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08/09/2055
Seattle goes shooting up the rankings with a 5-1 week as the Pilots did battle with the Ale. They won that battle as they swept the division leading Snappers while going 2-1 against second place Indy. The other top weeks were also had by the Import, as Philly and LAD each went 5-1. Philly is now 8-2 over their last 10, and 6-1 in August. Meanwhile the Dinos have the best record in all the land, thanks to their stellar defense and base running. On the other side of life Maine and Toronto each went 1-5. The Guides still have a 76% chance of going to the postseason, while Toronto now has a 21% chance of finishing with the first pick in next years draft.
ELO Rankings
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| 1 | Washington | IL | 71-40 | 1552.8 | 22.5 | 1585.5 | -10.2 | 1586.1 | -10.8 | 1575.3 |
| 2 | Seattle | IL | 68-43 | 1535.1 | 35.0 | 1574.7 | -4.6 | 1555.9 | 14.2 | 1570.1 |
| 3 | Los Angeles | IL | 72-42 | 1518.1 | 50.0 | 1569.1 | -1.0 | 1562.1 | 5.9 | 1568.0 |
| 4 | Dallas | DL | 67-47 | 1541.7 | 20.4 | 1572.5 | -10.4 | 1557.0 | 5.1 | 1562.1 |
| 5 | California | IL | 65-48 | 1525.8 | 17.5 | 1542.4 | 0.8 | 1547.8 | -4.6 | 1543.2 |
| 6 | Baltimore | IL | 67-47 | 1492.8 | 50.0 | 1530.0 | 12.8 | 1551.5 | -8.8 | 1542.8 |
| 7 | Santo Domingo | DL | 62-49 | 1502.2 | 33.5 | 1509.1 | 26.6 | 1525.3 | 10.4 | 1535.7 |
| 8 | Syracuse | DL | 66-48 | 1508.2 | 25.9 | 1540.9 | -6.8 | 1545.5 | -11.4 | 1534.1 |
| 9 | Pawtucket | DL | 60-53 | 1524.7 | 6.5 | 1531.6 | -0.4 | 1526.6 | 4.6 | 1531.2 |
| 10 | Windy City | IL | 64-50 | 1506.4 | 20.1 | 1514.9 | 11.7 | 1522.6 | 3.9 | 1526.5 |
| 11 | Indianapolis | DL | 62-50 | 1489.0 | 23.0 | 1512.8 | -0.8 | 1522.3 | -10.4 | 1512.0 |
| 12 | Hartford | DL | 55-60 | 1514.3 | -6.3 | 1489.2 | 18.8 | 1504.9 | 3.2 | 1508.0 |
| 13 | New Orleans | DL | 58-55 | 1485.0 | 23.0 | 1492.6 | 15.4 | 1514.6 | -6.7 | 1508.0 |
| 14 | Maine | DL | 59-52 | 1483.7 | 23.7 | 1537.8 | -30.3 | 1516.5 | -9.0 | 1507.5 |
| 15 | Carolina | IL | 51-62 | 1525.0 | -34.3 | 1506.9 | -16.2 | 1487.9 | 2.9 | 1490.8 |
| 16 | Denver | IL | 51-62 | 1507.8 | -24.4 | 1479.4 | 4.0 | 1482.4 | 1.0 | 1483.4 |
| 17 | Wilmington | DL | 53-60 | 1518.5 | -35.0 | 1488.8 | -5.3 | 1480.4 | 3.0 | 1483.4 |
| 18 | Pittsburgh | DL | 49-64 | 1528.4 | -45.9 | 1476.5 | 6.0 | 1475.0 | 7.5 | 1482.5 |
| 19 | New York | IL | 52-60 | 1485.1 | -15.4 | 1455.3 | 14.4 | 1479.8 | -10.1 | 1469.7 |
| 20 | Phoenix | IL | 48-65 | 1447.6 | -5.1 | 1448.5 | -6.0 | 1434.7 | 7.8 | 1442.5 |
| 21 | Philadelphia | IL | 43-70 | 1443.0 | -10.7 | 1422.1 | 10.2 | 1424.7 | 7.6 | 1432.3 |
| 22 | Montreal | DL | 42-72 | 1479.1 | -62.9 | 1419.3 | -3.1 | 1421.4 | -5.2 | 1416.2 |
| 23 | Batavia | IL | 34-81 | 1460.7 | -69.5 | 1394.2 | -3.0 | 1385.3 | 5.9 | 1391.2 |
| 24 | Toronto | DL | 37-76 | 1424.7 | -41.5 | 1405.6 | -22.4 | 1389.2 | -6.0 | 1383.2 |
Performance of the Week
RF Val Schmit - In a seemingly lost season for the Tobs, the young guns are still performing. This past week against Pittsburgh, the 23 year old Schmit cracked three home runs, drove in three, and scored four times in an 8-7 victory over the Millers. His solo shot in the 8th inning gave Carolina a two-run lead, and was the difference maker in the victory. On the season he's hitting .272 with 29 HRs, 56 RBIs, and a 156 OPS+.
