THE NORTH (6-0) vs HIT SQUAD (4-2)
Date: Sunday August 2nd
Time: 8:30am
Venue: Cantiague A
SASL Game of the Week features the powerful bats of The North (6-0) vs. Hitsquad (4-2) and their scouting reports. Power Rankings have The North at #3, but it’s really a three way tie as the two teams ahead of them have the same record, while Hit Squad has moved up by two spots to #6 in a two week surge.
How They Got Here:
The North: A team with ten players sporting an OPS of 1.500 or better, and 6 of
those have an OPS of 1.900 with Nicolas Timpone, dominating with an OPS of 3.590! He has not made an out batting 1.000 on the year, but somehow an OBP of .923 (sac fly)…….BR Aggressiveness a little to hot. The North has put up a massive 134 runs scored while giving up just 73, thats good for 2nd place with a differential of 61. Hats off to the teams two pitchers with respectable ERA’s of 12 and 12.250.
With Pops and Irfan getting on base at a great clip, the middle trip of Charley-Steve-Nick has been feasting on the RBIs. Throw in some surprise production from Akil, Jito, Shawn, Saeed, Adeel etc. you have a formidable offense although one propped up by facing two weak opponents in Backdoor Sliders and DadBods.
Hit Squad: We know Ali/Ammad/Solyman and Hit Squad as back to back champs. They started off the season 0-2 and the Preseason Predictions of the teams best days being behind them looked to be coming to fruition, then a fire was lit, I’m guessing somewhere in the nether region, and they strung together four wins in a row. The back spin pitching kid, Wahid keeping the team in striking distance of all the games, with his ERA of 11.351 over the 6 games. Wahid has been the bedrock of this team. The offense and more importantly the defense needed to wake up and clearly they did.
Adding Billal Lateef and Ramy Abdelhamid brings top tier defense from both, Ramy with the power offense, and Billal developing his bat, maybe he should use an adults bat, couldn’t hurt. Ahmad Halimi has been a force at the plate with league leading 6HRs, while low key players like Ankit, Binu, Yaqub etc. keeps moving the lineup along. We would also be remiss to not point out Ammad and his career season thus far.
On Field Matchups
Pitching: Well 95% of the time Hitsquad has the clear advantage here with SASL 1st Teamer Wahid on the mound. But, The North has Yasar with his resume to counter Wahids. Lots of championship experience and big game experience (both have won Finals MVPs) between the two. Once again, Wahid is not getting any younger, he may need a pinch fielder covering first from the mound. They are both average at the dish.
Advantage: Even.
Infield: The North will probably play Charley, Steve, Adeel and Akil from 3B to 1B. Hit Squad has been deploying Billal, Ankit, Hakim/Ishaq, Binu from 3B to 1B. The offense The North gets from MVP Charley, plus the other 3 is better than Hit Squads. However, Hit Squads infield defense is in one word: smooth. Billal and Ankit both cover a lot of ground and has terrific arms.
Advantage: The North.
Outfield: This is a tough one. Some would say The North are the clear winners with that outfield of Shawn, Nick, Irfan and Saeed, But the outfield on Hit Squad can have the starting outfielders play anywhere out there AND they have Sol’s scouting report on everyone. Ramy and Ahmad Halimi at LF/LCF are the Bash Bros. Yaqub has been reeling in highlight catches all year. Ramin is a veteran who has been struggling this year but can take over a game at any time.
Advantage: Hit Squad.
Keys To Winning:
The North:
1. OPS, OPS, and oh yeah, OPS: just keep hitting like they are and make the plays that you should will have them sweep with the Jadoo. Cantiague A is a large field. Big bats go yard and the rest get them gapers.
2. No extra outs: Defense finally showed up last week but can they do it against a fierce opponent? Last time they faced a good opponent in The Ones in week 1, they gave up 37 runs.
3. Emotions in check: Hit Squad will try to rattle The North with Solyman’s #dryballgate. Will it work?
Hitsquad:
1. Use the scouting report from Sol: it never fails.
2. Turn the lineup over: get to Ramy and Ahmad as soon as you can. Will they bat 10? How will Hit Squad manage a deep roster?
3. Stay away from the big inning: The North so far every game used 1 big inning to take life away from their opponents. Runs every inning won’t hurt Hit Squad but avoiding that one big inning is a must.
Our Prediction:
The stats do not lie. Breaking them down shows this will be two hard fought games, with bruises and scrapes, leaving it all on the field. Hitsquad will Sweep and send The North packing on the Cross Island parkway to upstate NY. The champs are back!! Get Ready! North has the better middle of the lineup but 1-10 Hit Squad are deeper.
