Monday, August 11, 2008

Softball Bats

Decided to go with the ranking of softball bats over the White Sox game because the Sox lost and it wasn't that great of an interesting game. When ranking the bats I'm going to first do my personal preference in bats and then ranking what I've seen guys hit.

My Rankings
1. Miken Ultra 2 (illegal)- This bat is the best bat out there that you can use. Ball just jumps off this bat without a lot of effort.
2. Original Miken Freak (illegal)- Great great asa bat. Can really see the difference now that this bat has been banned. My home run total has gone way down.
3. Demarini Juggernaut- Love the flex of this two piece bat and you don't have to swing hard and the ball just jumps. Takes a little while to get used but, once you get used to it can't put it down.
4. Demarini White Steel- Best single wall bat out there. Competes right up there with any double wall bat. Have hit some of my deepest bombs with this bat.
5. Miken NRG- Its a miken so you know its good. Have to put a little more muscle in the ball but, hits the ball really hard.
6. Demarini Evo- Another reflex demarini which I love. Swings a little heavier then other demarini's but, still has great pop off the bat.
7. Miken Maniac 484- A stiffer bat but, when it hits the sweet spot the ball will go.
8. Miken Freak 98- Very very stiff bat but, the more you hit it the hotter the bat gets. Needs to be broke in.
9. Anti-Virus Combat- Has the best grip of any bat and swings nice. I just never seem to hit the sweet spot on it and don't like the feel when it hits the ball.
10. Toledo Katana- Durability is an issue with this bat. Swings great and feels good when you make contact but, really lacks power if you miss the sweet spot.

What I've seen rankings
1. Miken Ultra 2(illegal)- Seen guys hit 400 foot bombs with this bat enough said.
2. Miken Original Freak (illegal)- Everyones home run totals have dropped since this bat has been made illegal. This bat created "Miken Power".
3. Miken Recoil- Hits rocket line drives. Seems to have a long break in time though and swings alittle heavier.
4. Rip It Reaper- Not a very common bat but, seen guys hit monster bombs. Guys that I know love the feel and the power they get off the bat.
5. Worth Mayhem- Been told a few times that this is the best bat out there. Seen some good power out of this bat.
6. Anti-Virus Combat- Seen a lot of power hitters use this bat and it seems the more you hit it and the worse it looks the hotter this bat is.
7. Easton Synergy- Have heard mixed reviews about this bat but, have seen a few guys that hit the long ball extremely well and have always used this bat no matter what else was allowed.
8. Demarini Juggernaut- Have seen a lot of little guys hitting home runs with this bat that should never be hitting home runs. Great small guy bat.
9. Miken NRG- Has some very good pop but, like I said you do have to swing hard to make the ball go. Not quite the original freak but, close.
10. Mizuno Orange Crush (illegal)- Haven't seen a lot of good out of this bat but, have heard a ton of good things and its illegal for a reason.

Well theres my thoughts on the bats that I've used or seen. When I first started playing softball Demarini Ultimate Weapon was my bat, then Demarini White Steel, then Miken Original Freak and Ultra 2 when allowed, and now I'm on the Demarini Juggernaut with some Miken NRG mixed in. I love the Mikens and Demarini's but, as you look at my other rankings every bat company gets the job done as far as bats are concerned.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Softball Rankings Round 4

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted on here but, life has been busy between work, softball, and a small social life. Since I've last posted our tournament team of Harmony is basically disbanded and I seem to be playing with a different random team every weekend. Two weekends ago we put together basically our own team to be sponsored by Harmony and went down to Hub City to play. The tournament was round robin of six teams and we struggled to a 2-3 record and just couldn't seem to get our bats going. We were in every game but, just couldn't get over the hump and break out. Despite the rough record we still finished the tournament in a tie for third place, as every team just beat up on each other. Jim and Marilyn's came away with the tournament win by dominating everyone.

The following weekend we played up in Wilton with a local team. They struggled to field a team which really hurt us. We finished at 2-2, I was only there for the two losses, and finished tied in fifth place. Multistack looked much more impressive then the first time I saw them in Camp Douglas as they went on to win the tournament.



