Four matchdays have been completed. We’re starting to see what each team is made of. Surprises are aplenty. However, some teams have played 8 games while others have only played four. The overall standings aren’t yet expressive enough to provide any real insight.
First off, the French champions have us used to a slow start to the season, but after eight games, they already have three losses, all against very different teams: Montigny, La Rochelle, and the PUC. While the PUC’s victory was a big surprise, it wasn’t entirely undeserved. Solid defense, offensive bats, and balanced pitching were the recipe for this young PUC team’s victory. Kudos to them for making the pack tremble. Each time, Rouen lets the first game slip away. We can expect a wake-up call from the Normandy side, who, by the way, have the weekend off to regroup.
As for the runners-up, Savigny are cruising along nicely. They started later in the season and have won all four of their games against Metz and Nice. They’re still missing a showdown with the usual top teams in Division 1. That will happen this weekend when they face Sénart.
Sénart, Montpellier, and Montigny are off to a strong start. Sénart and Montpellier split their series last weekend. Toulouse and La Rochelle are starting more timidly but are managing to put up notable performances.
Let’s take a look at the statistics now. Even if some teams have played 4 games while others have played 6 or even 8. Only Rouen has played eight games, but that’s three losses, giving them a 38% win rate, their worst in years. Looking at the batting and pitching averages, the French champion isn’t lagging behind and is even among the top teams in the league. Boris Marche will have to dig deeper into the stats to find out what’s weakening his team so much and fight back against these losses.
Montpellier boasts the best batting average (.267) and pitching ERA (1.09). That’s encouraging for the long haul. Savigny is top of the standings with their four wins, but they’re below the averages of the other teams. These averages are tight but are lagging behind in batting. La Rochelle, Nice, PUC, and Toulouse are hovering around .200. Their at-bats will need to improve if they hope to last in the championship.
On the player front, BELLEN-FAGNONI continues to dominate with an insolent .667 batting average, hitting safely twice out of every three at-bats, which is far ahead of the rest. Home runs didn’t work out last weekend.
On the pitching side, Leal in Rouen leads in strikeouts, with Priest in Metz and Roja in Toulouse hot on his heels.
Ultimately, the standings after four matchdays aren’t really decisive. All the reinforcements have now arrived, the weather and temperatures are becoming more favorable. The players have gotten to know each other better on the benches and the fields. This fifth matchday will therefore better outline the balance of the teams by bringing all the teams to 6 or 8 games played.
On the broadcast side, only the games between Toulouse and Montigny will be broadcast. Baseball TV France is on the road with its nomadic capture system, as it has already done in Rouen or Montpellier last year. Also live on www.baseballtv.fr/live
This weekend, the big match will be between Sénart and Savigny, Montigny and Toulouse. The results of this weekend will allow some teams to solidify their positions. Montigny can take a good option on the lead in Pool A and Savigny can do the same. The PUC hosts La Rochelle, who will be eager to get back in the race after a double defeat against Toulouse. The PUC, after managing a victory against Rouen, can feel a surge of hope that can allow them to produce other victories.
