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09/20/2060
The Kodiaks come to life as they go 7-0 with sweeps of Denver and Carolina. At 33.5 games back from Seattle it won't lead to much, except a worse draft position, but there is always pride to play for! The next top week was Indy, who went 6-0 with sweeps of Maine and New Orleans. The Clowns are now one game back from the playoffs and tied up with Wilmington. After starting out the season 13-12 in April, then not having a winning month since, they are now 13-4 in September. Apparently no one circles the wagons like the Indy Clowns. Finally we had Seattle who went 6-1, Phoenix who went 5-1, and Syracuse who went 5-2. Time for the Snappers to start resting a few players, while the Pilots and Roadrunners continue to do battle for the Bock crown. On the other side of life New Orleans went 0-6, while Santo Domingo and Maine went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) Seattle Pilots (126.4, o)
2) Phoenix Roadrunners (121.9, o)
3) Syracuse Snappers (113.4, +)
4) Montreal Exports (104.5, +)
5) Baltimore Bulldogs (103.6, -)
6) Indianapolis Clowns (99.6, ++)
7) Maine Guides (98.1, --)
8) Los Angeles Dinos (96.6, +)
9) New York Cyclones (95.3, +)
10) California Kodiaks (93.8, ++)
11) Dallas Drillers (91.6, -)
12) Toronto Canadians (91.6, --)
13) Pittsburgh Millers (87.5, ++)
14) Wilmington Wildcats (86.6, +)
15) Denver Bulls (86.3, --)
16) Pawtucket Patriots (85.1, +)
17) Washington Bats (84.6, ++)
18) Windy City Blues (82.7, --)
19) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (81.8, --)
20) Hartford Whalers (75.8, +)
21) New Orleans Voodoo (71.8, --)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (66.4, o)
23) Batavia Muckdogs (56.5, o)
24) Carolina Tobs (55.7, o)
Performance of the Week
P Kevin 'Dingus' Tickles - In a name that will live for ages, 'Dingus' finally broke the Top Performance streak (or lack of) on September 17th against Maine. In a complete game shut-out he allowed just three hits, one walk, and struck out eight as Wilmington won 1-0 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Tickles was a third round pick back in 2051 by Carolina who was released suddenly last August, then signed 10 days later by the Wildcats (no one watches FA/waivers like the Cats). This season he's 10-11 with a 3.27 ERA, 2.0 WAR, and 117 ERA+.
Prospect of the Week
P Oscar 'Trojan' Kiss - The third pick of this years draft is only 17, but he's the top ranked pitching prospect in the league. He can already throw 99 mph, has the potential to be able to throw a fastball and curveball as well as anyone, and he has the stamina to toss complete games. He also has an extremely high work ethic according to his coaches. Sounds like everything you need to be an 'ace', and the scouts agree.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The Domestic is just a mess...and not even a hot one at that. To be fair we think it is down to just one playoff spot now as Syracuse, Montreal, Maine, Toronto and Dallas seem to be in (who really knows with the final two though). So we have one spot between New Orleans (75-77), Santo Domingo (75-77), Indy (74-78), and Wilmington (74-78). The Wildcats still have the toughest schedule, and have seven of their last 10 on the road (as does New Orleans). SDR has six on the road, while Indy has seven at home. Throw in a -5 PYT for the Clowns and they are our favorite. Stats+ though has the Voodoo at 40%, Santo Domingo at 30%, Indy at 21%, and Wilmington at 12%. Tune in again next week when it's all different once again though.
2. Seattle just hit the 100 win mark and will be the only team to do so this season, unless Baltimore wins out. This will be their 12th straight year in the playoffs, and fourth with 100 or more wins during that stretch. Since the run started in 2049, they have the second most wins in the league with 1,023 and one of only two teams with over 1000 wins. The other is Washington. We had to do a double take but as Seattle was going to the playoffs 12 straight years, and four of those times winning over 100 games, the Bats have 1,123 wins during the same time. Yes they have 100 more wins than Seattle...over just 12 seasons...where Seattle went to the playoffs every single one of them. This segment started out about Seattle and has now been completely sidetracked by Washington once again. It's honestly unbelievable what this franchise has accomplished.
