Captains: Daniel Shaw & Katie Litle
First Round Pick: Gene Efird
Let me just throw this out there now, The Big Easy appears to be the team to beat in my preseason poll. On paper, they have a stout team with lot's of experience. If last year taught us anything though, that doesn't always translate 100% when it comes to game day. Chemistry, game plan, attendance all play a bigger part than "Look who we got."
Whenever you start a draft team with the 1st Team All Peninsula Pitcher and Female combo... you probably have a leg up. Dan is quite possibly the best pitcher in the league and Katie the same as females go. Problem is, where do you go from here? How about drafting your next four picks directly from the All Peninsula Pool. Gene Efird was their first round pick and an All Peninsula honoree on the 2nd team. He is feared at the plate for the power he exerts and is a wall as a top charger in the league. Then there's Roger Jackson, who only made the 3rd Team All Peninsula (only!), as one of the most athletic catchers wreaking havoc on all stray bunts within a 20 foot radius of home plate. They headed back to the 2nd Team picking Allen Walker who, as his Spring team mate Brent Wentworth said in the podcast, was his pick for best 1st baseman out on the field this passed season. And to round out this disgusting display of who's who, they chose their first drafted female in Courtney Efird. There are 4 females on the 1st Team All Peninsula and both Courtney & Katie are 2 of them. They have exactly HALF of the 4 best girls in the league. Any questions why they are the proverbial favorite as of right now?
If this were a salary cap league, they would have wasted all their resources in the first 4 rounds and it should all be down hill form here. Au contraire mon frer. Justin Shauf is hell on the base paths, Michaels Seals is an above average pitcher and charger, David Tortolini own the outfield, and Justin Waddles can catch you off guard with deep kicks. Well maybe they wasted all their picks on guys and didn't get anymore quality girls? Guess again. Andrea Henry is about as tactically sound at the plate as you can get and knows exactly what role she has to play every time she gets up to kick. Marilee Columbus, who may only be a self diagnosed "team mom", has vastly improved her bunts over the last year and dare we say, actually enjoys PLAYING kickball and not just being around people who are playing kickball.
They still happened to snag some late round talent that just adds to their depth. Chase Feller has only played one season with NKotB, but he was an anchor for them on the mound and an offensive insurgence. Dom Guarry has a lot of hustle in him and gives 100% on every play.
I haven't been able to spy on their two rookies yet when it comes to on the field performance, but if Amy Mabry's high energy personality on draft night is able to translate on the field, she'll be a sleeper for sure. And while I honestly know nothing about Abigail Riffle yet (sorry, I'm only soo good at Facebook stalking), look at the people she has to learn from. She will have no problems picking up on exactly what it takes be a positive influence on the field.
So The Big Easy may pass the eye test, but will they pass the smell test? We'll find out in two days.
Full Roster:
Daniel Shaw
Katie Litle
Gene Efird
Roger Jackson
Allen Walker
Courtney Efird
Justin Shauf
Michael Seals
David Tortolini
Andrea Henry
Justin Waddles
Marilee Columbus
Chase Feller
Amy Mabry
Dom Guarry
Abby Riffle
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