Now Batting... Batting... Batting...

		Your Junk my Happy Zone
		by Brandon Corbett

2-0. When talking counts I think we call that one "Barry." Being down in the count is not something any of the pitchers had to worry about much at Pervis Memorial for the start of this Championship Series; 52 of the 78 outs in the two games were recorded by strikeout. However, even though Craig Skinner and Chandler Phillips both threw five scoreless innings - two regulation shutouts - in their starts, they and El Diablos now have to worry about being down 2-0 in the series.

Everybody expected to see the great pitching matchups and looming extra innings, but a team on their heels and teetering on the edge of being swept coming into Poolside Park is surprising. None of the Pickers took a sweep. In fact, three of them have the series going fivegames. The odds of a Wicked Aces sweep are the second longest, set at 18:1. On his preview podcast Carl also has the series going the distance. Another statement made by Carl around the 6:50 mark of that recording hints at why we find ourselves in this situation.

"I give the offensive edge to El Diablos," Carl caves when measuring up the teams. It is a sound proclamation. Lollio and Tomlinson both hit well over .400 on the season; Skinner, LaDouceur, and Chandler all follow them above .300, and every Diablo playing this series also provided over 6 home runs and 30 RBI. They earned the reputation of being a murderers row, however, they have not been able to get any production out of their bats so far in this series. Chandler leads El Diablos with a .111 AVG, LaDouceur is second in line at an even .100. Three of the four Aces are hitting better than that: Evan Bischoff at .154, Austin at .200, and Crozier leading everybody with a comparatively impressive .250. To state it all too simply: that is the difference in this series.

El Diablos will tell you that missing Tomlinson's bat for the opening games hurt them a ton, and that can be said fairly. Tomlinson followed up his 2012 RotY season with an MVP candidate caliber season this year: .420 AVG, 41 RBI, 56 RS, and a staggering 1.428 OPS. Kyle is scheduled to suit up when action gets back underway on Monday, and what is more is that the shoe may now be on the other foot. The Aces will be without Crozier and his late inning heroics for the remainder of the series. In addition to his Championship Series leading average, Joel also has two game winning hits this postseason. His absence is now a hole that the Aces must find a way to fill as they look to close out the series.

One thing is certain. Come Monday the Commissioner's Cup will be raised in victory on the field for the first time ever. The question is, who will pick up their bats first to earn that honor: a repeat champion or the third team in as many years?

Championship Series Recap: Games 1 and 2

After the 2012 WSEM championship was unfortunately never played due to forfeits, the league was anxious to see actual championship games played this year. To no one’s surprise, the top two teams in the league, the Whiteford Wicked Aces and El Diablos began their best of five series Sunday evening at Pervis Memorial in Southgate. Game 1 saw two All-Star pitchers who are the two favorites for the Clown Shu, Austin Bischoff and Craig Skinner. Both pitchers were on their games and kept the game scoreless through five innings. Neither team came close toscoring in regulation play, so the game would have to be decided in extra innings. The clutch Joel Crozier hit his second exciting HR of the playoffs and gave the Aces a 1-0 lead with a solo blast over the left field fence. That one run was all the Wicked Aces needed as Austin closed the door on El Diablos in the 6th to give his team a 1-0 series lead. The game 2 pitcher for El Diablos was an obvious choice as Chandler Phillips has been his team’s #2 all season. The Wicked Aces however once again went into the game without a second starter picked out. RJ Fisher was still not 100% after injuring his hand, so Captain Austin needed to choose someone to fill-in for him. Evan Bischoff already has a playoff shutout win this year, so he got the nod in game 2. After six innings of scoreless play, the seventh inning finally saw some scoring as both Bischoffbrothers had RBI base hits to give the Wicked Aces a 2-0 lead. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Dakota LaDouceur drew a walk giving Nicco Lollio a chance to tie the game. Nicco made it interesting by hitting a ball deep into centerfield, but Evan Bortmas made a diving catch to give his team a 2-0 series lead. Game 3, and then 4 and 5 if necessary have been scheduled for Monday, August 19th at Poolside Park.

Building Up the Championship Series: Wicked Aces

The Whiteford Wicked Aces have finally reached the stage they've had their eyes on all summer: the WSEM Championship Series. The team had more to prove than your typical defending champions after being granted their trophy via the forfeit of the red-hot Manchester Punchouts in the 2012 championship series, and they made sure the league knew it was a statement year for the second-year franchise. After overhauling their home field and unveiling a new Air Force-themed logo set, the Aces went 25-3 over the regular season and have not lost a game that their #1(Austin Bischoff), #2 (RJ Fisher), or #2a (Evan Bischoff) pitcher has started. They dominated the league's pitching stats by a wide margin, and all five players on the playoff roster can pitch effectively. In a five-game series, this depth may be crucial with pitchers like Bischoff and Skinner that can toss scoreless inning after scoreless inning.

Fisher is by far the most suprising pitcher in the bunch, coming out of nowhere to steal the #2 spot in the rotation. An injury to Fisher's pitching hand, however, prevented him from pitching in the first round of the playoffs and threatens to weaken the Aces' rotation. While Fisher is cleared to throw, it is unsure if he will be at 100%; a shaky RJ could cause problems for Whiteford. However, Evan Bischoff turned in two shining performances against the Diablos and the Warriors in his last two starts, helping to relieve these concerns. Amazingly, major off-season signing Evan Bortmas comes into the championship series as the #4 pitcher on the roster, but he has made his presence known at the plate and in the field and has been a rock for the team all year. Joel Crozier has seen some action in the relief role he held in 2012, getting RJ out of a tough jam against the Islanders in Whiteford's last series, eventually earning the win and avoiding disaster in extras.

The Aces have hit the ball fairly well this year, but will need to step it up against Skinner, who they had little success against in their regular season games. They were delivered from the jaws of a Game 1 loss to the Warriors by a Crozier walk-off two-run homer, but would obviously prefer to score earlier and more frequently. Bortmas has been consistent most of the year, but Crozier, RJ, and the Bischoffs have went through mini-slumps that they must avoid. They will also need to be sharp defensively against the offensive threat posed by Diablos playes such as Nicco, Dakota, and Kyle. Finally, Joel Crozier will not be available for games 3-5, making games 1-2 that much more important for the boys in blue. Bischoff must come out on top of the much anticipated duel with Skinner, and either RJ or Evan will have to step up in Game 2 against a hot Chandler Phillips. If Whiteford can take those games, they have confidence that Austin will win one of his next two and deliver them the trophy- in a much more dramatic form than last year.