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(AP)
The DK has been on a mid-summer vacation during the heart of the season and we come back to Washington still being ranked first! Can't anyone dethrone those pesky Bats? During the month of August they went 21-8, tying Maine for the best record in the league. Santo Domingo also took off and went 20-8 while New York and Miami both won 19 games. Meanwhile the dog days of summer were not kind to Baltimore, Pawtucket, and Phoenix who won 8, 9, and 9 games respectively.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (124.2, o)
2) Maine Guides (118.2, ++)
3) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (113.7, ++)
4) Denver BC (113.2, o)
5) New York Knights (110.6, --)
6) Hartford Whalers (107.0, o)
7) Seattle Pilots (106.1, o)
8) Philadelphia Freedom (104.2, --)
9) Montreal Exports (100.9, o)
10) Miami Sharks (99.3, +)
11) Pittsburgh Millers (93.5, +)
12) New Orleans Dukes (92.6, -)
13) Los Angeles Dinos (91.0, +)
14) Wilmington Wildcats (86.7, -)
15) Windy City Blues (85.7, +)
16) Batavia Red Jackets (82.3, o)
17) Carolina Tobs (75.3, ++)
18) Syracuse Snappers (72.3, --)
19) Indianapolis Racers (72.1, -)
20) Phoenix Roadrunners (67.2, -)
21) Toronto Canadians (66.2, o)
22) California Kodiaks (65.8, +)
23) Pawtucket Patriots (59.5, -)
24) Baltimore Bulldogs (55.7, o)
Performance of the Week
C Ian 'Pickles' James - On August 29th against Pawtucket, 'Pickles' tied the highest batting game performance of the season when he had two home runs, drove in seven, and scored five times in a 21-2 victory over the hapless Patriots. On the season the 29 year old is hitting .306 with 32 HR's and 80 RBI's while posting a 6.0 WAR.
Injury of the Week
P Dave Harmony - Drafted in 2013 and making his BLB debut the same season Harmony started 421 games in his career before signing with Maine and moving to the stopper/closer role last season. He finished 3rd in the DL Last Call last season and this year was 8-10 with a 2.29 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. On August 24th though against Pittsburgh he came in and had thrown three innings before getting pulled in the 10th due to shoulder pain. An MRI showed a torn rotator cuff and he will be out for over a year, which might end up being career ending for this 38 year old.
Prospect of the Week
P Erik Rogers - The Dukes picked this 6'10" giant with the 22nd overall pick of the 2029 draft. At only 19 he's currently playing A ball for the Stone Harbor Crows and is the 100th ranked prospect in the league. He's very raw but scouts love his intangibles and his manager states he's "all business and tenacious on the mound."
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Since we've been gone the DL playoff race has shaken out a little as Miami and New Orleans have taken a strong lead while Pittsburgh is now three games back. The Millers playoff odds sit at 30% while the Sharks and Dukes are above 80%. In other DL playoff news the Rum Runners used their hot August to take a two game lead over Montreal for the Lager lead. Not bad for a team with a -6 Pythagorean difference, only better than Baltimore who sits at -7.
2. The IL playoff race is still at eight teams as LA, Batavia, and Windy City still are battling for the 4th wildcard spot. Currently LAD has a .5 game on Batavia while Windy City is 4.5 behind. In August LAD went 16-13 while Batavia and Windy City both went 13-16.
3. While we were gone Manabu Hamada of Denver finally lost a game. On August 11th against LAD he gave up eight runs in five innings and took the loss. He was 11-0 and hadn't lost a game in almost a season and a half. Since that fateful day he's won two more and now sits at 13-1 with a 2.80 ERA and 4.3 WAR.
4. The Turell 'Two Ton' Morris train continues to roll on. He leads the league once again with 45 home runs after hitting 11 in August, which is what he hit in June and July combined. Meanwhile Johnny Swope of Seattle has moved into 2nd place with 43 after he hit a whopping 19 in August, which was two more than he hit in April, May, and June combined. He's hitting .289 on the season but his 5.6 WAR is 2nd in the IL and 4th in the entire BLB.
5. Pitching and defense is what the Miami GM patented years ago and the Sharks continue to live by it. They lead the BLB with a +28.1 ZR while Indy is 2nd at 13.6. The combined ZR for the entire league is currently -99.9. Now we know a bit of the reason Miami is +22 games over June, July, and August and has smoked by Pittsburgh for the 4th wildcard spot and is only 4.5 games out of the Lager lead.
Stat of the Week
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| Fewest Career Seasons Among Players Who've Hit 30 Home Runs In A Season (Top 25 Players) |
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