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09/10/2040
Interleague is back and better than ever as the Seattle Pilots still can't be knocked off the throne. After another 5-1 week which featured a sweep of Pawtucket, the Pilots have built a 10.5 game lead in the Bock and have it all but wrapped up. Other big weeks were Syracuse and Denver who also went 5-1. The Snappers are now 72-66 and tied with Maine for the 3rd wildcard spot in the DL. If there is an underdog story in the BLB this season it's definitely been Syracuse. Meanwhile Denver is still in a battle for the final wildcard spot in the IL and now have a three game lead on the Freedom. Considering Philly won 54 games last season and have not been to the playoffs since 2034 it's been quite a remarkable turnaround for them as well. Do they have enough big game experience though to put on a run and catch those pesky Bulls? On the flip side Pawtucket and Hartford each went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) Seattle Pilots (127.0, o)
2) Montreal Exports (125.0, +)
3) Pittsburgh Millers (114.6, -)
4) Batavia Red Jackets (109.1, o)
5) California Kodiaks (108.7, ++)
6) Windy City Blues (108.6, o)
7) Washington Bats (106.0, -)
8) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (101.2, -)
9) Wilmington Clowns (97.1, -)
10) Denver Bulls (95.7, +)
11) Syracuse Snappers (95.4, ++)
12) Philadelphia Freedom (90.4, -)
13) New Orleans Voodoo (89.0, +)
14) Hartford Whalers (87.0, o)
15) Maine Guides (83.4, --)
16) Phoenix Roadrunners (82.9, --)
17) Pawtucket Patriots (81.5, o)
18) Toronto Canadians (70.9, ++)
19) Carolina Tobs (69.3, o)
20) New York Knights (68.9, +)
21) Indianapolis Racers (68.5, -)
22) Baltimore Bulldogs (67.8, --)
23) Dallas Drillers (57.6, o)
24) Los Angeles Dinos (56.6, o)
Performance of the Week
CF Rory Elia - The IL player of the week put on a show against Pawtucket on September 7th during a 10-2 Bulls victory. In five at bats he recorded five hits, two home runs, drove in five, and scored four times. On the season the 26 year old is hitting .320/.398/.624 with 32 HR's and 106 RBI's while playing 120 games in center field. He won the IL Stout Slugger in 2036 and 2037 and looks to be on pace to win it again this season.
Injury of the Week
SS Laurence Youmans - On September 3rd against Batavia he was having a big game that featured a home run and two runs scored until he was drilled by Jimmy Croteau in the 9th inning. The crack could be heard from the upper decks and it turned out to be Youmans arm being fractured. He will miss at least six weeks which means he wouldn't even be back until the later rounds of the playoffs. He's started 118 games for the Guides at short stop and is hitting .249/.316/.359 with 9 HR's and 60 RBI's. This hurts for a team that is 2-6 in September and 2-10 in their last 12.
Prospect of the Week
1B Andy Schultz - The 4th round pick from the 2037 draft has put on quite a show in AA this season. In 118 games he's hitting .283/.396/.557 with 34 HR's, 95 RBI's, and a 4.4 WAR. He's been selected as batter of the month twice and went to the 2040 Lautering All-Star game. He's currently the #78 prospect in the league and scouts think he can be a BLB slugger who hits 30+ home runs a season.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. As we mentioned earlier the Snappers continue to be the surprise story of the season and they can thank Dominique Graham for a big part of it. The 23 year old smashed four home runs in his last seven games and just picked up his first ever BLB Player of the Week award. He can set it next to his two Rookie of the Month and one Batter of the Month awards. After having a 'down' August in which he hit .297 with 7 home runs he's now hitting .500 with 4 HR's in September. On the season he's hitting .334 with 27 HR's and 80 RBI's in only 106 games. From 2037 to 2039 Syracuse had the worst stretch in BLB history as they only won 118 games. It looks like those days are over.
2. Sheng Jong is now in the drivers seat to win both the Pale Ale and Triple Crown in the IL. He's 18-4 with a 2.09 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 215 K's on the year. His competition is still Barton Mejia who has had a rough September so far by going a shocking 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA. Mejia though does have 212 K's so it will be a photo finish. In the Domestic Maynor Franco of Montreal leads all with a 2.49 ERA, Pittsburgh's Kelani Encinia leads the league with 19 wins, and J.J. Plumley is back in form and is first with 222 K's.
3. Speaking of Franco he is an absurd 14-3 as the IAFA from Guatemala shows that the $7.5m the Exports spent on him in 2035 was worth every dime. Did we mention he's a rookie as last season he got called up and pitched only 4.2 innings as Montreal finished with 79 wins. This season the Exports are at 86 wins, the most in the Domestic, and the most they have had since 2031 when they broke the bank trying to win it all. They are first in hits allowed, opponent average, and BABIP and second in starters ERA. Combine that with being first in batting average and OBP and they are cruising to their first Lager title since 2029.
4. In the Import we thought we might have a three-way home run race down the stretch as JD Rice looked to be getting hot. He hasn't hit one out in September though and it looks like a two-way race between teammates Lucas Wilkins and Marco Taylor of Batavia. Wilkins has 47, Taylor has 44, and Batavia has 248 home runs for the season...33 more than second place Wilmington. They have also taken over the Stout lead as they are up on Washington by one game. Can they hold on to win their second straight Stout crown? The Bats and Red Jackets meet one more time for a three game series starting next Monday in Washington. So far Batavia leads the season series 7-2 and it goes without saying we'll be tuning in.
5. The minor league playoffs are off and running. The Rookie League is down to the great eight with one game already being played in the Division Series. Omaha led the league with 56 wins but find themselves already down 1-0 to the Boise Bluegills. Meanwhile the AAA, AA, and A wildcard series all kick off today. In AAA the Richmond Rams went 84-36, in AA the Auburn Venom went 83-37, and in A the Reading Railers went 87-33. The Rams and Venom are both Washington's minor league teams while the Railers belong to Pittsburgh.
Stat of the Week
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| Most RBI Over A Three Year Span (Top 25 Players) |
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