Liam McFeely rounds the bases after a no-doubter. He leads the league in hitting at .846 and has 6 home runs in just 26 at bats for the surging Wiffle House.
Weeks 7 and 8 featured returns, upsets, and standout performances by three short mound knucklers who have all put up sneaky good numbers in 2021. Karl Koch of West Coast Washout, Brandon Wallach of the Mighty Knucks, and Zach Jones of the South Side Sliders now hold three of the four best WHIPs in the league. Despite low strikeout totals, all three have induced increasingly weak contact and limited big innings.
We can only wonder if other teams who are scrambling for pitching will join the experiment ...
Power Rankings After Week Eight
1. Bilabial Stops (11-1)
Last Week: 1
Nick Usoff went 8 for 9, Eddie Brown went 8 for 10, and each hit two home runs in a week eight sweep of Chicken’n’Wiffles. Newly recruited veterans Andrew Ybarra and Gideon Manahan went a combined 10 for 18 while the Nyssens presumably sipped umbrella drinks on a tropical island somewhere. The once shallow roster looks deep and they’re firing on all cylinders. Wiffully Ignorant, the Mighty Knucks, and the RBI Steaks are their three remaining opponents on their path to the playoffs.
2. RBI Steaks (6-2)
Last Week: 3
The league was buzzing about Nick Winn’s return in Week 8. He was greeted rudely by the obscenely offensive offense of Wiffle House, but the former Cy Young winner could be a game changer for a team that already boasts the league’s best offense. Tough loss aside, the Steaks appear geared up for the second-half grind. Stay tuned.
3. West Coast Washout (6-2)
Last Week: 2
WCW split with the South Side Sliders amid monsoon-like conditions in week seven and then took a bye in week 8 to dry off. Karl Koch shut out the Sliders for three innings in game one before giving way to Matt McGiveron who closed it out from an ankles-deep puddle that once resembled the long mound. Game two rallies fell short and the conditions took their toll as WCW dropped the nightcap 7-6. They’ll face the Sheryl Crows in a 3pm Sunday scorcher with no shade in sight.
4. Mighty Knucks (5-3)
Last Week: 4
Brandon Wallach shut out 100% Real Juice on Sunday, giving up five hits in four innings while striking out five and walking one. He’s now second in the league with a 2.70 ERA. Brandon Williams went 4 for 6 to push his average to .622, good for fourth best in the league. Their series split puts them in good standing at 5-3 ahead of an important series against the South Side Sliders this Sunday. We wonder if a knuckeball showdown between Wallach and the Sliders’ Zach Jones is in the cards ...
5. Wiffle House (4-6)
Last Week: 7
The rookies are up two more spots after sweeping Wiffully Ignorant and battering Nick Winn in a week 8 split with the RBI Steaks. Liam McFeely leads the league with an absurd .846 batting average and we’re not sure that anyone is actually trying to pitch to Phillip Thomas. These guys flat out rake and their defense is spectacular. They’ll take week 9 off feeling good about their chances after a rough start.
6. Sheryl Crows (3-3)
Last Week: 5
The Crows boycotted the treacherous rain as Paul Rogers lamented his beautiful groundskeeping. We hope they like the heat…
7. South Side Sliders (3-5)
Last Week: 8
The Sliders also collected their biggest win yet, splitting a week seven series with West Coast Washout. Zach Jones worked out of trouble, surrendering just six runs despite brutal weather and being down a defender. These guys scrap out ugly games as well as anybody and their resilience is encouraging. Their Sunday series against the Mighty Knucks figures to be a pivotal one, with one or more wins seeming mandatory to keep them in the playoff picture.
8. 100% Real Juice (4-6)
Last Week: 6
The Juice split with the Mighty Knucks on Sunday, losing 10-0 (4) before their bats came alive in a 22-8 slugfest in game two. Luke Moedritzer and Matt Morris both hit grand slams, with the latter falling a triple short of the cycle. Anything less than a sweep against Chicken’N’Wiffles on Sunday would be a huge blow to their playoff chances with formidable matchups against the RBI Steaks, Wiffle House, and the South Side Sliders looming in July.
9. Chicken'n'Wiffles (3-7)
Last Week: 9
Liam Munro homered three times in the second game of CNW’s split with the Mighty Knucks in week seven. Preston Sahabu and the pesky defense weathered 23 hits to secure the win 13-10. Week 8 wasn’t as kind, as they dropped both games to the Bilabial Stops. At 3-7, it’s getting late early for Matt Pearson and Co. They figure to need two splits and two sweeps to punch their ticket to the postseason.
10. Wiffully Ignorant (1-11)
Last Week: 10
The Ignorant ones couldn’t stop the bludgeoning offense of Wiffle House in a week seven sweep, going down 19-6 (4), and 16-5 (4). They’ll face the Bilabial Stops in week nine. Knuckleballs? Pre-workout? The hidden ball trick? The hidden cheese grater trick? Mascots? Tonya Harding? It’s time to get creative ... let’s see what you have.
Housekeeping Regarding Scorekeeping
Please remember to enter your pitchers into Gamechanger at the start of each game and whenever a reliever enters. We’re not sure who pitched for Wiffully Ignorant in game two of week seven or who pitched for Wiffle House in game two of week 8. Please hit us up if you can recall!
Also, runners advancing after an initial play should always be recorded as the result of the last play or on a throw, never on an error. When an error is logged, it can be difficult for us to figure out what happened and how to interpret the stats.
Feel free to reach out to the league office if you have any questions about Gamechanger - we know it can take a while to get the hang of it.
