By The Numbers: Year of the Dong

While Gus can't get enough of watching all the biggest dongs each week, we've decided to take a bit of a deeper approach. Even without Bryce Harper hitting anymore this season, there's been plenty of dongs to go around, but what does it all mean in the grand scheme of things? Come check out this simple breakdown of some of the most likely EHCC records to be broken by the end of the 2017 regular season. 

By The Numbers: Year of the Dong

By: Max Powers, Baseball Tri-Weekly

2016 was a record setting year. As the first season to see a shortened regular season by one week and the first season to see an expanded line up, it was bound to set itself apart and knock out some records. Three separate offensive statistics got new records set last year (R, HR, and RBI). 2017 is shaping up to break the mold again. While weekly records in all three of those categories got make-overs, the annual records all look to be within reach as well. Here's a complete breakdown of the annual statistical monuments which will (or won't) be broken by the end of Week 21. 

RUNS

Current record set by Dublin Snake Chasers in 2016 - 870

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Las Vegas Doggs (756)

     2.) Weymouth Shaddupu (752)

     3.) Quebec City Piglets (722)

     4.) Tijuana Hispanics (720)

The Doggs have a slight edge over Eastern Division rival Shaddupu at the moment, but really either team has a good shot at breaking the 870 mark set just the previous season. Each team is averaging about 40 runs per week and each would only need to keep with their current pace to set their names in the record books. 

Likelihood of record being broken: 60% chance

HOMERUNS

Current record set by Rio de Janeiro Cristos in 2016 - 268

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Weymouth Shaddupu (261)

     2.) Tokyo Omyoujis (211)

     3.) Las Vegas Doggs (208)

     4.) Rakeville Rockets (207)

Weymouth is looking to shatter the yearly dong marker. With 3 weeks still to go, the Poo have separated themselves from the rest of the field and even without Bryce Harper's help, will have no issues setting a new record, probably during their Week 19 match up. The only question is how far out of reach can they set the record for future generations to strive for?

Likelihood of record being broken: 100% chance

RBI

Current record set by Rio de Janeiro Cristos in 2016 - 845

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Weymouth Shaddupu (760)

     2.) Las Vegas Doggs (707)

     3.) Santo Domingo All-Star Factory (706)

     4.) Tokyo Omyoujis (662)

With great dongs comes great RBI opportunities, and Shaddypoo has not disappointed. Sitting 53 RBI's above the next closest team, Weymouth has set their sites on another mark in the books. Averaging just over 42 RBI each week, Weymouth is set to break the record in Week 20. Pending a complete meltdown, record keepers might as well remove Rio de Janeiro completely from the offensive record books.

Likelihood of record being broken: 97% chance

STOLEN BASES

Current record set by Winston-Salem Green Monsters in 2007 - 173

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Las Vegas Doggs (114)

     2.) Quebec City Piglets (106)

     3.) Santo Domingo All-Star Factory (101)

     4.) Tijuana Hispanics (93)

Speed has been lacking int he EHCC for the past decade. As much as these four teams have separated themselves from the rest of the field in 2017, none of them have a shot at the long standing record set by the legendary Green Monsters. Even with speedsters Billy hamilton (QC) or Dee Gordon (LV) going nuts on the base paths in the final weeks, no team will probably even break the 140 mark this season. 

Likelihood of record being broken: 0% chance

BATTING AVERAGE

Current record set by Weymouth Shaddupu in 2006 - .302

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Weymouth Shaddupu (.284)

     2.) Tokyo Omyoujis (.280)

     3.) San Fernando Valley Jets (.270)

     4.) Tijuana Hispanics (.270)

The idea a team could go a whole season hitting over .300 is so outlandish at this point it's comical. It almost seems more likely an individual player will hit a legitimate .400 in a season before an EHCC team will hit above .300. Weymouth's record is safe once again, even from themselves. 

