Team Tuesdays: Jason Mattseals

by Carl Coffee & Greg Franzen

The Jason Mattseals were pretty much the whipping boys of the league last season. At the last minute, Jason Matt and Imran Kakli came together to form a roster full of fun-loving competitors. With the league unsure if they would even show up to play, the Mattseals surprised everyone by playing 25% of their season in the opening weekend! Last season, the team’s regular players were Jeff Biegas, who will be a part-timer this season, Jason Hewlett, who will be back on the pitcher’s mound this season, Diamond Digit winner Danny Johnson, who is no longer with the team, and Jason Matt and Imran Kakli, who will both be playing full time. Showing up to games, they did; winning those games, they did not. The Mattseals struggled to find any sort of identity until they played a four-game series in early June against the Flying Squirrels. The Mattseals upset the Squirrels twice that day and split the four game series, behind a dominant pitching performance from Hewlett. The Seals also upset the Westside Warriors once, and had two forfeit wins against the Ass Kickers to finish the regular season 5-23. The Mattseals drew number-one seed Git R' Done in the playoffs, and almost had the upset of the century. In the first two games of the best-of-three series the Seals blew two late-inning leads and lost both close games to end their 2011 season. The 2012 Jason Mattseals now have a new leader, Greg Franzen. He is changing the entire identity of the Mattseals, and I now throw this article over to him to tell you all about that. Franzen throws to Adam Cosby for the force. When the 2011 season came to a close with a first-round playoff loss to the eventual champions, Git R' Done, the Mattseals went into the off-season looking for answers to how they could correct their 5-23 regular season record and turn around their luck for 2012. I was contacted by Carl about playing wiffleball in early December. He mentioned there was a team looking for a solid hitter/fielder. Having played organized baseball since the age of six and high school freshman baseball with both Carl and Corbett, they felt I would be a good fit with the Mattseals: a team looking for a new identity. I worked closely with Jason Matt over the off-season, and when Carl mentioned each team needed to have matching jerseys I wanted to try and design something fun and different. What I came up with will hopefully be a highly talked about and admired jersey by the league. The big question for the team was who would be returning to play again next season. We already were prepared for the return of three stable veterans in Jason Hewlett, Imran Kakli, and Jason Matt. The loss of Jeff Biegas as an everyday starter and player was huge, because we were losing our best hitter of the 2011 season, and offense was one area the Mattseals really struggled last season. Jason Hewlett, however, managed to come through with two new names and I was able to recruit a former high school cross country teammate. Having to play five non-regular players last season hurt the Mattseals chances to gel together as a team. This year the Mattseals have an entire team of dedicated players who will play in most, if not all of their games. Here is a brief rundown of the 2012 Mattseals roster. • Greg Franzen (Captain) – A wiffleball rookie, Greg has undertaken the roll as Mattseals captain and is hoping to change the Mattseals perception in this league. Greg is looking forward to trying to spark the Mattseals offense with his bat and help solidify the defense. With good speed and excellent hands, he should be a welcomed edition to the newly revamped Mattseals. • Jason Matt – Wiffleball veteran Jason Matt brings pitching and game experience to the Mattseals. Jason is familiar with pitching in big games, having been placed into that roll against Git ‘R Done in the playoffs with the unfortunate injury to Jason Hewlett. Jason comes into this season with a strong dedication to help improve the Mattseals. • Jason Hewlett – Wiffleball veteran and last year’s Mattseals pitching ace, Jason Hewlett was counted on to pitch most of the innings for the Mattseals last season. Unfortunately, this was a heavy undertaking and Jason got injured before the playoffs. With the new pitching rotation rules this year, other players of the Mattseals will be stepping up to provide more starting and relief pitching. Jason has been working hard this offseason to improve his pitching arsenal and should provide a dominate presence on the mound. Jason has tweaked his batting style a little bit as well and it has improved his swing and power. Jason is an all-around solid wiffleball player. • Imran Kakli - Wiffleball veteran Imran Kakli brings a fun and energetic presence to the Mattseals. Imran wanted to have a stronger presence with the Mattseals last season, but his work schedule conflicted with many of the games. Luckily, the Mattseals will be playing a majority of their games on Sunday, which should provide Imran with more playing time and an opportunity for a bigger role on the team. Imran brings a knowledge and understanding of the game that will help the rookies and veterans of the Mattseals unite. • Chris Paquin - Wiffleball rookie Chris Paquin is no stranger to playing organized baseball. Chris jumped at the opportunity to join the Mattseals when recruited by Captain Greg Franzen and he brings with him a strong knowledge of baseball and strategy that will be very beneficial this season. Chris will have the opportunity to do some pitching this season and he has been practicing hard to fine tune his pitching style. Chris will be a good fit with the Mattseals. • Adam Cosby - Wiffleball rookie Adam Cosby was recruited by Mattseals veteran Jason Hewlett. Adam will be inserted into the pitching rotation and will allow Hewlett the rest and recovery that his arm needs. Adam has a good baseball background and is very anxious to get this season started and has been a dominate force at practice. He is a welcomed addition to the Mattseals. • Mike Myers - Last, but certainly not least, wiffleball rookie Mike Myers was also recruited to the team by Jason Hewlett. Mike has previously played baseball and has shown promise with good hitting and fielding. He helps to round out the Mattseals and we are excited with what he can offer the team this season. Mike Myers is looking to provide a spark in the new Mattseals offense.At the first team meeting, the Mattseals discussed moving away from Brownstown Middle School and finding a new home for a new identity. After much searching, that home has been found. The Mattseals will play their home games in 2012 at “The Club at Civic Center Park” located in Woodhaven, Michigan on Hall Road. This is a good location that should provide the general public with a good chance to view what our league is all about, while still being partially secluded from most other events at the park. This will be a pitcher friendly park with deep fences all around. Home runs are possible with the wind blowing in the right direction. The Mattseals have been practicing hard this off-season and they are coming together as a team. This revamped Mattseals team is young, hungry, and ready to change their previous image in the league. All the players are very well rounded and will be able to contribute something to each position. They are not afraid to critique each other in order to improve their game. There is a strong level of respect and motivation that will be the driving force behind the Mattseals this season. I am proud of what this team has to offer and I am excited to see us match up against the other great teams in the league this season. “Clear eyes, Full hearts, Can’t lose” – Coach Eric Taylor, 'Friday Night Lights'

