The Next Episode

As Dr Dre used to say:

Hope you ready for the next episode

HeyyyeyyyeEYEYyyyEYYYY....

He did then follow that up with “smoke weed every day!” but since we’re running a G rated program at Deep in the Hole we’ll keep that part out. Yes, its time for the next installment of the Multiculturalists / Blue Sox clash with 3 more games to come starting Friday night.  Holding the season opener a week ago will have helped both teams, allowing their aces to recharge and start again while giving the bullpen a chance to powder their noses and freshen up.

Sydney Blue Sox GM, Eddie Bray thought he’d get the better of the Defensive Specialist by calling at 6am with the roster for this weekend’s showdown with the Multiculturalists. Unfortunately for Eddie, the Defensive Specialist was just finishing up his morning workout so there was no small victory to be had. The Blue Sox head into Friday’s clash with a virtually unchanged line up to the one that beat the Multiculturalists in the first game of the series last week. Chris Oxspring will again take the ball, which will obviously not excite the boys from Canberra who struggled to muster much against him in the first go around. If Blue Sox manager Glenn Williams can get another 6 scoreless innings out of his pitching coach he’d be pretty happy as the 3 games this weekend mean he can dip into his bullpen a little more than he would in a 4 game series. Oxspring will be looking to attack the Multiculturalists again, limiting the free passes and going right at them with his fastball.

The Defensive Specialist anticipates Wayne Lundgren and Craig Anderson making the starts in games 2 & 3. Lundgren had a solid season in the Claxton Shield last year and will be relied upon to gobble up innings this year. Craig Anderson goes slow, slower and slowest in his approach, which has proven to be highly successful in Australia and has worked at the big league level for Jamie Moyer. Behind these two the bullpen looks impressive. David Welch and D.S Koo are nightmarish on left-handers and will be called on to take care of the heavily left-handed Multiculturalists line-up late in the game. Williams has a number of right-handed options out of the pen in Matthew Williams, Vaughn Harris and Todd Gratton.

The Blue Sox will desperately want to turn their offense up a notch after only putting up a single run in game 1. D’Antonio, Techno Tim and Dening all looked ready for action in the first game. Williams will need these guys to keep it going and hope that the remainder of the line up can contribute. Look for greater contributions from Stone Hands Maat and Andrew Graham and some scrappiness from Lysaught.

The Multiculturalists weren’t able to get any information through to your old pal here at Deep in the Hole so this preview is going to be completed on pure instinct. J.H Heo who took the loss in game 1 gets the start for the Canberra franchise. Despite giving up the only run, he did show a broad array of pitches and showed enough fastball to keep hitters off his offspeed stuff. In all honesty, it was a Techno Tim fist shot to left, a Techno Tim brain cramp base running play and a Dening duck fart single that beat him so it wasn’t as if he gave it up easy. The Defensive Specialist anticipates seeing Steve Kent make another appearance at some stage although being on a tight inning limit makes it hard to imagine that he’ll make another start. He could be significantly more effective out of the pen late in a close game. Knuckleballer Phil Brassington has been activated for this series so it’s likely he’ll make a start with the rotation being rounded out by one of the other Korean arms.

Michael Collins makes his first appearance for his hometown team this weekend and his bat will be another welcome addition. Collins had a monster season for South Australia last year and he’ll add some pop to a decent Multiculturalists line up. The Defensive Specialist expects Didi Gregorious to lead off again with Kimpton, Collins, Lutz, Moon and Lee to follow. The lineup has an interesting blend of power and speed although being heavy on left-handers may cause problems late in the contest when the Blue Sox play match ups and start wheeling out their killer lefty arms.

As for a series outcome, the Defensive Specialist sees the Blue Sox taking the first 2 games of the series with the Multiculturalists rallying on Sunday to snag a victory. Sydney 3-1.

Enjoy the baseball!