Mid-Season Report: 2010

At the halfway point of the 2010 softball season, the Resurrection Life Warriors are hanging in there in fourth place at 6-3. However, a big win over league-leader Wooddale Mercy Rules to close out the first half leaves the team's fate in its own hands. Rez has one game remaining versus Mercy Rules, two versus 5th place Redeemer Bible, one versus second place Wooddale Classic, and one with third place EPAG. If Rez can go 4-1 in those games, a league title will be within its grasp.

Team offense has been the name of the game through nine games. The Warriors are leading the leauge with 175 runs scored, averaging 19.4 per game. While the 2009 squad was a more dynamic team, the 2010 squad has played more innings per game and thusly is averaging more runs scored.

The team average of .584 is challenging to become the Rez Life all-time team record. The on base percentage of .642 is easily the all-time high right now and looks like it will stay that way. The team has mashed 27 homeruns, good for 3.0 per game. Also, the team has hit the double and triple trail consistently with averages of 2.6 and 1.1 respectively.

The defense has not been what it was in past years so far. The biggest drop off has been the outfield as The Warriors lost all three regular starting outfielders from 2009 and the fourth outfielder, Austin Colby, has seen limited innings off the pitcher's mound.

While the overall team defense numbers have been shored up in recent weeks to the tune of a .881 team fielding percentage and an average of 3.11 errors per game, some early season struggles really put the team in a hole. Rez has had games of eight and six errors this season. Not good. On the flip side, the teams has a total of 14 errors in the other seven games which is very solid.

The 2009 team had a fielding percentage of .946 on the season and turned 21 doubleplays. This year's squad has turned just four and already has more total errors in nine games than 2009's team had for the season. If the gloves continue to improve, the Warriors defense should be solid. There may be some lineup changes in the outfield to help with this but we'll see which way the manager moves.

While struggling to field a consistent lineup and kicking a few extra balls around, the team has still managed a 6-3 record and is within striking distance. All things considered, it has been a very successful first half.

Part of the early-season struggles can be attributed to the big roster shake-up as the team has six new members this season. While they have all been a blessing to have around, Manager Colby still hasn't quite put the puzzle together to give everyone the best chance to win.

Bryan Christensen is one of those new members. He joined the team with limited softball experience and it showed during the first nine games. From game one through the all-star break, Bryan has shown great improvement and probably had his best hitting game of the year in the final game before the break, taking some real good swings. He is very patient at the plate which has led to five walks. He has used those and his four singles to score three times and drive home two. His catching abilities have gotten better too, with six putouts on the year with no errors.

John Beintema joined this year also to add some veteran leadership. While he has been a blast to play with, he has decided to handle more of the front-office duties and thusly will most likley not be playing games during the second half. While here though, he had an impact showing good hands on defense and knocking out eight hits for a .444 average. He scored six times and brought home five in five games played.

As a part of those GM-style duties, John recruited another new player to the team in 2010, his son Aaron Beintema. Aaron has had some softball success in the past but hasn't been as active in recent seasons. However, he has ridden a couple hot streaks to shake that rust off and enters the all-star break with a .600 average and two doubles and two triples. He has scored 14 times while bringing home 13 and has roamed the outfield for much of his innings. I see a more consistent second half with improved range and glove-work in the outfield. It wouldn't surprise me if Aaron finishes at or above .600 for the year with 5-6 doubles and at least one homerun.

Tim Jandro has been a nice addition this year. He has added a little spark to the lineup with some huge games. He hit for the cycle in his first game and has coasted to a .700 average with three doubles, two triples, four homeruns, 18 runs and rbi. His slugging percentage of 1.333 and OPS of 2.061 put him in the league top 10. He has been clutch in late innings also, hitting .833 from the 5th inning and on. Tim captured the utility spot on the all-star team in his first year. Well done.

Logan Brincefield is new player number five for the Warriors and has been very good to date. He is hitting .600 and has played very fine defense both at second base and in left field. He is now known for his knuckle-ball line-drives to left field. He has scored 16 times and plated 11 in seven games. If he can continue to be a solid table-setter, he has a legitimate shot at an all-league selection at year-end.

Ryan Norman rounds out the new players for 2010. Ryan has only gotten out twice this year. Unfortunately, he has only had 17 at bats. His schedule has kept him from many games, but he should be a more stable presence in the second half. Had he qualified, he would have easily been leading the league with his .824 average and .882 on base percentage. He has scored nine and driven home seven in four games. Defensively, he is sure-handed at shortstop or anywhere in the outfield.

Lee Valle rejoined the team after a one-year layoff amid allegations of glove-doctoring following his outstanding 2008 fielding season. The one-year away from the hot corner only seemed to slow him down for one game and since then he has been nearly perfect, with an .875 fielding percentage and just two errors at third base. Lee's crafty offensive ways have returned also with another .500 average with a .560 on base percentage. If Lee can hover around .500 and continue his flashly hot-corner work, he will find himself with more hardware on his mantle after the season.

Jeff Johnson hasn't quite had the first half that was anticipated. With the lineup changes, Jeff should have been freed up to hit more homeruns that counted. Jeff hit ten homeruns in 2009 and another eight for outs, but has just managed three so far this year. He is coming off of shoulder surgery in the off-season and his strength and consistency should continue to improve as the season progresses. Jeff is hitting .500 with 13 runs and 16 rbi in his eight games.