The Balls: 1st Inning

[Mike Constanti takes center stage today debuting his column that is sure to get a reaction and generate some buzz around WSEM this offseason. Here is Mike with The Balls.]

INTRO:

What's up to all the Wiffle ball freaks out there? Mike Constanti here to give you all not only something to read about while taking a ..., but a trip to the underbelly of what is known as the WSEM. I'm gonna put out 5 articles over the offseason on what has been pissing me off, who deserves a reality check, and my annual run down of the bottom 5 teams and why they sucked! Kind of like Ken Burns baseball. Get it? 5 innings, 5 articles. If you get through the entire article pissed off, there will be a bonus article which I'll mention in the end. So, without further ado let's get it on!


Inning 1: Why do players believe their shit smells good?
What's that smell? It's everywhere. All teams got one. I sometimes get caught up in it. It's that odor that can make or break your game. It's that player who believes he's the shit. It smells like dandelions. No one can touch them. Oh, lord, "I am the shit" syndrome. To tell you the truth, nothing pisses me off more than when someone grandstands in front of the opposition (to the dismay of teammates), that he is gods gift to wiffleball, and everyone sucks and can eat a big fat one. Even though the player talking shit isn't that good, his team is getting their asses handed to them, or is in complete denial that you are good and he is just having an off day. In my opinion, I always believe you earn your stripes, get the respect you deserve by playing hard and let the stats speak for themselves. People just cannot come in and declare themselves to be the next Joey DeLano. The best players do not have to be outspoken. It takes a team to win in Wiffleball. As much of a beating the Ass Kickers took, I enjoyed playing with Bully, my brother, and Kirk. We didn't show off or talk shit. We know who we are and we didn't brag about it. I feel that the league is full of guys who need a quick reality check. I'm gonna give it to them. Here are my top three Dandelions of the sport that get on my damn nerves sometimes or all the time:

3.) Chris Lewis - It hurts me to put him on this list, because he is such a great guy. A lot of respect for him. The reason for Chris being here is that he has a mouth to go with that so called "intimidating" riser (not !). Great! He pitched in almost every game for Belgian last season. The part that irks me is that he brags about the amount of K'S he recorded and considers himself to be one of the elite pitchers of our game. Here is the reality check: granted I feel he is a top 10 pitcher. More towards number 10, though. He needs a better secondary pitch to make his riser more effective. It is mostly a go to pitch and everyone anticipates it. Three of my four homers came off that pitch. He may be the number-two man in the rotation for the Ducks, but I think he is the third best pitcher behind Pearson and Dylan Braden.

2.) Me - I am writing this article. Enough said.

1.) Alex Shore - This doesn't hurt me at all. In fact, he is the poster child for being full of shit. Nothing proves that to me more than the way his field looks, the smarmy arrogance, and lack of sportsmanship. I consider him the Rick Flair of our sport. He can wow and dazzle you with his speed and play on the field, but then he comes up to you and gives you a low blow from behind. His character shows when his team doesn't even want to play ball for him. That is sad. Talking shit ain't good when your team is getting their butts kicked. Example: Chris Kirk wanting to tear Alex and the Warriors' heads off after a poor sport attitude from him and his team after they got eliminated by the Ass Kickers in the playoffs. The worst part of all this is that Alex is an extremely talented player. He doesn't need a 65' right field wall or the shit talking. Top 5 player in the league. I don't know if it's immaturity or what. Hate to see what little respect he has go away because of his arrogance. I would take him on my team in a heart beat. That sucks. I hope that next season with the Donkeys he can straighten up and make them a huge contender for the title. He is in good hands with Joe Seto, but is it enough?

To end this topic, I feel that people should understand we play a game that we play growing up in the backyards, sandlots, or even the street you live on. There is no need for being full of shit and ruining this wonderful experience we have with the WSEM. It is for fun. Right?


Teams that sucked last season:
The Jason Mattseals

Great things happen to great people. I have a hard time believing that, because what Jason Matt went through last year is bullshit! His team struggled out the gate and it took them nearly two months to get in the win column. A lot of close games. The offense, aside from Jeff Biegas, was putrid to put it nicely. I think two or three guys were in the bottom five in offensive stats. Jason Hewlett got better as the season went on, but the team lacked a number-two starter. It is sad to see a team of good guys come out and make every game, just to get their butts kicked. They did make believers out of some people when they almost knocked out the champs, Git r' Done, in the playoffs. These guys have improved. They need a couple hitters and another pitcher to get there. Until then, it is batting practice for game days when scheduled to play the Mattseals.

That is it for Inning 1. Hope you guys liked this, but I don't expect you to. If you have any anger you would like to vent out, for our bonus section for the next article, fire away at my email, facebook post on my account or the league's, or give me a call and I will come out to drive Brian's truck on your front lawn. Top three complaints will make the article with a response from yours truly. In a couple weeks will be Inning 2: The art of ... Until next time Constanti out!