These Sharks never give up.
These Sharks know that winning is better than losing.
These Sharks got the better of Alby.
”It went down as I expected,” Coach Jonny Edgren says.

After two quick outs, the Alby Stars got on the board in the first inning against Sharks ace José Martinez. Behind an error and a wild pitch, the Stars got to an early 2-0 lead. Offensive juggernaut José Muñoz took one right back in the bottom half of the first one. Reaching on an error and then stealing both second and third before scoring on an error as Daniel André drove him in.

The game then stalled (well, the second inning was scoreless) a little bit but the Stars took one run in the third before the Sharks got two back to tie the game in the bottom half of that third inning. The Stars then got two more runs in the top of the 4th before the Sharks took their first lead of the day in the bottom half, scoring three runs to make it 6-5.

Sharks starter Martinez was battling the solid Stars lineup and more often than not pounded the strike zone. The Sharks put on a quality defensive display, probably the best they’ve played all season, and kept the game in control. Especially impressive was Muñoz at shortstop who showed off his range and cannon to throw runners out on a regular basis.

With the score at 9-8 in favor of the Stars, the Sharks got going again in the bottom of the 7th. Solid hits all trough the Sharks lineup as Göteborg sent ten men to the plate and the Stars could not get out of it. The Sharks got eight runs in that marvellous 7th inning and never looked back.

Martinez was solid at the plate as well.

“I know that we have a good team, when we play like a team, we can beat pretty much any team. Today, we did just that,” Edgren says.

Martinez closed out the game, allowing one run to score in the 9th to make the final score 16-10.

“He pitched a hell of a game. A little shaky at first but once he got going he was pretty much on spot on all through the game,” veteran backstop Toofan Khazal said at the post game press conference.

The Sharks will play on Sunday against Los Nicas who routed Tranås earlier on Saturday, making in 16-1 in six innings. It will be a whole other matchup as the Nicaraguans are pretty much the most complete team in all of the regional series.

They had a real scoreboard at Seagull Park.

“It’s gonna be tough. But when faced with challenges before, this team has risen above expectations,” Coach Edgren added.

Fist pitch is at 12.00 @ Seagull Park in Alby.

Notables:

Niclas Ekström came in to pinch hit and went 2-2 with a double.

Eric Marquez made a play at second base worthy of the MLB web gems.

Ted Bratsberg was not at the game. Possibly because there was no fence to put up.

Skipper Jonny Edgren got a hit.

The sun was shining all day long.

One of the more high profile-players is seeing the end of the road.
Joel Earnest is going to wind down.
“The team is good enough now.”

After spending approximately 40 years in the Swedish minor leagues, Joel Earnest, 69, finally got the call. He was going to the big club. Six seasons later, he’s a regular figure in Coach Jonny Edgren’s lineup and the Hajarna faithful know him as “Mr RBI”.

In the clubhouse, Earnest is more known as “Spaceman”. His stories on the way it was are legendary and he is the glue that has kept this team together through these last couple of seasons.

“It was a big change back then, when Coleman and Jason left and Jonny came in.”

A couple of seasons later and the rebuilding process is coming full circle. The organization is stronger, the youth movement is real and the results keep coming. Even practice is more well-attended.

Earnest always enjoys winning better than losing.

Earnest has had his moments on the field too. Just look at this past season, hitting .571 in the second half and helping the Sharks clinch a playoff spot early. During the years on the big club, he’s been known for his high contact rate and the Ty Cobb-like ability to aim the ball where the defense is weak.

“I’m happy with my career. I only wish I got the call some fifty years earlier. I expect my numbers might be a little higher in some areas,” Earnest says.

Earnest also played in the Elitserien back in 2015 where he memorably took the mound in the late innings against Sundbyberg and got relieved by his son, Erik, who took over.

“Yeah, when I came in to protect Jason’s no-hitter, and then Erik came in to bail me out after I  filled the bases, but still without giving up a hit. Erik struck out the next batter, and then I started a double play from left to get out of the inning. It was golden…” Earnest says.

Earnest scouting the opposition.

