Fans everywhere enjoy a good friendly, everyone enjoys giving into a good fantasy, and everyone loves the Fall - just too bad there isn't much Wiffle going on. Ah-ha! (Take on Me) That's where the the friendly and fantasy can come across even stronger. Four teams of five have been arbitrarily selected to compete and entertain us over the slow months. To determine the outcome of each at-bat a random number generator from 1 to 1000 is used. Each player's number ranges are different: their AVG and OBP are multiplied by the opposing pitcher's WHIP to set the ranges for hits and walks; from there a player's percentage of singles, doubles, triples, and home runs are spread over their "hit range": singles start at 1, home runs end at the highest number in the hit range. Walks follow above hits, and a pitcher's number of strikeouts in the 2012 season set the strikeout range after walks. Every number above that is an out made in the field: numbers closer to 1000 are fly outs, while lower numbers are ground outs. Depending on the situation sacrifice flies, advancing runners, peg outs, and double plays also come into play. You'll see that strikeouts and walks are disproportional to a real game, and that just adds to the entertainment! Let's just say everyone agreed to play these friendlies mid-pitch.
- The Risers got the offense started last game (to the tune of 15 runs), but still couldn't get the win. They again choose to change things up, this time going with a "feel" thing in addition to just going by the numbers. Tomlinson says he hits best at fourth in the order, and he is .300 with 3 R but no RBI or HR, so he is moving down to the four slot. Constanti, Seto, and Mushinski are all coming off big games (4-6, HR, 4 RBI ; 2-4, HR, 5 RBI; 3-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI - respectively) and will move up to the one through three slots. Franzen, struggling in the fall (.143 AVG), bats fifth. Constanti (0-1, 5.00 ERA) takes the mound for his second start.
- Confident in their lineup's performance, the Cheese make just one switch with Cosby (0-1, 7.00 ERA) taking the mound for the second time. Cosby, hitting .444 and coming off a 2-4 game with a HR, will switch to the third slot with Lewis (.333 AVG) taking over the fifth. They have put up 15 runs in 2 games. Led by Crozier (.636 AVG, 5 R) at the top of the order with Pfefferle bringing them home (.444 AVG, 6 RBI).
Top 1st -
Cosby starts out strong getting two easy groundouts and a lazy pop fly to Crozier in center.
Bot 1st -
Constanti matches with a sound start of his own: a slow-roller and soft line drive to Franzen in right, and a pop up to Seto in left. Pitchers on their game, no baserunners after one.
Top 2nd -
Cosby starts out the second looking to continue dominance. He strikes out Tomlinson, then gets Franzen to roll over on a pitch for an easy out by Shore in left. Constanti then gets to him with a sharp single to center, and Seto follows by pushing a ball behind Pfefferle down the right field line for an RBI triple. Mushinski then flies out to left to end the inning. One run in.
Bot 2nd -
Constanti runs with his team's 1-0 lead, three-up/three-down in similar fashion to the first: two pop outs, and a roller back to the mound. Risers take a 1-0 lead to the third.
Top 3rd -
Tomlinson leads off with a single to left; Franzen hits into a fielder's choice and trades places with him. Constanti steps to the plate and helps out his cause, blasting a 3-0 inside slider over the left field fence. Cosby responds by striking out Seto on three pitches. Mushinski slaps a seeing eye single into right, then Cosby Ks up Tomlinson for the second time to end the inning. 3 strike outs on the day, but 3 runs also for the Risers.
Bot 3rd -
Constanti keeps pitching to contact, and keeps getting outs. Shore and Cosby both fly out to Tomlinson in center to start the inning. Back-to-back walks to Pfefferle and Lewis follow, before Crozier gets underneath yet another ball for a pop fly to Seto in left. Out. 3-0 lead for the Risers heading to the fourth.
Top 4th -
Cosby comes through for his team with a blank inning. Soft line out and a grounder back to the mound start the inning; Seto then ropes a two-out single to left, but gets stranded as Mushinski grounds out to Pfefferle right.
