Fascination Factor Power Rankings

		Coffee Time
		by Carl Coffee

Before the season, the Ducks, El Diablos and Wicked Aces were predicated to easily make the playoffs. The Warriors and Holy Balls were considered middle of the road teams who would fight for the 4th and final playoff spot. King Friday, Belgian Wiffles, and the Islanders were predicted to fight for 6th place, but didn’t get much respect in terms of the playoffs. With the season in its home stretch, a lot of the preseason predictions are right on, while others are way off.

The Fascination Factor is based on who will be the most interesting teams to watch in these last few weeks. For a lot of teams, we already know their fate, while others are a bit of a mystery.

1.  Holy Balls

The Holy Balls were a team with a plethora of #2 pitchers, with average hitting, speed, and defense. The team was filled with free agents so chemistry was also a question mark. I used to think they were overachieving but when you go 3-5 against the Aces and El Diablos, you have to put them in the contender category. Third place is on their mind, and I really think they have a great chance to get it.

2.  Westside Warriors
The Warriors are sitting comfortably right now to get into the playoffs, but they really don’t strike too much fear in their opponents. Well, that may change now since Sam Hatt is healthy and will now headline an already above average pitching rotation. If Sam is able to play in 7 out of their next 12 games to get playoff eligible, this team just got a whole lot more fascinating.

3.  Ducks
Who are the Ducks? The Satellite #2 Champs were swept at home against the lowly Islanders earlier in the season and then went out and beat Craig Skinner. The Garcia title won’t be there’s this year, but a wildcard spot is well in their reach, especially since six of their remaining games are against the Holy Balls and Warriors.

4.  King Friday
All of King Friday’s wins are against the Belgian Wiffle and Islanders, but they aren’t making any excuses and are happy to be 8-8. It won’t be easy for these guys to sneak into the top 4, but at least now with the Brannan’s they have a fighting chance.

5.  Islanders
Why is a 4-18 team more fascinating over both 1st place teams? The answer is Will Mundel. Mundel has taken the league by storm, and gives the Islanders a chance to win every time he takes the mound, regardless of who their opponent is.

6.  El Diablos
El Diablos are absolutely running away with the Garcia Pennant, and there really isn’t much fascination with these guys anymore. They are sitting comfortably in 2nd place, but with two games still remaining against the Aces, they still have a great chance at the #1 seed.

7.  Wicked Aces
Wicked Aces are the top team in our league, and one of the top teams in the country. You pretty much know what to expect from them every time you face them. I would say their only true questions mark is whether or not Evan Bortmas can handle big stage games on the mound.

8.  Belgian Wiffles
Belgian started off the season 3-1 and was ranked #24 in the country at one point. Their season however completely fell apart and their last four games are against the Aces and Holy Balls. 4-24 will most likely be their final record.

In the Cards '13 - #5: Justin Hughes

Jimmy Hughes was a security guard. Justin Hughes is securely guarded. Outside of the Whiteford camp not much is known about this Aces' middle of the rotation pitcher. There are a couple things we do know. He is one of the few southpaws - although the orientation of Poolside Park actually makes him a "northwestpaw" at home - in WSEM that can prove tricky for right-handed batters. Justin also dons the Commissioner's number 18. Wait... shrouded in mystery? Emulating the commish? Northwest!? It is clear why Hughes, if that is his real name, is an enigma: he is a spy! Whiteford is the perfect place for him to set up shop, too. It provides access to the Commissioner's Cup (which has been targeted before) along with one of WSEM's most marketable pitchers, and easy escape routes into an enemy state without an extradition treaty. Whatever his assignment, it is certainly deep cover; Justin has been in with the Whiteford crew for years, long before there ever was a WSEM. That fact can only make us more concerned with Hughes' capabilities. Time travel? Precognition? Dirty luck? Heck, any one of those are just as useful in a Wiffleball game as they are the spy game. Be careful of this guy, fellas!