And now, after the playoff weekend, Joel Earnest will look to cut back on his playing time. He has vouched to still be the team uncle, still be the informal leader at practice and provide his wisdom and skills at the majority of the SWBL games and the occasional regional game — especially against the Malmö Pilots.

“It’s time to free up som playing time for the kids. Not too much though, but some. And I always enjoyed playing the Pilots, even during the years when they dominated us,” Earnest says.

Babylon Zoo famously wrote a song about Earnest.

The Hajarna faithful will take some time to get used to not having Earnest out there every day. But when it’s time, it’s time.

In this first playoff preview (total number of previews not yet known) we take a the look at the Sharks’ first opponent and possible matchups on Sunday.

The Alby Stars (9-5) will be the away team at their home field, Seagull Park, against the Göteborg Hajarna (9-5) on Saturday in the semifinals of the regional series playoffs. As the observant reader might have noticed, these teams have the same record and could only be separated in the standings with the help of Lady Lotten and the luck of the draw. While they have the same records, they are not the same team.

Lady Lotten Dorsch would probably have agreed that winning is better than losing.

The Stars play in the regional league’s Stockholm Division (no kidding?). During the 2017 season, they faced Stockholm B (4-0), Enskede (4-0), Los Nicas (0-4) and Tranås (1-1). They are thus 8-4 when taking the subway to games and 1-1 when not. #greatscouting

Alby was even more impressive last season as they went 14-2 during their 2016 campaign. In the semifinals, they were up 5-0 when they had a meltdown in the bottom of the eight inning and gave up nine runs to lose the game 9-5.

The Sharks scouting department has naturally had their eyes on the Stars for a while now and is obviously aware that the Stars have not regressed.

“They got pretty much the same guys out there. They are a year older, but lost their coach from last season. Still a lot of experience and a lot of solid bats in their lineup,” according to an anonymous scout.

In this picture, Alby was a couple of years younger.

Those solid bats start with Roberto Hanoi Labrador Montero (as far as I know, the longest name in Swedish baseball) who is a force at the plate. The first baseman/center fielder sports an impressive slash line of .500/.608/.603/.1212 in 58 at bats. Not far behind is the Stars catcher, Osbel Arias Torres, batting a solid .448/.551./542/.1094. Torres’ defense also deserves respect as he has only five errors on the season and throws out runners at almost the same pace as the Sharks’ backstop Toofan Khazal.

Overall, they have a solid lineup with some pop. If we compare the two teams’ statistics, it is a pretty tight affair.

Batting average:

Slugging percentage:

OBP:

Sort of tight, but with the Stars atop. The Sharks do come out ahead in a couple of categories.

BB/TAB:

Doubles:

Isolated power:

And that is all well and good, but as the saying goes,”pitching and defense win championships.” While obviously not quite true (you actually have to outscore your opponent in baseball), it does help. A lot.

The two pitchers in the Stars organization who have logged the most innings this season have not fared all that great. Aridany Moreno Fajardo is 4-2 with a 6.21 ERA and Ramon Illa is 3-2 with a 6.63 ERA. While that is not impressive on the surface, one has to consider that the Stars faced off with Los Nicas four times during the season.

Overall, it’s close once more if we start looking at the categories from a team perspective.

ERA:

BA against:

K/BB ratio:

It’s obvious that the Stars rely more on a good defense than on those fascist strikeouts:

Strikeouts:

The Stars put up a solid defense behind their pitchers (at least, I think). As fielding defense in general are stupid and errors in this league (and all leagues) are based on one person’s subjective view, these following numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.

Fielding average, overall:

Fielding average, infield:

Fielding average, outfield:

That is one atrocious fielding average posted by the Sharks and can and should not be white washed. On the other hand, this reporter regularly patrols the outfield so it might not be that much of a surprise.

Conclusion: These are two pretty well-matched teams that will probably play a good game. My guess is that one of the teams will win and that the winning team will score more runs that the losing team.

Los Nicas (11-3) was the top team in the regional series (not counting the “regional” team that Sölvesborg scribbled down on their lineup cards). While I would like to do an equally thorough review of this team, I’m now tired and won’t.

