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05/10/2066
The Kodiaks are "en fuego" as they go 6-1 to bump their record to 28-6. An .824-win percentage in mid-May is unheard of. On the other side of life Maine went 1-6 to bump their record to 4-30. A .118-win percentage in mid-May is unheard of. Cats crawling on trees, five times five is twenty-five...what is going on these days! Seattle had the other big week as they went 6-1 to get back above .500. Too bad second place in the Bock trails California by 10 games already. Wilmington continued their roll of the Domestic as they went 5-1, while Hartford, Washington, SDR, and Pittsburgh all went 5-2.
1) California Kodiaks (162.3, o)
2) Wilmington Wildcats (138.9, o)
3) Hartford Whalers (124.1, o)
4) Pittsburgh Millers (111.8, ++)
5) Dallas Drillers (107.8, -)
6) Washington Bats (103.2, ++)
7) Seattle Pilots (100.6, ++)
8) Carolina Tobs (97.1, --)
9) New Orleans Voodoo (90.4, ++)
10) Indianapolis Clowns (88.7, --)
11) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (88.3, ++)
12) Los Angeles Sharks (88.0, --)
13) Phoenix Roadrunners (86.3, ++)
14) Montreal Exports (84.3, --)
15) Denver Bulls (82.9, -)
16) Windy City Blues (82.3, -)
17) New York Cyclones (79.8, --)
18) Syracuse Snappers (77.8, ++)
19) Pawtucket Patriots (75.4, -)
20) Baltimore Bulldogs (73.8, --)
21) Toronto Canadians (69.1, -)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (66.5, +)
23) Batavia Muckdogs (65.1, --)
24) Maine Guides (14.2, o)
Performance of the Week
RF Nathan Stiso - One of the biggest offensive threats in the last two seasons (93 combined home runs) got back on track with five home runs this past week. On May 7th against Indy he hit two of them, drove in five, and scored three times...and the Voodoo lost 9-12. Indy scored seven in the first inning, and Wyatt 'Hoover' Tait hit two home runs of his own while driving in six during the Clown victory. Stisco is hitting .266/.324/.605 with 12 HR and 30 RBI on the season.
Prospect of the Week
1B Cole Mullen - Picked second overall in 2064 by Dallas, Mullen got bumped up to AA to start the season. So far in 22 games he's hitting .341/.440/.612 with 4 HR and 8 RBI, with a 176 OPS+. He was a 2x HS All-Star who over 160 games hit 60 home runs and knocked in 165 runs. Scouts think he's an everyday first basement who can make an impact on a top-tier team.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The 'feeder league' playoffs are over as the draft eligible players head to private workouts and the rosters start the off-season shuffle. In the CCBL the Orleans Firebirds, who closed out the season with a 27-game winning streak and went 43-6, got swept by the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cup. The Braves were no slouch as they went 35-14 on the year. Led by J.D. 'Chief' Dorn (fitting) who hit .397 and Heath Braddock who smashed 19 home runs and drove in 50, they won the first game 4-2 after scoring two in the 7th and one in the 8th. In the second game they were tied 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth, when Braydon Gomes singled home Isaac 'Hunter' Williamson for the walk-off championship victory. Bourne won last year as well and is the first back-to-back champion since Falmouth accomplished it in 2047 and 2048.
2. The Bats are back above .500. Not surprising with the heap of talent they acquired this off-season. They also finally started playing at home. Washington is 14-3 at The Capital, and 3-14 on the road. They hit almost 55 points higher at home, have nine more home runs, and have scored 21 more runs. They also allow almost three less runs per game while striking out 64 more batters. Goodness, do they forget to pack their pillows on road trips? You know who else hates the road, Phoenix and Maine. The Roadrunners are 1-13 on the road, while Maine is 1-15. At least Phoenix is good at home where they are 15-4. Maine is bad no matter where they play as their 3-15 home record has fans passing out brown paper bags with sad faces drawn on them. When it comes to close losses though no one is better (or worse) than Windy City. The champion Blues are staggering along at 16-17 thanks to being 3-10 in one-run games.
3. In the month of May the Drillers are 6-3 while the Wildcats are 5-3, which have allowed Dallas to sneak within four and a half games of the division leading Cats. The Drillers had to put together a pitching staff in the off-season but got a huge break when Seattle let go of Joe Hodo for peanuts. He started 21 games for the Pilots last season where he went 8-7 with a respectable 4.21 ERA and 100 ERA+. For some reason Seattle signed him to a cheap one-year deal in November, then traded him for a 10th round pick in January. Hodo is now 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA and 147 ERA+ for Dallas. Once the 19th overall prospect in the league, Hodo played his first six seasons in Carolina, the last two spent mostly at AAA. The second-round pick of 2054 was an All-Star in 2061 and looks like he might have regained his form once again.
4. Fifteen teams have between 14 and 18 wins so far this season, as parity (mediocrity) is running rampant in the BLB. Weather than means the trade market will be hot or cold only time will tell. As good as California has been, Hartford has the highest run differential in the league at +69, with the Kodiaks coming in second at +66. On the other end Maine is the outlier of outliers at -123, with the next being Batavia at -38. California is first with a PYT of +5, while Washington and Montreal are -3. Although the season is already about a fifth done, 23 out of 24 teams are still currently in contention for the postseason. Even Philly, with a 12-20 record, has a 6.8% chance thanks to their new AI partnership to help with roster management. The next few weeks promise to be critical, as teams look to separate themselves from the pack. With parity reigning supreme, as even a minor hot streak—or a single trade—could tilt the balance of power in dramatic fashion.
5. What's on tap? Back to interleague. Can the Whalers slow down the Bats who are 17-4 over their last 21? Can Philly rebound and get back on track against their old GM? Can Pittsburgh put the ball in play against New York and make the Cyclones execute?
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Streaking
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| Wilmington visits Windy City on a 4-game win streak |
| California hosts Indianapolis on a 6-game win streak |
| Baltimore hosts Pittsburgh on a 5-game losing streak |
| Batavia hosts Syracuse on a 4-game losing streak |
| Brian Van Hook (CAL) has a 17 game hitting streak |
| Jay Sharpe (CHI) has a 12 game hitting streak |
| Garrett Paul (SDR) has a 12 game hitting streak |
| Milton Hastings (CAL) has converted 16 straight save opportunities |
| James Forbes (LAS) has converted 11 straight save opportunities |
Who's Hot
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Stat of the Week
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| Most Consecutive 12 Win Seasons (Top 25 Players) |
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