Career Stats
Batting	AB	H	BB	2B	3B	HR	SF	R	RBI	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
* 2013:	15	3	5	1	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	.200	.400	.267
2012:	86	24	11	4	0	3	0	14	13	-	-	.279	.361	.430
Pitching	G	IP	R	H	BB	K	W	L	S	SB	CS	ERA	WHIP
* 2013:	2	5	3	6	2	10	0	1	0	2	1	3.00	1.60
2012:	5	25.2	4	17	17	52	3	1	0	-	-	0.78	1.33
	Perfect Game:  4/29/12
* As of 6/28/2013

Week 9 Twatter Power Rankings

		Coffee Time
		by Carl Coffee

1.		Whiteford Wicked Aces	(12-2, 1st in Ringler)
		After their two road series this upcoming week, the Aces play all of their remaining games at home.
2.		El Diablos	(17-5, 1st in Garcia)
		El Diablos are done at home for the regular season. The fighting chickens can take it easy down the stretch as it is clear they will be hosting a 1st round playoff series.
3.		Holy Balls	(11-7, 3rd in Ringler)
		I no longer think this will be a .500 team. These guys will be close to 20 wins.
4.		Ducks	(7-9, 2nd in Garcia)	1
		I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Dennis Pearson plays best when he is doubted, and worse when he is praised.
5.		Westside Warriors	(11-5, 2nd in Ringler)	1
		Four tough home games this week for Alex Shore and company. Even if Sam Hatt shows up, there is no guarantee he will be the Hatt of 2012.
6.		King Friday	(8-8, 4th in Ringler)
		Friday was able to crawl back to .500. It’s do or die this week, and anything short of going 2-2 will be the ultimate death for them.
7.		Islanders	(4-18, 3rd in Garcia)
		The Islanders finally have an off week. Their last six games are all against top four teams, but these guys have proven they can pull an upset.
8.		Belgian Wiffles	(4-20, 4th in Garcia)
		Another off week for Belgian in Week 11. When they return in Week 11 they desperately need Cosby in the rotation.

Wild Cards

		Your Junk my Happy Zone
		by Brandon Corbett

With six weeks left in the season four teams have a realistic shot at the two wild card slots. All four - Ducks, Balls, Friday, and Warriors - have recently signed new roster acquisitions that strengthen their lineups and/or rotations for a playoff push. Current leaders in the Wild Card race, Westside Warriors, have reactivated Sam Hatt who had a lower body injury at the start of the season. Both on the mound and at the plate, Sam's presence will be a "huge boost for the team!" as praised by Alex Shore. Holy Balls, who currently hold the second Wild Card slot, have seen their offense surge after the signings of David Castle and rookie Andrew Piasecki. Castle is hitting .600 with three doubles, a

Wild Card
TEAM	W	L	E#
Warriors	11	5
Holy Balls	10	6
King Friday	6	8	11
Ducks	6	8	11
Islanders	4	16	3
Belgian Wiffles	4	20	E

triple, and eleven runs scored since joining the Balls; in six games, Piasecki has three home runs, eleven RBI, is hitting .381 and slugging .810.

Not to be outgunned, the trailing teams have also bulked up. The Ducks signed a rookie of their own, hard-throwing lefty Phillip Morris (not to be confused with big tobacco, but who wants to bet we start calling him that?). In his first appearance he recorded every out by strike out, but was a little wild: walking 13, including two runs pushed across. Michael Sessions of the Islanders added, "Morris' debut was exceptional as he homered on his first at bat." Rumors of Morris being "the left-handed Pearson" seem like they could be true; good news for the Ducks if so. King Friday made the biggest splash of any midseason signings with the six-player trade between themselves and Belgian. Mark Brannan, Greg Brannan, and Jason Hollister add a second strong arm to the King's rotation and some much need power in their lineup. In their first series with the team, Greg hit .500 with four home runs, Hollister also got in on the home runs with one of his own, and Mark - while not getting out of the park - hit a cool .500 with seven runs scored.

The biggest moves seem to have already been made, but with the trade deadline half a week away (June 25th) there is still a chance one of these teams could make another move for the stretch run. With that in mind let us take a look at the obstacles and advantages presented to these four teams over the final five weeks of the season.