The Nicaraguans rely on being really good at playing baseball. In regional series measures, they are exceptional at throwing the ball, led by Omar Marin. He is the top pitcher in the regional league (including the “regional” team from Sölvesborg) and owns a brilliant 0.74 ERA. They have a great 1-2 punch with Santo Anibal Blanco who himself has an ERA of 3.67 (better than any Sharks pitcher).

As a team, they lead the league in ERA and are second in batting average against.

Los Nicas are good at baseball.

On offense, they are lead by Alexis Mejia who boasts a .467/.625/.527/.1152 slashline. As a team, they are solid in pretty much every offensive category and are atop in stolen bases with 105 (Alby is second at 93.

Tranås (8-6) went 3-1 against the Sharks during the regular season and made it to the second round of the playoffs this past weekend. Uppsala decided to not show up to play and Tranås got the better off Gefle as they took that one easy, 21-6.

Other than that, the Sharks faithful are well aware that one can never relax while playing Tranås.

Finally, a word from coach Jonny Edgren:

“Winning is better than losing. We’re gonna try and win two. Hopefully, the Stockholm branch of the Sharks fanbase will show up to support us.”

First pitch is at four, Saturday afternoon, September 16 at Albyfältet.

(Joel Earnest contributed to this report).

At the start of last season, this team scrambled to get nine guys for a game.
The turnaround is real.
Göteborg Hajarna clinched a spot in the second playoff round.

As always, the matchup against the Malmö Pilots (0-16) proved to be the as friendly and pleasant as always. This time, Shark Park had standing room only as the bleachers were filled as game one got underway.

Göteborg Hajarna (9-5) got going right off the bat as they feasted on Pilots starter Eric Browne (0-7). The Pilots ace fought the Sharks batters and the strike zone as he walked nine sharks on the day.

With the offensive juggernaut that is José Muñoz atop the Sharks lineup, the home team did not look back after the first inning. They kept on walking like they were Nancy Sinatra and added three more runs in the third and fifth inning. An insurance run was added in the sixth to make it an even ten on the day.

The newly emerged, comebacking ace José Martinez (3-0) left nothing to chance as he started game one for the Sharks. Aside from the second inning when he let up a little and allowed two runs to pass home plate, he was very good indeed.

Martinez went the distance for his third win of the season. He gave up six hits, two runs (one earned) while striking out six and walking only third. Solidifying his position as one of the premier pitchers in the regional series.

“We played a solid game, only on defensive error. Despite a couple of miscues on the basepaths, I’m happy,” the interim manager, who filled in for Coach Jonny Edgren, said.

Interim manager trying not to mess up.

The second game of the day had quite possibly the longest first three innings of any baseball played. Ever. In the history of time. The pilots opened the scoring as they took two runs in the first. The Sharks answered right back with seven of their own as Pilots starter Thomas Hanses (0-3) fought valiantly against the strike zone. He ended up walking eleven Sharks in his three innings of work.

Hajarna capitalised on that and added five more runs in the second and six more in the third for a total of 18 runs against Malmös seven.

Sharks second starter of the day, ‘Swirvin’ Shervin Shakki (3-3) fought a totally different enemy in his start – baseballs. Despite pitching well and having great control, Shakki gave up seven runs (all earned) on the day. The problem was that all those balls found holes and/or players to bounce off of. It was quite comical on several occasions as it seemed the balls looked to hate gloves as much as the Lannisters hate Targaryens.

Shakki working the count.

Besides Muñoz, comeback kid Lars Karlsson and old friend Mokhlad al-Ghanimi led the offensive onslaught for the Sharks. Karlsson went 2-2 on the day with both hits being doubles and adding a walk. Karlsson is hitting has a solid .1000/.1500/.2500 slash line on the season.

“I’ve heard that winning is better than losing, so I swung the bat,” Karlsson humbly said after the game.

Overall, the Sharks saw some new faces at new positions. Besides Karlsson, Rickard Kronqvist did an admirable effort at first base, Eric Marquez did his best to be ‘Logie Bear‘ at 2nd base and white shark Johan Weidolf played third base like it was 1999.