Likelihood of record being broken: 0% chance

WINS

Current record set by Rio de Janeiro Cristos in 2012 - 142

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Quebec City Piglets (101)

     2.) Tijuana Hispanics (89)

     3.) Tokyo Omyoujis (81)

     4.) Rio de Janeiro Cristos (81)

If only Quebec City had made all those trades for those starting pitchers earlier in the season, we'd like their odds or setting a new Wins mark that much more. As it stands, they need to put up 14 wins in each of the next 3 weeks just to break the record. Unless they start streaming an extra 4 starters each week, it's not looking likely. Rio may lose two other of their annual records, but this one looks to be safe for now. 

Likelihood of record being broken: 3% chance

SAVES

Current record set by Quebec City Piglets in 2011 - 143

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) San Juan Guerites (108)

     2.) Tijuana Hispanics (102)

     3.) Las Vegas Doggs (89)

     4.) Santo Domingo All-Star Factory (86)

Tijuana looked to have a hold on the saves category (see what i did there?) for most of the season, until the bottom finally fell out and all their terrible closers started losing their jobs. In the meantime Las Vegas has played catch up and San Juan has held steady, currently leading the league. The Guerites still need 36 more to break Quebec City's 6 year record, which would mean their 4 all-star closers would need to put up 3 saves a week - each. It's not out of this world crazy, but I wouldn't but any actual money on it. 

Likelihood of record being broken: 5% chance

STRIKEOUTS

Current record set by Quebec City Piglets in 2008 - 1830

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Quebec City Piglets (1530)

     2.) Rakeville Rockets (1295)

     3.) Weymouth Shaddupu (1284)

     4.) Bridgewater Weasels (1238)

This one might be one to watch, and possibly could come down to the wire. I threw up the top 4 just as a curtesy, but really this is a one team race. The Piglets just put up a 100+ K week and if they can replicate that the final 3 weeks of the season, their finally erase the...uhh, Piglets from the record books (d'oh).

Likelihood of record being broken: 35% chance

ERA

Current record set by Dublin Snake Chasers in 2013 - 3.28

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Las Vegas Doggs (3.46)

     2.) Weymouth Shaddupu (3.71)

     3.) Dublin Snake Chasers (3.83)

     4.) Rio de janeiro Cristos (3.93)

The Doggs, by virtue of an all-relief pitching squad, have set themselves apart in the ERA field this season. They may seem far off from the 2013 record, but with the limited innings they've put up this season (671) Las Vegas actually has an outside shot of knocking down their ERA below the 3.28 mark set by Dublin 4 years ago. The next best ERA belongs to Weymouth, and in comparison they've logged over 1200 IP. Ultimately, if the Doggs can limit themselves to 15 IP/week and not allow more than 3 earned runs per week the record can be theirs. 

Likelihood of record being broken: 41% chance

WHIP

Current record set by Dublin Snake Chasers in 2013 - 1.15

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Weymouth Shaddupu (1.19)

     2.) Las Vegas Doggs (1.20)

     3.) Dublin Snake Chasers (1.23)

     4.) Santo Domingo All-Star Factory / Tijuana Hispanics (1.27)

Though this stat seems to be the closest of the bunch, the edge still goes to the second best team simply due to innings pitched factor. Las Vegas (671 IP) can more easily adjust their overall WHIP with three good weeks than Weymouth (1214.1 IP), Dublin (1079.2 IP), Santo Domingo (1169.1 IP), or Tijuana (1365 IP) could ever hope to. The other top 5 teams will need to make big strides if they have any chance of making a dent in their team WHIP, but the Doggs need to simply need to keep with the aforementioned 45 IP limit over the course of the last 3 weeks and keep their BB+H under 19 and they could be writing themselves into the record books twice in one season. 

