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08/28/2056
The Wildcats continue to stay hot as they go 5-1 to move to 65-62 on the season. They are now 18-7 in August, which is their first winning month of the season. They've also moved into the final wildcard spot in the Domestic. Pawtucket also shows signs of life as they go 5-1 as well. What's crazy is they are 59-68, and only 5.5 back from the Wildcats for that final wildcard spot. Other good weeks were Hartford, Syracuse, and Seattle who all went 5-2. On the flip side Montreal went 1-6, while Phoenix went 1-5. The Exports now have a 94.7% chance of finishing last in the league, and getting next years top pick.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (122.6, +)
2) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (117.6, -)
3) Baltimore Bulldogs (108.9, +)
4) Seattle Pilots (107.6, ++)
5) Dallas Drillers (107.3, +)
6) Carolina Tobs (106.2, -)
7) Wilmington Wildcats (99.1, ++)
8) Phoenix Roadrunners (94.1, --)
9) Syracuse Snappers (93.7, ++)
10) Los Angeles Dinos (93.0, --)
11) Indianapolis Clowns (92.3, -)
12) Pittsburgh Millers (91.9, --)
13) Pawtucket Patriots (90.6, +)
14) Hartford Whalers (90.4, +)
15) New Orleans Voodoo (87.9, --)
16) Denver Bulls (82.7, +)
17) Batavia Muckdogs (81.4, --)
18) Toronto Canadians (80.4, o)
19) California Kodiaks (79.9, +)
20) New York Cyclones (78.4, -)
21) Maine Guides (74.1, +)
22) Windy City Blues (73.4, -)
23) Philadelphia Freedom (61.3, o)
24) Montreal Exports (45.7, o)
Performance of the Week
SS Kenny West - Not one player cracked the Top Performances of the season this past week, but West did steal five bases in one game. That puts him second all-time for a regular season game, only behind the amazing Erwijn 'Moriarity' de Jong, who stole seven in one game while playing for Syracuse in 2043. West now has 41 stolen bases on the season to go with his .269 average. Drafted 8th overall by LAD in 2046, he was a lifelong Dino who went to 3 All-Star games and won two titles before Los Angeles shipped him to Dallas after last season.
Prospect of the Week
1B Lester Bridges - His inability to avoid swinging for the fences and striking out might be his downfall, but the 24 year old is having himself a season in AAA. After a brief call-up to the Rum Runners from May 16th to July 7th (he hit .229 with 17 K's in 25 at bats), he was sent back down. This year in 57 AAA games he's hitting .302/.420/.809 with 28 HRs and 57 RBIs. He was a second round pick in 2050 after leading the Jefferson City Jaguars to the HS championship while being named MVP of two playoff series.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Pittsburgh, Hartford, Syracuse, and Indy are all one through four in the Ale. They are also separated by only 2.5 games. We can't remember the last time a division race was this close at roster expansion time. Meanwhile Pawtucket, who we talked about up top, is only 6.5 games back from the division lead. The Millers have the PYT advantage, as they are currently -6 on the season (only California at -7 is worse). Meanwhile Hartford has the SOS advantage as their remaining opponents come in at a league low .447 win percentage. Throw in Syracuse and Indy who traded for some players before the deadline, and it is anyone's guess who will come out on top.
2. The Domestic playoff race seems to be all but decided. Washington's playoff odds are at 100% (sounds like a solid bet), while Baltimore (99.9%), Carolina (99.5%), and Seattle (99.4%) aren't too far off. The 'lower' odd teams are Phoenix (97.9%) and Los Angeles (94.8%). The Kodiaks, who are 58-68, have the next highest chance at 4.2%. They better get on that horse if they expect to extend their league leading playoff run, which is currently at 21 years and counting. The only drama we should have is who will win the Bock? Seattle leads Phoenix by 2.5 games, and LAD by 4 games. The Pilots are 4-5 against the Roadrunners with three to play, and 4-2 against the Dinos with six to play.
3. In the 'We Like Playing These Guys' stat of the year we have some of the following lopsided season series to date. Wilmington is 10-1 vs Maine, Washington is 9-2 vs Phoenix and Windy City, SDR is 9-2 vs Pawtucket, Dallas is 9-2 vs Maine, Carolina is 9-2 vs Cali, Indy is 8-1 vs Syracuse, New Orleans is 8-1 vs Wilmington, and Maine and Pawtucket are 7-1 vs Montreal.
4. The minor leagues have two weeks left in their season before the postseason is upon us. The top record in the minors is the Reading Railers (PIT) who are 83-26, and have a 60 game lead over Syracuse affiliate Erie in the Capitol Division. Those same Roadrunners from Erie also have the worst record in all the minors at 23-86. Erie is currently on a 10 game losing streak, and have had some woeful months. In May they were 2-23, in July they were 4-22, and currently in August they are 3-18. Since 1978 the Roadrunners have been to the playoffs 23 times, and won 3 championships. They won those titles in 2012 to 2014 when they went back to back to back. Those days are long past though as they haven't had a winning record since 2044, when they went 68-52.
5. What's on tap? We're onto roster expansion and the month of September this week as we get a plethora of Domestic League wildcard race series, and one big one in the Import. In the DL we get Pittsburgh at Indy, Syracuse at Hartford, New Orleans at Syracuse, and Pittsburgh at Wilmington. Every team in those series has between 63 and 65 wins. In the Import we get the big one as first place Washington travels to first place Seattle for a four game series. If the Bats take I-94 and I-90 it's only 2,758 miles, which would roughly take 45-55 hours. Good thing the champions have their new luxury private jet which should get them there in 4-5 hours instead. The Bats are 2-1 against Seattle this season, and outscored the Pilots 13-3 in that series. After this they meet for another four game series at the end of September. Streak wise Devin Welninski (PIT) has a 17 game hitting streak, Andy Phillips (BAL) has converted 14 straight save opportunities, and Logan Gissendaner has won 16 consecutive games (5-0 this season, 11-1 in 2055).
Stat of the Week
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