MLB Power Rankings for May 13, 2013

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May 132013
 

Rankings for May 13, 2013

I’ve divided the rankings in to 4 tiers of teams. The “Elite” are the best of the best right now. The “Contenders” are going to be in the thick of the pennant race. Those in the “Meh-zo-sphere” cling to dreams of playing relevant September baseball, and once mathematically eliminated are shooting for .500. The “Suh-diddly-uckleheads” are already looking forward to October golfing.

Records are through Saturday’s games. Six weeks in, there’s enough of the season to give out some credit/blame for these teams’ starts. Expect some more shuffling in the next few weeks.  The biggest movers:  Cleveland Indians.  Well done, Tribe!

Rank Record Team Rise/Fall
The Elite
1.
23-13		 St. Louis Cardinals +4
2.
23-13		 Texas Rangers –
3.
22-15		 San Francisco Giants +5
4.
22-15		 Baltimore Orioles –
5.
22-13		 New York Yankees +1
The Contenders
6.
22-15		 Boston Red Sox -3
7.
21-15		 Atlanta Braves -6
8.
20-14		 Detroit Tigers +6
9.
21-16		 Cincinnati Reds +4
10.
20-16		 Pittsburgh Pirates –
The Meh-zo-sphere
11.
20-16		 Washington Nationals -2
12.
21-16		 Arizona Diamondbacks -1
13.
19-15		 Cleveland Indians +13
14.
18-15		 Kansas City Royals +3
15.
19-17		 Colorado Rockies -8
16.
18-18		 Tampa Bay Rays +2
17.
19-19		 Oakland A’s -5
18.
17-16		 Minnesota Twins +6
19.
17-21		 Philadelphia Phillies –
20.
17-20		 Seattle Mariners +3
21.
16-20		 San Diego Padres +4
22.
15-19		 Milwaukee Brewers -6
23.
14-21		 Los Angeles Dodgers -8
24.
14-22		 Los Angeles Angels -3
25.
14-20		 Chicago White Sox -3
The Suh-diddly-uckleheads
26.
14-19		 New York Mets +2
27.
14-24		 Toronto Blue Jays -7
28.
14-22		 Chicago Cubs -1
29.
10-27		 Houston Astros –
30.
11-26		 Miami Marlins –

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MLB Power Rankings for April 29, 2013

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Apr 292013
 

Rankings for April 29, 2013

I’ve divided the rankings in to 4 tiers of teams. The “Elite” are the best of the best right now. The “Contenders” are going to be in the thick of the pennant race. Those in the “Meh-zo-sphere” cling to dreams of playing relevant September baseball, and once mathematically eliminated are shooting for .500. The “Suh-diddly-uckleheads” are already looking forward to October golfing.

Records are through Saturday’s games. Four weeks in, there’s enough of the season to give out some credit/blame for these teams’ starts. Expect some more shuffling in the next few weeks.

Rank Record Team Rise/Fall
The Elite
1.
15-8		 Atlanta Braves –
2.
16-8		 Texas Rangers –
3.
17-7		 Boston Red Sox +21
4.
15-9		 Baltimore Orioles +7
5.
14-9		 St. Louis Cardinals +7
The Contenders
6.
14-9		 New York Yankees +10
7.
15-9		 Colorado Rockies +21
8.
13-11		 San Francisco Giants -5
9.
13-11		 Washington Nationals -5
10.
14-10		 Pittsburgh Pirates +8
The Meh-zo-sphere
11.
14-10		 Arizona Diamondbacks +8
12.
13-12		 Oakland A’s -6
13.
13-12		 Cincinnati Reds -3
14.
12-10		 Detroit Tigers -6
15.
11-12		 Los Angeles Dodgers -8
16.
12-10		 Milwaukee Brewers +1
17.
12-8		 Kansas City Royals +6
18.
11-13		 Tampa Bay Rays -9
19.
11-14		 Philadelphia Phillies -4
20.
9-16		 Toronto Blue Jays -15
21.
9-14		 Los Angeles Angels -8
22.
10-13		 Chicago White Sox -8
23.
10-16		 Seattle Mariners -3
24.
10-10		 Minnesota Twins +1
25.
8-15		 San Diego Padres -4
The Suh-diddly-uckleheads
26.
8-12		 Cleveland Indians -4
27.
9-14		 Chicago Cubs -1
28.
10-12		 New York Mets -1
29.
7-17		 Houston Astros +1
30.
5-19		 Miami Marlins -1