Likelihood of record being broken: 51% chance

Highest Team Winning %

Current record set by Quebec City Piglets in 2003 - .734

Top 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) Tijuana Hispanics (.583)

     2.) Weymouth Shaddupu (.581)

     3.) Quebec City Piglets (.572)

     4.) Las Vegas Doggs (.542)

Mathematically this record is out of reach. Thje highest winning % any team could end the season with this year is .643, and that's still if Tijuana finds a way to win 10-0 against Quebec City, Dublin, and Rio de Janeiro to end the season. This is the longest running record for a reason and it will take nothing short of a miracle to take it down, especially with the competitive nature of the EHCC only increasing from year to year. 

Likelihood of record being broken: 0% chance

Lowest Team Winning %

Current record set by Arlington Warriors in 2009 - .284

'Top' 4 teams in 2017 (through Week 18)

     1.) San Fernando Valley Jets (.308)

     2.) Rakeville Rockets (.450)

     3.) Dublin Snake Chasers (.472)

     4.) Bridgewater Weasels (.472)

As much as the Highest Winning Percentage is out of reach, you'd think the Lowest Winning percentage would be equally unattainable, right. In walk the Jets. If the Jets lose out in the final 3 weeks they would end the season with a .264 winning percentage, but really all they need is to lose 25 of their final 30 possible points (which is totally within their reach as they face off against Las Vegas, Weymouth, and Rakeville to end the season). The Doggs beat the Jets 10-0 earlier in the season, back when they had starting pitching. Weymouth and Rakeville beat the Jets 6-4 and 5-3 respectively, so in essense if all three eastern division rivals built upon their earlier victories, we could see a new record holder and we could finally erase Arlington completely from the record books? Oh wait, what? They won a championship just two years prior to setting this horrendous record? In their first season in the league? Go Jets! (Can't believe I just typed that).

Likelihood of record being broken: 25% chance

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Magic Numbers: Final Week

Going into Week 21, the final week of the regular season, here's how the playoff race and other things are shaping up...

1.) Dublin

Clinched a first round bye due to having such a big lead in the Western Division. They can't finish any lower than 2nd seed and they are in the drivers seat for the #1 seed. They have the H2H tie breaker over Las Vegas and Weymouth.

2.) Las Vegas

Clinched a playoff spot and can clinch the 1st round BYE with 6.5 more wins (or 6.5 more losses by WEY), or some combination. LV owns the H2H tie breaker over WEY with their last second 5-4-1 win last week. Lowest position LV can finish is 3rd. Plays RAK in week 21, who is just trying to hold onto their 11th seed and away from the pink jersey.

3.) Weymouth

Clinched a playoff spot. Can't finish any lower than 4th, but can still get as high as the 1 seed with some luck. Plays BRW in week 21, who really doesn't care about any of this at this point. 

4.) Quebec City
Just three weeks ago QC was on the outside looking in to the playoff scenarios. Now they are just 4 wins away from clinching their ticket. They can't get a 1st round bye, but they can still jump as high as the 3-seed. If by some crazy circumstances they miss the playoffs, they can't finish any lower than 7th. They play RIO in week 21, who's holding on desperately to their playoff seed themselves. This could be a preview of a 1st Round Playoff match up. 

5.) San Juan

Just 5 wins to go for San Juan and they can start planning out their playoff rotation. They can't jump any higher than the 4th seed, so this week is all about just making sure to get those 5 wins, though I'm sure they wouldn't mind avoiding a 1st round match up with Shaddupu. They get to earn those wins against San Fernando Valley in week 21, who is just getting back from their pink jersey fitting after their beat down by the hands of RAK in week 20.

6.) Rio de Janeiro

RIO now find themselves as they playoff team holding on by the thinest thread. They still control their own destiny, but need 7.5 wins to clinch their spot, or a little help from Tokyo. In all likelihood they'll still find themselves playing next week, pending a completely meltdown. With a big win and some help from their friends, they could still finish as high as 4th. They play Quebec City in week 21, who is still in need of officially clinching their spot as well.

7.) Santo Domingo

They'd been holding onto that 7th seed ever since QC jumped back into the mix. They need some help, but it helps they get to play TKO in the final week. They can take solace that they've clinched at least the 7 seed, so there's that. They can still mathematically finish as high as the 4-seed.

