Welcome to the first part of the 2018 regional preview from this here ‘joke site’. The series will will consist of four parts; pitchers, outfielders, infielders and the opposition. When going through position players, some in the Sharks organization are versatile and will have logged innings all over the place. They will be included where they have played the most innings.
Also, for some stupid reason, Heatstat does not show previous years’ stats on pitching. Which is retarded.

Disclaimer: This series of previews is the opinion of one person and does not necessarily reflect the organization’s views or anyone else’s for that matter.
Additional note: playoff statistics isare not included in pitchers stats.

The Shark

We can call him that, but it’s referring to the Sharks organization as a whole. The pitching staffs over the years have progressed, at least when it comes to preventing runs.

That is obviously a good thing but as we can see from last year, strikeouts are down in more innings and opposing hitters are actually hitting better, up to .313 to .285. Fortunately walks were down as well and the pitching staff’s strikeout to walk-ratio is better (0,68 in 2016 and 0,71 in 2018).

2013	540.0	14	66	944	676	11.27	3272	2586	900	.348	538	0	106	328
2014	531.2	14	64	836	500	8.47	3120	2520	822	.326	418	4	126	388
2015	291.0	11	34	415	258	7.98	1587	1275	373	.292	266	0	34	253
2016	103.7	8	9	157	87	7.55	598	484	138	.285	85	0	26	125
2017	106.7	10	6	100	77	6.50	540	447	140	.313	64	0	20	90

Starting pitchers

José Martinez

Martinez was the club ace in 2017 and consistently showed good command from the mound. He took home the silverware with the best pitcher award and will be counted upon to be the staff leader in the upcoming season.

Year	IP	W	L	R	ER	ERA	TAB	AB	H	AVE	BB	HP	K
2017	27.0	3	0	15	13	4.33	118	105	25	0.238	11	2	33

Obviously, Martinez was impressive during the 2017 season. Not only did he perform well during the season but when it came to pitching against the better offenses in the league, he was up to the task. Most notably as he held his own against the ‘regional team’ of Sölvesborg (which fortunately will not field an elite team in the regional season this time around) and in the playoffs against Alby. That Alby performance was something else as he fought himself, the home crowd and the Alby hitters while throwing just north of 150 pitches.

Mokhlad al-Ghanimi

al-Ghanimi, the staff ace of 2016, saw his efficiency diminish in 2017 and was not trusted upon as much during 2017. Maybe because of a lack in practice time but also had worse command of his pitches – both the curveball and the fastball.

Year	IP	W	L	R	ER	ERA	TAB	AB	H	AVE	BB	HP	K
2016	35.2	3	3	48	26	6.56	200	156	38	.243	35	8	70
2017	21.0	3	1	18	14	6.00	111	72	12	.167	24	13	31

The former Iraqi national team pitcher will surely look to bounce back during the 2018 campaign. Last season, he flashed his brilliance and once again proving that he probably has the best raw stuff in the league. The solution to live up to his potential is simple: command. Strikes need to be thrown and batters should not be getting free passes to first – nor by balls or getting hit by pitches. If he bounces back and the Sharks can have the 1-2 punch of Martinez and al-Ghanimi (with young’un Shervin Shakki knocking on the door), Eliteserien play is not out of the question.

Shervin Shakki

‘The Shervinator’ took another step forward and if JT Chargois success in the MLB is any indicator, Shakki might be the next ace of the Shark’s staff.

Year IP W L R ER ERA TAB AB H AVE BB HP K 2015 5.0 0 1 9 6 10.80 27 25 12 .480 1 0 1 2016 19.1 2 2 39 24 11.17 120 104 37 .355 12 0 3 2017 25.2 3 3 26 21 7.36 135 121 43 .355 6 3 18

Shakki actually pitched better than his numbers might suggest. He was very good at limiting fly balls which usually is a very good thing in baseball. Sadly, he was often bitten by some not so great defense and bad luck as balls often found holes (Ty Cobb was right, ya can’t aim). On the other hand, Shakki also needs to improve his control and also make more use of his curveball when being able to throw it for strikes. To sum his stats up, if Heatstat would provide a FIP or xFIP, ‘Shervinator’ would be a household name.

