Sunday, May 30, 2010

Baseball Power Rankings 2

As the month of May comes to a close, I figured I better get to work on the newest power rankings.

You're the Best, the Best!
1.(Previous: 1) Rays
Still have the best record in baseball, although I would not be shocked to see them start to slip a little bit. Their pitching looks great on the surface, but some of these guys will start to lose games...

2. (3) Yankees
Good pitching, monster hitting. Yeah, that will help you win games. Hell, beginning of May they were winning without getting much from some of their bigger bats. Now they are coming to life...watch out Rays.

3. (4) Twins
This was a tough call, but I put the Twins up there mainly because of the fact that they have both hitting and pitching and they are playing at a level that is not too far above where they should be.

Baseball Has Been Berry Berry Good to Me
4. (5) Padres
I think they are going to make me look like a fool all year long. One of the best pitching teams in baseball. Yet also one of the worst hitting teams.

5. (19) Reds
Wow, I cannot believe they are playing this well. I guess I should become a believer. They are one of the best hitting teams in baseball and not a terrible pitching team. I guess they could sustain this all year.

6. (11) Blue Jays
Another team that I kept thinking could not be all that good. Although, I do not believe Jose Bautista will continue to be a huge power hitter. Hell, at some point the home runs will stop and this team will fall apart. Or not. Jose will lead the league with 51 HRs this year. Pirates fans will bitch about how they would be in first place if he was still in Pittsburgh...

7. (2) Cardinals
They let the Reds pass them. That should be an automatic drop in the rankings. Also, God decided to forget how to hit in May. Although, he hit 3 HRs today (May 30th). He will carry the Cardinals back into first place. Oh yeah, that pitching staff is still arguably the best in baseball. Not bad either.

8. (20) Red Sox
Fourth place in the AL East is still better than most other teams in baseball.  I can understand the argument to realign that division.

9.  (8) Phillies
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...sorry.  I mean, how funny is it that the only way they could win the last few games was by Halladay pitching a perfect game.  This team cannot buy a run at the moment.  Seriously, Anibal Sanchez pitched shut them out today.  Everyone is shutting them out.  It makes me smile. 

Here They Come to Save the Day
10. (21)  Braves
At this point last month they were in last place.  Now they are close to overtaking the Phillies for first place. 

11. (22)  Dodgers
The hottest team out there.   Oh, and their pitching could actually improve.  Not a good sign for the Padres...

12. (9)  Tigers
Another one of those teams that I really have nothing to say.  Blah.

These Guys Have Winning Records?
13. (10) Rangers
Ah yes, finally the leader in the AL West makes an appearance.  They have similar pitching stats to the Tigers, yet the Rangers seem to be pitching a little bit above reality.  I know I keep saying that and some of you have no idea what I mean.  If you look at peripheral stats, you see that certain teams have a good ERA, but terrible numbers that usually lead to a good ERA (get my drift?  no?  well blow me).

14. (7) Giants
They are starting to give up runs, yet they are still not scoring some.  They finally brought up Buster Posey, which should help that struggling offense.  Also, rumors that Lincecum has a blister, which is affecting his pitching make me think that the Giants could get passed up by the next team.

15. (12) Rockies
This seems like a team that has some bad luck.  They are one of the top hitting and pitching teams, yet they are just starting to win games.  Also, they have some pitcher who is really good.  What is his name?

16. (6)  Mets
Talk about a streaky team.  A few weeks ago I would have put them lower, now all of a sudden they are winning again and looking like a good team.  Shutting out the Phillies for an entire series also makes you look super awesome in my book.

17.  (14) A's
Dallas Braden pitches a perfect game, then cannot win a game the rest of the month.  Good thing they play in the AL West because I believe if they played in any other division they would have a losing record.

And Now Let The Losing Begin
18.  (16)  Nationals
Their pitching staff is not doing so well.  Fortunately, Jesus Christ will be making his debut soon, so they should get 20 wins from him...right? 

19.  (15)  Marlins
H-Ram does not hustle.  That is why they are in last place...or maybe it is some bad hitting.  Could Mike Stanton be coming up soon to bring some power to the lineup?

