Thursday, April 30, 2009

Season 4 Playoffs - Florida Takes the Crown


Florida Shark Waves
Season 4 World Series Champions


Leon Jackson - Cobbfather Post Gazette

Four seasons of Regular Season dominance has finally paid off for rawdk27 and his Florida Shark Waves, paying off with a World Series title in Season 4. Florida took game 6, defeating Dover 5-3 to take the series 4 games to 2. Conti's RBI single in the 7th put Florida ahead for good, and Justin Kennedy added a solo home run in the 8th to seal the deal. Star closer Jeremi Welsh shut the door on Dover with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief for the save, while reliever Adam Winn got the win. Albie Torres pitched 6 solid innings allowing 2 earned runs. With a 2.29 ERA in 35.1 post season innings, Emmett Rhodes was the Playoff MVP for the Shark Waves. Congrats to rawdk on finally bringing home the trophy and congrats as well to jiml60 on making a great run with Dover.

That closes the book on season 4, thanks to everyone in Cobbfather for a great season. See you in Season 5!!


Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Alogman caught Pink handed "Secret Revealed"

We Finally found out Alogman's source for all his "picks" . As I was traveling through Alog's hometown, I saw this stunning picture. I was not sure what to think, but than within minutes, predictions for the series were up on the blog. Alog said the pig was trying to give him the cure for the "swine flu" but I disagree.

View Image

Season 4 Awards

Thelma Jenkins - Cobbfather Post Gazette

This season's awards are out - let's see who took home the hardware!

NATIONAL LEAGUE

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Buddy Poole
Memphis
Mayhem
Age: 26B/T: R/R
Born: Haverhill, MA
Position(s): LF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Buddy Poole of the Memphis Mayhem is Season 4's NL Most Valuable Player. I'd say he's earned it after crushing 72 Home Runs and knocking in 160 to go with a .304 batting average. This is Poole's first MVP trophy. Poole took 15 of the 32 first place votes. Other players receiving first place votes were Marino Rios, Memphis, (6), Brian Taylor, Jackson, (5), Moises Terrero, Sacramento, (3), and Dan Carter, Dover, (3).

CY YOUNG AWARD

Billy Cox
Memphis
Mayhem
Age: 25B/T: L/L
Born: Mount Prospect, IL
Position(s): P (ClA)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Cy Young award also goes to a member of the Memphis Mayhem, as closer Billy Cox takes this year's honor with 10 first place votes, just edging out fellow closer Sammy Felix of Sacramento, who had 9 first place votes. Cox dazzled with a 1.75 ERA and was successful on 53 of 55 save attempts. This is Cox's first Cy Young award. Others receiving votes include: Midre Aguilera of Jackson (6 votes), Dom Lazzeri of Syracuse (5 votes) and Douglas Blake of Rochester (2 votes).

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Ronnie Bannister
Charleston
Chew
Age: 21B/T: R/R
Born: St. Clairsville, OH
Position(s): 1B
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Ronnie Bannister, 1st baseman for the Charleston Chew, was this year's NL Rookie of the Year with 13 first place votes received. Bannister had a great rookie campaign slugging 37 Home Runs and knocking in 121 runs. Bannister was the 11th overall pick in Season 1's draft. Other players receiving votes for the NL Rookie of the Year were: Dean Cooney of Hartford (10 votes), Luis Carrasco of Rochester (4 votes), Carlos Valdez of Charleston (3 votes), and Alejandro Sosa of Charleston (2 votes). Quite impressive that Charleston had 3 of the top 5 candidates.


AMERICAN LEAGUE

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Jordan Abernathy
Vancouver
Blaze
Age: 27B/T: R/R
Born: Suffield, CT
Position(s): DH/C
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Jordan Abernathy of the Vancouver Blaze is this year's AL Most Valuable Player. He hit .306 this season, and crushed 69 Home Runs and driving in a ridiculous 191 runs. This is Abernathy's 2nd MVP award, he also took the honor in Season 2. Abernathy received 15 of the 32 first place votes. Others receiving votes were: Ed Morris of Chicago (9 votes), Domingo Vargas of Florida (4 votes), Joel Clayton of Florida (3 votes), and Albert Crespo of Texas (1 vote).

