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08/28/2045
The Patriots rise back to the top after sweeping Pittsburgh and taking all the drama out of the Ale race. They went 4-3 on the week but at 80-46 only trail New Orleans by a game for the best record in the BLB. The winners of the week though were Dallas, Batavia, and Seattle who all went 5-2. Dallas gets back on track after a rough first three weeks of August, Batavia won't have the first pick in the draft, and Seattle has closed the Bock gap with California to 2.5 games. On the other side of life Maine went 1-5, Baltimore went 2-5, and five teams went 2-4.
Power Rankings
1) Pawtucket Patriots (115.3, +)
2) New Orleans Voodoo (114.7, o)
3) California Kodiaks (114.4, -)
4) Seattle Pilots (113.0, o)
5) Washington Bats (111.6, +)
6) Dallas Drillers (107.2, ++)
7) Montreal Exports (102.3, +)
8) Phoenix Roadrunners (101.0, -)
9) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (100.9, --)
10) Pittsburgh Millers (98.4, -)
11) Los Angeles Dinos (97.4, -)
12) Carolina Tobs (92.7, +)
13) Wilmington Clowns (87.0, +)
14) Hartford Whalers (86.4, +)
15) Baltimore Bulldogs (85.0, --)
16) Syracuse Snappers (81.0, o)
17) Windy City Blues (78.0, ++)
18) Indianapolis Racers (75.9, +)
19) Denver Bulls (72.7, +)
20) New York Knights (72.4, --)
21) Batavia Red Jackets (72.1, +)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (69.3, --)
23) Toronto Canadians (67.3, -)
24) Maine Guides (41.4, o)
Performance of the Week
CF Joey Robertson - At only 28 years old the 6x All-Star might go down as one of the greatest to ever play in California, and maybe the BLB, if he keeps on producing for a few more seasons. On August 26th against Washington he tallied up four hits, two home runs, six RBI's and scored three times in a 13-6 Kodiaks victory. The former 1.1 of the 2034 draft is hitting .247/.325/.454 with 23 HR's and 63 RBI's on the year with a +4.8 ZR in center.
Prospect of the Week
LF Roman Toguchi - Drafted 23rd overall in 2040 by Philly after belting 50 home runs over his high school career, Toguchi is now the 42nd overall prospect in the league. This season the 22 year old is hitting .274/.386/.521 with 20 HR's and 43 RBI's in 85 AAA games. He might not have the range to play the outfield everyday but his power against right-handed pitching is impressive to say the least. Right now we believe he could be a 25+ home run hitter in the BLB.
Game of the Week
| Aug 24, 2045: Box Score | Game Log | Season Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Baltimore added a run in the 7th off of a sac fly to tie it, but Seattle took the lead back in the 8th when Melchior Galasso doubled bringing home Uitz. In the 8th though 'Hurricane' came back up with a man on second, and smoked his second home run of the day into the right field stands. When Edward Rohner smacked another two-run home run a few batters later it was 10-7 and the Rice party was starting in Baltimore.
In came Tyshon Guerrero who quickly got a ground out to start the inning. Facing Kang, and up 1-2 in the count, he then got tagged as Kang sent one into the left field seats. LDD came up next and singled and the crowd got restless. After a wild pitch and another single by Uitz the Pilots had runners at the corners down 10-8. Guerrero then beaned Ty O'Neil to load the bases, and a Dallas Garcia single brought LDD home to make it 10-9. With the bases loaded up stepped Richie 'Powder' van Luik, who promptly singled on the first pitch to make it 10-10. By now Guerrero was a hot mess and the next pitch went past the catcher allowing O'Neil to score and give Seattle the lead. The next two batters grounded out but the damage was done. Seattle then brought in Garret Letterle, who easily recorded his 36th save of the season by striking out all three Baltimore batters.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. As we mentioned JD Rice recorded his 2000th hit and 500th home run this week in the August 24th match-up against Seattle. The 33 year old is one of 11 players with more than 500 career home runs, and also passed Dylan Owens and Ian James this week when he hit three more after number 500. Out of those 11 he also leads them all in lifetime average (.313) and OPS (.985). The 12th pick of the 2029 draft is a 10x All-Star and might end up the greatest slugger in BLB history.
2. Montreal and Pittsburgh tangled on the field this week as Millers all-star pitcher Cordarius Gomez got into a little fisticuffs with Exports all-star Karson 'Super' Blair. In the top of the 6th during their August 25th game Gomez gave up a solo home run to leadoff man Jaxson Neal. Words were exchanged as Neal took a little too long to get around the bases. Gomez then beaned Blair three pitches into his at bat and the fight was on. Gomez got the better of Blair with a little 1-2 combo to the face followed by some rabbit punches to the body, but before he could finish him they were mobbed by teammates. Gomez was given a six game suspension and Blair got three.
3. Seattle's Tavin Kang hit five HR's in April, four in May, five in June, and five in July. Last week he smacked eight...yes eight...home runs and drove in 15 runners. The 6th pick of the 2039 draft is in his second season and at 23 years old might just be getting started. This year he's hitting .252/.333/.509 with 28 HR's, 63 RBI's, and 39 SB's. If he stays hot he could hit that illusive 40/40 club, and even if he doesn't do it this year he should down the road. Add in teammate Richie 'Powder' van Luik who stole nine bases last week, giving him 65 on the year, and soon that Bock lead by Cali could be shrinking even more.
4. Maynor Franco from Montreal just continues to win. This week he got an easy 4-0 victory over Pittsburgh as he went seven innings, allowed two hits, and struck out eight. He's now 17-1 on the season with a 2.20 ERA. OSA finally woke up and he debuted at #20 on the Top Pitchers list. For those that don't remember Franco lost his opening start on April 10th. He hasn't lost in the 22 starts since then.
5. Carolina continues their free fall as they went 2-4 on the week, and are now 7-18 in August. Their were in the rear-view mirror of Washington for the Stout lead, but the Bats now have a 10.5 game lead after putting up a 14-10 August record. With Baltimore going 2-5 this week the Tobs are still at 94% for their playoff odds, and should be back in the postseason for the first time since 2038. The only other teams with a longer drought are New York and Pawtucket. It looks like New York will now hold the title since the Patriots are at 100% for not only getting to the postseason, but for winning the Ale as well. It will be their first division title since 2027. Congrats to their GM for turning things around.
Trivia of the Week
Who are the 11 players with 500 or more career home runs?
Spoiler
Stat of the Week
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| Most Career Wins Without Being An All-Star (Top 25 Players, Wins Since First All-Star Game in 1978) |
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