2018 Handies: Clown Shu

The Clownshoes were the strongest pitching team in our earliest tournaments dating to the last decade. Legend tells they had a rotation of two interchangeable arms that threw twice as hard as anybody else's ace, and would routinely offer a 4 out inning to opposing lineups just to rack up more Ks. Most opponents would turn down this offer. When it came time to give our pitching award a name in 2011 it was impossible to distinguish one Clownshoe pitcher from the other; they were a two-headed beast. While naming a wiffle pitching award "Cy Young" is stupid (the man never played wiffleball), its two syllable first-name-last-name combo carries a certain gravitas. Thus, Clown Shu was born; the honor to be bestowed upon the best pitcher in WSEM every season.

The 2018 Clown Shu is Scott Kujawa of the Wicked Aces. It's Scott's second time winning the Shu; making him only the second player to win it multiple times. In a fashion similar to our Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player the Clown Shu also dominated the top of the leaderboard. Kujawa posted the number-one ERA, WHIP, K/6, K/BB, and K% - many of those by a large margin. The only argument against Scott's claim to the Clown Shu was his innings pitched. While some pitchers did have 10-20 more innings than the White Asian, at 46 IP he still had more than 150% of the minimum requirement (30 IP). Contrast this with Farkas, who did see his stock hurt at only 35 IP. Nick Braden was the main beneficiary of that and, after a career season the mound, found himself positioned as the first runner up. Nick's overall average ranking came out to 4.7; Kujawa's was 1.6. Had the gap been much closer inning differential could have become a factor, but not in the face of a full three-point spread. Kujo pitched more than his fair share of innings and dominated in almost all of them. Through-and-through that's the Clown Shu.

PITCHING	IP	ERA	WHIP	K/6	K/BB	K%	BAA	BB%	OA Rk
Scott Kujawa	46.0	1.04	0.78	16.17	5.64	.713	.092	.126	1.6
Stephen Farkas	35.0	2.06	1.20	15.09	4.19	.599	.167	.143	3.1
Nick Braden	66.0	1.82	1.38	10.82	3.40	.412	.220	.121	4.7
Travis Strojny	59.0	2.95	1.54	14.75	2.96	.543	.193	.184	4.9
Craig Skinner	54.2	2.96	1.70	14.49	2.20	.516	.168	.235	5.7
Chandler Phillips	46.0	3.26	1.98	15.52	1.45	.520	.061	.358	6.4
Ray Brown	60.0	2.00	1.75	11.30	1.69	.396	.174	.235	6.4
Michael Villarreal	47.2	5.03	1.83	8.77	2.56	.302	.298	.118	7.6
Mark Phillips	39.1	5.80	1.73	6.29	3.73	.222	.329	.060	7.7
Chris Paquin	67.0	4.21	1.85	8.42	2.04	.290	.281	.142	8.4
David Castle	65.0	5.08	2.34	9.78	1.06	.307	.212	.290	9.3

Shu Shopping cont'd... Top Pitchers Through 8 Weeks

It's time for our second installment of scoping out the top pitching talent. A quick walk through to compare what they each have to offer. Similar to how we broke the arms down after Week 4, we're again ranking the pitchers by individual category first, then calculating a "composite ranking" from those number rankings. We've added a new statistic this time around, Opponents Batting Average, bringing the total to 5 individual categories. The composite ranking formula is also tweaked a bit: ERA, WHIP, and OBA rankings all count double towards the final number, while K/6 and K/BB rankings are counted only once. Pitchers must have at least 22 IP as of June 23 to be considered "full-time" and included in this list. Without further ado, see where everyone stands as we head into the home stretch.

