How Many Mergers Before A Ring?
A Look Back at 2019:
What a year they had!! Last offseason of 2019, Prince Panicker of Force and Scooby of Scooby Scorers got together and merged their team to give themselves the best chance at a championship. The two captains put together a very formidable team that was also very deep.
Players like Frank Perez, Mike Kovacik, Shaz, Burhan, Travis Mahadeo, Gotham, Harvey, etc all seemed to have career years in a team that ran right over the competition. They went 22-2 in the regular season, on their way to a dominant 1st seed. The team had the best offense and BY FAR the best defense during the regular season. They had a run differential of +201 during regular season, which meant a +8 run win every game. Amazing.
In the playoffs, they swept their first two rounds quite easily. In the Finals they faced a veteran Hit Squad team. Scoobies Force seemed prime to capture the trophy and they were the betting favorites. Game 1 went to extra innings and HS pulled out a miracle. SF then got swept with a mercy game 2 loss. While the ending was tough, they should be proud of their overall result during the full 2019 season.
A Look Ahead at 2020:
Were Prince and Scooby content sitting one their laurels after a 22-2 season? You know the answer. Gone are some players that donned the blue and yellow. Mike Kovacik, Kunal Oak, Akil Gubbi, Burhan Gorgani, Saiful Ashraf, Kevin Persaud have all moved on. They were key cogs in 2019, but 2020 required a new strategy.
They merged once again with Empire; bringing their name to TSFE (The Scoobies Force Empire). That is a mouthful to say. But it did bring some elite level talent with it. Their outfield now? Try Jason Gregory, Dheeraj Ramchandani, Travis Mahadeo and Harvey Harding. That is the fastest outfield in SASL and will cover the most ground. Where are teams going to hit it? The gappers will be few and far between.
Infield? They signed power hitting Chris Mui, old reliable Jason Reis to go with superstar Frank Perez. Shaz will move to a C/DH role we believe. You still have Manny Singh, Prince, Faizal Sheriff and Gotham to round out the roster. On the mound they have Scooby, who was a write in All Star selection last year. This team has all their holes covered and has above average player in every position it seems like.
Our Prediction:
This team is built for the regular season. Deep roster which won’t be affected by any attendance issues. We see this team finishing in the top 3 in the standings again this year. In the playoffs, we expect them to reach the Finals once again this year. They will use the experience and heartbreak from last year as the driving force.
Best Players:
New additions Dheeraj Ramchandani and Jason Gregory along with Frank Perez are the 3 best players on the team. Dheeraj is the reigning “Fastest Man in SASL” and is couple of tweaks away from being among the SASL’s uber elite. Jason got a few MVP votes last year. He plays LCF/SS and has hit .700+ multiple times. Frank was your 2018 NL MVP and poised for another big season.
Players To Watch For:
Chris Mui is the big wildcard. Before last years horrible season, he was always one of the best power hitters in SASL. Harvey took a major step forward in his offense last year and should shine in a situation this year that has no pressure.
Hear It From The Captain: Prince Panicker
1. What do you enjoy most about your role as team captain?
—Aligning the defense and making a batting order (not picking the starters, that part sucks).
2. Who do you think will be your toughest competition this season?
—Whoever we’re facing that week. Every team is going to be tough this year. Talent is spread out.
3. What do you think are your team’s strong points? Weak points?
—We are one of the deepest teams in the league; and our outfield defense has the most range in the league. We may not have high end bombers like some other teams do, but we will pressure teams from top to bottom.
4. How do you see your teams season play out this season?
—As Herm Edwards said….”YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!”
