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09/15/2064
So much streaking! New Orleans...6-1! Montreal...6-1! California...6-1. Carolina...6-1! Every single one of those teams are now at 100% in the playoff odds, which we consider very good when it comes to probability. New Orleans and Montreal used their streakfests to move within just two and five games of the Lager leading Wildcats. Meanwhile the Kodiaks streaked their way to a tie in the Bock with the Windy City Blues. Remember when Windy City won 16 straight...so do they. Alas they are in a dogfight now. Over in Carolina they do not have a chance at the division thanks to the Bats, but they are now in prime position to earn a home Wild Card series. On the other side of life Seattle and Toronto went 1-6, while Philly went 1-5. The Freedom now have a 77% chance of finishing last and getting the #1 pick in the draft. Will it help them out though? Philly hasn't won more than 67 games since 2053, and they're on pace to win just 53 this season. A sad decade for a once proud franchise.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (127.7, o)
2) New Orleans Voodoo (117.3, +)
3) Montreal Exports (114.5, -)
4) Wilmington Wildcats (113.8, -)
5) California Kodiaks (111.5, o)
6) Carolina Tobs (107.2, ++)
7) Indianapolis Clowns (106.5, -)
8) Windy City Blues (104.5, o)
9) Dallas Drillers (98.4, ++)
10) Los Angeles Dinos (97.6, -)
11) Hartford Whalers (92.3, ++)
12) New York Cyclones (91.9, o)
13) Pittsburgh Millers (91.1, --)
14) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (87.7, o)
15) Baltimore Bulldogs (84.9, ++)
16) Batavia Muckdogs (83.2, +)
17) Toronto Canadians (83.2, --)
18) Pawtucket Patriots (81.9, -)
19) Denver Bulls (79.2, +)
20) Seattle Pilots (63.2, -)
21) Maine Guides (60.4, +)
22) Phoenix Roadrunners (58.6, -)
23) Syracuse Snappers (54.2, -)
24) Philadelphia Freedom (47.0, o)
Performance of the Week
P Tommy McGue - The first overall pick of the 2059 draft by Batavia was part of the disastrous trade with California back in 2060...disastrous for the Muckdogs that is. Batavia traded for Theodore Blume and Bobby Ferguson, won 63 games that season, McGue and Ervin Lee are both dominating for the Kodiaks, while Blume was jettisoned to Phoenix the following season and Ferguson lasted two more years before becoming a free agent. So who does the 25 year old McGue toss the single best pitching performance of the season against three days ago, how about Batavia. In a no-hitter that featured nine strikeouts McGue moved to 12-8 with a 2.96 ERA on the season. It's his fifth season in a row with a winning record for California. Just robbery for the poor Muckdogs who more than likely would be a playoff team for the first time since 2052 if they still had Tommy and Ervin on their staff.
Prospect of the Week
P Davon 'Super' Arechiga - The 17 year old throws six pitches and according to scouts won't beat himself with walks, has poise on the mound, and can anchor a rotation someday. Hailing from Cienfuegos, the Cuban made his debut for Oregon this January and after going 4-3 with a 1.81 ERA and 241 ERA+ opposing coaches are already asking to see his birth certificate. After seeing his picture in the program we can see why.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The playoffs are set in the Import, with only the Bock division title and the final three Wild Card seedings up for grab. The 'loser' of the Cali/Windy City race for the Bock will be top WC team, with Carolina, LAD, and NY fighting for the other top seed with home field advantage. In the Domestic the 100% club is Wilmington, Indy, New Orleans, and Montreal. On the Wild Card front there are three teams for two spots in Dallas, Hartford, and Pittsburgh. The Millers have dropped to a 40% chance after a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad week where they went 2-5 and lost starting center fielder Henry Lennox for the rest of the season. It doesn't help they have a remaining .524 opponents SOS with nine games on the road either. Meanwhile Hartford has 14 at home and 3 away, while Dallas has 6 at home and 10 on the road.
2. All though Dallas has a tough road to clinch that final playoff spot, hats off to them because only a few really saw them here. They are 12 games over .500 led by an offense that loves to smash home runs, and on top of that now have the second best farm system in the league. That will change now that Vince 'Mungo' Tanner has gotten the call-up to the majors, but it will also change those home run numbers. Drafted fourth overall last season, 'Mungo' surprised everyone when he didn't crack one out yet in his first five games. Scouts say he's a .270 hitter with a plus-plus power ceiling. So far his minor league numbers have been out of this world. In 31 A ball games he had 12 home runs...in 60 AA games he had 18 home runs...and in 89 AAA games he had 33 home runs. Throw in 193 CCBL games and another 66 home runs and no wonder he was a top five pick.
3. Brian Van Hook now has an 18 game hitting streak, is hitting .356/.381/.679 with 35 HR and 112 RBI, and has a +18.2 ZR in center field. He's also on pace for a 10.2 WAR, which would only be the 18th time in the history of the league a batter went over 10.0 in WAR. Eight of those times were done by 'Virginia 7' members Mel Woodbury (2), Hector Chavez (5), and Yoritoki Maeda (1). The feat has only gotten rarer as well, as it's only happened twice since 2030. Dane Jennings did it for Toronto in 2052 (10.2), and Chase Calhoun did it in 2058 (10.5). Van Hook was the 8th overall pick of the 2058 draft, and at 23 years old is someone the Patriots hope to build a franchise around. Pawtucket won the title in 2061, and went back to the playoffs in his first season, but haven't been back since. This season in the Domestic they are 10th in runs scored, and 10th in runs allowed, but sit at just a -63 run differential. We feel like they are just a player or three away from turning it around.
4. BABIP average for the league is .282, with Denver on the bottom at .264 (this team couldn't have worse luck this season), and Pittsburgh second from the top at .296. Why didn't we go to number one, because it's Montreal, who checks in at .320. Talk about ahead of the curve. What's telling about this season is that in 2063 the last place team was New York, who came in at .322. That's right, 24th in 2063 is better than 1st in 2064. Individual wise Pittsburgh slugger Griffin Camacho leads all with a .387 BABIP, with Indy's Zane Sirignano second at .378 and Van Hook third at .368.
5. What's on tap? How about some huge series that will definitely shake up the Wild Card, and possibly Division races in the Domestic.
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Let's Go Streaking
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| Brian Van Hook (PAW) has a 18 game hitting streak |
| Spencer DeSimone (SDR) has a 13 game hitting streak |
| Deontay Gardner (NYC) has a 13 game hitting streak |
| Tyler Wolfe (WIL) has converted 18 straight save opportunities |
| Nic McClelland (SEA) has converted 15 straight save opportunities |
| Denver Benson (IND) has converted 15 straight save opportunities |
Who's Hot...Who's Not
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Stat of the Week
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| Smallest Difference Between OBP and AVG Among Batting Title Winners (Top 25 Players, Pitchers Excluded) |
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