What a start to August Awesomeness! Seriously need a new name. 28 games played in 6 hours, six upsets based on tournament seedings, one game decided in extra innings with a walk off triple, Blue Collar with a big lead, a 19-18 shoot out, and at least one ball intentionally thrown over the outfield fence. It’s madness. More madness to come?
Sacred Sword v Yello Sub
This will be a rematch up of the Week 4 GOTW that Cougar proclaimed was the best game he’s seen all season. Still, no love for Sacred Sword from Cougar, who’s been playing games with Sacred Mike’s heart all season. These teams are seeded 4 and 5, and I think the contest will live up to the parity the seedings suggest. Keep an eye on CJ’s status for the game, as SS could take a major blow by a potential suspension for a incident in the Replay game.
Last week I mentioned that 2 questions would be answered in the Jazzhaus v Yello Sub game, in which I thought Jazzhaus would win. Make it 3 questions. The first answer is that I was wrong, and I’m glad I could provide some “locker room” material for Yello Sub to help them address the second question of whether or not YS still had the fire to win. Not only did they have the fire, but there was an unexpected return of “Sugarman” Shahir and the YS Kool-Aid tastes great. Try some. BTW, the third question regarding J’s preparedness after playing with 4’s could be answered, yes, they had difficulty setting up and capitalizing offensively. Credit also Yello Sub’s defense for consistently coming up with big defensive stops.
What can I say about the matchup that we didn’t see in Week 4? Both teams have consistent base kickers with good speed. I’d give SS the slight edge on power as well as bunting skills. Both teams are comparable defensively, probably ranking 4 and 5 in the league. SS jumped out to a big lead when these teams first played eachother and the first couple innings could be very important for YS. Look for the winner of this game to give Los Luchadores a big challenge. PREDICTION: SS 9 YS 8 but it flips if CJ is out.
Love Garden v Rangelife
Back-to-back seasons these teams will meet in the elite 8. Last year’s contest was a shoot out, with R storming out to a 6 run lead to start the game, but LG kept answering and took the lead mid way through the game. There is a very good chance this R team is better than last year and many people pick them as the Cinderella of the tournament. I, of course, hope they’re wrong.
Rangelife was pretty impressive in week 1, holding Todd Tractor at bay with only 8 players and then coming back to win against a talented Eldridge team with a hobbling first baseman and a pitcher with shorts so tight that he lost all feeling to his lower extremities. This will be a good one.
Los Luchadores v Screamers
Yet another rematch, this time from Week 1. I believe that game was knotted at 0 until the 6th or 7th when LL racked up the runs. S won a close game against Das Boot last week, and I’d say they have lived up to the high expectations that have surrounded them the past three seasons. Screamers have a chance to win this one, but I’m sorry to say that those chances are not that great. They will have to hold LL very stagnant offensively and kick lights out themselves. Then again, this is the playoffs and weird things happen. PREDICTION: LL 12 S 5
Pita Pit v Red Lyon
It’s good to see Red Lyon back in playoff contention, and this matchup takes me back to 2007, the first year Jared (and his brother?) joined Red Lyon and played Papa Kenos in a much anticipated game that I think decided their division leader. RL impressed with some big boots, but PK proved to be the more complete team, which is how I think this game will play out again. We know RL can produce offensively, but where was their defense in giving up 18 runs in the 2nd round? PP seems insulted and angry by their #3 seeding. Having lost to only 3 teams in their entire team history, can anyone give them a second loss this season? PREDICTION: PP 14 RL 6
LESS AWESOME BRACKET
The remaining less awesome bracket is comprised of 2 teams from each of the 2-5 rank pools. That’s a good balance that should make for some intriguing matchups. I’ve got Brew Ballers winning Ms. Congeniality, but they will have to again beat a surging Wildman with a new, secret defensive line up. Talk about a surge, Girls kept the YS game very close and pulled the 1 point upset over Free State. I’ll take Girls to do it again against the Beavers.
On the other side of the Less Awesome bracket, I’m interested to see if Todd Tractor or karma knocks Liberty Hall out first. LH knows what I mean, and I can’t say I blame them. Eastsiders v Mad Greek will probably be one of the best games in the LA bracket, and I predict MG to go on to face BB in the championship.
BRACKET CHALLENGE
Thanks to those of you taking part in the bracket challenge. My guess is that this is the humble beginnings to an annual contest that will grow in popularity and prize. Adam “shark attack” Mitchell is leading and you will notice your official KVKL blogging pundit all the way at the bottom in a tie for last. I feel like Dick Vitale any year Duke doesn’t win. Scoring is as follows: 1st round worth 1 point, 2nd round worth 2 points, 2nd round of less awesome (LA) worth 2. Upsets based on seedings are worth double, and I did not give points for byes. It’s awesome, baby!!!
Name 1st 2nd 2nd LA Total
Adam Mitchell 12 18 12 42
Mike Tiffany 13 16 10 39
Paul Santos 13 18 6 37
Nick Lerner 14 14 6 34
Erin Adams 12 8 4 34
Josh Hunt 10 14 10 34
Derrick Hurst 15 12 6 33
Kris Marshall 11 16 2 29
Shawn Miller 13 14 2 29
Chris Ford 13 10 6 29