Friday, August 7, 2015

2015 Hingham Softball Playoff Preview

Year Four of the Hingham Softball playoffs are less than 48 hours away. I wanted to get this up earlier in the week for those of you stuck behind a desk all day, but I was busy digging holes. The world needs ditch diggers, too

Nothing too over the top here, just a simple playoff preview with a breakdown of all the first round matchups, and of course, predictions. We'll start with the play-in games:

No. 7 Gordon Building Movers (3-6) vs. No. 10 Hingham Harbor Marina (0-9)

It's a shame Ricky had to take over my role as a great owner stuck with a terrible team. Harbor has been playing better of late, giving the Pompeos a scare not too long ago, but there's more black holes in this lineup than in a Star Wars film. I admittedly don't know much about Gordon, but I do know they have a sleeper MVP candidate in Woody Roman, and that should be enough for them to move on.

Side note, could my old team beat Ricky's current team? Faithful, Mike Perry, and a roided-out Ben Lincoln would give us more pop in the middle of the order, but Mike's arm gave out at the end and Ben's defense resembled Hanley Ramirez's. Might have to make this happen sooner or later. 

Prediction: Gordon 19, Hingham Harbor 10

No. 8 Mohawk Rubber (3-6) vs. No. 9 Hingham Lumber (Beer Dragons) (2-7)

Biggest disappointment in the league, and it's not even close, is the Beer Dragons. In a way, they're like the Red Sox. Big offseason acquisitions (B-Young/Hughesy, Hanley/Panda) that haven't panned out nearly as expected. Not that they're totally to blame, but you get the idea. There's plenty of individual talent on the roster, but the parts just don't mesh for whatever reason this year. No different than a bad season of Saturday Night Live, sometimes the chemistry just isn't there. What doesn't help is that in a league without the Stein brothers or Stal anymore, Tom Vangel is definitely in discussion for worst player in the league.

Mohawk is relatively disappointing as well, coming off of last year's surprise run to the championship series. Losing Liam Koenen, Rob Madden and Tim Schlosky and replacing them with awful players like Harrison Tilkin hasn't helped, but the middle of the order remains powerful with Nolie and Austin Murphy. 

It wouldn't shock me of Lumber wins this one, but it seems fitting they flameout in round 1. If it were a Darren Rovell headline, I'd say it's "Splintered Lumber," but nobody needs that.

Prediction: Mohawk 25, Lumber 18

First Round Matchups

No. 4 Pompeo Brothers (6-3) vs. No. 5 Ned Devine's (6-3)

The Pompeos acted like an NBA team all season: disinterested, just get us to the playoffs already. And hey, if you have that switch you can turn off and on, and you're the two-time defending champs, why not.

Ned's is an interesting team for sure. On paper, not much in the way of superstars, but not any below-average players either. Won't hit a ton of home runs, but easy outs just don't exist in the lineup.

Unfortunately for Ned's, Pompeo's are loaded with star power. You could make a case the top three players in the league play for the Pompeo's. And it goes without saying there's no easy outs in that lineup, either. 

Do they have the horses for a three-peat? Perhaps. They definitely have enough to get out of Round 1.

Prediction: Pompeo's 30, Ned's 16

No. 3 Deli After Dark (7-2) vs. No. 6 Launchsight (4-5)

Launchsight comes in on a bit of a cold streak, just 1-5 since that 3-0 start. But last week's loss is totally reasonable; without Kyle or myself, that's like taking Shawn Thornton off the Bruins or Jonny Gomes off the Red Sox. Just rip the heart right out of the team.

Deli, the original champions of the league, aren't even close to what they were in 2012. KC Murphy, arguably the best player on the team in his day, ain't walking through that door. And speaking of Gomes or Thornton, Kevin Lally ain't walking through that door either. And yet you can pencil this team in for 10 home runs each week. Koonce and Eric in particular could probably hit a home run every at-bat lefthanded if they really wanted to. The lineup never really sleeps. Sure Nick Caruso and Jake Ward aren't going to give you nightmares, but if they're your biggest liabilities, do you really have a liability at all?

