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08/21/2051
We take a vacation and come back to the Bats being on top of the league. Some things never change. After going 32-13 since July 1st, Washington now has the second best record in the league and leads the Stout by 10.5 games. The winners this past week though were Denver and Dallas who each went 6-1. The Bulls are 12 games over .500, yet fourth in the Bock. It looks like the return of the 'Brutal Bock' once again. Meanwhile Dallas still trails Toronto by six games in the Lager, but now has a two game lead over New Orleans. On the other side of life Wilmington went a dreadful 0-7 as they fight for the #1 pick in next years draft.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (119.0, o)
2) California Kodiaks (117.4, +)
3) Pawtucket Patriots (114.9, -)
4) Dallas Drillers (112.5, +)
5) Toronto Canadians (109.5, +)
6) Denver Bulls (108.0, ++)
7) Pittsburgh Millers (105.0, o)
8) Los Angeles Dinos (103.0, o)
9) Baltimore Bulldogs (102.3, +)
10) Seattle Pilots (102.1, --)
11) New Orleans Voodoo (94.5, +)
12) Batavia Muckdogs (92.0, -)
13) Hartford Whalers (87.0, +)
14) Indianapolis Racers (86.8, ++)
15) Syracuse Snappers (82.3, o)
16) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (80.5, --)
17) Philadelphia Freedom (79.8, o)
18) Phoenix Roadrunners (75.0, ++)
19) Maine Guides (72.7, -)
20) New York Cyclones (66.4, o)
21) Montreal Exports (66.1, +)
22) Carolina Tobs (64.0, +)
23) Windy City Blues (59.0, o)
24) Wilmington Clowns (56.9, --)
Performance of the Week
2B Scott Miller - The former second round pick of the Canadians has turned into an offensive force for first place Toronto. This past week on August 17th against Syracuse he tallied up four hits, two home runs, and drove in five during a 16-3 beat-down of the Snappers. On the season he's now hitting .309/.368/.467 with 9 HR and 43 RBI.
Prospect of the Week
2B Tripp 'Dynamo' Kalifetona - The international FA from Tuvalu was signed by the Voodoo for a cool $5m in 2050 and he's currently playing on their RL team. This past week he racked up six hits and six RBI in a 23-1 victory over Niagara Falls. On the season he's hitting .307 and scouts think he has a future as a high contact/low strikeout player.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. As August comes to a close it appears the playoff teams are close to set. In the Domestic we have Pawtucket, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Dallas, and New Orleans as locks. The final spot seems to be between Hartford and Santo Domingo. Both teams are under .500 but the Whalers have the easier remaining schedule. In the Import we have Washington, California, and Seattle in the lead for the top three spots. The final three spots though will be between Baltimore, Batavia, LAD, and Denver. Due to the Muckdogs remaining schedule they are at the bottom of the favorites, but as we all know anything can happen down the stretch.
2. Wilmington may be having a bad season but Elias 'Clapper' Owen is not. The 21 year old is in his first full season and is on pace to break the single season stole base record. With 75 steals already he's projected to reach 100, which would break Chadd Chua's record of 93 that was just set in 2049. The real question that people love to talk about though is can 'Clapper' ever get close to 'Powder' and his SB record. Luik is currently at 899 and projected to reach 910 or so by the end of the season. He just turned 36 and it's not out of the question that he could reach 950 by the time he retires.
3. Speaking of old guys still performing, how is 42 year old Pat 'Melody' Nunes fairing this season. Well he appears to be just fine as he's hitting .291/.347/.505 with 21 HR and 70 RBI. He's now cranked 86 home runs since he turned 40 years old and he's on pace for another 3.0+ WAR season. He went to the All-Star game in 2042, then didn't go back until he turned 40. Since then three seasons and three straight All-Star appearances.
4. The Triple Crown races are all but over as we had several good candidates, but they fall short in one of the categories. In the Import, Joseph 'Llama' Llamas is first in HR and RBI, but 14th in average. Meanwhile pitcher Dwan Tamarovsky is first in ERA and K's, but 4th in wins. In the Domestic, Theodore Blume is first in wins and strikeouts, but 6th in ERA.
5. What's on tap? We have some great 1-2 series to open the weeks as California travels to Seattle and Pawtucket travels to Pittsburgh. So far this season the Pilots are 5-1 against the Kodiaks, while the Patriots are 5-1 against the Millers. At the end of the week two of these teams play another meaningful series as Dallas travels to Pawtucket, and Seattle travels to Washington. Streak wise Theodore Blume (PIT) has won nine straight, Ed Baker (MON) has homered in four straight games, and Samir Zogjani (DEN) has scored a run in 10 straight games.
Stat of the Week
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| Lowest Net Stolen Bases By Team (Top 25 Teams) |
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