I will post my preseason rankings as well, I really think the C division is pretty wide open after Line Drive, Right now Line Drive has to be the early favorites in C. The rest of C is pretty interesting you have a lot of guys playing up for the first time or their first time in a while and a core of teams that moved up from D last year to play C. It will be very interesting to see how these teams adjust to this level, the one good thing is that these teams moving up will have plenty of chances to play each other and get the feel for C. Teams like TG, Mayhem and R&L are already pretty familiar with each other from last year, giving us some of the best games to watch on the year, you add teams like Korody, Pure Divine to the mix, (which are two other teams making the jump a core of players that didn't play C either last year) it should make for a competitive and fun year for these teams playing C. My sleeper in C would have to be GLX, this isn't their first go round and at times last year they looked like they were turning the corner, with their experience they should fair very well in C this year.
Top 5:
1. Line Drive: Are they this years Pole Position? It way too early to tell, but this team on paper definitely in my eyes is a head above the rest of the competition in C to this point. They finished 5th in Vegas a couple weeks back and they seem ready to make a push this year to compete in C nationally. Teams like Korody, Mayhem, TG and R&L will only get better by playing Line Drive and they will compete with them before it is all said and done.
2. R&L Concrete: Out of all the teams that moved up, I think they might of been the most ready to play C. They competed in a lot of C tournaments last year and did pretty well in them. I think that experience will definitely help them moving forward this year competing in C. Spots 2-5 in this preseason rankings could go anyway, it will be interesting to see what teams start separating themselves from the pack starting in June.
3. TG/TPS/Elite: Another team making the jump from D to C, this team made so real good addition in the off season and if they can blend into the already great team chemistry that TG has, I don't see why TG won't be competing at this level very soon. They have a group of guys who like playing together and when you have that it makes winning and transitions like this that much easier. As long as they can keep everyone happy with playing time, I don't see why their new additions won't be a big difference makers for them this year.
4. Mayhem: All I have been hearing is how bad they looked in Taylor a few weeks back, but this team will be fine, they picked us some key veteran who have experience at this level and how done very good at this level. I do think losing a couple of their core guys could hurt them at first, but Mayhem will get it right if you look at their track record from the past two years in E and D. They win and compete when it matters in August and September and I am sure they will be firing on all cylinders by then.
5. Plumbers: They don't play a whole lot of USSSA, but they definitely have made themselves known this off season by calling out Line Drive and pretty much stating how they beat them last year when it counted. I am really looking forward to watching them play and definitely looking forward to watching a Line Drive vs. Plumbers game this summer.
Now, time to move to the D class this year. I was a bit surprised to see that only 8 D teams signed up for the early bird, but maybe that is because of the weather forecast. I know of at least 4 teams that are not playing in this one, so hopefully D will get deeper with teams real soon here. Right now in D it is almost the same as C with Mush Reloaded clearly being the preseason favorites, their roster is loaded and a lot of them seem very hungry after a down year last year for most of them. It will be interesting to see what team in D steps up and becomes that team that will compete with Mush week in and week out.
Top 5:
1. Mush Reloaded/Sinister: They have the experience and talent to be something real special this year. They started off 4-0 down in Joliet before losing the next 2 on Sunday. As long as this team stays motivated like they have been this off season, they will continue to be in the 1 spot all year and will have a legit shot in September when it counts. I think their biggest obstacle could be becoming complacent, Mush is going to need that team that is going to push them and make them better and they definitely will see that in the C/D tournaments.
2. Detroit Phillies: I give the Phillies a slight edge going into the season over some of the other teams, because they have competed at this level or higher for a years now. Phillies always have the same core of guys, but they did make some nice pick ups with some Exotic guys this off season which I believe will really help them in the long run. Phillies are one of the teams that are not in this weekend's Early Bird tournament, which leaves it wide open for a team to step up and compete with the Mush guys.
3. Detroit Drama: Drama is another team taking the weekend off from the Early Bird, they are a veteran bunch that have been playing together for years. They will definitely compete, this isn't your average E team moving up to D, most of them have played D in the past and feel comfortable playing at this level. Great Leadership with Great Team Chemistry definitely equals success then you add in the fact that they go out there and have fun while they are doing it, this team will be just fine in D and can't wait to watch that first Mush vs. Drama game.
4. DO/Mushtube.com: Have them at the 4 spot for now, but I do believe they can and will move up once the season starts going. They are coming off a less than stellar Bash for Cash, but a lot of changes have been made since then, they definitely have some questions marks, but they have guys with experience, good leadership and I believe when they get their full team out there when it counts, they will be right in the mix of things. This weekend is a big weekend for them, with 2 of the top teams not playing they should be able to make some noise this weekend.
5. Blue Crush Softball: Have to put the defending champs in the Preseason top 5, how long will they stay there? I guess that just depends on how much USSSA they really do plan on playing this year. I here it will be a limited schedule and that they will be playing mostly NSA. Another team that definitely could of went in this spot is Apex Softball, I don't know how much USSSA they will be playing either, since they have been mostly a NSA team in the past (Fubar), but Blue Crush edged them out in the preseason rankings for now with being the defending champs.
I am not going to do an E rankings, someone else will be doing that, but I will talk about some E teams and where I think they fit on the year.
Dooley's/Pole Position: Most of the talk has been about Trust Sports/Wicked Sports or Repomonkey this off season, both those teams are very good, but people maybe sleeping on Dooley's a bit. They return a core of guys that have been playing together for years and have competed mostly in D until last year. They have great leadership and coaching, two very good pitchers and they will play D. When you have all of that and add in their additions from Magic and Trick this will be a tough team to beat. They finished 2-2 down in Joliet which was D/E tournament, but I expect them to be in the mix of winning many tournaments this summer.
Detroit Syndicate: This team is definitely a scrappy bunch that absolutely fears no one. They had a huge win last week vs. Trust/Wicked Sports. They are made up of the core of Bailey's from last year with some real nice additions that will have them competing at the E level all year. Are they a top tier team yet with Dooley's, Repo, and Trust/Wicked? Maybe Not, but they definitely have the potential of getting there. They play real good defensive and whenever you can do that at the E level you will have a shot to win any game you play.
Repomonkey: Another team that a lot of people have been talking about and they should be a top team in E all year. Let's not forget there three wins versus DO this offseason, yes two was in Dome, but the other came down in Cincy in come from behind fashion. Also, remember one of those wins vs. DO was against what is now known at Trust/Wicked. If they build chemistry and limit any playing time conflict that may occur, this team will be winning their fair share of E tournaments on the year.
Next Week I will talk about three other E teams: Those teams will be the Kings, Tanel 360 and Aftermath Softball, so stay tuned and I will see you all at the fields real soon. Have Fun and BE SAFE!
Big Hoss
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