8.) Tijuana

Eliminated from playoff contention. Can't finish any higher than 8, or any lower than 11th. Phew, no chance at that pink jersey. They play Dublin in the final week. Two teams who have almost nothing to play for in the final week. Great match up. Should be a nail biter.

9.) Bridgewater

Also eliminated from the playoffs, Bridgewater can still possibly find themselves wearing the pink jersey, but something tell me they'll miss out on it this year. They play WEY in the final week.

10.) Tokyo

TKO was eliminated two weeks ago. They only sit 8 games up on the lowest seed, so they could still virtually wear the pink jersey. They can't finish any higher than 8th.

11.) Rakeville

After sitting in the basement by themselves for the majority of the season, Rakeville finally clawed their way back up to the 11 seed with a beat down of SFV in week 20. They just need to hold on against LV in week 21 to avoid wearing the pink jersey in Boston this winter. LV has publicly said they'd like to see owner Dave Claffey dawn the pink jersey at the Winter Meeting. That combined with LV trying to tie up a 1st round bye gives them all the motivation they need to put it all out there in week 21. RAK can't finish any higher than the 8 seed.

12.) San Fernando Valley

SFV fought admirably all season. In their initial season int he EHCC they did not live in 12th place for a majorty of the season, which can't be said for all new teams. They are in line for the 2017 1st overall MaDP however as they face off against SJ in the final week. They can't finish any higher than 9th, which clinches them a top 3 2017 MaDP and top 3 odds in the 2017 MiDraft as well. So there's that.

Check back later for more number-related updates....

Record Breaking Season...

With the new line up rules the EHCC offensive stat categories were bound to be broken and even with the shortened regular season and with another week of play to finish up we've already got three records broken...

RUNS - The long standing record set in 2006 by the Las vegas Doggs of 782 Runs scored on the year has already been crushed by Dublin, Las Vegas, and Quebec City in 2016. Dublin currently leads the league going into the final week with 827, and with a 13 run lead over LV they should have their name etched into the EHCC record books by the end of Week 21.

HOME RUNS - The Golden Gryphons left the EHCC a few years ago but we've been reminded of their presence thanks to their long standing season-long home run record of 241. That will change after this season is over as two teams in 2017 have already surpassed that mark - RIO (256) and WEY (242). Rio de Janeiro in all likelihood will hold onto their lead in the category.

RBI - RIO is really putting their name out there as a powerhouse offense this season as they have already surpassed Rakeville's long standing season-long RBI record. They currently sit at 811 on the season and will add to that total in Week 21.

SB - Even with the added offensive roster spots, no team is coming close to breaking Winston-Salem's 173 mark. Las Vegas currently sits in the league in 2017 with 141 stolen bases, but we can't see them gaining 32 more in week 21, especially after trading away Billy Hamilton.

AVG - Current record sits at .302, set by Weymouth in 2006. Dublin currently sits at .295, and as good as that is in 2016 (next best is LV at .275 on the season), its going to fall just short of the EHCC record books.

WINS - Rio De Janeiro's 2012 record seems safe this year, with Quebec City currently in the lead for 2016 with 121 wins. It'll take some very savvy steaming to garner the 21 wins needed to tie the record.

SAVES - Quebec City took this record from Las Vegas back in 2011 and Las Vegas has the chance to take it back in 2016. Even with the shortened season, the Doggs need 7 saves in week 21 to tie the season-long record. They've averaged 6.8 saves a week through the first 20 weeks, and with 4 decent/elite closers they could bring back the coveted category record back to Sin City.

STRIKE OUTS -  Quebec City has an outside chance, however unlikely, of breaking their own K record this week. If the season wasn't shortened this year we'd expect them to easily update their own record. They set it with 1830 in 2008 and currently sit 129 K's short of that mark in 2016.

