April 25 Power Rankings

[Giants]

Contributors: Athletics, Rockies

My first attempt at power rankings. I'm going to compare each team with a historical team or athlete just for fun.

Rankings
1. Yankees - Previous: 1
Greatest run differential in the league and A-Rod's coming back. No point in breaking anything down.

Comparison - Pre-2006 Indianapolis Colts. The regular season is meaningless for these guys, JB needs to stop choking in the playoffs.

2. Reds - Previous: 3
Six game winning streak, best offense in the league, overtook the Cardinals for first place in the division. The big surprise has to be the small sample size emergence of Hiroki Kuroda (3-0 2.59). If he keeps that up and Halladay returns to form (2-2 5.67) this team could be unstoppable.

Comparison - Mike Tyson. Always the chance to be spectacular, always the chance things go directly to hell, possibly with something truly bizarre as Nate's life has gone in the last year or two.

3. Orioles - Previous: 9
The early surprise team of 2008, Baltimore has gotten incredible performances from Scott Baker, Javier Vazquez, and Greg Smith on the hill with the Hebrew Hammer Ryan Braun (.310/.372/.648) and the two headed monster of JR Towles and Kelly Shoppach behind the plate with Aaron Herr at third (all three over 1.000 OPS so far).

Comparison - Inner Light. This racehorse is entered in the 2008 Kentucky Derby as a rabbit, setting an absurdly fast pace early that it can't possibly maintain all the way through. Will this rabbit turn into Secretariat? It will be fun to watch all season.

4. Royals - Previous: 5
Tied for the fewest losses in the league, and the offense continues to bang out runs. Losing Soriano hurts some, but Chipper Jones has been unbelievable at SS (that was a Bocachica sized whoops by the DMB folks), as has Bradley in the outfield. Brian Wilson has been unhittable in the bullpen against everyone but the A's. Jurrgens and Saunders remain the keys to the season for KC, who needs that rotation depth to survive.

Comparison - 2002-2003 San Antonio Spurs. The stars are there, but for the Spurs the key was young Tony Parker to get over the top, for the Royals Jurrgens and Saunders will be play the Parker role.

5. BlueJays - Previous: 6
Everyone knew there was a chance that Toronto would be the third best team in the AL Beast, but who's above them is a surprise. The Blue Jays are the lowest of the three top teams because they have the smallest run differential. The bullpen has been awesome, but the most effective starting pitcher thus far has been Jon Lieber. I fully expect Smoltz and Santana to turn it on (currently 5.30 and 8.67 ERAs respectively) and think this will be the lowest we see Toronto in the power rankings this year.

Comparison - 2007-08 San Jose Sharks. Major stars Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo struggled mightily at the beginning of the season and the team plugged along near the top of the division standings, when they turned it on the team went on a ridiculous tear and nearly caught Detroit for the #1 seed in the West. Once Smoltz and Santana get going Toronto will make a run.

6. Cardinals - Previous: 2
An unlucky streak for an otherwise solid bullpen (of this teams 9 losses 4 have come when the team was either leading or tied after 7) has slid the Cardinals behind the Reds, and the lack of runs is a concern, but this team still belongs in the elite category.

Comparison - 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A solid pitching staff represents the Tampa defense, which didn't do anything flashy but got the job done, while the offense did just enough to push the team over the top.

7. Phillies - Previous: 18
If you'll recall my season preview, I said that for this team to compete Erik Bedard needed to pitch like a true ace. Well, 3-0 0.87 with 37 Ks in 31 innings later and the Phillies are in first place in the NLE. A .956 OPS from Ronnie Belliard doesn't hurt the cause either.

Comparison - 1999 Boston Red Sox. Bedard needs to keep being Pedro to hold off the Marlins.

8. RedSox - Previous: 12
As if buoyed by Bren's threat to return the hugely underachieving Red Sox have ripped off 6 straight and stand just 3.5 back of the terrible trio at the top. So is this team playing for their manager, or playing so they won't need him?

Comparison - 1985 Cincinnati Reds. We don't need no stinking manager. Just like the Reds turned to Pete Rose and let the team roll, so have the Boston Red Sox.

