Monstars May Fail to Quailify, Opening Door for Mandingos

MINNEAPOLIS- According to league sources, WP7 champions The Monstars may fail to submit a preliminary roster to the league office in time to qualify for this year's championship tournament. It appears that over the course of this past off-season, the team lost two of it's best and most important players, former MVP, Cy Young & Title Game MVP Matt Creamer, and former all-star Carlos Negron, to other opportunities elsewhere in the country. This leaves the Monstars with just 5 players on the active roster, and while two of them are former all-stars, it most importantly leaves the team with almost no pitching to speak of. The remaining players on the roster have a combined ERA of 10.78 over 38 innings pitched, and just 4 total wins.

The beneficiary of this opening could fall to the Mandingos, who despite finishing 0-3 and 6th in last year's tournament, could be much improved and have been bidding for another opportunity in Wifflepalooza. We should know the fate of both of these squads, as well as the preliminary rosters for all other teams no later than 4th of July weekend.

99 days: The Countdown Begins

We're now under 100 days until the greatest day of the sporting year arrives. This year's tournament, the 9th Wiffleball Championship of the World, was officially announced to take place on Saturday, August 1st. So with all of that in mind there are a few things that need to begin taking place. First being the building of the complex. This year is going to be different from almost every other year, first because it is scheduled to be an 8 team tournament, and second that there will be three fields build instead of just two. The only other year this was attempted was 2012 for WP6, but a freak overnight tornado/hurricane/apocalyptic thunderstorm wiped out any chance of holding an 8 team tournament. In that tournament, the only one played without electricity (no music, no announcing, nothing..), the Goodfellas were able to win their one and only trident, by beating the currently defunct He Man Woman Haters (a.k.a Fresh Cuts). This year we will be trying the 8 team format again, and will be counting on no freak weather occurrences to change that. Another new feature of the complex this year may be new and improved foul poles, an idea taken from another league's set up. 

Earlier this month the Commissioner's office took a group of officials out to Indianapolis, to work with and learn from the NCAA, at the Final Four, on how to run such an extensive and elaborate event. Granted that the Final Four is a bigger event, always held in a town much better equipped to hold a large event, MLW still feels that they have taken some solid principles and practices that they can apply in regards to the event itself and crowd control.

Beginning sometime around Memorial Day, the complex is expected to be available for practices and other wiffleball activities. A full schedule of dates for these activities will be released in the coming month, as well as the schedule for #PaloozaWeek and the tournament game schedule. Maybe the most important date for teams, players and owners is the submission date for rosters. No team is technically officially qualified for Wifflepalooza until they submit a primary roster to the Commissioner's office. The roster can be modified anytime from the submission date until the night before the tournament, but in order to officially get on the docket for the tournament a preliminary roster must be sent in. The submission date this year is  Friday, June 19th. For now, we'll continue to countdown, and gossip.. and wait to finally get started on another beautiful season.

Start of the New League Year

Hello everyone, and welcome back for another wonderful season/summer of wiffleball across our great nation. Today is the start of the new league year for Major League Wiffleball. This means that teams can execute trades and begin signing free-agents. This year there is a particularly large number of free agents available, as well as more players being added to the union due to the league expansion. Two new franchises, one from North Jersey, one from the Toms River area, and one from Buena, will all join the league this year bringing the total teams to 8. The following is a list of each team's current players on each roster, with each team's remaining salary cap number. Also at the bottom is a list of current free agents.