Prospect of the Week
RF Justin Rice - Do the genetics run in the family, or was it just the opportunity to grow up around his Hall of Fame father, J.D. 'Hurricane' Rice...or maybe it's both. Whatever it is the 15 year old Rice has the potential according to scouts to make "multiple All-Star games". This past year the HS sophomore hit .327/.408/.527 with 5 HR and 22 RBI in 40 games. Born in Baltimore in 2039, the year his father hit .333 with 52 HRs and 135 RBI's, Rice could be a top pick of the 2057 draft.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The playoff race in the Import seems to be all but over as Carolina, New York, and Denver have playoff odds of 0.6%, 0.1%, and 0.1% respectively. It looks like the excitement we'll have over there this year are the division and wildcard races. Washington has a 91.4% of winning the Stout, while LAD has a 57.8% chance of taking the Bock. Meanwhile Seattle, Windy City, California and Baltimore are all at 99% or higher to be postseason bound. In the Domestic New Orleans (47.5%) and Hartford (18.6%) are holding on for their wildcard lives, while Dallas (77.5%) and Syracuse (71.7%) are favored but holding on for their division title lives.
2. How about Carter 'Matador' Bell taking the Import League Rookie of the Month for July. During the month he went 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA in five starts. Overall he's now 7-7 with a 4.09 ERA and 97 ERA+. The 24 year old was a second round pick in 2051, but scouts aren't especially high on his ability nor his character. He does have one major plus though, and that is his knuckleball. Do you know how many pitchers in the BLB can throw a knuckleball...how about just Bell and Bell alone. Not many starting pitchers can survive on just two pitches (he also throws a curve), but Bell and his knuckleball could pitch in the league for the next 15 years.
3. There has been a lot of talk lately about another rookie, Maine's Sean Gallina. Unlike 'Matador', Gallina has been in the majors all of one week. What makes it a story is the 20 year old started the year off in the Rookie League. He only played 11 games there, but hit .375 with 4 HR and 15 RBI. He then went to the A ball Barre Grays where he played in 18 games, and hit .338 with 4 HR and 15 RBI. Off he went to AA where he played in 28 games and hit .366 with 5 HR and 20 RBI. He completed the minor league cycle when he was called up to AAA in late June. Over 28 games there he hit .373 with 3 HR and 16 RBI. On August 2nd against LAD he made his BLB debut as a defensive sub in left field in the 9th inning. The next day he subbed in during the 9th in right field, but once again had no at bats. Finally on August 4th he got the start at the designated hitter spot. In the third inning, for his first ever at bat, he smacked a double off Dinos starter Chris Monroe. Two days later against Phoenix he hit his first ever BLB home run, a two-run shot that gave Maine an 8-7 lead in the 8th. Unfortunately for the Guides they gave up eight runs in the bottom of the inning and lost the game 15-10. A day later he walked three times and scored twice, before ending his first week in the majors failing to get on base and striking out twice. Not a bad debut at all for a kid that on April 12th was playing for the Yonkers Hounds.
4. One rookie who hasn't had a lot of talk is Julian Crews. At 21 years old, Crews was selected in the second round of the draft by Wilmington. Which draft you ask? How about the one just in June! He played a whopping 28 games in the Rookie League before Wilmington called him up to the BLB. Since then he's played in 17 games for the Wildcats, starting 16 at shortstop and one at second base. He went undrafted out of high school and went and played for Texas A&M, where he was a three year starter. This past season at A&M he put up a +9.3 ZR at shortstop while hitting .284. He isn't known for his bat, and scouts think he could be decent someday at drawing walks, but for now he's going to be an everyday shortstop thanks to his amazing glove.
5. What's on tap? This week we're back to league play, and the match-up of the week has to be the four game series featuring Washington at Seattle. This will be the last time they meet in the regular season, and the Bats hold a 4-3 season lead to date. These teams met in the playoffs in 2049 (WAS), 2050 (SEA), 2052 (WAS) and 2053 (WAS). The Bats are 2-5 in August and trying to hold off the Bulldogs for the division title. Meanwhile Seattle is 5-2 in August, after having a lackluster 13-12 July, and are trying to catch the Dinos in the Brutal Bock. Both teams are excellent across the boards, but Seattle really shines defensively. Their +54.70 ZR is 15.54 points higher than second place LAD, and a ridiculous 46.82 points higher than the league average. Can the Pilots defense finally propel them to the Brewmasters Cup they have been oh so close to capturing? We also have some fun potential wildcard previews this week as New Orleans travels to Pawtucket, Maine travels to Santo Domingo, and Baltimore travels to California. Streak wise Seattle has won five straight, SDR has won four straight, NYC has lost four straight, Cade McCormick (SEA) has a 13 game hitting streak, Benjamin 'Jailhouse' Guy (PIT) has scored in seven straight games, and Cole Weiland (PHO) has homered in three straight games.
Stat of the Week
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| Farthest Finish Out of First Place (Top 25 Teams) |
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