Team Preview: Super Smash Brothers

Super Smash Brothers:

Last year: (As Cuban Raft Riders) 0-4, last in East Division

Additions: P Chris DiPrimio

Losses: IF Chris Shelden, OF Nelson Denan, P/OF Vinnie Foschi

Schedule:

11:00am High & Dry

12:15     Flapacamingos

1:30        Belgian Wiffles

2:45        bye

What’s New: The artist formerly known as the Cuban Raft Riders are now under new management. Long-time captain and founder John Bergen has relinquished his role as both, and is now focusing solely on his performance on the field. The new boss is Pete Polo, who has his work cut out for him in making this franchise one of the elites. 3 years ago this team surprised everyone and made the playoffs when no one thought they would. But that squad had deep pitching depth, something this team hasn’t been able to duplicate in more recent years. Couple that with the fact that they had the lowest OPS (On-base plus Slugging) of any team in the tournament last year (.797), it makes for a tough formula to win games with. If the Super Smash Brothers are to live up to anything close to their namesake, they have to be better at the plate.

Hitting: With the small roster overhaul that’s been done, the Smash Bros. return just one HR from last year (Pete Polo). They only hit 4 as a team last year, the least of any team in the tournament. Hitting was a struggle last time around, but with a condensed batting order and the addition of an experienced wiffle-pro in DiPrimio, look for a solid improvement in the offensive statistics this year.

Pitching: Matt Wallace, statistically, appears to be the most-effective pitcher on the roster for this coming year. But with very limited experience, can he be relied on to carry the weight for this team? Unless DiPrimio can log serious, effective innings, this could be an area of struggle again for the Smash Brothers.

Prediction: With changes up and down the organization, they will certainly be more competitive than they were last year, but how much is certainly the question. Can they be a playoff team? In a tough Eastern Division that seems unlikely, but don’t be surprised if they piece together the pitching well enough that they don’t upset some familiar foes once again. Predicted Win total: 1, no playoffs

Report: Hutchings will play, Mandingos pull-off heist

PHOENIX- It seems that a bizarre series of events will result in 5-time all-star Ryan Hutchings returning to Major League Wiffleball, and suiting up for the Mandingos after all. GM Sam Hinkie, fresh off his resignation in Philadelphia, took over the Mandingos job and his first move was acquiring Hutchings’ rights, along with the rights to 2 other players and liquid assets from the Flapacamingos, who needed desperately to clear roster and salary cap space. Originally however, Hutchings was anticipated to spend this upcoming year playing for Paulistano Unimed of the Brazillian Wiffle Alliance. But during his tour of the area, there was an apparent misunderstanding that upset team officials of Paulistano Unimed, surrounding the identification of the Christ the Redeemer statue. This caused the team to terminate the agreement between themselves and Hutchings, leaving the only team holding his rights being the Mandingos. A final agreement is yet to be signed between Hutchings and the Mandingos, but things appear to be headed in that direction shortly. The Flapacamingos, who aren’t short on offense, still have to feel silly about how this looks to be turning out, basically giving up one of the best players of all-time, and having to pay to do it. Wifflepalooza X will take place on Sunday, August 7^th, 2016 on Old Farm Drive in Vineland, NJ.

#WP9 Stats - Batting

FLAPACS                             AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Matt Bocchese                        .429      7     3    3    1       2       1      3      6

Jake Lambert                          .500     14   10   7    4       9       0      4      19

Ryan Ricci                               .438     16   6    7    3       9        0     4      16

Pat Ney                                   .000     6     0    0    0       0       0      4      0

Al Etter                                    .625    16    7   10   2       6       0      3      16

Kris Lapsley                            .250     4     1    1    0       0        0     1       1

Ryan Hutchings                       .500     12    5    6    4       9        1     2      18

Kerry Cerana                          .333     6     3    2     1      1        1     2        5

Perry Barse                             .500     4     1    2     0      0        3     2        2

CUBAN RAFT RIDERS       AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
John Bergen                            .100     10    1    1     0      2       1      2      1

Chris Sheldon                          .000      5     0    0     0     0        0      4      0

Pete Polo                                .555      9      5    5     1     4       3      1      8

Matt Wallace                          .154     13     2    2     0     1       1      1       2

Eric Roig                                .167       6     1    1     0      0       0      2      1

Troy Cervini                           .438       7     1    3     0      0       5      2      3

Nelson Denan                        .364      11    2     4    2      6      2       5      10

Vinnie Foschi                         .143       7      1    1    1     1       1       2       4

GOODFELLAS                    AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Rocco Lombardo                   .471      17    9   8     4       8      6      6     20

Allen Rivera                           .667      18    8   12   2        6      5      6    12

