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09/24/2040
The Clowns get back on a track with a 5-1 week, the best in the league. They swept Pawtucket and took two of three against New Orleans to move into a three-way tie with Syracuse and Maine in the DL wildcard race. All three of those teams will make the postseason as the 2-3-4 seeds but the next week and a half will determine which team gets home field in the first round. Some other big weeks were Maine, Baltimore, LAD, Philadelphia, and Phoenix who all went 4-2. On the flip side Pawtucket went 1-6 and Denver went 1-5. The Bulls now hold only a three game advantage over the Freedom for the final IL wildcard spot as Philly bumped up their playoff odds to 6%.
Power Rankings
1) Seattle Pilots (120.6, o)
2) Windy City Blues (115.1, +)
3) Montreal Exports (113.1, -)
4) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (106.5, o)
5) Pittsburgh Millers (104.8, +)
6) Batavia Red Jackets (103.9, -)
7) Washington Bats (103.2, -)
8) California Kodiaks (100.5, o)
9) Maine Guides (98.7, ++)
10) Syracuse Snappers (97.7, -)
11) Wilmington Clowns (95.7, ++)
12) Phoenix Roadrunners (90.4, +)
13) Hartford Whalers (87.7, -)
14) Philadelphia Freedom (87.0, ++)
15) Denver Bulls (85.6, --)
16) Baltimore Bulldogs (84.3, +)
17) New Orleans Voodoo (83.4, -)
18) Pawtucket Patriots (76.3, --)
19) Toronto Canadians (73.6, -)
20) Los Angeles Dinos (72.7, o)
21) Indianapolis Racers (72.2, o)
22) New York Knights (65.5, +)
23) Carolina Tobs (58.7, -)
24) Dallas Drillers (57.4, o)
Performance of the Week
P Louie 'Silky' Wiederin - The 29 year old is in his rookie season in the BLB and turned in the #1 pitching performance of the season when he no-hit the Phoenix Roadrunners on September 18th. Originally from Pacific he was undrafted in 2031 and signed with Phoenix where he toiled away in the minors from 2031 to 2039 before they released him. He was signed by the Pilots for a length of five days in May before being released again and was picked up by Denver. The Bulls threw him into the BLB at the start of the year and in 25 starts he's 9-5 with a 3.77 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 3.1 WAR.
Injury of the Week
CF Cayden Huff - On September 21st against New Orleans the Clowns took a big hit literally when Huff was beaned by Clark Torrez in the 3rd and had to leave the game. He was diagnosed with a concussion and will miss at least a month. He started 102 games in center and posted a +6.3 ZR while hitting .261/.315/.476 with 28 HR's and 69 RBI's. The 24 year old is a fan favorite who was the 6th overall pick in the 2034 draft and is loved by both the media and ladies around town.
Prospect of the Week
3B Taylor Harmon - The #1 hitting prospect in the league is putting on a show in the AAA playoffs. On September 22nd against Richmond he hit two home runs and drove in five during an 11-3 victory to put Vancouver up 1-0 in the LCS. On the season he hit .286/.349/.603 with 32 HR's, 93 RBI's, and a 3.3 WAR. He was undrafted out of Rice in 2037 and was signed by Seattle for $21,000. In the minors he won the 2037 Rookie League All-Star MVP, the 2038 Lautering Trophy MVP, the 2039 AAA LCS MVP, and was a 2040 Horizon League All-Star.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Congrats to our first champion of the year, the Norfolk Captains who captured the Rookie Cup two games to none over the Boise Bluegills. The Captains are in Wilmington's system and put on quite a show in the playoffs. First they scored six runs in the 9th of the LCS game against Santa Monica to win 7-2 and advance to the Rookie Cup. Then in the deciding game two they scored six runs again, this time in the bottom of the 8th, to come from behind and win 9-6 to capture their first ever title.
2. The Stout is still almost a coin flip between Washington and Batavia as the race comes down to the wire. The Red Jackets lead by only 1.5 games with nine games remaining while the Bats have ten to play. Batavia squares off against Baltimore, Windy City, and New York while Washington plays New York, LAD, and Carolina. Washington easily wins the SOS battle as those three teams have a win percentage of .394, by far the easiest schedule down the stretch of anyone in the league. Can they capitalize and capture the crown? As of now both teams are behind Windy City in wins so if the playoffs started today the 'loser' goes from Stout champ and week off, to the second wildcard spot. In the Bock the Pilots won the division, their 3rd straight and 14th in 23 seasons since the franchise was born.
3. As mentioned previously the Domestic wildcard race comes down to seeding as Santo Domingo has gone 15-7 in September and secured the #1 spot. Therefore Maine, Syracuse, and Wilmington are jostling to see who gets to play the hot Rum Runners on the road. Technically Montreal hasn't won the Lager yet but with a 5.5 game lead and 10 to play their odds to win the division are currently at 100%. If they can somehow 'hold on' it will be their first division title since 2029. On the other side of the DL the Millers won their first Ale title since 2033, but with 91 wins trail the Exports by two games for HFA throughout the postseason.
4. Sheng 'Admiral' Jong is back in front for the IL Triple Crown, an amazing accomplishment that Barton Mejia has won the last two seasons and many thought he would win again. Jong is 20-4 with a 2.22 ERA and 238 K's in 31 starts. He was the 3rd overall pick of the 2028 draft by Denver and was traded to Santo Domingo in 2033. After going 14-5 in the regular season with SDR he went 3-1 with a 1.83 ERA in the postseason and helped the Rum Runners win their first ever BLB title. He was traded to Batavia in 2038 and finished second to Mejia in the Pale Ale race last season. We're gonna go out on a limb and say he wins the Pale Ale this season, stopping Mejia's back to back streak in that accomplished as well.
5. Our other award predictions are Robert Jessee for DL Stout Slugger, JD Rice for IL Stout Slugger, JJ Plumley for DL Pale Ale, Dominique Graham for DL New Brew, and Ezra Chalmers for IL New Brew.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Consecutive Times Winning The Defense With Integrity (DWI) Award (Top 25 Players, Position Indicated is First In Streak) |
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