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08/12/2058
What's this...a new logo? It appears the Washington Bats, arguably the greatest franchise in the history of the league, have finally returned to the top of the Power Rankings. With a 4-2 week and eight players featured on the "Who's Hot" list, the Bats lost two of three to Toronto but then swept Montreal to regain the throne. They now have a 3.5 game lead in the Stout as they slowly start to pull away, a tale in the Stout which is as old as time. The top weeks though belonged to Syracuse and Hartford who each went 5-1. What's ironic is that Hartford is 49-63, Syracuse is 47-66, and believe it or not they are in striking distance of the Ale lead. On the flip side Batavia went 0-6 as the Muckdogs now have a 44% chance of finishing with the worst record in baseball...but the best pick in next years draft!
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (116.7, +)
2) Los Angeles Dinos (112.5, +)
3) Wilmington Wildcats (112.5, -)
4) New Orleans Voodoo (111.5, +)
5) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (107.8, -)
6) Baltimore Bulldogs (102.9, o)
7) Dallas Drillers (101.5, ++)
8) Toronto Canadians (99.8, +)
9) Seattle Pilots (99.2, ++)
10) Pittsburgh Millers (94.2, -)
11) Carolina Tobs (91.0, o)
12) California Kodiaks (90.6, +)
13) New York Cyclones (90.3, --)
14) Phoenix Roadrunners (87.2, ++)
15) Maine Guides (83.2, -)
16) Indianapolis Clowns (83.1, -)
17) Syracuse Snappers (82.9, ++)
18) Hartford Whalers (82.8, +)
19) Montreal Exports (81.7, --)
20) Pawtucket Patriots (71.6, +)
21) Windy City Blues (69.2, --)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (68.5, --)
23) Denver Bulls (65.5, o)
24) Batavia Muckdogs (51.3, o)
Performance of the Week
2B Cody Barkley - Not much known for his bat, Barkley was the only player in the league to break into the Top Performances this past week. On August 10th against New Orleans he smacked two home runs, drove in five, and scored twice as Phoenix won 9-8. His last hit was a walk-off single that brought Will Harper home as the Roadrunners scored two in the ninth to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. On the season Barkley is hitting .214 with 14 HR, 43 RBI, and 8 stolen bases.
Prospect of the Week
CF Johnathan 'Stony' Wang - The 5th overall pick of this years draft is the 99th ranked prospect in the league, which is deceiving looking at this kids talent. The 20 year old has gone from A to AA to now AAA in just two months, where he's hitting .374 with 2 HR and 11 RBI in 23 games. Scouts believe he can be an "elite center fielder on a contending team", but he appears more comfortable now at the corner outfield position. Regardless his bat is what sets him apart, and is what should make him a multiple time All-Star before his career is over.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. California just decided to fight everyone this week, after their GM called them out in the press (once again). First, on August 5th against Santo Domingo, pitcher Owen 'Mule' Ward lasted all of an inning before he gave up a solo home run to Ronald Anderson. So 'Mule' decides to throw at poor Jeremy Dillingham who just happened to be up next, and all heck broke loose. After things calmed down Ward was sent packing and later suspended six games by the office of the commish. Then yesterday once again California pitcher Benjamin Narvaez showed 'reckless and dangerous conduct' when he beaned James 'Jetsam' Mitchell. What's worse is that Mitchell was only the fourth batter of the game! Narvaez was also suspended six games. The Kodiaks still have a 22.7% chance of making the postseason, but not if their starting pitchers continue to get tossed before the opening inning is over.
2. Batavia is 43-72 while Denver is 44-70. All though both have a nice future with some great prospects, the fans are suffering this season. One of the main reasons is fans hate watching bad defensive baseball, and the Muckdogs and Bulls have it in spades. Batavia is dead last with a -44.97 zone rating, while Denver is second to last at -44.79. On the other side of life we have Seattle (+34.99), Maine (+30.54), LAD (+26.47) and Baltimore (+17.37) as the top four. Out of the top ten teams in ZR, Hartford is the only one without a real postseason chance. If you aren't dominant at pitching or hitting, you can make up for a lot of things by playing solid defense.
3. Outfielder Joseph Brandon for Seattle racked up six hits this past week in a game against Maine. He's the first player since 2056 to accomplish the feat, but alas there will be an asterisk. You see it took Brandon 10 at bats, because the Pilots and the Guides decided to play a 19 inning game that lasted over seven hours. It's the third time in the history of the league a player has gotten six hits in ten at bats. Steve Suarez did it in 2001 while playing for Maine against Los Lunas, and Burgess 'Nuke' Nalivkin did it two years ago while playing for Toronto against Denver. At least Brandon's last hit was for a good cause. In the bottom of the 19th he singled and eventually scored to tie the game 5-5. The next batter then hit a sacrifice fly to bring Kip Clark home and it was finally over.
4. You know who didn't get six hits in that marathon game, Seattle shortstop Kynan Shaw. In eight at bats he had zero hits, zero walks, struck out once, and left nine men on base. He went ground out, ground out, fly out, ground out, strike out, fielders choice, ground out, fielders choice, and sacrifice bunt. His sac bunt moved players to second and third with only one out, but Seattle was unable to bring home the winning run. The thing about Shaw though is he isn't on the field to hit, he's on the field to play defense (see above). There might be no one in the league who can play second, short, or third at the highest level like he can. This season his +8.1 ZR at short stop is fifth overall, and he's only started 61 games there. Meanwhile league leader Caron Wilson (+19.4 ZR) has started 104 games at short. To be fair Wilson can't hit either, but he's 38 years old and owns 10 DWI awards.
5. What's on tap? How about the best in the Stout against the best in the Bock as Los Angeles travels to Washington for three this week. The Dinos lead the season series 4-3, and are +10 in runs against Washington over six of those game. In the other game though the Bats smacked them 7-1 and made the run differential a little closer than in should be. It's a tale of two heavyweights who dominate in different ways. Washington is first in the Import in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, H, EBH, and runs scored. LAD is first in the Import in ERA, RA, BABIP, HR allowed, and BB. They are 11th in K's though, as they love to let the hitters hit to their excellent defenders (see above). When their pitchers are on it's a masterclass in winning, when they aren't then they lose games 7-1. Streak wise Batavia has lost eight straight, Dallas and Syracuse have won four straight, and James 'Turf' Goebel (WAS) and David Mitchell (TOR) have 14 game hitting streaks.
Stat of the Week
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| Fewest Career Games Played By An All-Star (Top 25 Players, Pitchers Excluded) |
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