“We have great depth, quite possibly the deepest team in the league. When we’re good, we’re good,” the interim manager said.

With the two wins and with some help from Alby, the Sharks has, as far as I can figure it out, clinched a spot in the second round of the playoffs. Therefore, the likely matchup will be against Alby and it will be on the road.

Notables:

Niclas Ekströms injury concerns continues. He was also not hit by a pitch.

Kronqvist stole a base.

Ted Bratsberg was seen in the stands. He did not help out while the fence was set up.

In the first game, only one run was scored as an RBI.

With the Pilots in town, it’s always a fun day at Shark Park.
This was a lot of fun for the Sharks faithful as the hometeam took both games.

In front of a sold out Shark Park, the Sharks took game one 10-2 behind a solid complete game from emerging ace pitcher José Martinez. Except for one inning when he worked out of a bases loaded jam, Martinez was never really in trouble. Solidifying his position in the rotation.

For the second game, Shervin Shakki tossed five innings of seven run ball and really should have had a prettier line. Alas, a lot of balls bounced off of him or the weird infield to give the Pilots base hits. It did give him another victory as the Sharks bats came to life and scored no less than 18 runs.

The Pilots battled through a depleted pitching staff but fought valiantly to keep the game close.

Next stop is the playoffs and the Sharks organization is still awaiting word from the matchup between Enskede and Alby to know if it will be in the first or second round.

A new season is almost over.
The same catcher has anchored the Sharks.
And he is better than ever.
“He’s the cornerstone of our defense,” coach Edgren says.

For years now, Toofan Khazal has been the other end of numerous batteries as the Gothenburg Sharks has plowed their way through the regional- and Elitserien play. For years, it has been a not so appreciated position within the organization.

Khazal has more often than not been asked to catch all 14 innings on a traditional gameday. As he is not a young man anymore, one could think that takes it’s toll. But no, the 42-year old keeps putting in the work and getting better each year.

Catcher Khazal can walk the walk.

“I’m working hard off the field. All off season, it’s all about getting stronger and to have that endurance to last a full season,” Khazal says.

And it has payed off. The longtime catcher has especially worked on his throws during this offseason and is now leading the league in caught stealing average at .139 – double from last season. He is also second in caught stealing/9 innings.

“I’m more focused, more concentrated on the task at hand. It’s been rewarding for sure,” Khazal says.

Since 2015, the Sharks faithful has also seen catcher Khazal, also known as ‘Grumpy’, take on a kind of a captain role for the team. A Team dad, if you will. On a regular basis, he is directing the defense and his pitching staff both during gamedays and at practice.

“It’s been great. This year, we have better communication within the team which helps me a lot.”

“Yes, maybe I’m more of a leader but I got to give a hand to our squad who’s taken great strides in communicating better and that makes my job easier every day.

As the Sharks take on the Malmö Pilots on Saturday, they have already clinched a playoff spot. But for the team, and for Khazal, the double header is of great importance.

This might be the only time Khazal’s pants were not sparkling white.

If the Sharks sweep on Saturday, they have a chance to finish in the top three and go straight to the second leg of the playoffs. For Khazal, who can’t participate in the first playoff leg, that is crucial.

“I always want to win ballgames, but yes, after this season it would be pretty great to be able to finish it off with a good playoff run,” Khazal says.

“And yeah, winning is better than losing, right?” he says as he runs off the field.

Come out to Shark Park and enjoy the ballgames on Saturday against the friendly Malmö Pilots. First pitch is at 12!

The Sharks has taken a lot of step forwards during the season.
Against the Firehawks, it was not far enough.
“We could be an Elitserien team again pretty soon,” Edgren says.

The Sölvesborg Firehawks (10-1) hosted the Sharks (7-5) on Sunday after a lengthy road trip for their Elitserien team where they played eight games in six days. And it was somewhat a mangled homeside that showed up, but still with the majority of the players made out of Elitserien players.

José Muñoz led off the game for the Sharks and got the scoring going right away as he gave the Sharks a 1-0-lead against the Firehakws starter Kevin Trudel (2-1).

