1. BOB (0) Sure, they took a loss to the Cardinals, but that isn’t scaring me off the bandwagon. With all four of their starters in the Cy Young discussion, I really don’t think any team has been better positioned down the stretch. Note that although the win streak officially ended at 9, the quality start streak lives on. Although rarely used, they have one of the best bullpens in the league, with both Rollie Fingers and Buddy Groom performing at an All Star level. Now some say that the offense has problems. To that, I say hogwash. This team isn’t designed to be scoring five runs each and every game. Instead, they manufacture runs when they need it. Luis Aparicio is still one of the most versatile players in the game, and there is enough decent hitters behind him that usually someone is on a good streak. I definitely have my eye on Travis Hafner as we approach the playoffs. The veteran has been with the team since the beginning and has been a quiet, but effective leader. Not to mention the fact that Ronde Barber knows what he’s doing; perhaps he had an initial overreaction to the loss, but expect a few tweaks in the coming games. If he can find a way to reignite Ichiro, I think this next series against Meow Meow Dui will go very well for them.
2. ZSY (+1) Albert Pujols, Ralph Kiner, and Jack Wilson have a combined 45 RBIs. They’ve scored 44 runs during their current five game winning streak. I’m going to let that sink in for a moment…this team is an offensive juggernaut, but what’s more, the starting pitching has been consistently good thus far this year. That was not a part of the plan when the team started the season, but a very welcome surprise! Kip Wells is another pitcher into the Cy Young discussion, the only pitcher to be sporting a 4-0 record at the moment. But I’m seriously questioning if that can be kept up for the rest of the year or even into the playoffs. Also the bullpen is another weakness that the team has managed to dance around more or less successfully so far this year. But what will happen in a playoff scenario when this team gets into a late inning slugfest? I really do think they are a shoe-in for the playoffs, but the jury is still out on how they would do once they got there.
3. MMD (-1) Blueberry frosting or classic strawberry…two flavors of Pop Tarts, but ultimately the same product. That’s how I’m feeling about this upcoming series between the Spartans and Meow Meow Dui. Both teams very focused on the starting pitching, while the offenses runs a run manufacturing strategy. That being said, the team is in an interesting situation at third place in Division 1. Their remaining schedule is a mix of intense division match-ups (BOB and ZSY) and very easy wins ripe for the picking (MAX, AXN, MEL). Depending how they perform over the next couple series, they could very easily find themselves winning the division. On the other hand, should they stumble, both the JELLY QUEEN DREAM TEAM and the Queynos Warriors are hungry for that last playoff spot and are pushing with all their might to get in.
4. RED (0) Last update I predicted a bumpy ride in the second half for this team and well…let’s just say the second half started really bumpy, in the form of an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Warriors. The clear issue with this team has been the pitching, both starting and relieving. Personally, I think the team needs to make a move because their current staff clearly aren’t cutting it. The do get decent run support, so I can’t lay any blame really on the offense. And the bullpen is starting to show some signs of cracking after being relied upon a bit too heavily. Their remaining schedule is one of the toughest in the league, with their next three series against TYC, ZSY, and BOB in that order. I don’t see them going better than .500 across that stretch with their current ball club. The team can hit, but if Ishmael von Corrin doesn’t want to slip out of the playoff picture, he’s gotta make a change.
5. QEY (+4) This team showed some real heart last series against the Aces; clearly the new GM and management team has injected some energy into this team and is moving them in the right direction. The middle of the lineup is hotter than Aunt Jemima’s pancake griddle on Sunday morning, with Ellis Burks, Cliff Floyd, and Frank Catalonotto creating some very dangerous waters for opposing pitchers to navigate. Of late Floyd has been particularly good after struggling very badly at the start of the season. We’ll see if the team has what it takes to keep up the momentum; I’m not sure if they can next week against the Z-Slayers. Even a split series would be welcome for the currently fourth place team, but should they drop two, could they recover in the last stretch of the season? Their last games of the year are against the JELLY QUEEN, which could prove to be the most important series of the year for them.
6. LIN (+1) Upon entering the easiest stretch of their schedule, the Lindsyans got off on the wrong foot by dropping a game to the lowly Bombers. They bounced back with a solid win in game two and are looking to forward that momentum in their next two games against the last place Darkpaws. Moises “Piss Hands” Alou and team would definitely consider anything less than a sweep a disappointment, as this is their only “easy” matchup left this season. In the hyper-competitive Division 1, Jelly’s team are in a desperate dog fight with the Warriors to not be the “good team” that gets shouldered out of the playoffs. With the Warriors on a bit of a hot streak, the Lindsyans really need the offensive sparks to fly once more. Left fielder Manny Ramirez was an early contender for MVP, but he’s been almost silent since the midpoint of the season. Rondell White has been picking up some of the slack, but the rest of the team really needs to wake up and give the pitching staff some more run support. To repeat myself, this week is a big one for this team. A good result for them and a bad result for the Warriors (who will face the Z-Slayers) will have them much better positioned for the final push.