Mike Mazzochi                      .700      10    4    7     2      5      2       2    14

Brian Stanzione                      .550      20   12  11    5      8      3       6    26

Jeff Lunsford                         .364       11    5    4     2      6      4       2    10

Justin Geri                             .611       18    12  11    8     18     5     0     35

Ernie Scoma                         .375        8      3    3     0      0      2      2     3

Mike Tedesco                      .200        5      2     1     1      3     5      3     4

MANDINGOS                     AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Jeremy Wright                        .438     16    5    7    2       6       1      5     11

Dustin Graiff                           .500     16    4    8    1       2       0      1      9

Dimitri Paraskevas                 .000       2     0    0    0       0       0      1      0

Emory Pierson                       .385      13    2    5    0       4       0      2      6

Kyle Lunsford                       .462      13    4    6    0        3      0       1      6

GOON SQUAD                  AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Tyler Martini                          .389     18    8   7     3       8      7       5     16

Dylan Burns                           .158     19    2   3     1       5      3       6      6

Johnny Malatesta                   .500     20    9   10   5       7      5       6     25

Tom Derer                            .600     10    1    6     0      1       2       3      6

Danny Martini                       .267     15    1     4    0      0       2       7      4

Eddie Parks                          .154     13     1    2     0      0      2       6      2

Rocco Lupi                           .450     20     4    9     2      5      3      7      15

HIGH & DRY                     AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Billy Errig                              .267     15    7   4     2       3      4      3      10

Earl Errig                              .750      12   4    9     2      7      5       1      15

Joey Ingram                          .385     13    6    5     2      4      7      1      11

Greg Kuhlen                         .091     11    1    1     0      1      2      4       1

Sean Friel                             .200      5     1     1    1      4      4       2      4

Ryan Savage                        .375      8      4     3    2      5      4      4      9

Danny Errig                          .636     11     6     7     2     5      5      3     13

BELGIAN WIFFLES         AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Justin Sampson                     .261     23    5   6     1       3      3      6      8

Rich Suhr                             .478     23    9   11    2      5      1       5      15

Tommy Rullo                       .667     27   15   18   9     16      2      2      44

Nick Manger                       .423     26    8    11   4      8       1      8      23

Kevin Fischer                      .750     20   10    15   6     10     5      3      33

Kyle Stevenson                   .348     23    9      8    7     12     5      3      29
 
BALCO BOMBERS         AVG.   AB   R   H   HR   RBI   BB   SO   TB
Shawn Strubeck                 .250      16    4    4    1       3      4      4      7

Eric Bomenblit                   .545      22  11   12    8      17     1      2     36

Paul Nyitray                       .471      17   6     8    5      10     4      4     23

Mike Sheridan                   .474      19    7    9     4      11     4      3     21

Rob Humes                       .800      20    11  16    3     3       4      2     25

Eric Leonard                     .231      13     6    3     1      1      8       8     6




TEAM OFFENSIVE STATS
                                         AVG.   AB    R   H    HR  RBI   BB   SO   TB
GOODFELLAS                .533    107   55  57   24    54     32    27    124
BELGIAN WIFFLES       .486    142   56  69   29    54     19     27   152
BALCO BOMBERS        .486    107   45   52   22    45     25    23   118
FLAPACAMINGOS       .447      85    36  38   15    36     6      25    83
MANDINGOS                 .433     60    15   26    3    15      1     10     32
HIGH & DRY                   .400     75    29   30   11   29     31    18    63
GOON SQUAD               .357    115   26   41   11   26     24    40     74
CUBAN RAFT RIDERS  .250     68    14   17    4    14     13    19     29


Notes:
Offensive records were broken all over the place. Tommy Rullo (9), Justin Geri (8), Eric Bomenblit (8) & Kyle Stevenson (7), ALL broke the previous single tournament Home Run record (Al Etter-6, WP1), which was set in the first tournament and had not been touched since. Justin Geri tied the single tournament RBI record, also set by Al Etter in WP1, with 18. Rob Humes set a new single tournament Batting Average mark, at .800, previously held by Tyler Martini in WP7 (.700). Tommy Rullo also broke the single tournament hits and runs scored records, 18 & 15 respectively. The previous hits record was held by Jacob Bertonazzi (12, WP6) and the previous runs scored record was 12, held by multiple players.

Multiple offensive team records were broken. Both the Belgian Wiffles and Goodfellas broke the previous HR record, as well as the Runs Scored & RBI records. Also the Belgian Wiffles became the first team to reach 150 Total Bases in a single tournament.