20.  (17)  Angels
I believe the Angels dominance in the West is over.  Last year they were killing the ball, this year not so much. Also, I think I just heard that Morales is injured.  Not good for them.

21.  (13)  Cubs
Getting some very good pitching, but not a whole lot of hitting. 

22.  (27)  White Sox
Pitching is not terrible.  Not the best in baseball, but pretty average.  I wonder if the Cubs and White Sox could combine and start scoring runs.  Probably not.

23. (26)  Royals
I will keep them up pretty high because they are still a good hitting team, but not a good run scoring team.  They have the second highest team average, yet one of the lowest run totals, which obviously does not bode well for your pitching staff.

24.  (25)  Brewers
This is what happens when you have a terrible pitching staff.  Hell, at one point the Pirates started beating them.  It felt pretty good.

Bottom Feeders
25.  (18)  Diamondbacks
They have the worst pitching in the majors.  Maybe they will get better.  Just maybe.  Very doubtful though.

26. (24)  Mariners
I guess I answered my question, this is not a very good team...

27.  (23) Indians
They are still shitty...

Could These Teams Win in AAA?
28. (29)  Orioles
I realize they have the worst record in baseball, but seriously, stats wise, they are better than the next teams.  They play in the AL East.  Yes, they suck outside the division, but they are 6-18 against their own division.  Not a very good record.

29.  (28) Pirates
They suck.  I really was tempted to put them below the Astros, mainly because they get destroyed so often.  But, there is no difference between losing 1-0 or 20-0 (or so someone once said), watch a few of those games and tell me what you think?

30.  (30)  Astros
Yep, NL Central is really cranking out some shitty teams. 

Monday, May 24, 2010

Brillant Nutting News Article from last week...

Like Bucs, Penguins Still Have Work to Be Done

Paul Ladewski




PITTSBURGH -- The Penguins may be out the playoffs already – c'mon, they lost to the eighth seed, really? – but at least one Pittsburgh team won this hockey season.

Yep, you guessed it – the Pirates.

Now that the Penguins have gone belly-up in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years in the Sidney Crosby era, maybe we'll hear less about how their ownership will turn around the Pirates in no time if given the chance.

The fact is, despite every conceivable advantage from first or second overall choices in four consecutive drafts to the mother of all lottery picks to a league that operates with a salary cap to a pucks-mad fan base, the Penguins have been unable to dominate their own division let alone the entire league.

Or did you know that, while the Pirates have gone 17 years without a sniff of .500, the Penguins have hoisted exactly one Stanley Cup in that period?

Pure and simple, like the Pirates over the years, the Penguins have made mistakes in the draft and the open market. Lots of them.

For instance, take the 2003 draft, in which the Penguins owned the No. 1 pick on the heels of a anorexic 65-point season. (Yes, Bubba, they were dog breath themselves not that long ago.) The golden rule states that you never, ever select a goaltender at the No. 1 pick, but the Penguins chose Marc-Andre Fleury, anyway. Here are some of players that they could have taken instead -- Eric Staal, Thomas Vanek, Jeff Carter, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Mike Richards, Corey Perry, Shea Weber . . .

Hey, maybe Bryan Bullington wasn't that bad, after all. Sorry, forget I wrote that.

Here it is, five years after Crosby was drafted, and the guy still doesn't have a regular linemate that is in the same zip code as his talent level. Quick -- name the last legit 30-goal-scorer to be developed in the Penguins farm system.

OK, 25 then.

Uh, 20?

God help the franchise if Sid the Kid goes down any time soon. Cart him off and the Penguins are the New York Rangers all of a sudden.

I wouldn't wish that on even a Philadelphia Flyer let alone Crosby, who represents everything that is good about professional sports. I wouldn't wish that on any team owner let alone Mario Lemieux, a guy that only the devil could root against.

It's just that, before people wish for the Penguins to step in and save the baseball team in this town, they should remember that the Penguins have to help themselves first.




***This article was on piratesreport.com and has since been removed. If this were meant to be ironic, it would be totally awesome...but sadly it is serious. taking a shot like this at the penguins may be enough for me to consider searching for a new favorite MLB team, this is just sad, sad, sad.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Where our predictions stand after the first month...