Flapacamingos - 6.5 under the cap
Matt Bocchese
Jake Lambert
Ryan Ricci
Kris Lapsley
Al Etter
Pat Ney
Ryan Hutchings

Goodfellas - 2 under the cap
Rocco Lombardo
Allen Rivera
Mike Mazzochi
Brian Stanzione
Justin Geri
Ernie Scoma
Jeff Lunsford
Cody Freese

Goon Squad - 14.3 under the cap
Mark Ronchetti
Jeff Ronchetti
Nino Bonanno
Tyler Martini
Danny Martini
Patrick Hennessey

Monstars - 18.5 under the cap
Rich Camacho
Vinnie Foschi
Carlos Negron
Matt Creamer
Craig Chammings
Shawn Robinson
Jeff Pilla
Steve Pistone

Cuban Raft Riders - 25.2 under the cap
John Bergen
Matt Glogau
Chris Sheldon
Pete Polo
Matt Wallace
Matt Garvey
Dimitri Paraskevas

FREE AGENTS - value
Steve Gonzalez  - 12.3
Fernando Gonzalez - 12.1
Mark Rowan - 10.6
Jeremy Wright - 10.2
Jeff Rowan - 9.2
Jacob Bertonazzi - 5.9
Kyle Lunsford - 5.7
Dustin Graiff - 5.2
Tyler Day - 5
Kevin Smick - 4.6
Luis Umana - 4.2 
Zach Klaudi - 4.1
Brian Browne - 3.9
Mike Reilly - 3.9
Troy Day - 3.4
Mike Lapsley - 3.3
Bobby Gifford - 2.8
Kerry Cerana - 2.8
Pete Gervasio - 2.7
Jake Habina - 2.1
Lee Timmons - 2.1
Eric Roig - 2.1
Sean Lent - 1.9
Angel Santiago - 1.8
Mike Tedesco - 1.8
Luke Bencie - 1.5
Matt Lewis - 1.4
Emory Pierson - 1.1
Perry Barse - 0.8
Eric Ciancaglini - 0.8
Rafal Klepacki - 0.768
Eamonn Keenan - 0.75
Brandon Lipschultz - 0.7
Rich Cugini - 0.5
Alex Johnson - 0.5
Joe D'Amato - 0.49
Alexi Paraskevas - 0.25

Any new player with no previous MLW experience automatically gets a value of 7.5

An official date for Wifflepalooza IX has not yet been announced, but should be made in the coming week. May each of your teams have a successful new year.

- Office of the Commissioner

MLW Network Exclusive: Offseason Will Test Front Office of Goodfellas

Last week, right here on this blog we questioned whether or not the Goodfellas would be able to bounce back from last year's debacle and put on a solid show in Wifflepalooza. They answered our critique by setting a tournament record for runs scored, and being arguably the most fun team to watch all day. But they were stopped cold in the playoffs, by a Goon Squad team that seemed just destined to be crowned champs. And the fiesta of runs and fun came to a screeching halt for the Goodfellas. While they have a lot to be proud of, they cannot dwell on this tournament too long. Right now the Goodfellas have the most questions of any team heading into the offseason. They had 10 players on the roster this year, but heading into the offseason they have just 3 players under contract for next season. 3. There's a chance that over 2/3 of the roster could be completely different. WP8 Cy Young winner Allen Rivera's contract is up, as well as All-star Brian Stanzione, and key players Justin Geri, Ernie Scoma and Cody Freese. All of them can be free agents. While in theory they'll have enough cap room to re-sign all of their high profile free agents, we all know it's the role players that make the difference. If they were to re-sign all of them, which is unlikely, they would be way over the cap. Basically, most of free agency hinges on the decisions of the Goodfellas. If they choose to let a big name or two free, other franchises futures could completely change as well. However, free agency won't begin until after the Wiffle Council Meeting, which should occur in the next 10 days.

WIFFLEPALOOZA VIII Awards, Standings and Random items

MVP: Jake Lambert (Flapacamingos)
12-19, .632, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 10 RS, 3 BB, 4 K, 4 XBH, 22 TB
Only player with double digit RBI, also lead the tournament in hits (12, tying a tournament record) and runs scored (10), for the champs. All 3 of his homers either tied or took the lead for the Flapacs.

Other candidates:
Jeff Ronchetti (Goons)
Al Etter (Flapacs)
Jeff Lunsford (Goodfellas)


Cy Young: Allen Rivera (Goodfellas)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 14 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 8 BB, 20 K
Part of the greatest pitchers duel in tournament history, Rivera logged 11 scoreless innings in one game. The only player to post a 0.00 ERA while reaching the innings limit.

