’s Poll. Some upcoming milestones we could see this week in the league are:
Bob Loftus Sr. needs 5 hits to reach 600 in his career and become just the third player in BWBL history to record 600 career hits, joining Andy Peck (692) and Tom Hannon (638).
Doug Novitski needs 1 home run to move into third on the All-Time HR list.
Joey Dougher needs 5 hits to reach 200 for his career, he would be the 24th player to do so.
James Ziobro needs 8 hits to reach 100 for his career, he would be the 56th player to do so.
Alex Fuchylo needs 1 win to reach 40 for his career and would become just the fourth player in BWBL history to have 40 or more wins joining Bob Loftus (68), Tom Hannon (65), and Steve Dotzel (42).
Steve Dotzel needs 4 strikeouts to reach 400 for his career and would become the sixth player in BWBL history to record 400 or more stikeouts joining Bob Loftus Sr (911), Bob Loftus Jr (679), Tom Hannon (636), Alex Fuchylo (433), and Mike White (424).
Good luck to all teams!
8. Bases Loaded
Record (1-1)
Last Week Rank: 8th
-Bases Loaded holds steady at the bottom of the rankings despite splitting their series with ECE. We knew pitching was going to be the biggest problem for Bases Loaded, and that manifested itself in the form of the 30 runs they allowed on Sunday, by far the most of the day. However in Game 2, thanks to a patient approach at the plate, they scored 14 runs despite getting just three hits. That is not a typo. Mike White entered in relief and got three strikeouts to preserve a 14-12 victory and showed perhaps he is worthy of a start this week. Bases Loaded will take on Team Backpack this week, a matchup where their patience could prove valuable once again.
7. Electric City Express
Record (1-1)
Last Week Rank: 6th
-ECE drops one spot this week in the rankings after their split with previously mentioned Bases Loaded. The talk leading up to the season in regards to ECE was their free agent signings and lack of pitching. Both were on display Sunday. The new additions of Neely, Rooney, and Fernandes drove in 22 of the team’s 30 runs including five home runs by Neely. On the mound, things did not go as well as presumed #1 starter Josh Quick could not find the zone and was replaced before getting through the 2nd inning. On the positive side, Neely did look okay on the mound so assuming Quick can get back on track there is hope ECE can outslug their opponents to victory on a weekly basis.
6. Wiffleball Junkies
Record (0-2)
Last Week Rank: 5th
-The Wiffleball Junkies also dropped one spot this week after a sweep at the hands of Special K. Navigating the Special K lineup is no easy task and Junkies #2 pitcher Curtis Brieling found out first hand Sunday on the losing end of a 7-2 game. Game 2 was a classic pitcher’s duel involving Junkies ace Josh Sorber but the offense couldn’t provide any support and they lost 1-0. It was only Sorber’s fourth ever loss in the regular season. The only member of that offense to account for any runs was Aiden Smith who’s two-run home run off of Zach Artim proved to be their only runs of the day. The Junkies will look to rebound this week against Balls Deep.
5. Balls Deep
Record (1-1)
Last Week Rank: 7th
-Balls Deep jumps up two spots this week after pulling off a split against Bad Meets Evil, which snapped John Kotsko’s winless streak at 644 days. As I stated in last week’s article, we have some great arm talent and that was on full display Sunday. Anthony Caladie got the nod in Game 1 and held the BME offense in check to just two runs. Granted that wasn’t without some controversy, as when the radar gun was functioning in the 2nd inning he had pitches reach as high as 82 mph. Once he was forced to slow down, the control wasn’t quite there. Learning to pitch within the BWBL rules will be something Anthony will have to work on. For Game 2, with myself unable to pitch, Brett Caladie took the mound and pitched a gem recording 17 strikeouts and allowing just one run. Unfortunately for us, that was all BME needed to come away with a 1-0 win. Regardless, the emergence of the Caladie brothers certainly alters the outlook of the Balls Deep team for 2019.
4. Kings of the North
Record (0-1)
Last Week Rank: 3rd
-Down one spot, Kings of the North formerly known as Alex’s Team dropped their lone game of the day to Team Backpack 3-2. Jake Lukachik pitched five strong innings but was ultimately outdueled by Joey Dougher in extra innings. Game 2 was forced to be postponed due to rain. We didn’t get to see who Kings of the North was going to use as their other starter, but it would be safe to assume that game would have went to Alex Fuchylo. With a veteran group of guys like this, one loss is nothing to worry about.
3. Team Backpack (2)
Record (1-0)
Last Week Rank: 4th
-Dougher continued his hot start to 2019 leading Team Backpack to a win over Kings of the North. He threw six innings allowing just two runs and struck out 15. Perhaps most importantly he issued just seven walks. These two teams figure to battle for the division all season so an early win for Backpack has to give some confidence to this group. The voters are showing some confidence as well as Team Backpack moved up a spot this week and account for two of the 1st place votes given. A match-up with Bases Loaded could be just what Team Backpack needs to keep their early season success going.
2. Bad Meets Evil (1)
Record (1-1)
Last Week Rank: T-1st
-After being tied for the top spot last week, Bad Meets Evil drops to second this week coming off a split with Balls Deep. The usually potent offense could only produce three runs on Sunday however between some elevated pitching speeds and terrible field/playing conditions it isn’t hard to see why runs were at a premium. The addition of Doug Novitski provided immediate dividends as his sixth inning home run proved to be the winner in Game 2 of the series. With Bob Loftus on the shelf, Tom Hannon delivered a solid three-hit performance on the mound to give his team a chance to win. In the other game, Curtis Wagner wasted no time getting back to his Cy Young winning form with a six-inning shutout. There is no rest for BME, as they’ve got a highly anticipated matchup with our top team looming this week.
1. Special K (5)
Record (2-0)
Last Week Rank: T-1st
-The co-preseason favorite did not disappoint and opened the season with the week’s only series sweep. Free agent signee Fran George lived up to expectations and started the year off with a complete game shutout, out-dueling former Cy Young winner Josh Sorber. On the offensive side, their other addition James Ziobro also made an immediate impact with a home run in Game 1. Zach Artim had a great day all-around and was named NEPA WiffleInsider’s Player of the Week. He had two home runs at the plate along with a walk off single and on the mound went five strong with 14 strikeouts while allowing just two runs. A matchup with Bad Meets Evil awaits this week which could very well be a playoff or championship preview.
That’s a wrap on Week 2 of the Captain’s Poll. Some upcoming milestones we could see this week in the league are:
Bob Loftus Sr. needs 5 hits to reach 600 in his career and become just the third player in BWBL history to record 600 career hits, joining Andy Peck (692) and Tom Hannon (638).
Doug Novitski needs 1 home run to move into third on the All-Time HR list.
Joey Dougher needs 5 hits to reach 200 for his career, he would be the 24th player to do so.
James Ziobro needs 8 hits to reach 100 for his career, he would be the 56th player to do so.
Alex Fuchylo needs 1 win to reach 40 for his career and would become just the fourth player in BWBL history to have 40 or more wins joining Bob Loftus (68), Tom Hannon (65), and Steve Dotzel (42).
Steve Dotzel needs 4 strikeouts to reach 400 for his career and would become the sixth player in BWBL history to record 400 or more stikeouts joining Bob Loftus Sr (911), Bob Loftus Jr (679), Tom Hannon (636), Alex Fuchylo (433), and Mike White (424).
Good luck to all teams!
Pre-Season Coaches Poll
by: Steve Dotzel
We are on the brink of the 2019 BWBL season and with that comes the return of the Captain’s Poll article that debuted last year. Prior to each week of the season the eight BWBL Captains will rank the eight BWBL teams from 1-8, best to worst. Due to some biases in voting last season, I have decided to drop the lowest and highest number for each team, therefore leaving the middle six rankings as the basis for the poll. Teams will be listed in the article from worst to best and the number of 1st place votes that team received for the week will be shown after their team name in parenthesis. Let’s meet our 2019 captains and get into the pre-season poll results!
Alex’s Team captained by Alex Fuchylo
Bad Meets Evil captained by Tom Hannon
Balls Deep captained by John Kotsko
Bases Loaded captained by Kevin Sickle
Electric City Express captained by Dave Brigido
Special K captained by Steme Homza
Team Backpack captained by Joey Dougher
Wiffleball Junkies captained by Josh Sorber
8. Bases Loaded
-Kicking off our pre-season poll is Bases Loaded. The breakout team of 2018 surprised most with a trip to the playoffs on the back of their pitching duo of James Ziobro and Fran George. They combined to throw 64 2/3 innings out of the teams 72 2/3 innings played and struck out 158 batters. Unfortunately for Bases Loaded, other teams took notice and the duo left to join Special K. With little to no off-season acquisitions it appears Mike White will assume the team’s #1 rotation spot. On the offensive side, Ziobro and George’s bats will also be missed as well as those of Brett Rooney and Jon Fernandes who left to join Electric City Express. With so much to replace on both sides of the ball, it is no surprise to see Bases Loaded kick off our list.
7. Balls Deep
-The name isn’t the only thing that has changed for the John Kotsko led team, as several new faces join him in 2019. The team formerly known as Chafing the Dream went a perfect 0-18 last season and has actually not won a BWBL league game since August 20th, 2017 – a span of 644 days without a win when Balls Deep takes the field Sunday night. Arguably the biggest name joining the roster for this season is myself, Steve Dotzel. Despite turning down offers from 7 other teams, I decided to team up with Kotsko on a one year deal. Joining me will be BWBL rookies Anthony and Brett Caladie. While rookies here, they are veterans of Wiffle ball, having played for several years in the Modrovsky Park league in Mountain Top. I think outside of Special K, we might have the most arm talent in the league, and that can go a long way if it can be harnessed. The division draw may have put a damper on the playoff expectations I had for this team, but before we can even begin to worry about that we just need to get Kotsko a win which is going to happen in 2019.
6. Electric City Express
-ECE has gradually improved each year they’ve participated in the BWBL. Last season they showed enough promise that for the first time they were able to draw some players from free agency. Brett Rooney, Jon Fernades, and JJ Neely join the team and will immediately take over as the best bats in the lineup. While the offense was certainly upgraded, the holes in the rotation were not. Josh Quick showed improvement last season and figures to slot in as the #1 arm for 2019. Behind him, JJ Neely would likely be the next arm they trust but beyond that either Rooney or Brigido will have to step up to a level not yet shown. Despite questions in the rotation, given the division they are in, ECE certainly can compete for a playoff spot this season.
5. Wiffleball Junkies
-The Wiffleball Junkies come into 2019 without much fanfare. Everyone knows about Josh Sorber but beyond that it is a wait and see approach. But knowing Sorber will likely be on the mound every weekend, you know the Junkies will instantly be competitive. Curtis Brieling will look to build off his 2018 campaign where he went 2-0 with a 1.41 ERA in 10.2 innings. While that ERA isn’t likely sustainable, anything close to that will certainly have the Junkies in the playoff hunt. At the plate, Sorber figures to lead this team in most categories with Hank Hunsinger providing some power around him. Another victim of the division draw, there is no margin for error for the Junkies if they want to make the playoffs.
4. Team Backpack (2)
-Coming off the BWBL Classic win, Joey Dougher hopes to continue his winning ways right into the 2019 season. Outside of Mikey Holloway, I really do not know much about this team other than they were in playoff contention last season up until the final series. But as they have shown, a motivated Dougher and Holloway can carry a team a long way. Finding themselves in the National Division and having avoided the likes of Bad Meets Evil and Special K, Backpack can certainly contend for a playoff spot and even a division title.
3. Alex’s Team
-First off, let’s hope we can get an actual name for this team other than Alex’s Team. But as the name suggests, this team starts with Alex Fuchylo. After Josh and Alex mutually (I think) parted ways for this season, Alex quickly started working the free agent market. The first to join him were former Backdoor Bandits Jake Lukachik and Brandon Haydt. Jake figures to slot in behind Alex as a second or third starter and Brandon will bring with him the bat that was central to the Bandits success for so many years. The loss of Saturday Crush as a franchise proved a great opportunity for Fuchylo as he scooped up Hall of Famer and BWBL all-time hit king Andy Peck as well as flamethrower Sean Hart. With talent on both sides of the ball and a plethora of playoff experience, Alex’s Team is the favorite to run away with the National Division. With the #1 seed likely having a huge advantage this season, I wouldn’t even rule out this team awaiting one of the next two come championship time.
1b. Special K (2)
-Coming in at 1b having tied for the top spot in the polls, but receiving fewer 1st place votes, is Special K. Coming off what was perhaps a slightly disappointing 2018 season which saw them lose a tightly contested playoff series against Snack Shack, the core of Steve Homza, Mark Belles, and Zach Artim return for 2019. The departure of Doug Novitski has left a bit of a hole in the lineup but as previously mentioned, they added to their depth in free agency by signing both James Ziobro and Fran George from Bases Loaded. Ziobro’s bat will help to negate the loss of Novitski and both players will bolster a pitching staff led by Zach Artim. Certainly a playoff team in 2019, Special K likely has their hopes set much higher and a championship is within their expected outcomes.
1a. Bad Meets Evil (4)
-Making his managerial return to the BWBL, Tom Hannon brings back one of the most dominant franchises in the league’s history in Bad Meets Evil who won the title back in 2012 after going 20-0 during the regular season. While the name may have changed, this is really the Snack Shack team that took the title each of the last years. Gone may be Daulton Shearer but joining the team is free agent acquisition Doug Novitski. Novitski figures to slot in to a potent offense that still contains the likes of Rob Hess, Tom Hannon, and Bob Loftus Sr. Leading the way on the mound is 2018 Cy Young Award winner and Playoff MVP Curtis Wagner. The key to the 2019 championship may just be who can finish the season with the #1 seed and can therefore avoid both Alex’s Team and Special K until the championship, where they would obviously only have to face one. Avoiding Special K is not something Bad Meets Evil will be able to do during the season however, as they figure to battle it out all year for the American Division title.
That’s a wrap on the Pre-Season Captain’s Poll. Some upcoming milestones we could see this week in the league are:
Bob Loftus Sr. needs 5 hits to become the 3rd player in BWBL history to record 600 career hits.
Both Mark Belles and Mikey Holloway each need 2 hits to become the 4th and 5th players to reach 500 career hits.
Doug Novitski needs 2 home runs to move into 3rd on the All-Time HR list.
Looking forward to putting this together every week. Good luck to all teams!
