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08/23/2055
Well at one point this season Washington wasn't first in the rankings, and didn't have the best record in the league. That day isn't today though readers as they went 7-0 last week for the 'Happy Unicorn'. With sweeps of California and Philly, the Bats have reclaimed their title once again. Can anyone stop the juggernaut? Another top week was sad Baltimore who went 6-0. When you go undefeated you expect to gain a game or two on the division leader, not fall back. Only in the Stout. Other top weeks were Pittsburgh and Syracuse who each went 5-1, and Santo Domingo who went 5-2. The Snappers and Rum Runners have only strengthened their playoff odds, while Pittsburgh has only weakened it's draft position. On the other side of life Toronto and Dallas each went 1-5.
ELO Rankings
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| 1 | Washington | IL | 83-42 | 1552.8 | 43.7 | 1586.6 | 9.9 | 1581.9 | 14.7 | 1596.5 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | IL | 80-47 | 1518.1 | 52.4 | 1559.2 | 11.3 | 1574.9 | -4.5 | 1570.5 |
| 3 | Seattle | IL | 74-51 | 1535.1 | 29.7 | 1570.7 | -5.8 | 1567.1 | -2.3 | 1564.9 |
| 4 | Baltimore | IL | 77-50 | 1492.8 | 68.8 | 1545.9 | 15.7 | 1548.7 | 12.9 | 1561.6 |
| 5 | Dallas | DL | 73-54 | 1541.7 | 14.3 | 1546.9 | 9.1 | 1565.3 | -9.3 | 1556.1 |
| 6 | Syracuse | DL | 76-51 | 1508.2 | 42.1 | 1551.9 | -1.6 | 1539.8 | 10.6 | 1550.3 |
| 7 | Pawtucket | DL | 68-58 | 1524.7 | 15.9 | 1521.7 | 18.8 | 1529.3 | 11.2 | 1540.5 |
| 8 | California | IL | 72-55 | 1525.8 | 13.2 | 1552.9 | -14.0 | 1552.2 | -13.3 | 1539.0 |
| 9 | Santo Domingo | DL | 70-55 | 1502.2 | 36.6 | 1516.3 | 22.5 | 1533.0 | 5.8 | 1538.8 |
| 10 | Windy City | IL | 71-55 | 1506.4 | 23.9 | 1515.3 | 15.0 | 1532.4 | -2.1 | 1530.3 |
| 11 | Maine | DL | 67-58 | 1483.7 | 27.4 | 1521.2 | -10.1 | 1513.2 | -2.0 | 1511.2 |
| 12 | New Orleans | DL | 64-62 | 1485.0 | 18.8 | 1513.6 | -9.9 | 1507.9 | -4.1 | 1503.7 |
| 13 | Pittsburgh | DL | 59-67 | 1528.4 | -29.0 | 1474.3 | 25.1 | 1490.7 | 8.7 | 1499.4 |
| 14 | Wilmington | DL | 61-66 | 1518.5 | -24.5 | 1499.1 | -5.1 | 1493.3 | 0.7 | 1494.0 |
| 15 | Indianapolis | DL | 66-60 | 1489.0 | 4.8 | 1514.5 | -20.8 | 1505.5 | -11.8 | 1493.7 |
| 16 | Hartford | DL | 59-68 | 1514.3 | -21.2 | 1498.2 | -5.1 | 1492.5 | 0.6 | 1493.1 |
| 17 | Carolina | IL | 58-68 | 1525.0 | -35.5 | 1494.3 | -4.8 | 1490.2 | -0.7 | 1489.5 |
| 18 | Denver | IL | 55-71 | 1507.8 | -35.1 | 1492.7 | -20.0 | 1474.4 | -1.7 | 1472.7 |
| 19 | New York | IL | 54-72 | 1485.1 | -36.8 | 1466.2 | -17.9 | 1451.7 | -3.5 | 1448.3 |
| 20 | Phoenix | IL | 52-74 | 1447.6 | -14.8 | 1434.7 | -1.9 | 1431.4 | 1.4 | 1432.8 |
| 21 | Philadelphia | IL | 49-77 | 1443.0 | -10.5 | 1411.8 | 20.7 | 1432.8 | -0.3 | 1432.5 |
| 22 | Montreal | DL | 48-78 | 1479.1 | -54.8 | 1423.9 | 0.4 | 1428.5 | -4.3 | 1424.3 |
| 23 | Batavia | IL | 40-87 | 1460.7 | -63.5 | 1392.9 | 4.3 | 1397.8 | -0.7 | 1397.2 |
| 24 | Toronto | DL | 38-88 | 1424.7 | -66.0 | 1394.6 | -35.9 | 1364.8 | -6.1 | 1358.7 |
Performance of the Week
P Saxby Lucas - On August 20th against Philly, Lucas made his fourth career start in the BLB. In the bottom of the first, centerfielder and 7x DWI winner, K.J. Avery made only his fourth error of the season and Josh Frost was able to get on base. From that point on only one other Freedom player made it on base, Garret Connors, when he got hit by a pitch. At the end of the game the 22 year old had thrown the second no-hitter of the season, in the second consecutive week. Drafted 12th overall in 2053, he started the season in AAA where he went 6-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 14 starts. In four BLB starts he's now 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.
