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05/26/2064
It was a week unlike any other we can remember in the BLB, but first to the red hot Blues. Windy City swept Seattle and New York to go 7-0 last week and move into a tie with Los Angeles for the Bock lead. The Blues are now 18-5 in May thanks to a team who is first in home runs, and first in hits allowed. You can't hit the ball, and when we hit the ball it goes over the fence. That's a good combo. Another solid week was Wilmington who went 6-1 to take a seven game lead in the Lager...in May. Once the second place Exports start hitting home runs we expect that lead to shrink some. Finally we had Batavia at 5-1, and LAD, Washington, Pawtucket, Hartford, and Carolina at 5-2. That's a lot of winning this week. Unless you are in New York City. The Cyclones had the ugly unicorn as they went 0-7 and fell to below .500. The season is young though, no time to panic.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (138.0, o)
2) Wilmington Wildcats (137.4, o)
3) Windy City Blues (128.9, ++)
4) Los Angeles Dinos (126.9, -)
5) Carolina Tobs (113.0, +)
6) Indianapolis Clowns (101.7, ++)
7) New Orleans Voodoo (98.7, -)
8) Montreal Exports (98.1, --)
9) Baltimore Bulldogs (91.0, ++)
10) Dallas Drillers (91.0, +)
11) Pawtucket Patriots (90.2, ++)
12) California Kodiaks (89.7, --)
13) Hartford Whalers (84.3, ++)
14) Batavia Muckdogs (83.3, ++)
15) Syracuse Snappers (83.1, +)
16) Pittsburgh Millers (81.1, -)
17) Denver Bulls (77.7, ++)
18) Toronto Canadians (76.3, o)
19) Maine Guides (75.1, --)
20) New York Cyclones (73.1, --)
21) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (72.0, o)
22) Seattle Pilots (59.4, --)
23) Philadelphia Freedom (46.4, o)
24) Phoenix Roadrunners (45.1, o)
Performance of the Week
1B Frank 'Slugger' Memmi - We know, not who you thought you'd see up here. Don't worry we'll get there. The 35 year old slugger had a big game this past week when on May 19th against Maine he turned in the 3rd best performance of the young season. In five at bats he had four hits, two home runs, drove in four, and scored four times as Hartford squeaked by Maine 14-4. Father time catches up with all but Memmi is on pace to hit nearly 40 home runs after smashing 44 and 45 in 2061 and 2062 respectively. The Whalers are now only four games back from the Ale lead. A streaking Frank could change that.
Prospect of the Week
P Andy Phillips Jr. - When you are the son of arguably the greatest middle man in BLB history the pressure is high, but APJ looks to have potential. The 6'5 hurler is only 17, but he has a fastball that can almost reach triple digits and a cutter that makes batters weep. Scouts say he has the stuff and talent to be a #, and we can't wait to watch.
Five Things We Think We Think
1.When is the last time the BLB had two no-hitters this close together, how about in 2044. On June 18th, 2044 we got the following lines into the history books.
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| 06/18/2044 | Jamie Stivers | 5 K, 0 BB and 9 IP versus Los Angeles while playing for Carolina (PERFECT GAME) | |
| 06/18/2044 | Keon Cheatham | 7 K, 1 BB and 9 IP versus Denver while playing for Washington |
Well this past week we were treated to something almost as close, as Dallas pitcher Jonathon 'Jasper' Berman tossed a no-hitter on May 24th against Syracuse, and Windy City's Douglas Okeyo threw one the following day on May 25th against New Orleans. For 'Jasper' he fanned 6 and walked 2, leading the Drillers to victory, 5-0. "I was getting my off-speed stuff over so they couldn't sit on the fastball," Berman said in the clubhouse after the game. "My guys made some nice plays behind me and cut off several hits, too." He's now 2-3 with a 5.10 ERA on the season. Okeyo meanwhile faced 28 batters, had 5 strikeouts and gave up 1 walk in a dominating effort. "He was on from the get-go," Cyclones manager Rory Vest said. "He was hitting his spots and keeping us off balance. It was a great game by him." Okeyo is 4-1 with a 2.50 ERA in eight starts.
