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09/09/2052
The Pilots have really turned on the afterburners as they are now 26-11 since August 1st. Combined with a California team that is 16-19 in that same time period, and Seattle has built an 8.5 game lead in the Bock. This past week Seattle went 5-1 and lead the Power Rankings once again. Other 5-1 weeks were had by Pittsburgh, Phoenix and Carolina. The cream of the crop though were the Maine Guides who went 6-0 with sweeps of Batavia and New York. Maine is now 75-64 and only 7.5 games back from Pawtucket in the Ale. With everyone playing six here were some team leaders: Maine scored 51 runs (Paw 13), Washington hit 16 HR (Dal/Wil 3), Phoenix swiped 13 bases (Wil/Den 1), Baltimore allowed just 14 runs (NYC 49), and Seattle allowed just two home runs (Ind 15).
Power Rankings
1) Seattle Pilots (110.7, ++)
2) Maine Guides (109.1, ++)
3) New Orleans Voodoo (106.0, -)
4) Washington Bats (103.5, +)
5) Philadelphia Freedom (100.9, -)
6) Pawtucket Patriots (99.7, --)
7) Syracuse Snappers (98.2, ++)
8) Baltimore Bulldogs (98.1, o)
9) Pittsburgh Millers (95.3, ++)
10) Indianapolis Clowns (93.3, -)
11) Batavia Muckdogs (91.6, --)
12) California Kodiaks (91.5, +)
13) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (91.2, --)
14) Windy City Blues (90.8, +)
15) Los Angeles Dinos (89.4, -)
16) Dallas Drillers (89.0, --)
17) Phoenix Roadrunners (87.0, ++)
18) Toronto Canadians (84.2, +)
19) Hartford Whalers (78.5, +)
20) Montreal Exports (76.6, +)
21) Denver Bulls (76.2, --)
22) New York Cyclones (69.9, --)
23) Carolina Tobs (63.7, +)
24) Wilmington Wildcats (63.6, -)
Performance of the Week
RF Shan Waseem - The 24 year old hails from Tunisia and made his BLB debut this season. He's not much with the glove (-3.8 ZR at LF/RF) but his bat has been a lift for the Bats. This past week against Indy on September 3rd he tallied two home runs, four RBI, and four runs scored in a 14-6 beat down of the Clowns. On the season he's now hitting .254/.379/.480 with 17 HR, 39 RBI and 13 SB.
Prospect of the Week
RF Stan Sikes - The Cali GM is always a great quote for the media...especially in the first 15 seconds after a loss...but contrary to what he might say the Kodiaks have built a winning organization. If you ask most GM's doing that starts with the draft, and Sikes is another prime example. Drafted 1.18 in 2051 he just finished his first full season in A ball for the Rustlers. In 102 games the 18 year old hit .284/.407/.619 with 35 HR, 101 RBI and 16 SB. At 6'3 he doesn't have much of a glove and might end up a 1B or DH, but he looks like a future star regardless.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Congrats to Elias 'Clapper' Owen for being the first player in the history of the BLB to steal more than 100 bases in a season. This past week Owen broke his own record of 96, then added five more to it just for kicks. He currently sits at 101 SB on the year and is projected to reach 119. At only 22 years old this kid is going to be amazing to watch for the next decade or so.
2. Speaking of accomplishments, Batavia's Zeke Lebron is two HR away from joining the 40/40 club once again. He already has 68 SB on the season, and his 38 HR is tied wither Bats slugger Parker Lee for the league lead. There have been four players in league history to join the club. Ryan Hubbard did it first in 2042 with 40 HR and 41 SB, Colby Hullinger did it in 2045 and 2047, Stuart Beale in 2047, and finally Lebron last season. Not bad company to say the least.
3. Congrats to James 'Wacky' Vandehey who hit his 300th career home run on September 6th against Phoenix. The now 35 year old was drafted 5th overall in 2037 by the Maine Guides and turned into a 4x All-Star and 3x Designated Driver while playing for Maine, California, Montreal, Maine (again), Toronto, and now Santo Domingo. Lifetime he is a .282/.357/.493 hitter with 300 HR, 837 RBI and 790 runs scored.
4. Seattle appears to be the only division winner lock as of now, as Maine, Santo Domingo, and Philly keep hanging around. True the Guides have less than a single percentage chance...but there is a chance! SDR comes in at 4%, while Philly is at 11%. In the Domestic wildcard race we have Maine, Syracuse, SDR, Indy, Pittsburgh and Dallas competing for the four spots. From the Guides to the Drillers is only a 5.5 game swing. In the Import the Dinos and Blues have climbed within 4 and 4.5 games of the wildcard respectively...but the odds aren't in their favor. It appears Philly has locked up the one seed (unless they win the division), with Baltimore, Cali, and Batavia rounding out the other playoff spots.
5. What's on tap? We get some great 1-2 match-ups this week as Seattle travels to California, and SDR travels to New Orleans. In the first series if California wants to defy the odds-makers and mount a comeback in the Bock they have to sweep the Pilots. Seattle though is 6-3 against California this season, and wants to put any doubts of a division crown to bed. In the Import the Pilots are second in runs scored, and first in runs allowed. Meanwhile the Kodiaks are second in runs allowed, but a shocking 11th in runs scored. Maybe this will be the week the bats come alive?
In the other series the Voodoo hold a 5-4 season series advantage on the Rum Runners. After starting out the season six games under .500 after two months, SDR has gone 16-12, 13-12, and 19-10 last month. This month they are 2-5 so they need a few wins in this series to right the ship. Streak wise Maine has won six in a row, New York has lost seven in a row, Julian 'Skeeter' Ludin (Was) has a 15 game hitting streak, and Parker Lee (Was) has homered in six straight games.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Different Positions Played In A Single Season (Top 25 Players) |
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