The Commish: Predictions - Summer 2006
Predictions.
I think you all knew this was coming. Some of you probably wondered why you hadn’t seen it yet. With half of the teams in the Summer league brand new…I needed to see Week 1 before I could make predictions.
First, a recap. For the Spring Season, I predicted the Eastern Division correctly, except for the surprisingly poor performance of You’re Killing Me Smalls. I got the All Star game wrong, the East killed the West under impressive managerial skills, and of course, I predicted FieldWorks would be in the World Series, but lose to the Filabusters. After the F-word was kicked out of the league for steroid abuse, (http://www.potomacwiffleball.org/tp/News/18/scandal-rocks-pwl-filabusters-suspended-for-life) the Filabusters not only messed up my World Series pick, but also handed FieldWorks the championship on a silver platter. And in the West, Just Look At Yourself stepped up to fill the gap they left…and played a game that was so un-Mike Smaha like, that you almost didn’t remember he was ever on the roster. And if their manager and best player hadn’t been traded to Boston Wiffleball League the last week of the season, no one could say that they wouldn’t have made a real run at the World Series Trophy. That makes JLAY the thing I most got wrong about last season.
Enough about last season though, let’s focus on what’s before us.
Again, we’ll go Division-by-Division, and see where we are.
Eastern Division
Borg – They’re back and after going 2-0 on opening day, they’re currently sitting on top of the Eastern Division. That’s not a position they should get comfortable with though. They’ll be tied for first, or down in second place after this week, and it won’t get any better from there. They can hit, sometimes. They can pitch, sometimes. And their players show up sober, sometimes. Look for Ben to be in a wheelchair by Memorial Day, and as he rolls away, so will the chances of the Borg to make the post-season, missing the playoffs by one game…just like the Spring Season. (3rd place – 4 wins/6 losses)
Carpetbagging Bitches – This team was formed in 30 seconds, about 15 minutes before they played their first game. Their name took hours to perfect though. Three free agents who found the league by looking for hot Wiffle action seem to be able to play together. They have promise, and if all works out for them, should edge out the Borg and slide into second place and a playoff birth. They need to recruit a couple more players, and time will tell if they can live up to their promise…or, if they can remember what their teammates look like next week. (2nd place – 5 wins/5 losses)
FieldWorks Canvassers – The current World Champions have returned. And while their bench is still a little short, they should be in good shape to repeat as division champions and make a run at the World Series. Don’t let their last place start fool you, there is LOTS of Wiffleball to be played. Some have pointed out that their Spring Season standout, Stephen Zigmund, is known for his dimples and not his reliability, but his shirtless play should at least help against teams with girls. (1st place – 7 wins/3 losses)
Salt City Squirrel – The squirrels have a good logo…and if only that equaled offensive power they’d be in good shape. They’re still getting their feet wet, and could be a surprise, but they’re going to lose a lot of close games by a run or two…heartbreakers. Most of their players have nicknames, which was a widely used late 20th century convention, prior to the invention of screen names. They’re also the only team that has a captain in addition to a manager. It’s unclear though, who actually lost that coin toss. (4th place – 3 wins/7 losses)
Western Division
Ballers for Jesus – The Ballers scored 3 runs last Sunday, their opponents scored 15, yet they squeaked out of the weekend 1 and 1. 66.7% of those runs were scored by their manager, who hit two solo homers. They’ll fight it out with the Masterbatters for 3rd place, and they’ll end up winning that battle. If hitting a Wiffleball were as easy as walking on water, everybody would do it. (3rd place – 4 wins/6 losses)
Cocunut Cowboy – A great start for the yellow-shirted rooks, beating two teams which should have .500 or better seasons. Were they lucky, catching them off-guard and un-prepared on opening day? Or is their scoring and playing ability for real? Their manager, who by far and away had the best Week 1 performance, but was robbed of the POTW because only 2 of his team members voted, already has as many home runs as were hit in the entire last season by the home run champ. And only half of those came on Field 2 with the wind. They will fight with the Hot Sundaes, and stay tuned Week 3 when those two teams first tango, it will be a preview of the Division Championship Series. My money is that these rookies hang on, and win the division by a game. However, as the old Conway Twitty song goes, “don’t call him a cowboy, until you’ve seen him ride.” (1st place – 8 wins/2 losses)
Hot Sundaes – The Sundaes have remained a solid team and with veteran experience and have a chance to win in their new home, the Western Division. Like any Sundae, sometimes they risk melting in a hot situation. If they can keep their heads, and not lose their players when football starts, they might surprise with a Division Championship. Regardless, they’ll be in post-season again. Not sure who the players are? Just call them all Kevin…you’re likely to be right. (2nd place – 7 wins/3 losses)
Masterbatters – The Masterbatters have done more than any other team to make the Summer League a success by recruiting 3 new teams. It’s really unfortunate for them that they’re good recruiters and not ball-players. But, they had a logo and shirts, before having a logo and shirts were cool, and they become a welcome part of the PWL family. They won two games last year, and they’ll win two this year. Masterbatters…you guys get that, right? (4th place – 2 wins/8 losses)
All-Star Game
The All-Star Game will once again belong to the Eastern Division, managed by Chris Gallaway, manager of the defending division champions. The Western Division will be managed by the manager of the Division team who has the best record at the time of the game. It will be a closer contest that the spring game…but the mid-season classic will once again determine home field advantage for the World Series.
Division Championships
FieldWorks will take two games in a row from the Carpetbagging Bitches to win the Eastern Division Playoffs. In the West, the Hot Sundaes will shock the Cowboys in three games to advance to the World Series.
World Series
The World Series will be a repeat of the Eastern Division Championship from the Spring Season, with FieldWorks and the Hot Sundaes. The result will also be the same. A 2-0 series sweep for the Canvassers and a second consecutive World Championship.
That’s how it looks right now. But…as injuries, schedules, egos, and plastic come and go, anything can happen in the PWL. And that, along with the stats, is why we like it.
Love,
The Commish