Other candidates:
Jeff Ronchetti (Goons)
Ryan Ricci (Flapacs)
Patrick Hennessy (Goons)


Title Game MVP: Nino Bonanno (Goon Squad)
3-4, 3 HR, 5 RBI
A performance for the ages, Bonanno kept his team within reach by clubbing 3 homers in the title game, the first man ever to do that. Despite being on the losing side, Bonanno left everything he had on the field, making him the player of the game.


Most Improved Player: Jeff Lunsford (Goodfellas)
8-12, .667, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 8 RS, 4 BB, 2 K, 2 XBH, 14 TB
J-nug was put in a spot to deliver for the Goodfellas, and he did just that. Lunsford's fantastic tournament was a huge jump from his last couple years, making his day the most improved of anyone. He and his brother Kyle are now the first relatives to win the same award, as Kyle won Most improved in 2011 (WP5)

Other candidates:
Rocco Lombardo (Goodfellas)
Patrick Hennessy (Goon Squad)


Top Rookie: Jeremy Wright (Mandingos)
4-5, .800, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 RS, 3 BB, 0 K, 3 XBH, 13 TB
A late addition to the Mandingos roster, Wright came out swinging and didn't stop. His 3 homer game against the Goodfellas was one of 4 all-time.

Other candidates:
Ernie Scoma (Goodfellas)
Mike Reilly (Mandingos)
Cody Freese (Goodfellas)


WP8 All-star Team
P Allen Rivera (Goodfellas)
P Jeff Ronchetti (Goon Squad)
P Ryan Ricci (Flapacamingos)
IF Jake Lambert (Flapacamingos)
IF Brian Stanzione (Goodfellas)
IF Al Etter (Flapacamingos)
OF Jeff Lunsford (Goodfellas)
OF Mark Ronchetti (Goon Squad)
OF Jeremy Wright (Mandingos)
UT Nino Bonanno (Goon Squad)
UT Ryan Hutchings (Flapacamingos)
UT Dimitri Paraskevas (Cuban Raft Riders)


EAST Division                                             WEST Division
GOODFELLAS  2-1                                    MONSTARS  2-1
FLAPACAMINGOS 2-1                              GOON SQUAD 1-2
CUBAN RAFT RIDERS 2-1                        MANDINGOS 0-3

Goodfellas win East Division - 3-way tie breaker is +/- run differential
Monstars win West Division

Playoffs
Flapacs def. Monstars 6-1
Goon Squad def. Goodfellas 2-0 (F/13)

Championship Game
Flapacs def. Goon Squad 9-8




Random things:
Jeff Ronchetti, Kris Lapsley, Ryan Ricci, Tyler Martini, Ryan Hutchings all reached double-digit career homers

Al Etter and Mark Ronchetti each reached 50+ career hits, and are now tied for 1st all-time with 51

Al Etter became the first player to 60 career RBI (62)

Jake Lambert, Jeff Ronchetti, Brian Stanzione all reached the 40-hit club

Allen Rivera became the first player to post a 0.00 ERA while reaching the innings limit (14)

Matt Creamer recorded his 2nd career save against the Mandingos, and is now tied for 1st all-time

The Goodfellas set a new tournament record for runs scored (41)

In 8 tournaments, there still has not been an undefeated team.. ever.

WIFFLEPALOOZA VIII Pitchings Stats

W= Wins, L= Losses, SV= Saves, ERA= Earned run average, IP= innings pitched, H= hits allowed, R= Runs allowed, ER= earned runs allowed, BB= walks, K= strikeouts

FLAPACAMINGOS
Ryan Ricci: 3 W, 0 L, 5.25 ERA, 12 IP, 14 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 11 K
Ryan Hutchings: 0 W, 0 L, 0.00 ERA, 1 IP, 1H, 2BB, 2K
Al Etter: 1 W, 1 L, 4.67 ERA, 9 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 6 BB, 9 K
Kerry Cerana: 0 W, 0 L, 14.00 ERA, 2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 3 K
Kris Lapsley: 0 W, 0 L, 2.80 ERA, 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

