SASL Game Of The Week: Semi Pro vs Dynasty
Dynasty (4-1-1) vs Semi Pro (5-1)
We’re entering week 5 and just as Sajid declared in the captain’s chat, a matchup of this caliber comes too soon in the season and belongs on a more prime time field. We definitely agree. Carman Ave!? Come on commissioners, we need something better than that.
Not only are these the top two teams in the standings facing off, but we are seeing two halves of last years championship team go head to head. We wonder what the atmosphere will be like. Cue Pauly D – AWKWARD. From what has been said in the captains chat and the general SASL chat during the off season, and from Sajid’s hot seat article, it seems like there is some extra fuel being added to the fire in this matchup and the breakup seems to have left some bitterness between once teammates.
Following the exodus of not just their stars but pieces of the middle and bottom of their lineup, Dynasty continued to do what they do best: pull out the rolodex, Sajid put up craigslist ads, scouted early mornings at various NYC parks soliciting team’s best hitters and athletes. Semi Pro took the merger route to combine mostly with key pieces of the now collapsed team The North.
In a season that has so far been interrupted by one rain out and an off week for Eid, it’s hard to say what the potential of these teams really is because of inconsistent attendance during Ramadan night games, players fasting, and injuries. From what we hear, Dynasty’s best power hitter Yamin has been out recovering from an injury. He will add another incredible power bat to the lineup that already boasts Matt Gargiulo to create a very hard hitting 1-2 punch. On the other hand, Semi Pro’s success comes with Omar playing and most recently sitting out injured. It’s scary to think that this isn’t even both team’s final forms.
On the field matchups:
Pitching/Catching
Dynasty has Ayaz Dar on the mound. He’s a veteran player that’s been around the block and knows the strengths and weaknesses of all the opposing hitters. We are likely to see Ariel catching, who from the finals boasts key playmaking abilities at the plate. Sajid may work his way behind the plate from time to time.
Semi Pro has veteran and half the man he was last year literally, Anwar Sadat on the mound pitching to either David Poon or Manju Shanmugam behind the plate. David showed that he could pick on both sides of the infield in the finals vs Dothrakis, and Manju will disarm his opponents and occasionally sneak one over or in between outfielders. However, out of this whole bunch we like former All-Star Ariel’s bat the most and find the pitching to be on par with each other. We’re giving the advantage to Dynasty.
Advantage: Dynasty
Infield:
Dynasty will feature the very underrated defense of Sonu at 1B, and a mixture of veterans Ray Lorenzo, Amit Bhasin, and Waqas Ali at 2B, SS, 3B although they could probably mix and match as they are very capable fielders with sure handed gloves.
Semi Pro goes with Ronak Jain at 1B, Milan Patel at 2B, Jerry Liang at SS, and Adrian Polanco at 3B.
Ray, Amit and Waqas provide good offensive firepower, with Waqas leading that pack in being the most capable of hitting one over the fence or over the outfielder’s heads. Amit has historically been an elite 600+ average hitter and now in his 40’s still holds down the SS position like a champion (literally.) Ray is capable of hitting for power and hitting for a high average. Sonu showed some razzle dazzle in last year’s championship matchup turning crucial double plays, and certainly has the edge on Ronak defensively, however his bat is weaker among the two.
Jerry Liang is clearly of a different species than the others, with a sure handed glove and a powerful bat. Had Dynasty included Yamin in the infield mix, they might have had a chance to keep up with the fire power of Jerry and Adrian. With Milan and Ronak both hitting at a 700+ clip during a hot start to the season, it’s hard to argue that Semi Pro doesn’t have at least a slight upper hand in this matchup.
Advantage: Semi Pro
Outfield:
Dynasty is likely to feature Matt Gargiulo, Rishi Seth, Andrew Jordan and Shadesh Baijnath. We could see Yamin playing RF but likely he will be DH if he will be coming back from injury. Depending on attendance we might see Asad out in RF as well.
Semi Pro will put Irfan Musliwala, Mike Liang, Kunal Oak, and Saeed Anwar from left to right.
In left field, Matt Gargiulo has incredible power bat as long as he can stay disciplined at the plate and has a powerful arm that can gun down an over eager runner on the bases, Rishi Seth with great speed, range and a solid glove in left center with a bat that is historically high average and can sneak one by or over the unsuspecting opposing outfielder. Shadesh has great utility, a powerful lefty bat and speed, and Andrew Jordan will provide added pop to the lineup but is not quite as surehanded in the outfield.
Irfan is off to a slow start at the plate. Maybe the Monstars from Space Jam 2 stole his mojo during the SASL off-season. He still brings his veteran glove and good tracking ability to the field. Mike Liang is one of the best left center fielders in the league and looks like he has yet to make an out at the plate. Kunal Oak is off to another good start at the plate this season but continues with an inconsistent glove in the outfield. Saeed is an overall solid bat and glove, and if he is patrolling right field for your team, you’re in a good spot.
We see a lot more pop in the bats of Matt, Andrew, Shadesh, but see elite on base percentage and average from Mike Liang. Offensively we like the Dynasty power bats, but defensively we like the Semi Pro defense on an open field.
Advantage: Even.
DH/Bench:
You should have noticed that we haven’t mentioned Omar Hernandez given his injuries but he is, regrettably, likely to sit or DH in this matchup. Yamin is likely to DH if he comes back from injury as well. These are two bat’s that you would love to have in your lineup and build around. Its unfortunate that injury may impact their performance or even attendance, but its hard to choose between Yamin’s elite power numbers that simultaneously hits for elite average, with Omar’s command of the bat to hit to all fields and leg out extra bases with his usual speed. Given what we’ve been told of their injuries we like Yamin’s ability to hit a bases clearing shot over Omar this week.
Rounding out both rosters we have Aroup Sourjim and Danyal Dar providing some added depth. Aroup shows better capability with the bat than Danyal at this point particularly from his D3 experience.
Advantage: Dynasty
Prediction:
It’s hard to tell who will come in more hungry to prevail over the other. Maybe Sajid’s lamb chops will have quelled Semi Pro’s hunger. Both teams have only one loss, and if it wasn’t for the lights turning out on them, Dynasty could very well be tied with Semi Pro for first place in the league. Dynasty has better insider knowledge on the Semi Pro Hitters, and overall has more pop on an open field, while Semi Pro has the defensive edge and range in the field with their speedy offense rolling on all cylinders from top to bottom.
We predict a split. Game 1: 22-20 Dynasty, Game 2: 24-8 Semi Pro.
