May 27 Power Rankings

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May 27 Power Rankings

Post by Giants »

Contributors: Athletics

Hey everyone, sorry it took me longer than I planned to get these done (damn life getting in the way of the IBC). In honor of Frank Thomas's return to Oakland I assign each team a member of the 1997 All-Star squad.

Rankings
1. BlueJays - Previous: 1

This team is hitting its stride, it has the widest margin between runs scored and runs allowed, and thus far has made what was expected to be a tight 3 team race a laugher. It sucks that they are losing Smoltz, but Santana is hitting his stride and they still have the ricockulous Andy Sonnastine. Meanwhile the team offense is 1 or 2 in every category except triples and steals (so I guess when Brian Sabean talks about how important steals and taking the extra base are in helping a team win he's totally wrong about everything).

1997 All Star - Ken Griffey, Jr.
1997 may have been the finest year in the career of the kid, certainly the most talented player in the game at that point. He had a career high in home runs and total bases, an OPS+ of 165, and won his only MVP and one of many Gold Gloves in centerfield. If you had to pick a best player in baseball for 1997 it would have been Ken Griffey, Jr. hands down.


2. Reds - Previous: 2

The Reds are clearly the class of the National League, with the most potent offense in the league and the highest margin despite missing Jorge Posada for most of the season and playing Miguel Olivo at catcher every game. The bullpen is interesting, the bigger name players like K-Rod, Shields, and Chad Bradford have struggled while no names Jay Marshall, Paul Abraham, and Vinnie Chulk have been lights out.

1997 All Star - Randy Johnson
The Big Unit won 20 games for the first time in 1997 and posted a career low in ERA as well as his third best WHIP. He struck out 291 with only 77 walks in 213 innings that year and finished second in Cy Young voting to a resurgent Roger Clemens in Toronto. However, knowing what we know now, it's hard to imagine that Johnson was not the legitimate Cy Young that year. There were, however some chinks in his armor, as he was 33 and the next year struggled before being traded to an inferior National League and blowing our minds with his longevity. The question marks for Nate are health of veterans like Posada (I don't think Miguel Olivo will slug .577 all year) and depth, hopefully he will pull it together like 1999 Randy Johnson, rather than 2006 Randy Johnson in New York.


3. Orioles - Previous: 3
51 games into the season and the Orioles are still here. That's almost 1/3 of the season, so we can probably stop the fluke talk. Jason's self induced jinx aside, this team's legitimate run margin shows that the results are for real, as in-season acquistions Javier Vasquez and Adam Wainwright join rookie Greg Smith in anchoring one of the IBC's most successful pitching staffs, a must for any team hoping to hang in the AL Beast. Offensively Ryan Braun might as well be doing it by himself, as Jarret Hoffpair is the only other starter in the regular lineup with an OPS over .800.

1997 All-Star - Alex Rodriguez
Would you believe that all three of those guys were on the Seattle Mariners? How did that team not win a World Series with that crew? It's was as stacked as any Yankee team in the 2000's. The 21 year old A-Rod burst onto the scene the year before as a 20 year old, coming in second in the MVP voting. 1997 was actually an underwhelming statistical year for A-Rod, who tailed off in the second half, but the young phenom was putting up ridiculous numbers at a premier position, just like young Jason (at least in terms of experience in the IBC) is putting up ridiculous numbers in the IBC's premier division (sorry NLC).


4. Athletics - Previous: 7

Hell yeah I'm moving up, someone's going to have to beat me before I knock myself down. After a slow start (at which time I had the lowest BABIP in the league), the healthy return of Mike Cameron and a reversal of that unlucky trend to go along with the fewest runs allowed in the American League have put the A's on a ridiculous hot streak, building a 7 game lead on the Mariners at Memorial Day.

1997 All-Star - Frank Thomas
Of course it'd be Frank Thomas. In 1997 Thomas came in 3rd in the MVP voting and had the second highest OPS+ of his career at 181. It would have been even higher if he hadn't scuffled some in April, where his OPS was 200 points lower than it finished for the season. Just like the notoriously slow starting Thomas, the 2008 IBC A's struggled in April and then got it rolling in May.