CUBAN RAFT RIDERS
Matt Glogau: 2 W, 0 L, 5.73 ERA, 11 IP, 15 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 10 K
Dimitri Paraskevas: 0 W, 1 L, 16.33 ERA, 3 IP, 9 H , 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Pete Polo: 0 W, 0 L, 77.00 ERA, 1 IP, 9 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

GOODFELLAS
Allen Rivera: 1 W, 0 L, 0.00 ERA, 14 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 8 BB, 20 K
Rocco Lombardo: 1 W, 1 L, 6.13 ERA, 8 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Brian Stanzione: 0 W, 1 L, 8.00 ERA, 7 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 7 BB, 7 K
Mike Tedesco: 0 W, 0 L, INF ERA, 0 IP, 0 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 0 K

MONSTARS
Rich Camacho: 0W, 1 L, 16.33 ERA, 3 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4K
Carlos Negron: 0 W, 0 L, 56.00 ERA, 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 0 K
Steve Pistone: 1 W, 0 L, 1.40 ERA, 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 5 K
Vinnie Foschi: 1 W, 0 L, 3.50 ERA, 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 6 K
Matt Creamer: 0 W, 1 L, 1 SV, 6.00 ERA, 7 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 14 K

GOON SQUAD
Jeff Ronchetti: 0 W, 1 L, 1.00 ERA, 14 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 25 K
Patrick Hennessy: 1 W, 0 L, 0.88 ERA, 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Nino Bonanno: 1 W, 2 L, 8.50 ERA, 14 IP, 24 H, 24 R, 17 ER, 12 BB, 6 K

MANDINGOS
Pete Gervasio: 0 W, 2 L, 7.00 ERA, 11 IP, 20 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 3 BB, 11 K
Luis Umana: 0 W, 1 L, 12.60 ERA, 5 IP, 15 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Emory Pierson: 0 W, 0 L, 28.00, 1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB

WIFFLEPALOOZA VIII Hitting Stats

Key: HR= home runs, RBI= runs batted in, BB= walks, K= strikeouts, XBH= doubles, triples, homers, TB= total bases

FLAPACAMINGOS
Matt Bocchese: 1-7, .143, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 1 RS, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 XBH, 1 TB
Jake Lambert: 12-19, .632, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 10 RS, 3 BB, 4 K, 4 XBH, 22 TB
Ryan Ricci: 7-17, .412, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 5 RS, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 XBH, 11 TB
Pat Ney: 2-10, .200, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 RS, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 XBH, 2 TB
Al Etter: 9-16, .563, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 9 RS, 5 BB, 3 K, 4 XBH, 21 TB
Kris Lapsley: 5-10, .500, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 RS, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 XBH, 8 TB
Ryan Hutchings: 8-15, .533, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 8 RS, 3 BB, 5 K, 3 XBH, 17 TB
Kerry Cerana: 1-4, .250, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 RS, 4 BB, 1 K, 0 XBH, 1 TB

CUBAN RAFT RIDERS
John Bergen: 3-7, .429, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 0 RS, 3 BB, 0 K, 1 XBH, 4 TB
Matt Glogau: 3-8, .375, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 RS, 4 BB, 2 K, 2 XBH, 5 TB
Chris Shelden: 2-4, .500, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 RS, 6 BB, 1 K, 1 XBH, 5 TB
Pete Polo: 2-6, .333, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4 RS, 5 BB, 2 K, 0 XBH, 2 TB
Matt Wallace: 3-6, .500, 0 HR, 2RBI, 4 RS, 4 BB, 1 K, 1 XBH, 4 TB
Eric Roig: 1-4, .250, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 RS, 3 BB, 2 K, 0 XBH, 1 TB
Dimitri Paraskevas: 5-10, .500, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 4 RS, 0 BB, 3 K, 3 XBH, 14 TB
Nelson Denan: 2-4, .500, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 RS, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 XBH, 5 TB