Pitcher	ERA	#	WHIP	#	OBA	#	K/BB	#	K/6	#	COMP. RANK
Kujawa	0.53	(1)	0.91	(2)	.082	(1)	3.9	(3)	15.1	(5)	2.0
Farkas	0.78	(2)	0.57	(1)	.110	(4)	13.7	(1)	16.0	(1)	2.0
Fisher	0.88	(4)	1.24	(5)	.082	(1)	2.6	(7)	15.2	(4)	3.9
A. Bischoff	1.50	(6)	1.00	(3)	.127	(7)	4.7	(2)	16.0	(1)	4.4
C. Phillips	1.06	(5)	1.51	(7)	.110	(4)	2.2	(9)	15.3	(3)	5.5
Strojny	2.57	(7)	1.29	(6)	.138	(9)	3.1	(5)	15.0	(6)	6.9
Bortmas	0.82	(3)	1.18	(4)	.156	(11)	2.9	(6)	11.2	(16)	7.3
Gendron	3.32	(10)	1.92	(12)	.102	(3)	1.5	(13)	13.7	(11)	9.3
Skinner	3.00	(8)	2.10	(9)	.157	(12)	2.1	(10)	13.8	(10)	9.8
Brown	3.42	(11)	1.81	(11)	.130	(8)	1.5	(11)	12.7	(12)	10.4
Schultz	3.12	(9)	1.52	(8)	.202	(14)	2.5	(8)	11.5	(15)	10.6
Paquin	3.42	(12)	1.71	(10)	.289	(16)	3.8	(4)	11.8	(14)	11.8
Doby	4.17	(13)	2.15	(14)	.138	(9)	1.4	(14)	14.2	(8)	11.8
Bayley	6.14	(15)	2.69	(15)	.113	(6)	1.0	(15)	14.4	(7)	11.8
Castle	5.42	(14)	2.06	(13)	.186	(13)	1.5	(11)	12.4	(13)	13.0
ERA = Earned Run Average WHIP = Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched OBA = Opponents Batting Average K/BB = Strike Outs per Walk K/6 = Strike Outs per 6 Innings Pitched Composite Ranking = ((2*ERA#)+(2*WHIP#)+(2*OBA#)+K/BB#+K/6#)/8

Top 10 Pitchers After Week 10

by Evan Bischoff

1.)  Stephen Farkas  -  Alex See Yas

Even though he appears to be on the league’s worst team, Farkas is still the best in the league and one of the best in the country. Lowest ERA and WHIP in the league, and was one walk away from throwing 8 perfect innings against the Wolfpack on Sunday (Spoiler: His team still didn’t win, somehow). Not quite as overpoweringly dominant as last year with a slightly higher ERA (+.05) and WHIP (+.11), but still the No. 1 pitcher.

2.)  Evan Bischoff  -  Wicked Aces

Truthfully, I hate to put myself this high on the list. Statistically, I have had a very solid 2015 campaign. With the second best WHIP and ERA in the league, alongside a 9-1-1 record, a top 2 ranking seems appropriate. However, letting up 5 ER in the last four starts will prevent my ego from becoming too inflated while writing this article.

3.)  Craig Skinner  -  Flying Squirrels

Although he has fewer innings than in past seasons, he’s just as dominant as a Flying Squirrel as he was an El Diablo. He has allowed only 4 ER all season, tied for the league lead for those with 22+ IP. Sitting in the top 5 in both WHIP and ERA, Skin-flute is having the same mound presence wearing the baby blue.

4.)  Scott Kujawa  -  Red Cox

The White Asian is the only rookie to make this list and appears to be running away with the ROY award, mainly because of his dominance on the mound. After a slightly shaky start to the year, he hasn’t given up a run in the month of June. In his last start, he was also one walk away from PG’ing the Wolfpack. He started the year good and is only getting better.

5.)  Trey Jardine  -  Red Cox

Jam Boy Jardine is one of the few southpaws in the league and easily the most dominant. With a top 5 ranking in WHIP and ERA, he probably should be higher on the list. However, of his last three pitching decisions, two were losses. His 5-3 record just isn’t as cool as the 8-1 record of his teammate.

6.)  Travis Strojny  -  Wolfpack

After struggling greatly on opening weekend, Strojny has settled into the ace role nicely. When subtracting his first week jitters, he has an ERA of 0.78 and a WHIP of only 0.79. These totals would put him at ranking 6th in ERA and 3rd in WHIP. Unfortunately, he seems to face every team’s best pitcher on a good day and has a lowly record of 4-6-1.

7.)  Kevin Doby  -  Islanders

Many criticized Islanders management for trading away Fisher to get Doby. It’s hard to criticize now, though. Even though he doesn’t have pretty stats, Doby is pretty much single-handedly keeping the Islanders in the playoff race. He has 6 of the Islanders 9 wins, including 2 huge wins last weekend against the Squirrels and El Diablos.

8.)  Chandler Phillips  -  El Diablos

After settling in midseason, Phillips has gone cold. In his last three starts, he has gone 0-3 with a mediocre ERA of 3.16. With a league-leading 82 IP, it is possible that he is at least slightly fatigued, but he’d never admit that. Even with his recent struggles, Phillips still posts a top 10 ERA and WHIP on the season.

9.)  RJ Fisher  -  Holy Balls

Earlier this season, Fisher would have been in the Top 3. But with only 21 IP and 3 GP, he has been a non-factor for most of the year. He hasn’t played in a single game since the middle of May and has since then changed teams… twice. However, he deserves mention on this list because he is a dominant pitcher. He’s posted a 0.57 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP and still has a chance to make a huge difference in the remainder of the season. But he can only pitch when he shows up.