5. Yankees - Previous: 8

The Yankees are on their way back after a slow start that coincided with losing A-Rod, adding Todd Helton to the lineup to mash against lefties while giving up only a left handed reliever. The Yankees margin is large, and they are likely to come back into the AL East race shortly (in fact they still tend to win it in the sims I've run, even with this deficit, sorry Pat).

1997 All-Star - Barry Bonds
Let me give you some numbers: .291/.446/.585 40 HR 101 RBI 37 SB and a gold glove. Any team in baseball would love to have those numbers out of the cleanup spot. That was a down year for Barry Bonds, a career low in batting average and OPS excluding injury plagued seasons in 1999 and 2006. That's sort of how JB's team has been this year, great for anyone else but down for him. Also, though in 1997 he was probably still legit, Bonds' career numbers are certainly dubious, just like most of JB's trades. Whether using PEDs or hypnotizing opposing GMs into doing utterly stupid things, the numbers speak for themselves in both cases.


6. Twins - Previous: 4

Andrew's hot streak has continued even though his offense continues to sputter. His team has been playing an anti-moneyball style, taking few walks and stealing a lot of bases while hitting for very little power (lowest Isolated Power of any AL contender). What the Twins are doing is putting the ball in play, and taking advantage of opportunities. Meanwhile the pitching staff has been excellent in holding leads (their .111 blown save % is the lowest in the IBC) and they are 4th in the AL in preventing inherited runs from scoring. This team does the little things.

1997 All-Star - Craig Biggio

If there was ever a player who did all the little things this was the guy. Biggio began his career behind the plate before moving to second base when it turned out he could steal bases (he stole 47 in 1997). Though he wasn't a power hitter for his career, 1997 was an overachieving year for Biggio who hit 22 homers, drove in 81 runs, and set a career high in OPS at .916. Yes, this is the same Craig Biggio, and if Andrew holds onto the division with numbers like that it will be equally improbable and impressive.

7. Cardinals - Previous: 5

St. Louis is holding pace with Cincinnati despite the ridiculous performance of the Reds thus far with the help of their pitching staff, which has allowed the third fewest runs in the NL. Roy Oswalt, 8-0 2.26, has been especially unhittable and is doing his best Erik Bedard from April impression. If they are going to continue to keep pace it's going to have to come from the mound, because to give a sense of where the lineup is this team starts Rich Aurilia at SS, yes, that Rich Aurilia. OK he only plays against lefties but his platoon mate is Aaron Miles, a leadoff man with a .312 OBP, that's Darin Erstad-esque.

1997 All-Star - Pedro Martinez

In his last year in Montreal Pedro went 17-8 1.90 ERA and won the Cy Young, leading the NL in ERA, winning percentage, WHIP, K/9, ERA+ and was generally the most dominant pitcher in the league before he was traded for Carl Pavano. Yeah, Carl Pavano. Thus far Aaron's pitching has been Pedro-esque, and it will need to be for him to keep pace.

8. Royals - Previous: 6

Z would have been ahead of Andrew, Aaron, and possibly JB if a 4-game losing streak while I procrastinated doing these hadn't knocked him down a couple of pegs. Sorry about that buddy, and I'm sure you're wondering why your sim manager decided Royce Ring would be a better closer than Brian Wilson on Saturday. Based on the pythagoreans Z should comfortably be leading this division, but right now it's tied, hence the Sean Casey/Randy Johnson for Todd Helton trade. Neither Casey nor Helton has played yet, Z did you get that MP in? Every year this team seems to be the favorite on paper but it has yet to break through, this year the Royals are among the elite teams in a competitive American League, and have the clear second best offense in the league behind Toronto. The big question is if this will be the year they can breakthrough.

