The 2045 Daily Keg - Week 9

[Matt]

06/05/2045

New Orleans and Seattle each go 5-1 with the Voodoo taking over the top spot in this weeks Power Rankings. They also used their week to move ahead of Santo Domingo by half a game for the Lager lead. Seattle meanwhile is now 28-23 and just adds another dimension to the 'Brutal Bock'. Other good weeks were had by Batavia, Pawtucket, Santo Domingo and Baltimore. The not so good week was had by Denver who went 0-6 while Maine went 1-5.

Power Rankings

1) New Orleans Voodoo (126.7, ++)
2) Pawtucket Patriots (124.2, -)
3) California Kodiaks (122.2, -)
4) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (118.5, o)
5) Phoenix Roadrunners (112.2, -)
6) Seattle Pilots (104.8, ++)
7) Washington Bats (103.9, -)
8) Montreal Exports (96.4, -)
9) Wilmington Clowns (95.3, -)
10) Baltimore Bulldogs (94.0, ++)
11) Pittsburgh Millers (91.0, -)
12) Dallas Drillers (90.2, +)
13) Hartford Whalers (86.2, +)
14) Toronto Canadians (84.1, ++)
15) Carolina Tobs (82.7, --)
16) Los Angeles Dinos (81.6, ++)
17) Indianapolis Racers (78.6, -)
18) Windy City Blues (76.6, --)
19) Syracuse Snappers (75.7, ++)
20) New York Knights (75.2, +)
21) Batavia Red Jackets (73.6, +)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (63.9, -)
23) Denver Bulls (62.7, --)
24) Maine Guides (37.5, o)

Performance of the Week

Alex Lezama - A good week all around for the Voodoo as Lezama puts up the sixth best hitting performance of the season on June 3rd against Maine. In five at bats he racked up five hits, one home run, drove in three and scored three times in a 9-1 victory. On the season the 33 year old is hitting .209/.295/.269 with 2 HR's and 13 RBI's.

Prospect of the Week

LF Mason Chronister - Another prospect for Batavia as Mason needs an updated program photo since he's still wearing his CCBL Red Sox Jersey. For now though he plays for the Red Jackets A ball team where he's hitting .293 with 6 HR's and 28 RBI's. He was the 24th pick in the second round of the 2043 draft and won the Rookie League Cup that season with Rochester. He's just another feather in Batavia's very feathery cap.

Game of the Week

Jun 1, 2045: Box Score | Game Log | Season Series

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Syracuse 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 1 Toronto 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 W: C. Vines L: A. Monge

Not often a 1-0 game is the GOTW but when Christian Vines takes the mound interesting things usually happen. In this June 1st match-up, Vines combined with Mason 'Ringo' Graham and Tony Ramos, to no-hit the Canadians. The Snappers offense wasn't exactly on fire for the day as they tallied up one run on a Khalil Harris single in the 5th which scored Stevin Garza. With Vines though sometimes one run is all you need as he went 6.1 innings, struck out nine, and only Dan Jennings (error) and Billy Amspacher (HBP) were able to get on base against him before the seventh inning. Then in the 7th he walked Elmer Caceres, and with two outs walked Theo Mallen and out came manager Shane Blaskovich. After a brief chat he took the ball, Vines hit the showers, and in came Graham. Neel 'Tracer' Benarrivo hit a deep fly out and the danger and inning were over. In the ninth Ramos came in and walked Tommy Townsend. He was then able to strike out Gil Mandell and Caceres before Dane Jennings ground out to end the game.


Five Things We Think We Think

1. Last season the Clowns won 73 games and missed the playoffs for only the second time in the past eleven years. So far this season they are 27-24 and second in the 'Awful Ale' thanks in part to rookie starting pitcher Lexus Planas. The 5'10 fireballer hails from the Dominican and was the Clowns first round pick in 2040. He appeared in six games last season but made it on the opening day roster this year. So far in seven starts he is 4-1 with a 2.79 ERA and was just named the Domestic Rookie of the Month. He throws 98 mph, has a devastating fastball and slider, and is known for working hard and being humble.