10.)  Sam Hatt  -  Wicked Aces

Hatt might be past his wiffleball prime, but he still is a force to be reckoned with on the mound. This year he has posted a solid 1.33 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP, ranking 7th and 6th in WSEM play. However, he has only 27 IP which is keeping him from being higher on this list. Not quite his 2012 form, but definitely still a respectable year from S. Hatt.

Top 10 Pitchers After 4 Weeks

by Carl Coffee

10. Sam Hatt  –  Whiteford Wicked Aces

Hatt has had a very nice WSEM career, being both the Manchester Punchout and Westside Warrior ace. He is now comfortably in the #2 spot for the Aces, and it’s perfect for him. He has seen action in five games already, and has put up Sam Hatt numbers. When you have a 1.19 WHIP and a 3.41:1 K/BB ratio, and you are doing that as a #2 pitcher, your team will go far.

9. Travis Strojny  –  Wolfpack

Strojny deserves a better spot than #9, but those Week 1 stats really hurt him. If you take away those games, he has a 1.04 ERA and a 4:1 K/BB ratio. Strojny has been a workhorse for the 3-5 Wolfpack, and has put the team on his back early in the season. This #9 ranking should be the lowest we ever see him at.

8. Scott Kujawa  –  Red Cox

‘The White Asian’, ‘Kujo’, ‘Scott’, ‘The Red Assassin’ (just made that up), whatever you want to call him, this guy is quietly having an amazing rookie season on the hill. In a year where rookies haven’t done much, Kujawa is looking like a seasoned veteran. Although he only has one complete game, his 3-0 record still stands out. Combine that with his 0.75 ERA, and it’s safe to say Kujawa is the early ROY front runner.

7. David Castle  –  Holy Balls

Seeing David Castle at #7 should tell you how stellar our pitching is. This is a guy who has thrown the 2nd most innings so far (28), has a 1.00 WHIP, hasn’t lost yet, and six pitchers are ranked ahead of him?!? Castle has taken over as the Balls ace, and has saved the team this year. If his arm doesn’t fall off, and his offense keeps giving him run support, I can see Castle winning 10 games this year.

6. RJ Fisher  –  Islanders

Fisher no longer in the shadows of the Bischoff Brothers so far has not disappointed. He went toe-to-toe against Farkas and Chandler, but did lose against Little E. Fisher has allowed only two runs in 21 innings and his control hasn’t been an issue. The Islanders will hang around thanks to Fisher, but he needs run support.

5. Chandler Phillips  –  El Diablos

Chandler may be second in the league in walks allowed, and his 1.46 WHIP is high compared to other top pitchers, but few pitchers do a better job than Chandler at stranding runners on base. Chandler is the only true pitcher who plays full-time for the Fighting Chickens, and often has to get creative with when he throws. When he’s on, he’s just as good as anyone in the league.

4. Trey Jardine  –  Red Cox

The Red Cox spent a lot of money on the lefty All-Star, even though his availability was in question. He’s on pace for about 10 starts, and the numbers he has been putting up are #1 ace numbers. He so far has pretty much been the Left Handed version of Craig Skinner, as they both have nearly identical numbers.

3. Craig Skinner  –  Flying Squirrels

Skinner is just a tad better than Jardine early in the season. He has one more strike out, and his ERA (0.52) and WHIP (0.79) are .01 lower in both categories. Skinner has been, and will continue to be the ace for the talented Squirrels. With the pitching depth they have, he won’t ever be pulled in 8+ inning games, which will help his numbers this season.

2. Evan Bischoff  –  Whiteford Wicked Aces

We shouldn’t be surprised on how good Little E is, but yet, it seems like people are. With his bro in North Dakota, and Fisher on another team, it’s been the Evan Bischoff show for Whiteford. You can’t get any better than a 0.00 ERA, and his 8.3:1 K/BB ratio is stupid good. Evan will stay in the Clown Shu discussion all year, and will finally get the national attention he deserves.

1. Stephen Farkas  –  Ryan Alex See Yas

Farkas has given up a run and his 6.4:1 K/BB ratio is lower than Evan’s, but it’s really hard to not put Farkas anywhere but #1. He’s already at 90 strike outs this year, and could break his own record from last year. Like Fisher, he struggles to get run support. The reigning Clown Shu winner will have some competition this year if he wants to be the only 2-time winner, but he is still easily the frontrunner.