Week 4 Power Rankings

		Coffee Time
		by Carl Coffee

1.		Whiteford Wicked Aces  (10-2, 1st in the Ringler)
		The Wicked Aces have some well-deserved time off and aren’t scheduled again for a while. After a nice split against Manchester, it is clear the Ringler will come down to those two teams.
2.		Wiffling DeLoppes  (6-0, 2nd in the Garcia)
		The DeLoppes are the last remaining undefeated team, and are only behind the Squirrels in the standings because of fewer games played. If these guys can take both games against the Punchouts this upcoming weekend, they will take the #1 spot.
3.		Manchester Punchouts  (4-2, 2nd in the Ringler)
		The Punchouts could easily be 6-0, but being 4-2 with their tough opening schedule is still impressive. This is a very complete team with very little weaknesses. Expect 20+ wins from the Punchies.
4.		Flying Squirrels  (10-2, 1st in the Garcia)
		The Squirrels continue to roll, and after sweeping the Donkeys and splitting against the Punchouts, you no longer can call their record a fluke. Consistent pitching and timely hitting has been their recipe for success thus far.
5.		Thunder Ducks  (3-1, 3rd in the Garcia)
		It pains me to rank the Ducks here, but they haven’t shown me enough this season to rank them higher. If the Ducks can take both games against Belgian this upcoming weekend, much respect will be re-earned.
6.		Donkeys  (5-7, 3rd in the Ringler)
		I knew the Donkeys would be a middle-of-the-road team this season, but no one is going to forget that these guys upset the Wicked Aces with Austin on the mound. I believe the Donkeys biggest weakness so far has been inconsistency.
7.		Belgian Wiffles  (0-2, 4th in the Ringler)
		Unfortunately, Belgian had to forfeit their two wins against King Friday. You better believe they will be ready to play against the Ducks this weekend.
8.		Jason Mattseals  (0-8, 5th in the Ringler)
		The Mattseals continue to play some tough teams, but will finally get some relief in the upcoming weeks. These guys have been great at both pitching and fielding, but only scoring three runs in eight games won’t win you many games.
9.		Campus Commandos  (0-10, 5th in the Garcia)
		The fun-loving Commandos are still winless, but I bet their hair looks good! Their next two series against the Belgian Wiffles and Mattseals will feature some winnable games for the team from the Motor City.
10.		King Friday  (2-6, 4th in the Garcia)
		King Friday was not happy to win the way they did, but maybe, just maybe those wins will kick start this team. Hey, if the season ended right now, King Friday would be the #7 seed in the playoffs!

In the Cards '12 #1: Don Shaw

In the Cards '12  #1:  Don Shaw
Donkeys

The Donkeys have three players that tend to find their ways into headlines: Alex Shore, captain Joe Seto, and Matt "man of many nicknames" Murtha. Don Shaw, though, is quietly - so far - making a case that he could be the big story for the Donkeys. All three aforementioned players were expected to be a formidable pitching rotation. Nobody knew that Shaw could pitch, yet after four games pitched this season his numbers are shaping up to be a front of the rotation ace.


Watch Don's first start of 2012 -
a 1-0 win 4/29 against the MattsealsIn 14 IP Don has allowed only two runs - one to the Wicked Aces, and one to the Squirrels - for a 0.71 ERA. There is absolutely no fault in giving up runs to those offenses with what they have put up early this season; in fact, limiting them to one a piece is something to write home about. Don is doing the two most important things a pitcher can do: keeping balls in the park and not allowing runners to cross the plate. He is striking out exactly one batter an inning, with 14 K on the season. That number may not seem dominant, but it is impressive when you set it up alongside Shaw's walk total: 5 BB. A nearly 3:1 K/BB ratio is a consistency you hope to have in a pitcher. Besides, you know his fielders behind him love getting to make two outs an inning! Those are the fun outs!

Don is also one of the original Donkeys, playing with the team since they first came out in 2009. He did not take the mound in that tournament, but he put up decent numbers at the dish. While he may be struggling at the plate to start the season (outside of setting all sorts of foul ball records!), if he can return to this form he will be a better than average offensive performer. Couple that with his pitching output, and Shaw will be a very effective Wiffleball player - one whom you will have to talk about... unless you prefer not to talk about when a pitcher shuts you down. ;)

