Tweet
08/17/2065
All hail Montreal as they start out the week 0-1, then finish the week 6-0. The Exports hit a league leading .301 on the week, and outscored Wilmington and Maine by 15 runs. The other big week was held by Santo Domingo, who went 5-2 thanks to a 3-game sweep of Toronto. At 74-46 they have the best record in the league and sit atop the Power Rankings once again. Third place was Pittsburgh who went 4-2 to move within one game of .500. On the flip side Syracuse, Maine, and Indy all went 2-5. Some team stats: California got offensive and led all with 70 hits and 43 runs, Carolina was a terror on the base paths as they swiped 14 bases in 15 attempts, and Windy City (.184, 15 ER) and LAD (.189, 15 ER) befuddled their opponents with some masterful pitching (and defense).
Power Rankings
1) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (117.1, +)
2) Montreal Exports (112.4, ++)
3) Los Angeles Dinos (108.9, +)
4) Hartford Whalers (107.7, +)
5) Dallas Drillers (107.6, o)
6) Windy City Blues (104.5, ++)
7) California Kodiaks (104.1, --)
8) Wilmington Wildcats (101.2, --)
9) Seattle Pilots (100.2, ++)
10) Pittsburgh Millers (92.3, ++)
11) Washington Bats (92.3, -)
12) New Orleans Voodoo (92.2, o)
13) Carolina Tobs (88.0, --)
14) Pawtucket Patriots (87.2, +)
15) Batavia Muckdogs (85.6, +)
16) Denver Bulls (85.6, --)
17) Indianapolis Clowns (84.6, --)
18) Philadelphia Freedom (83.7, o)
19) Baltimore Bulldogs (75.3, +)
20) Toronto Canadians (74.6, o)
21) New York Cyclones (71.6, +)
22) Syracuse Snappers (69.6, --)
23) Phoenix Roadrunners (62.0, +)
24) Maine Guides (55.0, -)
Performance of the Week
P Jeremy Jackson - On August 11th against Seattle, the 32 year old Jackson delivered the 16th best performance of the season. In an eight inning outing he allowed just two hits, no runs, and struck out 10 as Windy City won 15-1. "They beat us like the proverbial rented mule," said losing manager Masuho Ogawa. Five days later against Baltimore he tossed a complete game shutout with just four hits allowed in a 3-0 victory. Sounds like a great week. On the season Jackson is now 10-5 with a 3.78 ERA and 110 ERA+.
Prospect of the Week
1B Harrison Norwood - Drafted in the sixth round of the 2057 draft, Norwood is now the old man in the minors at 25 years old. The guy can absolutely smash the ball though, as scouts think he has above average power, good strike zone recognition, and should be a starter in the majors. This season in AAA he's battled injuries but in 49 games he's hit .363/.431/.732 with 18 HR and 43 RBI.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Midway through August and the Domestic playoff picture appears to be five Lager teams and Hartford from the Ale. Pittsburgh trails New Orleans by four games for the final Wild Card spot, but their odds sit at just 17.7% thanks to the Voodoo and their -6 PYT, which is tied with Windy City for worst in the league. New Orleans +96 run differential is tied for third overall, and they are first in extra-base hits and second in runs scored in the Domestic, but they just haven't gotten the breaks. Meanwhile the Exports are in the three hole, have gone 8-2 in the last 10, won six straight, and lead New Orleans by 3.5 games. They also only trail Wilmington by a game for the two spot and a home playoff series. Those Wildcats are 10-5 in August and trail Dallas by three games, while Dallas has recovered after a 12-13 July and trails SDR by three games. Just to sum up because even we're now confused...it goes Pittsburgh to New Orleans to Montreal to Wilmington to Dallas to Santo Domingo.
2. Meanwhile the Stout has become the joke of the league. Carolina holds a half game lead on Washington, with the Tobs an even 60-60 after going 8-7 so far in August. Washington is 60-61 and 8-6 this month, Batavia is 58-60 and 5-10 this month, while Philly is 58-61 and 5-9 this month. If Denver gets hot the Import could replicate what the Domestic is doing, and the Bock could see five postseason teams. Denver has found their swing again (kind of), as they've gone from 22nd last year in average to 16th this season. Their pitching has been bad though as they are 11th in the Import in home runs allowed and 9th in runs allowed. With a run differential of -49 and a PYT of +4 we don't know if they have it in them.
3. Deondre 'Poison' Ivy was drafted by Maine with the 15th pick of the 2060 draft, and became a Top 30 prospect in the league. He was a Rookie League All-Star, selected to four straight All-Star Futures Games, and was named the 30th best prospect in the league even after going 1-5 with a 5.22 ERA in A ball last season. At 21 though he was called up to the BLB and immediately thrown into a starter’s role. How has he responded? Well to be fair to him the Guides have the worst record in the league, but as of last week he's now 0-13 with a 5.61 ERA and 76 ERA+. He's currently very unhappy with the team and his performance (as he should be), as it's been an embarrassing year for the now 22-year-old. At least he's doing better than Jason Decker. Decker started one season in his entire career, where he went 2-16 in AAA in 2063. After being called up this season to the Guide's starting rotation, he's 0-10 with an 11.42 ERA in 11 starts. The good news is he missed the first six weeks of the season with a strained shoulder otherwise that record might be worse.
4. The Dinos are in first place thanks to pitching and defense...well mostly. They are second in the Import in ERA, 1st in bullpen ERA, 2nd in runs allowed, and second in strikeouts. When the ball is hit, they are sixth overall with a +20.84 ZR and 5th in defensive efficiency. They would be near the top in both but Efren 'Legacy' Zamora is killing them in right field. His -8.3 ZR over 88 games has them ranked only above the Rum Runners out in right. Two years ago, he was +3.2 out in the field, but over the last two seasons combined he's up to (down to) -15.3 overall. He's a fan favorite though who's hitting .264/.317/.470 with 17 HR and 51 RBI, and if you're going to have a bad defensive player right field is probably the best place to hide him. Overall, the league average right now for ZR is just +3.95, as New York (-45.15) and Philly (-36.16) continue to produce Not Top 10 highlights every week. What's so frustrating for New York fans (and the DK), is that Grady Williams (-18.0 at SS), Danrad Orozco (-16.7 at CF), and Fred Etheridge (-11.6 at 2B) are hitting .247, .227, and .235 respectively. Those are the three most important defensive positions on the field, and to get no offensive production and be a huge defensive liability is just a travesty.
5. What's on tap? Can the Stout get uncluttered as Batavia travels to Carolina and Philly heads to Baltimore? Does Windy City finally get the best team on paper in baseball in gear and retake the Bock over LAD? Can Montreal continue the six-game win streak as they travel to both Santo Domingo and Hartford?
.
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 4 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Streaking
.
| Montreal visits Santo Domingo on a 6-game win streak |
| Maine hosts Pawtucket on a 4-game losing streak |
| Gerald Tura (BAT) has converted 14 straight save opportunities |
| Rice Cochell (SDR) has won 9 straight decisions |
| Jonah Gower (LAD) has won 9 straight decisions |
| Deondre Ivy (MAI) has lost 13 straight decisions |
| Jason Decker (MAI) has lost 10 straight decisions |
| Alex Landrum (NYC) has lost 9 straight decisions |
| Erick Greenway (PAW) has lost 8 straight decisions |
| Rice Cochell (SDR) hasn't lost in 15 straight starts |
| Zane Rich (CAL) hasn't lost in 12 straight starts |
| Hot Batters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Hot Pitchers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Stat of the Week
.
Number of Pitchers With More Than 1.00 K/IP Per Season (since 2000)