The 2055 Daily Keg - Week 16

[Matt]

07/26/2055

Here comes the Voodoo? New Orleans swept arguably the two best teams in the Domestic in Maine and Dallas this week. They gained 17.8 points in the ELO Rankings, are now over .500, and moved into the final wildcard spot in the DL. Talk about a good week! Other big weeks were Baltimore and Syracuse who each went 6-1. The Snappers went from tied in the Ale to a 5.5 game lead, while Baltimore is almost 20 games over .500, 7.5 back from Washington in the Stout, and sitting at a cool 99.8% chance to make the playoffs. On the flip side Maine went 0-6, while Philly and Dallas went 1-6. That's a rough week for some division leading teams.

ELO Rankings
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1	Washington	IL	66-32						-1.4	1586.6
2	Seattle	IL	61-37						-2.7	1570.7
3	Los Angeles	IL	64-37						-5.0	1561.2
4	Syracuse	DL	62-39						12.6	1554.3
5	California	IL	59-41						1.0	1552.9
6	Dallas	DL	58-43						-16.2	1544.6
7	Baltimore	IL	60-41						12.3	1543.9
8	Maine	DL	55-43						-14.1	1521.2
9	Windy City	IL	56-45						4.1	1517.8
10	Pawtucket	DL	51-49						-10.9	1517.0
11	Santo Domingo	DL	53-45						-1.9	1516.3
12	Indianapolis	DL	56-44						-0.5	1514.5
13	New Orleans	DL	52-49						17.8	1513.6
14	Wilmington	DL	49-51						10.6	1499.1
15	Hartford	DL	47-55						5.2	1498.2
16	Carolina	IL	45-55						-7.0	1494.3
17	Denver	IL	46-54						3.8	1492.7
18	Pittsburgh	DL	42-58						-1.9	1474.3
19	New York	IL	45-55						3.9	1466.2
20	Phoenix	IL	42-59						-3.9	1434.7
21	Montreal	DL	37-64						-2.8	1428.5
22	Philadelphia	IL	33-67						-6.5	1409.3
23	Toronto	DL	34-66						2.0	1394.6
24	Batavia	IL	29-73						1.6	1392.9

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Performance of the Week

2B William Adkins - Drafted 7th overall in 2048 he's an under the radar second basemen who's on pace for a 3.0 WAR season. Lifetime he's a .316 hitter who has never been to the All-Star game, but he's known as the spark plug of the Snappers offense. This past week against Pawtucket he turned in the 8th best performance this season when he had four hits, one home run, drove in four, and scored four times in a 14-6 rout of the Patriots.

Prospect of the Week

C Jeremie Holzschuh - Drafted out of high school by New Orleans in 2053 with the 213rd overall pick, Holzschuh is now the 61st overall prospect in the league. Not bad for a late ninth round pick. The 19 year old was just recently selected to the Rookie League All-Star game, and also the Futures Game. After dominating the Rookie League, he was moved up to A ball where in 16 games he's hitting .431 with 1 HR, and 14 RBIs.


Five Things We Think We Think

1. We actually have a battle for Domestic New Brew as Drillers 3B Ja'Quan McLaren and Wildcats LF Neil Wanat are neck and neck. The 24 year old McLaren was a second round pick in 2051 and made his debut this season thanks to the departure of Jett Spear. He's hitting .327/.381/.544 with 17 HRs and 55 RBIs, while putting up a 3.0 WAR. Wanat meanwhile is 21, and was the 7th overall pick of the 2054 draft. He's hitting .365/.415/.613 with 14 HRs and 52 RBIs, while putting up a 3.1 WAR. Both were named to the All-Star team, while McLaren has two Rookie of the Month awards, and Wanat has one.

2. As talked about before New Orleans is in the process of trying to make their playoff dreams come true. With them trading away most of their assets though and building for the future, it is going to be hard to keep the dream alive. Eventually the talent of Pawtucket or Wilmington will more than likely surpass them. Regardless if they make it or not it's been an impressive rebound. Another team that many thought had a chance to rebound was Carolina, but after going 1-5 last week, they saw their playoff odds drop from 14% to 4% in only one week. The runner-up of last years Brew now sit at 45-55 and are on pace to go 77-85. In the Import they are seventh in runs scored, and seventh in runs allowed, and just can't seem to get in gear. Sometimes it just isn't your year. The Tobs are the second youngest team in the league though, so time is on their side for now.