CY YOUNG AWARD

Ken Evans
New York
Pride of the Yankees
Age: 24B/T: R/R
Born: Rotan, TX
Position(s): P (P)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Ken Evans of the New York Pride of the Yankees took the AL Cy Young award this season. Evans went 25-6 this season with a 2.06 ERA and 177 strikeouts. First time Cy Young winner Evans took 15 of the 32 first place votes. Others receiving votes were: Tony Saunders of Austin (5 votes), Jeremi Welsh of Florida (5 votes), Barry Carew of Florida (4 votes), and Bronson Jefferies of Austin (3 votes).

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Al Martinez
New York
Pride of the Yankees
Age: 21B/T: R/R
Born: Westminster, CO
Position(s): C
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Al Martinez took home another piece of hardware for the New York Pride of the Yankees, taking the Rookie of the Year trophy for the AL. The 21 year-old slugging catcher launched 40 HR and 140 RBI for the AL North champions. Martinez was the 4th overall pick in the Season 1 draft. Martinez took 16 of the 32 first place votes. Others receiving votes were: Vern Lowe of Boston (9 votes), Warren Martin of Texas (4 votes), R.J. Walcutt of Colorado Springs (2 votes) and Whitey Dwyer of Boston (1 vote).

Congratulations to this year's award winners!!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Season 4 Playoffs - World Series Preview

Leon Jackson - Cobbfather Post Gazette

The World Series is here, and it features two teams who took quite an interesting path to get here. The Florida Shark Waves, who dominated the regular season, found themselves facing elimination early in both the Divisional and LCS rounds; however, they found a way to dig themselves out of the hole each time. The Dover Diamond Dogs took their Play-In Round and their Divisional Round to the maximum 5 games, and then swept Jackson in the NLCS to make the World Series. Another interesting fact, Dover wasn't picked to win any of their 3 series! Congratulations to both mangers, and it will surely be an exciting World Series. Let's start the preview by looking at the tale of the tape.

WORLD SERIES PREVIEW
FLORIDA SHARK WAVES (AL) VS. DOVER DIAMOND DOGS (NL)


TALE OF THE TAPE

Florida
Dover
0.303 AVG 0.275
0.367 OBP 0.337
0.457 SLG 0.469
210 HR 267
1022 RS 894
632 RA 781
3.51 ERA 4.40
1.21 WHIP 1.35
0.986 Fielding % 0.981
113
Wins
88


OFFENSE

Florida's offense is built on high average hitters who support a few solid power hitters. Florida led the league in team batting average, so their game plan has been effective. This post season, however, the bats just haven't been there for Florida, hitting .251 in 10 games, 50 points less than their regular season average. Luis Rivera seemed to step it up in the LCS, but several of the other bats for Florida continued to struggle. Dover, while not producing the high batting average and OBP Florida did, they topped Florida in the power department. In the post season, similar to Florida, they aren't putting up a great batting average (.253), but they are seeing some of their top performers produce. Dan Carter is continuing his role as team offensive leader in the post-season, hitting .346 with a .952 OPS. Supporting him, Justin Crawford has been solid, and Albert Mateo has brought the power. One concern is that Martin McCarty hasn't put it together at the plate this post-season, but compared to Florida, they've performed just a little bit better in the post-season, while we'd say that Florida had the better overall offense in the regular season.

PITCHING

Dover's pitching was right around the league average during the season. Not spectacular, but good enough to get them to the playoffs. In the post season, the Diamond Dogs pitching staff has stepped it up, cutting the team ERA by .30. The leading factor in that drop has been the dominance during this season's playoffs of Pep Brown, who once again dazzled in the LCS sweep of Jackson. Pep is 3-0 this post season with a stellar 2.06 ERA. Angel Barajas has been solid in the 'pen and the bullpen goto guy this post season. Elsewhere, the rest of the Dover staff has been mediocre, so they hope that these two hurlers can keep it up in the World Series, and that they get some help from the rest of the staff as well. Florida is known for its great pitching, leading the league in ERA this season. In the playoffs, Florida's staff hasn't been quite as solid as in the regular season, but they've still been good. They've been experimenting with some tandem starting pitchers this post-season, which seems to work well for them, at least when they are facing elimination. Obviously, Florida had the regular season edge in pitching, but it's definitely been a lot tighter between the two teams pitching wise in the post-season.