ERA - In 2013 Dublin set the new season-long ERA mark with a final of 3.28. Santo Domingo currently sits closest at 3.46, which is a far cry for the current record. Looks safe to me.

WHIP - 2013 was a good year for Dublin pitching, as they also set the currently sitting WHIP record of 1.15. In 2016 the best bet to tie/break it will be Weymouth, who currently sits at 1.17 through the first 20 weeks. With a very good showing in week 21 they have a chance of taking the record.

Both the Highest (.734, QC-2003) and Lowest (.284, ARL-2009) are safe and cannot mathematically be broken this season.

With the shortened season the Most Wins (156, QC-2003) and Most Losses (150, ARL-2009) are surely safe for a while. No one in 2016 will come close to either record.

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Set The Record Straight

Some records were meant to be broken - just not all of them it seems. 2006 was a magical year for offenses across the league and for seven years now the records set have gone untouched.

Set The Record Straight
By: Conor Intabedd / Reno Weekly Rag

In the 6th season of the EHCC offense was king. Four different teams set year-long statistical records in 4 of the major 5 categories (the other was set the following year). Las Vegas scored the most runs the league had ever seen, and has yet to witness (Vegas went on to win their 2nd championship that year). The Golden Gryphons may always have their name in the EHCC books after they hit 241 home runs in 2006, a feet no other team has even come close to matching. After spending a few years trying to out pitch and out steal the rest of the league in a misguided attempt to win playoff games, the Rockets of Rakeville showed some power by driving in 791 RBI. Weymouth, the three time champion, became the first, and still only, team to hit over .300 on the season. Oh ya, let's not forget that these four teams finished with the top 4 seeds in the playoffs that season as well. Coincidence?

Going into the final week of the 2013 season not one of these offensive records is set to be challenged, never mind broken. Dublin currently sits 95 runs shy of LV's mark and 134 RBI's off Rakeville's, while Rakeville sits 56 home runs away from Golden's record and Las Vegas would need to hit above .850 in the final week over the coarse of 175 at bats in order to challenge Weymouth for the 2006 record.

On the flip side, EHCC pitching records change almost yearly. Each of the five categories have annual records set as early as 2012, with the longest standing record only going back to 2008. Granted, Quebec City's strikeout record stands as strong as any of the offensive records, but each of the other categories are always in fear of being broken. This year alone Dublin looks poised to set new records in both ERA and WHIP, knocking Detroit out of the record books for good, besides stating that they did in fact exist. Las Vegas needs 11 saves in the final week to tie the Piglets, which stole the record from Tokyo, who stole the record for Tijuana (all within a 4 year span). Rio de Janeiro, who set the new Wins record in 2012, should hold onto their record for one more year as the closest staff going into 2013's final week is Weymouth with 123 wins, who had traded away all their chances of breaking the record at the deadline. It's only a matter of time before this record is broken however.

Weekly records seems a bit stronger than they once were, as 2013 only saw one record tied (Rakeville, RBI, 57, Week 19) and none broken. Though the season did see the most 10-0 shut outs since 2009 with 3 (LV over BRW, RIO over SJ, and LV over RAK) and the first time since 2007 one single team has records two such feats in the same season. Las Vegas extended their lead for most such victories with their 9th and 10th shut out in 2013.

As the regular season comes to a close we'll see Las Vegas try to sure up their 4th Eastern Division crown, which would separate themselves for most East titles ever, while Dublin and Santo Domingo fight for their first Western Division title. Quebec City still owns a commanding lead for most division championships in their division with 7.

Conor Intabedd is a beat writer for the Reno Weekly Rag. He recently found that adding Jamison to his coffee was a much easier way to get through watching tapes Bridgewater Weasels games and recommends it to all their fans. 

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By The Numbers: 2007

Every year is full of record breaking performances and 2007 was no different. With 5 single week records being either tied or broken and 4 single season records being broken or crushed, the EHCC had another historic regular season. How many records did Carl Crawford help the Green Monsters break?