Rankings
1. River City Coors Light (Lacrosse) Camp Douglas- Very very good team that hit the ball extremely well. Always hit line drives and only hit homers with runners on base.
2. Varsity Club (Baraboo/Madison/ Elroy) Tomah- Play very good defense, hit the long ball really well, and have one of the best pitchers around in Ronny Murray.
3. Multistack(Tomah/Sparta) Camp Douglas, Wilton- Hard hitting team. Play very good defense and hustle out every play and take the extra base.
4. Breakaway (Tomah/Sparta) Camp Douglas, Tomah, Wilton- Just like River City hit very hard line drives.
5. Harmony 2 (Mauston) Tomah, Lyndon Station- Another team that hits the long ball very well and plays pretty good defense. Can really string runs together.
6. Jim and Marilyns (Hub City, Richland Center) Hub City 2, Wilton- A good portion of the team is from Bar Ron Farms. Have a couple of very good power hitters and have a never give up attitude.
7. Bar Ron Farms (Ithaca/Spring Green) Hub City- Hit the ball very very hard and are always going for the long ball. Also have a pretty solid pitcher.
8. Mt Tabor aka The Barn (Mt. Tabor/Kendall) Hub City, Wilton- Similar to Bar Ron Farms in that they hit the long ball pretty well and play some pretty solid defense. Very solid 1-10. Appear to be getting a little old but, can still rise to the occasion and beat anyone.
9. Harmony (Mauston) My Tourney Team- Team that can really string the runs together and when there hot they can play with anyone.
10. Anjeros (Mauston) Mauston League- Play very solid defense and have very good hitters 1-9 and a pretty solid pitcher.
11. Harmony (Mauston) Mauston League- Combined players from the two Harmony's make this team pretty good.
12. Sand Bar (Wisconsin Dells) Dells League- Pretty good pitcher and a very solid hitting team all around. A very smart team, thats also very aggressive on the bases and on defense.
13. Crow Bar 2 (Warrens/Tomah) Warrens, Tomah- Solid hitting team that's played a lot of ball and play some pretty good defense. Looked to be a much improved hitting team the second time I saw them and had a better pitcher too.
14. Nubs Pub (Lacrosse/Sparta) Camp Douglas- Hit the ball really hard and can really string some runs together.
15. E.C.S. (Markesan/Dells) Lyndon Station- Young team with a lot of team speed. Hit the ball extremely well to the opposite field and cover a lot of ground in the outfield.


HM
Mt. Olympus (Wisconsin Dells) My Dells League Team
Sloopys (Lacrosse) Tomah
Monks (Wisconsin Dells) Dells League

Only two real give changes appeared in the new rankings. Jim and Marilyns appear since this was the first time I've seen them and Multistack made it into the rankings after there great tournament in Wilton. Kind of debating what my next topic will be about. I just went to the White Sox game last night, so I may write about that and I was also thinking about ranking my preference in softball bats and which bats are the best in my opinion.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Round 3 of Softball Rankings

Not a whole lot of changes in the rankings just a couple bumps up or down here or there. Sand Bar had a pretty good jump after they beat us in the Dells. They hit very well, have a pitcher that can get it up, and are really aggressive all around, whether it be on the bases or on defense, throwing behind runners getting off base to far.

Rankings
1. River City Coors Light (Lacrosse) Camp Douglas- Very very good team that hit the ball extremely well. Always hit line drives and only hit homers with runners on base.
2. Varsity Club (Baraboo/Madison/ Elroy) Tomah- Play very good defense, hit the long ball really well, and have one of the best pitchers around in Ronny Murray.
3. Breakaway (Tomah/Sparta) Camp Douglas, Tomah- Just like River City hit very hard line drives.
4. Harmony 2 (Mauston) Tomah, Lyndon Station- Another team that hits the long ball very well and plays pretty good defense. Can really string runs together.
5. Bar Ron Farms (Ithaca/Spring Green) Hub City- Hit the ball very very hard and are always going for the long ball. Also have a pretty solid pitcher.
6. Mt Tabor (Mt. Tabor/Kendall) Hub City- Similar to Bar Ron Farms in that they hit the long ball pretty well and play some pretty solid defense. Very solid 1-10.
7. Harmony (Mauston) My Tourney Team- Team that can really string the runs together and when there hot they can play with anyone.
8. Anjeros (Mauston) Mauston League- Play very solid defense and have very good hitters 1-9 and a pretty solid pitcher.
9. Harmony (Mauston) Mauston League- Combined players from the two Harmony's make this team pretty good.
10. Sand Bar (Wisconsin Dells) Dells League- Pretty good pitcher and a very solid hitting team all around. A very smart team, thats also very aggressive on the bases and on defense.
11. Crow Bar 2 (Warrens/Tomah) Warrens, Tomah- Solid hitting team that's played a lot of ball and play some pretty good defense. Looked to be a much improved hitting team the second time I saw them and had a better pitcher too.
12. Nubs Pub (Lacrosse/Sparta) Camp Douglas- Hit the ball really hard and can really string some runs together.
13. E.C.S. (Markesan/Dells) Lyndon Station- Young team with a lot of team speed. Hit the ball extremely well to the opposite field and cover a lot of ground in the outfield.
14. Mt Olympus (Wisconsin Dells) My Dells League Team- Young team with a lot of team speed, play very good defense, good overall team power, and have a pitcher that's been pitching really well lately.
15. Monks (Wisconsin Dells) Dells League- Veteran team that hits the long ball. Picked up some pretty good players since the last time I saw them.