Alex’s Team captained by Alex Fuchylo
Bad Meets Evil captained by Tom Hannon
Balls Deep captained by John Kotsko
Bases Loaded captained by Kevin Sickle
Electric City Express captained by Dave Brigido
Special K captained by Steme Homza
Team Backpack captained by Joey Dougher
Wiffleball Junkies captained by Josh Sorber
8. Bases Loaded
-Kicking off our pre-season poll is Bases Loaded. The breakout team of 2018 surprised most with a trip to the playoffs on the back of their pitching duo of James Ziobro and Fran George. They combined to throw 64 2/3 innings out of the teams 72 2/3 innings played and struck out 158 batters. Unfortunately for Bases Loaded, other teams took notice and the duo left to join Special K. With little to no off-season acquisitions it appears Mike White will assume the team’s #1 rotation spot. On the offensive side, Ziobro and George’s bats will also be missed as well as those of Brett Rooney and Jon Fernandes who left to join Electric City Express. With so much to replace on both sides of the ball, it is no surprise to see Bases Loaded kick off our list.
7. Balls Deep
-The name isn’t the only thing that has changed for the John Kotsko led team, as several new faces join him in 2019. The team formerly known as Chafing the Dream went a perfect 0-18 last season and has actually not won a BWBL league game since August 20th, 2017 – a span of 644 days without a win when Balls Deep takes the field Sunday night. Arguably the biggest name joining the roster for this season is myself, Steve Dotzel. Despite turning down offers from 7 other teams, I decided to team up with Kotsko on a one year deal. Joining me will be BWBL rookies Anthony and Brett Caladie. While rookies here, they are veterans of Wiffle ball, having played for several years in the Modrovsky Park league in Mountain Top. I think outside of Special K, we might have the most arm talent in the league, and that can go a long way if it can be harnessed. The division draw may have put a damper on the playoff expectations I had for this team, but before we can even begin to worry about that we just need to get Kotsko a win which is going to happen in 2019.
6. Electric City Express
-ECE has gradually improved each year they’ve participated in the BWBL. Last season they showed enough promise that for the first time they were able to draw some players from free agency. Brett Rooney, Jon Fernades, and JJ Neely join the team and will immediately take over as the best bats in the lineup. While the offense was certainly upgraded, the holes in the rotation were not. Josh Quick showed improvement last season and figures to slot in as the #1 arm for 2019. Behind him, JJ Neely would likely be the next arm they trust but beyond that either Rooney or Brigido will have to step up to a level not yet shown. Despite questions in the rotation, given the division they are in, ECE certainly can compete for a playoff spot this season.
5. Wiffleball Junkies
-The Wiffleball Junkies come into 2019 without much fanfare. Everyone knows about Josh Sorber but beyond that it is a wait and see approach. But knowing Sorber will likely be on the mound every weekend, you know the Junkies will instantly be competitive. Curtis Brieling will look to build off his 2018 campaign where he went 2-0 with a 1.41 ERA in 10.2 innings. While that ERA isn’t likely sustainable, anything close to that will certainly have the Junkies in the playoff hunt. At the plate, Sorber figures to lead this team in most categories with Hank Hunsinger providing some power around him. Another victim of the division draw, there is no margin for error for the Junkies if they want to make the playoffs.
4. Team Backpack (2)
-Coming off the BWBL Classic win, Joey Dougher hopes to continue his winning ways right into the 2019 season. Outside of Mikey Holloway, I really do not know much about this team other than they were in playoff contention last season up until the final series. But as they have shown, a motivated Dougher and Holloway can carry a team a long way. Finding themselves in the National Division and having avoided the likes of Bad Meets Evil and Special K, Backpack can certainly contend for a playoff spot and even a division title.
3. Alex’s Team
-First off, let’s hope we can get an actual name for this team other than Alex’s Team. But as the name suggests, this team starts with Alex Fuchylo. After Josh and Alex mutually (I think) parted ways for this season, Alex quickly started working the free agent market. The first to join him were former Backdoor Bandits Jake Lukachik and Brandon Haydt. Jake figures to slot in behind Alex as a second or third starter and Brandon will bring with him the bat that was central to the Bandits success for so many years. The loss of Saturday Crush as a franchise proved a great opportunity for Fuchylo as he scooped up Hall of Famer and BWBL all-time hit king Andy Peck as well as flamethrower Sean Hart. With talent on both sides of the ball and a plethora of playoff experience, Alex’s Team is the favorite to run away with the National Division. With the #1 seed likely having a huge advantage this season, I wouldn’t even rule out this team awaiting one of the next two come championship time.
1b. Special K (2)
-Coming in at 1b having tied for the top spot in the polls, but receiving fewer 1st place votes, is Special K. Coming off what was perhaps a slightly disappointing 2018 season which saw them lose a tightly contested playoff series against Snack Shack, the core of Steve Homza, Mark Belles, and Zach Artim return for 2019. The departure of Doug Novitski has left a bit of a hole in the lineup but as previously mentioned, they added to their depth in free agency by signing both James Ziobro and Fran George from Bases Loaded. Ziobro’s bat will help to negate the loss of Novitski and both players will bolster a pitching staff led by Zach Artim. Certainly a playoff team in 2019, Special K likely has their hopes set much higher and a championship is within their expected outcomes.
1a. Bad Meets Evil (4)
-Making his managerial return to the BWBL, Tom Hannon brings back one of the most dominant franchises in the league’s history in Bad Meets Evil who won the title back in 2012 after going 20-0 during the regular season. While the name may have changed, this is really the Snack Shack team that took the title each of the last years. Gone may be Daulton Shearer but joining the team is free agent acquisition Doug Novitski. Novitski figures to slot in to a potent offense that still contains the likes of Rob Hess, Tom Hannon, and Bob Loftus Sr. Leading the way on the mound is 2018 Cy Young Award winner and Playoff MVP Curtis Wagner. The key to the 2019 championship may just be who can finish the season with the #1 seed and can therefore avoid both Alex’s Team and Special K until the championship, where they would obviously only have to face one. Avoiding Special K is not something Bad Meets Evil will be able to do during the season however, as they figure to battle it out all year for the American Division title.
That’s a wrap on the Pre-Season Captain’s Poll. Some upcoming milestones we could see this week in the league are:
Bob Loftus Sr. needs 5 hits to become the 3rd player in BWBL history to record 600 career hits.
Both Mark Belles and Mikey Holloway each need 2 hits to become the 4th and 5th players to reach 500 career hits.
Doug Novitski needs 2 home runs to move into 3rd on the All-Time HR list.
Looking forward to putting this together every week. Good luck to all teams!
Captains Poll -- Playoff Edition
by: Steve Dotzel
Despite what was setting up to be a pretty chaotic finish to the regular season with six teams fighting it out for five spots, Sunday didn’t quite have the drama some were hoping for. Bases Loaded took care of business early, sweeping Jenkem Fett and securing themselves as a top-3 seed. From there, we had the Full Count/Special K series that played a huge role in deciding who would be seeded where. Full Count pulled out a sweep of their own at which point locked them into a top-3 seed as well. On the flip side, the two losses dropped Special K to at best a four seed. Regardless, at this point they knew they would be in the play-in game just not who they would be playing. That would be decided in the following series along with who would take that last playoff spot in a match-up between the Bandits and Team Backpack. In an unprecedented move, both teams showed up with a full roster of five guys. The Bandits only needed to win one game to clinch the playoff berth and they didn’t drag it out, winning Game 1 comfortably, 8-0. The Bandits went on to win Game 2 as well, which bumped them up to the four seed and dropped Special K to the five. The win also cemented Snack Shack as the top seed, regardless of how their series turned out. So at that point, the field and playoff match-ups were set.
We didn’t have a typical Captains Poll this week, where we ranked each team, but rather we had the Captains predict the outcome of each series. I’ll share the results and give a breakdown of each series.
Play-In Game
Best of 1 - 3:00 Start
#5 Special K @ #4 Backdoor Bandits
Regular Season Series: Split
Special K Roster: Mark Belles, Zach Artim, Doug Novitski, Steve Homza, Nick, Alex McAndrew, Colin Pasone, Alan Grula
Bandits Roster: Steve Dotzel, Derik Ermish, Brandon Haydt, Jake Lukachik, Stan Witinski
Breakdown
There’s not much point in looking at the regular season match-up in helping to determine how this game will go. The Bandits may have led 9 of those 10 innings, but Special K was missing key contributors like Doug Novitski, Steve Homza, and Colin Pasone who figure to be present on Sunday. Like any series, the individual match-ups will be key. Special K figures to be trotting out team ace Zach Artim. Artim has been his usual dominant self, leading the league in innings pitched, strikeouts, wins, and WHIP. He has pounded the strike zone racking up 97 Ks in just 37 2/3 innings, which means 86% of his outs on the mound have come via the strike out. Perhaps more impressive is that he has only walked 17 batters in that span. If you’re going to beat Artim, you will need to put the ball in the play. In the regular season meeting, the Bandits pounded out three runs on six hits and will probably need at least that again on Sunday. The Bandits will likely try to counter Artim with Steve Dotzel. Dotzel’s numbers on the season aren’t quite on the level of Artim’s. In 33 innings pitched, he has 57 Ks and carries a 5.30 ERA and 2.70 WHIP. One thing Dotzel does have going for him is that when it comes to playoff experience, nobody has pitched more playoff games at Diamond City Park than Dotzel. As well, Dotzel’s only shutout of the season came against Special K, albeit without the key hitters mentioned above. As for the offensive side of the ball, it will be interesting to see what Special K does with their lineup. You can figure Doug Novitski, Steve Homza, Mark Belles, and Zach Artim will be a part of it. Homza leads the BWBL with a .604 batting average and Novitski is among the league leaders in HRs and RBIs with 10 and 32 respectively. Beyond those four, who will Special K use as their fifth hitter or will they expand the lineup to include more players? As for the Bandits, it will be a simpler decision since they only have five eligible players. They will be led by Brandon Haydt and Jake Lukachik, who, while each only played 10 of 18 games, are among the league leaders in both HRs and RBIs. Derik Ermish also likely figures to have a big role in the offense coming off a nice comeback season with a .566 OBP and 26 RBIs.
Outlook
With just a one-game series, one swing can prove to be the difference. The team that gets that clutch hit will likely be the winner. With a deeper lineup and the better pitcher statistically on the mound, it is no surprise to see the Captains give the edge to Special K.
Captain’s Picks: Special K (7 votes); Backdoor Bandits (3 votes)
Semi-Final Series #1
Best of 3 – 12:00/1:00/2:00 (if necessary)
#3 Bases Loaded @ #2 Full Count
Regular Season Series: Split
Bases Loaded Roster: Brett Rooney, Jon Fernandes, Kevin Sickle, Mike White, Fran George, Dave Smith, James Ziobro, Kenny Kandrac, Bill Smith
Full Count Roster:
Alex Fuchylo, Paul Devine, Ryan Hoeffner, Derik Kearsh, Curtis Breiling, Josh Sorber, Hank Hunsinger
Breakdown
While the play-in game above may be the theoretical first playoff game, the playoffs will really kick off at noon with a best-of-3 series between Bases Loaded and Full Count. The winner will punch their ticket to the championship series next week. These two teams should be quite familiar with each other having just played two weeks ago on July 22nd. That match-up featured many of the players that will be eligible Sunday, with one major exception. That missing player was Full Count ace Josh Sorber. Whether Sorber throws Game 1 or 2 is anyone’s guess, but given his pedigree, you would expect he would get the nod in Game 3 regardless. That means Bases Loaded must beat him at least once if they want to advance. The most dominant playoff pitcher over the last four seasons, Sorber enters the 2018 playoffs in playoff-like form. In 19 innings pitched, he has allowed only five runs for a 1.32 ERA and compiled a 4-1 record. Full Count will have options to consider in deciding who to throw when Sorber isn’t on the mound. That will likely be either Alex Fuchylo, Derik Kearsh, or Curtis Breiling. Conventional wisdom would figure that spot will go to Alex Fuchylo, but Alex was beat by Bases Loaded in the season match-up and last week in a pivotal game, Full Count went with Kearsh over an available Fuchylo. On the opposite side, there is no question who will be toeing the rubber for Bases Loaded. Fran George and James Ziobro have been the horses for this team all season, throwing 64 innings between them. Both pitchers come in with identical 6-2 records, but Fran has established himself as the ace between the two. His 1.93 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 33 innings has him firmly in contention for the Cy Young award. However in the season meeting, Ziobro was the one who came away with the win while Fran suffered a 3-2 loss. It will be interesting to see how Bases Loaded matches up their pitchers and who they lean on if a potential winner-take-all Game 3 arises. While Bases Loaded may not have much of a decision to make on who to throw, who to bat is another question. With nine players eligible, manager Kevin Sickle will have some tough decisions to make with lineup construction. Bases Loaded isn’t built with power, in fact nobody on their team hit more than four home runs and only two players hit more than two. Rather, they rely on a team effort of putting the ball in play. Leading the way in that department is Dave Smith and James Ziobro who each are hitting over .550 and Brett Rooney who leads the team with 26 RBIs. As for Full Count, they are similar in the fact that they don’t have much for power numbers but also get contributions throughout the lineup. The most dangerous bat in the lineup though is clearly Alex Fuchylo with his .556 average and 25 RBIs. Sorber isn’t far behind and always seems to come up with big hits in the playoffs. Outside of those two however, only Hank Hunsinger enters the playoffs hitting over .300.
Outlook
These teams played two tight games during the season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar here. The key question to me is can Bases Loaded beat Sorber? With a lack of power, they will likely have to string a few hits together to do any damage, something that Sorber just doesn’t typically allow to happen. However, given Full Count’s own struggles at the plate, one or two runs could be all Bases Loaded would need to come away with a win. I expect close, low scoring games, but just have a hard time envisioning Sorber getting knocked off here and the Captains seem to agree.
Captain’s Picks: Full Count in 2 games (5 votes); Full Count in 3 games (3 votes); Bases Loaded in 3 games (2 votes)
Semi-Final Series #2
Best of 3 – 4:00/5:00/6:00(if necessary)
Special K/Bandits Winner @ #1 Snack Shack
Regular Season Series: Snack Shack/Special K Split – Snack Shack Swept Bandits
Snack Shack Roster: Rob Hess, Daulton Shearer, Tom Hannon, Curtis Wagner, JJ Neely, Bob Loftus Sr.