MVP- Tommy Rullo (Belgian Wiffles)
Cy Young- Mike Tedesco (Goodfellas)
Title Game MVP- Kevin Fischer (Belgian Wiffles)
Most Improved Player- Nelson Denan (Cuban Raft Riders)
Top Rookie- Eric Bomenblit (Balco Bombers)

WP9 All-Star Team
P Mike Tedesco (GF) (Cy Young)
P Kevin Fischer (BW)
P Allen Rivera (GF)
IF Justin Geri (GF)
IF Eric Bomenblit (BAL)
IF Brian Stanzione (GF)
OF Tommy Rullo (BW) (MVP)
OF Johnny Malatesta (GS)
OF Rob Humes (BAL)
UT Jake Lambert (FLA)
UT Rocco Lombardo (GF)
UT Paul Nyitray (BAL)

# of all-stars by team
Goodfellas - 5
Balco Bombers - 3
Belgian Wiffles - 2
Goon Squad - 1
Flapacamingos - 1
Mandingos - 0
High & Dry - 0
Cuban Raft Riders - 0

Goodfellas tie for most amount of all-stars in a single tournament with 5 (Flapacamingos in WP5, WP8)

First time in tournament history that the Goon Squad & Flapacamingos have had less than 2 all-stars


*-pitching stats to be posted soon

Full Schedule and Initial Insights

WIFFLEPALOOZA IX SCHEDULE

The day-of pregame festivities include the following

8:30- MLW Today Pregame starts

9:45 – Optional BP on Field 2 & 3

10:30- All Players Arrive

10:45- Opening Ceremonies

              Team Introductions

              Ceremonial First Pitch

              National Anthem (Whitney Houston)

(all games on the Fox family of networks)

It's unconfirmed that the National Anthem playing will be Whitney Houston's version. Apparently there is still a possibility it will be the same Carrie Underwood version from last year, but other options are still being weighed. Additionally there has been no word or rumor on who will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. The commissioner's office announced today that public address announcer Kevin Read will once again take the mic for the pregame ceremonies and beyond. This is Read's third tournament as PA announcer.

GAMES

11:00

Field 1- Flapacamingos v. Cuban Raft Riders 

    The rematch is set. For the 3rd year in a row, these two teams will open the tournament and continue to grow their rivalry. While the Flapacs won it all last year, the Raft Riders have won the only two matchups between these squads, including a walk off double last year. There has been much talk from the Flapacs side about refusing to lose this game. They wanted this matchup, and they've got it.

Field 2- Goon Squad v. High & Dry

    The other finalists from last year open up against one of the highly touted expansion teams. The newly renovated Goon Squad will be up against a stiff test early, but if they can consistently put the ball in play they'll test High & Dry, who's league is less defensive oriented. Both teams need a good start to the day in this divisional matchup

 

Field 3- Balco Bombers v. Mandingos

    It's rare that a team enters Wifflepalooza for the first time with as high a set of expectations as the Bombers have. But they certainly should have the talent to deal with it, and they get to showcase it right out of the gate. The Mandingos, having recently had a roster shakeup, should not be expected to do much more than settle in in this game, play hard, and hope to catch the right breaks.

12:00

Field 1- High & Dry v. Balco Bombers

   Battle at high noon, as the two new sets of gunslingers face off in a divisional matchup on the main field.

Field 2- Goodfellas v. Mandingos

   The Goodfellas finally take the field, as they look to rebound from last year's crushing semi-final extra-inning loss to the Goon Squad. A rare off first game will give this team of all-stars and veterans an extra chance to prepare for the Mandingos, who if they set up their pitching will have a good shot to earn their first all-time win

 

Field 3- Cuban Raft Riders v. French Toast Mafia

   The last of the new expansion teams finally get to take the stage. French Toast Mafia, who requested a first-game bye due to a possible travel conflict, will take on the Cuban Raft Riders who will already be on their second game of the day. Advantage may lie with CRR here as they are certainly more familiar with the field and structure of the tournament.

1:00

Field 1- French Toast Mafia v. Goodfellas

  Goodfellas & FTM play the middle of their three divisional games, and this one will be crucial for tiebreakers

 

Field 2- Flapacamingos v. Goon Squad

  The rematch of last year's championship game, as both squads continue their path through the gauntlet

2:00

Field 1- Mandingos v. French Toast Mafia

   This is the point in the day where teams with pitching depth could begin to seperate themselves, and on paper the advantage here goes to FTM. But if the Mandingos can get more offense from both ends of the lineup they can challenge everyone

 

Field 2- Goodfellas v. Cuban Raft Riders

  The final divisional matchup for the Goodfellas pits them against another experienced squad. And a rematch of an absolute slaughtering in last year's tournament that saw the Goodfellas hit 7 homers in the same game. Same field as last year also.