1997 All Star - Mike Piazza
The best offensive catcher and a surefire first ballot hall of famer, Piazza was never able to break through and win that World Series ring, or even quite cement himself as the elite at his position (he was always jockeying with Pudge Rodriguez for that honor, just like Z is jockeying with Andrew for the ALC). 1997 was Piazza's best year, as he set career highs in pretty much every offensive category and finished second in the MVP voting, while his Dodgers finished second to the Giants in the division race. Z's team looks as loaded as any he's ever had, can this be the year?

9. Phillies - Previous: 17

Somehow this team has ripped off a 7 game winning streak, overtaken the Marlins for the division lead, and has actually been OUTSCORED by 2 runs since the last power rankings. How is that possible? Well it seems like the bullpen outside of Speier and Howry (kinda) has been gawd-awful, so when the starters go they dominate and they win, when the starters don't go this team can get blown out. Hard to imagine them keeping this up, but we'll see.

1997 All-Star - Nomar Garciaparra
Homah Nomah! Everybody loved this guy even though his walk rate was absurdly low, to the point that the average seamhead today would have been selling high on him to pick up the latest high OBP Sally league prospect. The numbers he was putting up were essentially unsustainable because of a high BABIP (.315), but he did have a great year. Can Nick buck statistics too?

10. Padres - Previous: 11

Martin has taken over the top spot in an extremely competitive NL West, mostly on the strength of pitching. The bats are heating up some, as the Rockies now have a middle of the pack .762 OPS, which is impressive for the extremely pitcher friendly ballpark environment, and look like they might finally start playing up to preseason expectations as their margin has increased by 20 since the last power rankings.

1997 All-Star - Tony Gwynn

Mr. Padre put up an amazing 1997, at age 37 it was his last great season. He hit .372/.409/.547 and showed us once again the player he was after injuries shortened his previous 2 seasons and his shot at .400 was ruined by the strike. Martin's team also looked among the best on paper last year, but did not reach expectations as the upstart Dodgers won the division. Like Gwynn in 1997 can Martin remind us of what his team can do?

11. Giants - Previous: 10

For the moment Martin has nudged ahead of Nils in the division race, and does so in the power rankings as well though these teams are neck and neck. The Giants are doing it with pitching, as the 185 Runs Allowed stat can attest. The offense is subpar right now, but with the pitching so over the top good the team can still compete. Can they survive Peavy's injury?

1997 All-Star - Greg Maddux
The Mad Dog was the most efficient pitcher in 1997, going 19-4 (his career best winning percentage) and leading the league with an 8.85 K/BB ratio. That's the sort of pitching efficiency that the Giants are going to need if they want to compete in the NL West this year.

12. Marlins - Previous: 9

It's gotta burn a little bit to leave Baltimore because you can't make any headway against the Beast and then see new Baltimore be so successful this year. On the one hand it sucks to be trailing a team with such an ugly margin, on the other hand if Dan had the same record in Baltimore he'd be 11 games back. The offense is being led by Big Papi, Geovany Soto, and Hunter Pence. It's a shame they don't have a DH or Micah Owings could be added to that list (.400/.455/.700) as he sure isn't getting it done on the mound. Verlander and Sheets need to pitch to projection to lock up this division.

1997 All-Star - Mark Grace

1997 was Amazing Grace's last All-Star team. To me he always sort of epitomized solid but not spectacular, plus you should be able to do better out of an all-star. I think that's the best way to describe the Marlins performance as a prohibitive favorite to date. If this team wants to be promoted to someone more exciting then they will have to step it up.

13. Tigers - Previous: 14

This team is pretty much treading water despite a pitching staff that has shown Harden-esque durability. The Tigers monster offense is up there with the Blue Jays, Royals, and Reds, but the pitching staff hasn't put it anything close to together yet, which makes this team more an entertaining curiousity.

1997 All-Star - Edgar Martinez
Another Seattle Mariner, for those of you keeping score at home that's 3 in the starting lineup along with the starting pitcher, and one more reserve to be named later. Anyway, Edgar Martinez was the elite DH of 1997. That means he could drive in runs but he couldn't prevent them, kinda like the 2008 IBC Tigers.

