"It's" Coming...

          The Yanks are good.  They won, they hit the ball hard, and they remained in position for home-field advantage.  Giambi looks like he is playing tomorrow (Wednesday) night, Sheffield got a hit and a ribbie, and Randall is going to be okay for his game-three playoff start, according to the front office.  I think that covers it.

         What I’m going to do today, in preparation for the 2nd Annual Wifflemania at Acclestick Park tournament on Saturday, is to treat everybody to an interview that the BPS did with the defending champion “Bombers” earlier in the week.  The team, Mike Sherry, Sean, and Acc, answered questions both for the team and as individuals.

Questions for all of the reigning champion “Bombers”:

BPS:  What set you apart last year that you rose to the top of the heap and became the Wifflemania champs?

Acc:  Pitching defiantly [ed. note: Acc seems to think the word ‘definitely’ is spelled ‘defiantly’.  You will see this pop up again later in the interview] pitching. Sean was light out last year.  I would say Sherry's hot bat but his head is big enough

Sean:  I’d say the team in general. I got lucky a few didn’t make it out of the park, while Mike had a clutch bat and drove in big runs.

Mike Sherry:  Pitching and timely HR's.  I think that we also had the most talent, which was nice.

BPS:  What is the most important thing the "Bombers" will need to do to repeat?

Acc:  I need to hit, I s*cked last year.

Sean:  I’d second that (for me). Hitting and runs make pitching a lot easier.  We squeaked a couple of games out last year.

Mike Sherry: Same as answer to question # 1

BPS:  Has there been any attention to training, i.e. diet and exercise, for the team to prepare for the title defense?

Acc:  I actually gained 15 lbs since last year’s event.  I have been eating like I have 3 *ssholes.

Sean:  I’ve lost a few lbs.  I’m hoping it doesn’t hurt my velocity

Mike:  I have lost 30 lbs, Sean has lost 30 lbs, and Acc has gained 45 lbs.  I guess that as a whole we are in better shape.

BPS:  Who do you feel will be your biggest competitors for the title this year (and by biggest I mean both best and largest)?

Acc: I would say "THE PIG."  Good pitching, and Wilber plays solid defense.

Sean:  I’m looking for a big game from Ciampi and “Big Bird” this year, and who knows what Steve Murph is capable of... I also heard Spiffy took a long weekend in Connecticut with David N. Mullany, inventor of the wiffleball.

Mike: The Pig and the Blue Balls could both easily win the tourney.
Especially if their off-season moves pan out.

BPS: Which one of you gets the most fan mail?

Acc (official answer): Probably Sean and Mike. They are the skinny guys [ed. note: they would both probably dispute that assertion] and chicks dig skinny guys these days. I remember when being a big fat guy was in, circa 1993-1997.

Acc (real answer): I would say that I get the most, because I am a cute and very approachable guy.

Sean: depends if I’m wearing my toupee

Mike: Acc.

BPS:  If the Bombers were a salad, which team members would be which ingredients?

Acc:  I would say a COBB Salad we are nasty like avocado, Yummy like Bacon and we can we will Repeat on your *ss like crumbled Blue Cheese.  HOLY COW!!!!!

Sean: wow. Pretty sick description, acc

Mike:  Sean would be the hot peppers because he burns people with his arm, Acc would be the cheese because he takes up a lot of space, and I would be the dressing because my hitting will always have these guys covered.

BPS:  How heavy would the Bombers have to be, in aggregate, for the talent level to drop significantly?

Acc:  I am actually the only guy to be over 200lbs on the team. [ed. note:  wildly untrue] That is scary.  I just realized that.  I have no comment.

Sean:  I don’t think that’s going to be a problem this year, anyway. I’ll be back to my usual 235 next year, most likely though.

Mike: Acc would have to be 297, Sean would have to be 240, and I would have to be 245.  That is about a 90 lb overall gain for the team.  I think that even at those sizes we would probably still win.

For the individual team members:

Questions for Mike Sherry:

BPS:  How do respond to Paddy B’s assertion that a) your home run off him last year was lucky, and b) it will not happen again this year?

Mike: I will do it again this year.....write it down.

BPS: What percentage of the team's deficiencies can be blamed on Acc?

Mike:  We have no deficiencies.

BPS:  How do you feel about the proposed re-design of Acclestick Park that may make it more difficult to hit a home run?

