AL Power Rankings, Week 8

Pretty much all the drama has been sucked out of the playoff push in the AL. All four divisional leaders are comfortably ahead, and the Wild Card spots are in relatively comfortable shape as well. Now, barring a spectacular collapse (which is not entirely out of the question) it's just a matter of seeding. The race for the #1 overall seed and #1 Wild Card spot are pretty much the only drama left.

1 Madison Massas


Last Week: #2
Record: 98-48 (18-3 this week)
Expected Win %: .597
Playoff Prognosis: In. They will win the division with one more win, and once they do, they will have already clinched at worst the #2 seed, so they will have a bye.
Magic number to clinch #1 seed: 17
Magic number to clinch the division: 1
Magic number to clinch a playoff berth: 1

2 Oklahoma City Chickens


Last Week: #1
Record: 96-50 (13-8 this week)
Expected Win %: .687
Playoff Prognosis: In. A 13-8 week is nothing to sneeze at, but they lost a whopping 5 games of ground to Madison. Now, they're facing an uphill climb to get back home field.
Magic number to clinch the division: 5
Magic number to clinch first-round bye: 1

3 Mexico City Reds


Last Week: #3
Record: 84-62 (8-13 this week)
Expected Win %: .578
Playoff Prognosis: Uh oh. Awful week left them just two games up on the Bombers for the top Wild Card spot. They're still eight up on Chicago with 16 games left to play, but the remaining schedule is brutal.
2 against Madison
4 against Oklahoma City
4 against Chicago (this could be make-or-break)
3 against NY Bombers
3 against Philadelphia
Only the last series is a layup. There is a realistic chance that they could go something like 5-11 before that, opening the door for Chicago to steal the playoff berth.
Magic number to clinch a playoff berth: 9

4 New York Bombers


Last Week: #4
Record: 82-64 (14-7 this week)
Expected Win %: .554
Playoff Prognosis: The wild card lead is back up to 6 after sitting at 4 a week ago. The next 10 games are against okay or bad teams (Kansas City, San Jose, Philadelphia), so there's a real chance to pretty much lock up their playoff berth before a tough closing stretch against Mexico City and Madison.
Magic number to clinch a playoff berth: 11

5 Kansas City McCoys


Last Week: #5
Record: 80-66 (13-8 this week)
Expected Win %: .583
Playoff Prognosis: Can't catch the #2 seed, but have pretty much locked down the division title and (at worst) the #4 seed. Hold a 9-game lead in the division with 16 to play, and are one game up on Boston for the #3 seed.
Magic number to clinch the division: 8
Magic number to clinch the #3 seed: 16

6 Boston Badasses


Last Week: #6
Record: 79-67 (14-7 this week)
Expected Win %: .510
Playoff Prognosis: Finally kicked it into gear this week after slogging through an uninspired month. The divisional lead jumped from 3 games to 9 this week, turning what looked like a down-to-the-wire race into a blowout. One game back of the #3 seed with 16 to play.
Magic number to clinch the division: 8

7 Chicago Bearcubs

Last Week: #8
Record: 76-70 (14-7 this week)
Expected Win %: .541
Playoff Prognosis: A very good week has them still alive in the playoff race. They're six back of the Bombers and eight back of reeling Mexico City. If they can stay hot and sweep Mexico City, they're absolutely still a factor. There's not a lot of margin for error, but given that they looked almost finished a week ago, they're undoubtedly happy to still be a part of the race.

8 Wichita Sizzlers


Last Week: #12
Record: 71-75 (12-9 this week)
Expected Win %: .520
Playoff Prognosis: Basically done. They're 9 back in the division and 11 back of the wild card with 16 to play.

9 Las Vegas Gamble


Last Week: #11
Record: 71-75 (11-10 this week)
Expected Win %: .497
Playoff Prognosis: Same as Wichita. They're 9 back in the division and 11 back of the wild card with 16 to play.

10 Iowa City Eyesores


Last Week: #10
Record: 70-76 (8-13 this week)
Expected Win %: .416
Playoff Prognosis: The good news is that they don't lose any ground in the rankings. The bad news is... everything else. They're 12 back of the Bombers with 16 to play, meaning that they could go 11-5, and if NY goes 1-15, the Eyesores will miss the playoffs.

11 San Jose Snakes


Last Week: #13
Record: 69-77 (10-11 this week)
Expected Win %: .479
Playoff Prognosis: Virtually eliminated. They're 11 back in the division and 13 down in the wild card with 16 to go.

12 San Juan Senators


Last Week: #7
Record: 68-78 (4-17 this week)
Expected Win %: .479
Playoff Prognosis: Manager Willie Randolph said... No, seriously. What the hell happened? They were 4 back of the wild card last week. Now they're 14 back with 16 to play. Swept by Madison and the Bombers, lost 3 of 4 to San Jose, 2 of 3 to Las Vegas, 2 of 3 to Kansas City, and 2 of 3 to Chicago. Just brutal.

13 Washington DC Old School Warriors


Last Week: #10
Record: 66-80 (6-15 this week)
Expected Win %: .426
Playoff Prognosis: Eliminated. Apparently, they were just one-week wonders. They had the divisional hole down to 5 games last week and shot up 3 spots in the poll. This week they lost 8 games of ground and gave back those three spots in the poll.

14 Durham Bulls


Last Week: #14
Record: 59-87 (7-14 this week)
Expected Win %: .414
Playoff Prognosis: Mathematically eliminated.

15 St. Louis Stampede


Last Week: #15
Record: 56-90 (10-11 this week)
Expected Win %: .382
Playoff Prognosis: Dead, but playing better for the third week in a row.

16 Philadelphia Hellraisers


Last Week: #16
Record: 49-97 (6-17 this week)
Expected Win %: .335
Playoff Prognosis: None. In absolute free-fall right now. They had a better record than St. Louis a couple weeks ago and are now seven games worse. Hello, #1 draft pick.