Where did it all go wrong?
After a turbulent end to the 2017 season; where they went from 2nd seed to out of playoffs due to scandal, promises were made of a big shakeup for the Scorers this 2018 season. How would they retool and reimagine a team that took such a beating in the eyes of the SASL community? Could they gain back the respect of SASL community and dominate the league once again?
The team was led by Scooby and Shaz and with new leadership there was new hope for this team. The off season, however, got off to a rocky start with the announcement that a few of the players were leaving Scorers to form their own team called 516. Gone were players such as Denen Olsen, Sanjay Sharma, Jason Gregory, Mauris Rodriguez, etc. How was the team going to replace such a massive void of talent so close to the season?
There were rumors of a merger with TROOPERS and rebranding both franchises under one umbrella. Then came news that shocked the SASL community. FA acquisition of the best player in SASL: Captain America. With the shocking addition so late in the offseason, we saw the team make a quick turnaround and add Asad, Thomas O’keefe, Jojo Rodriguez among others. Things were finally looking up.
2018 Season:
Preseason, they were expected to be a top 4 team with Dan on board. Things got off to a rocky start however; opening day saw them with a clean sweep from the Outlaws including a 1 run loss. They evened their season record with a sweep of long time foes TROOPERS. Maybe they turned their season around? Alas! What followed was a trek thru SASL purgatory.
17 straight losses later, they won a game 13-12 against 516 for their final win of the season. Finishing the season with a 3-23 record, they prepared for a long offseason. It doesn’t help when your superstars who are supposed to lead the team quit on you. It doesn’t help when your rotation players never show up. It doesn’t help to come to the field with 8-9 guys every week against the tough AL division.
Scorers finished 7th in the league out of 8 in runs scored. And finished dead last in the league in runs allowed. Their record indicated that. It is also prudent to point out that they lost 5 games with 1-2 run margins, so maybe they weren’t very far off in the race?
Looking into the future:
Well, Captain America seems like a one and done deal. They lost Denen and Dan in back to back seasons. How does one comeback from THAT? Shaz and Scooby are two wily veterans and they have already promised more tricks up those sleeves. Will it be a merger with another team? If so, with whom?
Their current player ratings are sure to fall. Shaz, Travis, Jojo, Kevin, etc will surely see a decline in their ratings with seasons to forget. There will be plenty of cap space to add big time players if they can recruit well. Along with sponsorships, which means reduced league fees, they are a very attractive destination for FA’s.
Here are some ideas for them to consider:
-Get 10 committed guys that will show week in and week out. It’s hard to have a cohesive team while players have attendance issues.
-replace the malcontents. A talented player means nothing if they are a cancer in the locker room. You don’t have to get choir boys, but get players that play team ball.
-depth, depth, depth. Ducks are the new blueprint for SASL. They signed players and fit in as many players as they could under the cap. Never hurts to have a full roster of capable players. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
-have scrimmages before season for a few weeks. They started the season flat and unprepared. Once you do that, players lose interest. You need to shake off rust, build chemistry and get ready for a grueling season.
Final words:
If there is any team that can go from 2-23 to playoffs, it’s the Scooby Scorers.
They have 6-7 solid players to build around. We expect a quick rebuild and we expect them to stay in the AL and compete for future championships. For now Scooby is in his Korner crying, but it won’t be for long. Bet on it.
