Tweet
07/26/2038
(AP)
New Orleans goes 7-0 but nothing can stop the YOTB (Year of the Bats) as Washington and California keep on keeping on with 5-1 weeks as well. Back to those Voodoo though. First they took three from Montreal and then four from Syracuse while hitting .340 with 17 HR's for the week, both league highs. They have the second most wins in the BLB and are almost a lock to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2031. Them, Denver, and Montreal all hold the current record of longest postseason droughts. Other nice weeks were LA and Hartford who each went 5-2. LA is now eleven games over .500 and staying afloat in the crazy Bock, while Hartford is cruising along with a nine game lead in Ale. As in "A Tale of Two Cities" we also had some "worst of times" as Syracuse went 0-7 and New York went 0-6. The Snappers have now lost 17 straight while the Knights have lost 14 in a row. What sad times for Syracuse who won over 100 games in 2035 and New York who brought home a title back in 2029 amidst five straight postseason appearances.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (136.5, o)
2) New Orleans Voodoo (125.3, ++)
3) California Kodiaks (120.0, -)
4) Hartford Whalers (114.8, ++)
5) Indianapolis Racers (107.6, ++)
6) Miami Sharks (105.8, -)
7) Batavia Red Jackets (102.8, -)
8) Los Angeles Dinos (102.8, ++)
9) Denver Bulls (101.8, --)
10) Seattle Pilots (100.5, --)
11) Carolina Tobs (100.0, +)
12) Pittsburgh Millers (94.6, -)
13) Pawtucket Patriots (92.5, ++)
14) Toronto Canadians (91.2, -)
15) Windy City Blues (85.9, -)
16) Wilmington Clowns (81.7, +)
17) Phoenix Roadrunners (79.2, +)
18) Philadelphia Freedom (78.1, --)
19) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (77.1, +)
20) Montreal Exports (73.2, -)
21) Baltimore Bulldogs (65.2, o)
22) Maine Guides (54.2, o)
23) New York Knights (44.4, o)
24) Syracuse Snappers (5.1, o)
Performance of the Week
P Seth 'Berserker' Rocco - Sporting one of the coolest nicknames in the BLB, the lifetime Racer shutdown Maine on July 22nd with an 8.2 inning, one hit, no run, six strikeout performance. Indianapolis won the game 4-0 and the 28 year old Rocco upped his record to 7-4 with a 2.47 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 177 ERA+ on the season.
Injury of the Week
P Ace 'Brain' McDaniel - The 38 year old signed a one year deal with Seattle back in February for a cool $1,000,001 and was having a fairly productive season. In 29 games and 12 starts he was 8-4 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with a 2.1 WAR. Then on July 23rd against Washington he left the game in the 6th after getting Erwijn 'Moriarity' de Jong to ground out to start the inning. He was taken to the trainers room and later diagnosed with elbow tendinitis which should keep him out over a month.
Prospect of the Week
CF Jesse Robinson - The 24 year old went undrafted out of Duke back in 2034 and signed a minor league contract with Montreal. He's slowly moved up from the RL to AA where he is hitting .291/.416/.467 with 12 HR's and 51 RBI's in 72 games. Recently on July 24th he knocked in eight runs in a 16-5 victory over Miramar. After being hit by a pitch in the 2nd inning he activated his Hulk strength and hit a grand slam in the 3rd and three-run home run in the 7th to propel the Mohawks to victory.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Two big achievements happened this week as Ron Snider launched his 500th career home run on July 23rd and Ron 'Vampire' Hutchison followed suit the following day with his 400th. Snider was drafted by Carolina back in 2022 with the 13th overall pick but was traded to Pittsburgh in 2023. He became their starting second basemen in 2025 and played their and third base for the next seven seasons. He made it to five All-Star games and won two Stout Sluggers in 2028 and 2029 when he hit 44 and 53 home runs respectively. Since leaving Pittsburgh in 2032 he played for Indianapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Batavia, and Hartford before being signed by Seattle a few months ago. He briefly played in AAA before being traded to New Orleans where he currently resides. 'Vampire' was the second overall pick by Hartford in 2028 and won the 2031, 2033, and 2035 DL Stout Slugger awards. Believe it or not he was not selected to the All-Star game in 2035 but has been to five other ones. He has averaged 48 home runs per 162 games and has been one of the most feared batters over the last decade. At only 30 years old he has a shot to reach 550 but Jamie O'Hearn's 612 might be out of reach.
2. Whalers outfielder Chang-hyun Kym is tied for the league lead with 33 home runs and leads the league with 92 RBI's. He's also hitting .304 and has scored a run in 10 straight games, tying the season record also held by Sacco van Gorp of Phoenix. Fun fact, Kym has never been intentionally walked this season.
3. Speaking of streaks we almost missed this one but New Orleans' Brenden Matson just set the all-time BLB record by homering in eight straight games. The record of seven was held by Johnny Swope in 2033 and CJ Vigar in 2021, but Matson homered in every game from 7/11 to 7/23. What's even crazier in that technically he did it in nine straights games as he homered in the BLB All-Star game on 7/16.
4. So far we've had two pitchers either take a bat or play in the field (other than at pitcher) this season. Seattle starter Bradley Beehn substituted in at left field during the 9th inning of a 13-0 victory on June 1st but never took an at bat. Meanwhile Voodoo starter Erik Rodgers subbed in at first during the 8th inning of a June 22nd game against Toronto. He got up to bat but Dusty Kocurek was picked off at first to end the inning. He got a second chance in the 9th and hit three foul balls before grounding out. Beehn looks like a potential ace while last year Rogers was 10-9 with a 2.87 ERA in his rookie season. Maybe the manager could find someone else to sub in?
5. Some great match-ups this week in the BLB. New Orleans travels to Indy for a big three game series. The Voodoo are 5-1 against the Racers this season but only lead them by 5.5 games in the Lager. Denver meanwhile has a three game home stand against LAD then a four game home stand against Washington. The Denver GM has been reported as saying his team is going to "go on a run" so all eyes will be on the Bulls. Finally we have Pittsburgh traveling to Pawtucket. The Millers lead the Patriots by four games for the final wildcard spot in the DL but Pawtucket has been making moves. A sweep by the Patriots and things could get real interesting for the stretch run.
Stat of the Week
.
| Highest Career Home Run/Stolen Base Combinations (Top 25 Players, Sorted By Lower of HR/SB) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Comment