And this. If you’ve never seen Shakki’s fastball, compare it to JT Chargois. It’s pretty much an exact copy (speed not included).

Mikael Lindqvist

Lindqvist saw his health falter during the season and only made two appearences. The fan favorite might not make it back this season but would surely be a welcome addition to the club.

 

Year	IP	W	L	R	ER	ERA	TAB	AB	H	AVE	BB	HP	K
2014	10.0	0	1	22	14	12.60	68	59	24	.406	9	0	0
2015	26.2	1	3	43	29	9.79	164	137	46	.335	20	0	5
2016	16.0	1	2	27	11	6.19	87	67	18	.268	12	0	8
2017	5.2	0	1	12	5	7.94	33	28	13	.464	4	0	1

When Lindqvist is on point, he’s pretty tough to hit. He won’t overpower you but will nibble and wringe his pitchers in to the zone in a weird way, looking like nothing else in the league. As he is still on the 60-day DL, we will not see him on the field for some time but he will lead the Shark fans from the stand during his rehabilitation.

Relief pitchers

Rickard Kronqvist

Kronqvist, often referred to as ‘The Potato’, extended his versatility last season by appearing in two games on the mound. Most interesting he held his ground against that ridiculous Sölvesborg team and also kept Tranås scoreless over three innings.

Year	IP	W	L	R	ER	ERA	TAB	AB	H	AVE	BB	HP	K
2017	4.1	0	0	3	2	4.16	21	17	5	.294	3	1	0

Pitchers are often referred to as a two-, three- or four-pitch guy. Kronqvist is a two-pitch dude:

“I only have two pitches, a strike and a ball,” Kronqvist is quoted as saying.

And yeah, he’ll not blow your mind and while the number of innings doesn’t really qualify as being statistically sound, he showed last season that he can be effective. It will be interesting to see what he can contribute as the back end of the Sharks bullpen probably is the oldest in Sweden.

Jonny Edgren

If the Sharks have anything close to resembling a closer, Edgren is it. And he’s not afraid to put himself out there (which as often does) in high leverage situations.

Year	IP	W	L	R	ER	ERA	TAB	AB	H	AVE	BB	HP	K
2015	2.0	0	0	2	0	0.00	10	9	3	.333	1	0	0
2016	1.0	0	0	8	6	54.00	14	7	3	.428	6	0	1
2017	4.1	0	0	3	1	2.08	21	19	6	.316	2	0	1

Last year, Edgren showed why he and the Sharks faithful hum Hell’s Bells when he emerges from the bullpen. He has the velocity to run a fastball by you and when the splitter is on point, it can be pretty nasty. Hopefully, he’ll gain more command of his curveball to catch som hitters off guard and be the true closer that the Sharks are looking for.

This reporter

Sigh… are we really doing this again? Okay. So, last year. This wannabe baseball player made one appearance on the mound and was pretty useless. Even more useless than at the plate.

via GIPHY

Pretty useless GIF but the point is: stick to reporting.

Year	IP	W	L	R	ER	ERA	TAB	AB	H	AVE	BB	HP	K
2017	1.2	0	0	7	6	32.34	17	9	4	.444	7	0	0

Anyway, that statline is pretty nasty. Even if you try to walk seven guys in two innings it’s gonna be hard. The fact that he was slightly less ineffective during SWBL games is not that encouraging since it’s kinda hard to be worse than this. Therefore, him tearing his ACL during offseason might be a good thing for the team. That he is trying to make a comeback as a pitcher might not be as good.

Joel Earnest

Now on the right side of 70, Earnest the elder is trying to make a comeback on the mound as he did not see any regional series action from the mound during 2017.