14. WhiteSox - Previous: 28

I think the White Sox took the last power rankings personally, as they have stormed up from the NLC cellar to within a game of the Tigers, and have won 7 straight. I think it helped to get the Wainwright curse out of US Cellular Field. The key to this resurgence has been dominating performances by a pair of non-descrepit Matts, Maloney and Albers, who both have ERA's under 2.00 in their first 3 starts. Who? Exactly, that's been the key to this team's success.

1997 All-Star - Jason Dickson
Who? Jason Dickson came out of nowhere and posted an 8-4 3.41 in the first half of 1997, before coming back to Earth in the second half, having a decent 1998 and then getting hurt and losing his career. Dickson came out of nowhere just like Albers and Moloney, and for this team to keep it up it will these two to not follow the Jason Dickson career path.

15. Mets - Previous: 13

Apu's favorite squadron has essentially been treading water on the outskirts of the NL East race. Surprising results from veteran pitchers Paul Byrd and Octavio Dotel have this team performing above expectations. The young lineup and rotation are probably a year away from really being special, but they are definitely putting up a credible year for the Mets.

1997 All-Star - Javy Lopez
1997 was Lopez's first All-Star appearance, and the first glimpse he gave at the talent that would make him one of the league's elite catchers for the better part of a decade. With a record above .500 this team definitely deserves credit, and the pieces are here for more success to come (assuming Delmon and Zimmerman stop sucking in real life).

16. Nationals - Previous - 15

I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, with the 4th best run differential in the league the Nationals are definitely underperforming at .500, and we should expect better results from them. On the other hand, this is a team that has Josh Phelps batting cleanup against righties. How the hell does Ken do that? He's operating on a deeper level than the rest of us, so I don't want to break this team down and miss the point.

1997 All-Star - Mark McGwire
I don't want to talk about the past, but this isn't the first time that Ken has his SIM team showing much better than they should on paper, and I expect them to stay in the division race all season, they may even take it at the end. If you like Clemens or Caminiti better feel free to insert them in this spot.

17. Cubs - Previously: 16

(To compensate for my last power rankings, which clearly didn't catch on, I will write Gabe's entry with CAPS LOCK).

THE CUBS ARE JUST A NOTCH BELOW THE OTHER TEAMS IN THIS DIVISION. GABE, YOU NEED TO STOP TRADING GOOD PROSPECTS LIKE DARIC BARTON AND CHIN LUNG HU FOR CRAPPY PROSPECTS LIKE NEIL WALKER AND CRAPPY PLAYERS LIKE MELVIN MORA. THE OFFENSE HAS DEFINITELY BEEN COMPETITIVE, SPORTING THE THIRD HIGHEST OPS IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE, BUT THE TEAM NEEDS ONE OR TWO MORE GOOD ARMS, ESPECIALLY IN THE BULLPEN, TO COMPETE.

1997 ALL-STAR - OMAR VIZQUEL
WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY? OMAR VIZQUEL DIDN'T MAKE THE 1997 ALL STAR TEAM? THAT'S RIGHT EVEN THOUGH HE WON THE GOLD GLOVE HE DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT BECAUSE THE AL HAD A-ROD, NOMAR, AND JETER (WHO ALSO DIDN'T MAKE IT). THAT'S JUST LIFE IN THE NL CENTRAL.

18. DBacks - Previous: 19

Jagger's crew still sports that ugly run differential (now up to -38), but for now they are still hanging out in 3rd place just 3 games back of the Padres. The math says that they won't be able to hold this pace, but this team is more concerned with the future anyway. Of course it begs the question at what point do we hit the future? Actually it doesn't, begging the question is something different entirely but there are maybe 3 people in the league besides me who even know what I'm talking about so I'll move on and say that this team, which currently sports the best offense in the NL West, needs more pitching and needs it bad, as the staff has also given up the most runs in the National League.

