 | Your Junk my Happy Zone | |
| by Brandon Corbett |
The Manchester Punchouts may not have won the Commissioner's Cup, due to reasons ultimately anticlimactic and a little bit nauseating. However, what they were able to do is absolutely dominate the 2012 season (26-2, +160 run differential) and the individual stat categories. Punchouts owned the number-one spot in the five big offensive categories (AVG, HR, RBI, OBP, SLG%), and had the second slot in all of them except for AVG. Altogether, they filled 13 of the 25 possible slots; representing 52% of the league's offensive leaders!
It was three players filling those slots and doing all that damage: Evan Bortmas (2012 MVP, Batting Champ, co-HR King, and NWLA 1st Team Hitter), Dakota LaDouceur (2012 co-HR King and NWLA 2nd Team Hitter) and Sam Hatt, who may not have the offensive bling of his former teammates, but he does have the substance - top 5 in AVG, OBP, and RBI. Where Sam's stock really starts to shoot up, though, is on the mound. He narrowly missed out on the Clown Shu, finished the season second in Ks (138) and ERA (0.27), tied for first in wins (10), and earned a spot as an NWLA 1st Team Pitcher. Evan also gets a boost from his pitching: another NWLA 1st Team and 10 win pitcher, and top 5 finisher in K (136) and WHIP (0.94)in WSEM.
Three undeniably explosive players, who have all split up and signed with new teams. It was early in the offseason that Bortmas divulged he and Hatt may not be back for 2013, but the team might continue if someone else wanted to run it. LaDouceur was attempting to retool a Punchouts roster minus Evan and Sam. However, after Bortmas' signing with the Wicked Aces was announced in early October, LaDouceur accepted an offer to play with El Diablos in 2013. It was not until November 26th, after being courted by several captains over a parade of Thanksgiving dinners, that Sam finally announced his return to WSEM for the 2013 season, signing with the revived Westside Warriors.
Three better suitors could not have been found for the former Punchouts to spread their talents across. The impact of these free agent signings should be tremendous - assuming semi-regular participation, of course. Most early power rankings put the reigning champion Aces at the top with some combination of El Diablos, Warriors, and Ducks in spots two through four.
For the Aces, the Bortmas signing is out of Steinbrenner's book. They add a fourth pitcher with a sub-1.00 ERA, and third with a WHIP below 1.00. The team already ran a three/four man rotation last season with brothers Austin and Evan Bischoff, Justin Hughes, and Joel Crozier. So, having many effective options to run out is not new territory for them. That said, Bortmas' biggest contribution to the lineup is his bat. Last season the Aces' regulars hit between .246 and .291; Bortmas hit nearly .100 points higher with a .389 AVG. The Aces team hit 18 HR; Bortmas hit 20. Couple his power with moving into Poolside Park for a possible 14 games, and the new Evan may put up crazy numbers in 2013. What has already happened is a dominant Aces pitching staff not only got padded, but just added lot of firepower behind it.
Similarly, what LaDouceur brings to El Diablos is a huge bat to run out at the top of their lineup. 2012 RoTY, Kyle Tomlinson (.346 AVG, .515 SLG), prefers batting further down in the four spot. So, being able to slide LaDouceur (.339, .835) in at the top of the order will still bring up strong El Diablos at-bats more often in games. In 2012 it took Dakota until his sixth game to record his first hit. However, after that, he was only held hitless in two games for the rest of the season. Chandler Phillips and Craig Skinner have El Diablos pitching well-stocked, so the key to El Diablos getting the most impact from this signing seems to be, simply, getting Dakota out to games early and often.
Hatt provides a fantastic player to lean on early in the season for Alex Shore and a Warriors roster returning many players who have taken a year off, and bringing in a new crop of rookies. Having Hatt's arm in the rotation could give Maclin Malloy time to find the form he is capable of possessing on the mound. At the plate, Hatt and Shore are similar hitters: lefties with a good deal of power and solid contact. Also, once on base, both are smart, aggressive baserunners making them a dangerous duo to build a lineup around. This signing has the makings of one that can push the Warriors up to the front of the line to play for a Commissioner's Cup.