By: Barry Larkin

Single Week Records:

Saves (11)
The expansion Arlington Warriors wasted no time getting their team into the EHCC record books by setting the new single week Saves record in Week 7. This was during a time that the Warriors fielded a healthy Chris Ray, now Tokyo closer Joakim Soria, Brian Fuentes, and Jose Valverde. They closed out the Peoria Cardinals that week, and ended up helping the Warriors to a 6-3-1 victory against the Cardinals.

Stolen Bases (t-14)
The Winston-Salem Green Monsters are flat out fast. The fastest team in the EHCC actually. They held the single week stolen base record since Week 8 of 2006. They tied the feet this season in Week 10 against the Arlington Warriors. This was a week when Carl Crawford stole 5 bases and Hanley Ramirez took 4 of his own. With four other Monsters helping out, the easily took the category over the Warriors, but weren't able to take the game, losing 3-5-2 to Arlington.

The second seeded Weasels, not known for their speed, jumped out of nowhere to put their team in the record books again. In Week 22 against team Shaddupu, the Weasels swiped 14 bags of their own. Weymouth pitchers weren't keeping a good eye on new Weasel Nate McLouth, who stole 5 bags of his own, or A-Rod and J-Rol, who combined for 6 stolen bases against Weymouth and Victor Martinez, who just couldn't seem to throw anyone out on the base paths. Derek Lee, Lance Berkman, and Gary Mathews Jr helped out with a stolen base each in Week 22. The Weasels went on toe win the category and the week 5-4-1.

Runs Batted In (57)
The bats were on fire in Weymouth with visiting Vegas in town during the Week 19 match up. The Doggs didn't stand a chance against team Shaddupu, as former Doggs' shortstop batted in 10 runs, and Bobby Abreu and Josh Willingham each had 8 ribbies for Weymouth. Every Weymouth batter that had at least 1 at bat against the Doggs had a part in setting the record, and 7 of the 11 hitters had 4 or more RBI's in Week 19. Weymouth ended up crushing the Doggs 57-25 in the category and won the week 7-3.

Average (.388)
Team single week average was the most surprising record to be broken this season. Many teams have come close on Saturday, but no teams have been able to hold on through Sunday. Until Week 21 of the 2007 season, when Quebec City stole the record while facing off against Tokyo in Canada. Tokyo pitchers just weren't up to par against the Piglets, allowing all but one Piglet batter (Vladimir Guerrero) to hit at least .300 in the week. Ichiro Suzuki and Mike Lowell both hit .500, while Hideki Matsui, Mark Teixiera, and Rafeal Furcal each hit above .400. The Piglets beat Tokyo obviously won the category, and took the contest 7-2-1, propelling them into the 2007 playoffs.

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Single Season Records:

Stolen Bases (173)
Winston-Salem showed at the end of the season why they're one of the fastest team in EHCC history. Not only did they tie their own single week record in the category, but crushed the former single season record with 173. The 2006 Las Vegas Doggs held the record with 135. The Monsters kept it up all season, winning stolen bases 18 of the 22 chances. Both the 2007 Doggs and 2007 Hispanics broke the previous record as well, but the Monsters were the one to hold on at the end to put their name in the record books.

Wins (124)
The Weasels weren't happy enough holding the single season record in wins in 2006. They had to one up themselves in 2007. They did so by 7 extra wins, upping the record from 117 to 124. They only lost the category four times in 2007, least int he EHCC.

Strikeouts (1580)
If you thought the Monsters crushed their record, you haven't seen anything yet. The Rockets, who held the single season strikeout record with 1398 in 2006, crushed the record in 2007 with 1580, over 110 more K's than the nearest competitor (QC - 1467).

Earned Run Average (3.81)
Though the Rockets barely missed out on setting a new single season WHIP record, they had little trouble breaking Las Vegas' ERA record from 2006 (3.87). With one of the best pitching staffs in EHCC history, Rakeville coasted in the category from week to week, winning 15 times, most in 2007.

