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05/09/2044
Here comes the Rum Runners! Santo Domingo goes 6-1 with a sweep of Toronto to rocket up the PR and assume the top spot. Also moving up are those pesky Washington Bats who went 6-1 with a sweep of Baltimore. Other nice weeks were had by Carolina, New York, Montreal, and Pawtucket who all went 5-2. Meanwhile our darling of the year the Seattle Pilots went 1-6 and dropped to second in the division behind the Blues. Eventually their hot start was bound to cool, but we still believe in the Pilots and think they can take the division.
Power Rankings
1) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (139.4, +)
2) Windy City Blues (126.5, o)
3) Seattle Pilots (119.0, -)
4) Pawtucket Patriots (116.2, ++)
5) Montreal Exports (115.5, o)
6) Syracuse Snappers (107.5, -)
7) Washington Bats (104.2, ++)
8) Philadelphia Freedom (99.6, -)
9) Wilmington Clowns (96.6, +)
10) Pittsburgh Millers (88.3, --)
11) Baltimore Bulldogs (84.4, o)
12) Maine Guides (83.8, ++)
13) Denver Bulls (83.4, +)
14) Dallas Drillers (83.4, -)
15) California Kodiaks (82.8, +)
16) Carolina Tobs (79.8, ++)
17) New Orleans Voodoo (79.7, --)
18) New York Knights (78.1, +)
19) Toronto Canadians (75.4, --)
20) Los Angeles Dinos (72.4, -)
21) Indianapolis Racers (66.5, +)
22) Hartford Whalers (63.5, +)
23) Batavia Red Jackets (59.5, o)
24) Phoenix Roadrunners (57.9, --)
Performance of the Week
P Kelani Encinia - The only player who might challenge Christian Vines for the DL Pale Ale upped his resume with a no hitter against Indy on May 5th. Over the course of the game he struck out ten, walked none, and was only a hit batsmen away from a perfect day. On the season he's now 6-1 with 0.98 ERA and 0.63 WHIP.
Injury of the Week
P Cade Hogan - Things go from bad to worse for the Road Runners as Hogan left the game on May 6th against Washington and was later diagnosed with a partially torn UCL. He is expected to be out about a year, and the former 5th overall pick of the 2039 draft and 2039 NCAA Outstanding Pitcher was reportedly and understandably in tears after finding out the news.
Prospect of the Week
IF Dez Swanson - The 20 year old from LA had the scouts attention after hitting .365/.465/.607 with 9 HR's and 29 RBI's in 47 games this season. Last season he finished third for the NCAA Outstanding Hitter award and was the front-runner for 2044. We use 'had' and 'was' because this week against Arizona he was beaned by pitcher Steve Bouchez and x-rays showed it broke Swanson's elbow. He should still get drafted but he probably won't be a first rounder anymore.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Bradley Beehn had a heck of a game on May 8th against Carolina. He was one Zander Howard single away from a no-hitter while striking out ten over the course of the game. The Pilots won 12-0 and Beehn is now 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. He also drove in two runs over the course of the week in a limited DH role.
2. Everyone is scratching their heads over Phoenix, who went from 103 wins last season to an 11-21 start this year. If you look closely though it's not much of a mystery. Last season the starting pitchers by WAR were Derek Bell (17-2), Jakob Parnika (9-6), Gerold Schmacher (17-5), Cade Hogan (6-7), Yuri Baldwin (5-3) and Zak Stewart (10-5). Bell is on course to win 15-20 games and be the ace of the staff, but Parnika was traded away, Baldwin was left to walk in free agency, Hogan is now hurt, and Schmacher is back to his old self after last years anomaly season. Combine that with a team who is 11th in the IL in hits and runs scored and you are going to have issues. Looks like Bell and Ismael will be the new 1-2, but unless they find some runs it won't matter.
3. Santo Domingo's Roman Hatcher hit three home runs in a game last week against Syracuse, and now New York's Andy Schultz did it this week against Philly. So far five players have accomplished that feat this season and it's May 9th. It was done six times last year, three times in 2042, and five times in 2041.
4. Windy City is the land of enchantment for pitchers. In our weekly Mejia watch he actually lost...but the 30 year old who was written off by their GM this off-season is still 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA. How about Dusty Borchers though? He's now 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA. Last season he was 10-11 with a 4.00 ERA in Hartford. Apparently the 39 year old is giving it one last hurrah before he rides off into the sunset. He is a 2x All-Star, won a DWI in 2041, and is a two time Brewmasters Cup champion, one with Washington in 2032 and another with California in 2036.
5. We have some fun interleague this week with a few possible Brewmaster Cup match-ups. In everyone's dream cup match-up Syracuse travels to Philadelphia starting May 9th. Both teams have never won a BLB title and fans around the country would tune into that one. In the other series of interest Seattle travels to Santo Domingo on May 13th for a three game series. We are looking forward to watching SDR's Jayson Buenaventur battle Seattle's Tavin Kang. In Buenaventur's last 19 games he's hitting .303 with 8 HR's and 13 RBI's, while in Kang's last 16 games he's hitting .306 with 9 HR's and 13 RBI's.
Stat of the Week
.
Players with only hits as HRs
| Player Raymond Macauley . |
Years 1978-1987 . |
PA 4 . |
HR 1 . |
| Frank Hilder | 1985-1985 | 7 | 1 |
| Joe Torrefiel | 1981-1990 | 19 | 1 |
| Joe Baet | 1983-1983 | 7 | 1 |
| Amor Mejia | 1980-1984 | 11 | 1 |
| Pete McGuire | 1992-1996 | 4 | 1 |
| Lorenzo Magnaldi | 1990-1994 | 2 | 1 |
| Jermaine Barnett | 1990-1991 | 1 | 1 |
| Benjamin Barrera | 2042-2042 | 7 | 1 |
| Dominic Carhart | 2044-2044 | 8 | 1 |
| Pancho Díaz | 1991-1992 | 6 | 1 |
| Kiyotake Inouye | 2023-2028 | 19 | 1 |
| Robby Ozan | 2027-2027 | 1 | 1 |
| Earl Anderson | 2033-2033 | 5 | 1 |
| Dusty Sullenberger | 2042-2042 | 7 | 1 |
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