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05/13/41
And we're back...after a short hiatus it looks like the Wilmington Clowns are still running away with the league. After a 23-3 start though they did falter this past week by going a ghastly 3-4 and now find themselves at only 26-7 with a 3.5 lead over Pittsburgh in the Ale. Speaking of those Millers they and Windy City both went 6-1 and turned in the best performances of the week. The Blues now lead the 'Brutal Bock' by 1.5 games over California and Phoenix with the Dinos, Bulls, and Pilots right behind them. On the other side of life Batavia and Pawtucket both went 1-6. The champion Red Jackets are now 12-20 and 7.5 games behind Washington in the Stout while Pawtucket is 13-19 and 12.5 games back in the Ale.
Power Rankings
1) Wilmington Clowns (145.8, o)
2) Pittsburgh Millers (126.8, ++)
3) Windy City Blues (121.5, ++)
4) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (117.5, +)
5) Syracuse Snappers (113.5, --)
6) Washington Bats (113.1, -)
7) California Kodiaks (106.6, --)
8) Phoenix Roadrunners (104.6, +)
9) New Orleans Voodoo (102.9, -)
10) Philadelphia Freedom (100.3, +)
11) Los Angeles Dinos (95.3, -)
12) Montreal Exports (86.4, ++)
13) Denver Bulls (85.8, ++)
14) Dallas Drillers (84.3, o)
15) Baltimore Bulldogs (78.4, -)
16) Maine Guides (78.4, +)
17) Hartford Whalers (76.4, --)
18) Seattle Pilots (72.8, --)
19) New York Knights (67.5, ++)
20) Toronto Canadians (66.5, +)
21) Pawtucket Patriots (64.1, --)
22) Batavia Red Jackets (57.5, --)
23) Carolina Tobs (55.2, o)
24) Indianapolis Racers (44.6, o)
Performance of the Week
P Derek Bell - In a week that featured that #5, #8, #17 and #25 pitching performances of the season it was Bell who turned in the #3 spot against California on May 7th. In 8 innings he allowed only one hit, struck out eight, and walked two as the Roadrunners took down the Kodiaks 1-0. On the season Bell is 4-0 with a 1.48 ERA and 0.91 WHIP and has established himself as one of the top young pitchers in the league.
Injury of the Week
P Graham Kennedy - The man they call 'Sideburns' was lost for the year on May 10th when he was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation and was ruled out the rest of the season. He was an 8th round pick in 2037 and so far this year in 12 games had posted a 6.65 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. Not a huge loss by any means for the Patriots, but it is always sad to see a late round pick make the BLB just to go down to injury.
Prospect of the Week
CF Rory Levin - He turns 20 years old tomorrow and will be eligible for the 2041 BLB draft on June 16th. Scouts think he is short on passion, and low on leadership, work ethic, and intelligence. Other than that they love his speed, ability to play almost any position in the field, and his ability to put the bat on the ball. So far this year at Oklahoma State he's hitting .322/.429/.678 with 17 HR's, 49 RBI's, and a 2.8 WAR in 48 games.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Congrats to Whalers Ron 'Vampire' Hutchison who hit his 500th career home run on May 7th against Maine. Even though Hartford lost the game in extras 'Vampire' tallied up three hits, two RBI's, and the home run and showed the 33 year old can still swing the bat. Originally the second overall pick in the 2028 draft he is a 3x Stout Slugger, 6x All-Star, and 2x Brewmasters Cup champion. Even with all his accolades he will always be best known for his walk-off two run home run in Game 7 of the 2038 Brewmasters against Batavia that gave the Whalers their second championship in a decade.
2. It's not often you win a game 3-2 off of three solo home runs, and it's even rarer when they are all from the same player. On May 6th though Tobs outfielder Grant Hockensmith hit three home runs with no one on and propelled Carolina to a 3-2 victory over Baltimore. The 26 year old was the 7th pick of the 2035 draft and his swing for the fences approach has played out well for him so far in his career. Last season he hit .246 but cracked 43 HR's and drove in 99 runs. This season he's hitting a paltry .189 but he's still on pace to hit 33 out of the park.
3. Checking in on our 'Doofus' watch it looks like Sidney 'Doofus' Ishibashi has broken out of his sophomore slump. In 30 games he's hitting .325/375/.627 with 9 HR's, 25 RBI's, and a 1.4 WAR. Last season he put up a -0.3 WAR and he's only seven home runs away from tying his 2040 performance. In our 'Doofus 2' watch it appears New Orleans Trey McCaffery is still an unlucky 0-1 in seven starts but his 3.29 ERA and 1.33 WHIP are improvements from last season. Considering he posted a 56 ERA+ in 2040 and so far has posted a 138 this season, a career high, good times appear to be here again.
4. The so called BLB 'feeder' leagues are wrapping up. In the NCAA we are down to the Elite 8, and at the High School and Cape Cod level we have four teams battling for the 2041 trophies. With the end of the feeder season approaching that can only mean one thing, the 2041 BLB Draft is incoming. Scheduled for June 16th the draft is right around the corner and we couldn't be more excited. You know who else is excited, the fans in Dallas. The Drillers this draft have picks 1.1, 1.5, and 1.7. Talk about kick starting a rebuild.
5. Interleague is back this week with some nice BLB match-ups to look forward to. First place Santo Domingo travels to first place Washington for a three game series starting today. Then fiirst place Windy City travels to first place Wilmington for a three game series starting the 16th. Other nice series are California at New Orleans and Pittsburgh at Batavia in a Brew re-match.
Stat of the Week
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