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09/03/2057
At one point the Rum Runners were 5th in the Lager, now here we are in September and they are first in the division and first in the Power Rankings after going an impressive 5-1 last week. When you go 22-7 in August we suppose things will turn out nicely for you. Another top week was Seattle who went 5-1, and closed the gap with division leader Phoenix to four games. The Pilots and Roadrunners square off one more time this season, September 17-19, and we're already marking our calendars for that one. The final top weeks were Hartford and Windy City who each went 5-2. On the other side poor Maine went 1-5. They are now 52-80 and are battling Philly and Batavia for the first pick in next years draft.
Power Rankings
1) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (120.0, +)
2) Seattle Pilots (109.9, ++)
3) Phoenix Roadrunners (109.3, -)
4) Dallas Drillers (108.6, +)
5) Montreal Exports (108.6, -)
6) Washington Bats (104.7, -)
7) Baltimore Bulldogs (104.5, -)
8) Wilmington Wildcats (104.5, -)
9) Syracuse Snappers (98.4, -)
10) Carolina Tobs (96.5, o)
11) Indianapolis Clowns (93.0, o)
12) New York Cyclones (91.0, ++)
13) New Orleans Voodoo (85.0, o)
14) Los Angeles Dinos (84.3, o)
15) Windy City Blues (83.5, ++)
16) Hartford Whalers (82.8, ++)
17) Pittsburgh Millers (81.6, o)
18) Pawtucket Patriots (81.5, --)
19) Denver Bulls (74.1, --)
20) California Kodiaks (73.4, o)
21) Toronto Canadians (72.1, o)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (66.9, o)
23) Maine Guides (65.9, --)
24) Batavia Muckdogs (60.2, o)
Performance of the Week
C Bert Thoma - The 33 year old is one of the best defensive catchers in the league, but has put together a really nice offensive season. Yesterday against Syracuse he continued that trend with a four hit, five RBI, three run game as the Wildcats destroyed the Snappers 15-0. He's now hitting .296/.371/.536 with 11 HRs and 27 RBIs on the season.
Prospect of the Week
P Erick Krall - The 23 year old was a 4th round pick out of high school in 2051 by Montreal, and has been slowly moving up the minors. This year he's played in AA the entire time where he is 5-5 with a 3.60 ERA, 107 Ks, 53 BB, and a 111 ERA+. He can throw 100 mph, has a top of the line fastball and splitter, and has the stamina to start games. If he can work on his control he could be a solid starter in the BLB in another season or two.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. And we're on to September. As talked about above the Rum Runners were the dominant team of August as they went 22-7. Their 2.80 ERA and 88 runs allowed were tops in the league, while they were 7th in runs scored. The Bats scored the most runs of the month (153), and it showed as their 20-9 record was the next best after SDR. Next we had Syracuse at 19-10, Carolina at 19-11, and Baltimore at 18-11 rounding off the top five. On the flip side Batavia went 8-20, as they narrowly have the lead and are the favorite to secure the top spot in the 2058 draft.
2. It's not often you get your first career home run at the age of 35, but hats off to Windy City catcher Armand Carandini for sticking with it. On September 1st in the second inning against Batavia, Carandini smacked a 2-1 fastball by Dontell Maricic 357 feet and over the left field wall for his first career round triper. Originally an IAFA out of Italy in 2039, he was signed by Santo Domingo for a $2.1m bonus. He played in their minors for 11 seasons before he was released in 2051. He was signed by the Dinos, and released again two weeks later, before getting picked up by the Blues. He then played for AAA Des Plaines for six seasons, before making his BLB debut this year as a backup to Jamie Kear. Known more for his 'spark plug' personality and his defensive abilities, Carandini is hitting .333 this season with 10 doubles, 11 runs batted in, and five stolen bases.
3. The Clowns were the 2056 Brewmaster champs, and for most of the summer the chances of them repeating were slim to none. With New Orleans now 11-21 since August 1st, and 67-67 overall, Indy has climbed back into the playoff race. At 65-68 their playoff odds have gone from 1% earlier in the season, to almost 40% now, as they will battle the Voodoo for the final Wild Card spot in the Domestic. Offensively in the DL they are first in home runs and walks, and fourth in runs scored. Unfortunately their starters ERA is 11th, and they've allowed the 10th most runs in the Domestic, and 19th most in the entire BLB. They recently acquired Dave King from Phoenix in hopes of shoring up the back end of their rotation, but he's now 0-3 with a 5.18 ERA in three starts for the Clowns. Can they overcome their pitching woes to sneak into the playoffs and defend their crown after being all but out of it a month ago? We've seen crazier things happen in the last 78 seasons.
4. Cory 'Boy Scout' Petit is still the odds on favorite to capture his second batting title of his career, five seasons after that unbelievable rookie season where he hit .394 and won the Stout Slugger. He's currently hitting .356, and is tied with Montreal shortstop Damian Goranson, while being .001 ahead of Pittsburgh's Zac Arellanes. For anyone that wants to remember just what sort of season 'Boy Scout' had in 2052, see below. We at the DK are happy he is finally shedding his 'flash in the pan' stigma that was surrounding him.
05/01/2052 Wins the BLB DL Rookie of the Month Award.
06/17/2052 Wins the BLB DL Player of the Week Award.
07/01/2052 Wins the BLB DL Rookie of the Month Award.
07/08/2052 Wins the BLB DL Player of the Week Award.
07/17/2052 Was selected to the 2052 Brewers League Baseball All-Star Game.
08/01/2052 Wins the BLB DL Batter of the Month Award.
08/01/2052 Wins the BLB DL Rookie of the Month Award.
09/02/2052 Wins the BLB DL Player of the Week Award.
09/16/2052 Wins the BLB DL Player of the Week Award.
09/30/2052 Goes 0-1 against the Dallas Drillers, ending his hitting streak at 33 games.
10/01/2052 Wins the BLB DL Batter of the Month Award.
10/01/2052 Wins the BLB DL Rookie of the Month Award.
11/09/2052 Wins the 2052 BLB DL Stout Slugger Award.
11/09/2052 Wins the 2052 BLB DL Refreshing New Brew Award.
11/09/2052 Wins the 2052 BLB DL Designated Driver Award at 1B.
5. What's on tap? How about a little interleague action to close out the Import v Domestic battle for the regular season. Some potential Brew preview match-ups we are looking forward too: Dallas at Phoenix (Drillers have a game on the 1st place Roadrunners, yet 3rd in the Lager), Seattle travels to Montreal (Pilots 1st in the Import in runs and hits allowed, Exports 1st in the Domestic in OBP, SLG, OPS), and finally Carolina at Syracuse (Tobs +8 in August and still not playing at their potential). Streak wise no team has won or lost four or more in a row, Kenny West (DAL) has a 17 game hitting streak, and Bailey Ray (PHO) has an RBI in six straight games.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Teams Played For In the Postseason (Top 25 Players) |
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