But there's something about this year's Launchsight team. Name a GM who had a better offseason than Kyle, importing Faithful, Peeta Maguire and myself; you can't.

There's no question it will take a 100 percent flawless effort from Sight. No errors whatsoever, and every at-bat will count. If Kyle's shoulder isn't good to go, that's a huge loss that can't be understated.

The 7 p.m. start time is also a bit tricky, with plenty of players on each side that enjoy taking full advantage of Sunday. The matchup could very well come down to which side is the least banged up. 

I don't see the bracket going all chalk. There's gotta be an upset in there somewhere, so why not this one?

Prediction: Launchsight 30, Deli 29

No. 2 Ralph's (7-2) vs. No. 8 Mohawk (3-6)

Ralph's is easily the most underrated team in the league. Not a ton of guys that stick around for five hours every Sunday, probably the fewest degenerates in the league. It's a decidedly different style, but you can't say it doesn't work. 

In terms of talent, similar to Ned's in a way, not a ton of superstars (although the Mulieri brothers is a fearsome combo), but no weak spots either. And, Launchsight aside, easily the best sponsor in the game.

As I said with Mohawk earlier, not what they were a year ago. Good enough to get past a disappointment the size of Hingham Lumber, but not a juggernaut like Ralph's.

Prediction: Ralph's 27, Mohawk 12

No. 1 Bud Light (Hanover) (7-2) vs. No. 7 Gordon 

I want to hate Hanover, I do. I wouldn't want to see the trophy leave the borders of Hingham, but then I think, if I can root for the Blue Jays now that the Red Sox are dead, aren't I rooting for Canada? And as long as we're not talking about Montreal, what's the shame there?

I'm not saying Hanover is the team to beat, but they're probably even better this year than last year. And they play the game the way it's supposed to be played: slightly intoxicated. Gordon has a bright future in this league, but they've gotta take the rookie lumps here.

Prediction: Hanover 35, Gordon 15


So that would give us a final four of Launchsight vs. Ralph's and Hanover vs. Pompeo's. I'll take Launcsight over Ralph's in a three-game thriller, and the Pompeo's over Hanover, also in three games, setting the stage for an epic showdown in the finals. 

As for your 2015 league champion? I'll take Launchsight over Pompeo's in three games, but I won't be remotely surprised if the Pompeo's three-peat. In fact, as Ted Wells might say, it's more probable than not. Attendance will be key for the Pompeo's; assuming they don't treat the post-season like the regular season, they'll have almost no excuse not to win the whole thing.

Welp that's that, don't forget to mix in a few waters tonight and tomorrow, try not to get arrested at Zac Brown, or get thrown out of Stars, or whatever it is you do. Can't wait for Sunday.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Why I'm Sick of Fantasy Football

Editor's Note: This column appears in the Jan. 8 issue of the Norwood Record, so it may be without the trademark snark, sarcasm and profanity you're used to here. Hope you enjoy it anyways.

Full disclaimer here: I’m a die-hard New England Patriots fan.

This means that, among other things, I can look forward to every single game they play. It’s been a given coming into any season in the Brady/Belichick epoch that they’ll win more games than they lose, usually a substantial number more. This year being no different: they went 12-4, finishing above .500 for the 14th season in a row. Say what you will about their post-season failures since 2004, but the fact remains that, in reality, Patriots fans have it made. A competitive team to watch week in, week out and season in, season out.

Reality. Remember that word.
           
Now, if I were a fan of the Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets…take your pick of any downtrodden franchise, I may not wake up Sundays with the same enthusiasm I do for my team’s game.

We talk a lot in Boston about “cueing the duckboats,” the means of transportation for a championship team along the parade route through Boston following a title.  Whatever the equivalent of a duckboat is in Oakland, they’re probably ready to cue them if Oakland can finish above .500 anytime soon. For fans of those teams, I can totally understand wanting to live in a fantasy instead of a reality…

But even if the Patriots did stumble into a decade of futility, I don’t think I would have it in me to go off and live in a fantasy. I’m talking about fantasy football, of course.