Strength of Schedule = (∑(# of games remaining vs. Team * winning % of Team) / # of games remaining) * 10   

	Current Position	Games Remaining	Strength of Schedule
	1st Wild Card	12	6.24
	Home:  DU,  HB,  WA Remaining Schedule Road:  DU,  KF,  WA
	Anyway you look at it, four games to play against the Wicked Aces is rough. The remainder of Westside's games all being against teams in the playoff hunt can go either way, depending on your level of optimism. On one hand it makes the road that much tougher, and losses to trailing teams give them twice the boost. However, wins coming in those series will beat those teams back with twice the impact. This is a tough road. Realistically, going 5-7 over this stretch of the schedule would be impressive, and that could be enough to secure a playoff berth with their current 3 game lead. Tiebreakers H2H: 2-0 vs. against KF, cannot give up the tiebreaker / 1 more win earns it;  0-2 vs. HB, cannot get the tiebreaker;  yet to play DU, up for grabs Diff: Sitting at +8:  5 ahead of DU and KF (+3),  32 behind HB (+40)

	Current Position	Games Remaining	Strength of Schedule
	2nd Wild Card	12	4.71
	Home:  DU Remaining Schedule Road:  BW,  IS,  KF,  WW,  WA
	Whereas Westside has 12 games remaining against playoff contenders, the Balls have just 8: 2 against Whiteford, and 2 against each team chasing the Wild Card. There are still some tough series in there, but what makes the Balls schedule a much safer path to the playoffs is that they close out the season with four games the against Islanders and a deflated Belgian team. Getting 7 wins over their final 12 games is not asking much. Another thing in the Balls' favor is their opportunistic standing with the tiebreakers. There is only one of the three head-to-head variety they can potentially lose; following that, they have a commanding lead in run differential over the other teams in the running. Tiebreakers H2H: 2-0 vs. KF and WW, cannot concede either / 1 more win earns either tiebreaker;  1-1 vs. DU, tiebreaker up for grabs Diff: Sitting at +40:  32 ahead of DU and KF (+3),  32 ahead of WW (+8)

	Current Position	Games Remaining	Strength of Schedule
	3 Games Back	14	6.00
	Home:  DU,  HB,  IS,  WW,  WA Remaining Schedule Road:  DU,  WA
	Friday's remaining schedule is essentially a mirror of Westside's, including two dangerous series against the Wicked Aces. The one difference is the two extra games left to play, which come at home against the Islanders. Holding no tiebreakers at the moment, Friday needs to play 3 games better than Balls and Warriors, while taking both games remaining against both teams to avoid conceding to them the head-to-head tie-breaker. In all likelihood, they need to get 9 or 10 wins in their final 14 games to clinch a playoff berth. It will not be easy, but the restocked Friday roster has the advantage desperation provides on their side. Tiebreakers H2H: 0-2 vs. HB and WW, cannot get either tiebreaker;  yet to play DU, up for grabs Diff: Sitting at +3:  tied with DU (+3),  5 behind WW (+8),  37 behind HB (+40)

	Current Position	Games Remaining	Strength of Schedule
	3 Games Back	14	6.37
	Home:  EL,  KF,  WW Remaining Schedule Road:  HB,  EL,  KF,  WW
	The Ducks are the only team in the Wild Card hunt who are done with the Wicked Aces. However, they are also the only team with games remaining against El Diablos. Call it a push. Like Friday they need to play 3 games above the leaders to have a shot at making the playoffs. But like Westside they face the hard track of having to accomplish that task against a schedule entirely of teams in a playoff push of their own. One possible reprieve for the Ducks is that the head-to-head tiebreaker between them and each potential Wild Card team is still wide open; this yields a slight edge over King Friday while coming from the trailing position. However, the fact their additional games come against Westside (instead of the Islanders, as in Friday's case) makes their schedule that much more difficult to accumulate those wins. Tiebreakers H2H: 1-1 vs. HB, tiebreaker is up for grabs;  yet to play KF or WW, both are up for grabs Diff: Sitting at +3:  tied with KF (+3),  5 behind WW (+8),  37 behind HB (+40)

NWL 'YAY'

		A Cup of Nick Coffee
		by Nick Coffee

I haven't been the most motivated person lately. Since the season started, I find that excitement I had leading up to those first games has lingered away. I know I missed my deadline for last month's "Cup of… " and I skipped out on last week's games against Belgian. I even gave up my left field position for our newly acquired Greg Brannan (anything for the team). I still do look forward to getting out on those sunny weekend days and playing a little bit of Wiffleball, but the event that I’m really looking forward to is the NWLA tournament weekend.