Prospect of the Week
3B Payton Weinberg - The third round pick (55th overall) in 2051 is now the 27th ranked prospect in the league. At 21 years old he's already in AAA where in 93 games he's hitting .296/.375/.489 with 14 HRs and 41 RBIs. Scouts think he can be an "elite third basemen on a contending team" which means it appears the Rum Runners got a steal on this pick.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Well it appears the Import playoff race is over as the playoff odds for the six top teams now all read 100%. Carolina had a shot at 0.5% last week, but apparently going 3-3 last week doomed them. The baseball gods are fickle as you can go from being about as close to winning the Brew as possible, to missing the postseason the following year. With Evan Turner and Charlie Spence we know they will be back. In the Domestic we had a little shake-up as New Orleans is slowing creeping up on Indy. The poor Clowns are 6-14 in August, while New Orleans is 9-10. When you have a losing record and are still gaining ground, well that's quite a silver lining. The other issue in the DL, at least for Dallas, is their division lead is slipping away. They are 23-23 since July 1st, while SDR is 30-16. The Rum Runners are up to a 31.1% chance of winning the Lager, which would be their first time since 2043. They are set to go back to the playoffs though for the third time in four years, after falling just short last season.
2. Oliver Lanham once again had to settle for bridesmaid last week. With Lucas and his no-hitter, Lanham's outing on August 16th was overlooked by most. In six innings of work he allowed no runs, walked three, and struck out an amazing 15 batters. Since Baltimore was already up 10-0, he got to hit the showers and picked up another easy win. There have been eight games this season where a pitcher has struck out 15 or more batters. Carolina has four (Spence 3x, Hoffman), Baltimore has three (Peter, Lanham 2x), and California has the other (Magnuson).
3. No one runs and steals bases like the Dinos. They are second in the league in stolen bases (188), first in success rate (85.1%), and first in wSB (16.05). Their wSB is almost double the second place Clowns. How do they do it...by tailoring their runners to their strengths. Speedsters Kenny West (74 attempts), Marco Husted (55 attempts), and KJ Avery (52 attempts) run frequently, slow footed players like Andy Wulfeck, Kyle O'Brien, Kaleb Clinkingbeard, Elmer Nelson, Jay Vurgen, and Arthur Wilson have combined for three total attempts. Add in that they lead the entire league in walks and you have a recipe to score runs. Get on base, move successfully around them, score more runs, win more games.
4. Our Dino breakdown continues as we look at keeping your opponent off the bases. How many intentional walks does LAD have this season? If you guess zero you are correct. They are the only team in the league without an IBB. Apparently Ian Cooley tried in one game, and manager K.J. Young ran onto the field and handed him a phone. After a short conversation in which he glanced several times at the GM's box, Cooley proceeded to get back to business and got the batter to ground out. The rest of the top three teams are Maine with three IBB, and Phoenix with five. On the other end Santo Domingo is highest in the league with 57, Philly has 51, and Batavia has 38.
5. What's on tap? How about California at Seattle, Maine at Indy, and Pawtucket at Santo Domingo. Seattle still has a 17% chance of winning the division, but at five games back they need to make a move. So far this season these two are tied at three games apiece in the series they have played, and have one more regular season meeting in mid-September. Maine meanwhile has owned Indy this season, to the tune of 6-0. The Clowns are struggling and the Guides have their number...not a good combination. The last series features the pesky Patriots. Last years Brew champions were two games under .500 at the start of June. They are +12 since then and have taken over second in the Ale. It looks like Syracuse is going to win the Ale (first since 2044), but Pawtucket is more than likely going back to the dance. Can they finish high enough to have a home wildcard series?
Stat of the Week
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