9. Tigers - Previous: 11
Holding steady in second place one of the deepest divisions in the league, Detroit is buoyed by the return of Gallardo, who will hopefully give the team the starting pitching it needs. It certainly also helps to have Chris Young on a 56 home run pace.

Comparison - 1989 Oakland A's. Chicks dig the long ball. This teams offense is powered by the long ball despite being in a pitcher's park.

10. Mariners - Previous: 10
Enjoy first place while it lasts! Seattle is maintaining their stead 3 game lead over the A's, and has pretty much maintained status quo since the last power rankings, hence no movement for them.

Comparison - 2006 St. Louis Cardinals. It looked for all the world like there might be a sub .500 champion from the wasteland of a division that was the 2006 NL Central, which sure looks a lot like the 2008 IBC AL West. Someone's gotta win it.

11. Giants - Previous: 13
Holding on in a surprisingly weak division, the Giants are the only NL West team with a positive margin. Meanwile Josh Hamilton has been a revelation, with 8 home runs so far and a 1.086 OPS. Casey Kotchman also has an OPS over 1.000, while the rest of the lineup is pretty slim pickings.

Comparison - 2002 San Francisco Giants. Hamilton/Kotchman = Bonds/Kent, Peavy = Schmidt. Problem for these guys is that no one is Robb Nen, hopefully Nils will answer this question before the season ends.

12. Indians - Previous: 8
The team with 3 DHs is still over .500 in spite of a seriously deficient offense, which has scored the fewest runs of any winning team in the American League, and trails all but Seattle by a good bit too. Jason Giambi (.796 OPS) has been disappointing, Garret Anderson (.312), Marlon Byrd (.589), and Luis Castillo (.544) have been downright awful. Meanwhile the pitching staff has a 5.06 ERA. Yet somehow the team is only 4 games back of KC and .5 back of Detroit.

Comparison - 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks. All the stats say this team should be headed for a free fall. They said that about the Diamondbacks too, only the Diamondbacks never did. Will the team of 3 DHs succeed in the same way?

13. Marlins - Previous: 19
Sheets is still healthy and Verlander is rounding back into form. Meanwhile Big Papi and Geovany Soto are mashing for a team that has been clearly underachieving the first month of the season but should expect to turn it on the rest of the way.

Comparison: 2007 San Diego Chargers. A slow start and suddenly the sky was falling, Norv needed to be fired, Rivers was a bust, and Merriman couldn't play without his steroids. Then things calmed down and the team played up to its ability, won the division, earned the #3 seed and basically performed exactly to expectations, just like we expect the Marlins to do.

14. Twins - Previous: 14
The defending World Series Champs still have major holes in the lineup, as the team has the fewest extra base hits of any AL contender. The pitching staff has seriously underperformed, with only Jered Weaver and Rafael Betancourt pitching to expectations. Yet somehow this team still is over .500, and it has that freaky Metrodome mojo working. It's hard to imagine this pitching staff finishing with a 5.60 ERA at the end of the year.

Comparison: 1995 San Francisco 49ers. In 1994 Deion Sanders put the 49ers over the top, and I would argue that the `94 team was as good or better than any of the 1980's dynasty teams. In 1995 Sanders left for the Cowboys, and the team was fine, but it wasn't great. Ryan Howard = Deion Sanders

15. DBacks - Previous: 15
The team is kicking around at .500, 1/2 game back of the Giants for the division lead. They are also playing with a negative margin, and lead the league in both home runs and strikeouts. This is pretty much an all or nothing team that will rely on its offense. Bobby Jenks has been particularly disappointing with a 6.10 ERA, he will need to turn it around for this team to compete.

Comparison: 1995 Atlanta Falcons. You could really pick any run and shoot team to put in this spot. The all or nothing nature of that offense fits this team pretty well.

16. Braves - Previous: 4
It sure sucks when your top three starters find the DL at the same time. That more than anything else has led to the downfall of last year's NLE champions. They won't be able to compete until they get healthier.

Team Comparison: 2007 Oakland Athletics. Now that was an epic team of injured players if I've ever seen one. Rich Harden, Mike Piazza, Justin Duchsherer, Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby, Travis Buck, Milton Bradley, Kiko Calero, that's a pretty good team of injured guys, which brought the 2006 AL West champions down to a sub .500 team.