Breakdown
While we don’t know who Snack Shack will be playing, there isn’t much uncertainty on what their game plan will be. Leading the way on the mound will be Curtis Wagner. Wagner had a fantastic regular season going 5-1 with a 1.35 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. If you take away the first game of the season against CTD where Wagner was shaking some rust off, he has allowed just 3 runs over 21 innings - 19 of those innings were against playoff teams Special K, Backdoor Bandits, Full Count, and Bases Loaded - showing just how dominant he has been. His 13 hits allowed are the fewest by a pitcher with at least 15 innings pitched. Perhaps the most impressive stat is out of a possible 78 outs Wagner has 76 strikeouts. That is not a typo, the defense has literally made twoput-outs the entire season. I can go on, but you get the idea. With the way he has been pitching against the top teams in the league, you have to figure Snack Shack feels they will win any series. Following Wagner on the mound you have to think Bob Loftus will be the #2. Bob’s career and playoff history is second to none, so no need to go into much there. If Bob is unable to go, Tom Hannon or Daulton Shearer would likely slot into that roll, though that would probably lead to a need for a little more help from the offense. Luckily, Snack Shack excels in that regard - particularly with power. Rob Hess, JJ Neely, Daulton Shearer, and Curtis Wagner have all blasted at least five home runs during the regular season. They all figure to be in the lineup on Sunday and will be joined by Tom Hannon who carries a .657 OBP thanks to his great patience at the plate. With nobody hitting over .450 for the Shack, you will likely see runs being scored by stringing together a few hits or walks followed by a big home run to clear the bases. It was a recipe that worked last season on the way to a championship and you could argue the team is even better this season.
Outlook
Regardless of whether it will be Special K or the Bandits, Curtis Wagner will need to be beat in order for someone to advance past Snack Shack. The Bandits only mustered two hits and no runs against him during the season, while Special K only had one hit, but did score twice. With contact being so hard to come by, you are going to have to square one up and get it over the fence if you want to do some damage to Wagner. Both of these teams have offenses that are capable of doing so, but Snack Shack’s offense can hit right back. I think they have to be favored against any team and the Captains agree with 6 of the 10 predicting Snack Shack to advance to the championship. It is a bit surprising though to see that everyone has it going three games and this is the closest picked game of the weekend in terms of the outcome. But that could also be people picking with their heart over their head.
Captain’s Picks: Snack Shack over Special K in 3 games (4 votes); Special K over Snack Shack in 3 games (3 votes); Snack Shack over Bandits in 3 games (2 votes); Bandits over Snack Shack in 3 games (1 vote – wasn’t me actually)
That’s a wrap for the Captains Poll this week. This is probably the best and most balanced field of playoff teams I have seen in my eight years in the BWBL. It should be a great day of Wiffle on Sunday, so be sure to head down to Diamond City Park and watch the action beginning at noon.
We didn’t have a typical Captains Poll this week, where we ranked each team, but rather we had the Captains predict the outcome of each series. I’ll share the results and give a breakdown of each series.
Play-In Game
Best of 1 - 3:00 Start
#5 Special K @ #4 Backdoor Bandits
Regular Season Series: Split
Special K Roster: Mark Belles, Zach Artim, Doug Novitski, Steve Homza, Nick, Alex McAndrew, Colin Pasone, Alan Grula
Bandits Roster: Steve Dotzel, Derik Ermish, Brandon Haydt, Jake Lukachik, Stan Witinski
Breakdown
There’s not much point in looking at the regular season match-up in helping to determine how this game will go. The Bandits may have led 9 of those 10 innings, but Special K was missing key contributors like Doug Novitski, Steve Homza, and Colin Pasone who figure to be present on Sunday. Like any series, the individual match-ups will be key. Special K figures to be trotting out team ace Zach Artim. Artim has been his usual dominant self, leading the league in innings pitched, strikeouts, wins, and WHIP. He has pounded the strike zone racking up 97 Ks in just 37 2/3 innings, which means 86% of his outs on the mound have come via the strike out. Perhaps more impressive is that he has only walked 17 batters in that span. If you’re going to beat Artim, you will need to put the ball in the play. In the regular season meeting, the Bandits pounded out three runs on six hits and will probably need at least that again on Sunday. The Bandits will likely try to counter Artim with Steve Dotzel. Dotzel’s numbers on the season aren’t quite on the level of Artim’s. In 33 innings pitched, he has 57 Ks and carries a 5.30 ERA and 2.70 WHIP. One thing Dotzel does have going for him is that when it comes to playoff experience, nobody has pitched more playoff games at Diamond City Park than Dotzel. As well, Dotzel’s only shutout of the season came against Special K, albeit without the key hitters mentioned above. As for the offensive side of the ball, it will be interesting to see what Special K does with their lineup. You can figure Doug Novitski, Steve Homza, Mark Belles, and Zach Artim will be a part of it. Homza leads the BWBL with a .604 batting average and Novitski is among the league leaders in HRs and RBIs with 10 and 32 respectively. Beyond those four, who will Special K use as their fifth hitter or will they expand the lineup to include more players? As for the Bandits, it will be a simpler decision since they only have five eligible players. They will be led by Brandon Haydt and Jake Lukachik, who, while each only played 10 of 18 games, are among the league leaders in both HRs and RBIs. Derik Ermish also likely figures to have a big role in the offense coming off a nice comeback season with a .566 OBP and 26 RBIs.
Outlook
With just a one-game series, one swing can prove to be the difference. The team that gets that clutch hit will likely be the winner. With a deeper lineup and the better pitcher statistically on the mound, it is no surprise to see the Captains give the edge to Special K.
Captain’s Picks: Special K (7 votes); Backdoor Bandits (3 votes)
Semi-Final Series #1
Best of 3 – 12:00/1:00/2:00 (if necessary)
#3 Bases Loaded @ #2 Full Count
Regular Season Series: Split
Bases Loaded Roster: Brett Rooney, Jon Fernandes, Kevin Sickle, Mike White, Fran George, Dave Smith, James Ziobro, Kenny Kandrac, Bill Smith
Full Count Roster:
Alex Fuchylo, Paul Devine, Ryan Hoeffner, Derik Kearsh, Curtis Breiling, Josh Sorber, Hank Hunsinger
Breakdown
While the play-in game above may be the theoretical first playoff game, the playoffs will really kick off at noon with a best-of-3 series between Bases Loaded and Full Count. The winner will punch their ticket to the championship series next week. These two teams should be quite familiar with each other having just played two weeks ago on July 22nd. That match-up featured many of the players that will be eligible Sunday, with one major exception. That missing player was Full Count ace Josh Sorber. Whether Sorber throws Game 1 or 2 is anyone’s guess, but given his pedigree, you would expect he would get the nod in Game 3 regardless. That means Bases Loaded must beat him at least once if they want to advance. The most dominant playoff pitcher over the last four seasons, Sorber enters the 2018 playoffs in playoff-like form. In 19 innings pitched, he has allowed only five runs for a 1.32 ERA and compiled a 4-1 record. Full Count will have options to consider in deciding who to throw when Sorber isn’t on the mound. That will likely be either Alex Fuchylo, Derik Kearsh, or Curtis Breiling. Conventional wisdom would figure that spot will go to Alex Fuchylo, but Alex was beat by Bases Loaded in the season match-up and last week in a pivotal game, Full Count went with Kearsh over an available Fuchylo. On the opposite side, there is no question who will be toeing the rubber for Bases Loaded. Fran George and James Ziobro have been the horses for this team all season, throwing 64 innings between them. Both pitchers come in with identical 6-2 records, but Fran has established himself as the ace between the two. His 1.93 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 33 innings has him firmly in contention for the Cy Young award. However in the season meeting, Ziobro was the one who came away with the win while Fran suffered a 3-2 loss. It will be interesting to see how Bases Loaded matches up their pitchers and who they lean on if a potential winner-take-all Game 3 arises. While Bases Loaded may not have much of a decision to make on who to throw, who to bat is another question. With nine players eligible, manager Kevin Sickle will have some tough decisions to make with lineup construction. Bases Loaded isn’t built with power, in fact nobody on their team hit more than four home runs and only two players hit more than two. Rather, they rely on a team effort of putting the ball in play. Leading the way in that department is Dave Smith and James Ziobro who each are hitting over .550 and Brett Rooney who leads the team with 26 RBIs. As for Full Count, they are similar in the fact that they don’t have much for power numbers but also get contributions throughout the lineup. The most dangerous bat in the lineup though is clearly Alex Fuchylo with his .556 average and 25 RBIs. Sorber isn’t far behind and always seems to come up with big hits in the playoffs. Outside of those two however, only Hank Hunsinger enters the playoffs hitting over .300.
Outlook
These teams played two tight games during the season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar here. The key question to me is can Bases Loaded beat Sorber? With a lack of power, they will likely have to string a few hits together to do any damage, something that Sorber just doesn’t typically allow to happen. However, given Full Count’s own struggles at the plate, one or two runs could be all Bases Loaded would need to come away with a win. I expect close, low scoring games, but just have a hard time envisioning Sorber getting knocked off here and the Captains seem to agree.
Captain’s Picks: Full Count in 2 games (5 votes); Full Count in 3 games (3 votes); Bases Loaded in 3 games (2 votes)
Semi-Final Series #2
Best of 3 – 4:00/5:00/6:00(if necessary)
Special K/Bandits Winner @ #1 Snack Shack
Regular Season Series: Snack Shack/Special K Split – Snack Shack Swept Bandits
Snack Shack Roster: Rob Hess, Daulton Shearer, Tom Hannon, Curtis Wagner, JJ Neely, Bob Loftus Sr.
Breakdown
While we don’t know who Snack Shack will be playing, there isn’t much uncertainty on what their game plan will be. Leading the way on the mound will be Curtis Wagner. Wagner had a fantastic regular season going 5-1 with a 1.35 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. If you take away the first game of the season against CTD where Wagner was shaking some rust off, he has allowed just 3 runs over 21 innings - 19 of those innings were against playoff teams Special K, Backdoor Bandits, Full Count, and Bases Loaded - showing just how dominant he has been. His 13 hits allowed are the fewest by a pitcher with at least 15 innings pitched. Perhaps the most impressive stat is out of a possible 78 outs Wagner has 76 strikeouts. That is not a typo, the defense has literally made twoput-outs the entire season. I can go on, but you get the idea. With the way he has been pitching against the top teams in the league, you have to figure Snack Shack feels they will win any series. Following Wagner on the mound you have to think Bob Loftus will be the #2. Bob’s career and playoff history is second to none, so no need to go into much there. If Bob is unable to go, Tom Hannon or Daulton Shearer would likely slot into that roll, though that would probably lead to a need for a little more help from the offense. Luckily, Snack Shack excels in that regard - particularly with power. Rob Hess, JJ Neely, Daulton Shearer, and Curtis Wagner have all blasted at least five home runs during the regular season. They all figure to be in the lineup on Sunday and will be joined by Tom Hannon who carries a .657 OBP thanks to his great patience at the plate. With nobody hitting over .450 for the Shack, you will likely see runs being scored by stringing together a few hits or walks followed by a big home run to clear the bases. It was a recipe that worked last season on the way to a championship and you could argue the team is even better this season.
Outlook
Regardless of whether it will be Special K or the Bandits, Curtis Wagner will need to be beat in order for someone to advance past Snack Shack. The Bandits only mustered two hits and no runs against him during the season, while Special K only had one hit, but did score twice. With contact being so hard to come by, you are going to have to square one up and get it over the fence if you want to do some damage to Wagner. Both of these teams have offenses that are capable of doing so, but Snack Shack’s offense can hit right back. I think they have to be favored against any team and the Captains agree with 6 of the 10 predicting Snack Shack to advance to the championship. It is a bit surprising though to see that everyone has it going three games and this is the closest picked game of the weekend in terms of the outcome. But that could also be people picking with their heart over their head.
Captain’s Picks: Snack Shack over Special K in 3 games (4 votes); Special K over Snack Shack in 3 games (3 votes); Snack Shack over Bandits in 3 games (2 votes); Bandits over Snack Shack in 3 games (1 vote – wasn’t me actually)
That’s a wrap for the Captains Poll this week. This is probably the best and most balanced field of playoff teams I have seen in my eight years in the BWBL. It should be a great day of Wiffle on Sunday, so be sure to head down to Diamond City Park and watch the action beginning at noon.
Captains Poll, Week Nine -- Playoff Scenarios
by: Steve Dotzel
The final Sunday of the regular season is upon us in what I would consider the most well-balanced and competitive year of Wiffle I have seen in the BWBL. Sunday was shaping up to be quite the finish, with seven teams fighting for one of the 5 playoff spots. On top of that, none of the five playoff seeds were clinched, which resulted in countless different scenarios. One of those seven teams was Saturday Crush and news of them forfeiting their remaining two series eliminates them from contention and somewhat simplifies the scenarios for the other teams. I’ll do my best to go through these for each teams when they come up in the rankings. A couple firsts in the poll's history as well this week, so let’s see how it unfolded.
Disclaimer: Only 9 of the 10 captains submitted their poll this week at the time of writing.
10. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-18
Avg Rank: 9.8
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-I took some heat from CTD last week after stating that I felt they should be a unanimous #10 in the polls. Perhaps they used that as motivation because they honestly should have swept the Bandits last week. Going into the last inning, they led 6-2 and 3-2 and were even one out away from a win at one point. I think anyone watching that series would come away thinking CTD was the better team that day. But in the end, they just couldn’t hold on and ended up dropping all four games on the day to complete the season without a win. CTD will look to add some talent and depth to the roster for 2019 if they’re planning a return.
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 2-14
Avg Rank: 9.2
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-After getting blasted in Game 1 vs the Bandits on Sunday, Fett nearly came away with an upset in Game 2 and had the winning run at the plate before falling 8-5. It has been a disappointing season for Beau Reznak’s return to the BWBL, as I’m sure he expected more than two wins. With that said, I think you could say the team did improve as the season went on and if they could find another arm or two, they could easily double their win total if they return in 2019. Before we start talking next year though, Fett has one more series remaining against Bases Loaded this week.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 5-11
Avg Rank: 8.0
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-ECE had another strong showing last week, nearly taking a game from a Saturday Crush team that at the time was fighting for their playoff lives. It’s unlikely ECE adds another win to their total, with a motivated Snack Shack on the schedule this week. ECE continues to improve and are now playing most teams close on a consistent basis. Next year, they will hope to get over that next hurdle and start winning some of those close games.