1997 All-Star - Chuck Knoblauch
Knoblauch had a nice year for the Twins, not superstar caliber, but nice, and he definitely qualified as the All-Star representative for a lousy Minnesota team. However the endearing memory of that season to me was the countdown to his inevitable trade to the Yankees. Knoblauch didn't really care about 1997, his career wasn't really going to be important again until he got to the Yankees (though hindsight tells us it was only important for comedic value, hopefully Jagger avoids this).



19. RedSox - Previous: 20

Bren's boys keep chugging away, and he sure seems to think he's still in the race (Carpenter for Lowell? Really? If we didn't see Thome for Soriano already this would be hands down the worst trade of the year, and it still might be). There's no secret here, the offense needs more pop, especially from cleanup hitter Victor Martinez and his monstrous .578 OPS. It probably doesn't help him that Martinez has started 51 of 53 games this year. Here's a tip Bren-ster, catchers need rest.

1997 All-Star Tino Martinez
In a year where Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, Mark McGwire, plus a young Carlos Delgado, and the ultimate gamer Darin Erstad (did you know he used to punt at Nebraska?), neither of whom made the All-Star team, it was Tino who started the game. No offense to Tino Martinez, but really? That's a little delusional, kinda like the idea that Mike Lowell is the key to making up 14 1/2 games on the Blue Jays.

20. Mariners - Previous: 18
How's second place treating you buddy? Seattle's pitching has been fine, as expected in that park, but the offense needs a serious infusion of talent, probably more that the return of Chad Tracy can provide. The Mariners lead the American League in strikeouts; most seamheads will tell you that strikeouts are OK as long as they come with power, but Seattle has only middle of the pack power, and does not take advantage of situational hitting (fewest sacrifice flies in the league, second most GIDPs). Plus Willie Bloomquist is on the team, now that Dave Roberts is an FA the only worse player on an IBC roster right now is Doug Mientkiewicz.

1997 All-Star - Joey Cora
Bet you didn't know that Joey Cora was an All-Star. The 5th Mariner on that 1997 team made his All-Star debut at 32 and was out of the league 2 years later. Cora came out of the gate strong in 1997 with a .909 OPS at the All-Star Break, but posted just a .637 OPS in the second half and quickly entered his decline phase. Just like the Mariners came out strong at the beginning of this season but don't appear to have enough to make a playoff run.

21. Pirates - Previous: 11

Looks like JP's given up on the season already, and a recent skid has slid him 7 1/2 games back in the NL Wild Card. Oh well, glad he gave this season's iteration of his team a chance to gel. Too bad he can't just have McCann and Lincecum play catch, I don't think he'll ever find anymore players he likes enough to keep on his team.

1997 All-Star - Kenny Lofton

This one's easy, Kenny Lofton played for 11 different teams, the most of any All-Star in 1997. He also had 3 tours of duty in Cleveland, meaning he's changed uniforms 13 times. He's as committed to a team as JP is.

22. Braves - Previous: 25

Atlanta has rebounded some from the tailspin that sent them down these rankings, and despite being in the NL East cellar they are only 5 games back in the tightly packed division. That's the good news. The bad news is a -34 run differential, and an even longer absence for Pedro as he deals with family issues. This team needs another bat and another arm.

1997 All-Star - Brady Anderson
In 1996 Brady Anderson hit 50 home runs and had a 1.033 OPS, garnering serious MVP consideration (along with future PED related scrutiny). In 1997 Anderson was an all-star again (mostly off of name recognition from the year before) but his OPS dropped nearly 200 points. In 2007 the Braves, off of a ridiculous projection from Hiram Bocachica (is that cheating? Close enough) had a ridiculous year. In 2008, without Bocachica they came back to Earth.

23. Indians - Previous: 21

A recent 3-7 slump has this team 7 games back of KC/Minnesota and mired in the cellar. At the end of the day, as predicted in my totally arbitrary preseason rankings, this team had a lot of talent that just wasn't a great fit. Bullpen injuries to their two best relievers (Andrew Brown and Santiago Casilla, boy could the real life A's use those two back), have also made these teams short term prospects a little bleaker. Do they turn into sellers or do they keep this bunch and try to add the pitching that will catch the rest of their division?

