Aslan's Scores (of the non-lady kind)

[Timmyb]

Well done!

[Aslan]

Wednesday Night Established Men's League

Week 32

The team is in second place. We tied for second place last year. Unfortunately, this is the final week...position round...and there are 4 teams within 2.5 points.

570 Series: 210-177-183

S8 1, X, X, X, X, X, 8 1, 8 /, S7 2, XX9.
Firgures...4 out of 5 strikes in warm-ups...then opwn with a 6-7 split. Wasn't a terrible game, mainly got stung by a 4-6-7 split in the 9th.

X, 9 /, 5 4, X, X, 9 /, S8 1, X, X, 9 /, 9 /S8.
After two frames, decided to make the move to the Perfect Mindset. Pretty upsetting to hit the pocket 9 times and not being able to even get to 180. Pocket 10 in the 2nd, pocket 10 in the 6th, pocket 8-9 split in the 7th, pocket 10 in the 9th, and a pocket 8-10 split on the 3rd ball of the 10th.

6 3, X, 8 /, 9 /, 9 /, X, 9 /, 9 -, 9 /, XX8.
Switched to the Outer Limits Pearl and carry got even worse! Another game with 9 pocket hits and I couldn't break 185! Pocket 7-pin in the 4th, pocket 10 in the 5th, pocket 10 in the 7th, pocket 8 in the 8th, and a pocket 10 ion the 9th! Abysmal!

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.97 pins
Strikes: 42%
Spares: 58% picked up

Single Pin spares: 88% (1/2)
Most common single-pin leave: 10-pin (6x)
Also left a single 4-pin, 7-pin, and 8-pin.

Makeable spares: 71% (10/14)
Multiple Pin spares: 40% (2/5)
Most common multi-pin leave: 6-10 (2x)

Splits: 0% (0/3)

Average over 3 games: 190.00.
Average had I picked up all single-pin spares: 193.67.

Positives
- I won a card game...whoopdie-doo.
- Spare shooting improved...especially single-pins. Made all 8 that I attempted with my spare ball. Only miss was an 8-pin that I threw my strike ball at.
- Health was good. My knee had been hurting earlier in the day, but it was fine.

Negatives
- Just terrible carry. Terrible.

Switched my arsenal back to Arsenal 8.0. I realized that my highest games were with the Perfect Mindset...so maybe switching to the high RG lineup wasn't the best strategy. Well, now I'm not so sure. How do you hit the pocket as often as I did and leave that many 10-pins and 8-10 splits? Was I too far inside? I dunno. Some people think you should go to a symmetric core ball to drive through the pins closer to the 8-pin. I can't take any surface off the balls...they're all polished. We'll see. Maybe give it another month and if I'm, still leaving insane numbers of corner pins...maybe I just need to throw higher RG balls at this THS. Ughhh!

The team lost all 4 points...dropped down to a tie for 4th. So, there goes any chance at extra prize money. My 570 series was the highest of our team. In other words, our whole team stunk it up...not just me. Oh well....we finished in the top 5 in a competitive 14-team men's league...I guess thats not terrible.

[Aslan]

Sunday Night Established Mixed League

Week 34

Position week. Team is still 14th out of 16th. Unlikely to move more than a position up or down.

586 Series: 166-183-237

A couple bad misses right. Probably 4 pocket hits that just didn't carry. Just too many opens and not enough strikes.
6 /, X, 9 -, S5 -, 9 /, X, X, 8 -, 3 /, 9 /X.

Stayed with the Zen Master Solid for a couple frames, but a pocket 10 in the 2nd frame told me it was time to make a change and I switched to the Perfect Mindset (PM). Had a few bad misses. Still had a chance to salvage a 200, but the lanes transitioned in the 10th and I ended up with a split on the 2nd ball.
X, 9 /, 7 /, 9 /, X, 7 /, X, 6 1, X, X S5 3.

The line with the PM was super-tight...and eventually I just couldn't make it work. Switched to the Outer Limits Pearl (OLP) in the 5th frame and struck out.
9 /, X, S7 2, 9 -, X, X, X, X, X, XXX.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.74
Strikes: 52%
Spares: 56% picked up

Single Pin spares: 71% (5/7)
Most common single-pin leaves: 7-pin and 10-pin (2x each)
Also left a single 2-pin, 5-pin, and 9-pin.

