Tweet
(AP)
With all teams playing six games this week the clear winner was the Indianapolis Racers who went 6-0 and improved their playoff odds to 99.9%. They have now won nine in a row and with another big week they could easily shoot into the 2nd wildcard spot and get home field for the BLB's new five game wildcard format. The Blues also had a nice week going 5-1 but all they continue to play for is pride. They still hold a top five pick in the 2033 draft so hopefully ending the season on a high note rolls into next year. Seattle went 4-2 which should propel them to the Bock title as they now have a five game lead over LAD who went 2-4 and posted a team ERA of 7.00. Some team leaders: Montreal hit 13 HR's, Indy and Seattle scored 38 runs, Indy posted a 1.67 ERA and allowed only 12 runs, Denver swiped 8 bases, and Baltimore and Windy City struck out 49 opposing batters.
Power Rankings
1) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (117.6, o)
2) Washington Bats (116.8, o)
3) Indianapolis Racers (114.5, ++)
4) Maine Guides (114.2, o)
5) Seattle Pilots (113.0, +)
6) Pittsburgh Millers (104.5, --)
7) Los Angeles Dinos (101.2, -)
8) Hartford Whalers (100.7, o)
9) New York Knights (100.2, -)
10) Batavia Red Jackets (92.4, +)
11) Pawtucket Patriots (92.0, +)
12) Miami Sharks (87.1, -)
13) Syracuse Snappers (84.6, o)
14) Windy City Blues (84.5, ++)
15) Carolina Tobs (81.3, ++)
16) Philadelphia Freedom (81.2, -)
17) Phoenix Roadrunners (80.6, o)
18) Baltimore Bulldogs (79.9, -)
19) California Kodiaks (78.6, --)
20) Denver BC (72.3, -)
21) New Orleans Dukes (72.3, -)
22) Montreal Exports (72.2, o)
23) Wilmington Wildcats (70.0, o)
24) Toronto Canadians (56.4, o)
Performance of the Week
C Jamari Bess - On September 21st against Hartford the 31 year old Bess hit two home runs, drove in five, and scored three times himself in a 16-2 pounding of the Whalers. Bess played his college ball at North Carolina and was selected by Indy in the 2nd round of the 2022 draft. This season he's hitting .305 with 25 HR's, 74 RBI's and a 5.3 WAR.
Injury of the Week
P Pat Reeves/P Louie Sumski - In a tossup this week between Reeves and Sumski both players were lost for the season and Reeves will be out until almost June of next season. Big loses for division winners with only a week to go in the year. On the year Reeves was 6-1 with a 2.98 ERA in 33 games while Sumski was 8-7 with a 2.42 ERA in 20 starts.
Prospect of the Week
LF Sadler Pierce - Not on any top prospect lists but he was named the series MVP for the Cleveland Bobcats as they captured their third straight Rookie League championship. He played for the Oregon Ducks before going undrafted and getting signed by Pittsburgh in 2031 with a $100k bonus. He was promptly cut 12 days later and $100,000 richer. He was then signed by Batavia almost a year later but released a month after that. Finally Seattle signed him where he hit .319 with 3 HR's and 15 RBI's in 37 games before leading the Bobcats to the title.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The IL wildcard race is still forefront in everyone's minds as the 4th wildcard spot is still wide open. Currently Philadelphia holds the spot with a half game lead over Phoenix and California, a two game lead over Baltimore, and a two and a half game lead over Carolina and Denver. Philly plays all six games this week on the road against Baltimore and Batavia. Meanwhile Phoenix, California, Carolina, and Denver all play seven games at home and Baltimore has 3 home/3 away. What a disaster. This might come down to a Lonnie Coleman game or three.
2. In other playoff news Washington and Santo Domingo have their divisions and first round bye locked up and it appears now Maine and Seattle have down the same. Maine has a four game lead over Pittsburgh and Seattle took a five game lead over Los Angeles. Congrats to all and look for them to rest some key players down the stretch to avoid injury.
3. Dave Short and Noel Graham from Maine have officially killed each others pitching Triple Crown dreams. Short is 19-5 with a 2.39 ERA and 171 K's. Graham is 15-7 with a 2.04 ERA and 170 K's. Short leads the league in wins and strike outs but unless Graham pitches everyday this upcoming week the 2.04 ERA is just too much to overcome.
4. Johnny Swope ended up homering in six straight games, one off the record, before finally being stopped on September 21st against Philly. He got back on track the next night though when he hit a solo shot in the 4th against the Freedom in a 9-3 victory. He's hitting them out at a rate of one every fifteen at bats so he'd be over 40 for the year if he could have avoided the injury.
5. Poor Pat Johnson. The starter began the year in Denver where he went 1-1 with a 6.48 ERA before being placed on waivers. He was picked up by Toronto and won his first game for the Canadian's on May 16th against Montreal when he allowed zero runs in eight strong innings. Since then he's lost 14 straight games and currently is 2-15 with a 6.67 ERA.
Stat of the Week
.
| Largest Drop in the Standings (Top 25 Teams) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Comment