Correctly picked Games
Ryan 9
Josh 6
Offord 7

April awards
AL MVP Cano
NL MVP Ethier
AL CY Young Liriano
NL Cy Young Jimenez
AL ROY A. Jackson
NL ROY Heyward/Freese
AL WILD CARD Yankees
NL WILD CARD Giants

Some notes:

**Ryan you never put up predictions for awards and post-season predictions for the National League**

Best and Worst predictions
- Josh was the only one who believed the Rays would be better than the Sox. I was on the fence, but it is looking like he nailed that one.
- Speaking of the Red Sox, I said Dice-K's return would make a positive impact... oops.
- My pick of Brantley over Austin Jackson for AL ROY was ill advised.
- I think we all forgot to take into account the Dodgers' off-field issues... they are quickly becoming on-field issues.
- I definitely was high on Usbaldo this season and actually picked him second behind Lincecum for Cy Young. Should be fun to watch the battle between those two and Halladay.
- Ryan was dead-on with his Volquez prediction - he is definitely looking like the next Mark Prior.
- However, his pick for Jake Peavy as best pitcher in the American League is not looking so good.
- Three out of four of our consensus last place teams - Athletics, Padres, Blue Jays - are over or within 1 game of .500. But how long will that last?
- Does Ryan still think Griffey can hit over 25 home runs? And does he still think the Pirates can win 80 games??
- While Ryan leads the standings in correctly picked places, he also picked the Mariners and White Sox to win their respective divisions. I should probably deduct points for that.
- We were all very wrong about the Orioles.

Bold predictions for the coming months (pun intended)..(get it?)..(heading is in bold?)..(nevermind..)
- Jason Kendall will not finish the season hitting over .250.
- The Yankees will continue to get better since they are winning without much offense from Teixeira and ARod.
- The Cubs will find more ways to shoot themselves in the foot, and Gorzo will not keep pitching the way he is.
- The Mets are actually in decent position to make a Wild Card run since Beltran will be returning soon (I think) and the pitching hasn't been half-bad. But, they won't.
- The Rockies will be a sub-.500 team until September when their pitching staff finally wakes up and they win 20 straight again to nab the Wild Card spot.
- Jamie Garcia is legit. At least I hope so since he is on 2 of my fantasy teams.
- Francisco Liriano is not legit. At least I hope so since he is on 0 of my fantasy teams.
- It is only a matter of time until Andruw Jones gets a 50 game suspension. Maybe Konerko too.
- Kelly Johnson, José Bautista, and Alex Gonzalez have more homeruns than the Pirates starting lineup combined. I didn't even have to look it up to know that.
- Speaking of the Pirates, the best days are definitely behind them. I should just cancel my MLB TV susbscription now and try to get some sort of refund.
- Last but not least, Tiger Woods will switch sports and DH for Detroit. Think of the marketing!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Baseball Power Rankings

I figured I would do this once a month. Offord did it for football and I think he tried to do it for baseball last year, but it kind of fell by the wayside. So I will give it a try. Feel free to disagree and argue with any rankings as you see fit.

Oh So Good
1. Tampa Bay Rays
This team has it all: hitting, pitching, speed, power, starters, relievers. My World Series prediction may not be such a pipe dream after all.

2. St. Louis Cardinals
One of the better pitching staffs so far this season. Obviously they have a great lineup, I just wonder if Rasmus can keep up his insane pace. Also I have to wonder if the pitching staff can continue to be as dominant without striking out as many batters. I see them staying up high though, since they play the NL Central teams most of the season.

3. New York Yankees
Seriously, they are the Yankees. What else do I need to say about them?

4. Minnesota Twins
The interesting thing about their pitching so far this season is that it seems to be playing about at the level it could play all season. Some teams (Padres) seem to be pitching out of their minds, and it should catch up to them soon. The Twins do not seem to be one of those teams, which is a good thing for them. Obviously they can hit.

5. San Diego Padres
I predict this team will drop out of the top ten in a short time. They are playing great at home right now. Their pitching is ridiculous, but their hitting is still one of the worst in the league. I mean down there with the Pirates.