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EhSPN: History In The Making

Going into Week 17, EHCC Historian Barry Larkin is hard at work trying to figure out what records will be broken by the end of the season. This is all he does with his life after retiring from the EHCC as a player, so he gets a little excited when he sees potential for such a record breaking season. Here's a look at some records that are on pace to being broken at the end of the 2007 regular season.


History In The Making
By Pedro Gammo, EhSPN

Stolen Bases (Season)
Current Record: 135 set by Las Vegas in 2006
Future Record: 164 set by Tijuana in 2007

Three teams are in line to not only break, but demolish the mark set by the Doggs in '06, including Winston-Salem, Tijuana, and the '07 Doggs. Each are on pace to steal around 160 bases by the end of the regular season. The Doggs may have lost a step by sending away Ichiro to the Piglets last week, but they'll always have a shot at the record with Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Alfonso Soriano on their staff, not to mention the recent addition of Corey Patterson who should be used as their 4th outfielder with the recent acquisition of home run threat Adam Dunn. The Hispanics have 6 players with double digit steals in the past month, and has outscored opponents 116-66 in the category this season thus far. The Green Monsters are at the top of the SB leader board right now, but have struggled in the category in the last month, netting double digit steals from only 2 players, and single digit steals from just 5 other players.

Wins (Season)
Current Record: 117 set by Bridegwater in 2006
Future Record: 120 set by Rakeville in 2007

This one was a close call, as both Bridgewater and Weymouth are on pace to barely break last year's record set by the Weasels. I would have said that the Weasels had a shot of keeping their name on the record if former ace Chris Carpenter was going to come back this season, but with the announcement of his future Tommy John surgery, that's not an option. Weymouth's starters just have a better offense behind them to help them gain the wins they need to set the record. The thing that gives Rakeville the overall edge to take the record away from Bridgewater is not only quality, but overall quantity of starters in their rotation. They currently have 10 starters not on the team's DL, plus Pedro Martinez, AJ Burnet, and Randy Johnson scheduled to make a comeback in the coming month. If Rakeville doesn't break the record, no one will.

Strikeouts (Season)
Current Record: 1398 set by Rakeville in 2006
Future Record: 1600 set by Rakeville in 2007

This is insane. The Rockets are scheduled to break their own record in strike-outs in a season by the end of Week 20. The team averages more than 72 strikeouts per week and is on pace to have 1,596 K's by the end of the regular season. This again is not only attributed to quality of their rotation, but the quantity as well. Just imagine if they starts churning one or two spots in their rotation.

ERA (Season)
Current Record: 3.87 set by Las Vegas in 2006
Future Record: 3.72 set by Weymouth in 2007

Weymouth seems to have decided to stick with quality over quantity when it comes to their rotation. This has helped them keep a 3.59 ERA overall thus far this season. I can't see that staying put, but I can see them holding onto a sub 3.8 ERA come season's end. Johan Santana, Jeremy Bonderman, Carlos Zambrano, and Jered Weaver each have a an ERA no higher than 3.00, not to mention closers Joe Nathan and JJ Putz have kept a combined ERA of 0.651 over the course of the last month (27.2 IP). They have the talent to take another record as their own.

Total Losses (Season)
Current Record: 148 set by Hudson in 2003
Future Record: 149 set by Santa Dominga in 2007

The one record no one wants to break. The White Devils are only on pace to hit the 144 loss mark, but I feel they have a good shot at getting the extra 5 losses to put them over the top, especially with their upcoming schedule. To end the season the Devils are facing off against Tijuana, Winston-Salem, Bridgewater, Rakeville, Weymouth, and Peoria. They currently are averaging 6.5 losses per week, but can easily rack up more than that against the heart of their remaining schedule. With 6 losses expected in the final 6 weeks, and scores of 7-3, 6-3, 8-2, 9-1, 8-1, and 6-2 well within their range, the Devils should be able to squeak by the contracted Hudson Cortesticulastics for a new season-loss record. Congratulations in advance.

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