Mike:  It s*cks.  Acc is 284 lbs and he didn't hit one last year.  HR's were actually pretty few and far between in last years tourney.  Why make it more difficult?  P.S.  I hit 8.

BPS:  Do you feel there is an MVP bias against players who do not pitch and hit?

Mike:  Tough question.  Sean pitched lights out (an era of well under 1.00) and I led in HR's and had the game winning RBI in every game for an undefeated team and yet (neither of us) won the MVP.  I guess that you need to hit well and pitch well, which is what (the winner) did.  (The winner) also played on one leg which got (the winner) Kirk Gibson Points.  I can speak for Sean when I say that we prefer the championship trophy.

BPS:  If you could replace Acc with another player of equal or more weight, who would it be?

Mike: Orson Welles.

BPS:  What was the most exciting play of Wifflemania last year?

Mike:  The game winning HR off of Paddy B, who had a no hitter up until that point and was literally throwing 70mph.  It was also pretty exciting when Mikey Johnson showed up with a bag full of cheeseburgers.

Questions for Sean:

BPS:  Last year you only let up one run for the entire tournament.  Do you think you can repeat this feat?

Sean:  I doubt it. Last week, I just had a compound dislocation of the
pointer on my pitching hand, and haven’t really been able to throw too
well. Looking to get in a couple of simulated innings before gametime. And I mean, really, 1 run? Being lucky certainly trumps being good.

BPS:  What percentage of the Bomber's deficiencies can be blamed on Acc?

Sean: What deficiencies? We won.

BPS:  If you had your choice of facing Mike Johnson with a cheeseburger in one hand and a bat in the other, or Mike Rumble in full Herman Munster laugh-mode, which would you choose?

Sean: Each certainly has its respective merit, but I’ll take the one-hander anytime.

BPS:  How is it possible that a guy who let up just one run for the tournament didn't win MVP?

Sean: pitchers don’t win mvps.

BPS:  Which is more annoying, Mike Sherry chirping from behind you when you walk a batter, or having to pull Acc away from the grill every time it's his turn to hit?

Sean:  neither. Both are accepted parts of playing in Wifflemania for the Bombers.

BPS:  Who has a better chance of hitting a home run off of you, Tony "I swing one-handed" Sherry or your couple-of-months-old son, Ryan?

Sean:  as stated, I’ll take the one-hander every time

Questions for Acc [ed. note, the BPS is not responsible for spelling and grammar in Acc’s answers]:

BPS:  Do you think your team would replace you if they had the chance?

Acc:  No I have a lot of heart and I play hard, I would go through the fence if I had to.  By the way it is my f#$%^g park if you don't like me on the team go f#$k yourself

BPS:  How do you feel about Mike Sherry's assertion that you have more family members playing in the tournament than he has family members?

Acc:  Mike Sherry is such a character.  He always knows how to get a rise out of me.  I am sure his comments were taken out of context.

BPS:  As organizer, if you could add one feature to the tournament, what would it be?

Acc:  FLYOVER defiantly [ed. note:  see?] Flyover.  Right after the national anthem.

BPS:  If you were a pitcher facing the bombers, and you had a base open to walk one of your teammates and pitch to Acc with the game on the line, would you do it?

Acc:  I would like to say I can come thought [ed. note: I think the kid meant ‘through’] in the clutch.

BPS:  Which Wifflemania participant has gained the most weight since last year's tournament?

Acc:  Me or either one of the Rumble Brothers

BPS:  If you could get anybody to throw out the first pitch, who would it be?

I would say my son [he’s two, which would mean if he could hit the box from the mound he would be headed to the SI Yankees next year with a signing bonus], followed by Don Mattingly.

         There it is.  The excitement is mounting.  I think it is evident that the Bombers are thinking and acting like a team this year.  It’s not often that they will pass up multiple chances to throw Acc under the bus.  And as Brian Russo once said, the bus would probably lose anyway.  And even though Mike Sherry pointed out to me this afternoon that Acc didn’t actually answer the “salad” question as asked, I still think his answer was pretty clever. 

         I would ask anyone who has any questions for the “Bombers,” as a team or individually, to post them as a comment on BPS, and they will answer with their own comments.

         As for the Yanks, Tony Sherry and I will be in section 24 tomorrow (Wednesday) night.  With the Ferocious Lion back in left, look for something big.