2. It was overlooked but on the day that Berman tossed a no-hitter for the Drillers, 36 year old Jerry 'Snake Hips' Coleman had his 2000th BLB hit. It wasn't just a random dribbler out of the infield either, it was a line drive single which happened to be his second out of four hits that day. He also stole two bases to give him 11 on the season without being thrown out yet. Drafted first overall in 2045 he was a force for Batavia and Indy from 2050 to 2058, before playing for Seattle, Maine, and now Dallas. Over his career he was named the 2055 Stout Slugger, went to seven All-Star games, and won titles in 2050 and 2056. All-time over 1911 games he's tallied up 2002 hits, 346 doubles, 112 triples, 310 home runs, 991 RBI, and 699 stolen bases. After the game Colman stated, "It's good to finally get it. The closer you get to 2000, the harder it is to get there. Now the pressure is off and I can go back to just playing ball."
3. Welcome to the BLB to two players taken back to back in the 2059 draft. For Dallas it was pick 1.18 as Ari Lynn made his debut, for Phoenix it was pick 1.19 as Mitchell Shook had his welcome to the league moment. For Lynn he's an absolute slugger who will put the ball in play for hits, while also having the ability to hit 35+ home runs. His weakness is he likes to swing for the fences instead of for average, and he'll strike out a lot. Shook meanwhile is a defensive guy who can play any infield position, but especially second base, at a high level. He's average at the plate but more than serviceable for someone with his defensive skills. Both of them hit .100 in their opening weeks, with Lynn recording his first home runs yesterday and Shook getting his first hit and RBI two days ago.
4. Greg Thomas last played on May 4th for the Kodiaks before getting beaned in a game against Batavia and breaking his finger. When Thomas was playing California was 18-9, since he's been out California is 7-12. Good thing for the Kodiaks (and the front office blood pressure) he's due back after this week. At the time of his injury he was hitting .402/.455/.837 with 9 HR and 25 RBI, and was on pace for a monster season. Missing over a month will put a dent in those Stout Slugger plans, but he could still smash 30 or more home runs. Drafted 5th overall in 2061 he has turned into everything Cali hoped for, and maybe even more. At only 23 years old this was his first injury which caused him to miss playing time since 2061, when he strained his hip back in his CCBL days.
5. What's on tap? Windy City is hot, hot, hot, which is good since they have a monster week coming up. First the Blues host Los Angeles in the Battle of the Bock for a three game series. After that they get to stay at home and "recover" by hosting the Bats for four games. Maybe another 7-0 week is on the horizon? In the Domestic the first place Wildcats welcome the first place Clowns to town. Indy is 25-21 which would be 7.5 games back in the Lager, 9 games back in the Stout, and 4.5 games in the Bock. In the Ale though that's first place!
Player Streaks
| Brian Van Hook (PAW) has a 15 game hitting streak |
| Nathan Bell (BAL) has a 15 game hitting streak |
| Zane Sirignano (IND) has a 13 game hitting streak |
| Levi Lane (HAR) scored in 8 straight games |
| Nathan Stiso (NO) scored in 7 straight games |
| Deontae Dennis (HAR) scored in 7 straight games |
| Levi Lane (HAR) has an RBI in 6 straight games |
| Kingston Fry (MAI) has converted 11 straight save opportunities |
Weekly Milestones
3B Jerry Coleman (DAL), 36 yo, reached 2000 hits
3B Rory Elia Jr. (CAL), 23 yo, reached 500 hits
CF Alex Cain (DEN), 24 yo, reached 500 hits
RF Merrill Eubanks (WAS), 21 yo, reached 100 hits
2B Evan Ochs (CAR), 23 yo, reached 100 hits
LF Alden Bradley (BAL), 22 yo, reached 100 hits
DH Jim Mjima (NYC), 30 yo, reached 200 home runs
SS Ray Ayres (IND), 21 yo, hit his first home run
1B Ari Lynn (DAL), 22 yo, hit his first home run
LF Conor Coleman (BAL), 25 yo, hit his first home run
LF Cadarian Morris (CAL), 26 yo, hit his first home run
RF Ian Schreiber (HAR), 27 yo, reached 500 RBIs
CF Brian Van Hook (PAW), 23 yo, reached 250 RBIs
LF Ty Dec (WAS), 31 yo, reached 600 extra base hits
2B Owen Dooley (SDR), 35 yo, reached 500 extra base hits
3B Olin Keele (TOR), 26 yo, reached 300 extra base hits
1B Marcus Fahr (CAR), 27 yo, reached 250 extra base hits
1B Nigel Torres (CHI), 24 yo, reached 100 extra base hits
P Mardy Owens (CHI), 26 yo, reached 50 wins
P Roberto Burris (PHO), 30 yo, reached 250 strikeouts
Who's Hot
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Stat of the Week
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| Most Different Positions Played In A Single Season (Top 25 Players) |
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