Player	GP	IP	W	L	R	K	H	BB	ERA	WHIP
Don Shaw	4	14.0	1	1	2	14	14	5	0.71	1.36

Week 2 Power Rankings

		Coffee Time
		by Carl Coffee

1.		Whiteford Wicked Aces  (9-1, 1st in the Ringler)
		The Wicked Aces have completed over one-third of their season in two weeks, and already have three perfect games. The Aces have been dominant, both hitting and pitching wise. They could very easily remain on top of the power rankings all season long.
2.		Wiffling DeLoppes  (2-0, 2nd in the Garcia)
		The DeLoppes have only played two games, but they were impressive in those two games against the Mattseals. The DeLoppes have the most stable roster in the league, and they mesh extremely well. Being able to adjust to more road games this year is the big question mark for the DeLoppes in 2012.
3.		Thunder Ducks  (3-1, 3rd in the Garcia)
		The Thunder Ducks have not been getting much respect this season, but I wouldn’t want to fuel any fire for this team. Dennis is still Dennis. Dylan is among the best home run hitters in the league. Lewis had an incredible second half in 2011, and could easily do it again this season. Ducks are in it to win it.
4.		Donkeys  (5-3, 2nd in the Ringler)
		The Donkeys have been a fun team to watch, and will be ‘Under the Radar’ all season long. Alex Shore will soon be lost for the season, but if Matt Murtha can continue to smash the ball the way he has been, it will soften the blow of losing Shore. If Seto can stay hot, and they keep getting good consistent pitching, this will be a top-five team.
5.		Flying Squirrels  (5-1, 1st in the Garcia)
		Four of the five wins from the Squirrels have been against the Commandos and Friday, so I don’t want to get too excited about their strong start, even with the win over the Ducks. Constanti and Corbett are both looking good, and when they get Merlo back, this team could have one of the best 1-2-3 pitching staffs in the league.
6.		Manchester Punchouts  (0-0, Tied for 3rd in the Ringler)
		Not much to say about the Punchouts right now, but this will probably be the lowest they are ever ranked. They open up the season Saturday night against the 1st place Wicked Aces in a much anticipated two game series. If they are able to take both of those games, this will be the team to beat.
7.		Belgian Wiffles  (0-0, Tied for 3rd in the Ringler)
		The Belgian Wiffles went from one of the least talked about teams, to one of the most talked about teams after their surprising victory in the second satellite tournament. Buhr and his young players could make a lot of noise in the very talented Ringler Division.
8.		Jason Mattseals  (0-6, 5th in the Ringler)
		“Those poor Mattseals” was a common phrase last season, and it could be used again this season. Last season, it was because of how bad they were. This season, it is because of the way they have been losing, close one run games. These guys won’t be winless much longer, and I expect when they get hot, they will not cool off.
9.		Campus Commandos  (0-6, Tied for 4th in the Garcia)
		The Commandos went into this season looking to have fun and maybe win a few games along the way. With the addition of rookie Daniel Egan, and Alex Linebrink as the early front runner for the Most Improved Player Award, this team will be a lot more competitive than originally thought.
10.		King Friday  (0-6, Tied for 4th in the Garcia)
		King Friday went from having back to back perfect games pitched against them against the Aces, to having a few nice hits and getting baserunners on against the Squirrels, and then took the Thunder Ducks to extra innings in their sixth game. As you can see, this team is improving after every game they play.

The Biggest Surprise of Week One

		Your Junk my Happy Zone
		by Brandon Corbett

The biggest surprise of Week One was not the two perfect games thrown by the Wicked Aces number three and four pitchers, and it sure as hell was not the Squirrels continuing to squeak out one-run games. You could make an argument for the Donkeys sweeping their two-game series with the Mattseals after hearing the Warriors contingent would not be present. But, no. The most shocking, unbelievable, out-of-thin-air thing to happen in Week One was undeniably the way King Friday arrived at the Zoo to make their debut!


Arvie did not want to leave the trolley,
Brandon admires their landing.This is a story that has to start from the beginning... or at least on Thursday, because that is when the plan was set in motion. Richard Hurd knew his team needed an amazing splash entrance to make their debut in WSEM; something that - no matter what happened this season - nobody would ever not immediately think of King Friday when thinking of Wiffleball. So, a series of letters were funneled through a delivery man willing to ignore protocol for a few extra nickels, and the plan to shame all other plans was hatched. Just before dawn on Sunday the members of King Friday snuck into the house where an old-war-vet-turned-sweater-wearing-shoe-changing-know-it-all was not asleep in the other room, because he inexplicably spends his nights elsewhere across town and always comes home to awaiting children in the morning, through a side-door left open by the delivery man. They had the run of the joint, but knew they had to hurry. Immediately, they got the trolley running and were swept into the Land of Make Believe where the real King Friday was waiting, bags packed with the magic, ready to get out of this prison of a hole in the wall. Minutes later the bright red trolley had been make-believed to human size, with King Friday and the members of the King Friday team on board, as it burst out of the front door with a full head of steam toward New Hudson, MI. Actually, they were pointed in the direction of Norfolk, but they fixed that quickly.


Tristan found the landing a bit rough.They made good time, cruising along Grand River as the Wicked Aces and Donkeys played in the third inning. Then, the puppet slammed on the breaks! Before them was a mountain of Michigan proportions: towering 200, maybe 300 feet above them! They had not accounted for lofty terrain in their plan. The Puppet King told the team not to worry in his slow timbre, had them all close their eyes and begin to make believe a way to get them up onto the plateau above. Boom! There were enormous balloons floating above, attached to the trolley that started to lift. Not enough, though. Poof! A giant propeller hat on the front of the roof, spinning wildly and the team was up and away! The ride was shaky and unstable at first, then all of a sudden all of the players found themselves adorned with propeller hats for attitude control. Altitude, check. Stability, check. King Friday along with the puppet King Friday were soon brilliantly floating above the field, and their presence caused the Donkeys defense to completely forget about a fly ball. A couple minutes, a few popped balloons, and some trial and error later King Friday had secured their place in history with the classiest, most unbelievable entrance for a team's debut ever. The puppet King along with captain Richard Hurd later lamented that very entrance used up all their make believe power, and was the reason they found themselves on the wrong end of two perfect games; "Oh well," they said in unison, "well worth it!"