The 2052 Daily Keg - Week 19

[Matt]

08/12/2052

Interleague has come and gone and the Batavia Muckdogs were the team of the land. They went 6-0 this week as they swept their Domestic foes Indy and Pittsburgh with ease. The Muckdogs are once again above water at 57-56...and in 5th place in the Stout. Some tough competition over there we suppose. Other successful weeks belonged to LAD, California, Pawtucket, and Dallas who all went 5-1. Some not so successful weeks belonged to Wilmington, Windy City, and Maine who all went 1-5. The Clowns though trumped them all by getting swept by aforementioned Batavia and then New York to go 0-6. Some team leaders: LAD scored 54 runs (Car 10), Batavia hit 17 HR (Mai 1), Dallas swiped 19 bases (Wil 0), New York allowed 12 runs (Mon/Wil 40) and opponents hit .193 off of Dallas (Wil .348).

Power Rankings

1) Pawtucket Patriots (117.1, +)
2) Philadelphia Freedom (113.1, -)
3) California Kodiaks (107.1, ++)
4) New Orleans Voodoo (105.4, +)
5) Washington Bats (105.3, --)
6) Batavia Muckdogs (103.8, ++)
7) Seattle Pilots (103.5, --)
8) Dallas Drillers (103.1, ++)
9) Syracuse Snappers (100.1, -)
10) New York Cyclones (94.2, ++)
11) Baltimore Bulldogs (92.9, o)
12) Los Angeles Dinos (91.8, ++)
13) Denver Bulls (91.4, o)
14) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (91.2, o)
15) Pittsburgh Millers (90.9, --)
16) Maine Guides (84.8, --)
17) Toronto Canadians (83.8, -)
18) Hartford Whalers (82.8, -)
19) Indianapolis Clowns (79.2, --)
20) Windy City Blues (73.2, -)
21) Montreal Exports (68.3, o)
22) Phoenix Roadrunners (68.3, o)
23) Wilmington Wildcats (58.5, o)
24) Carolina Tobs (53.9, o)

Performance of the Week

1B Payton Dutcher - Not only did the Muckdogs have a perfect week, but Dutcher turned in the #1 hitting performance of the season on August 9th against Pittsburgh. In four at bats he had three hits, two home runs, drove in eight, and scored four times in a 17-9 victory. On the season he's now hitting .224/.289/.498 with 23 HR and 44 RBI in 93 games.

Prospect of the Week

RF Justin Knight - Sporting his new uni, Knight has been called up to AA after hitting .318/.366/.576 with 12 HR and 27 RBI in 42 A ball games. So far in four AA games he's hitting .333 with 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI and 3 runs scored. From Long Beach State, to the second overall pick in this years draft, to turning 21, to AA...all in two months. Not a bad run.


Five Things We Think We Think

1. Congrats to Preston 'Cowboy' Capps for getting his 2500th hit, placing him 48th on the all-time hits list. Drafted 2nd overall by Montreal in 2035 (sounds like Knight), he turned into one of the best third basemen the league has ever seen. He's a 7x All-Star, 4x Designated Driver, 2x DWI, 2047 Import League Stout Slugger, and won titles in 2044 and 2048. He's now 34 years old, playing in Syracuse and is still one of the most popular and loved players in the league.

2. Kelani Encinia got paid this week as he signed a 3 year/$81m extension with the Pilots just two days before his 37th birthday. After struggling for a few seasons from 2048-2050 he found the fountain of youth last season and is only getting better. This season he's 12-3 with a 2.78 ERA and 145 ERA+, the highest he's had in the last eight seasons. Originally signed out of Argentina by the Millers, he was traded to Seattle in 2048 before being traded to Dallas a few months later. He was then signed by Baltimore in free agency before being traded back to Seattle in 2051. Career wise he's a 7x All-Star and won the 2039 Pale Ale.

