The Wheelhouse is a joint production of the World Baseball Alliance and media outlets around the world. It is published every other Friday during the regular season.
Brisbane Blackbirds Win 12 Straight
15 games into the season, things did not look very promising for the Brisbane Blackbirds. They sat at 5-10 and were headed nowhere. What a difference two weeks makes! The offense came alive and led the team on a 12-game winning streak to vault them back over .500 and into the South Division race in the Australasian League. Unfortunately they followed this streak up by losing three in a row to rival Sydney, but the Blackbirds fortunes are still looking a lot better now. The offense ranks first in their division in runs scored while the pitching is last in runs allowed. It's obvious what needs to be patched for them to stay in the mix.
Miami, Santo Domingo, and Tokyo Falter
On the other side of the coin from Brisbane are three franchises who all suffered 10-game losing streaks during the month of May. In fact, on May 15th, all three teams had lost exactly ten in a row. The Miami Sun Dogs and Tokyo Tsunami managed to score a win that day, while the Santo Domingo Panthers ran their streak to 11 before finally tasting victory.
Miami Travis Hoop, NAL's April
Player of the Month, still dominating. He leads the entire WBA in WAR at 2.2. The Sun Dogs' starting rotation has been a disaster, sporting a collective ERA above 6.00. Another POTM, Andy Packman of Tokyo, is also still hitting well despite his team's troubles. Santo Domingo, well, they don't have much going for then. Miami and Tokyo remain out of their division's cellar, but the Panthers are currently on the chopping block for relegation in the Caribbean League North.
Stefan Capidan Rolls Over The ESL
The only Silver Leaguer to make the
top 10 prospects list, Stefan Capidan of the Lisbon Lions has been exactly as dominant as it seemed he'd be. Sporting a 67-15 K-BB ratio in 57.2 innings, his 2.5 WAR is the highest number in any league across the globe (Mumbai Vipers starter Taki Arakawa leads the A-leagues at 2.4 WAR). Unfortunately, Capidan hasn't gotten much support from his offense, and his Lions are just 14-16 and a long way from the promotion spot. He may be prove to be an attractive trade target for the upper leagues when trading opens up in November.
More Trouble in Panama City
The whispers regarding Panama City Seabees SS Sebastian Cajar causing problems in the clubhouse are turning into shouts. Previously, teammates had spoken anonymously to air their grievances about the mercurial star, but now teammate Marcos Esquivel has gone on the record about it. The Seabees have lost 8 of their last 10 games to drop to 15-15 after leading the Caribbean League South at one point earlier in the season.
In other malcontent news, we previously reported on SP Astor Alexander of the Nassau Nightwings in the Caribbean Silver League as one player also causing trouble. The Nightwings seem to have dealt with the issue; at least, there have been no further leaks from the organization, and the team continues to perform well. They lead their division by 3 games, and Alexander is 5-1 with a 0.82 ERA.