HM
Bensons (Ontario/Kendal) Hub City
Sloopys (Lacrosse) Tomah
Crow Bar 1 (Warrens/Tomah) Hub City,Tomah

In a report on league teams there were a couple of blowouts. In Dells league we run ruled the Ducks 21-6 which was led by four home runs in the game. Mauston league was another powerhouse showing as we cruised to a 17-0 win over Wonderlys.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Softball updated begining of July

With July beginning the softball season is about half way through. In my coed church league we are 5-0 without having much of a challenge. We had a couple relatively close calls but, the games were never really in question.

In Mauston league we took our first lost the first time we played Harmony but, the second time we played them we were able to defeat Harmony 16-15. Our record in Mauston is now 7-1. We've continued to dominate everyone in the league outside of Harmony and have split with them so far this season.

Dells league our undefeated streak was ended as we lost to Sand Bar 10-7. I knew they were a good team but, I underestimated how good and smart ball players they actually were. A few errors, some bad base running, and a costly pitch cost us the game. Prior to the loss we beat Moosejaw 15-2. Moosejaw started with only eight players but, we really didn't jump on them until they got nine players and we put up eight runs in one inning. The week prior we beat Edge of the Dells 7-2 in a very ugly game were two hits pretty much won us the game as a bases loaded triple and error scored four runs and a bases loaded single and error scored another two runs. We are now 4-1 in the league and our only loss has come to the top team in the league. I'm think we've got a great shot at winning out the year and will probably not lose more than two more games the rest of the way.

Friday, June 27, 2008

2nd Round Softball Rankings

Haven't posted in awhile but, hoping to pick up the posting. I always say that though and I never do. Its the summer and I have a lot of different things going on as far as work, softball, and baseball. I haven't played baseball in awhile so theres nothing to report there. I missed the last baseball game which we lost 6-5. The bats finally started hitting but, we just can't seem to come away with the win.

In Mauston league softball we are struggling a bit as we came away with a 7-1 lose to Harmony, then followed up with a 9-7 win against Randalls a team we really should of beaten badly. The following week was another struggle as we beat Dream Sports 4-1 another team we should of killed. Game two was against Wonderlys who we beat by the 15 run rule like we should.

The Dells league finally got going again and we were able to defeat Knuckleheads 16-8. We didn't hit great but, we put the ball in play and made the other team make mistakes. We were carried by the hot bats of my brother Ben and Ryan Brice who each had four hits and a home run. Hopefully this will carry into our next game against Edge of the Dells.

