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August 15, 2033
(AP)
Baltimore stays atop the power rankings but here come the Whalers after they went 6-1 with a sweep of Miami and winning three of four against Wilmington. After the Pittsburgh Millers went 1-5 the Whalers are now only 6.5 games back in the Ale and these two meet for a three game series starting the 18th. Other great weeks belonged to Syracuse, Indy, and Pawtucket who all went 5-1 while Seattle went 5-2. On the other side of the curve Toronto went 1-6 while Carolina, Maine, and Montreal all went 1-5. Also we have a new division leader as Santo Domingo now has a half game lead over Miami in the Lager. The Rum Runners are 10-4 this month while the Sharks are 7-7.
Power Rankings
1) Baltimore Bulldogs (114.9, o)
2) Hartford Whalers (111.0, ++)
3) Seattle Pilots (110.3, ++)
4) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (109.7, -)
5) Pawtucket Patriots (107.0, o)
6) Pittsburgh Millers (105.8, --)
7) Windy City Blues (102.9, ++)
8) Philadelphia Freedom (101.0, --)
9) Miami Sharks (99.9, -)
10) Indianapolis Racers (99.2, ++)
11) Batavia Red Jackets (96.4, o)
12) Syracuse Snappers (95.8, ++)
13) Washington Bats (94.4, -)
14) Phoenix Roadrunners (94.1, --)
15) New York Knights (91.3, +)
16) Maine Guides (89.3, --)
17) New Orleans Dukes (78.3, +)
18) Wilmington Clowns (78.3, ++)
19) Los Angeles Dinos (73.7, +)
20) Carolina Tobs (70.9, --)
21) California Kodiaks (70.7, +)
22) Toronto Canadians (63.9, --)
23) Denver BC (59.1, o)
24) Montreal Exports (40.7, o)
Performance of the Week
P Louie Reutter - We missed this last week as we were away but on August 7th he pitched a one hit shutout against Indy with seven strikeouts and two walks. The 26 year old is 9-5 on the season with a 3.78 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 104 ERA+. This was his first shutout and complete game of the season in 24 starts.
Injury of the Week
P Jamie Breed - On August 12th against California he lasted 2.1 innings and 33 pitches before feeling a sharp pain in his throwing shoulder and leaving the game. An MRI just showed a strain and he will be out for at least two months. The 24 year old was the Bats 2027 1st round pick and on the season was 9-4 with a 3.98 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 22 starts.
Prospect of the Week
3B Dawson 'Wedge' Davis - The 19 year old was the 6th overall pick by Windy City in the 2031 draft and is currently on their A ball team. In 113 games he's hitting .339/.400/.524 with 16 HRs and 75 RBI's while posting a 4.7 WAR. Scouts say his intelligence and work ethic are top of the line and he understands the game better than most.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. With a 13-12 July and 9-4 August the Syracuse Snappers have won eight of their last ten and climbed back into the Wild Card race for the DL. They are in the 6th spot currently but only a game back from Maine (who suffered some bad injuries) and 3.5 games from Indy. With a PYT record of -7 (tying Hartford for worst in the league) they could easily get a little luck to go their way and keep moving up the list. They are 1st in the DL in home runs and CF Seth Blankenship is two home runs away from joining the 30/30 club and is on pace to finish with 39 HR's and 42 SB's. It's only a matter of time before he becomes the BLB's first 40/40 man.
2. Meanwhile the poor fans of Montreal continue to suffer through one of the worst seasons in BLB history. The Exports are predicted to win 43 games, which would tie them for 4th worst all-time with '13 Toronto and put them just ahead of '81 California (39), '13 Wilmington (40), and '26 Windy City (41). After starting out somewhat respectable they are 12-53 since June. Just keep remembering 2027 until things get better!
3. While we were gone we missed the Ron Hutchison quad injury that will keep him out over a month. His 42 home runs still lead the league by six and he was on pace to hit over 60. He was so far ahead of the pack though that he still has the inside track to win the DL Stout Slugger. In the IL Johnny Swope's "Summer of Power" tour continues and we're now predicting him to win his 4th straight Stout Slugger. Since July 1st he's hit .333/.409/.701 with 15 HR's. Want to know why Seattle now has a three game lead in the Bock...look no further than 'Big Stick'.
4. Congrats to Ian James who hit his 300th career home run on August 10th. Since being the 1.1 pick in 2023 by then Death Valley he has been nothing but outstanding for the franchise. In his 1,192 career games he's hitting .330/.394/.598 with 301 HR's, 804 RBI's, and a 67.6 WAR. He's #1 all-time for catchers in Black Ink (22) and second all time behind Ray Davilla in Gray Ink (121). At 31 years old he's in his 10th season, has been to nine All-Star games, won four Stout Sluggers and shows no signs of slowing down.
5. The celebration for James on the 10th was hyped up by the league in what many thought was to cover an ugly brawl that went down between Baltimore and Philadelphia. With Philly leading 5-3 in the bottom of the 9th the Freedom brought in Steve 'Dum Dum' Fasola. Dusty Janson was the first batter and he took a 1-2 pitch 394 feet and over the fence. Some words were exchanged between Janson and Fasola and 'Dum Dum' proceeded to throw two pitches in a row that almost hit the head of the next batter, Bruno Damours. On the 3rd pitch he finally beaned him, shouted something at the Philly dugout towards Janson, and things went south from there. Damours charged the mound and the 6'3 Damours and 6'5 Fasola gave the fans what many considered to be the best five seconds of MMA fighting seen in Baltimore in years. After they were finally pulled apart the game continued and Micah Smith came in as a pinch runner. A Dave Maldonado single and Pat Bowman walk set up Jamie 'Superfly' Kitchen who then hit a single scoring both Smith and Maldonado and ended the game. The next morning the league announced that Fasola was being suspended nine games due to an "egregious display of player safety", one of the longest suspensions in recent history. These teams meeting again September 9-11 and we're already looking forward to it.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Games Played Without A Stolen Base (Top 25 Players, Pitchers Excluded) |
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