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07/29/41
What a week as we had two perfect teams who dominated the opposition and could possibly square off down the road come October. First the Windy City Blues went 7-0 with dominant sweeps of Batavia and Denver. Their team ERA of 1.38 was unreal as they allowed only 10 runs in those seven games while scoring 32 of their own. The other team was the New Orleans Voodoo who swept Toronto and Hartford, and probably received a gift from Montreal who is battling those two for the final wildcard spot. Other nice weeks were California who went 5-1 to stay ahead of the Blues in the Bock, and Phoenix and Santo Domingo who each went 5-2.
Power Rankings
1) New Orleans Voodoo (132.4, ++)
2) California Kodiaks (124.9, -)
3) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (122.8, -)
4) Windy City Blues (121.5, ++)
5) Washington Bats (115.6, +)
6) Pittsburgh Millers (109.7, ++)
7) Syracuse Snappers (108.6, -)
8) Wilmington Clowns (108.6, --)
9) Phoenix Roadrunners (99.5, ++)
10) Seattle Pilots (95.0, -)
11) Philadelphia Freedom (94.7, -)
12) Montreal Exports (91.4, o)
13) Denver Bulls (90.1, -)
14) Baltimore Bulldogs (81.5, -)
15) Dallas Drillers (81.2, +)
16) Maine Guides (80.6, +)
17) Los Angeles Dinos (73.2, o)
18) Hartford Whalers (72.2, +)
19) Batavia Red Jackets (70.6, --)
20) Pawtucket Patriots (68.7, +)
21) Carolina Tobs (68.4, +)
22) New York Knights (65.4, o)
23) Toronto Canadians (64.6, --)
24) Indianapolis Racers (18.0, o)
Performance of the Week
P Barton Mejia - The great one continues to be great by pitching the second no-hitter in the league in the last month on July 27th against Batavia in a 2-0 Blues victory. The only runner he allowed on base the entire outing was Hyun-seung Bark who was walked in four straight pitches in the second inning. The rest of the performance was unblemished as he struck out 11 and picked up his ninth victory of the season. He's now 9-7 with a 1.91 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 20 starts. His earned runs in those seven losses...19.
Injury of the Week
P Birch Cash - It was a great week for GM's due to it being a slow week for league trainers. This past week Birch Cash was the only injury we could really write about, and he's only out for two weeks after suffering some elbow inflammation on July 22nd against Toronto. On the season the 28 year old former fourth round pick is 3-2 with a 4.27 ERA in 31 appearances.
Prospect of the Week
1B Devin Moore - The 21 year old was as second round pick in 2037 and is one of 10 prospects the Drillers have in the Top 100...with no other team reaching double digits. So far in 87 games in AA he's completely dominated with a stat line of .335/.432/.668 with 26 HR's and 77 RBI's while posting a 6.0 WAR. Teammates love to be around him and he has become known for his affinity for chili dogs. Looks like Dallas better alert their vendors at "Driller Dugout" and get prepared.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The Philadelphia Freedom are 11th in the IL in runs scored and 20th overall in the league, but at 51-47 have a 2.5 game lead over Denver for the final wildcard spot in the IL. Did we also mention the Bulls just blew it up for this season by trading away Ben Clewley, Cy Rocha, and Rory Elia. On top of that Elia went to none other than the Freedom. All though he's a little banged up right now with a bad back his .292 average along with 21 HR's, 62 RBI's, and a 3.2 WAR could tip the scale in Philly's favor. There is a reason he's rated the #2 overall hitter in the league.
2. Washington, Windy City, and California all have 62 wins to lead the Import. That would actually put them at third in the Lager and tied for first in the Ale if they were in the Domestic. Well they aren't so talking about it is pointless...but still fun. Instead those pesky Bats have a 10 game lead over Philly in the Stout while California leads Windy City by a game and a half.
3. With Denver throwing in the towel seemingly, all though we've seen crazier things in the BLB, it seems the wildcard now comes down to Philly and Baltimore in the Import. We talked about the Freedom boosting their lineup but what about those Bulldogs? They haven't been to the playoffs since 2036 and both management and the fans have to be getting restless. Remember this is one of the most successful franchises in BLB history. They are well run as shown by their 32 playoff appearances and championship victory in 2001. Will they stand pat or try and add something to a team that is 5th in runs scored and 7th in runs allowed in the IL.
4. You know who doesn't need to add anything...the Voodoo. They have two triple crown hitting candidates in Elmer 'Bane' Caceres and Parker Wood, and two triple crown pitching candidates in Erik Foley and Seth Cobb. Remember this team won 100 games in 2038, 107 in 2039, and then only 80 last season. We knew it was a bridge year but it was still frustrating none the less for the fans. Now this year they lead the league with 68 wins, have scored 587 runs (32 more than second place WC), and have a 3.5 game lead over Santo Domingo in the Lager.
5. A little record watch to close it out. If the projections hold out we have a few guys with shots at breaking some BLB records this year. Caceres is on pace for 164 RBI's, with Turell 'Two Ton' Morris holding that honor with 168 in 2030. Carolina's Bart Boon is on pace to reach 65 doubles, with the record of 66 being held by Toronto's Enrique Ferreira back in 2007. Finally Barton Mejia is on pace for 314 strikeouts, with the record belonging to Hyundai's David Rumsey who had 319 back in 1978, and is now 96 years old living back in Washington. Good luck guys!
Stat of the Week
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| Most Years With One Team (Top 25 Players) |
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