Team Tuesdays: Jason Mattseals

by Carl Coffee & Greg Franzen

The Jason Mattseals were pretty much the whipping boys of the league last season. At the last minute, Jason Matt and Imran Kakli came together to form a roster full of fun-loving competitors. With the league unsure if they would even show up to play, the Mattseals surprised everyone by playing 25% of their season in the opening weekend! Last season, the team’s regular players were Jeff Biegas, who will be a part-timer this season, Jason Hewlett, who will be back on the pitcher’s mound this season, Diamond Digit winner Danny Johnson, who is no longer with the team, and Jason Matt and Imran Kakli, who will both be playing full time. Showing up to games, they did; winning those games, they did not. The Mattseals struggled to find any sort of identity until they played a four-game series in early June against the Flying Squirrels. The Mattseals upset the Squirrels twice that day and split the four game series, behind a dominant pitching performance from Hewlett. The Seals also upset the Westside Warriors once, and had two forfeit wins against the Ass Kickers to finish the regular season 5-23. The Mattseals drew number-one seed Git R' Done in the playoffs, and almost had the upset of the century. In the first two games of the best-of-three series the Seals blew two late-inning leads and lost both close games to end their 2011 season. The 2012 Jason Mattseals now have a new leader, Greg Franzen. He is changing the entire identity of the Mattseals, and I now throw this article over to him to tell you all about that. Franzen throws to Adam Cosby for the force. When the 2011 season came to a close with a first-round playoff loss to the eventual champions, Git R' Done, the Mattseals went into the off-season looking for answers to how they could correct their 5-23 regular season record and turn around their luck for 2012. I was contacted by Carl about playing wiffleball in early December. He mentioned there was a team looking for a solid hitter/fielder. Having played organized baseball since the age of six and high school freshman baseball with both Carl and Corbett, they felt I would be a good fit with the Mattseals: a team looking for a new identity. I worked closely with Jason Matt over the off-season, and when Carl mentioned each team needed to have matching jerseys I wanted to try and design something fun and different. What I came up with will hopefully be a highly talked about and admired jersey by the league. The big question for the team was who would be returning to play again next season. We already were prepared for the return of three stable veterans in Jason Hewlett, Imran Kakli, and Jason Matt. The loss of Jeff Biegas as an everyday starter and player was huge, because we were losing our best hitter of the 2011 season, and offense was one area the Mattseals really struggled last season. Jason Hewlett, however, managed to come through with two new names and I was able to recruit a former high school cross country teammate. Having to play five non-regular players last season hurt the Mattseals chances to gel together as a team. This year the Mattseals have an entire team of dedicated players who will play in most, if not all of their games. Here is a brief rundown of the 2012 Mattseals roster. • Greg Franzen (Captain) – A wiffleball rookie, Greg has undertaken the roll as Mattseals captain and is hoping to change the Mattseals perception in this league. Greg is looking forward to trying to spark the Mattseals offense with his bat and help solidify the defense. With good speed and excellent hands, he should be a welcomed edition to the newly revamped Mattseals. • Jason Matt – Wiffleball veteran Jason Matt brings pitching and game experience to the Mattseals. Jason is familiar with pitching in big games, having been placed into that roll against Git ‘R Done in the playoffs with the unfortunate injury to Jason Hewlett. Jason comes into this season with a strong dedication to help improve the Mattseals. • Jason Hewlett – Wiffleball veteran and last year’s Mattseals pitching ace, Jason Hewlett was counted on to pitch most of the innings for the Mattseals last season. Unfortunately, this was a heavy undertaking and Jason got injured before the playoffs. With the new pitching rotation rules this year, other players of the Mattseals will be stepping up to provide more starting and relief pitching. Jason has been working hard this offseason to improve his pitching arsenal and should provide a dominate presence on the mound. Jason has tweaked his batting style a little bit as well and it has improved his swing and power. Jason is an all-around solid wiffleball player. • Imran Kakli - Wiffleball veteran Imran Kakli brings a fun and energetic presence to the Mattseals. Imran wanted to have a stronger presence with the Mattseals last season, but his work schedule conflicted with many of the games. Luckily, the Mattseals will be playing a majority of their games on Sunday, which should provide Imran with more playing time and an opportunity for a bigger role on the team. Imran brings a knowledge and understanding of the game that will help the rookies and veterans of the Mattseals unite. • Chris Paquin - Wiffleball rookie Chris Paquin is no stranger to playing organized baseball. Chris jumped at the opportunity to join the Mattseals when recruited by Captain Greg Franzen and he brings with him a strong knowledge of baseball and strategy that will be very beneficial this season. Chris will have the opportunity to do some pitching this season and he has been practicing hard to fine tune his pitching style. Chris will be a good fit with the Mattseals. • Adam Cosby - Wiffleball rookie Adam Cosby was recruited by Mattseals veteran Jason Hewlett. Adam will be inserted into the pitching rotation and will allow Hewlett the rest and recovery that his arm needs. Adam has a good baseball background and is very anxious to get this season started and has been a dominate force at practice. He is a welcomed addition to the Mattseals. • Mike Myers - Last, but certainly not least, wiffleball rookie Mike Myers was also recruited to the team by Jason Hewlett. Mike has previously played baseball and has shown promise with good hitting and fielding. He helps to round out the Mattseals and we are excited with what he can offer the team this season. Mike Myers is looking to provide a spark in the new Mattseals offense.At the first team meeting, the Mattseals discussed moving away from Brownstown Middle School and finding a new home for a new identity. After much searching, that home has been found. The Mattseals will play their home games in 2012 at “The Club at Civic Center Park” located in Woodhaven, Michigan on Hall Road. This is a good location that should provide the general public with a good chance to view what our league is all about, while still being partially secluded from most other events at the park. This will be a pitcher friendly park with deep fences all around. Home runs are possible with the wind blowing in the right direction. The Mattseals have been practicing hard this off-season and they are coming together as a team. This revamped Mattseals team is young, hungry, and ready to change their previous image in the league. All the players are very well rounded and will be able to contribute something to each position. They are not afraid to critique each other in order to improve their game. There is a strong level of respect and motivation that will be the driving force behind the Mattseals this season. I am proud of what this team has to offer and I am excited to see us match up against the other great teams in the league this season. “Clear eyes, Full hearts, Can’t lose” – Coach Eric Taylor, 'Friday Night Lights'