1997 All-Star - Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken is a legend, but by 1997 he was 36 and in the twilight of his career, making All-Star teams based on rep rather than performance. If you want to be an optimist, in 1999 at age 38 Ripken had an improbable resurgence and a legit All-Star campaign. Maybe that will happen with Kelly's collection of dinosaurs, if any of them are still in the league in two years.

24. Rockies - Previous: 22

Mired in a slump based on pitching that just doesn't perform, Colorado's high hopes for this year have thus far been dashed. Not surprisingly, the Rockies have the 4th highest OPS in the National League, with an offense led by this year's twin Bocachicas Cody Ross and Joe Dillon, and the starting rotation has been surprisingly effective, as has closer Pedro Feliciano. Meanwhile the rest of the bullpen has struggled, as the Rockies have the highest blown save percentage in the league. The promise is there, not so much the results for the 2008 Rockies.

1997 All-Star - Jose Rosado
In 1997 Rosado was a 22 year old All-Star coming off a 3.21 ERA in his rookie year. He made the All-Star team as the Royals representative partly by default and partly because everyone was in love with his potential, just like the potential that looked to be there for this Rockies team. Sadly for Rosado the potential did not pan out as he finished 1997 on a down note and had a couple of mediocre years before arm injuries ended his career.

24. Rockies - Previous: 22

Mired in a slump based on pitching that just doesn't perform, Colorado's high hopes for this year have thus far been dashed. Not surprisingly, the Rockies have the 4th highest OPS in the National League, with an offense led by this year's twin Bocachicas Cody Ross and Joe Dillon, and the starting rotation has been surprisingly effective, as has closer Pedro Feliciano. Meanwhile the rest of the bullpen has struggled, as the Rockies have the highest blown save percentage in the league. The promise is there, not so much the results for the 2008 Rockies.

1997 All-Star - Jose Rosado
In 1997 Rosado was a 22 year old All-Star coming off a 3.21 ERA in his rookie year. He made the All-Star team as the Royals representative partly by default and partly because everyone was in love with his potential, just like the potential that looked to be there for this Rockies team. Sadly for Rosado the potential did not pan out as he finished 1997 on a down note and had a couple of mediocre years before arm injuries ended his career.

25. Brewers - Previous: 24
The Brewers have been huddling around this pack all year, a clear step above the bottom of the league, but also several clear steps behind the contenders. The interesting youngsters seem to be the future of this team, but Jake's building style has been a little schizophrenic as he gets caught up in SIM freaks with no future. At this point the only one he has is Brian Shouse, but at various points this year we've seen guys like John Lindsey and Justin Germano floating around, and we may well see a few more before the end of the season.

1997 All-Star - Albert Belle
First of all, Jake's building style is schizophrenic, and Albert Belle was just plain nuts. 1997 was definitely a down year for Belle, as his OBP dropped 80 points from the year before and he hit 30 bombs, a career low for his prime and he put up career lows in AVG/OBP/SLG (at least for the career of Albert, Joey had been worse). That being said, he would have had a hell of a SIM, so Jake probably would have loved having him.

26. Dodgers - Previous: 23
Last year's NL West champs keep moving on down, with a 5 game losing streak pushing them percentage points behind the Rockies and into the cellar. The why is pretty obvious, Penny, Maddux, and Lilly have been awful while Liriano has been just OK. Starting pitching is the key to winning, and the Dodgers starting pitching has generally been mediocre at best, which combined with the second worst OPS in the league makes for an ugly combination.

1997 All-Star - Royce Clayton
Clayton was a pretty good defensive shortstop, but his OPS+ for 1997 was 84, that just isn't All-Star caliber. The guy simply needed more offense, kinda like the IBC Dodgers.

