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08/03/2054
Dallas, Syracuse, and Carolina all went 6-1 on the week to go shooting up the ELO rankings. In fact the Drillers used their big week to pass up the Bats and take over the top spot. Syracuse though had the biggest 7-day jump as their +18.2 increase was thanks to a four game sweep of New Orleans and taking two of three from the Ale leading Patriots. On the other side of life Toronto and Phoenix each went 1-6. Don't look now but Philly might not be in the cellar much longer.
ELO Rankings
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| 1 | Team Dallas |
League DL |
Record 68-39 |
7-Day 5.4 |
ELO 1576.3 |
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| 2 | Washington | IL | 67-39 | -0.0 | 1586.4 | |||||
| 3 | Carolina | IL | 65-42 | 14.9 | 1551.7 | |||||
| 4 | Seattle | IL | 65-43 | -3.4 | 1552.5 | |||||
| 5 | California | IL | 61-44 | -8.9 | 1541.3 | |||||
| 6 | Denver | IL | 60-47 | -7.4 | 1511.6 | |||||
| 7 | Pawtucket | DL | 59-48 | -6.0 | 1534.2 | |||||
| 8 | Wilmington | DL | 58-49 | 3.8 | 1509.2 | |||||
| 9 | Indianapolis | DL | 57-49 | -6.1 | 1507.1 | |||||
| 10 | Syracuse | DL | 57-50 | 18.2 | 1518.5 | |||||
| 11 | Los Angeles | IL | 57-50 | 8.7 | 1521.5 | |||||
| 12 | Santo Domingo | DL | 57-50 | 0.5 | 1507.2 | |||||
| 13 | Windy City | IL | 57-50 | -0.3 | 1497.3 | |||||
| 14 | Pittsburgh | DL | 57-51 | 11.3 | 1525.3 | |||||
| 15 | Hartford | DL | 55-50 | 0.5 | 1515.0 | |||||
| 16 | Baltimore | IL | 53-54 | -6.3 | 1500.4 | |||||
| 17 | New Orleans | DL | 49-59 | -8.5 | 1499.3 | |||||
| 18 | New York | IL | 48-60 | 11.3 | 1466.9 | |||||
| 19 | Montreal | DL | 45-60 | -9.9 | 1457.9 | |||||
| 20 | Maine | DL | 44-65 | 1.0 | 1480.7 | |||||
| 21 | Batavia | IL | 42-67 | -2.1 | 1434.9 | |||||
| 22 | Toronto | DL | 36-72 | -10.3 | 1418.2 | |||||
| 23 | Phoenix | IL | 35-73 | -4.8 | 1400.0 | |||||
| 24 | Philadelphia | IL | 32-73 | -1.8 | 1385.7 |
Performance of the Week
RF Tyson Dodd - Carolina just keeps on hitting...and winning...and Dodd's a big reason why. He can't field worth a lick (-6.9 ZR) but he can tear the cover off the ball. This past week against Baltimore he smacked three hits, two of them home runs, drove in five, and scored three times in a 19-6 beat down. On the season the 30 year old is hitting .255 with 27 HRs while being a captain in the clubhouse. Originally picked 15th overall by Baltimore in 2042, he's now started six straight seasons for the Tobs. He was also just named the Import Batter of the Month.
Prospect of the Week
P Vin Chasovodov - The Russian phenom entered the league a few short weeks ago as an IAFA and was offered big money by several teams. New York in the end won out and Chasovodov is now a Cyclone for the low price of $10,000,000. Scouts were absolutely drooling over him as one report stated his "talent is that of a future multiple-time Pale Ale award winner." For now he's 16 years old and will sit in their International Complex for the next few years. Add in 19 year old Alex Landrum, who went rocketing up to the 5th overall prospect in the league, and no wonder New York now has almost a 100 point lead in the top systems rankings.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The month of July is here and gone and Dallas was the winner as they finished a cool 18-6. As of today they now have a 10 game lead in the Lager, which is more than the lead the other three division leaders have combined. Just percentage points behind them (not even two) were the Tobs at 19-7. Carolina dominated the league with their hitting as they scored the most runs (148) and hit the most home runs (45). They have crept within 2.5 games of Washington in the Stout and will be going back to back in playoff appearances. It will be the franchises first time doing that since they went to the postseason in 2037 and 2038. Washington and Syracuse each went 15-10, while Pittsburgh went 15-11. On the other side of life (once again) Phoenix went 7-19 and Toronto went 9-17.
2. It's a little early to talk about playoff races but the Domestic wildcard could be a battle. Dallas is in for sure, but the Ale is anyone's guess. Pawtucket, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Indy, and Hartford are all within three games of each other. Meanwhile Wilmington and Santo Domingo have 58 and 57 wins respectively. That means we have seven teams for five spots. The last week of the season features Hartford v Syracuse, Indy v Pawtucket, and Dallas v Santo Domingo. It might just come down to that.
3. Charlie Spence just keeps on winning, and striking out opposing batters while doing so. He hasn't lost in 11 starts, has won 10 straight decisions, and is 14-3 with a 2.74 ERA and 236 K's. That's 50 Ks more than second place, who happens to be his now teammate Martin Hoffman. Spence is on pace to strike out 357 batters, which would set the single season record held by Christian Vines. Vines struck out 342 in 2046, a record many thought wouldn't be touched for a long, long time. Yet here we are with a 24 year old who was the 10th overall pick of the 2047 draft by Maine. He was traded to Philly the following year, then shipped to Carolina in 2048 for Ed Bytheway. He's now ranked the #1 pitcher in all of baseball and is anchoring the Tobs run to the postseason.
4. We didn't talk about it but we had a ridiculous amount of first time BLB All-Star selections. In the Domestic there was SP Brenden Allison (DAL), SP Ken Burns (SDR), SP Rick Robertson (WIL), SP Cody Weaver (IND), RP Logan Schneider (PAW), CL Jameon Hurst (MON), CL Brad Weise (SYR), C Cato Flaig (HAR), 2B Vince Cox (WIL), 2B JaQawn Schiegl(SDR), SS Damian Goranson (PAW), LF Kade Cotto (NO), and RF Bernard Jen (HAR).
In the Import there was SP Andy Colbert (PHO), SP Lukas Lorey (SEA), SP Charlie Spence (CAR), SP Chase Vaughn (CAR), MR R.V. Weatherby (WC), CL Tod Steffen (LAD), C Elmer 'Kit Kat' Duquette (BAT), and C Quinn Wicklund (CAR). Congrats to the 21 new All-Stars as the BLB appears flush with young talent.
5. What's on tap? This week we have interleague as the DL and IL do battle once again. Some of the series we'll be watching: California at Indy (Cal 24-26 on the road this season), Hartford at Denver (Den 40-18 at home), and Santo Domingo at Carolina (SDR is 42-42 since May 1st). Streak-wise 37 year old Dominique Graham (DAL) has a hit in 14 straight games, and Tom Woolard (CAR) and Kingsley Kiah (HAR) have an RBI in six straight games.
Stat of the Week
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| Highest Percentage of RBI from Home Runs (Top 25 Players, Minimum 20 RBI) |
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