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MLB Power Rankings for April 15, 2013

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Apr 152013
 

I’ve divided the rankings in to 4 tiers of teams. The “Elite” are the best of the best right now. The “Contenders” are going to be in the thick of the pennant race. Those in the “Meh-zo-sphere” cling to dreams of playing relevant September baseball, and once mathematically eliminated are shooting for .500. The “Suh-diddly-uckleheads” are already looking forward to October golfing.

Records are through Saturday’s games.  There’s little change just two weeks into the season.  Here’s a hat tip to Atlanta’s hot start.

Rank Record Team Rise/Fall
The Elite
1.
10-1		 Atlanta Braves +5
2.
8-4		 Texas Rangers +2
3.
8-4		 San Francisco Giants +2
4.
7-4		 Washington Nationals -3
5.
5-6		 Toronto Blue Jays -2
The Contenders
6.
9-3		 Oakland A’s +7
7.
7-4		 Los Angeles Dodgers –
8.
6-5		 Detroit Tigers –
9.
4-6		 Tampa Bay Rays –
10.
5-6		 Cincinnati Reds –
The Meh-zo-sphere
11.
6-5		 Baltimore Orioles –
12.
7-4		 St. Louis Cardinals –
13.
3-8		 Los Angeles Angels -11
14.
4-7		 Chicago White Sox –
15.
5-6		 Philadelphia Phillies –
16.
5-5		 New York Yankees –
17.
2-8		 Milwaukee Brewers –
18.
5-6		 Pittsburgh Pirates –
19.
7-4		 Arizona Diamondbacks –
20.
5-8		 Seattle Mariners –
21.
2-9		 San Diego Padres –
22.
5-5		 Cleveland Indians –
23.
6-5		 Kansas City Royals –
24.
6-4		 Boston Red Sox –
25.
4-7		 Minnesota Twins –
The Suh-diddly-uckleheads
26.
4-7		 Chicago Cubs –
27.
7-4		 New York Mets –
28.
7-4		 Colorado Rockies –
29.
2-9		 Miami Marlins –
30.
4-7		 Houston Astros –
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MLB Power Rankings for Opening Week

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Apr 012013
 

I had so much fun doing the NFL power rankings last year, I’ve decided to try to ranking Major League Baseball.

I’ve divided the rankings in to 4 tiers of teams. The “Elite” are the best of the best right now. The “Contenders” are going to be in the thick of the pennant race. Those in the “Meh-zo-sphere” cling to dreams of playing relevant September baseball, and once mathematically eliminated are shooting for .500. The “Suh-diddly-uckleheads” are already looking forward to October golfing.

For opening week, the rankings contain last year’s win-loss records.
 

Rank Record Team Rise/Fall
The Elite
1.
98-64		 Washington Nationals –
2.
89-73		 Los Angeles Angels –
3.
73-89		 Toronto Blue Jays –
4.
93-69		 Texas Rangers –
5.
94-68		 San Francisco Giants –
The Contenders
6.
94-68		 Atlanta Braves –
7.
86-76		 Los Angeles Dodgers –
8.
88-74		 Detroit Tigers –
9.
90-72		 Tampa Bay Rays –
10.
97-65		 Cincinnati Reds –
The Meh-zo-sphere
11.
93-69		 Baltimore Orioles –
12.
88-74		 St. Louis Cardinals –
13.
94-68		 Oakland A’s –
14.
85-77		 Chicago White Sox –
15.
81-81		 Philadelphia Phillies –
16.
95-67		 New York Yankees –
17.
83-79		 Milwaukee Brewers –
18.
79-83		 Pittsburgh Pirates –
19.
81-81		 Arizona Diamondbacks –
20.
75-87		 Seattle Mariners –
21.
76-86		 San Diego Padres –
22.
68-94		 Cleveland Indians –
23.
72-90		 Kansas City Royals –
24.
69-93		 Boston Red Sox –
25.
66-96		 Minnesota Twins –
The Suh-diddly-uckleheads
26.
61-101		 Chicago Cubs –
27.
74-88		 New York Mets –
28.
64-98		 Colorado Rockies –
29.
69-93		 Miami Marlins –
30.
55-107		 Houston Astros –
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Welcome Back, Playoff Baseball!

