THE PLAYOFF PICTURE COMES TO FOCUS . . . A LITTLE BIT

With the results from Monday night, the 2011 playoff picture in the SLAM League has become a little more clear: there are 7 teams for 6 spots.

I preface the below information with the fact that this is ALL “unofficial” projections by the commissioner (the numbers were crunched in my head several times and not on paper); but depending upon the results of a few key games, the landscape for the 2011 playoffs could look very different than recent history:

• HMA/RAMSA, PCF/HH and MGA have all clinched playoff spots
• SS must win one of its next two games to guarantee a spot
• FxF (already with a SLAM-record 5 rainouts to date) improbably still have 4 games to play in the next 2+ weeks, needing to win 2 of its remaining 4 games to lock up a spot

And here’s where it gets very interesting:

• Gensler controls its own destiny: Win the next two games (PCF/HH and EA) and they are in the playoffs. But if Gensler should split their next two games, and RRA/DBB wins its final game (and again, this is assuming SS doesn’t lose their final two games), then RRA/DBB would take the 6th spot because of the H2H matchup way back in April.

At the top of the standings, the seeds are just as interesting:

• PCF/HH and HMA/RAMSA each control their own destiny, making the August 8th matchup on the Great Lawn all the more important. If either team wins its remaining games, that team secures the #1 seed and a first round bye in the playoffs. Conversely, the loser could be headed for the #3 seed and no first round bye in the playoffs.
• Oddly enough, FxF, which has yet to guarantee a playoff spot could actually also lock up the #1 seed with a little help from some other teams in the league (FxF would need to win outright, GA defeats PCF/HH and PCF/HH defeats HMA/RAMSA). Got that?

In short, with two weeks to go in the regular season absolutely NOTHING is settled. And all this just as a precursor to what should be a very exciting 2011 SLAM playoffs.



STAY TUNED....

BREAKING NEWS - Multiple Division Format

ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN....

During a secret meeting of the S.L.A.M. Intelligence Agency (SIA), Commissioner David Solomon proposed a radical new structure for the future of our softball league.  The attendees of this meeting have not been identified, but sources confirm that S.L.A.M. is considering a new multiple division format for 2012 and beyond.  The growing discrepancy in skills among teams in our league has prompted SIA leadership to suggest a dramatic overhaul in the regular season schedule and playoff format.

When asked for comment, HM/RAMSA Manager David Solomon told our source "It's just not fun anymore.  We have won all three of our games by at least 11 runs, so why even bother playing?  With our upcoming match against lightweight Gensler, there just does not seem to be an end in sight."

Coming off their brutal 16-4 loss againt RAMSA, TPG Manager Josh Ginsburg added "We had no chance against them.  With the way they are playing, I don't think anyone can beat them".

The new proposed divisional structure would allow the best teams to play among themselves while the rest of the league has a full season worth of fun, competitive games.  Our source viewed a copy of the confidential memo distributed during the SIA meeting titled "Divisional Structure, what it means to you!".  The details are as follows:

DIVISION A
Holzman Moss / Robert A.M. Stern Architects (HM/RAMSA)

DIVISION B
Ennead Architects (EA)
FXFowle Architects (FXF)
Gensler Associates (GA)
Gruzen Samton (GSA)
Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects (KPF)
Mitchell Giurgola Architects (MGA)
Pei Cobb Freed / Hart Howerton (PCF/HH)
Perkins Eastman (PEA)
Ronnette Riley / Davis Brody Bond (RRA/DBB)
SOM / SHCA (SS)
TPG Architecture (TPG)

Each team would play 10 regular season games followed by a playoff bracket, but only against other teams in their division.  At the end of the season, two trophies would be awarded - one to the winner of Division A, and the other to the winner of Division B.

When asked for a final comment, David Solomon told our source "Now that's a system that makes sense.  We (HM/RAMSA) are the only ones who can beat ourselves, so playing 10 games against ourselves is the best way to insure a season of fun and competitive games.  This is a win-win situation, we get our trophy at the end of the year, and all of the other teams still have a chance to get one themselves".

