NL SNL The Ones (4) vs Bengals (5) Breakdown
Recap
Game 1: Ones 10- Bengals 15
Game 2: Bengals 11- Ones 8
Game 3: Bengals 9- Ones 20
Game 4: Ones 8- Bengals 14
Bengals have the 3-1 lead in the season but the run differential is only 3 over 4 games in favor of Bengals as well.
On paper it would seem the One’s have the advantage. They have multiple players in top 5 in various offensive categories; Bengals have no one. They have guys like Naeem and Amby who have gotten praise from many guys in the league; Bengals have gotten no hype. One’s are 5-5 in the last 10 while Bengals are 2-8. All signs point to a One’s victory. Let’s break down each position and see who is actually the better team.
|
Position |
The Ones |
Bengals |
|
|
Pitcher |
Omar Hernandez One of the top hitters in the league hitting .648 with an OPS just under 2. Has done a solid job filling in for Nader. |
Salman Quader Having one of his worst offensive seasons of his career, will need to pick it up to be even close to Omar. An experienced pitcher, he’ll need to keep the Ones off balance. |
Winner: One’s Its not close. |
|
1B |
Ambiorix Cruceta Leads the NL with 13 homers. Power lefty bat that can clear most fields. Solid glove and awareness at 1st. Injuries may slow him down a bit. |
Travis Collins Having a great season. Has lead the Bengals offensively. Doesn’t make many mistakes at 1st. Very consistent and disciplined player. |
Winner: Ones Defensively it’s a wash. Amby takes the offensive win due to his sheer power. |
|
2B |
Sijo Jacob What a season Sijo is having. He has speed, power, athleticism. Hitting over .600 with an OPS just under 2. He can spray the ball and hit for power. He will be a tough out for the Bengals. |
Rafat Zaman An experienced second baseman. Plays the position well. Weak hitter with little power. |
Winner: One’s Defense is close but Sijo clearly the better hitter. |
|
3B |
Binu Nair Binu is having a typical year. Hitting in the high .500s and with a good amount of XBH. Has been very solid fielding his position. Veteran player you can rely in in the playoffs. |
Manju Shanmugam Having a decent year hitting wise. Very little power this season with only 4 XBHs. Plays the position decently enough, but prone to make some errors. |
Winner: One’s Binu better both offensively and defensively. |
|
SS |
Naeem Bhalli Naeem is having an MVP type season. Leading the league in AVG and 2nd in SLG/OPS. He is an elite hitter. His only knock is he isn’t an elite defender, yet. |
Matt Schreiber He’s having a weak offensive year for what he is capable of. He is a career .600 hitter. Defensively he’s the best in the NL and won’t make too many mistakes. |
Winner: Even You can’t discount the game changing defense Matt provides for the Bengals. |
|
OF |
Isidiro Diaz Jr. Pops Alam, Zabi Khosdal, Asad Haque Defensively they are not the best. They will make the routine plays but if you make it hard on them they are prone to make mistakes. Offensively outside of Jr the rest are average to below average hitters with little pop. Jr does have a lot of power but needs to be more consistent. |
Kyle Keane, Nabil Nadeem, Yashvinder Mahajan, Sami Hossain An above average defense lead by Kyle who is one of the better OFs in the league. They aren’t going to make too many mistakes and will occasionally make the difficult plays. Offensively Kyle may be Bengals most dangerous hitter, consistency if the key with him. Nabil and Sami are having solid near all star hitting season. |
Winner: Bengals. Better hitters all around and an overall better defense. They will make less mistakes. |
|
Catcher |
Sohi Ashraf Having a good season hitting. Mostly a singles hitter but important to get on base when you’re batting in the bottom of the lineup. |
Raheel Nadim A veteran who knows how to hit. Doesn’t let the moment get to him. You know he will be consistent. |
Winner: Bengals Raheel based on experience and tenacity. |
|
Bench |
Nader Mustafa, Adam Elfiki, Thomas Matthew, Farooq Pervez |
Hasan Nazmul, Shairoz Khalid, Fahim Huq |
Winner: One’s Nader and Adam provide some veteran leadership if needed. |
Well there you have it. The One’s infield is clearly better than the Bengals. But, the Bengals have a superior outfield. So who’s going to win this matchup? Conventional wisdom would tell you The One’s. Their offense is deadly and can compete even with the top teams in the NL. They have more All Stars, and an MVP candidate. But, Eisenhower 1 is going to play a big role in this matchup. The field will play to Bengals advantage due to their better OF defense. The One’s power hitters may be held in check with a deep fence.
Keys to Victory for Bengals
-
Bengals need to test The One’s OF and force them to make plays.
-
They have to take advantage of the big outfield and limit The One’s power hitters to deep pop ups, Salman will have to change up some pitches to keep them off balance.
-
Faisal needs to play if he can.
Keys to Victory for One’s
-
Power hitters need to take a bit off their swing and go for some line drives. With guys like Naeem, Sijo and Binu behind them if they get on base they are likely to score.
-
Have to limit the OF mistakes. A single can easily turn into a homer if you are not careful.
-
Don’t hit it to Matt
What to look out for:
-
Will the One’s sacrifice some offense and start Nader at P to shore up the OF defense by moving Omar there?
-
Will Faisal take a chance and come out and play?
-
Will both teams field a full starting lineup or will they be forced to rely on their bench?
Prediction
Bengals take advantage of the field and win 14-10.
