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09/13/2055
Toronto went 5-2 and Landon Tolleson won the Domestic Player of the Week...here comes the Canadians! Maybe they beat up on some bad teams, nope it was New Orleans and Pawtucket. Talk about playing spoiler but also giving some hope to their fanbase for next season. The other top week was Santo Domingo who went 5-2. Their GM has been off social media all season long, and we for one miss the island emojis. The Rum Runners have secured a playoff birth though, and actually have an outside shot at winning the division as they trail the Drillers by only 2.5 games. On the other side of life the Indy slide continues as they went 2-5. Can they pull it together the final few weeks of the season and make the playoffs?
ELO Rankings
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| 1 | Washington | IL | 97-48 | -7.2 | 1608.3 | |||||
| 2 | Los Angeles | IL | 94-52 | 6.3 | 1589.4 | |||||
| 3 | Seattle | IL | 87-58 | 2.0 | 1577.1 | |||||
| 4 | Dallas | DL | 85-61 | -8.3 | 1562.2 | |||||
| 5 | Syracuse | DL | 87-60 | -9.4 | 1549.4 | |||||
| 6 | Pawtucket | DL | 80-66 | -8.4 | 1545.8 | |||||
| 7 | Santo Domingo | DL | 82-63 | 6.3 | 1543.5 | |||||
| 8 | California | IL | 83-63 | 0.5 | 1543.1 | |||||
| 9 | Baltimore | IL | 82-65 | 5.5 | 1524.5 | |||||
| 10 | Windy City | IL | 81-65 | -4.9 | 1523.5 | |||||
| 11 | New Orleans | DL | 76-70 | -6.5 | 1506.5 | |||||
| 12 | Pittsburgh | DL | 69-76 | -2.1 | 1503.2 | |||||
| 13 | Carolina | IL | 68-77 | 3.8 | 1502.2 | |||||
| 14 | Maine | DL | 75-70 | 8.7 | 1501.9 | |||||
| 15 | Hartford | DL | 69-77 | -4.8 | 1497.4 | |||||
| 16 | Indianapolis | DL | 74-72 | -0.7 | 1490.0 | |||||
| 17 | Wilmington | DL | 68-78 | 4.5 | 1481.0 | |||||
| 18 | Denver | IL | 63-83 | -1.2 | 1460.1 | |||||
| 19 | Philadelphia | IL | 59-87 | -0.0 | 1437.6 | |||||
| 20 | Phoenix | IL | 62-84 | 2.0 | 1436.2 | |||||
| 21 | New York | IL | 60-86 | -1.9 | 1431.9 | |||||
| 22 | Montreal | DL | 56-90 | 4.6 | 1426.9 | |||||
| 23 | Batavia | IL | 46-100 | -4.8 | 1386.9 | |||||
| 24 | Toronto | DL | 47-99 | 16.1 | 1370.7 |
Performance of the Week
RF Dwight Bell - Last Monday against LAD the 27 year old lit up the scoreboard with four hits, two home runs, six runs driven in, and two runs scored in a 9-6 victory. On the season he's now slashing .270/.333/.618 with 37 HRs, 76 RBIs, and 19 SBs. The former 3rd overall pick of the 2045 draft has been a lifelong Kodiak and signed a 1-year extension with Cali earlier in the season. He was an all-star in 2052 and 2053, but had a down year last season. It looks like he's back and better than ever.
Prospect of the Week
P Tucker Key - The 21 year old was the 3rd overall pick of last years draft out of University of Pacific in sunny Stockton, California. He finished off 2054 playing in the Rookie League for Philly, where he appeared in 13 games and was 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA. This season he shot up to AAA where he was 6-14, but he had a 3.72 ERA and 103 ERA+. Scouts think he has the potential to be an ace as he has four quality pitches and can hit 99mph on the gun.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The 31 game hit streak is over for Micheal 'Balls' Montoya...and all we can say is nuts! On September 6th against Syracuse, Montoya was 0-3 and then got pulled from the game in the 8th. Two more designated hitters came in, and in a combined three at bats they struck out three times as the game went 15 innings! Talk about some poor management. Since that game Montoya has played in six more games, and got a hit in all of them. If he would have been left in, and possibly got a hit, he would now be up to 38 games. That would be the second longest streak in the history of the BLB. Alas it wasn't meant to be for 'Balls'. Five days later LAD's Marco Husted went 0-4 against the Washington Bats, ending his hitting streak at 27 games. Just a bad week for history.
2. The Domestic League New Brew is coming down to the wire between Drillers 3B Ja'Quan McLaren and Wildcats LF Neil Wanat, as both of them have put up superb seasons. McLaren is currently hitting .324/.378/.556 with 27 HRs, 86 RBIs and a 147 OPS+. Wanat is currently hitting .335/.384/.579 with 24 HRs, 80 RBIs and a 157 OPS+. Both were All-Star selections, while McLaren has been named Rookie of the Month three times and Wanat one time. Right now it's anyone's guess.
3. Syracuse has a 99.2% chance of winning the division, which would be their first division title since 2044 when they won 101 games. They are one of only a few teams that has never won a Brewmasters Cup, can this be their year? Currently they are first in starters ERA and third in runs allowed in the DL. Offensively is where they shine though as they are first in hits, second in OBP and extra-base hits, and third in runs scored. They are ninth in home runs, but with the addition of Beaumont Sanchez via trade a few weeks ago that number in reality is a lot higher. They have four sluggers with 23 or more home runs, and Sanchez has 33 on the season. Throw in catcher Lucas Shultz, who is hitting .308 while being one of the best defensive catcher in the league, and they have a shot to go all the way come postseason.
4. The late season drama will come down to between Maine, Indy, and New Orleans. Two of these three will reach the postseason, while the other will be watching from their couch. Currently the Guides (75-70) and the Voodoo (76-70) are the favorite, while Indy (74-72) is sitting at a 44.1% chance of making it in. The Clowns remaining strength of schedule is .499, but they play 13 of their remaining 16 at home. They are 39-29 at The Big Top this season, while 35-43 away, so that is a huge advantage. Meanwhile Maine has seven at home and ten away, while New Orleans has four at home and 12 away. Every single team in the league is better home that away, just something about sleeping in your own bed we suppose.
5. What's on tap? How about Maine at Indy to kick off the week! The Guides are 7-2 against the Clowns this season, but they are a woeful 29-42 on the road. It's time for Indy to get out of their slump, and the Guides would be a perfect time for a slumpbuster. Meanwhile Montreal gets to play spoiler this week. They start off the week at New Orleans, then they finish the week at home against Indy. The final series of the week we'll be watching is California at Seattle. If the Kodiaks sweep the Pilots they are right back in the discussion for the top wildcard spot in the Import. They have a 5-4 season series lead, but it won't be easy as Seattle can throw both Cayden Wittmeyer and Norm Aouita at the Kodiaks.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Years Placing in the League's Top 10 (Top 25 Players, Stats Include H, 2B, 3B, HR, SB, RBI, R, BB, AVG, W, SV, IP, K, ERA) |
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