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09/27/2049
Pawtucket and Washington, the two best teams in the league, take no quarter even with their respective divisions secure. Instead the BLB powerhouses go 6-1 by thumping up on Santo Domingo and Phoenix with four game sweeps. The other big 6-1 week was Montreal, and unlike the previous two, they needed it badly. The Exports now have a two game lead in the Lager over New Orleans with three games to play. On the other side of life Santo Domingo and Phoenix both went 0-7. The Rum Runners season ended long ago, but poor Phoenix has finally given up the ghost. The Roadrunners are now 22 games below .500 since August 1st.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (129.5, o)
2) Pawtucket Patriots (125.7, o)
3) Montreal Exports (106.9, ++)
4) Batavia Red Jackets (105.9, +)
5) New Orleans Voodoo (102.6, ++)
6) Toronto Canadians (102.1, -)
7) Hartford Whalers (101.2, o)
8) Denver Bulls (100.1, +)
9) Los Angeles Dinos (96.4, +)
10) California Kodiaks (95.6, ++)
11) Pittsburgh Millers (95.4, --)
12) Seattle Pilots (88.2, --)
13) Wilmington Clowns (87.3, +)
14) Windy City Blues (85.2, -)
15) Carolina Tobs (80.5, ++)
16) Baltimore Bulldogs (80.2, ++)
17) Philadelphia Freedom (78.8, ++)
18) Maine Guides (77.6, ++)
19) Indianapolis Racers (74.7, o)
20) Dallas Drillers (74.2, --)
21) New York Cyclones (73.4, --)
22) Syracuse Snappers (67.2, +)
23) Phoenix Roadrunners (66.8, --)
24) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (58.6, --)
Performance of the Week
P Shiro Casco - The 34 year old has been a regular starter for the first time since 2044, when playing for Santo Domingo, and he's turned in a pretty good season. No start was as good as his one on September 22nd though when he tossed only the second no-hitter of the season against New York. Over the course of the game he allowed no hits, no runs, struck out eight, and only walked one in the 2-0 win. The walk was actually in the bottom of the first, on a questionable full count call, and not a single Cyclone got on base the rest of the game.
Prospect of the Week
P Edgar Cramer - The 22 year old was a second round pick by Montreal in 2044. From then to now he was selected to three All-Star Futures Game and has gone from the 80th overall prospect to 11th. This season, while playing in the closer role, he went 2-7 with 36 saves and a 3.12 ERA in 52 games played. Scouts love his potential fastball that can reach almost triple digits, and coaches love his intelligence and work ethic. Looks a future shutdown reliever to us.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Poor Phoenix and their fans. On July 6th this team was flying high and an amazing 16 games over .500, while leading Los Angeles by nine games. As of now they are 11 games under .500, have lost nine in a row, and are in last place in the Bock. Meanwhile LAD is 13 games over and in first place. The good news is that Chadd Chua has 89 steals and still has a chance to break the single season record. With the final three games against Seattle it should be must watch TV even for a team that has a 1.2% playoff probability.
2. Not often we get so many ties in the league leader stats with three games to play. Currently Dane Jennings (TOR) and Montay Kim (PAW) are hitting .347 for the league lead. Throw in Dominique Graham (TOR), Pat 'Melody' Nunes (PIT), and Marco Taylor (MON) who are all tied for the HR lead with 39, and Treshawn Cooks (DEN) and Reid Rothstein (WAS) who are tied with 18 wins...and well we have quite a few races going on. Looks like some agents will be working the phones trying to get their clients some playing time and a chance to gain some year end bonuses.
3. Speaking of Graham how about the bad, no good, very bad day Toronto had on September 26th against Syracuse. In the 10th inning Graham was beaned by Snappers pitcher Tyler Erickson with a 99 mph fastball. Normally the shot to the leg, or back will leave some damage that heals itself in a few days. This time though it caught Dominique on the hand, and the crunch could be heard from the dugout. Fans knew it was bad and Graham immediately left the game. X-rays showed his hand was broken in several places and he will be out the rest of the season and playoffs. Toronto ended up winning 12-11 in the 16th inning but no one from the organization cared. On the season Graham hit .310/.366/.569 with 39 HR, 124 RBI, and a 149 OPS+. Sometimes the baseball gods just aren't fair.
4. Congrats to the AAA Flushing Chiefs (LAD), AA Fort Lee General (LAD), and Rookie League Rocky Mountain Oysters (NYC) for winning their respective league titles. In A ball the Janesville Rolling Thunder (WC) and Vicksburg Dirtbags (NO) are tied at one game apiece with the final game to be played tomorrow. Both those teams won their respective divisions with the Dirtbags 83 wins being the most in the all the minors.
5. What's on tap? How about the final week of the 2049 regular season. The big series this week all focus on the wildcard match-ups as Denver travels to California, Phoenix travels to Seattle, Windy City heads to Los Angeles, and Montreal heads to Toronto. In the Domestic the playoff teams are locked up, but #2-6 are still up for grabs. In the Import the final wildcard spot is still up for grabs between Seattle, Windy City, Phoenix, and Philly. The Roadrunners and Freedom are three games back with three to play and living on a prayer, but stranger things have happened.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Teams Played For In the Postseason (Top 25 Players) |
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