Makeable spares: 69% (10/15)
Multiple Pin spares: 66% (4/6)
Most common multi-pin leave: 4-6-7-9-10 split (2x)

Splits: 0% (0/3)

Average over 3 games: 195.33.
Average had I picked up all single-pin spares: 201.33.

Positives
- Won 3 points, so maybe we move up to 13th in the final tally.
- The Outer Limits Pearl was dominant.
- Three straight weeks bowling over my average.

Negatives
- Still made 2-3 bad shots per game which are unforced errors.

Still struggling with this arsenal. It forces me to start the night about 1.5:4.5 left of where I was with the weaker/higher RG arsenal. Its not a big deal until the lanes start to transition and then I'm aiming at the 13-14 board and standing about 10 boards left of center. Thats a tough line for me to play. Very little miss room. A miss a couple boards right and I barely get back to the pocket...1-2 board miss left and I'm lucky not to get a split.

We'll see where I end up. I think I finished with a 191 average which should put me just over the cutoff for top 20% of the league. My main goal is to average 203 or higher and have a few series of 729 or higher. Still nowhere close to accomplishing that. Improving spare conversion rate, especially single-pins, will definitely help...a work in progress.

[Aslan]

Wednesday Night Established Men's League

Week 33 (FINAL WEEK)

Ended up finishing tied for 5th. Same point total as last year when we finished 2nd.

666 Series: 221-222-223

8 /, X, S6 /, 6 1, X, X, X, X, X, 8 /X.
The Zen Master Solid was abysmal...so I changed to the Perfect Mindset (PM) in the 4th frame.

X, 8 -, X, X, 7 /, X, X, X, 9 /, XXX.
Switched to the Outer Limits Pearl (OLP) in the 10th after a pocket 10-pin.

8 /, 5 4, X, 9 /, X, X, X, 9 /, X, XXX.
Another solid game. Missed way right in frames 1 and 2. Other than that, was throwing it well.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.23 pins
Strikes: 68%
Spares: 72% picked up

Single Pin spares: 100% (3/3)
Most common single-pin leave: 10-pin (2x)
Also left a single 9-pin.

Makeable spares: 70% (7/10)
Multiple Pin spares: 57% (2/5)
Most common multi-pin leave: 1-2 (2x)

Splits: 100% (1/1)

Average over 3 games: 222.00.
Average had I picked up all single-pin spares: 222.00.

Positives
- I won TWO card games at the end of the year level (5x the usual amount).
- Strike rate was one of the highest I can remember.
- 100% on single-pin spares.
- All 200+ games
- Consistent
- Highest series of either team, and the other team had a 200+ average bowler.
- 600 series
- Only 3 opens
- Only one split (and I picked it up)
- Other than a little arthritis in my swing leg foot...health was good.

Negatives
- No clean games.
- Beer framed 3 opponents so I drank more than usual.
- '666' not the luckiest number...especially when my winning card game hands were 4 6s and 5 6s.
- The Zen Master Solid continues to give me problems.
- SO close to a triplicate! Dang.

I don't know why I don't have success with Rotogrip/900 Global equipment. The Asylum, Defiant Edge, Optimus Solid, Special Ops, and now the Zen Master Solid...I just can't find a surface/line/speed combination that works. The only Storm ("brands") ball I've ever thrown that I liked was my old Frantic. Whether its (Zen Master Solid) at 3000 matte or 360/2000/polished....It refuses to stay right of the headpin...until I end up practically on 3rd arrow...and then it doesn't come back. I hate to skip it and start with the Perfect Mindset...but I also hate spending half of the first game, every week, fighting with my ball.

Averages (both leagues) not quite up to my 2016/2017 level (180/185/195)...but I'm getting very close (190/194). Need to work on focus and I MUST get my spare shooting up in that 80-95% range versus the 65-70% I've been in for the last several seasons. I think, before next fall season, I'm gonna buy a new spare ball (probably a Columbia WD) and have it drilled for my VISE inserts. My Maxim has started to crack/chip between the fingers and I think the difference in 'feel' is a contributing factor to why my accuracy suffers when I switch to my spare ball.

Always good to go home with more money than you show up with. Payout ($174) + Card Game Winnings ($50) = $224 minus card game entries ($15), minus bar tab ($10) = + $199.00.

I was dead tired when I got home...and a little dehydrated. Fell asleep almost immediately and kept waking up with bad leg cramps.

[Timmyb]

Nice night!