Rankings
1. River City Coors Light (Lacrosse) Camp Douglas- Very very good team that hit the ball extremely well. Always hit line drives and only hit homers with runners on base.
2. Varsity Club (Baraboo/Madison/ Elroy) Tomah- Play very good defense, hit the long ball really well, and have one of the best pitchers around in Ronny Murray.
3. Breakaway (Tomah/Sparta) Camp Douglas, Tomah- Just like River City hit very hard line drives.
4. Harmony 2 (Mauston) Tomah- Another team that hits the long ball very well and plays pretty good defense. Can really string runs together.
5. Bar Ron Farms (Ithaca/Spring Green) Hub City- Hit the ball very very hard and are always going for the long ball. Also have a pretty solid pitcher.
6. Mt Tabor (Mt. Tabor/Kendall) Hub City- Similar to Bar Ron Farms in that they hit the long ball pretty well and play some pretty solid defense. Very solid 1-10.
7. Harmony (Mauston) My Tourney Team- Team that can really string the runs together and when there hot they can play with anyone.
8. Harmony (Mauston) Mauston League- Combined players from the two Harmony's make this team pretty good.
9. Crow Bar 2 (Warrens/Tomah) Warrens, Tomah- Solid hitting team thats played a lot of ball and play some pretty good defense. Looked to be a much improved hitting team the second time I saw them and had a better pitcher too.
10. Anjeros (Mauston) My Mauston League Team- Play really good defense and strong base hitting team.
11. Nubs Pub (Lacrosse/Sparta) Camp Douglas- Hit the ball really hard and can really string some runs together.
12. Monks (Wisconsin Dells) Dells League- Veteran team that hits the long ball. Picked up some pretty good players since the last time I saw them.
13. Mt Olympus (Wisconsin Dells) My Dells League Team- Young team with a lot of team speed and play very good defense.
14. Bensons (Ontario/Kendal) Hub City- Veteran team that's played a lot of ball and hitting the ball pretty solid.
15. Sloopys (Lacrosse) Tomah- Very good team that has a nice mix of veteran and young players. Very solid 1-10 hitters, not real weak areas.

HM
Crow Bar 1 (Warrens/Tomah) Hub City,Tomah
Sand Bar (Wisconsin Dells) Dells League

Currently we have a break right now in tournaments so just looking forward to next weeks league games. Like I said Mt Olympus will be meeting Edge O Dells and Anjeros has a very tough game against Harmony. Should be a great week of softball and after that were going on a camping trip up north which should be some real fun. Side note I've really been struggling lately and have been really struggling to get out of the slump. Hopefully next week will bring better hitting.

2nd Round Softball Rankings

Friday, June 13, 2008

First Round of Softball Rankings

With Dells softball league on hold due to the flooding only league going on is Mauston in which we dominated once again winning 17-1. We played Wonderlys who don't seem to have a lot of softball experience but, did show some flashes of some real skill. The wind was blowing in so we relied on our defense and base hits to carry us to victory. Had a rough game myself as I went 1-3 with two walks. Due to work I missed the first game up in Tomah which we won 15-9 so not much else to talk about. With little to talk about might as well do my first round of softball team rankings. Probably going to rank the top ten teams and as the season goes on may move to 15 or 20 teams. I'll be listing the team and then where there from and where I saw them play.

Rankings
1. River City Coors Light (Lacrosse) Camp Douglas- Very very good team that hit the ball extremely well. Always hit line drives and only hit homers with runners on base.
2. Breakaway (Tomah/Sparta) Camp Douglas- Just like River City hit very hard line drives.
3. Bar Ron Farms (Ithaca/Spring Green) Hub City- Hit the ball very very hard and are always going for the long ball. Also have a pretty solid pitcher.
4. Mt Tabor (Mt. Tabor/Kendall) Hub City- Similar to Bar Ron Farms in that they hit the long ball pretty well and play some pretty solid defense. Very solid 1-10.
5. Harmony (Mauston) My Tourney Team- Team that can really string the runs together and when there hot they can play with anyone.
6. Anjeros (Mauston) My Mauston League Team- Play really good defense and strong base hitting team.
7. Nubs Pub (Lacrosse/Sparta) Camp Douglas- Hit the ball really hard and can really string some runs together.
8. Mt Olympus (Wisconsin Dells) My Dells League Team- Young team with a lot of team speed and play very good defense.
9. Crow Bar 2 (Warrens/Tomah) Warrens- Solid hitting team that's played a lot of ball and play some pretty solid defense.
10. Bensons (Ontario/Kendal) Hub City- Veteran team that's played a lot of ball and hitting the ball pretty solid.
11. Crow Bar 1 (Warrens/Tomah) Hub City- Young team that hits the ball really well.
12. Sand Bar (Wisconsin Dells) Dells League- Veteran team that's played a lot of ball. Hit the ball pretty well.
13. Multistack (Tomah/Sparta) Camp Douglas- Solid hitting team, that plays decent defense.
14. Knuckleheads (Wisconsin Dells) Dells League- Young team with a lot of team speed and hit the ball pretty hard.
15. O'Finleys (Richland Center/Cazanovia) Hub City- Young team that plays pretty solid if they just keep their heads in the game.

Teams that would probably be ranked if I got a chance to see them play are Harmony Mauston league team and Harmony 2 tournament team. Both teams are very good and would easily be ranked if I had the chance to see them play.