

"Don’t underestimate the power of a pig, I’m not a Materials kind of guy,
and the Spirit can be broken."
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ISC World Tournament, who’s
hot, who’s not, and who to wager on
By Bob Otto / Yucaipa, CA - August 2, 2003
I don’t gamble, I don’t wager on the ponies, and you won’t
find me at the poker tables in Las Vegas. But if I were a betting man,
plopping my money down in Vegas probably offers me better odds than
picking a winner from the 40-teams about to descend upon Kimberly,
Wisconsin for the 57th running of the ISC World Fastball Tournament Aug.
8-16.
But before I’d bet my hard earned money picking a World Tournament
champion, I’d call upon a few ball yard experts who have kept tabs
on this year’s crop of ISC contenders. Some say throw out the ISC
final season rankings. Forget the won – loss
records. Instead, focus on who is hot, and who is not. And those
star-powered players who rise to the challenge when the game is on the
line. In picking a winner, Wisconsin teams leap to mind first. The state
dominates the ISC final season rankings with Marathon County Materials
number one, followed closely by The Farm Tavern of Madison, with Circle
Tap I at #5.
No one knows Wisconsin teams better than Bob Tomlinson. As an ISC
Executive, Tomlinson keeps close watch on the goings-on in his fastpitch
rich state. “County and Farm are two teams that could win the whole
thing,” said Tomlinson. “Farm’s the hottest team right now. County
really laid an egg last year, 2-2 in Pool and didn’t make the playoffs,
but they’re a different team this year.”
Within the 40-team format, Tomlinson willing concedes the bottom 35.
Strong odds the winner will emerge from the five-some of County, The Farm,
Amsterdam, NY, Broken Bow, Kitchener-Waterloo Hallman Twins, or Circle Tap
I, Denmark. But don’t count out the Calgary Diamonds, said Tomlinson.
“They are my dark horse,” he said. “Nobody’s really seen them, but they’ve
got a
good ball club. Trent Rubley, Ryan Brand, Jason Hanson and David Boys –
they’ve got a (Tampa Bay) Smokers look to them with (Pete) Porcelli
coaching there.” The Smokers won the World Championship in 1996 and ’98.
And says Tomlinson, duck for cover if Broken Bow’s Gerald Muizelaars and
Darren Box get hot. “Muizelaars is the most impressive pitcher I’ve seen
this year,” he said. “He throws 83 – 84 mph and picked up his speed. He’s
the hardest thrower out there and as good as there is right now. Box is
about 6-foot-4, chiseled and real strong. He’s a left handed batter,
throws right, catches, runs well and hits for power.”
Out east in Arlington, Virginia, Mike Groves, owner, manager and catcher
of Washington DC FedLock, says put your money on Broken Bow, County
Materials or The Farm, but don’t count out his FedLock Falcons. “Bow has a
powerful lineup, one through eight,” said Groves. “They have so much
talent and they play as a team with little arrogance. They’ve got
excellent pitching, but
Muizelaars is viewed by many teams as mortal this year and touchable for
runs.
“County, if they play as a team, instead of highly-paid individuals, they
have a shot on sheer talent alone. The Farm has played well all year, but
stumbled in Allentown, July 26. Still, they have so much talent and big
game experience and power that they will be in the hunt until the end.”
And who is hot? Bow, The Farm and County, of course, said Groves. But his
Falcons have sharpened their game and are flying high with the best of
them. “We beat County 7-1 last week in Allentown,” said Groves. “We
knocked Zack
out, scored on Mata as well. We also beat Circle Tap 10-0, knocked
(Trevor) Wardell out, and beat the Windmillers 8-1 and knocked out Earl
Rutledge.”
Groves sites FedLock’s pitching staff of Brian Urquhart, Jeremy DeBelleval
and Jody Hennigar as “all pitching better and all are fully rested and
healed,” he said. “The team has now learned to win and has speed, inside
game and power. If (we) win our pool, (we) get County in the first bracket
game. That game will be the biggest game of the year for both, a huge game
for both teams.”
Now, if your wager centers on big game players who can load a team on his
back and carry it, Groves has some hot tips on some hot players. “Todd
Martin (pitcher, The Farm Tavern) is so fast, so talented and wild when it
helps him,” said Groves. “Mark Sorenson (County) can change a game with
one swing against anyone. Karl Gollan (County), great hitter and tough
pitcher,
mentally tough as nails. Andrew Kirkpatrick, the Aussie kid for Owen Sound
Crunch, has huge height and stride and can throw batters way off, but he
has no help in the pen. Gerald Muizelaars is smooth, fast, smart and
capable of shutting down any team.”
And from Broken Bow, look out for formidable hitting attack of Darren
Box, Jody Eidt and Jarrad Martin, said Groves. “Box is a great hitter and
smart catcher,” said Groves. “Eidt is a great hitter, very focused. Martin
can touch anyone.”
O.K, we know who is hot. But who among the 40 would be champions, is not?
“ Circle Tap,” said Groves. “They lost (Rob) Scheller for the season and
(Dwayne) Dyck is very questionable after knee surgery. This is a team that
plays on emotion and they are low now without their aces.”
