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04/11/2044
Welcome to 2044. After taking a mid year nap we woke to find out that the California Kodiaks won their second Brewmasters Cup in the past decade...who in the heck let that happen?! Well congrats anyways to Cali who has now gone to the playoffs nine straight years and taken home the cup in two of them. Let us now get back to the present, where everyone's Ale favorite the Syracuse Snappers debut in the top spot of the Power Rankings after one week of play. Syracuse went 6-1 on the week with their only loss coming to the New Orleans Voodoo. Other hot teams were Pawtucket (have they finally turned the corner?) and Seattle who each went 6-1 as well. On the other side of life Cali and New York went 1-6 while Phoenix went 1-5. We still think California and Phoenix are playoff teams while New York is starting to build something as well. So long story short...it's week one of twenty something...don't panic yet.
Power Rankings
1) Syracuse Snappers (162.3, ++)
2) Pawtucket Patriots (161.3, ++)
3) Seattle Pilots (161.3, ++)
4) Windy City Blues (135.6, ++)
5) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (123.0, ++)
6) Carolina Tobs (121.0, -)
7) Maine Guides (107.9, ++)
8) Batavia Red Jackets (106.9, --)
9) Baltimore Bulldogs (105.9, --)
10) Pittsburgh Millers (105.9, ++)
11) Philadelphia Freedom (104.9, ++)
12) Denver Bulls (101.9, --)
13) Los Angeles Dinos (100.9, --)
14) Wilmington Clowns (89.0, ++)
15) Montreal Exports (77.1, --)
16) Washington Bats (74.1, ++)
17) New Orleans Voodoo (73.1, --)
18) Hartford Whalers (47.4, --)
19) Dallas Drillers (46.4, --)
20) Indianapolis Racers (46.4, --)
21) Toronto Canadians (43.4, o)
22) Phoenix Roadrunners (27.0, --)
23) California Kodiaks (19.7, --)
24) New York Knights (16.7, --)
Performance of the Week
P Cordarius Gomez - The Millers hurler signed a 5 year/$101m contract this off-season and rewarded the owner with an 8 inning, 1 hit, 11 K performance against Dallas on April 10th in a 3-0 victory. So far on the season he's 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and 0.40 WHIP.
Injury of the Week
P Wyatt White - Montreal might be scouring the help needed ads for another trainer after they lose their third pitcher of the season, this time for good. White tore his labrum on April 9th against Hartford and team officials said this one is career ending. At 27 years old he was picked in the second round of the 2037 draft by the Exports after winning the 2036 Outstanding Pitcher Award in the CCBL. At 6'8 he never quite lived up to the hype, as he only appeared in 12 total BLB games, but his work ethic and humor around the locker room was always admired by all.
Prospect of the Week
P Martin Hoffman - The #1 prospect for the second year in a row is 22 and reports are that he is unhappy and wants to be in the majors. How long will New Orleans keep him down in the minors...we don't think long. He's been working on his change-up and control, but spending time around Erik Foley and Seth Cobb and seeing how they work might be all this kid needs to be another ace for the Voodoo rotation.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The BLB minor leagues kick off this week as organizations struggle to get down to the 26 man roster limit for AAA, AA, and A and 35 for the Rookie League. GM's and scouts around the league will be scouring the waiver wire and FA list next week in hopes of finding "one mans trash" prospects who might turn into the next BLB star.
2. Seth Blankenship was a DK favorite for many years and even rivaled our love for Turell Morris...sorry Two Ton. Last year in Toronto Blankenship hit .198 with 8 HR's and 24 RBI's and the end seemed near. This year for Batavia in five games he smashed five home runs and drove in ten while hitting .524. Someone found the fountain of youth...well for at least a week.
3. As we asked before has Pawtucket finally turned the corner? They won 90 games in 2033, the last time they saw the postseason, and since then have averaged 68 wins a season. The preseason predictions have them winning 77 and finishing 3rd in the Ale, but they have four solid starting pitchers and some young bats who have finally matured with BLB playing time. All though the DL is tough, with some luck they might squeak into a wildcard spot.
4. Barton Mejia was all but written off by the Windy City GM this offseason as he dropped off the Top Player list for the first time in a long time. So what does the 30 year old with four Pale Ale's and nine All-Star selections do...he goes 3-0 in the WBC with Latin America and is now 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in the BLB.
5. You know who hasn't been written off...the new #1 Christian Vines. After being selected 1.1 in the 2038 draft he was the #1 prospect for three straight years before getting called up at the end of 2040. Since then he's 46-18 including a 20-6 campaign last season. This year he's 2-0 with a 0.67 ERA and 0.38 WHIP and is the front runner for winning his second straight Pale Ale.
Stat of the Week
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| Largest Decline in Team Wins (Top 25 Teams) |
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