 

Field 3- Flapacamingos v. High & Dry

  The first and only trip over to Field 3 of the day for both squads. A matchup of highly prepared squads should bring a quality contest in another important divisional matchup

3:00

Field 1- Cuban Raft Riders v. Mandingos

   Both of these teams wrap up their days on the mainstage, hoping to still be battling for a playoff spot. While neither squad made the elimination rounds last year, being in the same division gives at least one of these teams an edge, and it may all come down to this matchup

 

Field 2- Balco Bombers v. Flapacamingos

  In talking about possible winner-take-all games, this one shapes up as another possibility. The Bombers will still have another game to work with, but the Flapacs may need this one to keep or gain control of their destiny. A big matchup for sure.

 

Field 3- Goon Squad v. Goodfellas

  The Goodfellas day wraps up with their inter-division matchup against the Goons. Both teams could easily be in playoff contention, and will be looking to add to the other tiebreaker, run differential.

4:00

Field 1- Balco Bombers v. Goon Squad

   Final game for both squads, and will finalize the playoff picture for at least one side of the bracket.

Field 2- High & Dry v. French Toast Mafia

  The final pool play game of the day, an interdivision matchup that could be all or nothing.

5:00- PLAYOFFS

Field 2- East Div Winner v. Wild Card

Field 3- West Div Winner v. Wild Card

6:15 – CHAMPIONSHIP

Field 1-  for the 9^th Wiffleball Championship of the World

Goon Squad Shake-Up Leaves Organization's Future in Question

PITTSBURGH- Rumors started to swirl Tuesday morning about a coming re-structuring, albeit possibly just temporarily, within the Goon Squad organization. Wednesday the team confirmed, that former all-star and current Goon Squad member Tyler Martini is now the captain, and will need to add, or promote from the minor leagues, new talent to fill the roster, after it was announced that Mark Ronchetti, Jeff Ronchetti and Nino Bonanno will not be on the roster this year. The front office announced it will most likely be just a one year hiatus for the core 3 franchise owner/captains, but Martini is confident he will be able to field a quality team. It's important to keep in mind that the Goons farm system was the top rated crop of prospects in all of Major League Wiffleball last year by Wiffleball America. If there are any further updates on this story we will bring them to you as they happen.

Divisions Reset- Tournament Picture Coming Into Focus

This afternoon in a private meeting at the MLW offices, the divisions were re-drawn and settled for Wifflepalooza IX. Each team draw in order was set in opposite divisions starting with the Eastern Division. Below are the results

EAST:
French Toast Mafia
Cuban Raft Riders
the Goodfellas
Monstars/Mandingos

WEST:
Balco Bombers
High & Dry
Goon Squad
Flapacamingos

Both divisions are heavy with talent, but let's take a closer look within each side

The East sets up nicely for former champions, the Goodfellas, as with the merger of the Monstars, there isnt a single other squad with a playoff win under their belts in the rest of the division. However, the unknown that's involved with French Toast Mafia, who has some obvious talent, could provide some excitement and a stiff challenge for the Goodfellas. Also give the Cuban Raft Riders their due, as they've shown to be more than capable the past two years. In fact, last year despite not even making the playoffs, they became the only team to ever beat BOTH finalists of the same tournament in that year. The biggest question of this division is definitely the combo squad of the Mandingos & Monstars, which still includes 3 current or former all-stars.

The West appears to be the much more competitive side. While it includes the defending champion Flapacamingos, the Balco Bombers and High & Dry are stocked full of new, young talent that is ready to take the stage. The one question here is the Goon Squad. After reaching the finals last year, it's been rumored (although not confirmed from management) that they will be undergoing a leadership shuffle, and needing to add new talent to fill out their team. While this means they'll likely be sober this year, it's unsure what the new talent will be able to accomplish.

The schedule for Wifflepalooza IX can now be created, and should be set in the coming day or two. Teams play every team in their division once, and one team from the opposite division. Once the schedule is made, teams can begin to plan out lineups and pitching strategies for the big day.

Mandingos & Monstars merge (at least for WP9), Settling All Questions

      An agreement was reached last Wednesday on the final competitors spot for Wifflepalooza IX, as the Monstars and Mandingos have agreed to merge the remaining players from each roster on to the same roster. Right now the squad includes both franchises captains, Rich Camacho & Pete Gervasio, as well as former all-stars Vinnie Foschi & Jeremy Wright (WP8 Top Rookie). The roster also includes experienced players such as Dustin Graiff, who had a walk off hit to win WP4, Luis Umana, and Steve Pistone. No official word on if the squad will change their name to accommodate their new situation. More details will be provided as they come.