But Groves says Circle Tap isn’t they only team facing an uphill battle in
the World Tournament. “The (CanAm) Windmillers have no pitching,” he said.
“Midland, losing (Doug) Gillis and (Kyle) Beane to the Pan Ams takes
their heart and places a huge load on (Grant) Patterson and (Terry)
Boetsma. “Owen Sound Selects losing (Jaime) Simpson with broken fingers on
his pitching hand takes them down the scale in a big way (and) County when
Zack pitches in the daytime, the word is, ‘he’s touchable’. At night, he’s
tough.”
Canadian Craig Crawford catches for the Kitchener-Waterloo
Hallman Twins. The Twins finished with a final #4 ISC ranking. He says the
team carting away the ISC championship trophy will be the one swinging big
sticks. “The scores this year have been high, 5-4, 6-5’s,” said Crawford.
“The teams that hit well in the World Tournament will be on the winning
side. The tournament is a hitters’ tournament now. The way the bats
and balls are made today the 1-0, 10 inning games are in the past. Maybe
I’m a purest,
but I’d rather be in a 2-1, 3-2 game myself than a 7-6.”
So if runs determine this year’s champion, Crawford looks to Broken Bow as
the team to beat. “Man for man, it’s hard to go against Broken Bow with
County second,” he said. But don’t confuse Crawford’s run-scoring
rational for thinking he believes hitters now rule the sport. Pitching
still plays a big part, he said. And high on his list of top pitchers is
the Twins own Korrey Gareau. “As far as
hottest pitchers, Korrey throws as well as anyone. I’d put him up against
anybody, Paul Algar, the Martin’s, the Muizelaars’…”
But nudged to name a hot pitcher, Crawford pointed to County’s Karl Gollan
as a hurler on the rise, citing Gollan’s 3-2, 10-inning victory over
Gareau and the Twins. And veteran chuckers Darren Zack, Martin and Algar
still decide games, he said. “A few weeks a go Darren was as sharp as I’ve
seen him in years – that’s scary.”
But he sees County as having a difficult decision to make in light of the
ISC’s out-of- area rule. With Lucas Mata, Zack and Gollan comprising
County’s pitching staff, who gets the call? “It will be interesting to see
who they declare as their two out-of-areas,” said Crawford.
A dark horse sneaking in and snatching the crown? Forget it, said
Crawford. It’s the sweet 16 that dominate this tournament. “The first
year (pool play) the top 16 seeds went through,” he said. “And 15 made it
last year. There is a considerable difference in talent between the top 16
and the bottom 24. I’d be shocked if it wasn’t someone in the top six
there at the end. I’d be stunned.”
And that brings us back to the Twins. With the Pan Am games taking place
Aug. 6 – 14, the Twins suffer a huge talent drain, losing four players to
Team Canada. “Four of our key players will be at the Pan Am’s,” said
Crawford. Along with Crawford, the Twins lose Terry Challis, Jeff Seed and
Tim MacCumber. That alone would scare away bettors from wagering on the #4
Twins.
One team glaringly low in the rankings is St. Joseph, MO, Frontier Casino
Players, the 2002 defending ISC World Tournament champs and ASA national
champions. Of the top 10 ranked teams, #9 Frontier took the biggest Pan Am
hit, losing six of its stars to the U.S. team.
“That’s what you get for raising home grown talent,” said ISC Southern
Vice President, Rodney Gray, of Columbia, Missouri with a chuckle. “If
Robbie (O’Brien) pitches well, we’ll be fine, but taking six players out
of the lineup is tough. If we can get to Friday (Aug. 15) four of our
players might be back.”
If Frontier can survive pool play and possibly two playoff games they
could have pitcher Michael White, second baseman, Chris Miljavac;
shortstop, Blake Miller, and outfielder Adam LaLonde back for Saturday’s
championship run. “It (national team) took out our whole infield,” said
Gray. And that may be too much for the reigning champs to overcome.
Looking at the field, Gray says, “The Farm is always the team to beat and
they’re coming off an ASA national championship. Bow is always tough not
to bet against.” And #1 County? “They have a history of not playing well
two out of the last three years,” said Gray. And picking a darkhorse, Gray
looks toward Ontario. “Owen Sound Selects, they’ve always played well in
the big tournaments,” he said.
ISC Final top-ten 2003 team rankings
1. County Materials
2. The Farm Tavern
3. Broken Bow Spirit
4. Waterloo Twins
5. Circle Tap I, Denmark
6. Midland Explorers
7. Owen Sound Selects
8. FedLock
9. St. Joseph Frontier Casino
10. HIS Construction
I’ve consulted with my experts. I’ve studied the top ten. I’ve calculated
who’s going advance out of the eight pools. I’ve talked to my swami and
I’ve looked to the stars for guidance…and finally decided where to place
and not place my bet: Don’t underestimate the power of a pig, I’m not a
Materials kind of guy, and the Spirit can be broken.
And if you’re pressing me for a dark horse, Falcons fly high and Diamonds
shine brightly.
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