3. At 35 years old Charlie Guevin had a first two weeks ago when he was named to the All-Star team, well the Import All-Star team that is. After a career in Pawtucket that saw him named to six All-Star teams, win three Last Calls, and take home two championship rings, he left in free agency after last season. When California offered him $32m to move across the country he picked up the family and off he went on the 3000 plus mile trip. Father Time apparently didn't follow as he's been lights out once again this season. So far in 40 games he's 5-2 with 28 saves while sporting a 1.88 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. The Patriots have a bullpen ERA of 3.91, 8th in the Domestic. Think they miss him yet?

4. Seattle has shot ahead of LAD in the zone rating category as the Pilots now post an impressive +44.37 on the season. The Dinos check in at +38.36, while California is third at +31.84. Next is Washington, Santo Domingo, Windy City and Maine. Is there any surprise that all seven of those teams are more than likely postseason bound? On the other side of life Batavia is now at -63.39, over 25 points worse than the 23rd ranked Canadians at -37.84. The Muckdogs centerfield alone of Malcolm Peters and Coby Setko are at -15.08, which would come in 19th in the league just by themselves. The poor Batavia pitchers must just shake their head anytime they see a ball hit in those two guys general direction.

5. What's on tap? We get some monster playoff preview series this week as LAD travels to California, then hosts Washington. Meanwhile those pesky Bats start the week off in a three game series against rival Baltimore. Then those Bulldogs have to travel to Seattle. Goodness get your popcorn ready. Over in the Domestic we get to see Syracuse travel to Maine, and then hit the road to Santo Domingo. Streak wise Maine has lost six in a row, New Orleans has won six in a row, Jaxson Neal (WIL) has a 17 game hitting streak, Ed Baker (BAL) has a 15 game hitting streak, and Grady Faulkner (IND) has homered in three straight games.


Stat of the Week
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Most Wins While Pitching For A Losing Team (Top 25 Players)

Player Team Year W L WPct Team W Team L Pct Finish Pct Diff Tino Suárez+ MAI 1994 20 8 .714 80 82 .494 3rd .221 Anselmo Mapalo+ HAR 1979 19 8 .704 75 87 .463 3rd .241 Doron Masci PHI 2046 19 6 .760 77 85 .475 5th .285 Manny Méndez IND 1990 19 5 .792 78 84 .481 3rd .310 R.J. Curtis+ NO 1996 18 8 .692 75 87 .463 4th .229 Pat Arballo+ TOR 2036 18 13 .581 75 87 .463 4th .118 Dave Lippert+ HAR 2010 18 10 .643 76 86 .469 4th .174 Alonzo Gugierrez+ LOS 1984 18 8 .692 77 85 .475 3rd .217 Jimmy Shaw BAT 2024 18 8 .692 77 85 .475 4th .217 Joe Soto BAL 1987 18 8 .692 77 85 .475 3rd .217 William Minniear TOR 2047 18 8 .692 78 84 .481 4th .211 Bill Faircloth BAL 1988 18 8 .692 79 83 .488 3rd .205 Erik Foley NO 2040 18 7 .720 80 82 .494 3rd .226 Yoshitaka Tameike DEN 2007 17 8 .680 60 102 .370 4th .310 Tom Pryor CHI 2017 17 8 .680 69 93 .426 4th .254 Jamie Thomas+ PIT 2003 17 5 .773 75 87 .463 3rd .310 Joe O'Connelan LAM 1978 17 9 .654 75 87 .463 5th .191 Jerome Middlebrooks SYR 1984 17 10 .630 75 87 .463 3rd .167 Jae'Sean Ismael PHO 2049 17 11 .607 76 86 .469 6th .138 Jamie Pierce NYK 2034 17 8 .680 77 85 .475 5th .205 David Rumsey HYU 1981 17 13 .567 77 85 .475 4th .091 Dave Swartwood LAD 2023 17 2 .895 78 84 .481 5th .413 Pat Yahn+ LAD 2015 17 13 .567 78 84 .481 3rd .085 A.J. Hightower PIT 2014 17 7 .708 79 83 .488 3rd .221 Jeff Franklin BAL 1982 17 9 .654 79 83 .488 4th .166

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[Nemesis]

"Goodness get your popcorn ready."