3. There's been a lot of talk about stolen bases lately as players seem to be getting better on the base paths. Looking at wSB for the league the Drillers are first by a long shot. What's wSB you ask, well it estimates the number of runs a team contributes by stealing bases compared to the league average. Above zero means the team has contributed more runs than the average team would given the same numbers of opportunities, below zero means the team has contributed fewer runs than the average team given the same opportunities. Zero is always league average for that season and it's measured in runs above or below average. This means a team with a +5 wSB has been worth five more runs than the average team given that team's stolen base activity and opportunities. So in the Drillers case, they might be 21st in runs scored, but being +20.85 has been worth over 20 more runs than the average team in the same situations. Given the fact that they are 58-53, those extra runs might be the difference between sitting at home this October or making a run at the Brew. See the SOTW below for a complete breakdown of this seasons wSB.

4. Speaking of Dallas, how about the Drillers and the Bats getting into some fisticuffs during the week. It started, believe it or not, in the 11th inning when Cory Laclair hit a solo shot off of Washington pitcher Bailey Feder that gave Dallas a 3-2 lead. So up comes Traevis 'High Roller' van Dijk. For those that don't remember van Dijk played for Washington last season and started this season there before being traded to Dallas. So what does Feder do but blow-up 'High Roller' on the first pitch of his at bat and spark off a bench clearing brawl. van Dijk charged the mound and tackled Feder, a dog pile ensured, and it took over 15 minutes to get the game back in motion. After the office of the commissioner suspended 'High Roller' for five games, and Feder for three games.

5. What's on tap? Well this week we get a great series between rivals Baltimore and California. The Bulldogs are 60-55 and in the third wildcard spot, while California is 64-50 and leading the Bock by a half game over Seattle. So far this season the Bulldogs are 6-2 against the Kodiaks and would love nothing more than to keep it rolling. Another good series is Batavia at New York. The Muckdogs have won seven straight and are 2-1 against the Cyclones this season. Believe it or not this is the first of nine games these two play against each other before the seasons ends. Currently the Cyclones sit in the fourth wildcard spot, with none other than Batavia just one and a half games behind them. Streak wise as mentioned Batavia has won seven straight, Dallas and LAD have won five straight, Indy has lost six in a row and Wilmington has lost five in a row.


Stat of the Week
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Brewers League Baseball wSB (Runs/Out = 0.1577, Runs/CS = -0.3904, lgWSB = 0.00771)

Team Dallas	SB 218	CS 40	SB% 84.5%	1B 560	BB 331	HBP 46	IBB 12	wSB 20.85
Los Angeles	223	66	77.2%	716	273	39	15	11.02
Batavia	220	68	76.4%	598	309	34	15	10.31
Seattle	144	29	83.2%	651	332	45	21	9.71
Phoenix	157	45	77.7%	564	284	51	9	6.97
Santo Domingo	168	49	77.4%	714	286	53	13	6.45
Philadelphia	130	35	78.8%	555	371	53	17	4.91
California	122	36	77.2%	648	304	45	22	2.82
Syracuse	131	40	76.6%	762	274	36	18	2.45
New York	107	30	78.1%	635	305	39	11	2.22
Baltimore	154	55	73.7%	646	291	41	13	1.88
Toronto	150	55	73.2%	793	228	38	13	0.46
Windy City	67	22	75.3%	618	280	48	4	-2.46
Maine	171	75	69.5%	666	345	54	12	-3.20
Wilmington	70	25	73.7%	653	283	53	15	-3.27
Pittsburgh	113	48	70.2%	671	326	57	14	-4.16
Carolina	80	37	68.4%	462	258	46	7	-4.30
Indianapolis	163	81	66.8%	734	355	42	20	-7.59
Pawtucket	42	23	64.6%	767	235	41	8	-8.56
Hartford	47	26	64.4%	682	329	32	8	-8.74
Denver	48	27	64.0%	770	240	49	4	-9.08
Montreal	86	49	63.7%	692	226	40	14	-9.21
Washington	113	62	64.6%	641	333	45	14	-9.36
New Orleans	80	45	64.0%	802	280	39	14	-10.11

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