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Wiffolution Needs to Even the Series
Earlier
this year, I predicted that Wiffolution would be taking on the Holy
Whites in the playoffs. Only difference was, I said it'd be in the
Series at the Sac Championships. So I was wrong. Jeff Morrison and
Casey Sylvester showed a few signs of promise, but they never regained
their 2001 batting form. Dean Evans continued the arduous task of
carrying an offense.
And he did an admirable job, finishing at .347 and hitting a new
personal record in homeruns, despite only getting 144 ABs to do
so.
The
Holy Whites were also helped by a second-year player in Ian Byrd,
who kept them in the hunt despite a well known teammate who only
hit .313 (career low) and finished with "only" 27 homeruns
in 160 ABs. Mike Walsh courageously made it out to two (2) gamedays
and Kyle Archibald did a bit before heading off to some place in
California.
So
we sit with these two teams, both trying to be the one who beats
the Horsemen in the finals. The Whites have been there before, and
they are the current champions. Wiffolution was in the same situation
last year, but failed to move on to the championships.
Many
people would be hard-pressed to give Wiffolution much of a chance
this year, especially given Casey and Jeff's season from the plate.
And they'd have a point. Casey and Jeff combined to hit only .245
this year with 21 homeruns in 229 ABs. Last season they combined
to hit .349 with 47 homeruns in 372 ABs, and they still couldn't
make the finals. Why should they be able to now?
Because
you never know which player (the bad or the good) is going to show
up, and you never know WHEN in a game they will.
Casey
played against the Holy Whites three times this year. In two of
those games, he struggled, and his team lost. In the other game,
however, the Casey of old showed up, went 5-11 with two homeruns,
and Wiffolution won 5-2.
Jeff
likewise played the Whites three times. In two games, he combined
to go 0-11, and his team lost both games. In the other game, he
went 3-9 with 3 homeruns, and his team won 5-1. And he didn't have
a hit in THAT game until the top of the last inning.
The
playoffs are a much different scene than the regular season. Doubleheaders
aren't as likely. You play one game, hope you're on, and hopefully
play well enough to live another day. But what Wiffolution must
do (it hasn't in the past) is try to focus on hitting more than
one pitcher on the other team. Let's face it, teams spend ALL their
energy trying to get runs off Ian Byrd. They simply assume Scott
is going to shut them down and instead press too hard during Ian's
innings. Then, if they don't score off Ian, they pretty much give
up, figuring Scott will shut them down again and they'll only have
one inning to score five runs (the Whites averaged 4.76 RPG) and
win the game. Can Wiffolution stop this trend? They seem to be the
most at-fault team in the league. You can just see their whole body
language change if they don't tear Ian up in his first inning.
Go
up there thinking you can hit Scott. He's human, you know. He makes
mistakes occasionally. He'll leave the ball up every now and then.
Just relax and treat him like any other pitcher. Then do the same
to Ian when he's on the mound. Then do it again to Scott.
Who
knows, maybe you'll wind up scoring a run off him.
This
is the Doctor, signing off.
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