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04/18/2061
Baltimore, New York, and Phoenix handed out L's last week...five of them to be exact as they all went 5-1. The Roadrunners now have a leagues best 10-3 record and have taken over the Power Rankings. Apparently it was a good interleague week for the Import. On the flip side New Orleans, Hartford, and Maine all went 1-5. Apparently it was a bad interleague week for the Domestic. The Guides were a playoff team last season...they are 2-11, while Hartford is 1-12. Who do they think they are, the 2060 Kodiaks! There is still time to turn it around but another bad week could spell the end of the season before it hardly got started. Some team leaders: Montreal scored 38 runs (BAT 13), Phoenix hit 12 home runs (BAT/NO 3), Phoenix swiped 17 bases (SDR 1), Phoenix and Wilmington allowed just 17 runs (MON 40), and opponents hit .197 off Wilmington (PHI .337).
Power Rankings
1) Phoenix Roadrunners (146.5, ++)
2) New York Cyclones (129.6, ++)
3) Washington Bats (129.6, +)
4) Toronto Canadians (126.6, --)
5) Pawtucket Patriots (125.6, --)
6) Baltimore Bulldogs (116.8, ++)
7) Denver Bulls (115.8, +)
8) Wilmington Wildcats (111.8, o)
9) Montreal Exports (106.0, --)
10) Windy City Blues (98.9, +)
11) Seattle Pilots (97.9, o)
12) California Kodiaks (89.0, +)
13) Syracuse Snappers (89.0, +)
14) Dallas Drillers (82.1, ++)
15) Indianapolis Clowns (82.1, ++)
16) Philadelphia Freedom (82.1, +)
17) Pittsburgh Millers (80.1, --)
18) New Orleans Voodoo (78.1, --)
19) Batavia Muckdogs (74.0, --)
20) Carolina Tobs (69.2, o)
21) Los Angeles Dinos (52.4, +)
22) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (52.4, -)
23) Maine Guides (17.7, o)
24) Hartford Whalers (3.8, o)
Performance of the Week
RF Asher Kappler - On April 15th against Philly, the 24 year old Kappler really taxed the Freedom. In five at bats he racked up five hits, drove in three, and scored three times as Syracuse won 10-1. Drafted 8th overall in 2057 he's already a 2x All-Star, and finished second in the Stout Slugger award last season. The youth movement is alive and well in the BLB.
Prospect of the Week
P Holt 'Hunter' Wegener - Scouts believe he has the chance to anchor a rotation someday as he throws 95 mph and already has four pitches in his repertoire. He also started 10 games this season in high school for the Raiders, and ended up 0-7 with a 7.54 ERA. The previous two seasons he was 4-2 with a 2.77 ERA, and 3-2 with a 3.50 ERA. On the side coaches will tell you it was girl problems, as in 'Hunter' found love. Whatever it is he better shape up though, as his draft stock just keeps plummeting.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Dane Jennings of the Millers currently has the longest active hit streak at 20 games. That's 38 year old Mr. Jennings to you. Drafted 15th overall in 2040, he's now in his 17th season in the BLB. He also has to be one of the most decorated players in league history. His resume includes three Stout Sluggers, nine DWI's at second base, eight all-star appearances, and six Designated Drivers. He's a lifetime .333/357/.455 hitter who is 17th all-time in hits, 13th all-time in doubles, and fifth all-time in batting average. He's also been compensated well as he's made over $348 million for his career.
2. The other living legend among us is 40 year old Aubrey 'Gypsy' Albano. He's on his 21st season in the league after being discovered out of the Philippines back in 2037. His resume features 12 All-Star games, nine Designated Drivers, and three DWI's. He's the all-time leader in hits with 3,908, which is almost 300 more than second place Pat 'Melody' Nunes. Albano is on pace to tally up over 200 hits this season, and at the end of the year he should be well over 4,000 hits. Counting Albano there are just 21 players in the history of the league with 3,000 hits, and just four with more than 3,500. As for slowing down he's hitting .347 this season after hitting .334 last year and .316 in 2059. He's only getting better with age apparently. Enjoy greatness while you can.
3. The Roadrunners are back at it again with the speed/power combo. They are first in home runs this season with 18, and second in stolen bases with 30. They also have a run differential of +34. Baltimore is second at +23, while Pawtucket is third at +16. They have 10 players that have hit at least one out of the park, while eight players have stolen a base. To be fair Rick Anderson has 10 of those, but still. After missing the playoffs from 2049 to 2055, they've now been four of the last five seasons, made two Brewmaster appearances, and won a league high 105 games last year.
4. Hartford has had quite the rough start, in thanks to some bad fielding. They currently have eight players with a negative zone rating, and their team total of -6.29 is dead last, and 11.5 points away from first place Windy City. To be fair to them though, the season is young, and no one is really playing outside their position in the field. Sometimes the breaks just don't go your way, or the other teams just have better fielders. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Batavia shortstop Julius McCurdy. The 25 year old missed over two months last season with injuries, but he's back and better than ever. In just 12 games he's put up a +2.7 ZR at short. In 92 games last season he put up a -7.4 ZR. As our field reporter 'chazzycat' stated in an online forum we often peruse..."(ZR is) a pretty straightforward stat...it's basically telling you how many runs above or below average (for that position) the player is contributing on defense. So it very much depends on who else your league-mates are running out there. For example it's quite difficult to get much ZR out of center field, because almost everyone is using (a top defender) or something close to it. So the average defensive ability baseline is very high. But it cuts both ways - if you put in someone subpar, you're sure to see a big negative number due to that high baseline."
5. What's on tap? Denver at Phoenix has to be the big series. The upstart Bulls against the powerhouse Roadrunners. Denver third basemen Kyle Bruns has been on an absolute tear so far this season. When you're hitting .438 with 4 HR and 13 RBI while putting up a +1.0 ZR at third in just 12 games, well that's a heck of a way to start the season. Then there's rookie centerfielder Alex Cain who's hitting .409 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in 11 games. Finally there is the old man of the group, 23 year old Johnathan 'Stony' Wang who's hitting .351. All top five picks, all contributing at a young age. Streak wise Phoenix has won four straight, New Orleans has lost five straight, and LAD's Rob Detling has homered in five straight games.
Stat of the Week
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| Largest Percentage Increase In Attendance (Top 25 Teams) |
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