Bot 4th -
Cheese need runs, and Shore answers the bell by leading off with a triple that runs along the wall in right-center. He scores immediately on a ground ball out by Cosby. They add a walk later in the inning, but are unable to get anymore going with two lazy fly outs. Cheese close the gap to 3-1 with three outs left.
Top 5th -
Cosby starts finishing off the game strong with two ground outs. Constanti then draws a walk and Seto singles to right, before Mushinski lines out to Tomlinson in center. Cheese need 2 runs, last call!
Bot 5th -
Shore fouls off a few pitches leading off, then turns on a strike, but hits it right at Franzen in right. One down. Cosby fights off a close, tight first pitch, but squibs it right back to the mound for out number two. Constanti stays with the inside pitch against Pfefferle and gets him to roll over one to Seto in left, relayed quickly to the circle for the final out. Risers end their Fall season with their first win, 3-1 over the Cheese!
The MVP of this game is an easy pick. Mike Constanti went 2-4 with a HR and had a hand in each run scored for the Risers in their first win of the Fall. He also nearly shut down the Cheese offense completely. The Risers' lineup moves paid off, with Joe Seto and Constanti providing a great one-two punch at the top of the order. It seems like nothing the Cheese could have done would have affect the result; Constanti was straight dealing on the mound. Shore gets a big nod for coming through late with a hustling triple in a huge spot to spark a run and late life for the Cheese. This was a vintage Wiffle game (without the Ks): low scoring with timely hitting deciding the day.
The Risers' win locks them into a third place finish. A 12 2 6 Curves (1-1) win over the Sinkers (2-0) has them both finish 2-1 to claim the first and second spots, respectively. The Risers would claim third over the Cheese with the head-to-head victory. A Sinkers win over the Curves grants them a perfect 3-0 first-place finish, while three teams finish 1-2, which would cause the head-to-head tiebreaker to be thrown out. Run differential would then decide the final placing. In such a scenario the Cheese are in top position at an even 0, the Risers again place third with a -1, and the Curves finish fourth going into their final game with a -2.
The finer points going into the final game: Whoever wins, Sinkers or Curves, is the Fall Champion. If Sinkers win: 2nd place is Cheese, 3rd is Risers, and 4th is Curves. If Curves win: 2nd place is Sinkers, 3rd is Risers, and 4th is Cheese.
Game 5: Risers (0-2) VS. Cheese (1-1)
- The Risers got the offense started last game (to the tune of 15 runs), but still couldn't get the win. They again choose to change things up, this time going with a "feel" thing in addition to just going by the numbers. Tomlinson says he hits best at fourth in the order, and he is .300 with 3 R but no RBI or HR, so he is moving down to the four slot. Constanti, Seto, and Mushinski are all coming off big games (4-6, HR, 4 RBI ; 2-4, HR, 5 RBI; 3-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI - respectively) and will move up to the one through three slots. Franzen, struggling in the fall (.143 AVG), bats fifth. Constanti (0-1, 5.00 ERA) takes the mound for his second start.
- Confident in their lineup's performance, the Cheese make just one switch with Cosby (0-1, 7.00 ERA) taking the mound for the second time. Cosby, hitting .444 and coming off a 2-4 game with a HR, will switch to the third slot with Lewis (.333 AVG) taking over the fifth. They have put up 15 runs in 2 games. Led by Crozier (.636 AVG, 5 R) at the top of the order with Pfefferle bringing them home (.444 AVG, 6 RBI).
Top 1st -
Cosby starts out strong getting two easy groundouts and a lazy pop fly to Crozier in center.
Bot 1st -
Constanti matches with a sound start of his own: a slow-roller and soft line drive to Franzen in right, and a pop up to Seto in left. Pitchers on their game, no baserunners after one.
