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09/02/2058
We go away for a week and it appears the Bats demise has been greatly exaggerated. Even though this past week they went 4-3, they went 21-8 in August and were able to hold off the red hot Bulldogs for first place in the Stout. The champions of the past week though were none other than the California Kodiaks. With a 6-1 week, that included taking three of four from those Bats, the Kodiaks are now solidly in second place in the Bock, and their playoff odds are up to 68.2%. The other top weeks were Hartford, Indy, and Seattle who all went 5-2. The Clowns may be 65-69, but in the Awesome Ale that means you're only one game out of first place!
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (114.0, +)
2) Baltimore Bulldogs (111.4, -)
3) Los Angeles Dinos (109.3, +)
4) Wilmington Wildcats (108.5, -)
5) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (106.6, +)
6) New Orleans Voodoo (105.9, -)
7) Dallas Drillers (101.5, o)
8) Toronto Canadians (100.4, o)
9) New York Cyclones (99.5, o)
10) California Kodiaks (99.0, +)
11) Seattle Pilots (95.4, ++)
12) Carolina Tobs (92.3, o)
13) Indianapolis Clowns (92.3, +)
14) Phoenix Roadrunners (89.3, --)
15) Pittsburgh Millers (85.6, ++)
16) Montreal Exports (84.2, --)
17) Hartford Whalers (83.5, ++)
18) Maine Guides (79.9, --)
19) Syracuse Snappers (76.1, -)
20) Pawtucket Patriots (72.9, -)
21) Windy City Blues (72.0, -)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (70.5, +)
23) Batavia Muckdogs (56.5, +)
24) Denver Bulls (50.7, -)
Performance of the Week
P Cayden Wittmeyer - On August 26th against Denver he threw a 3-hit shutout that featured 13 K's and only two walks, as Seattle won 4-0. After losing five decisions in a row it was his first win since July 12. He followed it up with another win against Batavia, and he's now 10-11 with a 3.88 ERA on the season. It's his worst season in quite some time, but he's getting hot at the right time.
Prospect of the Week
P Chase Lowe - The 3rd round pick from 2054 is currently in A ball where he finished the year 4-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 13 starts. Sadly we say finished because that's as far as his season will go after he tore his rotator cuff a few months ago. He does throw 101 mph, has a nice slider, and has the endurance to start and finish games. If he comes back successfully scouts think he's a middle of the rotation type starter.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. August is over, and as we talked about it the Washington Bats were the top dog. Their 21-8 record was only rivaled by their Import League rival the Kodiaks, who went 21-9. On August 1st the Bats had a two game lead over New York and Baltimore, while California was in fourth place with a 50-54 record. On September 1st the Bats had a 3.5 game lead over Baltimore and an 11.5 game lead over New York, while California was in second place. Another 'hot' month belonged to Baltimore, who went 19-10 to keep up with Washington. From August 15th to August 27th the Bulldogs were 12-0 while outscoring their opponents by 40 runs. Sadly for them Washington was 11-2 while outscoring their opponents by 37 runs. Nothing more demoralizing than flying by everyone just to look in the rear view and see Washington right on your bumper.
2. Another month, another month of awards, another month of Chase 'Havoc' Calhoun winning Rookie of the Month. The rookie sensation has now captured three of those awards, and a Batter of the Month, as he cements one of the greatest rookie campaigns in history. He still leads the league with a .371 average and 90 steals, while his 9.3 WAR is 3.9 points higher than second place. It's hard to knock anyone drafted ahead of him, as Andy Christman, Rob Morris (IL POTW), and Thaddeus Morrison all look like potential stars, but Toronto hit the lottery with 'Havoc' falling into their lap in the fourth spot. Combined with the rest of their rookies in their BLB lineup the Canadians are 72-61 and have a 99.1% chance of making the postseason.
3. We missed some milestones as Beaumont Sanchez cracked his 400th home run on August 23rd, while Parker Lee smashed his 300th home run and Sayon 'The Brick' Castillo collected his 2000th hit on August 24th. Sanchez is now 36 years old and in his 16th year in the majors, after being a ninth round pick in 2040. He turned into a 3x All-Star, and 2x Designated Driver after having 205 players drafted ahead of him. Lee meanwhile was a second round pick in 2048 who has hit 33 or more home runs every season since 2052. He's up to 37 this season, and is only one behind Julian Irwin for the league lead. Finally Castillo is 31 years old, and was a second round pick from 2044. He was the 2054 Stout Slugger, and has been named to the All-Star team four times, while also winning two DWI's at first base.
4. Washington holds a 51.4% chance of finishing with the best record in the league thanks to a dominant team, and the second easiest schedule down the stretch. Their opponents win percentage of .466 is only topped by Baltimore (.449). Batavia meanwhile still holds the "Race for First (Pick)" lead with a 67% chance of finishing last. They on the other hand have the second hardest remaining SOS (.525). Talk about the rich getting richer! Meanwhile on the PYT side the Pittsburgh Millers are still last with a -7 PYT, while no one has defied the odds more than Carolina who comes in at +8.
5. What's on tap? Interleague is back and better than ever as the Import shouts with excitement over playing the Ale, and weeps with sorrow over playing the Lager. We do get some fun series though as Los Angeles hosts Wilmington, then travels to New Orleans. The Voodoo looked down and out, but rallied with a strong end to August to stay withing striking distance of the Wildcats. We also get to see California travel to Dallas, Seattle travel to Wilmington, and first place Washington take on first place Pittsburgh. Okay so Pittsburgh would be 16.5 games back from Washington if they were in the same division, but first place is first place. Streak wise Cory 'Boy Scout' Petit (WIL) has a 19 game hitting streak, Elias 'Clapper' Owen (IND) has a 16 game hitting streak, and Rob Detling (NYC) has a 14 game hitting streak.
Stat of the Week
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