José Martinez got the nod to start game one for the Sharks and started out great. He held the FIrehawks to one run in the first three innings and the Sharks kept going as they put up three more runs in the second. In the fourth, the hometeam had sort of figured Martinez out and tied the game up at four runs a piece.

Martinez was dealing.

The Sharks added a run in the fifth but the Firehawks tied it once more. Göteborg Hajarna kept on building that picket fence and went in to the bottom of the 7th leading 7-5. With Mokhlad al-Ghanimi on the mound, this game seemed all but over. The Firehawks, however, was not done. They chased al-Ghanimi off the mound and coach Edgren turned to starter Shervin Shakki (2-2) for the save. After a couple of questionable defensive plays for the Sharks, the hometeam could walk it off on a single with two outs that hit off of Jun Konos glove.

Khazal mumbled that winning was better than losing.

“We played well. As well as we’ve had all season and showed that we can play against an Elitserien team,” coach Jonny Edgren said in the post game interview.

As for the second game, the Göteborg Hajarna side looked heartbroken after the first one and well… let’s just forget about that one (Firehawks wone 10-0 in five innings).

On Wednesday, other news came in as the Norrköping Blue Sox, whom the Sharks were supposed to face on Saturday, had to cancel the games as they could not field a team.

“Norrköping Blue Sox:s hemmamatcher mot Göteborg nu på lördag den 5 augusti är tyvärr inställda. En lång skade- och sjukdomslista i vår A-trupp kombinerat med semestertider gör att vi inte får ihop en tillräckligt stor trupp för att klara lördagens dubbelmöte. Nästkommande dubbelmatcher i Regionserien blir nu borta mot Los Nicas i Alby den 20/8 och hemma mot Stockholm Bombers den 27/8.”

That leaves the Sharks at nine wins on the season and the playoff clinch looks awfully close.

Notables:

Hernan Martinez turned it what was probably one of the best umpire performances all season.

Muñoz leads the league in stolen bases and al-Ghanimi is tied for second in the same category.

al-Ghanimi and Martinez are second and fourth, respectively, in K/9.

The Sharks were only charged with one error in the first game. Needless to say, that would have been great but this mention has to go to the official scorer.

The Sharks lost both games on Sunday in Sölvesborg.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes it rains”, Edgren says.

The Sharks were feisty and full of confident when they took the field against the Sölvesborg Firehawks at Deer Creek Park. And they played well. Leading pretty much all of the first game behind a strong outing from José Martinez, they went into the bottom of the 7th leading. A laser line drive with two outs changed all of that as the Firehawks walked it off 8-7.

Göteborg Hajarna will probably want to forget game two as fast as possible. Despite a solid start from ‘Swirvin’ Shervin Shakki, this one was lost from the get-go. Against the Firehawks squad, filled with Elitserien players, there is not much room for error. Sölvesborg took an early lead and never looked back as they mercy ruled the Sharks 10-0 in five innings.

This might be a Sharkhawk

“They are a strong team. Pretty much an Elitserien team and we were on the brink of winning the first one,” Coach Edgren says.

“Winning is better than losing, but this was a step forward,” he concluded as he walked away from the beat writers and Shark faithful who travelled to see the game.

Update to follow when boxscores are available.

As one winning streak ended, another began.
Sunday was an offensive outburst for the Sharks.
“We had pretty good discipline today,” coach Edgren says.

The surprisingly large turnout at Shark Park did not have much fun as game one got underway. Behind starter Mikael Lindquist (0-1), Göteborg Hajarna (7-3) were guilty of sloppy and unfocused defense. And as the Sharks faithful always preach, you can’t do that against Tranås (3-3).

The away team got to an early 5-0 lead in the 1st and added three more runs in the 3rd until the Sharks smelled blood and got back to life. Behind surprise relief pitcher number one of the day, Jonny Edgren, the Sharks added one run in the bottom half of the 3rd, three in the 4th and three in the 5th to make this a game again.

Alas, this one was not for the Sharks. A very questionable balk and an umpire missing a tag at third cost the Sharks one run in the 6th and one in the 7th. The Tranås side added another one to go into the bottom half of the 7th leading 11-8.