T-6. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 8-10
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-Saturday Crush and Team Backpack come in tied this week at #6 in the polls with both teams receiving an average rank of 6.2. They were set to break this tie on the field this week, but Crush’s forfeit put an end to that. With the forfeits, Crush finishes the year at 8-10. I may be wrong, and I am too lazy to look, but I believe this will be the first time Crush ever missed the playoffs in a season they participated. If that is correct, that is quite the achievement. It’s a disappointing but fitting end to a season that was full of tough losses and short squads for Crush.
T-6. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 10-6
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-Team Backpack was one of the teams that gained the most from the Crush forfeit’s and now control their own playoff destiny.
Best Case Scenario: Backpack sweeps, Bases Loaded swept by Fett, Full Count swept by Special K – Backpack gets the #3 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Backpack is swept or splits with Bandits – Backpack misses the playoffs.
Likely Scenario: The basic scenario is pretty straight forward for Backpack. If they sweep the Bandits, they are in the playoffs, likely as the #4 or #5 seed and will find themselves in a one-game playoff with either Special K or Full Count, assuming Bases Loaded sweeps Fett. If Backpack splits or get swept by the Bandits, they are out of the playoffs.
5. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 10-6
Avg Rank: 5.2
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Another sketchy week for the Bandits with only one comfortable win between four games against the bottom two teams in the league. But even so, the Bandits find themselves with a good chance at the playoffs.
Best Case Scenario: Bandits sweep, Bases Loaded splits with Fett, one of Special K or Full Count sweeps – Bandits get the #3 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Bandits is swept by Backpack and miss the playoffs.
Likely Scenario: While the Bandits can land anywhere from #3-out, the most likely scenario for them getting into the playoffs is simply winning at least one game against Backpack. A split and they are likely the #5 seed and will play Full Count or Special K in a one-game playoff. If the Bandits sweep, they are likely the #4 seed and will still play Full Count or Special K in a one-game playoff.
4. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 11-5
Avg Rank: 3.6
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-Bases Loaded have pulled off some big wins over the last few weeks and have beaten every potential playoff team except for the Bandits. By my measure, they have clinched a playoff spot but have a pretty wide range of outcomes.
Best Case Scenario: Bases Loaded sweep Fett, ECE sweeps Snack Shack, Full Count sweep Special K, Backpack sweeps Bandits – Bases Loaded gets the #1 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Bases Loaded is swept by Fett, Full Count/Special K split, Bandits or Backpack sweep – Bases Loaded gets the #5 seed.
Likely Scenario: The most likely outcome for Bases Loaded has them sweeping Fett, which will guarantee them at worst the third seed. From there, their actual seed largely depends on the Full Count/Special K series but assuming Snack Shack sweeps ECE and assuming of course Loaded sweeps, Bases Loaded will be guaranteed to play either Special K or Full Count in a best-of-three semifinal series.
3. Full Count (0)
Record: 11-5
Avg Rank: 3.4
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-Full Count is the other beneficiary of the Saturday Crush forfeits because had they lost one of those games, they could be in some serious playoff trouble. With those two wins now guaranteed, Full Count is basically locked into the playoffs by my measure.
Best Case Scenario: Full Count sweeps Special K, Bases Loaded loses a game to Fett – Full Count is the #2 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Full Count swept by Special K, Bandits/Backpack split, lose their +53 run differential on Backpack – Full Count misses the playoffs.
Likely Scenario: It is tough to predict where Full Count will end up or who they will play because so much depends on their series with Special K this week and I don’t have a lean on which way that will go. So let’s assume Snack Shack and Bases Load both sweep this week. If Full Count sweeps, they likely play Bases Loaded in the semifinals as either the #2 or #3 seed. If Full Count splits, they likely are the #4 or #5 seed and play the Bandits or Backpack in the one-game playoff. If Full Count is swept, they likely are the #5 seed and play either Bandits or Backpack in the one-game playoff. So as you can see, a lot at stake for Full Count this week.
2. Special K (0)
Record: 12-4
Avg Rank: 2.3
Last Week’s Rank: 2
-Despite an impressive showing last week vs Snack Shack, a split by Special K all but knocks them out of contention for the #1 seed. More likely, they are playing to hold the #2 spot.
Best Case Scenario: Special K sweeps Full Count, ECE sweeps Snack Shack – Special K is the #1 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Special K is swept by Full Count, Bases Loaded sweeps Fett, Bandits sweep Backpack – Special K and Bandits tie for the fourth seed, which the Bandits take by having a better Record vs Teams in Playoffs – Special K is #5 seed.
Likely Scenario: Another tough one because of that series with Full Count. Let’s go through each scenario to see where they end up (again this assumes Snack Shack and Bases Loaded sweep). If Special K sweeps they are the #2 seed and will play Bases Loaded. If Special K splits, they are the #2 or #3 seed and will still play Bases Loaded. If Special K is swept, they instantly drop to 4th and will play either Bandits or Backpack. Another team that has a lot to play for this week.
1. Snack Shack (9)
Record: 13-3
Avg Rank: 1.0
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-For the 1st time in Captains Poll history, we have a unanimous #1 team. After their split last week in the highly anticipated match-up against Special K, Snack Shack has secured all of the first place votes heading into the final week. It is all but certain Snack Shack will be your top seed heading into the playoffs.
Best Case Scenario: Snack Shack sweeps ECE – Snack Shack is the 1 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Snack Shack is swept by ECE, Special K sweeps Full Count, Bases Loaded sweeps Fett, Backpack sweeps Bandits, Bases Loaded makes up 7 runs in differential – Snack is the 3 seed.
Likely Scenario: This is pretty simple - a sweep over ECE and they are #1. Even a split will probably be enough. Something to play for for sure, but would be a total shock to drop out of this spot.
That’s a wrap for the Week 9 Captains Poll and I guess the Captains Poll in general for the season. Maybe we will do a playoff or end of season one if there’s interest. Thanks for reading and hopefully you’ve enjoyed it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Good luck this week.
Disclaimer: Only 9 of the 10 captains submitted their poll this week at the time of writing.
10. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-18
Avg Rank: 9.8
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-I took some heat from CTD last week after stating that I felt they should be a unanimous #10 in the polls. Perhaps they used that as motivation because they honestly should have swept the Bandits last week. Going into the last inning, they led 6-2 and 3-2 and were even one out away from a win at one point. I think anyone watching that series would come away thinking CTD was the better team that day. But in the end, they just couldn’t hold on and ended up dropping all four games on the day to complete the season without a win. CTD will look to add some talent and depth to the roster for 2019 if they’re planning a return.
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 2-14
Avg Rank: 9.2
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-After getting blasted in Game 1 vs the Bandits on Sunday, Fett nearly came away with an upset in Game 2 and had the winning run at the plate before falling 8-5. It has been a disappointing season for Beau Reznak’s return to the BWBL, as I’m sure he expected more than two wins. With that said, I think you could say the team did improve as the season went on and if they could find another arm or two, they could easily double their win total if they return in 2019. Before we start talking next year though, Fett has one more series remaining against Bases Loaded this week.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 5-11
Avg Rank: 8.0
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-ECE had another strong showing last week, nearly taking a game from a Saturday Crush team that at the time was fighting for their playoff lives. It’s unlikely ECE adds another win to their total, with a motivated Snack Shack on the schedule this week. ECE continues to improve and are now playing most teams close on a consistent basis. Next year, they will hope to get over that next hurdle and start winning some of those close games.
T-6. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 8-10
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-Saturday Crush and Team Backpack come in tied this week at #6 in the polls with both teams receiving an average rank of 6.2. They were set to break this tie on the field this week, but Crush’s forfeit put an end to that. With the forfeits, Crush finishes the year at 8-10. I may be wrong, and I am too lazy to look, but I believe this will be the first time Crush ever missed the playoffs in a season they participated. If that is correct, that is quite the achievement. It’s a disappointing but fitting end to a season that was full of tough losses and short squads for Crush.
T-6. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 10-6
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-Team Backpack was one of the teams that gained the most from the Crush forfeit’s and now control their own playoff destiny.
Best Case Scenario: Backpack sweeps, Bases Loaded swept by Fett, Full Count swept by Special K – Backpack gets the #3 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Backpack is swept or splits with Bandits – Backpack misses the playoffs.
Likely Scenario: The basic scenario is pretty straight forward for Backpack. If they sweep the Bandits, they are in the playoffs, likely as the #4 or #5 seed and will find themselves in a one-game playoff with either Special K or Full Count, assuming Bases Loaded sweeps Fett. If Backpack splits or get swept by the Bandits, they are out of the playoffs.
5. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 10-6
Avg Rank: 5.2
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Another sketchy week for the Bandits with only one comfortable win between four games against the bottom two teams in the league. But even so, the Bandits find themselves with a good chance at the playoffs.
Best Case Scenario: Bandits sweep, Bases Loaded splits with Fett, one of Special K or Full Count sweeps – Bandits get the #3 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Bandits is swept by Backpack and miss the playoffs.
Likely Scenario: While the Bandits can land anywhere from #3-out, the most likely scenario for them getting into the playoffs is simply winning at least one game against Backpack. A split and they are likely the #5 seed and will play Full Count or Special K in a one-game playoff. If the Bandits sweep, they are likely the #4 seed and will still play Full Count or Special K in a one-game playoff.
4. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 11-5
Avg Rank: 3.6
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-Bases Loaded have pulled off some big wins over the last few weeks and have beaten every potential playoff team except for the Bandits. By my measure, they have clinched a playoff spot but have a pretty wide range of outcomes.
Best Case Scenario: Bases Loaded sweep Fett, ECE sweeps Snack Shack, Full Count sweep Special K, Backpack sweeps Bandits – Bases Loaded gets the #1 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Bases Loaded is swept by Fett, Full Count/Special K split, Bandits or Backpack sweep – Bases Loaded gets the #5 seed.
Likely Scenario: The most likely outcome for Bases Loaded has them sweeping Fett, which will guarantee them at worst the third seed. From there, their actual seed largely depends on the Full Count/Special K series but assuming Snack Shack sweeps ECE and assuming of course Loaded sweeps, Bases Loaded will be guaranteed to play either Special K or Full Count in a best-of-three semifinal series.
3. Full Count (0)
Record: 11-5
Avg Rank: 3.4
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-Full Count is the other beneficiary of the Saturday Crush forfeits because had they lost one of those games, they could be in some serious playoff trouble. With those two wins now guaranteed, Full Count is basically locked into the playoffs by my measure.
Best Case Scenario: Full Count sweeps Special K, Bases Loaded loses a game to Fett – Full Count is the #2 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Full Count swept by Special K, Bandits/Backpack split, lose their +53 run differential on Backpack – Full Count misses the playoffs.
Likely Scenario: It is tough to predict where Full Count will end up or who they will play because so much depends on their series with Special K this week and I don’t have a lean on which way that will go. So let’s assume Snack Shack and Bases Load both sweep this week. If Full Count sweeps, they likely play Bases Loaded in the semifinals as either the #2 or #3 seed. If Full Count splits, they likely are the #4 or #5 seed and play the Bandits or Backpack in the one-game playoff. If Full Count is swept, they likely are the #5 seed and play either Bandits or Backpack in the one-game playoff. So as you can see, a lot at stake for Full Count this week.
2. Special K (0)
Record: 12-4
Avg Rank: 2.3
Last Week’s Rank: 2
-Despite an impressive showing last week vs Snack Shack, a split by Special K all but knocks them out of contention for the #1 seed. More likely, they are playing to hold the #2 spot.
Best Case Scenario: Special K sweeps Full Count, ECE sweeps Snack Shack – Special K is the #1 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Special K is swept by Full Count, Bases Loaded sweeps Fett, Bandits sweep Backpack – Special K and Bandits tie for the fourth seed, which the Bandits take by having a better Record vs Teams in Playoffs – Special K is #5 seed.
Likely Scenario: Another tough one because of that series with Full Count. Let’s go through each scenario to see where they end up (again this assumes Snack Shack and Bases Loaded sweep). If Special K sweeps they are the #2 seed and will play Bases Loaded. If Special K splits, they are the #2 or #3 seed and will still play Bases Loaded. If Special K is swept, they instantly drop to 4th and will play either Bandits or Backpack. Another team that has a lot to play for this week.
1. Snack Shack (9)
Record: 13-3
Avg Rank: 1.0
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-For the 1st time in Captains Poll history, we have a unanimous #1 team. After their split last week in the highly anticipated match-up against Special K, Snack Shack has secured all of the first place votes heading into the final week. It is all but certain Snack Shack will be your top seed heading into the playoffs.
Best Case Scenario: Snack Shack sweeps ECE – Snack Shack is the 1 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: Snack Shack is swept by ECE, Special K sweeps Full Count, Bases Loaded sweeps Fett, Backpack sweeps Bandits, Bases Loaded makes up 7 runs in differential – Snack is the 3 seed.
Likely Scenario: This is pretty simple - a sweep over ECE and they are #1. Even a split will probably be enough. Something to play for for sure, but would be a total shock to drop out of this spot.
That’s a wrap for the Week 9 Captains Poll and I guess the Captains Poll in general for the season. Maybe we will do a playoff or end of season one if there’s interest. Thanks for reading and hopefully you’ve enjoyed it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Good luck this week.
Captains Poll, Week Eight
by: Steve Dotzel
A full slate of Sunday games is on tap this week after an off week for most due to the NWLA tournament. If you’re wondering how that trip went beyond the box scores, check out my article recapping the weekend. As for the BWBL, there are only two Sundays remaining in the season including this week, so every game is important for teams trying to make the playoffs. We have seven teams that are fighting for five playoff spots, many of which will be playing each other over the final two weeks, and three teams tied at 6-6 for the last playoff spot! Oh and of course we may have some rain to deal with AGAIN. It should be a great finish to end the season. Let’s see how it all shook out in the polls.
Disclaimer: Only 9 of the 10 captains submitted their poll this week.
10. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-14
Avg Rank: 9.7
Last Week’s Rank: 9
CTD has lost four games since the last poll due to a makeup with Saturday Crush last week. The fact they are not a unanimous #10 and how someone can rank them ahead of Fett after just being swept by them does not make sense to me, but that is just my opinion. The series with Fett was CTD’s best chance at avoiding a winless season, but they lost by six and eight in the two games. CTD’s season will end this week with a doubleheader against the Bandits and Team Backpack. Both of these teams are fighting for a playoff spot so it seems likely an 0-18 season is all but a lock.
