Monday, May 12, 2008

AL Power Rankings, Week 3

1 Oklahoma City Chickens


Last Week: #1
Record: 34-16 (12-10 this week)
Expected Win %: .704
Interesting, But Meaningless: Only team to not receive an intentional walk yet this season. Cheyanne leads the majors with 27.
Yikes: Run differential is +114. No other AL team is even +50.

2 Madison Massas


Last Week: #2
Record: 35-15 (15-7 this week)
Expected Win %: .582
Interesting, But Meaningless: Still staying well ahead of their expected win %, thanks in part to the bullpen. Madison is an incredible 12-3 in one-run games. At some point, this won't be a fluke any more.
Yikes: Joey Hermanson has allowed just one of 10 inherited runners to score.

3 Iowa City Eyesores


Last Week: #7
Record: 32-18 (16-6 this week)
Expected Win %: .571
Interesting, But Meaningless: 10-4 in one-run games, despite having only one reliever with an ERA under 4.
Yikes: Team has scored 279 runs while still getting a sub-800 OPS from Vinny Hernandez.

4 New York Bombers



Last Week: #4
Record: 30-20 (12-9 this week)
Expected Win %: .578
Interesting, But Meaningless: Howie Oliver is 8-for-10 on saves, despite posting a 7.36 ERA.
Yikes: Timothy Dye has 40 stolen bases already this season despite an OBP of just .310.

5 Mexico City Reds


Last Week: #3
Record: 29-21 (12-10 this week)
Expected Win %: .553
Interesting, But Meaningless: Second in the AL with a 4.28 ERA. Oklahoma City is first at 3.79.
Yikes: Bullpen has allowed only 12 of 49 inherited runners to score.

6 Kansas City McCoys


Last Week: #10
Record: 26-24 (14-8 this week)
Expected Win %: .569
Interesting, But Meaningless: Top 3 relievers as ranked by ERA are a combined 110 years old. Stone Ford is 37, Hong-Gu Kobayashi is 37 and Raul Ibarra is 36.
Yikes: Pitching staff is allowing 2.58 walks per 9 innings, best in the majors.

7 Boston Badasses


Last Week: #8
Record: 27-23 (12-9 this week)
Expected Win %: .509
Interesting, But Meaningless: So far this season Mike Hodges has posted an OPS more than 160 points higher than his career average.
Yikes: Pitching staff has walked almost 4 batters per 9 innings (3.96), worst in the majors.

8 Wichita Sizzlers



Last Week: #5
Record: 25-25 (9-12 this week)
Expected Win %: .528
Interesting, But Meaningless: Leads the AL with 100 SB.
Yikes: Pepper McCall is having a career year at the age of 35. He's 7-0 with an ERA of 2.76 and a WHIP of 1.01.

9 San Juan Senators


Last Week: #6
Record: 26-24 (11-11 this week)
Expected Win %: .511
Interesting, But Meaningless: Leads the majors with 10 complete games.
Yikes: 26 wins in the majors, 27 wins combined for all four minor league teams. In a related note, the two week inactivity window ends Tuesday this week, so a replacement owner should be in place soon.

10 Chicago Bearcubs

Last Week: #11
Record: 23-27 (11-11 this week)
Expected Win %: .502
Interesting, But Meaningless: Still have not stolen a base this season (0-for-2)
Yikes: How do you post a losing record with a $117M payroll? Pay Sherm Taylor $7.75M, Jung Martin $2.765M, Edgardo Torcato $4.4M, Sean Washington $6.0M, and Arthur Jacobsen $5.3M. That's more than $25M for pitchers with ERAs over 5.50.

11 Las Vegas Gamble


Last Week: #12
Record: 21-29 (8-14 this week)
Expected Win %: .467
Interesting, But Meaningless: Chris Sears has an ERA of 1.89. No other active reliever has an ERA within almost three runs of that (4.86).
Yikes: Only 13 quality starts in 50 games. That's the worst in the majors.

12 Durham Bulls


Last Week: #9
Record: 21-29 (7-14 this week)
Expected Win %: .454
Interesting, But Meaningless: Pitching staff has allowed 86 HR, more than any team other than Colorado.
Yikes: Richie Cormier and Vicente Montanez have combined for 43 HR, 89 RBI and an OPS over 1.000.

13 San Jose Snakes


Last Week: #13
Record: 21-29 (9-13 this week)
Expected Win %: .446
Interesting, But Meaningless: Leads the AL with 3 sac bunts. The rest of the league combined has three.
Yikes: 31 runners have been caught stealing, with only 45 successful steals.

14 Washington DC Old School Warriors


Last Week: #14
Record: 19-31 (8-14 this week)
Expected Win %: .402
Interesting, But Meaningless: Tony Gil has 5 minus plays and 0 plus plays.
Yikes: Jose Chavez has 9 saves in 9 attempts, thanks to a WHIP of 0.66.

15 Philadelphia Hellraisers


Last Week: #16
Record: 18-32 (12-10 this week)
Expected Win %: .318
Interesting, But Meaningless: Only four batters have been hit by a pitch all season. The next-fewest for any team is 11. The NY Burros have 30.
Yikes: They have actually won four straight series, taking 2 of 3 from Las Vegas, San Juan and Boston and winning 3 of 4 from Washington.

16 St. Louis Stampede


Last Week: #15
Record: 13-37 (6-16 this week)
Expected Win %: .321
Interesting, But Meaningless: Only 7 saves in 15 attempts.
Yikes: Team is well on its way to its eighth-straight losing season. They have never posted more than 80 wins.

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