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07/25/2061
We took a week off, come back, and the Cyclones are still atop the Power Rankings. With a 4-3 week they now have a 4.5 game lead over Baltimore and 6.5 game lead over Washington in the Stout. The winners of the week though were New Orleans and Pawtucket who each went 6-1. The Voodoo are now three games over .500 while the Patriots are just a game and a half back from Maine (and their ridiculous +9 PYT). Another big week was Windy City who went 5-2. The Blues are also three games over .500 and have upped their postseason odds to 49.7%. That's almost half by our new interns calculations! On the flip side Hartford went 1-6, while Syracuse, Batavia, and Philly all went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) New York Cyclones (117.1, o)
2) Phoenix Roadrunners (111.7, +)
3) Pawtucket Patriots (109.8, ++)
4) Maine Guides (109.6, +)
5) Toronto Canadians (109.0, --)
6) Washington Bats (105.4, o)
7) Baltimore Bulldogs (103.2, +)
8) New Orleans Voodoo (102.7, ++)
9) Seattle Pilots (100.5, --)
10) Montreal Exports (98.4, --)
11) Windy City Blues (97.7, +)
12) California Kodiaks (94.4, --)
13) Dallas Drillers (90.0, +)
14) Syracuse Snappers (89.7, --)
15) Denver Bulls (89.4, ++)
16) Wilmington Wildcats (82.1, --)
17) Pittsburgh Millers (79.6, --)
18) Batavia Muckdogs (76.0, -)
19) Indianapolis Clowns (75.9, +)
20) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (73.1, +)
21) Carolina Tobs (70.6, -)
22) Los Angeles Dinos (68.3, +)
23) Philadelphia Freedom (61.4, --)
24) Hartford Whalers (47.4, o)
Performance of the Week
2B Lon Leseberg - The California castoff put up a 4.1 WAR in 342 games with the Kodiaks. He was shipped to New Orleans where in 619 games he's put up a stellar 17.8 WAR and been named a 2x All-Star. This last week against Hartford on July 21st he continued his show of force by racking up four hits, driving in seven, and scoring three times. In the end New Orleans won 15-10 as both teams racked up a combined 36 hits and put on quite a show.
Prospect of the Week
P Deondre Ivy - Drafted 1.15 in 2060 by the Guides, Ivy is only 18 and playing for their Rookie League team, the Yonkers Hounds. After getting injured last season he has rebounded and so far in 18 starts he's 8-3 with a 2.39 ERA. So far this season he was selected to the Rookie League All-Star game and most recently the All-Star Futures game. Scouts think he's a future #1 starter and if his clubhouse nickname of 'Poison' doesn't stick we don't know what will.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We missed the All-Star game but it appears the fans got a little extra action for free as the game went 11 innings. First up was the Import's heroics as they trailed 5-3 entering the bottom of the ninth. Down to their last out with two men on, LAD catcher Orrin Perkins smacked a double which tied the game up. Then in the top of the 11th it was the Domestic's turn as Montreal's Teddy Burch crushed a two-run home run off of Kelvin Ellis to put the Domestic back on top 7-5. Could the Import pull it off again? They got a single by Alex Cain, but then Cullen Lanzetta got the next two batters to strike out. Two singles and a wild pitch ended up bringing Cain home and Perkins on third with Wellington Wingate at bat. After swinging and missing at the first pitch, he got a hold of the second pitch and sent it out to right field. Would Wingate be the walk-off hero? Alas it was not meant to be. Outfielder Kellen Todd settled under it and the Domestic held on to victory by a 7-6 score.
2. After getting crushed by Seattle on July 18th, and then verbally assaulted by his GM, Charlie Spence got back on track this past week against Baltimore. Over 7.2 innings he allowed five hits, one run, walked two, and struck out 15 as California won 9-1. He's now 5-1 with a 1.36 ERA since coming to California and is on pace to rack up...wait what...400 strikeouts? Okay please tell me that our new intern ran these numbers wrong because that's impossible. Currently Spence has started 21 games and has 247 strikeouts, so he's averaging around 12 K's a game. If he starts 33 games this year, which he's done in six seasons, he'd end up with 'only' 396 K's. We knew we didn't hire her for her math skills! Considering in his seven Kodiak starts though he's had 10, 14, 13, 17, 13, 9 and 15 strikeouts that 12 K/start number is climbing. In the history of the league do you know how many players have struck out more than 325 players in a single season. Four, and Spence has done it six times. Do you know how many have struck out more than 350. One, and Spence has done it twice. For him to even flirt with 400 is just shocking.
3. After a 12-16 June, the Canadians found themselves in fifth place and one game under .500 on July 2nd. Since then they've gone 13-2 to now sit at 55-45 and only three games back from division leader Montreal. The Canadians won it all in 2059. The Exports won it all in 2060 (and took down Toronto in seven in the DLCS). At this rate we could be in a for a rubber match between the two. The other hot team is in the Import, and is none other than Seattle. On July 2nd they were 39-43 and in fourth place as their run back to even appeared to be stalling. Instead they've gone 13-3 since, have a .001 lead on California for second place, and are the third Wild Card now behind Baltimore and Washington. The Canadians playoff odds are up to 85%, while Seattle comes in at 75%. How quickly the tide can turn in the BLB.
4. The playoffs are clearing up a little, more so in the Import. With New York, Phoenix, Baltimore, and Washington pulling away it appears to be a four-way race between Seattle, California, Windy City, and Denver for two spots. The Bulls are only at 11% odds thanks to our friends at Stats+, but they also have a -5 PYT, second worst in the league (LAD -7). In the Domestic though Pawtucket, Maine, and Montreal are heavy favorites (all over 94%), with Toronto behind them at 85%. The final two spots then come down to New Orleans, Syracuse, Wilmington, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. Obviously a lot can happen but with fewer teams having a legitimate chance we expect those trade lines to open up a little as the deadline nears.