3. Hall of Fame voting is open with the nominees being Andy Phillips, Robert Jessee, Reid Cole, Sean Sayers, Jaxson Neal, and Cordarius Gomez. Between them they have 56 All-Star appearances, 11 Designated Drivers, five Stout Sluggers, 5 Last Call's, and 1 Pale Ale. Cole also played in 166 postseason games, and was named playoff MVP seven times. During his 'extra' season he hit .290 with 36 HR and 112 RBI. He's fourth all-time in postseason home runs, behind only Adrian Gramling, Marco Taylor, and Colby Hullinger. Only Taylor did it in less games (132). Sadly two of those three are being held hostage by the Kodiaks. They have stated they wish to retire and live out their days in the country, but accordingly to their agents the GM is refusing.
4. Denver has gotten their PYT down to -6, which is an improvement, but alas it's still the worst in the BLB. Last week though was a killer as they went 1-5, which included getting swept by last place California and getting outscored by 18 total runs. Then they lost two of three against the Bats, and now trail those Bats for the final playoff spot by two games. Both Denver and Washington only have three home games down the stretch, with Washington playing Batavia, Windy City, and Philly, while Denver faces off against Seattle, Batavia and Phoenix. If the Bulls somehow make it, they deserve it.
5. What's on tap? More Domestic playoff team shenanigans as New Orleans hosts Santo Domingo then travels to Hartford, while the Rumrunners head home to face the Guides. We also get to see Montreal at Dallas and Wilmington at Toronto. Meanwhile over in the Import we get a potential ILCS preview with Seattle at Baltimore. The Bulldogs have a 4-3 season series advantage, but also a seven game lead in the Stout. After last years injury meltdown we expect that Baltimore will be giving plenty of rest to their starters.
Stat of the Week
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Most Career OF Assists
| Tom Stark | BAT,CHI,MAI,MON,SEA,WAS | 2028-2049 | 260 |
| Daryl Walken | MON,NO,SYR,TOR,WAS,WIL | 2042-2060 | 255 |
| Melchior Werth | CAL,NYC,NYK | 2042-2060 | 252 |
| Tyson Velez | BAT,HAR,SEA,SYR | 2044-2060 | 251 |
| K.J. Avery | CAR,CHI,LAD,NYC,PIT | 2044-2060 | 250 |
| Abel Kazaz | BAL,CAR,CHI,HAR,WAS | 2046-2060 | 236 |
| Dan McAlear | HAR,NO,NYK,PHI,PHO,TOR | 2028-2040 | 231 |
| Kyle Olmsted | DAL,MAI,NYC,PHI,PHO,SDR,SEA | 2041-2058 | 221 |
| Joey Robertson | CAL,IND,MAI,SDR,SEA | 2037-2060 | 210 |
| Riley Thomas | CAL,HAR,MON,SEA,SYR,WAS | 2028-2040 | 209 |
| Rory Elia | CAL,CAR,DEN,PHI | 2034-2050 | 209 |
| Mat Weir | NO,PHO,SEA | 2030-2043 | 206 |
| Dave Tibbs | DVS,MAI,NYK | 2028-2040 | 202 |
| Tavin Kang | BAL,NYC,PHO,SEA,WAS | 2044-2060 | 194 |
| Layne Marmol | MAI,MON,PAW,SEA,TOR | 2039-2056 | 191 |
| Logan Wilcher | BAT,HAR,MON,PAW | 2036-2049 | 189 |
| Clarke Cunningham | DEN,NO,PAW,SYR | 2045-2058 | 188 |
| Brendan Matson | BAL,CAR,HAR,NO,NYK,PHI | 2028-2042 | 185 |
| Montay Kim | NYC,PAW,SYR | 2041-2056 | 175 |
| Rice Mesyan | DEN,SEA | 2046-2060 | 175 |
| Tom Smith | CHI,MON,PIT | 2033-2046 | 169 |
| Jakob Lopez | CAL,DAL,DEN,HAR,NYC,WIL | 2043-2057 | 169 |
| Cayden Huff | BAT,DEN,SDR,WAS,WIL | 2039-2050 | 168 |
| Hisanobu Maeda | HAR,IND,PAW,SDR,SEA,WAS | 2028-2041 | 167 |
| Vince Ridgway | BAL,DEN,TOR | 2050-2060 | 166 |