Thursday, July 17, 2008

Mac's Mailbag 07-18-2008

A special thank you to Ben, Mike, and Bryan for submitting questions this week.


You were the only one with a last name other than Frankovich that thought the Queens would pull off the win last week. So, what chance do the rest of the teams have at stealing the left eye from our baseketball overlords?

While I like to say that any team can beat any other on any given week, that just hasn’t been the case this entire year. I don’t think it’s a secret that only the queens and oatcake have even a punchers chance of beating the cats in a three game series. The Queens and Oatcake both have flaws that are more of an issue than the occasional slow start of the Cats…and I think that losing last week did nothing but take the pressure off of the Laser Cats.

Does anyone other than fan favorite Opie Neff have a shot at winning rookie of the year?

No.

Where do you think the SBL will be in 1 year? How about 5 years?

I didn’t think I would ever be saying this, but I can honestly say I don’t see the SBL going away next year and will probably be around in some form or another 5 years from now. It’s more fun than church softball, that’s for sure.

If you could be on a team with three people of your choice not on your team this year, who would they be and why?

I actually think I answered something like this question earlier in the year….but three people I haven’t played with yet are Rando, White Terry, and Mikey

Last week Nate put up a list of his current all-star teams, which didn’t include yourself or Ben Smith…thoughts?

I actually agreed with all his choices (with stats being as they were then) except that I had Mikey as captain of the World instead of Stud. Nothing personal, but Stud doesn’t have the games played or dedication to the league that his cousin’s part time lover has. Also. There’s still a lot of baseketball left to be played this year. Gavin better show up these last couple weeks and M. Frank better keep with the torrid pace to be there come season’s end.

Is Nate Tomko having his best season ever (and thus the best season ever in the SBL)

Man, that’s a tough one. I’m going to have to say yes just because the stats are going to end up being mind numbing. Still, I think the Tomko of 2004 or 2005 (consider that he only played about 2/3 of the time in 2004) may have been a little more dominating overall.

What’s the dumbest prediction that you’ve made this year?

It would probably be the one about Jamie Moroco having baseketball in her blood and not being able to stay away all season.

Was last week’s Cats/Queens game the best of all time?

No. It really only got exciting when the Cats started to come back in the last couple innings. Even the first battle between the two teams in my mind had more back and forth excitement to it. For my money (and off the top of my head) the greatest game of all time would have been from the 2003 playoff series when the gonads and strife lead by Nate battled the Transexual Heartbreakers of Jared Clayton. It was the two best players (who really didn’t get along all that well) in the league battling to see who would eventually go on to become sbl champion…oh, and it took place in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Who would you most like to see write an article this year that has not?

That would have to be Mikey Moroco. He made an attempt last year with the PTI things…and I thought they were pretty lame. But, I have to admit that a year in college has given Mikey a keen sense of humor that I actually find very humorous. Id really like to see that transfer into a regular article.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Mac's Power Rankings 07-11-2008

Going to Florida, Looking for jobs and golfing with Rando has pretty much taken up my week, but I figured I'd give you guys a little something...and yes, I'm well aware that I'm spending my Friday night writing an article that will only be read by Rando, Nate, Billy, Kip and Ben. Enjoy!

1) The Laser Cats

Two best players of all time…stop…best defensive team ever…stop…have the ability to turn the switch when they need to…stop…may give tomko an aneurism if a slow start costs them the perfect season…especially against Bryan Frankovich this coming weekend…stop…those who think it isn’t a possibility might be taking the surging queens lightly…stop

2) The Queens of the Rest Stop Reach-around

The queens have been the second hottest team during the last few weeks. Despite drawing the ire of sbl brass for the last four years, the head of the Frankovich monster just can’t seem to be cut off. While I definitely am not a fan of the Frankovich captaining style at times, I think anyone who doesn’t give the queens a shot at beating the laser cats this weekend should rethink it…only if stud comes of course. I mean, he has a lineup that could score 15 runs before the Laser Cats reach that 5th inning plateau, it’s at the queens home court, and Frankovich is due to come through against arch nemesis Nate Tomko. If he fails this time, I don’t think we can really call it a rivalry without laughing…unless you mean the type of rivalry that the steelers and browns have had for the last 14 years or so.

3) The Oatcake Hate Monsters

While stars on vacations combined with the pushing back of the SBL schedule ruined what could have been a competitive game against the laser cats last week, im not ready to blow the trade whistle just yet. This team is still capable of beating anyone on any given sunday.

4) Voltron

Disappointing…very disappointing. I’m not sure they would crack the top two even if they played well, but with their talent they should at least be in the discussion.

5) Banana Democracy

I see that others are drinking the Ben Smith cool-aid once again. Seeing as he has had a couple good weeks in a row, he’s bound to turn into Mr. Hyde real soon. Could the comedown be a result of caving to the pressure from others to shoot more long balls? Four years of inconsistency leaves me skeptical that Ben has turned the corner…though the game against the Laser Cats could be a great time to make me eat crow.

6) The Fleshy Funbridges

Man I love the funbridges…but they have a difficult three weeks to end the season.

7) Jukebox Hero

2-0?!!!! Wowsers!

8) The Kyoto Kamikazees

Usually the way to get back on the right track is to make sure that three players show up. I think Mikey’s interest in baseketball has declined this year in favor of women and booze, but I’m really hoping he doesn’t go down as the captain of the most disappointing team in SBL history. They can still turn it around.