2. Congrats to the Clemson Tigers for winning the 2045 College World Series over the Oregon Ducks. In the deciding game three the Tigers were down 3-2 in the 8th inning before Ducks pitcher Dallas Merlo threw two wild pitches in the same at bat to allow Collin Beech to go from second to home to tie the game. The next batter hit a single to score another run and Clemson took the lead. In the 9th Merlo allowed another run before Beech hit a two-run home run to put the Tigers up 7-3. The demoralized Ducks quickly bowed out in the bottom of the ninth and a Clemson dog pile formed in the infield. Merlo's game three meltdown: 1.1 IP, 4 hits, 5 runs, BS, L.

3. We've seen some bad teams over the years but Maine's A ball club the Barre Grays are near the top of the list of futility. So far this season they are 1-39 and have lost 33 games in a row. They are 0-16 at home, 0-25 in the month of May, and rank 12th in their league in every category except for home runs. On paper they don't look that bad but the losing has made things go from bad to worse to catastrophic. Not doing much better is Maine's AA team who is 5-35 and their Rookie team which is 5-25.

4. No one drafts like the Bats. Earlier we talked about Wilmington's Lexus Planas getting the DL ROTM award, well Bats starter Reid Rothstein took home the IL one after going 4-2 with a 2.17 ERA last month. The former 1.19 pick of the 2041 draft looks like a potential ace, and we're looking forward to watching him pitch against California's rookie Kaleb Clinkingbeard for years to come. 'Clink' is currently leading all rookies in just about every offensive category as he's hitting .281/.387/.633 with 14 HR's and 29 RBI's while starting 33 games at first base. The battle for the IL New Brew will be a good one.

5. The 2045 BLB draft is in less than two weeks! Now that the NCAA/CCBL/HS leagues have all finished up it's time for the general managers to get ready for an influx of talent into their organization. Sources close to the DK have already informed us the Batavia Red Jackets intend to take Jerry 'Snake Hips' Coleman from Saline HS. He recently finished 2nd in the HS Outstanding Hitter Award and scouts believe he is one of the most complete players to be in the draft in years. Maybe 'Snake Hips' and a few of his home run smashing pals can turn the tables down the road on the BLB and it's lack of hitting.


Stat of the Week
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Highest Career Hit to Strikeout Ratio for Batters (Top 25 Players, Min 100 Career Hits)

Player From To PA H K Ratio AVG Helespôntico Jarava 1991 2005 8286 2230 392 5.69 .302 Masaoki Matsumoto 1993 2005 6441 1614 292 5.53 .286 Alex Molinar 2009 2018 3830 1103 208 5.30 .310 Jerry Craig 1993 2005 3206 760 149 5.10 .268 Tom Farber 2018 2027 2809 745 147 5.07 .291 Zachary Compton 2016 2027 5335 1463 296 4.94 .291 Justin Chewning 1984 1991 1826 420 86 4.88 .251 Jimmy Warner 2016 2018 541 147 31 4.74 .290 Victor Robles 2002 2017 8065 2225 479 4.65 .305 Tyson Velez 2044 2045 827 224 49 4.57 .287 Tom Pollitt 2004 2012 2743 705 155 4.55 .280 Alex Godinez 2010 2018 1721 441 97 4.55 .273 Don Castor 1990 2004 5614 1266 279 4.54 .257 Gil Porter 2028 2039 6215 1874 413 4.54 .321 J.R. Bachleda 2010 2020 4227 1037 232 4.47 .265 Arthur Jordan 2038 2045 3950 1181 265 4.46 .318 Rex Knight+ 1986 2005 13172 2777 625 4.44 .252 Dave Wagner 2026 2037 6002 1770 400 4.42 .313 Willie Bernabe 1999 2010 2832 643 147 4.37 .246 Pat Stuckey 2029 2034 1244 358 82 4.37 .308 Joseph Garneau 2038 2045 2339 661 153 4.32 .310 Ron Amundson 2000 2012 2014 432 100 4.32 .245 Cesaro Campoveroe+ 1978 1994 8637 2012 466 4.32 .281 Alex Arana 2031 2037 4099 1049 243 4.32 .283 Jaden Urcuyo 2043 2045 699 186 44 4.23 .286

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[Jim]

That was a good story about the CWS—I almost drafted Merlo, so recognized his name right away.