GOODFELLAS
Rocco Lombardo: 7-15, .467, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 7 RS, 1 BB, 7 K, 3 XBH, 16 TB
Mike Mazzochi: 0-4, .000, 1 BB, 2K
Brian Stanzione: 10-14, .714, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 6 RS, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 XBH, 11 TB
Jeff Lunsford: 8-12, .667, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 8 RS, 4 BB, 2 K, 2 XBH, 14 TB
Allen Rivera: 7-15, .467, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 7 RS, 1 BB, 4 K, 4 XBH, 17 TB
Justin Geri: 7-12, .573, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 RS, 2 BB, 3 K, 3 XBH, 14 TB
Ernie Scoma: 5-11, .455, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 RS, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 XBH, 8 TB
Cody Freese: 5-12, .417, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 RS, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 XBH, 8 TB
Mike Tedesco: 3-11, .273, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 RS, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 XBH, 6 TB

MONSTARS
Rich Camacho: 0-7, 2 BB, 3K
Vinnie Foschi: 3-10, .300, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 RS, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 XBH, 6 TB
Carlos Negron: 1-6, .167, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 RS, 4 BB, 3 K, 1 XBH, 4 TB
Matt Creamer: 5-12, .417, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 4 RS, 0 BB, 3 K, 3 XBH, 14 TB
Shawn Robinson: 0-6, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Jeff Pilla:1-8, .125, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 RS, 2 BB, 4 K, 0 XBH, 1 TB
Steve Pistone: 0-6, 1 RS, 2 BB, 5K

GOON SQUAD
Mark Ronchetti: 7-20, .350, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 4 RS, 1 BB, 5 K, 4 XBH, 19 TB
Jeff Ronchetti: 10-22, .455, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 7 RS, 3 BB, 5 K, 5 XBH, 23 TB
Nino Bonanno: 5-16, .313, 5 HR, 7 RBI, 5 RS, 1 BB, 7 K, 5 XBH, 20 TB
Tyler Martini: 6-24, .250, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 RS, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 XBH, 9 TB
Danny Martini: 4-8, .500, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 RS, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 XBH, 4 TB
Eamonn Keenan: 0-2, 2K
Patrick Hennessy: 4-11, .364, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 RS, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 XBH, 7 TB
Zach Klaudi: 4-6, .667, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 RS, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 XBH, 5 TB

MANDINGOS
Pete Gervasio: 1-7, .143, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 RS, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 XBH, 1 TB
Luis Umana: 3-8, .375, 0 HR, 1RBI, 1 RS, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 XBH, 4 TB
Mike Reilly: 3-6, .500, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 RS, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 XBH, 6 TB
Alex Johnson: 0-7, 3K
Jeremy Wright: 4-5, .800, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 RS, 3 BB, 0 K, 3 XBH, 13 TB
Dustin Graiff: 2-7, .286, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 RS, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 XBH, 2 TB
Bobby Gifford: 3-8, .375, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 RS, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 XBH, 3 TB
Emory Pierson: 2-4, .500, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 RS, 3 BB, 1 K, 0 XBH, 2 TB


Team Totals
FLAPACS: .459 AVG, 12 HR, 39 RS, .543 On-base, .716 Slugging, 1.259 OPS, 7.8 Runs per game

CRR: .429 AVG., 5 HR, 23 RS, .641 OBP, .513 SLG, 1.154 OPS, 7.7 RPG

GOODFELLAS: .491 AVG., 13 HR, 41 RS, .559 OBP, .797 SLG, 1.356 OPS, 10.3 RPG

MONSTARS: .182 AVG, 5 HR, 9 RS, .328 OBP, .373 SLG, .701 OPS, 2.3 RPG

GOONS: .367 AVG., 15 HR, 24 RS, .448 OBP, .696 SLG, 1.144 OPS, 4.8 RPG

MANDINGOS: .346 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RS, .433 OBP, .517 SLG, .950 OPS, 3.7 RPG