Eric Johnson started slowly but is heating up as the weather does. He is up to .536 at the break with two doubles and two homeruns. Something new this year for Eric has been his team-leading six walks so far which has led to a .622 on base percentage. Eric has bounced around defensively between second and right field and done a solid job. He should continue his up-slope and flirt with .600 and add ten extra base-hits.

Jeff Tenney missed a few games at the beginning of the year but has been back for the final six games and he brought his bat. He has mashed out seven homeruns - good for second in the league - and has driven home 25 runs in just 23 at bats. His average has started to tick up and now sits at .565 wtih a slugging percentage of 1.522. Tenney captures his second straight all-star appearance for the Warriors. His glove has been used almost exclulsively at shortstop and he is settling in and starting to show off his canon on a regular basis.

Adam Hey has continued his amazing improvements in 2010 en route to his first-ever all-star appearance. He won the internet voting for the final spot this year, easily out-distancing the other contenders. Adam started hot and has maintained it. He is hitting .628, good for a top-10 placing. He also has ripped three doubles, one triple and one homerun. He has scored 21 times, second on the team, and driven home 19, good for third on the team. He has upped his play when it matters most hitting .667 with runners in scoring position and .667 with eight rbi from the 5th inning and on. It has been fun to watch as Adam has continued one of the most impressive turn-arounds in league history.

Manager Austin Colby has enjoyed a fruitful first half. Entering the season with a balky knee preventing him from playing any real defense has forced Austin to focus more at the plate and it has showed. He is hitting a league-best .821 with an .837 on base percentage and a 1.974 slugging percentage. He is 32-39 with eight doubles, five triples and nine homeruns, all league-highs. He has scored 29 times and driven home 32, also good for the league lead. The torrid first half gave Austin his fifth straight all-star starting gig, his first at pitcher though.

League Outlook:
Wooddale Mercy Rules started extremely hot and is in the driver's seat heading into the second half. However, Wooddale Classic's two losses were very early and are currently riding a six-game winning streak and doing so with authority. I can see EPAG start to fall off just a little, still making noise but not enough to challenge for the league title. You can never count out the defending champions and this Resurrection Life team is going to make a run at the title. Newcomer Redeemer has a lot of experience and maybe the most balanced lineup in the league and has a chance to play spoiler in the second half.

The bottom four teams, St. Andrew Blue, St. Andrew Red, Immanuel, and Pax Christi, will stay in the bottom four but could surpirse a team or two in the top tier.

I am going to go with the team that has been there and that is the Resurrection Life Warriors.

Projected Final Standings:
1. Rez Life: 15-3
2. Classic: 14-4
3. Mercy Rules: 13-5
4. Redeemer: 11-7
5. EPAG: 11-7
6. Andrew Blue: 6-12
7. Immanuel: 5-13
8. Andrew Red: 4-14
9. Pax Christi: 2-16

Team Outlook:
The team offense will continue to roll, leading the league in most categories and the improved defense will allow the Warriors to sweep the second half of the season. The squad will make a run at team records in batting average, on base percentage, extra base-hits and runs scored.

- Bryan will flirt with a .400 on base percentage
- Tenney will average more than one homerun per game played
- Both Austin and Tenney will hit 15+ homers
- Eric will finally hit .600 again
- Jeff will hit over .500 and hit five homeruns in the second half
- Adam will prove it isn't a fluke en route to a 1st team all-league selection
- Aaron will NOT drop another ball and WILL hit a homerun
- The infield will turn six second-half double-plays
- The team will explode for a 32+ run game
- Tim will quietly amass one of the finest statistical seasons ever
- Lee will win a gold glove
- nine different players will hit homeruns
- Ryan will play eight games in the second half and hit .800
- Logan will hit an outfielder in the knee with one of his knuckle-balls

First-Half Honors:
Leauge:
All-Star starter: Austin Colby
All-Star starter: Jeff Tenney
All-Star starter: Tim Jandro
All-Star reserve: Adam Hey

Team:
MVP: Austin Colby & Tim Jandro. It may seem like a slam dunk for Austin this season but Tim's presence has been a huge lift taking pressure off of the rest of the lineup which has had a great trickle-down effect. Don't count out Tenney in this category. He could very well end up with 20+ homers and 70 rbi which would almost assuredely net him MVP.

Infield Gold Glove: Lee Valle, 3B. Lee struggled in his first game but has been nearly flawless since then. He is just about as smooth as smooth gets at third base and with he and Tenney on the left side, things look good over there. Tenney's numbers look down, but he really has only had one bad game defensively and a couple meaningless errors. He will always contend for this award.

Outfield Gold Glove: Logan Brincefield. Logan has been dynamite so far when he's been in the outfield. He should see more time out there in the second half and if he continues his current play, he'll be competitive in the gold glove argument. Watch out for Ryan if he qualifies with enough innings.

Projected Second-half Lineup:
1. Ryan Norman, LF
2. Tim Jandro, P
3. Austin Colby, LC
4. Eric Johnson, 2B
5. Jeff Tenney, SS
6. Adam Hey, C
7. Logan Brincefield, RC
8. Aaron Beintema, RF
9. Jeff Johnson, 1B
10. Lee Valle, 3B
11. Bryan Christensen, DH