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04/19/2066
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Pittsburgh, California, Pawtucket, and New York all go 5-1. Toronto, Washington, Montreal, and Baltimore all go 1-5. Seven teams went 4-2, seven teams went 2-4, and the final two went 3-3. Now that's some serious BLB bell curve action. The Kodiaks and Knights are now tied for the Power Ranking lead, with the Wildcats just a single point behind them. Some team leaders for the week since everyone played six: Hartford scored 39 runs, Wilmington hit 14 home runs, Pittsburgh swiped 13 bases, and the Freedom hit .289. On the pitching and defense side New York allowed just 15 runs, Wilmington K'd 55 batters, and opponents hit .213 off Hartford pitchers.
Power Rankings
1) California Kodiaks (146.4, ++)
2) New York Cyclones (146.4, ++)
3) Wilmington Wildcats (143.4, o)
4) Pawtucket Patriots (134.6, ++)
5) Seattle Pilots (126.1, +)
6) Windy City Blues (117.7, ++)
7) Carolina Tobs (111.7, --)
8) Pittsburgh Millers (105.8, ++)
9) Syracuse Snappers (103.9, --)
10) Batavia Muckdogs (100.8, +)
11) Hartford Whalers (94.8, ++)
12) Montreal Exports (91.8, --)
13) Los Angeles Sharks (86.2, ++)
14) Dallas Drillers (82.2, ++)
15) Phoenix Roadrunners (81.2, -)
16) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (79.2, --)
17) Indianapolis Clowns (77.2, --)
18) Philadelphia Freedom (77.1, ++)
19) Toronto Canadians (67.3, --)
20) Denver Bulls (66.3, -)
21) Baltimore Bulldogs (62.3, --)
22) New Orleans Voodoo (40.0, -)
23) Maine Guides (17.7, o)
24) Washington Bats (1.9, o)
Performance of the Week
P Levi Stephens - The 25 year old is now 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA after mowing down Phoenix earlier this week. Over eight innings he allowed two hits, no runs, and struck out 11 as Wilmington won 1-0. "I executed the game plan," said Stephens after the game. Drafted in the third round of the 2061 draft out of UCLA, Stephens is in his third season with Wilmington and looks like an All-Star in the making.
Prospect of the Week
2B Keaton Ang - The 3x CCBL All-Star is 20 years old and eligible for the upcoming draft. In 139 career games in the Cape Cod league he hit .275/.375/.695 with 63 HR and 142 RBI. He also put up a + ZR at both second and shortstop. Coaches say, "Ang will eventually harness his energy and improve his knowledge of the game," and scouts believe "with his talents the lights of Ang's star could be blinding." Wow...high praise to say the least. He could be the top pick in the upcoming draft.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. It's not quite 'A Tale of Two Cities' in Washington, but more like a 'Tale of Two Seasons'. Two years ago, Washington started out the season 19-4 and rode it all the way to the Brewmasters Cup. This season the Bats have started off 1-12. That's after signing the best pitcher, center fielder, and catcher in the free agent market. Their main problem is they just can't hit the ball. The league average right now is .253, and the Bats are at .206. That's dead last and 11 points from even tying Maine for 23rd place. They are also last in home runs, last in slugging (and 115 points under league average), last in OPS, and last in BABIP. The good news for Bats fans is that literally the only place to go is up! This is hitting coach Dave Wheeler's last contract year, will he make it to even May?
2. Welcome back to Hartford Ian Schreiber. After being the first-round pick of the Whalers in 2054, the 3x All-Star opted out of $15m at the end of the last season figuring an even bigger payday was coming. The phone never rang. Finally last week his agent reached out to Hartford and the Whalers offered him $4 million, and he took it. The guy is absolutely loved in Hartford and was welcomed back with open arms. Reports are that he apologized to management and his teammates and vowed to make it up to them. Make it up he did. In his first week he hit .435 with 3 HR (including the 200th of his career) and 11 RBI and took home the Domestic Player of the Week.
3. Does California have the scariest 3-4-5 in baseball? Rory Elia Jr. is in the three spot, Brian Van Hook is cleanup, and Greg Thomas is fifth. That's the first pick of the 2058 draft, and eighth and fifth picks of the 2061 draft. Last season they combined for 99 home runs, and Rory and Thomas didn't have their best seasons. This season they are on pace for 137 home runs. We don't think it will be that high, but you never know. The Kodiaks are currently first in home runs and second in runs scored, and even with the 'small sample size' we expect that trend to continue. Throw in the fact that Van Hook just re-signed for six more years at a cool $160m and the fans are loving it.
4. The minor league playoffs have begun, with the Orleans Firebirds winning their first game against Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Orleans finished the season 43-6, won 27 in a row, went 24-1 on the road, and are 31-2 since March 1st. In all our years covering the BLB we can't remember a team at any level playing this far above everyone else. Outfielder Charlie Atkins led the CCBL in home runs while pitcher Graham Hepler went 5-0 and led the league with 51 strikeouts. The playoffs are all three-game series, so anything can happen, but if they lose it would be considered a major upset. Orleans has won seven Cape Cups, and this is their 10th straight year to go to the playoffs.
5. We're back to some fun divisional matchups this week as New York travels to Carolina, Hartford hosts Pittsburgh, and Syracuse heads east to Pawtucket.
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Streaking
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| Keith Friday (PAW) has a 17 game hitting streak |
| Danrad Orozco (NYC) has a 15 game hitting streak |
| Marcus Barnhill (NYC) has a 12 game hitting streak |
Milestones
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CF Randy Connor (PIT), 21 yo, hit his first home run
1B Blake Simmons (MAI), 26 yo, reached 500 hits
RF Ian Schreiber (HAR), 29 yo, reached 200 home runs
SS Dominick Booth (CAR), 24 yo, reached 100 home runs
2B Logan Goines (MAI), 21 yo, hit his first home run
C Vince Moore (PHI), 23 yo, hit his first home run
C Bradley Patrick (SYR), 22 yo, hit his first home run
1B Henry Miller (TOR), 29 yo, reached 500 extra base hits
2B Keith Friday (PAW), 26 yo, reached 400 extra base hits
2B Ben Piche (SYR), 28 yo, reached 400 extra base hits
C Andy Christman (MON), 26 yo, reached 250 extra base hits
1B Levi Lane (HAR), 24 yo, reached 200 extra base hits
SS Bailey Pierce (SEA), 23 yo, reached 100 extra base hits
CF Darrin Turner (WAS), 25 yo, reached 100 extra base hits
P Stephen Gibbs (NYC), 36 yo, reached 150 wins
P Mardy Owens (CHI), 28 yo, reached 75 wins
P Conner Cook (TOR), 32 yo, reached 2000 strikeouts
P Mardy Owens (CHI), 28 yo, reached 1000 strikeouts
P Tommy McGue (CAL), 27 yo, reached 750 strikeouts
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Stat of the Week
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| Seasons Most Out of Line With Team History (Top 25 Teams, SD is number of standard deviations different from average) |
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