OTHER FACTORS TO CONSIDER

- The two teams did not face in the regular season
- Florida had better fielding in the regular season (.986 to .981)
- Dover has had the better fielding in the post season (.991 to .987)
- rawdk has never won a HBD World Series, while jiml60 has won 3.
- The Dover franchise won the World Series in Season 2 (under different ownership)
- Florida was picked in the preseason by the Gazette to lose in the World Series (albeit to Sacramento, not Dover)
- Florida was #1 in the final power rankings, Dover was #11.
- Florida held the #1 spot in the Power Rankings for the final 8 editions.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Florida dominated the regular season, but hasn't been quite as dominant in the post season, while Dover seems to have hit their stride in the playoffs after a good, not great regular season, where they qualified as a wild card. Dover is a serious threat to win this series, and we did not give them enough credit in our LCS preview. However, Florida overcoming some crazy playoff situations and overcoming them, is a sign to us that this may be their season. Four seasons of regular season dominance, we feel, will finally be awarded in this World Series.

PREDICTION: Florida in 6

Hope you enjoyed the preview, best of luck to both teams in what should be an exciting World Series!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Season 4 Playoffs - League Championship Series Preview

Leon Jackson - Cobbfather Post Gazette

What a Divisional Championship Round we had - all 4 series go to 5 games, teams coming back from 2-0 down, 3 lower seeds moving in, it pretty much doesn't get more dramatic than that. Let's see what the LCS has in store for Season 4's Final Four - Florida, Chicago, Jackson and Dover.

NLCS PREVIEW

5 Jackson Rockets vs. 6 Dover Diamond Dogs
Season Series: Jackson won 9-1

It’s certainly not often you see a 5 seed vs. a 6 seed in the LCS, but that’s what’s on tap for season 4’s NLCS. Both teams outlasted their higher seeded opponents in the divisional round to make it to the matchup to decide the NL’s World Series representative.

Both of Dover’s series went 5 games, and they’ve been on both sides of the coin, up 2-0 vs. New York, and down 2-0 vs. Memphis, each time pulling it out in 5 games. The fact that Dover lost 9 of 10 to Jackson in the regular season doesn’t bode well for them, but as we all know, anything can happen in the playoffs. Offensively, Albert Mateo has been in the zone, especially power-wise, with 6 home runs this post season. Dan Carter has been hitting extremely well in the playoff also, hitting over .400 with an OPS over 1.000 this post season. Overall, Dover has 17 home runs this post-season, and will need to keep the powerful bats going in order to succeed vs. a very tough Jackson pitching staff. The story on the mound for Dover this post-season has been the dominance of Pep Brown, who in 4 starts is 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA. His consistency on the mound has been a key factor in Dover’s playoff run. Elsewhere, they’ve been struggling to find solid starting pitching performances during the playoffs, and they’ve had some bullpen woes as well. If those continue, it will be tough for Dover to move on to the World Series.

Jackson swept Syracuse, and avenged their playoff loss to Sacramento in a 5 game war to advance to the NLCS. They’ve got to be going into the series with a lot of confidence knowing they beat their opponent 9 out of 10 times in the regular season. Jackson isn’t a typical 5 seed, as they had a very good regular season posting 99 wins. Jackson’s pitching staff hasn’t lost a step from a tremendous regular season. Shawn Creek is 3-0 in 3 starts, Paul Wirth is pitching well, and the bullpen has been nearly unhittable. A slight cause for concern is that Midre Aguilera has not looked good for Jackson this post season, and may have them searching for another 3rd starter. Offensively, Jackson is hitting over .300 in the playoffs, and has a lot of their lineup hitting well. Jackson may be the team that is playing the best out of all the remaining teams.

Final Analysis: We think the regular season matchup between the two is pretty indicative of how this series will turn out.

Prediction: Jackson in 5

ALCS PREVIEW

1 Florida Shark Waves vs. 6 Chicago Chokers
Season Series: Florida won 7-3

For the third season in a row, it’s Florida vs. Chicago (although they were in Huntington for the first matchup) in the ALCS. The Chicago franchise has won the ALCS all 3 seasons of the league’s existence, in which Florida dominated the regular season each time. It’s an intriguing matchup for sure, with Florida being the better team on paper, but Chicago seemingly having playoff luck on their side.