Year	IP	W	L	R	ER	ERA	TAB	AB	H	AVE	BB	HP	K
2016	1.0	0	0	1	1	9.00	6	5	2	400	0	1	0

Basically a screwball pitcher, Earnest can throw anyone off guard at the plate. His irrational style from the mound has sent hitters to sanatoriums when that was still a thing. Word is, Earnest has worked on both a curveball and a knuckleball during the offseason and that the rumors of him hanging up his glove was very untrue.

Toofan Khazal

Rounding up the bullpen, or retirement home, is catcher Khazal. While he is rarely released from catching duty, certain members of the coaching staff are trying to free him up to let him loose on the mound. There is no doubt he would succeed from the hill as well.

Year	IP	W	L	R	ER	ERA	TAB	AB	H	AVE	BB	HP	K
2016	4.2	0	1	8	7	13.49	29	22	8	363	7	0	1

Khazal did not return to the mound in regional series play in 2017 but did show his potential during SWBL play. If coach Edgren can somehow find a decent replacement at the plate, Khazal can be a valuable addition to the bullpen.

Prediction:

The pitching staff look pretty good coming into the season. There’re obvious question marks in the bullpen but with the trio of Martinez, al-Ghanimi and Shakki, the innings coming out of the pen should be limited. It will however depend on the starters staying effective to succeed in the long run.

Word is that Shakki was effective and in shape to start the season when the Sharks faced the Malmö Pilots and Copenhagen Urban Achievers in the spring opener. His success is important, not only for the results in general but also to have Martinez and al-Ghanimi stay on their toes and feeling that pressure to succeed because someone is waiting in the wings.

As far as additions go, there were rumblings about Sharks comebacks from Ted Bratsberg and legendary pitcher Hiba Nabi. Alas, they never materialized. Relief ace and leadoff man Josef Hussein was also on the verge of a comeback but sadly it did not come true. On the other hand, Eric Marquez has shown some promise in the past and is now considered a full blown Swede by the federation (which means he won’t steal innings from al-Ghanimi). Marquez’s should has been a worry in the past and depending on where he is positioned on the diamond while not pitching.

Furthermore, the old friend alert was activated during this weekends SWBL games in Malmö when Erik Earnest once again put on the Sharks jersey. Last time around, Earnest pitched effectively in the Eliteseries and is perfectly capable of doing that again if he decides to come back full time.

On the whole, be worried about the bullpen. Be not so worried about the starters. There is a lot of potential in the 2018 edition of Sharks pitching staff and if names like Nabi, Hussein and Earnest actually would return, the staff might carry the team all the way to Elitserien.

On Sunday, a junior scrimmage was played at Shark Park.
That is not a very common sentence to write.
“Our hard work has payed off, we’re soon going to be up there playing with the big boys,” Rickard Kronqvist says.

Both a U12 and a U15 game was played in the sunbathing Shark Park on Sunday. Since a junior scrimmage hasn’t taken place in Gothenburg since, well… forever, a lot of players took the chance to try out both pitching and catching.

“There is a lot of talent in this group, but mostly a lot of joy and happiness.” Baby Shark coach Rickard Kronqvist says.

The record crowd, a bigger one than usually show up for regional series play, was thrilled as the Baby Sharks took the field with excitement.

“The joy these kids have from just playing a game and stealing bases is fantastic to see,” Kronqvist adds.

Although there was a lot of jitters and butterflies, all players exceeded expectations and provided close contests.

“I can pitch, and catch as well. But it’s gonna be hard to do at the same time,” Leo Sandgren says after the game.

The one team was a little better both offensively and defensively, especially defensively but it evened out in the end. During the second game, it was apparent that the bigger, full sized, field, was a challenge, especially on the defensive side of the ball. A lot of movement, running and stealing bases made the offense thrilling and exciting.

“I am like a magnet out there,” Sandro Ponjevic said after being hit by a pitch three times on the day.

One day, the Sharks organization hope to field a team in the national junior series. Still some way to go, but for sure closer than in a long time.