6. New York Mets
The hottest team in baseball at the moment, aside from the Rays. Their hitting is finally coming alive and it means they are starting to win games. Pitching has been good like the Twins at a sustainable level.

7. San Francisco Giants
They still have very little offense, but when your pitching staff only gives up 70 runs, you can win some games. The biggest problem they are having right now is winning close games (1-5 in one-run games). Obviously, since I have Matt Cain this year in one of my fantasy leagues.

8. Philadelphia Phillies
I blame them not being in the top three because of Happ. Yep, that is the reason. Also, I love reading all the stuff about Howard's huge contract and how it is such a bad idea. This offense is too good to not win a shit-ton of games.

9. Detroit Tigers
You may be wondering why I have them down here instead of up above the Giants or Phillies. Their hitting is way above where it should be at the moment. Austin Jackson cannot keep up this pace. Unless we are looking at the greatest player of all time (I hope, I have him on one of my fantasy teams). I do believe they are a top ten though, mainly because Justin Verlander will not pitch as badly as he has at the beginning of this season (he started out similarly last season).

Almost There

10. Texas Rangers
They can hit and they can steal. They can also pitch, well not really. Could the AL West be the new AL Central? Meaning: the team that wins barely breaks .500...

11. Toronto Blue Jays
Now we get into all the teams with so-so records. The Jays started hot, but things are starting to even out. Their pitching is decent and in any other division they would probably be in first place.

12. Colorado Rockies
Yes they have a losing record, but their expected W-L is 15-10. It seems to me they are just not getting some things to fall their way. Also, have they not started out bad before and then won like 20 games in a row or something to win the division or the wild card?

13. Chicago Cubs
Average age of this team is around 102 or something. Just kidding, not that old. Who knows though, maybe Gorzo is the answer...

14. Oakland Athletics
Good young pitching. Where the hell does Beane find them? He should look for some hitting though. Not so good in that department.

15. Florida Marlins
As usual they defy reason.

Ugghhhhhh

16. Washington Nationals
Somehow they keep winning games. Although, I am sure Capps will start blowing games soon. It is an inevitability.

17. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, or whatever they are called
Hitting has been decent, but the pitching has been pretty bad.

18. Arizona Diamondbacks
One of the best hitting teams in baseball right now. Also one of the worst pitching teams. Haren should be able to start dominating and maybe Edwin Jackson can maybe give up less than six or seven runs a start and the D-backs will have a chance to climb.

19. Cincinnati Reds
Whatever. How are they doing well, yet got swept by the Pirates? Weird.

20. Boston Red Sox
Obviously they should be better than this, or should they? I wonder if they are hoping to see the Padres collapse so they can try for Adrian Gonzalez?

21. Atlanta Braves
They have Jason Heyward. Also, the best last place team in baseball?

22. Los Angeles Dodgers
Or should that honor go to the Dodgers? I bet Andre Ethier wishes he could play the Pirates all season...

23. Cleveland Indians
Maybe Jobu needs a refill...

24. Seattle Mariners
Not really that bad of a team. But, who knows if they will be any good in the coming months.

25. Milwaukee Brewers
I wanted to put them further down, their expected W-L is boosted by the games against the Pirates, unfortunately that does not mean you can exclude. They have no real pitching aside from Gallardo. They do have a few good hitters though, I think their names are Rickie Weeks and Alcides Escobar...

26. Kansas City Royals
They were hitting way above their true ability, but that is starting to fall back to earth.

27. Chicago White Sox
Haha, I think someone said they had the best rotation in baseball? Peavy has been great so far...also, I believe they have the lowest batting average, which could change.

OH MY GOD THE HORROR!!
28. Pittsburgh Pirates
They have the worst expected W-L record in all of baseball (5-20). They are 5-1 in one-run games, which is funny since a few years ago they were like 1-15 in those situations. Win close, or lose very big...great.

29. Baltimore Orioles
I realize that before they won three games in a row, they only had four wins, but they should not be this bad. They could move up, all the way to like 25...

30. Houston Astros
Wow, they are a shitty team. They are at the bottom of almost every category. Unfortunately they swept the Pirates this about a week ago...but screw them they are going to the bottom.

Obviously this will change dramatically in one month...well maybe not the bottom.