Do I play fantasy football myself? I do. I’ve had a league with my high school buddies since 2006, and I’m coming off my fourth championship in nine seasons. A better run than the Pats, if you think about it. How many of you reading this care about how good I am at fantasy football? I hope the number is zero. Because I couldn’t care less about how your team is doing, either.

I don’t mean that in a mean-spirited way. I’m simply saying, and I’ve been noticing this for the last several years especially, that more and more people are bragging about their fantasy teams as if anyone outside of their league cares.

You have Tom Brady on your fantasy team? So do millions of other people. He’s not your player. Tom Brady got you 40 fantasy points this past weekend? Tell me how he got those points. How many touchdowns did he throw? Did he have any interceptions? What about passing yards? Did his real team, you know, win the real game? Players don’t earn a bust in Canton based on how many fantasy points they accumulated in their career.

But some people are so engulfed in their fantasy world that they might not care to know the difference between Brady and an average-to-below average quarterback. Jay Cutler, for instance. In standard Yahoo! leagues, did you know that over the course of 16 games, Cutler had only 23 fewer fantasy points than Brady? About 1.5 fewer points per game, which means conceivably, you still could have won a fantasy championship with Cutler instead of Brady at quarterback for your team this year.

Could you win a real, actual Super Bowl title this year with Cutler instead of Brady? Of course not! Cutler threw twice as many interceptions (18) as Brady did (9), for starters. Cutler’s Bears went 5-11, and things got so bad later in the season that he got benched. He’s in all likelihood done in Chicago.

It goes beyond the dumbing-down of football fans, too. How many times have you been sitting in your living room, at a bar, in a dorm room, etc. listening to your friends tell you what needs to happen for them in order to win in fantasy that week?

Simply put, it’s annoying, and sucks the enjoyment out of the real games. The old “oh I need 10 points from Peyton Manning, but I’m playing the kid with Demaryius Thomas so Peyton can only throw touchdowns to Wes Welker” routine. The “I have Aaron Rodgers and Detroit’s defense, but the Packers are playing the Lions so I can’t have Rodgers have too good of a game.” And don’t even get me started on the people who are in multiple leagues. “Well you see I have Tony Romo in one league but I’m playing against him in another, but I have DeMarco Murray in both leagues so as long as the Cowboys run the ball I’m fine.

Make it stop!

NFL RedZone might be another issue for another column, but it sure hasn’t helped curb the number of fantasy addicts. And back to my point on being a Patriots fan for a second, if I were a Browns or Redskins fan, I might enjoy watching bits and pieces of other games instead of being tortured through the entirety of my favorite team’s own game. That aspect of RedZone, I get. But the people who would rather watch RedZone to see how their fantasy team is doing, instead of watching the Patriots, should partake in one of those Aaron Hernandez-jersey swap programs, and turn in their fan card for an “I Live in a Fantasy” t-shirt.

Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, has had some pretty terrible ideas during his tenure. Expanding the regular season to 18 games, Thursday Night Football and placing a team in London, just to name a few. Implementing new rules that aid offenses, such as an increased emphasis on defensive holding, all for the sake of fantasy football, has to rank at or near the top of the list of his boneheaded moves. (I won’t get into Goodell’s handling of the Ray Rice situation, because the facts are all still pretty murky there, but don’t think I forgot about that one).

Fantasy football will continue to be a part of the mainstream, this is unavoidable. Forbes.com reported in 2013 that it’s a $70 billion industry. $70 BILLION. There’s a pretty good chance I’ll be renewing my league for its 10th season next fall, too, because why not.  It’s a great secondary activity on Sundays. I’m not going to discourage anyone from playing fantasy football, but merely try to make them reconsider where their priorities lie.

Ponder this one when you’re watching the remainder of the NFL playoffs: would you rather see the Patriots win the Super Bowl this season, or would you rather see your fantasy team win its championship? If you had to pause for more than a few seconds to think about it, I’ll help you out: without Tom Brady’s four touchdown passes, zero interceptions and 400 passing yards, your fantasy team isn’t getting the 40 points it so desperately needs.

Without reality, there is no fantasy.