Laborie Corsairs (10-8, .556, t-1st South) @ Soufrière Brutes (10-8, .556, t-1st South)
So far in 2021, the Corsairs ply their trade by wrecking the basepaths (they rank 3rd in base running), putting runs on the board at an impressive clip (4th in runs scored), and using these skills to outrun what can only be described as a pedestrian pitching staff (9th in Starters ERA, 7th in FIP). They’ll enter this set, in our park, coming off a sweep over the Praslin Skyhawks at home, their first of the year, after taking the Skyhawks behind the woodshed and running their RDiff up to +13 in the process. This is a club that, if you believe the preseason predictions, isn’t held in the highest of regard – but, and this is important – games aren’t won on paper, and, so far, these guys are keeping our pace and doing their level best to stake an early season claim as one of the best in the show. Here we find ourselves with the enviable opportunity of shutting down an upstart club, putting
Baby back into the corner no matter what
Swayze says, and reasserting ourselves as the BMOC who’s just decking fools on his way to the Homecoming Court.
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP G. Barnett (0-2, 3.51 ERA) vs RHP R. Boyer (1-3, 4.66 ERA)
RHP E. Kidd (2-0, 1.86 ERA) vs RHP L. Chadwick (0-1, 5.59 ERA)
RHP H. Nguyen (2-1, 1.91 ERA) vs RHP C. Leroy (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
The top 3 players on their team are:
May 31st, 2021
Romain tosses gem, Brutes fall to the Corsairs at home
Soufrière 3 vs. Laborie 4
WP: Romain Boyer (2-3, 4.38)
LP: Rob Thurston (2-3, 4.50)
- LAB: Romain Boyer (SP) – 3 for 4, 3B, HR, RBI, 2 R
- LAB: Bill Walters (CF) – 3 for 4, 3B, HR, RBI, 2 R
June 1st, 2021
Mark Taylor trucks 5th homer, Laborie smashes the Brutes in Soufrière
Soufrière 4 vs. Laborie 8
WP: Lenny Chadwick (1-1, 5.20)
LP: Harvey Nguyen (2-2, 1.62)
- LAB: Mark Taylor (1B) – 3 for 5, HR, RBI, 2 R
- LAB: Anthony Frasier (DH) – 2 for 3, RBI, 2 R, BB
June 2nd, 2021
Soufrière suffers indignity of home sweep, Laborie is the toast of the town
Soufrière 4 vs. Laborie 9
WP: Oliver Mason (3-2, 4.66)
LP: Elliot Kidd (2-1, 2.84)
- LAB: Mark Taylor (1B) – 3 for 5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
- LAB: Anthony Frasier (DH) – 2 for 5, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Swept, at home,
in front of our wives, children, girlfriends, and mistresses – not a good look for a club with designs on earning a trip to the Island Series and winning the ultimate prize. Factor in that our RDiff has dropped from +21 to +11, that we’re -2 against the Pythagorean, and boast a pathetic 5-4 record at home and what you get is a recipe for disaster. Suddenly, we find ourselves mid-table in the South, as a sub-.500 club, with nearly a quarter of this inaugural season already in the books – if we’re going to make a move, it seems like now would be the time to do it.
Canaries Hammerheads (10-11, .476, 4th North) @ Soufrière Brutes (10-11, .476, 3rd South)
With a -16 RDiff, +2 diff against the Pyt, and a poor 4-5 record on the road, the Hammerheads from Canaries look something like what I’d expect the doctor to order… famous last words there as we have found a way to play well below preseason expectation and seem to specialize in making ho-hum clubs look like finely tuned machines here of late. Canaries arrives in town as losers of their last two sets – one contested at home against Anse-la-Raye and the other on the road against the Black Cats of Castries – and, like we thought Laborie did before them, should represent an opportunity to get off the schneid and back up where we belong. Should being the operative word here of course… ours is a malaise that is as all encompassing as it is foreboding.
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP L. Bolton (2-0, 1.61 ERA) vs RHP B. Jones (0-1, 2.59 ERA)
LHP M. Davis (0-0, 0.84 ERA) vs LHP S. Goodson (2-1, 4.00 ERA)
RHP G. Barnett (0-2, 3.73 ERA) vs RHP D. Carty (1-3, 4.05 ERA)
The top 5 players on their team are:
June 3rd, 2021
Brutes bash back to .500 with win over Hammerheads
Soufrière 9 vs. Canaries 5
WP: Dermot Griffiths (2-1, 0.96)
LP: Chris Grimsey (1-2, 6.57)
- SOU: Chris Routledge (CF) – 1 for 3, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB
- SOU: Harrison Rawlings (3B) – 2 for 3, 2 RBI, R, BB
June 4th, 2021
Brutes make it two in a row, bridle Hammerheads, 4-2
Soufrière 4 vs. Canaries 2
WP: Max Davis (1-0, 1.53)
LP: Spencer Goodson (2-2, 4.44)
- SOU: Max Davis (SP) – 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W
- SOU: Carl McGovern (C) – 1 for 2, 2 RBI, R
June 5h, 2021
Carty outduels Barnett, shut out Brutes to avoid road sweep
Soufrière 0 vs. Canaries 1
WP: Daryl Carty (2-3, 3.19)
LP: Gael Barnett (0-3, 3.12)
- SOU: Gael Barnett (SP) – 9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K
- CAN: Daryl Carty (SP) – 9.0 IP, 9 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W
A series win is always a welcome result,
a 2-4 stretch at home for the week, however, not so much… North Division leader, Anse-La-Raye, improved to 18-6 on the year after a rip-roaring 5-1 week. They currently lead the league in OPS, Batting WAR, Runs Against, and jersey sales.
Mark Taylor, of the Laborie Corsairs, leads the league in jacks with 7 so far – followed closely by Praslin’s
Eric Barbot and Bisee’s
Andre Curley who each have 6…
Chris Johnson, of the last place Micoud Vipers leads the league in WAR at 2.2 and unhappiness with his current situation…
Record: 12-12, .500, 3rd South
Up Next: We’ll hit the road to face Bisee for three before returning home to welcome the Micoud Vipers to town for a 3-game set that I’ve earmarked as the cure for all that ails us…