Chicago got to the ALCS by sweeping Vancouver and out lasting New York in a 5 game power struggle. MVP Candidate Ed Morris has picked up in the post-season right where he left off, and then some, going 15 for 31 with 5 HR and 14 RBI this post season. Fred McNamara has been impressive as well (12 for 23, 3 HR 11 RBI). After that there’s a drop off in production, the rest of Chicago’s lineup has been mediocre the first two rounds of the playoffs, and will need to step it up if they hope to take their 4th straight AL title. Pitching wise, ace Carl Sosa got rocked in his one appearance this post season, but Emmanuel Hartman and Jonathan Sheldon have picked up the slack. Sosa pitching well will be a key factor in whether or not Chicago can win the series. Chicago’s bullpen has been excellent in the post-season, and that’s a big key to winning as well.

The Divisional playoffs were filled with highs and lows for Florida, dropping their first two, their owner nearly going mad, and then coming back to take the last three games from their division rival the Austin Rock Stars. Florida’s pitching staff got roughed up the first two games, but recovered nicely the last 3. They found lightning in a bottle using tandem starters in games 4 and 5, after a nice outing by Albie Torres in game 3. It’s not a good sign for Chicago that the Florida pitching staff is back on track. Offensively, Florida was just okay, not great in the Divisional Round. Certainly, they would like to see sluggers Luis Martin and Justin Kennedy get their bats going.

Final Analysis: We think this is the year that the better team beats out the squad with the playoff luck on their side.

Prediction: Florida in 5

So, the Gazette predicts a lot less drama in this round, as we look for Florida and Jackson to win their series convincingly, setting up an excellent World Series matchup. Now comes the fun part, seeing whether or not the predictions come true. Good luck to all of the teams in the LCS!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Season 4 Playoffs - Divisional Championship Series Preview

Leon Jackson - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It was quite the interesting play-in round, as all of the lower seeded teams won, although there were some excellent wild cards this season, it still comes as a bit of a surprise. On to the Divisional Championship Series round, and the matchups look very good. Will the trend continue of road team domination and lower seeds winning? Here's our Divisional Championship Series Preview.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1 Florida Shark Waves vs. 5 Austin Rock Stars
Season Series:
Florida won 6-4

It’s a battle of AL South rivals in the DCS as Florida takes on Austin. Austin finished the season on a 14 game win streak, won their first 2 playoff games on the road, then dropped 2 at home, and won a 3rd road game to advance. Undoubtedly, it was Stuart Paulson who led the offense for Austin in the play-in round with 3 HR, 7 RBI and a .381 BA. The rest of the offense struggled, and will need to step up in the DCS. Tony Saunders was 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA in the play-in round for Austin, and likely the series MVP, stepping up with 8 scoreless innings in game 5. Other than a rough game 4, the pitching was good for Austin, which is a good sign heading into the DCS.

Austin will need to defeat the most dominant team in the league to make the LCS. Florida posted 113 wins, making it 110+ wins all 4 seasons in the league, and offensively led the league in batting average at a tremendous .310 clip. They were also 2nd in the league in stolen bases, and 2nd in runs scored. They do have power in Luis Martin (55 HR, 155 RBI), Joel Clayton (47 HR, 135 RBI) and Justin Kennedy (33 HR, 128 RBI). The rest of the lineup does a good job of setting these guys up to knock in runs, by getting on bases and stealing bases as well. There really isn’t an easy out in the lineup. Looking at their pitching, once again, Florida led the league in ERA. Their rotation is rock solid top to bottom, hard to say which one SP was the best and stud closer Jeremi Walsh (52 saves in 55 chances, 1.78 ERA) made sure no leads were blown. It’s going to be incredibly tough to beat this team in the playoffs.

Final Analysis: Austin is a great team, and on a hot streak, but Florida is just too good, and should advance here.

