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Around the Bases: Week 7
Bizton heads north of the border for a family feud
By Listen DePleyohs / Baseball Tri-Weekly
My friend at ESPN asked me the other day why I spend my time covering the EHCC. I told him it was because the players from every team must hate me. That could be the only reason why they constantly mess with my predictions.
Last week was the week of the underdog, with Bizton, Tokyo and Plymouth stepping up for their first wins of the season (2 ties counts as a win… trust me). Of all the wins, Tokyo was easily the most impressive, compiling 36 runs, 36 RBI’s and 9 homeruns to put them over Golden 5-3.
We are getting to the point in the season where injuries are taking chunks out of teams and waiver moves will be important. There are still sleepers out there, and the teams who are smart will capitalize.
BIZ at QC
The crunch, crunch of the piglet stampede must have sat in milk too long, because their arms sure are soggy. With six players on the disabled list, the front office is going to think long and hard about what they are going to do. If they choose to ride it out and let people heal, ties and loses to sub-par teams could haunt them down the road. Bizton is also the last stop on this easy leg of their schedule, and they cannot afford to give up too many categories.
Some in the league are starting to question the organization's integrity. A team GM (not associated to Rakeville, for once) has linked the Piglet's injury concerns to steroids.
"I think it starts from the top of the organization...they are wimpy people and that just trickles down into their team from the bat boys to the ushers to the vendors," said a team official. "They are just not tough. They're pretty old too and they can't stay up past their bed time of 8PM. Maybe they should play more day games."
The Markies took advantage of an underperforming Monster offence last week, sweeping the batting categories. Contrary to Quebec, Markie bats are healthy and coming alive, with Sexson, Bradley and Beltre having big weeks.
With two of the Piglet's aces down, their staff is beatable. I shall name this brotherly match-up the game of the week.
RAK at WS
This is the runner up game of the week. Both teams tied 7.5 back, coming off tough loses.
Both teams had good pitching performances, but the bats didn’t show up. Fortunately for Rakeville, last week was an aberration. For Winston Salem, the numbers have been similar for three of the last four weeks. They will need a big week from their infield if they want to match the potential production numbers the Rockets can put up.
Pitching wise, the Monsters can hold their own. They are young and feisty, and working together they can be a force. Rakeville’s veteran staff had a good week, but was swept. Look for them to come out firing.
TIJ at WEY
My disgust for the Hispanics faded a bit after they conducted their business against Haverhill, beating them handily. Their job is far from done though, as the face off against league leading Shaddupu.
Weymouth is coming off an offensive war with Las Vegas. Both teams battered the ball, with Shaddupu getting the edge. If they can carry over any of that energy, there is a good chance they can roll over Tijuana.
Pitching is what the Mexicans need to focus on. They had their best week on the mound last, while Weymouth faltered.
I expect Shaddupu to dominate. I am just not convinced Tijuana is the real deal yet. A win or close lose will certainly do a lot for them.
| 1. | Weymouth | (+1) |
| 2. | Las Vegas | (-1) |
| 3. | Tijuana | (+3) |
| 4. | Bridgewater | (+4) |
| 5. | Rakeville | (-2) |
| 6. | Winston-Salem | (-1) |
| 7. | Quebec City | (-3) |
| 8. | Bizton | (+3) |
| 9. | Haverhill | ( - ) |
| 10. | Golden | (-3) |
| 11. | Tokyo | ( - ) |
| 12. | Plymouth | ( - ) |
League Notes
-- curse of Alex Rios strikes again in Winston-Salem, claims hot dog vendor John Rewis. “Why else would we lose all the batting categories?” He is now trying out for the team in hope that his name is similar enough to Rios to break the curse.
-- Trade talks involving Weymouth and Tokyo have broken down over a report that Ichiro doesn’t want to return to his native country. Apparently, Girls Gone Wild doesn’t ship overseas.
-- Joey Gathright, recently cut by Las Vegas, filed an appeal with the EHCC main office, claiming that the Doggs trainer tried to sell him apples. “No apples in the clubhouse!” he shouted.
Listen DePleyohs writes a column for Baseball Tri-Weekly. He graduated college with a degree in Communications, but refuses to tell from what institution.