This year is going to be a little different. I'll have to miss out on watching some of the Big Wood games, because our London games will be playing at the same time. It looks like we have a pretty good SEMIs team this year. There were many changes to the team, the biggest being Carl skipping out on it to be the full-time manager of Big Wood. I don't blame him, this tournament was his idea and even though Gallaway had the initiative and took it to the next level, Carl still should be there every step of the way. I knew I wanted Nick Braden and Josh Nagorski on the team. I remember how much fun they were last year just as spectators. Their big bats and Nick's slow pitching skills [perfect game at Slow in the Snow!] should be a huge asset to the team. Chris Paquin wanted to be on Big Wood, but those spots filled up faster than a heroine addict’s methadone prescription. Chris has been playing great and he'll definitely contribute to the slow-ball game. Dennis Pearson has a great bat and will hit the ball a mile. Hopefully he'll have more than 10 home runs otherwise it will be a disappointment. When I found out that Evan Bortmas was available and he was planning on heading down to Columbus, I didn't think twice about asking him to play on the SEMIs team. He has to work out some possible conflicting dates, but if he's able to go there is no doubt he'll be an all star. I'm not that good, but I have played in the tournament on and off since 2004, so I guess I'm grandfathered in.

Nick high-fiving Austin at the 2012 tournament

The NWLA tournament sounds like it's going to be a step up from last year, minus the unlimited free food, free hotel and free swag. From what I hear from Carl, they are having 13 teams this year, which will cause quite the headache for round robin games. I believe they are holding a two-game seeding round and then a double-elimination tournament. For teams that lose the first 2 games of the tournament, they might have a "toilet bowl" tournament, which will crown the winner of the losers. I know NWLA [read: Gallaway] doesn't like gimmicks, but I think this is a pretty cool idea. I don't want to bore you with explaining why each player should or shouldn't be on the team or who should've made it instead; the team looks strong and I think pitching will be our key to victory. I do think that since we use different bats in WSEM, the barrel size of the yellow bats might hurt us in the NWLA tournament. I might be pleasantly surprised, hopefully I am. I'm excited to get back from the London tournament and jump right into my 3rd base coach position. I doubt other teams in the league will have as big of a fan base as our league. I do wonder if the returning teams saw how much fun our fans and coaching staff were having and hopefully they bring a couple caravans full of people.

So even though I'm not jumping-out-of-my-seat happy and excited about every weekend for our games, I am so eager about getting out of work on Thursday July 18, driving straight down, checking into our hotel and waking up Friday morning in beautiful Columbus, Ohio. I know that this 3-day weekend will exceed my good time expectations. I do hope we keep winning and our trip extends until late Sunday and I also hope I win my first London playoff game. I'll do anything for this team, but this weekend I'm not giving up the left field position.

Week 8 Twatter Power Rankings

		Coffee Time
		by Carl Coffee

1.		Whiteford Wicked Aces	(11-1, 1st in Ringler)
		Should the Aces be worried about Bortmas? If he isn’t strong down the stretch they could be in trouble.
2.		El Diablos	(16-4, 1st in Garcia)
		Very impressive split at home vs. the Aces. Will be playing the Ducks this weekend without most of their regulars.
3.		Holy Balls	(10-6, 3rd in Ringler)
		4-0 over the weekend gets them within one game of the #3 seed. Five out of their last six series will be on the road.
4.		Westside Warriors	(11-5, 2nd in Ringler)
		Sam Hatt may be returning earlier than expected from his injury. That would be absolutely huge for this team.
5.		Ducks	(6-8, 2nd in Garcia)
		Ducks are slowly creeping back into the playoff race. These guys are getting a huge break vs. El Diablos and should be 8-8 at week's end.
6.		King Friday	(6-8, 4th in Ringler)
		Although it was against the struggling Wiffles, the entire team looked strong in all aspects of the game over the weekend.
7.		Islanders	(4-16, 3rd in Garcia)
		It appears it will be the spoiler role for the Islanders down the stretch. These guys do have the ability to pull upsets though.
8.		Belgian Wiffles	(4-20, 4th in Garcia)
		Only four more games for the once proud franchise. Tough season for Buhr and gang.