Untouchables Paderborn (25-3) vs. Haar Disciples (13-11)
The Untouchables went nearly two months into the season before losing their first game, and then cruised through the rest of the schedule atop the leaderboard. From leadoff to the ninth spot, the northern champs saw balanced production from every hitter. Imports Ryan Hall and Matt Martin both lived up to their duties, each with an OPS over 1.000. Starters Michael Franke, Daniel Hinz, Octavio Medina, Craig Pycock, Björn Schonlau, Jendrick Speer, and Julius Uelschen all hit over .300 as well, with Pycock and Medina, joining Hall and Martin in the 20 run and 20 RBI club. On the basepaths, they stole 95 bases, being caught just 18 times, and the team posted a .976 fielding percentage, supporting the notion that they are a complete ballclub. Schonlau and Franke split the majority of duties behind the plate during the season, and allowed just 17 runners to steal on them, combined. Also doing their part to limit runners, the Paderborn pitching staff, while small, is highly effective. Just three pitchers picked up meaningful innings: Eugen Heilmann went 72 innings as the game one starter, Brian Fields worked 82.2 innings in the foreigner games, and reliever Daniel Hinz nearly got to 50 in 6 starts and 5 relief appearances. The three combined for 211 strikeouts, more than a third of all the outs while they were on the mound. Its may be easy to attribute their success to constantly pitching with a lead, or the outstanding defense behind them, but the fact they were able to dominate the north with just three fulltime pitchers is noteworthy.
Haar didn’t have a long winning streak to start the season like Paderborn, but they did put themselves clear of the pack through two-thirds of the season. A late swoon saw them fall into a tie for fourth, but they owned the tiebreaker to get into the playoffs without too much sweating. Preseason acquisition Nils Hartkopf has been the top producer in every aspect, having a career year while leading the team with a .402 average, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 21 R, and a 3.78 ERA that earned him 3 wins and a save in 50 innings on the mound. He also played a solid short for the Disciples, who had tried five players at the position last season. Also having a career best was Ty Eriksen, in his third season with the Disciples after a 2006 second league championship. Eriksen (.391, 18 RBI, 1.034 OPS), Hartkopf, Christoph Ziegler (21 RBI, .898 OPS), Mitch Stephan, and mid-season returnee Tony Younis (grand slams in each of the last two weekends) are the sparks to an offense that posted great offensive totals in the south, but is susceptible to streakiness. Just five games were decided by two or less runs, so they’ll need to get a lead in order to keep up with their opponents in the playoffs. Relievers Theo Gieschen (2-1, 1 Sv, 3.42 ERA) and Greg Klinc (4-1, 1 Sv, 2.73 ERA) will join Hartkopf and US pitcher Paco Garcia (3-5, 6.75 ERA) in the battery.
Last year in the playoffs, Paderborn nearly got swept out of the first round before recovering to take the series 3-2 against Mannheim. Haar gave last years northern champ Solingen a serious challenge, despite being swept in three games. It is clear that both teams want to change those performances; Haar wants their first playoff win in club history in their second trip to the playoffs, while Paderborn wants to establish themselves as clearly dominant over the lowest team in the south. In this matchup, Paderborn has an offensive and defensive advantage over Haar. Keys to advancing for the Untouchables are having their starting pitching make it into the late innings with a lead, and utilizing their aggressive offense to pressure the Disciples. For the Disciples, their chance to make it an interesting series depend on if their offense is on, and if they can get a couple dominant performances from their pitchers who either fascinate or fold against top teams. It shouldn’t take Paderborn five games to finish off the Disciples; but if it does, give the advantage to Haar with their deeper pitching staff.