The chance of former Punchouts returning to the WSEM Championship Series looks promising. The fact that we very well may see them on both sides of it is enticing, in that we may finally get the chance to see these stars play for the Commissioner's Cup!
It was three players filling those slots and doing all that damage: Evan Bortmas (2012 MVP, Batting Champ, co-HR King, and NWLA 1st Team Hitter), Dakota LaDouceur (2012 co-HR King and NWLA 2nd Team Hitter) and Sam Hatt, who may not have the offensive bling of his former teammates, but he does have the substance - top 5 in AVG, OBP, and RBI. Where Sam's stock really starts to shoot up, though, is on the mound. He narrowly missed out on the Clown Shu, finished the season second in Ks (138) and ERA (0.27), tied for first in wins (10), and earned a spot as an NWLA 1st Team Pitcher. Evan also gets a boost from his pitching: another NWLA 1st Team and 10 win pitcher, and top 5 finisher in K (136) and WHIP (0.94)in WSEM.Three undeniably explosive players, who have all split up and signed with new teams. It was early in the offseason that Bortmas divulged he and Hatt may not be back for 2013, but the team might continue if someone else wanted to run it. LaDouceur was attempting to retool a Punchouts roster minus Evan and Sam. However, after Bortmas' signing with the Wicked Aces was announced in early October, LaDouceur accepted an offer to play with El Diablos in 2013. It was not until November 26th, after being courted by several captains over a parade of Thanksgiving dinners, that Sam finally announced his return to WSEM for the 2013 season, signing with the revived Westside Warriors.
Three better suitors could not have been found for the former Punchouts to spread their talents across. The impact of these free agent signings should be tremendous - assuming semi-regular participation, of course. Most early power rankings put the reigning champion Aces at the top with some combination of El Diablos, Warriors, and Ducks in spots two through four.
For the Aces, the Bortmas signing is out of Steinbrenner's book. They add a fourth pitcher with a sub-1.00 ERA, and third with a WHIP below 1.00. The team already ran a three/four man rotation last season with brothers Austin and Evan Bischoff, Justin Hughes, and Joel Crozier. So, having many effective options to run out is not new territory for them. That said, Bortmas' biggest contribution to the lineup is his bat. Last season the Aces' regulars hit between .246 and .291; Bortmas hit nearly .100 points higher with a .389 AVG. The Aces team hit 18 HR; Bortmas hit 20. Couple his power with moving into Poolside Park for a possible 14 games, and the new Evan may put up crazy numbers in 2013. What has already happened is a dominant Aces pitching staff not only got padded, but just added lot of firepower behind it.
Similarly, what LaDouceur brings to El Diablos is a huge bat to run out at the top of their lineup. 2012 RoTY, Kyle Tomlinson (.346 AVG, .515 SLG), prefers batting further down in the four spot. So, being able to slide LaDouceur (.339, .835) in at the top of the order will still bring up strong El Diablos at-bats more often in games. In 2012 it took Dakota until his sixth game to record his first hit. However, after that, he was only held hitless in two games for the rest of the season. Chandler Phillips and Craig Skinner have El Diablos pitching well-stocked, so the key to El Diablos getting the most impact from this signing seems to be, simply, getting Dakota out to games early and often.Hatt provides a fantastic player to lean on early in the season for Alex Shore and a Warriors roster returning many players who have taken a year off, and bringing in a new crop of rookies. Having Hatt's arm in the rotation could give Maclin Malloy time to find the form he is capable of possessing on the mound. At the plate, Hatt and Shore are similar hitters: lefties with a good deal of power and solid contact. Also, once on base, both are smart, aggressive baserunners making them a dangerous duo to build a lineup around. This signing has the makings of one that can push the Warriors up to the front of the line to play for a Commissioner's Cup.The chance of former Punchouts returning to the WSEM Championship Series looks promising. The fact that we very well may see them on both sides of it is enticing, in that we may finally get the chance to see these stars play for the Commissioner's Cup!
Gun to my head, I think Hatt has the biggest impact on his new team.
ReplyDeleteAces are already deep, Dakota doesn't pitch, but the Warriors need consistent pitching badly. With that, you are also getting probably the best leadoff hitter in the league. Warriors could be a major sleeper.
-Coffee