08/27/2040
Seattle is still the toast of the league as they go 6-1, remain on top in the Power Rankings, and have all but secured the Bock this season. This team hasn't finished worse than second in the division since 2022 and this will be their third straight Bock crown and seventh in the last nine years. Talk about dominance. Phoenix and Pittsburgh came in next at 5-1 while Batavia, Washington, and SDR finished at 4-2. On the other side of life New York, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles all went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) Seattle Pilots (122.5, o)
2) Pittsburgh Millers (119.6, o)
3) Montreal Exports (112.6, ++)
4) Batavia Red Jackets (109.3, -)
5) Washington Bats (105.7, -)
6) Windy City Blues (105.3, -)
7) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (105.0, ++)
8) Wilmington Clowns (101.1, ++)
9) California Kodiaks (100.2, -)
10) Maine Guides (100.2, --)
11) Philadelphia Freedom (97.3, -)
12) Denver Bulls (93.9, -)
13) Phoenix Roadrunners (88.3, ++)
14) Hartford Whalers (88.0, o)
15) New Orleans Voodoo (85.6, o)
16) Syracuse Snappers (81.0, o)
17) Pawtucket Patriots (80.2, +)
18) Baltimore Bulldogs (78.1, --)
19) Carolina Tobs (72.4, +)
20) Indianapolis Racers (71.8, --)
21) Toronto Canadians (68.7, o)
22) New York Knights (62.4, o)
23) Dallas Drillers (57.6, +)
24) Los Angeles Dinos (56.2, -)
Performance of the Week
P Sheldon 'Weasel' Martin - The 30 year old was traded to SDR this off-season after spending six season in Carolina. On August 20th against New Orleans he continued to show he was a good pickup when he went 8 innings, allowed one hit, and struck out 6 in a 2-0 victory. So far in his first season as a Rum Runner he is 10-7 with a 3.09 ERA and was named to the All-Star team.
Injury of the Week
P James 'The Wolf' Verba - The second round pick from 2033 finally made his BLB debut this year and in 45 games he posted a 2-2 record with a 4.44 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Then on August 22nd against Washington he came in during the fourth, struck out Oscar D'Addona, and left the game. He was given an MRI due to elbow pain and it was discovered that he tore his UCL and will be out at least a year.
Prospect of the Week
P Drake DePuy - Selected out of high school by Baltimore in the 3rd round of the 2038 draft he's currently the #84 prospect and playing in the Rookie League. His 2-13 record isn't the best, but his 3.84 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and 102 ERA+ aren't bad for a kid who is just 19. He throws up to 100 mph, has four pitches, and struck out 116 batters in 126.2 innings this year.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Three brawls in the last 13 days have marred the BLB as the dog dogs of summer drag on. This week it was New York and Windy City getting into it during their August 24th game, and it didn't take long either. In the bottom of the first Edwin Meck took Micah Scott deep for a solo shot and slowly meandered around the bases. Feeling slighted Scott beaned Killian Pena with the first pitch of the next at bat. Pena started towards first, words were exchanged, and a 'wrasling' match broke out! Scott is 6'3 and 230 pounds but Pena is 39 years old and his old man strength shocked more than a few when he picked up Scott and drove him into the Kennedy Field grass. After it was finally broken up both players were ejected and New York won the game 3-0. The commissioners office suspended Scott for six games and Pena for five games.
2. Congrats to Pilot's Charles Farris who set the all-time home run streak record on August 25th. From 8/16 to 8/25 the 29 year old hit a home run in nine straight games, which broke Brendan Matson's eight game streak he set in 2038. On the season he's hitting .264/.343/.542 with 30 HR's and 76 RBI's in 112 games. He was Seattle's first round pick back in 2031 and all though he has never been an All-Star he's been a solid contributor year after year.
3. Robert Jessee is still playing hard for Toronto as he zoomed to the Domestic lead in home runs and is now only three behind Lucas Wilkins for the league lead. This past week in 31 at bats he hit .484 with 7 HR's and 13 RBI's. Sadly Toronto went 3-4 and at 23 games below .500 kissed their playoff hopes goodbye a long time ago. Jessee though now leads the league in slugging and WAR and is the new front runner for the DL Stout Slugger. It is his year though if he follows his pattern since he did win the award in 2036 and 2038.
4. The Drillers have had a revival of sorts after their 2-22 July as they are now 12-13 in August. With five games left before September (3 vs Tor, 2 vs Pit) can they turn in their first winning month of the season? The bigger question is can they play themselves out of the top pick in next years draft? At 40-85 they hold a slight lead on LAD who is 46-81 and falling fast. The Dinos had big hopes this season after winning 83+ games each of the last four seasons but the train derailed after they went 6-19 last month. They haven't recovered and at this rate could surpass Dallas by October.
5. The most exciting playoff race we have this season might be between Denver and Philadelphia as the Freedom currently hold a one game advantage over the Bulls for the final wildcard spot. Philly hasn't been to the playoffs since 2034, while Denver got jilted last season after missing out with 91 wins. Both teams are on the rise and have made a plethora of transactions to build solid ball clubs. Unfortunately they don't meet again the rest of the year as Denver dominated the season series 9-2 that featured Philly winning the first two games in April, then Denver reeling off nine straight wins. The oddsmakers currently have the Freedom with a 63% chance with Denver coming in at 29%.
Stat of the Week
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Most Wins by Age (Earliest Occurrence Shown) |
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