South Asian Softball League: 2006 SOFTBALLERS Season Preview
Published by Haseeb April 19th, 2006 in Softballers, SportsFirst off, yes I know the Mets lost, and David Wright played a horrible game. Its a long season, we still have the best record in the majors, and David Wright has a loong career ahead of him. (hes younger than most of the players in the South Asian Softball League!)
Anyways, so here goes.. I’ve been putting off this post for a while because of my lack of exposure to much of the competition. Yet after a team practice, and this past sunday’s exhibition triple header, here’s my (although i admit, somewhat premature) 2006 Season Preview:
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The SOFTBALLERS are the team to beat this year. We are currently ranked 1st on the official Suth Asian Softball League 2006 Pre-season power rankings (see below).
My prediction for the league: SOFTBALLERS will go all the way and go deep into the playoffs. The Softballers (my team) is the youngest, freshest, most exciting team in the entire league. I would argue that we have the deepest roster and arguably the top two contenders for the MVP award this year with Shortstop Zeeshan Sheikh, and Center Fielder/SS Usman Arshad Ghumman.
However, by no means am i discrediting the other teams. All of the teams post a threat and any team can win any given sunday. The talent pool is quite vast in this league and each team has its own pros and star players, particularly the Shock, Outlaws, and Hitmen (all veteran teams with key veteran players). Dynasty, and Damage Inc, and the Lions, with new rosters may take time to gain a sense of team chemistry but also have great talent. The Hustlaz, while lacking key players in the pre-season may end up surprising us all this summer. Captain Eddy Razzaq, star shortstop Umar Ayyub, and first baseman Tom Diaz are veteran softballers who are hungry for a winning season.
Here are Ammad’s complete rankings for the 2006 season.
| POWER RANKINGS |
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| Current | Team | Previous | |||||
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1 | Softballers | __ | ||||
| After the merger of the two previous expansion teams comes another expansion team. We introduce the Softballers. In theory this is not a good sign in softball. However, this team is filled with veterans and might I say the most talented and young team in the league. Deenz List and Mosquitoes of last year, plus two free-agent pick-ups Zeeshaan, and Nabeel Haque, can definitely make some noise. They have beaten Shock and the HitMen during the pre season to reallyscare the rest of the league. The young Softballers have put everyone on notice that you may be a veteran but we are young and hungry. | |||||||
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2 | Shock | __ | ||||
| The most team oriented club in the league, Shock is always in contention to become one of the power houses. They are bound every year to be seeded either 1 or 2. Their record from previous years will show that. Lead by the Najimi Brothers and the strong supporting cast, this is a team that opponents wished it rained on Sundays. | |||||||
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3 | Outlaws | __ | ||||
| The defending champs of the 2005 season, plus an MVP player on the roster, there is choice but to have the Outlaws have such a superior ranking. With all of there members still in the clubhouse, including Ramin Rasuli “the Barry Bonds of the league” this could be a re-peat season for the Outlaws, if they can keep all those personalities show up regularly and headed toward the same goal. | |||||||
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4 | HitMen | __ | ||||
| This may be a shock to a lot of people but yes it’s true, they are only deserving of a power ranking of 4. We all know that every team has a handful when it comes to HitMen, they train well, the have good chemistry, a lineup full of All-Stars, and the best manager in the league, Ammad Sheikh. However, for some reason they have been eliminated both times in the playoffs as being the favorites. So we could be seeing the making of the ATL Braves. Always winning the pennant but never really coming through in the clutch. The jury is still out on the HitMen. | |||||||
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5 | Dynasty | __ | ||||
| Dynasty in this league has always been considered the sleeper team. A notoriously slow starting team. This pre season they have flown somewhat under the radar, which is surprising for last years Spring Champions. With the subtraction to an All-Star outfielder Zeeshan to the upstart Softballers, this team becomes vulnerable in the grass side. This team has looked a bit more vulnerable this year relative to last year. Dynasty will need some big contributions from AbhiShek, Kyd Papaiya and Ameet Kamatt. With all that being said this team is still in the top three for one reason only. They do not quit. Dynasty loves to be the underdog, just ask the Hitmen and Shock. Dynasty is always dangerous in the 2nd half of the season when they make their annual playoff run. No one will want to play them in the play offs. | |||||||
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6 | Damage Inc. | __ | ||||
| The most intriguing team this year. With two new captains coming from two different teams, Khair Carvan & Ehab Khalil, this is the wild card of the league. The talk of the league, if you will. With a roster that is fresher than a bottle of pine sole, this team can be the real deal, or a raw deal. It will be interesting if the chemistry and the leadership of Khair will prevail in this season. One thing is for certain this team can really swing the bat and hit for the fences. | |||||||
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7 | Hustlaz | __ | ||||
| One of the new expansion teams this year. Let’s face it unless you get a “W” under your belt. There is no basis to predict this team. Everyone knows the Captain Adeel Razzaq has skills in this league, and with a good supporting cast this team could become a good squad. However, let the record show that it’s very hard for an expansion team to find the chemistry to make a good run at the title. Hustlaz for the betterment of the league, we hope you proof everyone wrong. | |||||||
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8 | Lions | __ | ||||
| Probably not the Kings of the Jungle just yet, but on the right track. Captain Nader Saeed will have his hands full in producing wins for this ball-club. New member to this league, Lions will definitely make some noise in the league, but will the Lions roar? Only time will tell. Adding former Mosquitoes All Star Rajeev Jacob this year will help out the ball club a lot, but there are too many questions remaining going in to this season. | |||||||
It wasn’t really my rankings per say, it was a cumulative sample. We took a random sampling of players. All teams were represented equally to weigh in on what their thoughts are.
Let’s see everyone is jumping on the Softballers bandwagon and letting some veteran teams fly under the radar. I know for a fact that this is already being used as a motivational tool for the teams that have been slighted.
You guys lose in game 2 on opening day and these ratings mean nothing, but before the season has begun. The pendulam is swinging the Softballers way. But I guess that is why we play the games.
The softballers have not played one regualr season game together as of yet. I can definitly see how the other teams are using these ranking as motivation. Thas why I would rather have been ranked further down. But like you implied, these rankings mean nothing if they don’t hold true on the diamond. To be honest, its kinda fun bein the buzz even though we haven’t proven anything yet. PEACE
Deenz List 2 - 1
Our first loss, final score: 9-11
I’m ready to step in and replace Haseeb after he gets his knee hurt in a late-night attack.
I bring more power, less errors, less talk, more action - Chaudrey
Are you going to pull a Tanya Harding? Tsk tsk.
Our team is gonna play you guys first.
Good luck!
I’ll be on first base if you guys are looking for any autographs