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 2-12
Avg Rank: 9.3
Last Week’s Rank: 10
Fett came out on top of what was the highly anticipated series against CTD. Their offense exploded for 30 runs on the day, a pretty impressive feat considering they had scored only seven the entire season. With the worry of a winless season no longer weighing on their minds, perhaps Fett can manage another win in their final four games. It won’t be easy though, as the Bandits and Bases Loaded are the two teams left on the schedule.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 5-9
Avg Rank: 7.9
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
ECE’s four-game winning streak quickly came to an end after a sweep to the hands of Special K last time out. The losses drop ECE to 5-9 and all but eliminates them from any playoff contention. Regardless of what ECE does the rest of the season, it is safe to say these guys will deem 2018 a success and a step in the right direction. Nobody expected a playoff run this year, but the table is being set for perhaps a run next season.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 6-6
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 7
Backpack got a huge win over Full Count last time out and now find themselves tied with Saturday Crush and the Bandits for the final playoff spot. The best part, in their final 6 games they have to play both of these teams. They should have no problem with CTD this week, setting up a showdown with Crush and the Bandits to end the season and likely determine the playoff picture.
6. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 6-6
Avg Rank: 6.4
Last Week’s Rank: 6
Here we find the second of the three teams tied for that last playoff spot – Saturday Crush. The 3 teams left on their schedule are ECE, Backpack, and Full Count. They may need to find a way to sweep Full Count if they want to get to the playoffs. It has been a tough year for the Crush squad, like the Bandits they are having a hard time getting guys to show up every week. If they did in fact fail to make the playoffs, what would the future hold for Saturday Crush?
5. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 6-6
Avg Rank: 4.9
Last Week’s Rank: 4
The Bandits were hoping to take a game off of Snack Shack two weeks back, but that did happen and the sweep dropped the team to 6-6. It wasn’t much of a surprise though since in Game 1 the Bandits had a four-man lineup of Dotzel and three rookies, two of which were making their BWBL debuts. Ermish arrived for Game 2 and pitched a great game, but in the end if wasn’t enough. The Bandits are just not the same team without a healthy Lukachik on the mound and Haydt in the lineup, and at least one of the big three have been missing nearly all season. The good news for the Bandits is that a doubleheader this week against CTD and Fett could get them to 10-6 and the opportunity to control their playoff destiny headed into the final week.
4. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 10-4
Avg Rank: 4.3
Last Week’s Rank: 5
Bases Loaded continues to roll, now having won 9 of their last 10 days. Led by Cy Young contender Fran George, the team has now jumped all the way up to the third best record in the league and seem all but certain to find themselves in the playoffs. They sit two full games above the trio at 6-6 and with Fett still on the schedule it really is just a matter of whether they can hold the #3 spot and avoid that play-in game.
3. Full Count (1)
Record: 8-4
Avg Rank: 2.7
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-Full Count dropped another game last time out, this time to Team Backpack and now find themselves down to the fourth seed after sitting first or second much of the year. Any time this team doesn’t have Sorber or Alex on the mound, they are not quite the same. I don’t know the availability of those two arms for the remainder of the season, but if one would be missing, this team could actually be in some trouble. Their remaining schedule is by far the most difficult of all the teams in the playoff mix. They have Saturday Crush, Bases Loaded, and Special K still to go. While 3-3 should be enough to get in the playoffs, it would likely put them in the play-in game. Something tells me though with the championship experience this team has, they don’t really care who they play come playoffs.
2. Special K (1)
Record: 11-3
Avg Rank: 2.2
Last Week’s Rank: 2
Another sweep for Special K and that 2-2 start is a distant memory. Firmly cemented in the playoffs, it is only a matter of how high of a seed this team can get. For Special K, though, you can argue the playoffs start this week. Their remaining schedule? Snack Shack and Full Count to end the year, the only other teams to get #1 votes. It should be interesting to see how they stack up against these two contenders entering the playoffs.
1. Snack Shack (7)
Record: 12-2
Avg Rank: 1.2
Last Week’s Rank: 1
After sweeping Full Count and the Bandits in back-to-back weeks, Snack Shack sits atop the polls with seven of the nine first place votes. They can lock up the #1 seed this week by sweeping Special K, but even a split will likely be good enough to secure the spot. The over-riding sentiment has been to get the #1 seed and avoid Special K and Full Count until the championship but Full Count’s recent slide and Fran George’s emergence could throw a wrench into things and give Snack Shack a tougher 1st round test than expected. Ask them though and they couldn’t care less, they know their offense can get to any pitcher. They have already dealt Sorber, Fuchylo, and Dotzel losses in the last two weeks.
That’s a wrap for the Week 8 Captain’s Poll! Good luck this week.
WHILE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS ASSUMED TO BE CORRECT, OFFICIAL PLAYOFF SEEDING AND TIE-BREAKING WILL BE DONE BY THE BWBL COUNCIL FOLLOWING THE COMPLETION OF ALL GAMES SUNDAY.
Disclaimer: Only 9 of the 10 captains submitted their poll this week.
10. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-14
Avg Rank: 9.7
Last Week’s Rank: 9
CTD has lost four games since the last poll due to a makeup with Saturday Crush last week. The fact they are not a unanimous #10 and how someone can rank them ahead of Fett after just being swept by them does not make sense to me, but that is just my opinion. The series with Fett was CTD’s best chance at avoiding a winless season, but they lost by six and eight in the two games. CTD’s season will end this week with a doubleheader against the Bandits and Team Backpack. Both of these teams are fighting for a playoff spot so it seems likely an 0-18 season is all but a lock.
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 2-12
Avg Rank: 9.3
Last Week’s Rank: 10
Fett came out on top of what was the highly anticipated series against CTD. Their offense exploded for 30 runs on the day, a pretty impressive feat considering they had scored only seven the entire season. With the worry of a winless season no longer weighing on their minds, perhaps Fett can manage another win in their final four games. It won’t be easy though, as the Bandits and Bases Loaded are the two teams left on the schedule.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 5-9
Avg Rank: 7.9
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
ECE’s four-game winning streak quickly came to an end after a sweep to the hands of Special K last time out. The losses drop ECE to 5-9 and all but eliminates them from any playoff contention. Regardless of what ECE does the rest of the season, it is safe to say these guys will deem 2018 a success and a step in the right direction. Nobody expected a playoff run this year, but the table is being set for perhaps a run next season.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 6-6
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 7
Backpack got a huge win over Full Count last time out and now find themselves tied with Saturday Crush and the Bandits for the final playoff spot. The best part, in their final 6 games they have to play both of these teams. They should have no problem with CTD this week, setting up a showdown with Crush and the Bandits to end the season and likely determine the playoff picture.
6. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 6-6
Avg Rank: 6.4
Last Week’s Rank: 6
Here we find the second of the three teams tied for that last playoff spot – Saturday Crush. The 3 teams left on their schedule are ECE, Backpack, and Full Count. They may need to find a way to sweep Full Count if they want to get to the playoffs. It has been a tough year for the Crush squad, like the Bandits they are having a hard time getting guys to show up every week. If they did in fact fail to make the playoffs, what would the future hold for Saturday Crush?
5. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 6-6
Avg Rank: 4.9
Last Week’s Rank: 4
The Bandits were hoping to take a game off of Snack Shack two weeks back, but that did happen and the sweep dropped the team to 6-6. It wasn’t much of a surprise though since in Game 1 the Bandits had a four-man lineup of Dotzel and three rookies, two of which were making their BWBL debuts. Ermish arrived for Game 2 and pitched a great game, but in the end if wasn’t enough. The Bandits are just not the same team without a healthy Lukachik on the mound and Haydt in the lineup, and at least one of the big three have been missing nearly all season. The good news for the Bandits is that a doubleheader this week against CTD and Fett could get them to 10-6 and the opportunity to control their playoff destiny headed into the final week.
4. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 10-4
Avg Rank: 4.3
Last Week’s Rank: 5
Bases Loaded continues to roll, now having won 9 of their last 10 days. Led by Cy Young contender Fran George, the team has now jumped all the way up to the third best record in the league and seem all but certain to find themselves in the playoffs. They sit two full games above the trio at 6-6 and with Fett still on the schedule it really is just a matter of whether they can hold the #3 spot and avoid that play-in game.
3. Full Count (1)
Record: 8-4
Avg Rank: 2.7
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-Full Count dropped another game last time out, this time to Team Backpack and now find themselves down to the fourth seed after sitting first or second much of the year. Any time this team doesn’t have Sorber or Alex on the mound, they are not quite the same. I don’t know the availability of those two arms for the remainder of the season, but if one would be missing, this team could actually be in some trouble. Their remaining schedule is by far the most difficult of all the teams in the playoff mix. They have Saturday Crush, Bases Loaded, and Special K still to go. While 3-3 should be enough to get in the playoffs, it would likely put them in the play-in game. Something tells me though with the championship experience this team has, they don’t really care who they play come playoffs.
2. Special K (1)
Record: 11-3
Avg Rank: 2.2
Last Week’s Rank: 2
Another sweep for Special K and that 2-2 start is a distant memory. Firmly cemented in the playoffs, it is only a matter of how high of a seed this team can get. For Special K, though, you can argue the playoffs start this week. Their remaining schedule? Snack Shack and Full Count to end the year, the only other teams to get #1 votes. It should be interesting to see how they stack up against these two contenders entering the playoffs.
1. Snack Shack (7)
Record: 12-2
Avg Rank: 1.2
Last Week’s Rank: 1
After sweeping Full Count and the Bandits in back-to-back weeks, Snack Shack sits atop the polls with seven of the nine first place votes. They can lock up the #1 seed this week by sweeping Special K, but even a split will likely be good enough to secure the spot. The over-riding sentiment has been to get the #1 seed and avoid Special K and Full Count until the championship but Full Count’s recent slide and Fran George’s emergence could throw a wrench into things and give Snack Shack a tougher 1st round test than expected. Ask them though and they couldn’t care less, they know their offense can get to any pitcher. They have already dealt Sorber, Fuchylo, and Dotzel losses in the last two weeks.
That’s a wrap for the Week 8 Captain’s Poll! Good luck this week.
WHILE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS ASSUMED TO BE CORRECT, OFFICIAL PLAYOFF SEEDING AND TIE-BREAKING WILL BE DONE BY THE BWBL COUNCIL FOLLOWING THE COMPLETION OF ALL GAMES SUNDAY.
Captains Poll, Week Seven
by: Steve Dotzel
Well we finally had a Sunday without rain, only to be replaced by likely the warmest temperatures we will see all year. I wasn’t there Sunday to play, but could only imagine how much it sucked to be out there playing. Heat, rain, or whatever the games still count and we had some pretty interesting results Sunday. The write-up is a bit abbreviated this week being that I was away and short on time but let’s see how those results affected the polls.
Disclaimer: Only 9 of the 10 captains submitted their poll this week.
10. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 0-12
Avg Rank: 9.6
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-Fett nearly pulled out their 1st win of the year last week against ECE, but came up just short with losses of 2-1 and 5-3. They will have their best and maybe last chance at a win this week with a highly anticipated matchup with CTD.
9. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-10
Avg Rank: 9.4
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-Another beatdown this week for CTD, this time at the hands of Special K. The good news is that this week Jenkem Fett is on the schedule which guarantees at least 1 of these teams will get their 1st win.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 5-7
Avg Rank: 7.9
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-After coming away with their 1st sweep in team history 2 weeks ago, ECE followed that up with another sweep last week. The team is now riding a 4-game winning streak which is obviously a franchise record. ECE now finds themselves just 2 games behind the Bandits for the final playoff spot. The bad news is that there are no more CTDs on their schedule, and things get a lot tougher starting this week with Special K.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 5-5
Avg Rank: 6.4
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Backpack had a great chance last week to cement their spot in the playoffs, but a sweep at the hands of Bases Loaded, a team that was chasing them for that playoff spot, now has Backpack on the outside looking in. With Full Count on the schedule this week, it’s possible Backpack could be staring at a 5-game losing streak.
6. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 4-4
Avg Rank: 6.0
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-A bit of a bittersweet week for Crush last week as they split with the Bandits. Sure a win is always nice, but when facing a Bandits team without Dotzel and Lukachik anything less than a sweep has to be a bit of a disappointment. Crush currently sits a game out of the last playoff spot behind the Bandits, and 2 games behind the 4th spot and Bases Loaded. Luckily for Crush, Bases Loaded is who’s on the schedule this week so this series may go a long way in determining one of those final playoff spots.
5. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 8-4
Avg Rank: 5.1
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-Nobody in the league is hotter than Bases Loaded right now, they have won 7 of their last 8 and are now up to 4th if playoffs were to start today. One of the teams chasing them for that spot is Saturday Crush which sets up an important series for both teams this week. If Loaded could sweep, it would all but lock them into the playoffs.
4. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 6-4
Avg Rank: 4.6
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-The summary of the Bandits write-up last week was of all the series splits the team has had. Well that trend continued last week with another split to Saturday Crush. However, with only a 3 man squad that didn’t include Dotzel or Lukachik the Bandits were pleased to take a game. They will need their best players back this week if they want to take a game from Snack Shack.
3. Full Count (1)
Record: 7-3
Avg Rank: 2.0
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-After beginning the season 6-0, Full Count has now lost 3 of their last 4 after being swept by Snack Shack last week. It was a tough set of losses for Full Count with their 2 aces on the mound. They’ll look to get back to their winning ways against Team Backpack this week.
2. Special K (2)
Record: 9-3
Avg Rank: 2.6
Last Week’s Rank: 2
-Special K continues to roll with 2 easy wins last week over CFD. After a tough start, Special K has become the team we all expected. A hot ECE team is on the schedule this week, but I doubt Special K has much trouble in this one.
1. Snack Shack (6)
Record: 10-2
Avg Rank: 1.4
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-In what was likely the most impressive sweep of the season, Snack Shack took both games from Full Count and handed the pitching duo of Fuchylo and Sorber their 1st runs allowed and losses of the season. This was enough to jump Snack Shack from #3 to the top spot in the polls this week. Shack will look to give another pitcher his first loss of the season when former teammate Dotzel faces them this week.
That’s a wrap for the Week 7 Captains Poll! Good luck this week.
Disclaimer: Only 9 of the 10 captains submitted their poll this week.
10. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 0-12
Avg Rank: 9.6
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-Fett nearly pulled out their 1st win of the year last week against ECE, but came up just short with losses of 2-1 and 5-3. They will have their best and maybe last chance at a win this week with a highly anticipated matchup with CTD.
9. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-10
Avg Rank: 9.4
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-Another beatdown this week for CTD, this time at the hands of Special K. The good news is that this week Jenkem Fett is on the schedule which guarantees at least 1 of these teams will get their 1st win.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 5-7
Avg Rank: 7.9
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-After coming away with their 1st sweep in team history 2 weeks ago, ECE followed that up with another sweep last week. The team is now riding a 4-game winning streak which is obviously a franchise record. ECE now finds themselves just 2 games behind the Bandits for the final playoff spot. The bad news is that there are no more CTDs on their schedule, and things get a lot tougher starting this week with Special K.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 5-5
Avg Rank: 6.4
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Backpack had a great chance last week to cement their spot in the playoffs, but a sweep at the hands of Bases Loaded, a team that was chasing them for that playoff spot, now has Backpack on the outside looking in. With Full Count on the schedule this week, it’s possible Backpack could be staring at a 5-game losing streak.
6. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 4-4
Avg Rank: 6.0
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-A bit of a bittersweet week for Crush last week as they split with the Bandits. Sure a win is always nice, but when facing a Bandits team without Dotzel and Lukachik anything less than a sweep has to be a bit of a disappointment. Crush currently sits a game out of the last playoff spot behind the Bandits, and 2 games behind the 4th spot and Bases Loaded. Luckily for Crush, Bases Loaded is who’s on the schedule this week so this series may go a long way in determining one of those final playoff spots.
5. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 8-4
Avg Rank: 5.1
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-Nobody in the league is hotter than Bases Loaded right now, they have won 7 of their last 8 and are now up to 4th if playoffs were to start today. One of the teams chasing them for that spot is Saturday Crush which sets up an important series for both teams this week. If Loaded could sweep, it would all but lock them into the playoffs.
4. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 6-4
Avg Rank: 4.6
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-The summary of the Bandits write-up last week was of all the series splits the team has had. Well that trend continued last week with another split to Saturday Crush. However, with only a 3 man squad that didn’t include Dotzel or Lukachik the Bandits were pleased to take a game. They will need their best players back this week if they want to take a game from Snack Shack.
3. Full Count (1)
Record: 7-3
Avg Rank: 2.0
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-After beginning the season 6-0, Full Count has now lost 3 of their last 4 after being swept by Snack Shack last week. It was a tough set of losses for Full Count with their 2 aces on the mound. They’ll look to get back to their winning ways against Team Backpack this week.
2. Special K (2)
Record: 9-3
Avg Rank: 2.6
Last Week’s Rank: 2
-Special K continues to roll with 2 easy wins last week over CFD. After a tough start, Special K has become the team we all expected. A hot ECE team is on the schedule this week, but I doubt Special K has much trouble in this one.
1. Snack Shack (6)
Record: 10-2
Avg Rank: 1.4
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-In what was likely the most impressive sweep of the season, Snack Shack took both games from Full Count and handed the pitching duo of Fuchylo and Sorber their 1st runs allowed and losses of the season. This was enough to jump Snack Shack from #3 to the top spot in the polls this week. Shack will look to give another pitcher his first loss of the season when former teammate Dotzel faces them this week.
That’s a wrap for the Week 7 Captains Poll! Good luck this week.
Captains Poll, Week Six
by: Steve Dotzel
After what seems like a month, we finally got some new rankings to dive into for this upcoming week. The weather continues to wreak havoc as it seemingly has rained every Sunday. While we may avoid it this week, we will have potential 100 degree temperature to take its place. We have some shuffling in the poll compared to last time so let’s see how it shook out.
10. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 0-10
Avg Rank: 9.6
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Fett continues to search for their 1st win of the season after being swept by Saturday Crush and Special K the last two weeks. As a team they are hitting just .128 and have yet to launch a home run. Their best chance to date at getting a win will be this week against Electric City Express.
9. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-8
Avg Rank: 9.2
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Like Fett, CtD also remains winless on the year. They were oh so close last week falling just short in two 1 run losses to ECE. The pitching for CtD has been a major concern with 92 walks and 111 runs allowed in just 25 innings. A matchup with Special K this week is all but certain to add to the misery.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 3-7
Avg Rank: 8.1
Last Week’s Ranks: N/A
-ECE has clearly separated themselves from the bottom of the field after sweeping CtD last week. Josh Quick looked sharp tossing 5 innings of 1 run ball with 10 strikeouts. Don’t look now but with Jenkem Fett on tap ECE could theoretically find themselves within sniffing distance of a playoff spot.
7. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 3-3
Avg Rank: 6.7
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Crush finds themselves down a bit in the polls from where we left off last time. Some off time coupled with some close wins seems to have voters a bit concerned. This could be a big week for Crush to get back into playoff position with a shorthanded Bandits squad on deck.
6. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 6-4
Avg Rank: 5.3
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-After winning 5 of their last 6 including a huge win over Snack Shack, Bases Loaded is within a game of the final playoff spot. One of the teams they are chasing, Team Backpack, is on the schedule for this week in what could have major implications for both teams going forward.
5. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 5-3
Avg Rank: 4.8
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-As just mentioned, Team Backpack has a huge series set for Sunday. A sweep of Bases Loaded would go a long way in keeping Backpack firmly in the playoff picture. Backpack leads the league with a team batting average of .472 and will need to continue putting the ball in play with a step up in the pitching they will be seeing this week.
4. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 5-3
Avg Rank: 4.5
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-The Bandits were able to give Full Count their first loss of the season last week, but that is now 3 consecutive splits for the team. 1 of which was to ECE a team they feel they should have beat, and another to Special K after coming within 1 out of the sweep. Two losses that could cost the Bandits down the line. With Dotzel and possibly Lukachik absent this week, it looks like a split would be a pleasant surprise.
3. Snack Shack (2)
Record: 8-2
Avg Rank: 2.9
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Snack Shack has dropped a game each of the last 2 weeks and as a result the voters have slid them down a bit in the polls. While it may seem the team is struggling, it should be noted they were playing shorthanded in both losses. The offense continues to thrive, leading the league with 110 runs scored and a .609 OBP. They have a chance to impress this week with the top ranked Full Count on the slate.
2. Special K (1)
Record: 7-3
Avg Rank: 2.6
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Special K finds themselves with their highest ranking since debuting at #1 in the pre-season. They go as their pitching goes and only Full Count has a lower team ERA on the season. Special K has won 7 of their last 8, including an extra inning win over the Bandits where they were down to their last out, and look to extend this hot streak with a sweep of the lowly CtD squad this week.
1. Full Count (7)
Record: 7-1
Avg Rank: 1.3
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Full Count saw a few things come to an end for them last week. They actually gave up their 1st run of the season and in turn was given their 1st loss of the season. However, ace Alex Fuchylo was not present and other star pitcher Josh Sorber surprisingly did not pitch despite playing both games. Perhaps the duo wanted to keep their scoreless streaks intact as a unit? Or maybe Sorber was looking ahead to Snack Shack this week. Either way, that series this week should be a great one with the league’s best pitching staff facing off against the highest scoring offense. I wish I wasn’t going to be 450 miles away for this one.
That’s a wrap for the Week 6 Captain’s Poll! Good luck this week.
10. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 0-10
Avg Rank: 9.6
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Fett continues to search for their 1st win of the season after being swept by Saturday Crush and Special K the last two weeks. As a team they are hitting just .128 and have yet to launch a home run. Their best chance to date at getting a win will be this week against Electric City Express.
9. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-8
Avg Rank: 9.2
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Like Fett, CtD also remains winless on the year. They were oh so close last week falling just short in two 1 run losses to ECE. The pitching for CtD has been a major concern with 92 walks and 111 runs allowed in just 25 innings. A matchup with Special K this week is all but certain to add to the misery.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 3-7
Avg Rank: 8.1
Last Week’s Ranks: N/A
-ECE has clearly separated themselves from the bottom of the field after sweeping CtD last week. Josh Quick looked sharp tossing 5 innings of 1 run ball with 10 strikeouts. Don’t look now but with Jenkem Fett on tap ECE could theoretically find themselves within sniffing distance of a playoff spot.
7. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 3-3
Avg Rank: 6.7
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Crush finds themselves down a bit in the polls from where we left off last time. Some off time coupled with some close wins seems to have voters a bit concerned. This could be a big week for Crush to get back into playoff position with a shorthanded Bandits squad on deck.
6. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 6-4
Avg Rank: 5.3
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-After winning 5 of their last 6 including a huge win over Snack Shack, Bases Loaded is within a game of the final playoff spot. One of the teams they are chasing, Team Backpack, is on the schedule for this week in what could have major implications for both teams going forward.
5. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 5-3
Avg Rank: 4.8
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-As just mentioned, Team Backpack has a huge series set for Sunday. A sweep of Bases Loaded would go a long way in keeping Backpack firmly in the playoff picture. Backpack leads the league with a team batting average of .472 and will need to continue putting the ball in play with a step up in the pitching they will be seeing this week.
4. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 5-3
Avg Rank: 4.5
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-The Bandits were able to give Full Count their first loss of the season last week, but that is now 3 consecutive splits for the team. 1 of which was to ECE a team they feel they should have beat, and another to Special K after coming within 1 out of the sweep. Two losses that could cost the Bandits down the line. With Dotzel and possibly Lukachik absent this week, it looks like a split would be a pleasant surprise.
3. Snack Shack (2)
Record: 8-2
Avg Rank: 2.9
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Snack Shack has dropped a game each of the last 2 weeks and as a result the voters have slid them down a bit in the polls. While it may seem the team is struggling, it should be noted they were playing shorthanded in both losses. The offense continues to thrive, leading the league with 110 runs scored and a .609 OBP. They have a chance to impress this week with the top ranked Full Count on the slate.
2. Special K (1)
Record: 7-3
Avg Rank: 2.6
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Special K finds themselves with their highest ranking since debuting at #1 in the pre-season. They go as their pitching goes and only Full Count has a lower team ERA on the season. Special K has won 7 of their last 8, including an extra inning win over the Bandits where they were down to their last out, and look to extend this hot streak with a sweep of the lowly CtD squad this week.
1. Full Count (7)
Record: 7-1
Avg Rank: 1.3
Last Week’s Rank: N/A
-Full Count saw a few things come to an end for them last week. They actually gave up their 1st run of the season and in turn was given their 1st loss of the season. However, ace Alex Fuchylo was not present and other star pitcher Josh Sorber surprisingly did not pitch despite playing both games. Perhaps the duo wanted to keep their scoreless streaks intact as a unit? Or maybe Sorber was looking ahead to Snack Shack this week. Either way, that series this week should be a great one with the league’s best pitching staff facing off against the highest scoring offense. I wish I wasn’t going to be 450 miles away for this one.
That’s a wrap for the Week 6 Captain’s Poll! Good luck this week.
Captains Poll, Week Four
by: Steve Dotzel
We almost had our 1st rain free Sunday of the season, that was until the monsoon that was the Bandits/ECE series. Early forecasts for this Sunday look pretty good, so let’s hope that holds true. As for on the field, we have what I would say is our best slate of games yet with several matchups with teams ranked closely to each other. It should be a good day to get a better read on many teams and could cause some shake-ups in these rankings for next week. As for this week, let’s see how things turned out.
9. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-4
Avg Rank: 9.5
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-Technically, CFD moves up a spot this week. No longer are they in sole possession of last place, they now are tied with Jenkem Fett for the 9th spot. However it’s tough to argue CTD deserves to move up considering they lost 20-0 and 20-0.
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 0-6
Avg Rank: 9.5
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-Speaking of 20-0 sweeps, that is also what happened to Jenkem Fett last week. We are now 3 weeks in and Fett has been shut out five times.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 1-5
Avg Rank: 7.8
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-ECE had what certainly was the upset of the year so far in the young season. They managed to take a game off the Bandits and very nearly came away with the sweep. The previously dormant bats came alive and put up 24 runs on the day. The showing wasn’t enough to move ECE up in the polls, but they did separate themselves from the bottom two teams.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 4-2
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-This week was dubbed as the week that Backpack could show the league that their hot start was no fluke. They weren’t able to muster a win, getting swept by Special K, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad showing. Both games were competitive. Backpack will get another chance to impress with a matchup against Saturday Crush this week.
6. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 3-3
Avg Rank: 5.3
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-Not much to say about Bases Loaded this week, they didn’t take CFD lightly and promptly pounded them with back-to-back 20-0 wins. They will need to carry that momentum over to this week against Snack Shack.
5. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 1-3
Avg Rank: 5.7
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Crush was idle this week after rescheduling what was going to be the premier matchup of the week against Full Count. Team Backpack awaits them this week which in what could be a huge series in determining the playoff picture later in the season.
4. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 3-1
Avg Rank: 4.7
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-No surprise here to see the Bandits drop a spot after their surprising loss to ECE last week. It appears the Bandits biggest problem is their roster. They have played 3 of their 4 games this season with a 3 man team and as evident last week when one of the big 3 of Haydt, Dotzel, and Lukachik aren’t there they could be beat by anyone. That trend doesn’t bode well for them this week with a matchup against Full Count and 1 of those 3 already confirmed out.
3. Special K (0)
Record: 4-2
Avg Rank: 3.1
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-Special K took advantage of the Bandits loss and jumped up to take the #3 spot. They had an impressive sweep against Team Backpack limiting them to just 2 runs in the series. Despite the perceived early struggles a likely sweep this week gets them to 6-2 and in great position for a playoff spot.
2. Snack Shack (4)
Record: 6-0
Avg Rank: 1.8
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-In a bit of a surprise, Snack Shack loses two 1st place votes and falls back a spot from last week despite two 20-0 wins. As seems to be the trend, voters aren’t impressed with beating the teams at the bottom regardless of the score. Snack Shack should get a better test this week against Bases Loaded.
1. Full Count (6)
Record: 4-0
Avg Rank: 1.4
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-Full Count was idle this week after rescheduling their series against Saturday Crush. Despite this, they took over sole possession of the #1 spot for the 1st time this season. They have a great opportunity this week to prove to voters they are deserving with a matchup against the Bandits. Full Count has yet to give up a run this season, and the Bandits will be their best test to date.
That’s a wrap for the Week 4 Captains Poll! Good luck this week.
9. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-4
Avg Rank: 9.5
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-Technically, CFD moves up a spot this week. No longer are they in sole possession of last place, they now are tied with Jenkem Fett for the 9th spot. However it’s tough to argue CTD deserves to move up considering they lost 20-0 and 20-0.
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 0-6
Avg Rank: 9.5
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-Speaking of 20-0 sweeps, that is also what happened to Jenkem Fett last week. We are now 3 weeks in and Fett has been shut out five times.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 1-5
Avg Rank: 7.8
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-ECE had what certainly was the upset of the year so far in the young season. They managed to take a game off the Bandits and very nearly came away with the sweep. The previously dormant bats came alive and put up 24 runs on the day. The showing wasn’t enough to move ECE up in the polls, but they did separate themselves from the bottom two teams.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 4-2
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-This week was dubbed as the week that Backpack could show the league that their hot start was no fluke. They weren’t able to muster a win, getting swept by Special K, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad showing. Both games were competitive. Backpack will get another chance to impress with a matchup against Saturday Crush this week.
6. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 3-3
Avg Rank: 5.3
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-Not much to say about Bases Loaded this week, they didn’t take CFD lightly and promptly pounded them with back-to-back 20-0 wins. They will need to carry that momentum over to this week against Snack Shack.
5. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 1-3
Avg Rank: 5.7
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Crush was idle this week after rescheduling what was going to be the premier matchup of the week against Full Count. Team Backpack awaits them this week which in what could be a huge series in determining the playoff picture later in the season.
4. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 3-1
Avg Rank: 4.7
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-No surprise here to see the Bandits drop a spot after their surprising loss to ECE last week. It appears the Bandits biggest problem is their roster. They have played 3 of their 4 games this season with a 3 man team and as evident last week when one of the big 3 of Haydt, Dotzel, and Lukachik aren’t there they could be beat by anyone. That trend doesn’t bode well for them this week with a matchup against Full Count and 1 of those 3 already confirmed out.
3. Special K (0)
Record: 4-2
Avg Rank: 3.1
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-Special K took advantage of the Bandits loss and jumped up to take the #3 spot. They had an impressive sweep against Team Backpack limiting them to just 2 runs in the series. Despite the perceived early struggles a likely sweep this week gets them to 6-2 and in great position for a playoff spot.
2. Snack Shack (4)
Record: 6-0
Avg Rank: 1.8
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-In a bit of a surprise, Snack Shack loses two 1st place votes and falls back a spot from last week despite two 20-0 wins. As seems to be the trend, voters aren’t impressed with beating the teams at the bottom regardless of the score. Snack Shack should get a better test this week against Bases Loaded.
1. Full Count (6)
Record: 4-0
Avg Rank: 1.4
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-Full Count was idle this week after rescheduling their series against Saturday Crush. Despite this, they took over sole possession of the #1 spot for the 1st time this season. They have a great opportunity this week to prove to voters they are deserving with a matchup against the Bandits. Full Count has yet to give up a run this season, and the Bandits will be their best test to date.
That’s a wrap for the Week 4 Captains Poll! Good luck this week.
Captains Poll, Week Three
by: Steve Dotzel
While we all may have our own opinions on the rankings, one thing we can all agree on through the first 2 weeks is that the weather has sucked. All this rain has really hampered play early on, making it tougher on both batters, pitchers, and fielders to get solid footing and be able to play at 100% speed. Hopefully this weekend the weather will straighten out and things will get back to normal. As for the captain’s poll, not much has changed since last week. However, we do have a 1st in our brief history! Read on to see where.
10. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-2
Avg Rank: 9.5
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-CFD was idle this week after re-scheduling their series with the Bandits. As a result, they didn’t get a chance to impress the voters and garner any more votes. They remain at 10.
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 0-4
Avg Rank: 8.9
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-Jenkem Fett’s bats continue to struggle here in the early going. After being shutout in the opening series by Full Count and totaling just 5 hits at the hands of the top pitching duo in the league, you would expect to see improvement regardless of who was next on the schedule. That was not the case though, as this week Jenkem Fett only managed 1 hit in the 2 game series against Team Backpack. Things don’t look any better this week either, with a matchup with powerhouse Snack Shack on deck.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 0-4
Avg Rank: 8.5
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-Speaking of the Full Count pitching duo, that is who ECE ran into this week. While Jenkem Fett only managed 1 hit on the day as previously stated, ECE said “hold my beer” and proceeded to get 0 hits. They’ll try and find a little more offense this week against the Bandits.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 4-0
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-Despite only allowing 1 hit on the weekend and another strong showing from their offense, which put up 26 runs, Team Backpack remains in the 7 spot. It seems the voters aren’t impressed with the quality of their wins, but Backpack didn’t make the schedule and they have taken care of what they can control on the field. Their first true test with the potential to move them up the rankings awaits them this week with a matchup with Special K.
6. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 1-3
Avg Rank: 5.5
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-Bases Loaded bounced back from their opening series sweep to take a split with Special K last week. While they stay at 6, their average ranking rose from 6.1 to 5.5 showing that they did receive a few more votes, just not enough to overtake the 5 spot. Hard-throwing Fran George has looked sharp early on and it seems he has already assumed the “ace” role on the team after just 2 starts.
5. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 1-3
Avg Rank: 5.3
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Despite a sweep at the hands of Snack Shack, Saturday Crush holds on to the 5 spot. The gap between Crush and Bases Loaded did shrink considerably though. It’s clear that despite their 1-3 record, voters recognize the schedule has been tough and still consider Crush to be one of the top teams in the league. And it won’t get any easier this week with a series against Full Count. Unless Crush can pull an upset, they could be looking at an early 1-5 hole to climb out of.
4. Special K (0)
Record: 2-2
Avg Rank: 4.4
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-Special K holds on to their 4th place rank, despite another split this past weekend. It’s been a bit of a slow start for the pre-season favorite, but the schedule has been tough. This week’s matchup against Team Backpack is my “Series of the Week” because we should be able to get a good sense of where both these teams are at. Backpack will want to show their 4-0 start is no fluke, and Special K will be out to prove they are the dominant team most expected them to be. Should be a good one.
3. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 2-0
Avg Rank: 3.4
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-The Bandits were idle this week and as a result, no change in their ranking. A series with ECE awaits them this week.
2. –None-
For the first time in our brief history of the Captains Poll, we have a tie! And not just any tie, a tie for the #1 spot. Both of the below teams came in with an average rank of 1.6. Snack Shack got more 1st place votes though 6-4, so they will be 1A for now.
1B. Full Count (4)
Record: 4-0
Avg Rank: 1.6
Last Week’s Rank: 2
-It is no secret what Full Count’s recipe for success is going to be. Led by the arms of Fuchylo and Sorber, they will be pitching their way to victory. That is certainly what happened this week, with both throwing no-hitters. Through 2 weeks, Full Count has yet to allow a run. They will get their toughest test to date this week, with the bat of Andy Peck and the Saturday Crush guys on tap.
1A. Snack Shack (6)
Record: 4-0
Avg Rank: 1.6
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-Snack Shack had to have the most impressive series of the weekend, sweeping Saturday Crush even without the big bat of Tom Hannon in the lineup. That showing was enough to hold onto the #1 spot. They have looked solid early on, and another sweep is likely this week unless Jenkem Fett really shows something we haven’t seen yet this season.
That’s a wrap for the Week 3 Captains Poll! Good luck this week.
10. Chafing the Dream (0)
Record: 0-2
Avg Rank: 9.5
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-CFD was idle this week after re-scheduling their series with the Bandits. As a result, they didn’t get a chance to impress the voters and garner any more votes. They remain at 10.
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Record: 0-4
Avg Rank: 8.9
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-Jenkem Fett’s bats continue to struggle here in the early going. After being shutout in the opening series by Full Count and totaling just 5 hits at the hands of the top pitching duo in the league, you would expect to see improvement regardless of who was next on the schedule. That was not the case though, as this week Jenkem Fett only managed 1 hit in the 2 game series against Team Backpack. Things don’t look any better this week either, with a matchup with powerhouse Snack Shack on deck.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Record: 0-4
Avg Rank: 8.5
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-Speaking of the Full Count pitching duo, that is who ECE ran into this week. While Jenkem Fett only managed 1 hit on the day as previously stated, ECE said “hold my beer” and proceeded to get 0 hits. They’ll try and find a little more offense this week against the Bandits.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Record: 4-0
Avg Rank: 6.2
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-Despite only allowing 1 hit on the weekend and another strong showing from their offense, which put up 26 runs, Team Backpack remains in the 7 spot. It seems the voters aren’t impressed with the quality of their wins, but Backpack didn’t make the schedule and they have taken care of what they can control on the field. Their first true test with the potential to move them up the rankings awaits them this week with a matchup with Special K.
6. Bases Loaded (0)
Record: 1-3
Avg Rank: 5.5
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-Bases Loaded bounced back from their opening series sweep to take a split with Special K last week. While they stay at 6, their average ranking rose from 6.1 to 5.5 showing that they did receive a few more votes, just not enough to overtake the 5 spot. Hard-throwing Fran George has looked sharp early on and it seems he has already assumed the “ace” role on the team after just 2 starts.
5. Saturday Crush (0)
Record: 1-3
Avg Rank: 5.3
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Despite a sweep at the hands of Snack Shack, Saturday Crush holds on to the 5 spot. The gap between Crush and Bases Loaded did shrink considerably though. It’s clear that despite their 1-3 record, voters recognize the schedule has been tough and still consider Crush to be one of the top teams in the league. And it won’t get any easier this week with a series against Full Count. Unless Crush can pull an upset, they could be looking at an early 1-5 hole to climb out of.
4. Special K (0)
Record: 2-2
Avg Rank: 4.4
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-Special K holds on to their 4th place rank, despite another split this past weekend. It’s been a bit of a slow start for the pre-season favorite, but the schedule has been tough. This week’s matchup against Team Backpack is my “Series of the Week” because we should be able to get a good sense of where both these teams are at. Backpack will want to show their 4-0 start is no fluke, and Special K will be out to prove they are the dominant team most expected them to be. Should be a good one.
3. Backdoor Bandits (0)
Record: 2-0
Avg Rank: 3.4
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-The Bandits were idle this week and as a result, no change in their ranking. A series with ECE awaits them this week.
2. –None-
For the first time in our brief history of the Captains Poll, we have a tie! And not just any tie, a tie for the #1 spot. Both of the below teams came in with an average rank of 1.6. Snack Shack got more 1st place votes though 6-4, so they will be 1A for now.
1B. Full Count (4)
Record: 4-0
Avg Rank: 1.6
Last Week’s Rank: 2
-It is no secret what Full Count’s recipe for success is going to be. Led by the arms of Fuchylo and Sorber, they will be pitching their way to victory. That is certainly what happened this week, with both throwing no-hitters. Through 2 weeks, Full Count has yet to allow a run. They will get their toughest test to date this week, with the bat of Andy Peck and the Saturday Crush guys on tap.
1A. Snack Shack (6)
Record: 4-0
Avg Rank: 1.6
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-Snack Shack had to have the most impressive series of the weekend, sweeping Saturday Crush even without the big bat of Tom Hannon in the lineup. That showing was enough to hold onto the #1 spot. They have looked solid early on, and another sweep is likely this week unless Jenkem Fett really shows something we haven’t seen yet this season.
That’s a wrap for the Week 3 Captains Poll! Good luck this week.
Captains Poll, Week Two
by: Steve Dotzel
Judging by the interest and feedback I received since the posting of the Pre-Season Captains Poll, it looks like this will be a positive addition to the BWBL page. Hopes are to have the poll out by Tuesday to the captains and then the results and article up by Thursday. If anyone has something else they would like added to the article, whether format or content, please let me know. Otherwise, here are the results from this week’s poll, which I will call Week 2 since that is the week this is leading up to. (That is the way college football does it as well -- Pre-season, Week 2, Week 3, etc.)
10. Chafing the Dream (0)
Avg Rank: 9.5
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-No movement this week for CTD after being swept by Snack Shack to start the season. If you’re looking for some positives to take away from the series, James Canesso knocked in 2 runs on 3 hits off of Curtis Wagner and John Kotsko is your clubhouse leader for the non-existent Gold Glove award after making some spectacular plays in the outfield. (Serious note, why don’t we have a defensive award? Seems logical we should.)
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Avg Rank: 8.9
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-A sweep at the hands of Full Count spoiled Beau Reznak and crew’s return to the BWBL. In fact, they didn’t even score a run. It’s tough to look too much into this though, since they did face the 1-2 punch of Fuchylo and Sorber. Every pitching matchup the rest of the way should only get easier.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Avg Rank: 8.5
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-Speaking of a 1-2 pitching punch, that is something that ECE certainly does not have. They were tagged for 17 and 18 runs in their 2 games against Dougher and his Team Backpack. The good news is the bats showed some life, pounding out 7 hits and 15 runs in game 1 of that series. That showing puts ECE as the 4th highest scoring offense here in the early going.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Avg Rank: 6.3
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-Team Backpack holds steady in the polls this week despite an offensive explosion to start the year. They scored 35 runs in their two games, albeit against ECE, which was good enough to lead the league for the week. The bats may continue to mash with another soft matchup against #9 Jenkem Fett on tap this week.
6. Bases Loaded (0)
Avg Rank: 6.1
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-It was a tough week for Bases Loaded getting swept by the Bandits, as they very easily could have won one if not both games. They fell in extra innings in game 1 and coughed up a 4 run lead in the 4th inning of game 2. It’s early but Bases Loaded may look back at those two games at the end of the season if they just miss the playoffs.
5. Saturday Crush (1)
Avg Rank: 4.7
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Despite a loss, Saturday Crush likely opened some eyes on opening day. They were able to score 7 runs in a winning effort and sour the return of ace Zach Artim who was making his debut with pre-season #1 Special K. They nearly got the sweep but couldn’t get one more key hit in the 2nd game and fell just short. It probably stings a little extra since that loss came off the arm of recently departed Saturday Crush player Doug Novitski.
4. Special K (0)
Avg Rank: 3.8
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-The pre-season #1 drops to 4 after splitting with the aforementioned Saturday Crush. Artim was a little rusty in his return, but that is to be expected coming off a one year layoff. All said, nothing to be worried about if you’re Special K. This is still the same team many expect to contend for a title.
