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09/08/2059
And just like that Dallas is back in the running with a perfect week thanks to sweeps of LAD and Windy City. They are now only 1.5 games back from the final Wildcard spot in the Domestic, and their playoff odds are up to 28%. The other top weeks were Wilmington, Phoenix, and SDR. The Wildcats took two of three from first place Baltimore, and swept first place Seattle, to move to first in the Power Rankings. The Roadrunners meanwhile swept Toronto and took two of three from Montreal to move within 2.5 games of the final Wildcard spot in the Import. On the flip side those Canadians had a rough go as they went 0-6 and saw their division title hopes wrecked. Meanwhile Baltimore went 1-5 as New York has cut their division lead to just five games. The Bulldogs odds of winning the division though are at 92%, so they can still breathe easy for now.
Power Rankings
1) Wilmington Wildcats (117.5, ++)
2) California Kodiaks (110.4, +)
3) New York Cyclones (109.1, ++)
4) Baltimore Bulldogs (106.6, --)
5) Washington Bats (102.4, --)
6) Montreal Exports (101.9, -)
7) Seattle Pilots (99.2, +)
8) Carolina Tobs (96.9, +)
9) Pittsburgh Millers (96.7, +)
10) Phoenix Roadrunners (95.6, ++)
11) Maine Guides (95.0, +)
12) Dallas Drillers (94.8, ++)
13) Syracuse Snappers (94.7, -)
14) Toronto Canadians (86.0, --)
15) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (85.7, ++)
16) Hartford Whalers (84.5, -)
17) Indianapolis Clowns (81.6, +)
18) Windy City Blues (80.5, --)
19) Los Angeles Dinos (79.2, --)
20) Batavia Muckdogs (76.0, o)
21) New Orleans Voodoo (76.0, +)
22) Pawtucket Patriots (72.1, --)
23) Denver Bulls (62.7, o)
24) Philadelphia Freedom (54.5, o)
Performance of the Week
LF Trent West - The sixth round pick from the 2052 draft has turned into the man behind the plate. This past week against Pawtucket he smashed three home runs, drove in four, and scored four times as Carolina won 7-3. On the year he's now hitting .285 with 37 HR, 89 RBI, while putting up a 151 OPS+.
Prospect of the Week
RF Jaylin Godsey - Drafted 24th overall in 2056 by Washington, he was traded to California in 2057 in the Colin Jackson deal. He spent last season and this one in A ball, and this year he beat up opposing pitchers with 34 home runs and 22 doubles, while hitting .261 with a 131 OPS+. Scouts think he'll be in the BLB next season, where he could be able to hold down a corner outfield position for the next decade or so.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The minor league playoffs begin at every level this week as the future stars of the BLB experience the postseason. No one was better this season than the Dinos AA team, the Flushing Chiefs, who went 84-36 to win the Hops division by 17 games. On the flip side no one was worse than the Roadrunners Single A team who went an alarming 20-100 and finished 52 games out of first place. Also a special hats off to Hartford's RL star Brice Younce. In 119 games he hit .294 with 45 home runs and 113 RBI's to lead all players. He was tied by Washington's RL star Abdoul Ren, who also smacked 45 home runs, but alas it took him 120 games to do so.
2. The playoff race in the Import is now between just Carolina and Phoenix. The Tobs currently have a 2.5 game lead, and a 77%-23% advantage thanks to Stats+, mostly due to the Roadrunners brutal schedule. Not only is their opponents winning percentage of .529 the highest in the league, but they have 17 of their remaining 23 games on the road. Not all hope is lost though. Believe it or not, Phoenix is the only team in the league with a better away than home record. They are 36-28 when traveling, and 34-41 at home. Carolina meanwhile has 11 of their 24 remaining games at home, with an opponents win percentage of .483. Unless something goes horribly wrong they should make it back to the playoffs for the fifth time in the last seven years.
3. California has just not gone away this season. No matter what Seattle did the entire year, the Kodiaks just kept coming back for more. On August 16th the Pilots had a seven game lead in the division, on August 25th it was six and half games, and now on September 8th it's a whopping half game. Unfortunately for California they got what Phoenix ordered plus some, as they only have three out of twenty-two games at home down the stretch. Yikes! Seattle plays the tougher schedule, but they get 13 of 23 at home. The best part of the entire thing though is that these two meet for the last series of the regular season in...you guessed it...Seattle. Will it be for the Bock title, only time will tell.
4. Toronto has had a rough go losing seven straight, but they are guaranteed a playoff spot for the second straight season. It's their first back to back postseason appearance since 2050-2051 when they won 97 and 95 games respectively. This team is so young, and so good, it's just scary. They are still 17 games over .500, and even though Cory 'Boy Scout' Petit has rubbed off on Chase 'Havoc' Calhoun, Brian Wheat has picked up the slack. This season he's hitting .346 with 31 HR and 110 RBI, while putting up a 7.7 WAR. He's currently first in the Domestic in average, second in home runs, and first in RBI's. The last time the BLB saw a hitting Triple Crown was in 2043 by Dominique Graham. The then 26 year old future Hall of Fame slugger hit .341 with 46 HR and 122 RBI that season as he took home the only Stout Slugger of his career. Wheat is all but guaranteed to win his first Stout Slugger this season, at the ripe young age of just 20 years old.
5. What's on tap? California hits the road this week to take on Phoenix and Baltimore. It will be a good test to see if that series against Seattle to close out the year will actually mean anything. The big series though is Dallas at Syracuse. The 67 win Drillers take on the 68 win Snappers, and as mentioned above they are only a game and a half apart for the final Wildcard spot. Dallas holds the 4-3 advantage this season, and they'll need to add to it to keep their hopes alive. Finally we get Pittsburgh at Wilmington. The Millers have seen their double digit division lead shrink to 7.5 games after posting a 12-17 August record. They now have five players on the injured list, and three on the 'Who's Not' list. The Wildcats meanwhile are healthy and hot and are looking to push their Lager lead.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Stolen Bases in Final Season (Top 25 Players) |
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