5. What's on tap? This week we get to see Dallas at New Orleans, Seattle head to Windy City, and Syracuse go south to Wilmington as the Wild Card shuffle continues. We also get a battle of the heavyweights as Baltimore travels to Washington. Separated by just two games, they are 3-3 against each other this season, and from 2040 to present almost dead even. The Bats hold a slight 135-124 advantage while the two storied franchises have combined for 33 playoff appearances, 10 Brewmaster Cup births, and five titles in those 21 seasons. Pure excellence.
Stat of the Week
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Players with more than 300 K's in a single season
| Rnk | Player | Team | Pos | Age | Year | G | GS | W | L | SV | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | HLD | CG | SHO | WHIP | WAR |
| 1 | Charlie Spence* | CAR | SP | 26 | 2056 | 33 | 33 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 2.51 | 233.0 | 169 | 69 | 65 | 14 | 62 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.99 | 8.6 |
| 2 | Charlie Spence* | CAR | SP | 25 | 2055 | 33 | 33 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 3.06 | 232.3 | 183 | 80 | 79 | 19 | 90 | 360 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1.18 | 6.3 |
| 3 | Charlie Spence* | CAR | SP | 30 | 2060 | 33 | 33 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 3.95 | 225.3 | 234 | 106 | 99 | 13 | 80 | 349 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.39 | 7.8 |
| 4 | Christian Vines | SYR | SP | 28 | 2046 | 33 | 33 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2.01 | 228.3 | 148 | 53 | 51 | 14 | 70 | 342 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.95 | 9.4 |
| 5 | Charlie Spence* | CAR | SP | 29 | 2059 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 3.75 | 233.0 | 227 | 108 | 97 | 20 | 58 | 341 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.22 | 6.4 |
| 6 | Christian Vines | SYR | SP | 26 | 2044 | 31 | 31 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1.32 | 211.0 | 113 | 38 | 31 | 7 | 53 | 333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.79 | 11.4 |
| 6 | Jakob Hilliard* | PHO | SP | 25 | 2060 | 32 | 32 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2.81 | 198.7 | 143 | 68 | 62 | 24 | 58 | 333 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.01 | 5.0 |
| 8 | Charlie Spence* | CAR | SP | 24 | 2054 | 33 | 33 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 2.78 | 210.3 | 163 | 71 | 65 | 12 | 63 | 332 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.07 | 7.8 |
| 9 | Charlie Spence* | CAR | SP | 28 | 2058 | 32 | 32 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 3.42 | 226.0 | 201 | 93 | 86 | 22 | 63 | 330 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.17 | 5.9 |
| 10 | Stephen Gibbs* | BAL | SP | 30 | 2060 | 34 | 34 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 2.79 | 216.0 | 178 | 69 | 67 | 34 | 25 | 326 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.94 | 5.0 |
| 11 | Charlie Spence* | CAR | SP | 27 | 2057 | 32 | 32 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3.32 | 236.0 | 180 | 93 | 87 | 19 | 73 | 322 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1.07 | 6.3 |
| 11 | Levi Brown* | DEN | SP | 26 | 2057 | 33 | 33 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 3.49 | 232.3 | 205 | 92 | 90 | 36 | 33 | 322 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1.02 | 4.6 |
| 13 | David Rumsey | HYU | SP | 34 | 1978 | 36 | 36 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 2.93 | 273.7 | 228 | 94 | 89 | 11 | 81 | 319 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1.13 | 10.8 |
| 14 | Levi Brown* | DEN | SP | 28 | 2059 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 3.18 | 229.0 | 209 | 86 | 81 | 19 | 45 | 318 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.11 | 7.0 |
| 15 | Stephen Gibbs* | BAL | SP | 27 | 2057 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 2.96 | 222.0 | 151 | 78 | 73 | 28 | 53 | 311 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.92 | 5.3 |
| 16 | Levi Brown* | DEN | SP | 25 | 2056 | 34 | 34 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 3.35 | 239.0 | 221 | 91 | 89 | 22 | 48 | 309 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1.13 | 5.9 |
| 16 | Ken Burns* | SDR | SP | 25 | 2058 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 2.04 | 229.0 | 182 | 59 | 52 | 6 | 69 | 309 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.10 | 8.0 |
| 16 | Levi Brown* | DEN | SP | 27 | 2058 | 34 | 34 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 3.18 | 235.0 | 220 | 93 | 83 | 22 | 48 | 309 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1.14 | 5.9 |
| 16 | Jakob Hilliard* | PHO | SP | 24 | 2059 | 32 | 32 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 4.19 | 176.0 | 138 | 83 | 82 | 26 | 65 | 309 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.15 | 3.4 |
| 20 | Christian Vines | SYR | SP | 25 | 2043 | 32 | 32 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 2.66 | 203.0 | 149 | 62 | 60 | 15 | 60 | 305 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.03 | 8.4 |
| 21 | Bobby Ferguson* | SDR | SP | 30 | 2058 | 33 | 33 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 3.17 | 238.7 | 210 | 87 | 84 | 22 | 71 | 302 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1.18 | 4.7 |
| 22 | Ed Carroll+ | WAS | SP | 28 | 2022 | 34 | 34 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 2.09 | 232.7 | 171 | 58 | 54 | 20 | 18 | 301 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.81 | 9.2 |