Prediction: Florida in 4

2 New York Pride of the Yankees vs. 6 Chicago Chokers
Season Series:
Chicago won 6-4

Two offensive powers go head to head in this Divisional series, as New York faces Chicago. Chicago swept through their play-in series against Vancouver with not only their typical solid offense, which hit over .300 for the series, but also got great pitching, including a CG 2 ER performance from Emmanuel Hartman. Their team ERA was only 2.00 for the 3 game series. But will they be able to keep it up against a more potent offense in New York?

New York posted great offensive number this season, 3rd in team BA, 3rd in home runs, 2nd in team OPS. Hideki Lim posted a nice HR total for them, and rookie Al Martinez shined. And then there’s the 7 other players who posted 20+ HR including Bryant and Boyd with 38. Clearly, it will be tough to contain this offense. Pitching wise, New York was only slightly above the league average in team ERA. But they do have 2 great arms at the top of the rotation in Ken Evans (25-6, 2.68 ERA) and Juan Martin (13-7, 3.69 ERA). They also have a very nice closer in Wil Daneker, who saved 40 out of 46 with a 2.83 ERA. Don’t let their team ERA fool you, New York still has a very good pitching staff, especially for a playoff situation where they can go with a 3 or 4 man rotation.

Final Analysis: New York’s pitching and offense is just a notch above Chicago’s. Although the Chokers are playing quite well so far in the playoffs, it will be tough for their pitching to handle such a powerful lineup.

Prediction: New York in 4

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1 Sacramento Fighting Cornish Hens vs. 5 Jackson Rockets
Season Series: Sacramento won 7-3

It doesn’t seem fair that after all the hard work put in to get the #1 seed, Sacramento has to play one of the best teams in the NL in the Divisional Round. Jackson blew through Syracuse in the play-in round, getting the 3-0 sweep, to win the right to face Sacramento, a rematch from last year’s playoffs. Jackson got great hitting in the opening round with a .303 team BA, lead by Brian Taylor (5-10, HR, 4 BB). Jackson’s great pitching didn’t disappoint either, posting a 2.33 ERA lead by a CG, 2 ER performance by Paul Wirth. Jackson certainly looks geared up to take on Sacramento.

Looking at what Sacramento brings to this matchup, their team offensive stats were right about at the league average. It was a down year power-wise for their offensive leader, Moses Terrero, although he hit for a nice average. Jack Bottalico is healthy for this year’s playoffs – which is a big plus for last year’s World Series runner up, and they also have up and coming rookie slugger Paxton McDonald. It won’t be easy for Jackson to blow through this lineup. Pitching wise, Sacto was 3rd in the league in ERA, and their best pitcher once again was dominant closer Sammy Felix, who shut the door on 53 games in 58 chances with a 2.86 ERA. Their rotation was extremely good, with Andres Cruz (16-4, 3.49 ERA) Brandon Chouinard (14-7, 3.53 ERA) and Elvis Leon (13-7, 3.70 ERA) leading the way.

Final Analysis: This is going to be a tough series, the two teams are very similar, and extremely talented. So close, that it may come down to home field advantage as the deciding factor.

Prediction: Sacramento in 5

2 Memphis Mayhem vs. 6 Dover Diamond Dogs
Season Series: Tied 5-5

Dover beat the New York Primetimers in the play-in round, winning all 3 road games, and losing both at home, just as Austin did. The Dover offense was just ok in the play-in round, benefitting from clutch home runs from Albert Mateo, who hit 4, but struggled otherwise, and solid hitting from Justin Crawford (.316 AVG, 2 HR) and Martin McCarty (.278 AVG, 2 HR). The rest of the offense struggled. Pep Brown carried the Dover pitching staff in the play-in round and was probably the series MVP going 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. The rest of the rotation was shaky, but the bullpen came through for them.

Dover’s opponent, the Memphis Mayhem, won a duel with Jackson for the NL South title. Memphis’s pitching staff finished in the top 10 in ERA, coming in just above 4.00. Their best pitcher was lights out closer Billy Cox (1.75 ERA, 53-55 save opps.), but they’ll also be relying heavily on mid-season acquisition Pinky Matheson, who shined with a 9-1 record, with a 2.72 ERA. Jayson Haynes and Sammy Pinzon both won 15 with sub-3.60 ERAs, so the Memphis rotation is fairly deep. The same can be said for the bullpen, with several other players supporting Cox with fantastic years. Memphis finished 10th in OPS and 4th in HR on offense, thanks in large to Buddy Poole who knocked out an incredible 72 HR! Marino Rios had a superb season at the plate as well (.357 AVG 38 HR 106 RBI). After that, 5 other guys hit 20 or more HR, but none of them with great averages. Still, Dover’s pitchers must prevent these guys from going deep, if they are going to move on.