With two outs, the Sharks got going again and added two runs. With the tying run 90 feet away, Jun Kono, who was fighting a bad stomach, unfortunately flew out to center to end the game at 11-10 to Tranås, ending the Sharks four game winning streak.

“This is what happens when you give up those extra nineties, it cost us this game,” coach Edgren says.

al-Ghanimi was, as always, happy anyway.

With a depleted pitching staff, it was most welcome news when ace Mokhlad al-Ghanimi (3-1) unexpectedly showed up to play. Even with al-Ghanimi on the mound, the runs kept coming for Tranås anyway.

The former Iraqi national team player was somewhat erratic on the mound, hitting six Tranås players and walking five. He did, however, also go on to strike out seven leaving the Sharks defense with little to deal with. Behind the plate, veteran catcher Toofan Khazal was brilliant as he saved al-Ghanimi from having more than the four wild pitches that he amounted to.

Khazal desperately tried to hit with his catching gear on but to no avail.

After giving up one run in the 1st and two in the second, the Sharks fought back and tied the game in the bottom of the second. With that, al-Ghanimi settled down a little and looked more like his old self.

In relief came the second surprise relief pitcher of the day; none other than Kris Bryant’s best bud – Rickard Kronqvist. Making his regional series debut, Kronqvist was excellent and got some help from a solid defense. Kronqvist ended up getting the save, pitching three scoreless innings and giving up just two hits and a walk.

“Kris is most likely proud of me right now. He thinks winning is better than losing, so there’s that,” Kronqvist says.

At the plate, the Sharks added three more runs in the fifth and loaded the bases on multiple occasions without getting the clutch hit. However, the Sharks looked very good at the plate. Seldom wasting at bats and every player got on base one way or another. Promising for things to come.

Notables:

Order was restored as Niclas Ekström was once again hit by a pitch in the first game.

Joel Earnest made history in all kinds of ways. In the first game, he had his first career infield hit and then topping it with his first career double.

José Muñoz made a dazzling play when diving for a ball to get the out at second and combining with al-Ghanimi and Johan Weidolf to complete a slick double play in the 7th inning of the second game. A play that most likely would make the highlight reel in any MLB game.

Göteborg Hajarna has not scored ten runs and lost since 2012.

Looks may be deceiving.
The same team might not be the same team.
“Other guys will have the chance to shine,” Coach Edgren says.

Swedish baseball, on occasion (or always), can be called bush league. During the hectic summer weeks, teams get depleted on the basis of vacations and such. Göteborg Hajarna (6-2) is no exception as they are short a whole pitching rotation coming into Sunday’s game versus Tranås (2-2).

With Mokhlad al-Ghanimi (3-3), Shervin Shakki (2-1) and José Martinez (2-0) all out of action, the Sharks will have to look for new arms to step up against the division rival Tranås.

“I feel ready, I feel confident, put me in coach and all that good s**t,” Eric Marquez says.

When arriving in Sweden, Marquz realized that winning is better than losing.

Marquez is an option that the Sharks coaching staff is mulling over. As is coach Edgren himself who’s had success over two centuries. Other than that, veteran reliever Joel Earnest is available as well as Toofan Khazal and Rickard Kronqvist.

“We have multiple options, I just want to help the team and I’m ready to do so if skip needs me,” Marquez says.

On the offensive side of the ball the Sharks are looking to comeback kid José Muñoz to spearhead his team. Muñoz would have been gunning for the league lead in most offensive categories if it would not have been for the ridiculous and stupid rules of Heatstat. Nonetheless, Muñoz is sporting a cool .615/.769/.1475 slashline going into Sunday’s game.

The Sharks have had a short summer holiday as they’ve not played in the regional series for three weeks when they swept the Pilots in Malmö. Coach Edgren did, however, had a squad in Skövde a week ago for some SWBL action.

Tranås, on the other hand, has not had a regular season games since May 21st when they swept the Sharks at home.

First pitch is at 12.00 @ Shark Park. Make sure to be there early before the bleachers are full.