3. Backdoor Bandits (1)
Avg Rank: 3.3
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-The Bandits squeaked out a sweep over Bases Loaded late Sunday night (And I mean late, we finished at 11pm. Let’s keep those day games moving. I understand the weather this week was the main culprit though). Jake Lukachik looked sharp in his return to the mound, throwing a 6 inning shutout in game 1. Brandon Haydt paced the offense with 7 RBI’s and a clutch HR in game 2.
2. Full Count (4)
Avg Rank: 2.2
Last Week’s Rank: 2
-If people didn’t know who to expect to see for Full Count coming into the season, Week 1 gave them a better idea. Josh Sorber led the way for the new look Full Count, tossing 4 innings of shutout ball while striking out 10. Hank Hunsinger and Curtis Brieling each launched a home run, and team cornerstone Alex Fuchylo threw a 10 strikeout shutout of his own. I think we should expect to see several shutouts with this rotation this season.
1. Snack Shack (5)
Avg Rank: 1.7
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-Snack Shack comes in as our new #1 team in the Captains Poll, making the move up from #4 last week. They blasted Chafing the Dream with 13 home runs, showing that the offense may be even better than last year’s championship team. On the mound, Bob Loftus looked like his usual self striking out 8 in just 3 innings of work. Curtis Wagner made his Snack Shack debut, and despite being a little wild to start the game he still managed to record all 15 outs via the strikeout. We should get a better gauge of Snack Shack with a “Series of the Week” matchup against Saturday Crush on deck.
That’s a wrap for the Week 2 Captains Poll. Hope you enjoyed the article.
10. Chafing the Dream (0)
Avg Rank: 9.5
Last Week’s Rank: 10
-No movement this week for CTD after being swept by Snack Shack to start the season. If you’re looking for some positives to take away from the series, James Canesso knocked in 2 runs on 3 hits off of Curtis Wagner and John Kotsko is your clubhouse leader for the non-existent Gold Glove award after making some spectacular plays in the outfield. (Serious note, why don’t we have a defensive award? Seems logical we should.)
9. Jenkem Fett (0)
Avg Rank: 8.9
Last Week’s Rank: 9
-A sweep at the hands of Full Count spoiled Beau Reznak and crew’s return to the BWBL. In fact, they didn’t even score a run. It’s tough to look too much into this though, since they did face the 1-2 punch of Fuchylo and Sorber. Every pitching matchup the rest of the way should only get easier.
8. Electric City Express (0)
Avg Rank: 8.5
Last Week’s Ranks: 8
-Speaking of a 1-2 pitching punch, that is something that ECE certainly does not have. They were tagged for 17 and 18 runs in their 2 games against Dougher and his Team Backpack. The good news is the bats showed some life, pounding out 7 hits and 15 runs in game 1 of that series. That showing puts ECE as the 4th highest scoring offense here in the early going.
7. Team Backpack (0)
Avg Rank: 6.3
Last Week’s Rank: 7
-Team Backpack holds steady in the polls this week despite an offensive explosion to start the year. They scored 35 runs in their two games, albeit against ECE, which was good enough to lead the league for the week. The bats may continue to mash with another soft matchup against #9 Jenkem Fett on tap this week.
6. Bases Loaded (0)
Avg Rank: 6.1
Last Week’s Rank: 6
-It was a tough week for Bases Loaded getting swept by the Bandits, as they very easily could have won one if not both games. They fell in extra innings in game 1 and coughed up a 4 run lead in the 4th inning of game 2. It’s early but Bases Loaded may look back at those two games at the end of the season if they just miss the playoffs.
5. Saturday Crush (1)
Avg Rank: 4.7
Last Week’s Rank: 5
-Despite a loss, Saturday Crush likely opened some eyes on opening day. They were able to score 7 runs in a winning effort and sour the return of ace Zach Artim who was making his debut with pre-season #1 Special K. They nearly got the sweep but couldn’t get one more key hit in the 2nd game and fell just short. It probably stings a little extra since that loss came off the arm of recently departed Saturday Crush player Doug Novitski.
4. Special K (0)
Avg Rank: 3.8
Last Week’s Rank: 1
-The pre-season #1 drops to 4 after splitting with the aforementioned Saturday Crush. Artim was a little rusty in his return, but that is to be expected coming off a one year layoff. All said, nothing to be worried about if you’re Special K. This is still the same team many expect to contend for a title.
3. Backdoor Bandits (1)
Avg Rank: 3.3
Last Week’s Rank: 3
-The Bandits squeaked out a sweep over Bases Loaded late Sunday night (And I mean late, we finished at 11pm. Let’s keep those day games moving. I understand the weather this week was the main culprit though). Jake Lukachik looked sharp in his return to the mound, throwing a 6 inning shutout in game 1. Brandon Haydt paced the offense with 7 RBI’s and a clutch HR in game 2.
2. Full Count (4)
Avg Rank: 2.2
Last Week’s Rank: 2
-If people didn’t know who to expect to see for Full Count coming into the season, Week 1 gave them a better idea. Josh Sorber led the way for the new look Full Count, tossing 4 innings of shutout ball while striking out 10. Hank Hunsinger and Curtis Brieling each launched a home run, and team cornerstone Alex Fuchylo threw a 10 strikeout shutout of his own. I think we should expect to see several shutouts with this rotation this season.
1. Snack Shack (5)
Avg Rank: 1.7
Last Week’s Rank: 4
-Snack Shack comes in as our new #1 team in the Captains Poll, making the move up from #4 last week. They blasted Chafing the Dream with 13 home runs, showing that the offense may be even better than last year’s championship team. On the mound, Bob Loftus looked like his usual self striking out 8 in just 3 innings of work. Curtis Wagner made his Snack Shack debut, and despite being a little wild to start the game he still managed to record all 15 outs via the strikeout. We should get a better gauge of Snack Shack with a “Series of the Week” matchup against Saturday Crush on deck.
That’s a wrap for the Week 2 Captains Poll. Hope you enjoyed the article.
Pre-Season Coaches Poll
by: Steve Dotzel
New for the 2018 season, let me introduce the Captains Poll. For those that follow college football you may be familiar with the Coaches Poll. This is the same concept. Each week, the 10 captains in the BWBL will rank each team in the league 1-10 and submit their picks online to me. I will then do a brief write-up of the results and post each week. Keep in mind that early on I really am not too familiar with teams and who is on which but I plan to be a little more detailed in the write-ups once I have more information to go off of. I think this will be something fun to do and track how teams move up and down through the season, all while adding more material for trash talk. So let’s get into the results from the preseason. Format of the rankings will be in this order: Rank, Team Name, First place votes in ( ), Average Ranking, Writeup.
Captain’s Poll: Pre-Season
*DISCLAIMER: Only 9 of the 10 captains voted at time of writing*
10. Chafing the Dream (0) 9.6
-The team formerly known as the Blue Opal Alpacas kicks off our inaugural rankings. With most of their best players changing uniforms in 2018, it appears the rest of the league doesn’t have much confidence in the remaining group and this is reflected with an average ranking of 9.6 out of 10.
9. Westside Washout (0) 8.7
-After a several season hiatus, the Washout make their return to the BWBL for the 2018 season. I have no idea who is on their roster besides captain Beau Reznak, and as a result it is difficult to have an idea what to expect with this team. That seems to be the consensus with the rest of the captains as well and is likely behind their 8.7 average ranking.
8. Electric City Express (0) 8.6
-ECE is no longer the “new” team in the BWBL now with a few seasons experience under their belts. With that experience usually comes improved play and that is something this team hopes to see in 2018. I am not sure they are quite ready to make a run at the playoffs, and the rest of the captains seem to agree with an average ranking of 8.6.
7. Dougher’s Team (0) 6.2
-I’m not sure what Dougher’s Team is going to look like this season after playing most of last with a small roster, but captain Joe Dougher has stated he expects to have a better showing in 2018. If that is in fact the case, this is a team that has the potential to contend for a playoff spot.
6. Bases Loaded (0) 6.0
-Bases Loaded enters 2018 having lost arguably their best player in Chris Faulkner. While he certainly will be tough to replace, Bases Loaded has brought in some new faces to try and fill the void. While championship aspirations may be a bit of a stretch for 2018, this team can certainly be a thorn in the side and I would expect them to have a major role in deciding who makes it to the playoffs.
5. Saturday Crush (1) 4.6
-Now that we’ve reached the top 5, I would say we are in to the true championship contenders. Perhaps a team in the bottom 5 proves me wrong but it certainly would be an upset. The rankings mirror my opinion with a pretty large gap in voting between Saturday Crush at 5 and Bases Loaded at 6. Crush comes into 2018 looking to build off their championship appearance last season. That will be a tall task with the departure of one of their top players Doug Novitski. All said, Crush has always found a way to win games and I’d expect nothing less this season.
4. Snack Shack (1) 3.3
-The defending champs offseason was focused on re-loading for 2018 after the departures of Steve Dotzel and Brandon Haydt to the Bandits. They may have just done that with a combination of free agent additions and rookie talent. The big bats led by Playoff MVP Rob Hess and including Tom Hannon and Daulton Schearer remain, so it seems to me this team will go as far as their pitching can take them.
3. Backdoor Bandits (1) 3.1
*insert awkwardness of talking about my own team in 3rd person*
-The Bandits return to the BWBL for 2018 after sitting the last few seasons out. While the team may have been gone, key players Steve Dotzel and Brandon Haydt remained in the league with Snack Shack and helped that team win the championship last season. Jake Lukachik will return to the league and bring with him his top of the rotation arm. The rest of the team is likely comprised of BWBL rookies so it may take a few weeks to see just how good this team could be.
2. Full Count (2) 2.8
-New name and new addition in 2018 for Full Count. In what could be the most important signing of the off-season, Josh Sorber returns to the BWBL after sitting out the 2017 season. He will team up with former Jagerbombers teammate Alex Fuchylo to form what could be the top 1-2 pitching duo in the league. Sorber’s bat will also be a welcome addition to what was an otherwise average lineup in 2017. But with two former MVP’s on the roster, you have to consider this team as one of the favorites and the captains did just that.
1. Special K (4) 2.2
-Despite missing out on the playoffs in 2017, Special K enters the 2018 season as the clear favorite and #1 team in the pre-season rankings. They led the way in 1st place votes with 4, twice as many as any other team. The additions of Zach Artim and Doug Novitski clearly have the rest of the league thinking this will be the team to beat, and my opinion is no different. They hit the snot out of me last season without these two, and now with an ace on the mound they will become that much better.
That’ll do it for the inaugural Captains Poll. I hope to keep up with this weekly and have them posted by Thursday or Friday. Good luck to all teams this week.
Captain’s Poll: Pre-Season
*DISCLAIMER: Only 9 of the 10 captains voted at time of writing*
10. Chafing the Dream (0) 9.6
-The team formerly known as the Blue Opal Alpacas kicks off our inaugural rankings. With most of their best players changing uniforms in 2018, it appears the rest of the league doesn’t have much confidence in the remaining group and this is reflected with an average ranking of 9.6 out of 10.
9. Westside Washout (0) 8.7
-After a several season hiatus, the Washout make their return to the BWBL for the 2018 season. I have no idea who is on their roster besides captain Beau Reznak, and as a result it is difficult to have an idea what to expect with this team. That seems to be the consensus with the rest of the captains as well and is likely behind their 8.7 average ranking.
8. Electric City Express (0) 8.6
-ECE is no longer the “new” team in the BWBL now with a few seasons experience under their belts. With that experience usually comes improved play and that is something this team hopes to see in 2018. I am not sure they are quite ready to make a run at the playoffs, and the rest of the captains seem to agree with an average ranking of 8.6.
7. Dougher’s Team (0) 6.2
-I’m not sure what Dougher’s Team is going to look like this season after playing most of last with a small roster, but captain Joe Dougher has stated he expects to have a better showing in 2018. If that is in fact the case, this is a team that has the potential to contend for a playoff spot.
6. Bases Loaded (0) 6.0
-Bases Loaded enters 2018 having lost arguably their best player in Chris Faulkner. While he certainly will be tough to replace, Bases Loaded has brought in some new faces to try and fill the void. While championship aspirations may be a bit of a stretch for 2018, this team can certainly be a thorn in the side and I would expect them to have a major role in deciding who makes it to the playoffs.
5. Saturday Crush (1) 4.6
-Now that we’ve reached the top 5, I would say we are in to the true championship contenders. Perhaps a team in the bottom 5 proves me wrong but it certainly would be an upset. The rankings mirror my opinion with a pretty large gap in voting between Saturday Crush at 5 and Bases Loaded at 6. Crush comes into 2018 looking to build off their championship appearance last season. That will be a tall task with the departure of one of their top players Doug Novitski. All said, Crush has always found a way to win games and I’d expect nothing less this season.
4. Snack Shack (1) 3.3
-The defending champs offseason was focused on re-loading for 2018 after the departures of Steve Dotzel and Brandon Haydt to the Bandits. They may have just done that with a combination of free agent additions and rookie talent. The big bats led by Playoff MVP Rob Hess and including Tom Hannon and Daulton Schearer remain, so it seems to me this team will go as far as their pitching can take them.
3. Backdoor Bandits (1) 3.1
*insert awkwardness of talking about my own team in 3rd person*
-The Bandits return to the BWBL for 2018 after sitting the last few seasons out. While the team may have been gone, key players Steve Dotzel and Brandon Haydt remained in the league with Snack Shack and helped that team win the championship last season. Jake Lukachik will return to the league and bring with him his top of the rotation arm. The rest of the team is likely comprised of BWBL rookies so it may take a few weeks to see just how good this team could be.
2. Full Count (2) 2.8
-New name and new addition in 2018 for Full Count. In what could be the most important signing of the off-season, Josh Sorber returns to the BWBL after sitting out the 2017 season. He will team up with former Jagerbombers teammate Alex Fuchylo to form what could be the top 1-2 pitching duo in the league. Sorber’s bat will also be a welcome addition to what was an otherwise average lineup in 2017. But with two former MVP’s on the roster, you have to consider this team as one of the favorites and the captains did just that.
1. Special K (4) 2.2
-Despite missing out on the playoffs in 2017, Special K enters the 2018 season as the clear favorite and #1 team in the pre-season rankings. They led the way in 1st place votes with 4, twice as many as any other team. The additions of Zach Artim and Doug Novitski clearly have the rest of the league thinking this will be the team to beat, and my opinion is no different. They hit the snot out of me last season without these two, and now with an ace on the mound they will become that much better.
That’ll do it for the inaugural Captains Poll. I hope to keep up with this weekly and have them posted by Thursday or Friday. Good luck to all teams this week.