7. STL (-2) Although the team drops two spots in the Power Rankings, I think things are relatively stable with this team. While proving that the Spartans are not invulnerable, they extended their streak of splitting series to six straight. That being said, they didn’t look great, with the only real bright spot coming from an encouraging performance by starter Bud Smith. Aside from that the offense cooled off considerably and the already thin bullpen has stumbled twice in three games. But the way I’m looking at Division 2, if the Cardinals continue to play .500 baseball, they just might end up winning the Division. Anything can happen really, but with how the other teams have been performing, I have the feeling they will finish the year in first or second place. Big games this week against Edgar Martinez Jr. and the Green Sox, but I’m expecting another split.
8. TYC (-2) So it’s true that a Tycoons fan jokingly offered me a hot dog, but his own team offered him a kitty litter sandwich. Talk about a team in a death spiral: the team has been shut out 4 of their last six games and outscored 38-13 during that same stretch. The once proud starting rotation has been humbled for two cycles in a row, so there’s not even that to talk about. The only bit of hope for the team comes in the form of Kerry Wood 04, the former Darkpaw who pitched decently for that team with no run support throughout the year. I’m not sure he’s going to find much more with his new team. The Giambi brothers have been the biggest disappointments of the entire league so far this year, to the point it’s a miracle that this team even got seven wins. Fred McGriff started off the season red hot, but he hasn't had an RBI in over seven games. But of course in the madness that is Division 2, Mao’s squad is still in the running for a first round bye, which they could make a very strong case for if they can turn the ship around this week against von Corrin’s Red Clay Aces. You never know, they might end up being replaced by the Bombers.
9. TEN (+1) Well I suppose there were some signs of life after splitting the series against Meow Meow Dui, but the real big news is the addition of Edgar Martinez Jr., which I think is a welcome move by a team that has struggled to amass baserunners. Joel Piniero is off the team, which probably won’t have a huge impact on the starters, but may actually put some more stress on the bullpen since Piniero did eat up a lot of innings. Otherwise I can’t say that I’m feeling the excitement that a lot of people around the league seem to be having for this team. As I’ve said endlessly, anything can happen in Division 2 especially with the interesting opponents they have scheduled: STL, LIN, AXN, TYC, and finally MEL. Lots of winnable games in there.
10. MEL (-2) So it goes for the Marauders as well, coming off of a split series against the Darkpaws where Doctor Vindaloo’s ball club did not look all that strong. There’s just no pop there, no flavor, no Frank’s Red Hot Sauce…if you’ve seen the team play, they are pretty boring games. No offense to Doctor Vindaloo, but names like Adam Kennedy and Scott Rolen aren’t exactly filling up Melmegetian Municipal Stadium (the giant Shiva Natarajah statue in left field, now that's something to see). In my opinion, the team might be able to sneak into the playoffs if they perform at critical junctures, such as their upcoming Division Series. They stumbled a bit against the Darkpaws, but could they assert themselves against the Bombers this week?
11. MAX (+1) To be honest, I actually like the Bombers this week when they come to rumble with the Marauders. Incredibly they too are in the playoff hunt and have been playing decently after snapping their eight game losing streak, going 2-2 over their last four games. Jeff Kent has powered the offense with a pair of homers during that stretch while Richie Ashburn continues to put together a decent season. The bottom of the order has also been a pleasant surprise with Delino “Delicious” Deshields and Bengie “Don’t Make Fun Of My Speed” Molina providing a decent spark to several rallies. Pitching isn’t quite what is used to be (especially the struggling bullpen) but it has certainly improved from the first half of the year. Playoffs certainly seem a long ways off for this team, but definitely don’t count them out yet.
12. AXN (-1) Although they have a better record than the Bombers, there really isn’t any path for the Darkpaws to make the playoffs this year. We saw that reflected in their most recent trade for Joel Piniero, a move obviously carried out with next season in mind. At this point they really could only play spoiler for other teams looking for easy wins. As the season progresses we count down the days until they are officially eliminated from contention. Is there also a timer counting down the days for GM ALLIED_MASTERCOMPUTER? There’s talk that the Darkpaws want to start fresh next year, so new management might be in the cards as well. Also interesting to note that it looks like Ken Griffey Jr. in all likelihood will not make the All Star team. This would be the first time he’s missed that award in his entire career.That’s all for now folks. Thanks for tuning in and remember: when someone offers you a hot dog and their intent is malicious, just say no. When someone offers you a hot dog and their intent is delicious, just say yes.
No comments:
Post a Comment