17. Dodgers - Previous: 7
Losing Lowell has hurt this team as it's nose-dived since the last power rankings. Meawhile the bullpen, which was a strength, is now struggling brutally as Turnbow's ERA is back up over 4 and Soria's is at 6.94. Staff ace Brad Penny is sporting a 7.11, basically the point is that the pitching needs to step it up.

Comparison: Michael Grant. Anyone remember him? He was the piano playing heavyweight who was supposed to be the next great champ. Then he got knocked the fuck out (Soria). Then he got knocked the fuck out again (Penny). Now we don't hear from him anymore.

18. Mets - Previous: 24
The Mets are doing better than .500, though they're doing it with a margin of exactly 0. The pitching not named Fogg and Nolasco has been great, but the offense is clearly in the lower tier of the league. The Mets will need some bats if they want to continue to compete in the NLE.

Comparison: Phil Mickelson. Mickelson does pretty well when he just plays but when he gets super aggressive he starts to struggle. Aggressive play in golf equates to offense in baseball, Mickelson struggles at that just as the Mets do.

19. Pirates - Previous: 21
This team continues to struggle on the road, and marquee acquisition Jose Reyes is hitting .257/.297/.414. The stats sorta don't matter, this team isgoing to be de-constructed and re-constructed 3 times before the end of the season so deep analysis of the current team isn't worth the time.

Comparison: Andy Roddick. Yeah, I watch tennis too. Roddick is a fine talent but he's always changing coaches and making little tweaks, and he never seems to quite get over the hump. That seems to be JP's experience since his return to the league.

20. Padres - Previous: 16
A brief 3 game winning streak is putting some more positive mojo into a team that had struggled since the last power rankings. There is a ton of talent on this team, but thus far it has underachieved.

Comparison: 2006-2007 New Jersey Nets. Talk about star power, with Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, but the results were only just OK. The Padres have names, but the names are only giving a mediocre performance thus far (it could be worse, if they keep sucking they'll become the 2007-2008 Knicks).

21. Athletics - Previous: 23
The A's have hung in on the division despite a losing streak. The end of games has been an adventure, with the team blowing 5 of 8 save opportunities but also winning 4 games in the 9th inning against opposing closers. The offense has struggled, but the team has also been the unluckiest in the IBC with the lowest BABIP (.275 compared to a league average of .309). The team is also getting a huge boost from the return of Mike Cameron from suspension this weekend.

Comparison: 2006 Oakland Athletics. Or the 2007 IBC A's if you prefer, this team like its real life doppleganger has always been a slow starter through April. Am I picking a division champion to put a positive spin on my team? Hell yeah, my reward for writing this thing.

22. Cubs - Previous: 22 (in honor of Gabe no caps will be used)
the cubs are an enigmatic team, relying on guys like joe dickerson and chris narveson to keep them afloat while the more established names like... well actually there aren't really any established names on this team besides chris young. a cobbling together of youngsters and sim freaks has the cubs over .500, not bad.

comparison: 2006 florida marlins. the team of unknowns who made joe girardi's reputation looks a lot like this team. throwing guys out there, seeing what sticks, and getting better than expected results based on the name value of the players.


23. WhiteSox - Previous: 20
This team hasn't so much fallen as other teams have begun to play better. Statistically the numbers aren't so impressive for this team, with only Geoff Jenkins having a credible year, but there seems to be enough talent in the cupboard to at least keep this team out of the top 5 in the draft.

Comparison: 2002-2003 Golden State Warriors. The Warriors were shit since the Webber trade. The 2002-2003 team which featured the emergence of Gilbert Arenas, played well enough to get us Warriors fans thinking about maybe squeezing into the 8 seed, and more importantly gave us a team we weren't exactly proud of but weren't embarrassed about either. The White Sox are at that point now.

24. Nationals - Previous: 17
The only NLE team with a negative run differential, the Nats have the most feeble offense in the IBC with only 73 runs scored. The pitching has been incredibly effective, limiting opponents to 80 runs, the best in the league. On the plus side, Pedro Feliz has a 1.400 OPS. Pete Happy baby!

Comparison: 2005 Manchester United. Why? Because they don't score and they don't let runs score, they might as well be playing soccer.

