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09/17/2063
The Kodiaks are back on top, at least the Power Rankings as their 6-1 week puts them five games up in the Bock and only two games behind the Bats for the best record in all the land. Another top week was Indy who went 5-1 as they control the 'Awful Ale' by a half game. Other top weeks were Pittsburgh, Wilmington, Montreal and Carolina who all went 5-2. The Millers and Tobs are fighting for their playoff lives, while Wilmington and Montreal are in. On the other side of life Santo Domingo went 1-5 as their playoff odds fall to 11%, while Syracuse, Phoenix, Windy City, and Hartford go 2-5.
Power Rankings
1) California Kodiaks (125.4, +)
2) Washington Bats (119.8, -)
3) Wilmington Wildcats (119.2, +)
4) Denver Bulls (111.2, -)
5) Windy City Blues (108.7, -)
6) Carolina Tobs (103.3, o)
7) Montreal Exports (101.6, o)
8) Los Angeles Dinos (99.1, +)
9) New York Cyclones (94.5, -)
10) Indianapolis Clowns (94.2, ++)
11) Pittsburgh Millers (93.6, -)
12) Pawtucket Patriots (88.9, ++)
13) New Orleans Voodoo (85.0, +)
14) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (83.3, -)
15) Hartford Whalers (83.0, --)
16) Philadelphia Freedom (81.2, ++)
17) Toronto Canadians (80.9, -)
18) Baltimore Bulldogs (80.4, -)
19) Seattle Pilots (77.9, o)
20) Maine Guides (76.9, o)
21) Batavia Muckdogs (75.4, --)
22) Dallas Drillers (68.8, o)
23) Syracuse Snappers (65.3, o)
24) Phoenix Roadrunners (39.1, o)
Performance of the Week
P Oscar Dudzik - Two days ago the Cyclones beat down the Dinos 11-0 thanks to Dudzik having himself a Top Performance of the season. Over eight innings he allowed no runs, just four hits, no walks, and struck out 12 in his best outing of the season. The 30 year old is now 15-7 with a 4.15 ERA. It's his worst season to date, but if he gets going now he could help New York hold off Carolina for the final Wild Card spot.
Prospect of the Week
CF Cameron Kingery - The Drillers have six batters in the Top 100, with Kingery coming in at 29th overall. The former 8th overall pick of last years draft is playing for the Tropical Fish where he's hitting .259 with 20 HR and 75 RBI in 117 games this season. Not only can he hit for power, but he can run like the wind. He's stolen 24 bases this season while also posting a +3.4 ZR in center field.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The Domestic League Wild Card is between Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Hartford, Pawtucket, Toronto and Santo Domingo...for three spots. The six teams are separated by 3.5 games from top to bottom. The playoffs odds by our friends at Stats+ currently favor Pittsburgh, Hartford, Indy, and New Orleans who are all at 81% or higher. The Voodoo have the easiest remaining schedule (but only four at home), followed by the Millers (7 at home) and Whalers (13 at home). PYT wise Indy is +3, Pittsburgh is -2, and everyone else is at 0. What's all this means. Who knows.
2. In the Import the race is between Los Angeles, New York, and Carolina for the final two Wild Card spots. We know who the TV markets are pulling for don't we? The Dinos are heavily favored to take one of the spots (92.6%) but it's going to be hard. They have the fourth toughest remaining schedule in the league while playing nine at home, and eight on the road. Carolina trails them by three games, but is 8-2 in their last 10 and has the easiest time out of the three to finish the year. The two winners will get to travel in the Wild Card to more than likely face Denver and Windy City. Good times!
3. The Kodiaks last won the Bock in 2051, which is hard to believe for a team that has been to the playoffs eight time since then. They closed out this past week though by beating Washington in three straight games, while second place Denver lost three straight games to Carolina. Now this week Denver is at California. The Kodiaks currently have a five game lead over the Bulls, and if they win two or complete the sweep the division title is as good as theirs. Unfortunately they won't have California legend Charlie Spence on the mound for this series. He put the screws to Washington yesterday in a 2-1 victory to make him the first 20 game winning in Kodiak history. The 33 year old is now 20-4 with a 2.36 ERA and is cruising towards his third Pale Ale.
4. Phoenix is now 39-107, but just 57 games out of first in the Bock. The good thing is they have done just enough this season to win at least 40 games. The low watermark in BLB history was 2037 and 2038 when the Syracuse Snappers won 36 and 34 games respectively. The only other team to go sub-40 was the 1981 California Wildfire. They set the record for futility for a long time after going 39-123 on the season. To be fair though they had a respectable 4.78 ERA on the year as they allowed 'just' 868 runs. Those Syracuse teams posted a 2037 ERA of 6.29 and 2038 ERA of 6.64 as they allowed 1,073 and 1,125 runs. Syracuse did use those seasons to their eventual advantage though, as the 2038 top pick was Christian Vines and the 2039 pick was Brooks Collins. Combined they went to seven All-Star games and won four Pale Ales. Okay we suppose Vines contributed slightly more.
5. What's on tap? We already mentioned the big one in Denver at California, but how about Wilmington at Montreal (both teams don't have much to play for other than the Exports up 7-2 over the Wildcats this year) , Indy at Hartford (huge implications in the Ale division and Wild Card race), and New Orleans at Pawtucket (Patriots have won four straight to get within 2.5 of the playoffs).
Player Streaks
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| Tom Holderness (IND) has a 16 game hitting streak |
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| Wellington Wingate (PHI) has a 13 game hitting streak |
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| Tom Holderness (IND) scored in 8 straight games |
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| Cullen Lanzetta (PAW) has converted 25 straight save opportunities |
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| Guy Hunnicutt (PHI) has converted 20 straight save opportunities |
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| Charlie Spence (CAL) hasn't lost in 17 straight starts |
Weekly Milestones
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P Garry Fanalua (PIT), 39 yo, reached 150 saves
2B Keith Friday (PAW), 23 yo, reached 1000 hits
C Steven Widerman (PHI), 25 yo, reached 250 hits
CF Elias Howard (HAR), 22 yo, reached 100 hits
LF Andy Rollins (SYR), 26 yo, reached 100 hits
LF Eli Tracy (MON), 25 yo, reached 100 home runs
LF Devyn Glover (MON), 20 yo, hit his first home run
CF Jaret Foley (MAI), 33 yo, reached 500 RBIs
LF Robert Wenstrom (SYR), 24 yo, reached 250 RBIs
CF Ralph Neben (CHI), 24 yo, reached 250 RBIs
1B Parker Lee (SEA), 33 yo, reached 900 extra base hits (66 players have reached this milestone)
RF Spencer Stephens (CAL), 24 yo, reached 300 extra base hits
1B Hayden Jones (WAS), 26 yo, reached 250 extra base hits
C Wyatt McKenney (DAL), 35 yo, reached 250 extra base hits
3B Brayden Carlson (PAW), 27 yo, reached 200 extra base hits
CF Roosevelt Barrera (IND), 31 yo, reached 100 extra base hits
LF Moses Thomas (SDR), 33 yo, reached 100 extra base hits
P Kelvin Ellis (BAL), 31 yo, reached 100 wins
P Jakob Hilliard (MON), 28 yo, reached 75 wins
P Darryl Krauss (WAS), 27 yo, reached 500 strikeouts
P Ivan Strand (NO), 24 yo, reached 250 strikeouts
P Kristofer Pursley (LAD), 25 yo, reached 250 strikeouts
Stat of the Week
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| Most Consecutive Times Winning The Defense With Integrity (DWI) Award (Top 25 Players, Position Indicated is First In Streak) |
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