27. Rangers - Previous: 27
Still plugging along, waiting for Rich Harden to come back healthy and DL time served. At this point 2008 is probably over for the Rangers, and meanwhile every 5th afternoon/evening Seth prays his franchise's arm doesn't fall off. The good news is that help is on the way for next year if Ervin Santana, Xavier Nady, and Dan Uggla keep it up in real life.

1997 All-Star - Justin Thompson
The hard throwing lefty burst onto the scene in 1997, going 15-11 with a 3.02 ERA, throwing 4 complete games. The bad news for Thompson, he threw almost 100 more innings in 1997 than he had in 1996, and then he threw another 220+ not nearly as good innings in 1998. You all know the story about what happens next, arm troubles ruined his career. Potential can be derailed by injuries, this team's future is riding on Harden's arm just like Thompson's future rode on his arm.

28. Angels - Previous: 26
This is shaping up to be an epic race for the #1 pick in the 2008 IBC draft. Despite my ridicule this team is still starting Millar, Durham and Mientkiewicz, though Millar is putting up the best hitting numbers on the team so maybe there's a method to the madness. Dave is waiting for his crew of young arms to be ready, this team is probably a couple years away, still it would be nice to see a few more guys with futures on the roster.

1997 All-Star - Shawn Estes
Believe it or not there was a time when Shawn Estes was a top young pitcher. He had good stuff, a great mound presence, and was really fun to watch. That time was 1997, when Estes went 19-5 with a 3.18. So why is he a fit for Anaheim? Because poor management wrecked his future, just like poor management is pushing this team farther into the cellar. I just don't buy that there aren't better options than Minky at 1B, and if you filled the vets roster spots with prospects there's a good chance at least one of them would turn out worth having. Wait, you're in my division aren't you? Scratch that, keep doing what you're doing!

29. Astros - Previous: 29
This Houston team is playing for next year. It might look like they're playing for farther away than that, but I'm betting on a jump for this squad next year.

1997 All-Star - Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Sweet, got all the juniors into comparisons. Anyway 1997 was a mirage of a year for Sandy Alomar, Jr., who set career highs in AVG/OBP/SLG, hits, doubles, home runs, and RBI, and by a lot too. But it was a mirage, just like Shawn Lape as a prospect hound building for 2015 is a mirage (sorry to out you buddy).

30. Rays - Previous: 30

Blah blah blah, prospects getting ready for next year don't have the talent to compete right now. Not really any new ways to say this.

1997 All-Star - Tony Womack
A 27 year old rookie with an OPS+ of 84 was the Pirates representative at the All-Star game in 1997, and actually came in 9th in the Rookie of the Year vote that year. However, Womack was not an all-star caliber player, but we had to choose someone from Pittsburgh, just like I have to choose someone from the 1997 team to give to Tampa Bay.

So there you have it, my most recent power rankings with 1997 All-Stars. Let me know if you see better fits from that team, I was really surprised not to use the Big Cat, Larry Walker, Todd Hundley, Jeff Blauser, Robby Alomar or David Justice. Anyway, hope you all enjoy it.
Last edited by Giants on Tue May 27, 2008 5:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Giants »

Looks like there are still some glitches with the power ranking publishing. Shawn please check it out.
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Post by Giants »

Sorry for the technical difficulties, full power rankings up now for your enjoyment.
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Post by Nationals »

Little things indeed...thanks man--these might be the best of the year
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Post by Dodgers »

Yea agreed, great stuff.
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Post by RedSox »

the most dominant pitcher in the league before he was traded for Carl Pavano. Yeah, Carl Pavano.
They also got Tony Armas Jr and if I recall correctly they could have had the Sox other "top" prospect - Brian Rose instead of Pavano.

What a terrible, terrible farm system that was.
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Post by Mets »

Is someone doing this weeks power rankings?....I went in to do them, but couldn't edit the positioning.
2008-2023 Mets: 1,054-1,223...463%
2006-2008 Rockies: 242-244...498%

IBC Total: 1,296-1,467...469%
2022: lost WC
2023: lost WC
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