25. Rockies - Previous: 25
It's like John says in his email status message, his pitching sucks. Part of that is Colorado, and part of that is guys underperforming. It happens. The good news is that his division is so tight that even though the stats don't like the Rockies they are still solidly in the race.

Comparison: 2007-2008 Golden State Warriors. They'll score as much as you want, but they'll give it all back.

26. Brewers - Previous: 28
The Brewers are doing slightly better in the last couple of weeks, as they have separated themselves from the likely 100 game loser pack. Ryan Howard, Shawn Riggans, and John Lindsey have formed a monster heart of the order, and a foundation of Howard, JJ Hardy, Evan Longoria, and Eric Byrnes provides hope that this won't be a completely lost season. This team is in a pretty serious Justin Masterson/Wade Davis countdown mode.

Comparison: Zab Judah. Surprising raw talent that just hasn't been succcessfully put together over the long haul.

27. Rangers - Previous: 26
Oops. As someone who has seen more of him then the rest of league combined in all likelihood I understand the appeal of Rich Harden, but he's just not worth it.

Comparison: 1996-1997 San Antonio Spurs. The team was built around David Robinson, then David Robinson got hurt and next thing you know they were among the worst teams in the league. The good news though was that those Spurs got Tim Duncan, can Texas parlay this finish into a player like that?

28. Astros - Previous: 29
This team is all about the future, they're just playing the young guys and waiting for them to develop while hoping to get a draft pick next year.

Comparison: 2007-2008 Minnesota Timberwolves. Tankapalooza baby. Only the good kind, the ones where your players actually suck, rather than the bad kind where you pretend your guys are hurt

29. Angels - Previous: 27
Riding high after a sweep of the Mariners, the Angels are coming back to Earth. The good news is that a couple of their new pitching acquisition Cliff Lee is tearing it up in real life. The bad news is that Cliff Lee is 0-2 with a 7.56 in the SIM.

Comparison: 2008 San Francisco Giants. The team is building for the future right? So what the hell are Doug Mientkiewiecz, Ray Durham, Kevin Millar, and Joe Crede doing in the everyday lineup? Does DMB have some sort of hidden scrappiness rating we don't know about?

30. Rays - Previous: 30
15 Straight losses. That's a lot. Can we just put them on the clock for the #1 pick now?

Comparison: 1962 New York Mets. Not their fault, they're just overmatched.

So that's my first shot at power rankings, comment away.

[DBacks]

<i>"22. Cubs - Previous: 22 (in honor of Gabe no caps will be used) " </i>

lol. that was awesome, thank you. nice job guys.

[Astros]

Andrew didn't win the title last year, I did

[Dodgers]

That's what we tell you.

[BlueJays]

Nice work guys, appreciate the effort. Good fun read. My pitching should come around. There is no possible way Halladay is that bad. Meche has been more than solid. The offense should win most games anyway...

Take a look at my avg run support for my starters. Its not fair.

Just hope my team can stay relatively healthy, which they have.. knock on wood... some issues in the pen early, but Shields and Chulk are back which helps a lot.

[Athletics]

Those 4 players sim decent enough to be there and better options than Casto, Ryan, Trumbo and Beltre. Yea, we're rebuilding.

[Dodgers]

I think his point was that they don't really fit in with a rebuilding roster Dave.

[Athletics]

I have alot of young players. I didnt know if Jake took that in to account when he did this. I needed bodies to play.

[RedSox]

Young team + Bad luck = Ugly start. I've lost 5 of my last 8 by one run, two in extras. Last night I get 21 hits, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, steal the only base in the game, no CS, score at least once in 6 innings, and lose 11-10. How do you lose a game like that? Here's how: Your starter strikes out the first batter of the game, gives up a single, and gets pulled after 9 pitches. Caught stealing, strikeout, onto the second inning. Walk, single, walk. Second pitcher pulled after 21 pitches. Sac. fly, error, bang!, 7 unearned runs on the only error of the game. Expect ugly results tonight too after the BP put in 145 pitches in 8.2 inngs of relief last night with 5 of 8 relievers working and the number 5 starter on the bump.

[Giants]

Minky (1B): .751 OPS Av/Av

You really can't do better than that?