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09/01/2059
The powerhouses took over this week as Washington went 6-0, while California, Montreal, and Baltimore all went 6-1. Throw in Carolina, Wilmington, and Syracuse who all went 5-2, and there were a lot of happy fan bases. Alas with all the winning comes losing, as Philly and New Orleans both had the ugly unicorn of 0-7. The Voodoo were aghast when they went 6-0 during the August 4th week after making some key trades and calling up some unknowns, but they should feel much better now that they went 4-15 to close out the month. Philly meanwhile is in a dead heat with Denver for the #1 pick in next years draft. The Bulls currently have a 53.4% chance of finishing last thanks to our friends at Stats+, but only time will tell if they can close the deal.
Power Rankings
1) Baltimore Bulldogs (126.2, o)
2) Washington Bats (112.9, ++)
3) California Kodiaks (112.8, ++)
4) Montreal Exports (111.8, +)
5) Wilmington Wildcats (108.6, o)
6) New York Cyclones (107.4, --)
7) Toronto Canadians (106.6, --)
8) Seattle Pilots (104.3, --)
9) Carolina Tobs (99.7, -)
10) Pittsburgh Millers (97.2, -)
11) Syracuse Snappers (96.6, ++)
12) Maine Guides (93.0, -)
13) Windy City Blues (85.5, +)
14) Hartford Whalers (84.2, ++)
15) Phoenix Roadrunners (81.0, --)
16) Los Angeles Dinos (79.3, --)
17) Pawtucket Patriots (76.9, ++)
18) Indianapolis Clowns (76.2, -)
19) Dallas Drillers (75.6, --)
20) Batavia Muckdogs (74.8, o)
21) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (73.3, o)
22) New Orleans Voodoo (64.5, --)
23) Denver Bulls (58.6, +)
24) Philadelphia Freedom (50.6, -)
Performance of the Week
P Kevin 'Dingus' Tickles - After getting released by Carolina on August 4th he signed with Wilmington on August 14th for a cool $2.5 million. He then went out on August 28th and pitched a 1-hit shutout of the Patriots to give him the third best pitching performance of the season. Dingus is now 3-4 with a 3.88 ERA for the season, but more importantly 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA for the Wildcats.
Prospect of the Week
C Andy 'Turk' Christman - In the 'Turk' watch, Christman is now 33 games into his stint for the AAA Quebec Fighting Quakers. During that time he's hit .280 with 8 HR, 22 RBI and a 132 OPS+. Scouts still think the 20 year old is ready to come up to the majors this year, but the Exports have a good 1-2 with Al Bush and Justin Wyatt, so Andy can wait. The first overall pick of the 2057 draft, and top prospect in the league, is destined for great things and we're excited to watch them unfold.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We're on to September as the dog days of summer are over. The New York Cyclones were the top dog last month as they went 19-10. Unfortunately for them Baltimore went 17-11, so the Cyclones find themselves still eight games back in the Stout and their odds of winning the division almost nil. Another top month was Washington who went 18-10, as it appears the Stout just beat up on everyone. Like New York they won't win the division, but they are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. The last top winner was California who went 18-12. They unlike the others have narrowed the gap in the Bock to only 2.5 games. On the other side of life Philly went 7-22 while Batavia went 9-20.
2. I appears the Domestic Wildcard race has thinned out a bit. With the Lager a heated three-way, the two who don't win the division are guaranteed the top two spots in the Wildcard. So now the race for the final two comes down to Maine (91%), Syracuse (81%), Hartford (15%), and Dallas (8%). Indy and New Orleans have far outside shots, but stranger things have happened. In the Import it's a one spot race between Carolina (78%), Phoenix (16%), LAD (3%), and Windy City (2%).
3. Hats off to Kodiak legend Joey Robertson who secured his 2500th hit, while Denver ace Dwan Tamarovsky recorded his 2500th strikeout. Robertson is the 59th player in the history of the league to reach the feat, while Dwan is the 55th player to reach his. Some other milestone watches: Julian Irwin (DAL) needs five home runs to reach 500, Rick Anderson (PHO) needs eight stolen bases to reach 750, and Amonte Raper (PHI) needs one hit to reach 2000.
4.Windy City rookie Ezekiel Wolfson won the Rookie of the Month for August, which is pretty good considering he went from AA to the BLB in late July. The 6'4, 23 year old from Estonia was discovered by scouts back in 2053 as a fresh face 18 year old. After four years in the Rookie League he moved up to A ball in 2058, and started this year in AA. He was selected to this years Future's Game, and is currently the 38th overall prospect in the league. So far he's hitting .289 with 3 HR, 17 RBI, 10 SB, and a 119 OPS+.
5. What's on tap? We're into the last stretch of interleague games for the regular season. The IL and DL won't do battle again until the 2059 Brewmasters Cup. It looks like Wilmington's turn to run the gauntlet as they travel to Baltimore, then host Seattle. We also get a fun match-up as Toronto heads to California. Finally we get a last grasp series between Dallas and Los Angeles. Both teams have to win to stay in the Wildcard race, so it's an early 'playoff' series for both. Streak wise New Orleans has lost eight straight, Philly has lost seven straight, while California, Washington, and Baltimore have won six straight. Landon Zitter (MON) has a 20 game hitting streak, and Gene Grimes (HAR) has an 18 game hitting streak.
Stat of the Week
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| Worst Records To Make The Postseason (Top 25 Teams) |
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