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07/19/2049
The short week featured a lot of sweepers as Toronto, Baltimore, Pawtucket, Montreal, Windy City and Denver dispatched their competition 3-0 in the series before the All-Star game. The sweepees happened to be Dallas, New York, Pittsburgh, Indy, California, and Phoenix. Not how you want to head into the break but such is life in the BLB. Some team leaders for the week: Montreal scored 25 runs (Dal 5), Philly, Hartford, and Batavia swiped seven bases, Toronto allowed only five runs (Ind 25), and Batavia K'd 45 opposing batters (Syr 11).
Power Rankings
1) Pawtucket Patriots (138.4, o)
2) Washington Bats (115.4, o)
3) Montreal Exports (107.7, ++)
4) Toronto Canadians (105.6, ++)
5) Wilmington Clowns (98.9, +)
6) Hartford Whalers (97.7, --)
7) Batavia Red Jackets (96.9, -)
8) Los Angeles Dinos (94.7, ++)
9) Denver Bulls (91.1, ++)
10) Seattle Pilots (91.0, ++)
11) New Orleans Voodoo (89.8, ++)
12) Phoenix Roadrunners (87.5, --)
13) Pittsburgh Millers (87.0, --)
14) Windy City Blues (85.5, ++)
15) Maine Guides (85.2, ++)
16) Baltimore Bulldogs (83.5, ++)
17) Philadelphia Freedom (83.3, +)
18) Carolina Tobs (82.4, --)
19) New York Cyclones (81.4, --)
20) California Kodiaks (80.1, --)
21) Dallas Drillers (75.0, --)
22) Syracuse Snappers (73.6, -)
23) Indianapolis Racers (63.6, -)
24) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (60.2, o)
Performance of the Week
CF Gregory Anderson - The 24 year old was named the MVP of the All-Star game after racking up three hits and two RBI in the 2-0 Domestic victory. This was also Anderson's first All-Star appearance, as the former 2nd round pick from 2042 made his BLB debut just last season. This year he's hitting .277/.356/.547 with 14 HR, 43 RBI and 12 SB while putting up a +1.4 ZR in center field.
Prospect of the Week
C Jonathan Schuster - Schuster, a second round pick by Pittsburhg in 2042, was just named the BLB Prospects Game MVP this past week. In a 7-0 Domestic victory he hit a 2-run home run in the 1st, then got beaned in the 5th when the bases were loaded to 'drive' in another run. On the season the 23 year old is hitting .261 with 25 HR in 69 games.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. In amongst the All-Star festivities this past week we got to see two young sluggers mash it out in the Home Run Derby. In the final 23 year old Joseph Llamas (Cal) was able to hold off 26 year old Julian Irwin (Bat) 14-13 and take home the trophy. Llamas was a 3rd round pick by Cali back in 2043 and has turned into quite a player. In his second season with the Kodiaks he's hitting .281 with 23 HR, 62 RBI, and a 129 OPS+. Meanwhile Irwin is one of the rare late round finds who turns into a star. The 8th round pick from 2040 has now been to three All-Star games in four seasons, and is hitting .265 with 23 HR and a 138 OPS+.
2. Some numbers at the break. Los Angeles leads the league with a +36.26 ZR, while Indy is at the bottom with a -40.37. Phoenix has 235 stolen bases while Syracuse has 28. Washington leads all teams with a pitching WAR of 14.75, while Syracuse has 0.42. Meanwhile Pawtucket leads all with a batter WAR of 25.03 while Baltimore sits at 3.20.
3. The streak may be in jeopardy as California is now 46-48 and trading away pieces left and right. What streak...well the playoff streak! The Kodiaks have been to the playoffs every season since 2035, the longest in the league, and in that span have taken home two BLB titles. On the other side of life Indy, Hartford, and Carolina haven't been to the playoffs since 2038. The Racers and Tobs will have to wait until next season to try and stop the streak, but as of now Hartford is 51-42 and has a 98% of making the postseason per the playoff odds.
4. Speaking of Hartford it looks like they struck a deal this past week with manager Louie Sumski that will keep him around another three seasons. The deal, worth $900k a year, is a huge increase from the $340k he is making this season. Last year Sumski led the Whalers to a 45-117 record in his first season with the club. This year, as mentioned, the team already has more wins than last season and has a great shot to get to the postseason. In his playing days Sumski was a lefty pitcher who was a 2x All-Star and won the 2033 title with Santo Domingo.
5. What's on tap? The second half of the season begins with the Import featuring 1-2 match-ups in the Stout and Bock. Right out of the gate we get Phoenix at LAD and Batavia at Washington. The Roadrunners have a 1.5 game lead over the Dinos, and currently have a 5-4 lead in the season series. Meanwhile Washington has a 10 game lead over Batavia and a 6-3 season series lead. Streak wise those mentioned Roadrunners will try to break their current seven game losing streak, while Montreal and Pawtucket will try and add to their six game winning streak.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Seasons Between All-Star Appearances (Top 25 Players) |
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