Top 2nd -
Cosby starts out the second looking to continue dominance. He strikes out Tomlinson, then gets Franzen to roll over on a pitch for an easy out by Shore in left. Constanti then gets to him with a sharp single to center, and Seto follows by pushing a ball behind Pfefferle down the right field line for an RBI triple. Mushinski then flies out to left to end the inning. One run in.
Bot 2nd -
Constanti runs with his team's 1-0 lead, three-up/three-down in similar fashion to the first: two pop outs, and a roller back to the mound. Risers take a 1-0 lead to the third.
Top 3rd -
Tomlinson leads off with a single to left; Franzen hits into a fielder's choice and trades places with him. Constanti steps to the plate and helps out his cause, blasting a 3-0 inside slider over the left field fence. Cosby responds by striking out Seto on three pitches. Mushinski slaps a seeing eye single into right, then Cosby Ks up Tomlinson for the second time to end the inning. 3 strike outs on the day, but 3 runs also for the Risers.
Bot 3rd -
Constanti keeps pitching to contact, and keeps getting outs. Shore and Cosby both fly out to Tomlinson in center to start the inning. Back-to-back walks to Pfefferle and Lewis follow, before Crozier gets underneath yet another ball for a pop fly to Seto in left. Out. 3-0 lead for the Risers heading to the fourth.
Top 4th -
Cosby comes through for his team with a blank inning. Soft line out and a grounder back to the mound start the inning; Seto then ropes a two-out single to left, but gets stranded as Mushinski grounds out to Pfefferle right.
Bot 4th -
Cheese need runs, and Shore answers the bell by leading off with a triple that runs along the wall in right-center. He scores immediately on a ground ball out by Cosby. They add a walk later in the inning, but are unable to get anymore going with two lazy fly outs. Cheese close the gap to 3-1 with three outs left.
Top 5th -
Cosby starts finishing off the game strong with two ground outs. Constanti then draws a walk and Seto singles to right, before Mushinski lines out to Tomlinson in center. Cheese need 2 runs, last call!
Bot 5th -
Shore fouls off a few pitches leading off, then turns on a strike, but hits it right at Franzen in right. One down. Cosby fights off a close, tight first pitch, but squibs it right back to the mound for out number two. Constanti stays with the inside pitch against Pfefferle and gets him to roll over one to Seto in left, relayed quickly to the circle for the final out. Risers end their Fall season with their first win, 3-1 over the Cheese!
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | |
0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Risers (1-2) | Cheese (1-2) | |||
OFFENSE | OFFENSE | |||
Constanti | 2-4, HR, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R | Crozier | 0-4 | |
Seto | 3-5, 3B, RBI | Shore | 1-3, 3B, R | |
Mushinski | 1-5 | Cosby | 0-4, RBI | |
Tomlinson | 1-4 | Pfefferle | 0-3, BB | |
Franzen | 0-4, R | Lewis | 0-1, 2 BB | |
PITCHING | PITCHING | |||
Constanti | 1 R, 1 H, 3 BB | Cosby | 3 R, 7 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K |
Standings | |||
W | L | +/- | |
2 | 0 | +3 | |
1 | 1 | -2 | |
1 | 2 | -1 | |
1 | 2 | 0 |
The Risers' win locks them into a third place finish. A 12 2 6 Curves (1-1) win over the Sinkers (2-0) has them both finish 2-1 to claim the first and second spots, respectively. The Risers would claim third over the Cheese with the head-to-head victory. A Sinkers win over the Curves grants them a perfect 3-0 first-place finish, while three teams finish 1-2, which would cause the head-to-head tiebreaker to be thrown out. Run differential would then decide the final placing. In such a scenario the Cheese are in top position at an even 0, the Risers again place third with a -1, and the Curves finish fourth going into their final game with a -2.
The finer points going into the final game: Whoever wins, Sinkers or Curves, is the Fall Champion. If Sinkers win: 2nd place is Cheese, 3rd is Risers, and 4th is Curves. If Curves win: 2nd place is Sinkers, 3rd is Risers, and 4th is Cheese.