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Oct 082012
 

What a pleasant surprise this fall. It’s been 15 years since I’ve been this excited about playoff baseball. Now, I’ve got one of my favorite teams (Orioles) and future favorite teams (Nationals — yes, the WiseBoy will likely grow up a Nats fan, and I’ll have to give up pointing out they named the team after the airport) in the playoffs. Had the Pirates held on and made it, I bet we’d all be taking a second look at that whole Mayan calendar thing.

It’s been quite a winning baseball drought around here. Check this out.

 

It’s a good reminder to savor the playoff moment because it could all disappear for a decade or so again. That win over Texas was great, and I’m still hoping for a comeback against the Yankees. The Nats’ chances seem a bit more stable with yesterday’s opening win. The O’s need one win to set up, for me, a Thursday night Couchpocalypse: two playoff baseball games, Steelers v. Titans, and the Vice Presidential debate. The only guaranteed loser looks like sleep.

 

Loving the new Angry Birds-influenced Orioles logos.

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Another MLB Realignment Scheme to Anger Yankees Fans

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Dec 022011
 

Major League Baseball has announced that in 2013 the Houston Astros will be moving to the American League and that the playoffs will include a second wild card team. This sets up three 5-team divisions and alters the playoff format again. I guess the tradition argument is all but dead, so I have another idea to improve interest in the game: floating realignment. But what I have in mind is a different form of realignment than those discussed previously by the league and elsewhere.

Under a floating realignment the teams are realigned every year. The twist is that it would be dependent upon the previous year’s finish. The AL and NL would have three divisions: East, West, and Champions. In each league, the 5 teams that made the playoffs in the prior year would shift to the Champions division, the rest would divide into the East and West divisions. This gives greater hope for the struggling franchises and extra challenge for the dominant ones.

It does not punish success, it creates an opportunity to win a greater challenge. Just as how a league championship is more prestigious than a division championship, a Champions division title would be a greater achievement than a regular division title.

If they tried floating realignment next year it would look like this:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
East
Toronto
Baltimore
Cleveland
Chicago

West
Houston
Kansas City
Minnesota
LA Angels
Oakland
Seattle

Champions
New York Yankees
Tampa
Detroit
Texas
Boston

NATIONAL LEAGUE
East
Washington
New York Mets
Miami
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Chicago

West
San Francisco
LA Dodgers
Colorado
San Diego

Champions
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Milwaukee
Arizona
Atlanta

That came out a bit unbalanced, with some divisions having 6 or 4. Instead of a home division assignment, put the eligible teams in order geographically from east to west, then divide them right down the middle. It keeps the divisions at 5, but the only drawback would be that a couple of teams might be in the east one year and the west another (KC or Milwaukee). Beyond being a little odd, it shouldn’t have much of a logistical effect because we have these things called airplanes. So, fixing for this, next year would look like:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
East
Toronto
Baltimore
Cleveland
Chicago
Kansas City

West
Houston
Minnesota
LA Angels
Oakland
Seattle

Champions
New York Yankees
Tampa
Detroit
Texas
Boston

NATIONAL LEAGUE
East
Washington
New York Mets
Miami
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati

West
Chicago
San Francisco
LA Dodgers
Colorado
San Diego

Champions
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Milwaukee
Arizona
Atlanta

What do you think?

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking.  But let me tell you, they can’t all be bold, epic posts like that last one. 

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