Wild 48-47 softball score sets national record for runs in a game

A must read for all of SLAM League to remind your team never to quit--even if you're down 13 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning:

CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE

Some crazy stats from the game that ended 48-47 in only seven innings:

• The winning pitcher gave up all 47 runs but allowed only 21 hits
• The losing team used several pitchers who gave up 48 runs yet allowed only 10 hits (that's 95 combined runs on only 31 hits!); the losing team did walk 36 batters and hit 12 more
• One poor batter came to the plate 9 times....and walked all nine times
• The winning team scored 13 runs in their last at bat to win the game
• The game ended on a bases loaded walk. Brutal.
• Oh, and the game last 4 hours (winning team only had 9 players!)

My arm is tired just thinking about this game--those poor pitchers!

WHERE'S THE OFFENSE ???

The season is still very young--10 games old to be exact--but one thing appears very apparent: the defense and pitching is way ahead of the hitting. And the numbers don’t lie.

Just as the number of homeruns are down in Major League Baseball, the new steriod and HGH testing that was implemented in the SLAM League in 2011 appears to have slowed down the vaunted bats of the league. In the 2008 season, there were an average of 17.0 runs per game through the first 10 contests; in 2009 that number dipped slightly to 16.4 rpg through 10 games; and in 2010 the number jumped up slightly to 16.7 rpg through the first 10 games. But this season with new drug testing now firmly in place there have only been a startling 13.6 runs per game. Even more telling, there have been 3 shutouts already this season which equals the number of shutouts in the first 10 games in 2008, 2009 and 2010 combined.

Now some might argue--and I won't disagree--that some maybe the pitching and defense has something to do with this odd trend. And yes, perhaps they are much better in 2011. But still, while defense wins championships, offense sells tickets; and everyone in Central Park is wondering if this unusual trend will continue in a softball league. (Admittedly not likely, but this pitcher sure hopes so!).

So WAKE UP BATS, wherever you are!....or better yet, don’t — see if I care.

ORANGE & BLUE (7-1) DEFEAT ORANGE & BLACK (4-2)--FINAL SCORE, 9-2

Just days after fireworks poured over the Hudson River on July 4th, HMA/RAMSA celebrated its independence atop the SLAM standings with a convincing 9-2 victory over the once-mighty triumvirate that is SSC in a battle for orange supremacy. For coach David Solomon, perhaps his best move of the day was letting pitcher David Solomon bat (3-3 with 4 RBI) in the #6 spot rather than DH for the senior member of the team as he had for 3 of the previous 4 games.

The first inning has proved to be very fruitful for the Orange Crush as they scored 4 runs in the top of the inning to take an early lead they would never relinquish. On the season, HMA/RAMSA has now scored in each of its 8 games in the first inning with 18 runs total in those innings. After scoring the first run of the game with a walk to SS Doug Houstoun, David Solomon singled to left field with the bases loaded to plate 2 more runners. Another run would come to score on a fielder’s choice by 2B Cara Graf.

A couple innings later, that same duo of Solomon and Graf would single home 2 more runs with base hits up the middle to bring the lead to 6-0. SSC was shutdown in the early part of the game as the first 9 hitters that came to the plate were retired in order. In the bottom of the fourth, SSC broke up the perfect game with a few hits and errors and forged a threat of their own. With a run already in and the bases loaded, that rally was quickly squashed on a hard smash to the left side of the infield. Third baseman Jon Fukutomi fielded the hotshot cleanly, stepped on the bag and threw over to first to get 3B Hugo Corvalan, who was doing his best Pete Rose impersonation with a headfirst slide into first base. “A” for effort, Hugo….

HMA/RAMSA was able to add another pair of runs in the 5th inning, and yet another in the 6th inning to extend the lead to 9-2 which is where the game ended shortly before 8PM. Now 7-1 on the season, the Orange Crush has a couple of weeks off to prepare for its next challenge against Polshek on July 20th.

GAME BALLS:

Cara Graf – 2-2 with 2 RBI

David Solomon – 7 well-pitched innings and more impressively 3-3 with 4 RBI on the day

STYLIN' and PROFILIN'

It was an epic steel cage match on the Great Lawn last evening as Ric Flair and the HMA/RAMSA crew defeated the PCF/HH Hulkamaniacs 8-6 in seven draining innings. It's not often that a much-anticipated battle can live up to the billing, but this one actually did.

A more complete wrap-up will be posted later in the week. With the victory, HMA/RAMSA (6-1 on the season) returns to the top of the SLAM standings with a well-deserved 2 week hiatus; for PCF/HH, the schedule doesn't lend any time to sulk as they have two games next week against 3-1 FxFowle and 4-2 Gensler.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!