How About Some News?

It's tournament week; that's kind of exciting. Obviously, we here in league headquarters have been on hiatus since the Championship Series - completely worn out from Wiffleball day-in and day-out from April through mid-August. So, here's our first dip back into the waters as we slowly wade back into the content and upcoming changes you can expect in the 2012 season. We'll save talk about rule changes for a later date, as some will be field tested this Saturday, but the idea behind the changes is two-fold: heighten the focus on "team" in both pitching and aggressive, small-ball offense. Today let's just talk about what the league competition in 2012 is going to look like.

We will be going with 8 teams again. Expansion is obviously an enticing idea, one that is hard to pass up. However with teams struggling to field full 4-person rosters on a weekly basis (even one team never playing with 4), it would be wildly irresponsible. The good news: free agents will be allowed to be picked up by any team for the 2012 season. So if your team disbanded or you just want to jump ship, feel free to take your game to another of the remaining teams that will have you. *** ONE IMPORTANT NOTE, however. If it comes out that a team pays a player to play with them, it will not be tolerated. If you're willing to throw money into trying to win a backyard game, then you won't mind paying the league a handsome fine on top of it. Although Gatorade, beef jerky, sunflower seeds, after-game romantic dinners, beer, cigarettes, or soaks in the hot tub are all welcome ways to entice a player.

So, just who are the teams playing in the 2012 season? We only lost two of our 2011 franchises, Ass Kickers and Westside Warriors. Expect to see members of these teams on new rosters, though. The two vacated franchises were already filled before the season finished.

The first goes back with WSEM/Downriver Wiffle all the way to 2009: The Donkeys captained by Joe Seto. Seto signed with the Commandos this year after failing to generate the interest in the Donkeys for a full season. However after Joe Spagnuolo and Don Shaw ended up playing part time with the Commandos franchise, as well, the Donkeys have decided to throw their hats into the league next year. They will try their hand one more time at a tournament this Saturday, joined by Alex Shore formerly of the Warriors, before becoming the 7th/9th WSEM franchise.

The second new team for 2012 is captained by Austin Bischoff; you know that guy whose pitching rivals 2011 Clown Shu winner Dennis Pearson. He and his team from Whiteford, MI have played in their 1-on-1 league for years, and after Austin's dominant performance in WSEM this year are bringing all their talent up to challenge in the 4-man ranks. They, too, will be making their debut this Saturday at the Beat It Tournament.

The six remaining teams are the Belgian Wiffles, Campus Commandos, Flying Squirrels, Git r' Done, Jason Mattseals, and Wiffling DeLoppes. Belgian will hope for better commitment, health, and the possibility of fielding a full roster! They had a good looking roster before the season started, which quickly fell apart due to injuries and scheduling conflicts. Similar to Belgian, Campus will be coming back with a heavily changed up roster - only they will be scrapping to find pieces, while Belgian will (hopefully) finally be playing with their full deck. There are rumors that, in addition to Joe Seto, a couple Commandos may follow him to the Donkeys. It is the worst kept secret in all of Wiffleball that Adam Grant is interested in signing P Maclin Malloy from the Warriors. The Squirrels lose Austin Bischoff, but appear to be in line to pick up Mike Constanti and Ryan Bullard from the Ass Kickers; moves that will greatly improve their defense, and soften the loss of Bischoff on the mound. The DeLoppes will be back in all their glory. No changes in their roster are expected, but there will be a pool this offseason for how many jerseys they will have!

A couple franchises also are rumored to be coming back with new names. First, fan favorites formerly known as the Jason Mattseals look to pull a Jamaican Bobsled Team and return as equals, but team captain, Jason Matt, has expressed interest over libations of changing the name of his club for a fresh start. Wild Drinking Men of Ireland is his current proposal; we'll see how far that flies.

Reigning champions, Git r' Done, are also looking to change up their identity. A couple names have been thrown out, Thunder Ducks the more common, though neither have been confirmed. Even bigger news than a rebrand of a champion is the pick up of perfect-game tosser, Chris Lewis, to join the rotation with Dennis Pearson. Dr. Riser and Pearson's fireballs will be a formidable duo on the mound, and make them one of the front runners to repeat as WSEM champions in 2012.