Tweet
04/28/2053
And we're back...back again...for the 75th season of the BLB...tell a friend. We missed the first few weeks but it appears the Drillers haven't as they started out the season 15-5. For those that don't remember the DK picked them to win it all, so far so good. This past week though it was the Ale representing as Pittsburgh and Pawtucket each went 6-1. The Patriots lead the Millers by 1.5 games as they look to capture their 9th straight division title. Other good weeks were Washington who went 5-1, while California went 5-2. On the flip side Santo Domingo went 1-6 while Wilmington went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) Dallas Drillers (136.0, o)
2) Pawtucket Patriots (129.2, ++)
3) Washington Bats (123.7, ++)
4) California Kodiaks (117.7, ++)
5) Pittsburgh Millers (117.0, ++)
6) Philadelphia Freedom (108.0, o)
7) Indianapolis Clowns (107.2, ++)
8) Denver Bulls (101.2, --)
9) Carolina Tobs (101.0, +)
10) Seattle Pilots (94.0, ++)
11) Montreal Exports (91.0, ++)
12) Hartford Whalers (89.0, --)
13) Syracuse Snappers (89.0, --)
14) New Orleans Voodoo (88.0, -)
15) Batavia Muckdogs (79.0, --)
16) Los Angeles Dinos (78.0, o)
17) Maine Guides (78.0, ++)
18) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (75.3, --)
19) Toronto Canadians (73.0, ++)
20) Windy City Blues (68.0, -)
21) Baltimore Bulldogs (59.0, --)
22) New York Cyclones (57.8, +)
23) Phoenix Roadrunners (54.0, +)
24) Wilmington Wildcats (48.8, --)
Performance of the Week
P Reid Rothstein - The 32 year old turned in the fourth best performance of the season for his outing against Baltimore on April 23rd. In that game he went 7.2 innings, allowed no runs, two hits, and struck out 11 as the Bats won 6-1. On the season he's now 3-0 with an amazing 0.68 ERA in four starts. We'd like to change our Pale Ale prediction.
Prospect of the Week
1B Henry 'The Artist' Miller - Goodness this 16 year old has all the potential in the world as scouts around the nation are all in over 'The Artist'. This kid hit .421 as a freshman in HS, and now as a junior is hitting a meager .380/.459/.696 with 13 HR and 31 RBI in 40 games. His work ethic is admired by his coaches, and at 6'5 he's no slouch in the field either. Many consider him to be a top three pick in the draft and possibly go first overall.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We knew Evan Turner would be good, but we didn't think he'd be this good. The 19 year old rookie leads the BLB with 11 HR and is second overall with 21 RBI. When you are on pace for 89 HR and 170 RBI, and you aren't even 20, well we don't know where to start. The scary thing (for the rest of the league) is that scouts don't think he's fully developed yet. The Tobs are now 11-9 and it looks like the dark days are finally over in Carolina.
2. We might be going all in on the Tobs as outfielder Val Schmit has been just as impressive as Turner. The senior man of the duo is 20 years young and hitting .347/.410/.653 with 6 HR and 20 RBI. Drafted 1.7 in 2050 he hit .240 with 27 HR last season as a rookie. With him in right field and Turner in left there is not a better offensive outfield in the league.
3. Pat 'Melody' Nunes is 44 years old and still raking. This season in 12 games he's hitting .314/.324/.686 and is on pace for 89 total hits, which would give him 3,532 for his career. The BLB record is 3,546 set by Hall of Fame member Steve Suarez, who played until he was 45 years old. Maybe it's time for the Roadrunners to let 'Melody' play full-time and get a shot at baseball immortality.
4. One person who is projected to break a record is Robert 'Stretch' Jessee. The 39 year old is projected to finish the season with 57 RBI, which would give him a career total of 2,002. The current all-time leader is Dani 'Steady' Álvarez who drove in 2,001 runs during his 19 year career and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005. 'Stretch' is currently in his 20th season and is hitting .292/.378/.403 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in 20 games.
5. What's on tap? This week the Kodiaks get the gauntlet as they travel to Seattle and then Carolina. The Pilots are 10-10 this year but it's only a matter of time before they get going. Last season Seattle knocked California out the playoffs in the Divisional Series four games to three. The year before that Seattle knocked California out of the playoffs in the Divisional Series four games to one. The year before that Seattle once again won the Divisional Series (this time against Washington) while California once again lost the Divisional Series (this time to Batavia). It's time for a little Cali revenge.
Stat of the Week
.
| Most Consecutive Times Winning The Defense With Integrity (DWI) Award (Top 25 Players, Position Indicated is First In Streak) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|