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07/26/2060
Montreal was offended by the Avon McAnally reference last week so they pounded the Canadians and the Whalers to the tune of a 6-0 week. They jumped all the way to second in the Power Rankings, and now lead the Lager by three games. Just behind them though were their division mates, the Drillers. They went 6-1 to end the week at 51-50 and are now in second place for the Wildcard. The top dog (at least PR wise) though is once again Baltimore. After sweeping Philly and taking three of four from Phoenix, they lead the Stout by six games. Finally we had Windy City at 5-1. They are .500 since June 1st, but after a dreadful April and May they are still 12.5 back in the Wildcard. It's been a wild year though. so never say never. On the other side of life Hartford and Pawtucket went 1-5. The good news is thanks to the Domestic's lackluster year, they are only two and four games out of the playoffs respectively.
Power Rankings
1) Baltimore Bulldogs (126.2, +)
2) Montreal Exports (118.6, ++)
3) Seattle Pilots (118.6, -)
4) Phoenix Roadrunners (112.6, --)
5) Los Angeles Dinos (110.6, -)
6) New York Cyclones (110.4, +)
7) Syracuse Snappers (108.6, -)
8) Dallas Drillers (100.9, ++)
9) Wilmington Wildcats (96.1, +)
10) New Orleans Voodoo (93.2, -)
11) Washington Bats (92.8, --)
12) Toronto Canadians (91.0, ++)
13) Maine Guides (87.0, -)
14) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (86.1, -)
15) Pittsburgh Millers (82.8, o)
16) Pawtucket Patriots (81.7, --)
17) Denver Bulls (77.0, +)
18) Windy City Blues (75.5, ++)
19) Hartford Whalers (75.4, --)
20) Indianapolis Clowns (69.2, -)
21) California Kodiaks (67.0, -)
22) Carolina Tobs (66.3, -)
23) Philadelphia Freedom (64.7, -)
24) Batavia Muckdogs (57.2, o)
Performance of the Week
3B Kyle Bruns - The 21 year old was just drafted last year and he's already making a name for himself in the BLB. This past week he set the #2 hitting performance of the season on July 20th against Windy City. In five at bats he racked up four hits, two home runs, seven RBI, and scored four times as Denver pounded the Blues 16-4. The rookie has played in 93 games and is hitting .284 with 15 HR, 57 RBI and a 124 OBS+.
Prospect of the Week
RF Zane Sirignano - After the DK was boycotted by several online groups after last weeks Prospect of the Week, we went with Sirignano just to be safe. The 6'4 outfielder from Pennsylvania is a 3x NCAA All-Star who over 144 career games is hitting .401/.455/.815 with 64 HR and 152 RBI. Scouts write that he "has the highest ceiling imaginable" and we tend to agree. Can't wait to see this kid in the league in just a few short seasons.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Last week we had 3000 K's, this week we have 3000 hits. Congrats to Daryl Walken who reached the milestone on July 19th against Dallas. In the top of the 8th, Walken came up to bat against Cullen Lanzetta, and on the first pitch he smacked a 3-run home run that blew the game wide open. Even though it was in Dallas, he still got a standing ovation as he crossed home plate and the game was briefly stopped. The 39 year old is in his 19th season, and only the 20th player in the history of the league to reach 3000 hits. Originally drafted in 2038 by Montreal, he's played for the Exports, Bats, Wildcats, Canadians, Snappers, Exports (again) and now New Orleans. He's an 8x All-Star, 6x DWI winner in right field, 4x Designated Driver, and won the Stout Slugger in 2044. That was the same year he led Montreal to a Brewmasters Cup victory. What a career.
2. Baltimore swiped another 21 bases this past week, giving them 179 on the season at a 76.5% success rate. What's crazy is that they are still in third, behind Phoenix at 202 and Toronto at 208. The Bulldogs do have the highest wSB at +7.98, with Wilmington coming in second at +7.70 and Phoenix third at +7.02. On the other end is Hartford at -9.29. The Whalers have only stolen 39 bases this entire season, and they've been thrown out 27 times. Their 59.1% success rate is the lowest in the league. Individual wise no one is better than Toronto's Chase 'Havoc' Calhoun. In 75 attempts he's been successful 63 times, as he's looking to lead the league for the third straight season...which is also how many years he's been in the league. He stole 106 his amazing rookie season, 94 last year, and he's projected to reach 104 this year. At this rate he's going to break Richie 'Powder' van Luik's record by the time he's 30 years old.
3. Speaking of the Whalers they've had a rough few months. They went from a 96% chance of making the playoffs in the middle of May, to currently sitting at 14.9%. Still though even after going 16-31 since June 1st they are only two games back from a playoff spot. Then there's Washington, who's demise was greatly exaggerated. In the middle of the May the Bats were 13-27 and had a 8.7% of making the playoffs. Today they are 52-50 and sit at 81.3%. They currently hold a 5.5 game lead over Denver for the final Wildcard spot, as things are finally going there way. It's good to see a team that hasn't finished under .500 since 1999 get some breaks!
4. You know who hasn't gotten the breaks, those Bulls. They are 46-55, but their -6 PYT is the worst in the league. They are 11-20 in one run games, and 6-9 in extra inning games. Their pitching is doing everything they can as they are second in home runs allowed, second in strikeouts, and third in opponents average. Offensively they are fifth in hits, but 11th in home runs, which has translated into being seventh in runs scored. Bruns (Performance of the Week) leads their team with 15 HR, but he's only one of three with double digits. Jonathan Wang and Latif Won are the other two, and they only have 11, win Won hitting six of them in Dallas. The fans are clamoring for a big bat...will their GM try and add one?
5. What's on tap? Seattle at Phoenix is the big series, as the Pilots trail the Roadrunners by just half a game in the Bock now. Seattle is 4-2 against them this season, and 30-17 on the road. After back to back 20+ win months, Phoenix is 10-10 so far in July. After losing three of four to Baltimore they need to get back on track. The rest of the fun series are all in the Domestic, as the playoff shakeup continues. Toronto at Dallas, Hartford at Maine, Wilmington at New Orleans, Montreal at Santo Domingo...every single one of them will completely change the landscape of the Domestic playoffs once again. With 60 or so games remaining the postseason truly is wide open.
Stat of the Week
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