Wednesday Night Preview

Schefkind vs. Spiegel
Predicted Winner: Schefkind

After looking at the season statistics I realize Team Schefkind is perhaps the biggest sleeper in the league. Over the second half of the season they're 4-2 and have the best run differential in the league (+27). Although they were 2-9 in the first half they only gave up 13 more runs than they scored. Sure that's not a great number, but it's a figure that deserves more than a 2-9 record. When a situation like this happens there are always two ways of looking at it. The first way is that the team just isn't clutch enough so they stay close in games but are missing that extra ingredient to win games. The second way of looking at it is that they're a team that's had some bad luck and eventually they're going to start winning these close games. Team Schefkind is finally winning the games to go along with their good run differentials. I can imagine them finishing the season strong, ending the season at 10-12 and getting the 5th seed in the AL.

Meanwhile, Spiegel's team has been a tale of two halves. The best of times was the first half where they were 8-3 with a +35 run differential. The worst of times is the second half where they are 2-5 with a -24 run differential. After winning their last games perhaps they are back on track. I just think it's going to be a case of bad timing as they are facing one of the hottest teams in the league.


Granese vs. Feldman
Predicted Winner: Granese

It says a lot about the NL that a team with a 9-9 record is only a half game ahead of the 7th spot in the standings. Granese's record hides the fact that they are definitely an above average team. Like Team Schefkind in the first half, Granese has been at the losing end of several close games. Team Feldman comes in this game struggling a little bit with only one win in their last five games(although one of those loses was a 12-inning heartbreaker to Team Pollock). Feldman's greatest asset is their defense. In their 10 losses they've given up an average of 13 runs. In their 7 wins, they've given up an average of just over 4 runs per games. That's a remarkable difference. Unfortunately, Union Hill Right is not exactly known as a defensive field.

Power Rankings

Mini version of the power rankings this week. The most interesting thing happening in the AL is the surging Team Randell. Up until recently it seemed a forgone conclusion that they'd have to play the #1 seed in the playoffs but their three game winning streak has brought them back to civilization and only one spot away from the 7th seed. While Team Pollock has a pretty comfortable hold on the top spot in the AL, things are a lot more interesting at the top of the NL. Goldfarb, Younger, and Sarcona are separated by only one game for the honor of playing Team Applebaum in the first round of the playoffs. Seeing that every other team in the NL can pose a great threat, grabbing that #1 seed is big deal.

1. Pollock(1)
2. Goldfarb(2)
3. Sarcona(3)
4. Younger(4)
5. Carlin(7)
6. Peragine(5)
7. Granese(8)
8. Spiegel(6)
9. Beilis(12)
10. Wallman(13)
11. Lapine(9)
12. Harris(10)
13. Feldman(11)
14. Randell(16)
15. Schefkind(14)
16. Applebaum(15)

Sunday Predictions

Here are my quick predictions for today's games. After bombing my predictions the last few weeks I think I'm due to go undefeated.

Lapine vs. Randell
Wallman vs. Schefkind
Goldfarb vs. Younger
Granese vs. Harris
Beilis vs. Spiegel
Randell vs. Beilis
Sarcona vs. Applebaum
Carlin vs. Peragine

Union Hill Hitters

I asked some captains earlier this season to give me a list of their top 10 hitters on Union Hill field. Here is the final top 10 after combining all the individual lists. Thank you to the captains who participated.

1. Ed Fradkin
2. Dave Silverberg
3. Chris Yee
4. Joel Zaretsky
5. Jared Goldberg
6. Justin Callow
7. Jessie Cytryn
8. Adam Greenspan
9. James Dell'alba
10. Jeff Turner

Also receiving votes:

Eric Golden, Justin Brock, Matt Granese

Power Rankings

Over the course of the month there seems to be a magnetic pull towards .500. Great teams who were cruising April through May hit a rough patch while cold teams are finally getting back on track. As a result it's become very hard to tell which teams look like they're in great shape as we head towards the playoffs. Earlier this month I divided my power rankings into 5 groups. The "elite" group remains pretty much in tact with only Sarcona added to the mix. The lines the separate the next three groups, however, have essentially evaporated. Teams Spiegel, Harris, Granese, Beilis, Peragine, Carlin, Lapine, Feldman, and Wallman are separated by a two games or less! That means with a little bit of luck, the 13th best team in the league can easily become the 5th best team in just three games. With so many teams on equal footing, seeding does not really matter once it gets past the #1 and #2 seeds. It only becomes important for choosing the fields to play on, not for who the opponent will be.

Here are the latest rankings:

1. Pollock(3)
2. Goldfarb(1)
3. Sarcona(2)
4. Younger(4)
5. Peragine(8)
6. Spiegel(5)
7. Carlin(7)
8. Granese(6)
9. Lapine(12)
10. Harris(10)
11. Feldman(13)
12. Beilis(9)
13. Wallman(11)
14. Schefkind(14)
15. Applebaum(15)
16. Randell(16)

Wednesday Night Preview

Wednesday Night Preview

Peragine vs. Lapine

Predicted Winner: Peragine

This is a huge game for Peragine since they still have a decent shot at getting the #1 seed in the American League. All signs point towards an offensive explosion since this game features two of the top three scoring teams in the league. So why do I get the feeling that the unexpected is going to happen? Something tells me that the game will have a surprisingly low score with Peragine on top.


Goldfarb vs. Applebaum

Predicted Winner: Goldfarb

Team Goldfarb has certainly looked like an ordinary team over the past few weeks. During this time they've gone from a team that looked certain to have the overall #1 seed to a team that's battling with at least four other teams for that spot. However, Team Applebaum is not one of those teams. For a brief time, it looked like Team Applebaum was starting a nice little streak, but the past few weeks have seen them return to their losing ways. Perhaps they will put together a little winning streak with the season winding down, but tonight their tough season will most likely continue.

Sunday Predictions

Projected winners are in bold:

Feldman v. Goldfarb
Schefkind v. Beilis
Carlin v. Harris
Younger v. Carlin
Randell v. Applebaum
Wallman v. Younger
Wallman v. Spiegel
Peragine v. Spiegel
Harris v. Peragine
Lapine v. Sarcona