Final Analysis: Memphis was a juggernaut this year, and it looks like Dover just barely squeezed past New York in round one. We like Pinky Power and Memphis in this series.

Prediction: Memphis in 4

Hope you enjoyed the Divisional Championship Series Round Preview, good luck to all the teams competing!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Season 4 Playoffs - Play-in Round Preview

Leon Jackson - Cobbfather Post Gazette

Happy belated Play In Round preview! We apologize to our readers for not having the preview out til after game one - we thought the playoffs started tomorrow, but on the bright side - maybe with a one game head start, our predicitions will be more accurate than last year's horrendous showing. Let's get on with the preview!

AMERICAN LEAGUE

#6 Chicago Chokers vs. #3 Vancouver Blaze

Chicago's biggest asset is their offense - they finished 5th in the league in team HR and OPS. Leading the way for Chicago on offense is 1B Ed Morris, who is a top MVP candidate, and put up 56 HR and a mind blowing 167 RBI. Equally impressive was mid-season callup Fred McNamara, who in only 84 games hit 41 HR and an out of this world 1.198 OPS. And a couple of more 30 HR bats in Millwood and Washington, and this is one tough lineup that Vancouver is going to have to control if they are going to advance. PItching wise, Chicago was below the league average, and will be largely relying on ace Carl Sosa to pull them through the playoffs, and he's off to a good start getting them the game 1 victory. The AL West champion Vancouver Blaze, didn't have a great year pitching wise either, as they were toward the middle of the pack. Their best pitcher was probably closer Richie Burks, and their rotation is solid, although not spectacular. Offensively, Vancouver is lead by MVP candidate Jordan Abernathy who put up ridiculous offense numbers by posting 69 HR and 191 RBI. They had some other good sluggers as Charlie Dickinson had a good year with 45 HR, and Jeff Peterson posted 30 HR, each topping 100 RBI. Vancouver has a lot of speed too, which will challenge Chicago's catchers, who aren't great defensively.

Final Analysis: These two teams are similar, lead by their offenses. Chicago's lineup is just a little bit deeper, plus they have ace Carl Sosa, who is by far and away better than any of Vancouver's pitchers.

Prediction: Chicago in 4

#5 Austin Rock Stars vs. #4 Burlington Huskies

Austin is on fire, now having won 15 games in a row, counting game 1 of the playoffs. Austin cracked the top 10 in league ERA, lead by a trio of stud starters in Jeffries, Saunders and Nevin. Closer Ralph Michaels was solid in closing situations, and the rest of their bullpen also faired well. Austin was good offensively as well, finishing 6th in team BA. Austin's lineup doesn't feature a lot of power, as only Becker and Herman topped 30 home runs, but it does feature alot of hitters who can hit for average, plus speedster Bryce May who swiped 110 bases. AL East Champions, the Burlington Huskies, aren't a strong offensive team, but they do have a lot speed on the basepaths. Their best offensive player this season was Hector Ball (.270 BA 34 HR 101 RBI). Pitching was what lead the Huskies to the division title, as they finished 7th in team ERA, lead by star closer Yamil Alvarez, who was nearly unhittable, and starter Gordon Oliver (16-5, 2.99 ERA). The Huskies bullpen is extremely solid, but the rest of the rotation is only solid, not great.

Final Analysis: Austin, has the better lineup, and the arms to match Burlington, especially in the rotation.

Prediction: Austin in 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE

#6 Dover Diamond Dogs vs. #3 New York Primetimers

Dover, who won game 1 in the series, had an above average pitching staff this season, featuring a solid top 3 in the rotation of Pong, Brown, and Melo, and a very good bullpen. Offensively, Dover cracked the top 10 in HR and OPS, lead by MVP candidate Dan Carter (.333 BA 58 HR 131 RBI) and Martin McCarthy (.291 BA 42 HR 122 RBI). But the offense doesn't stop there, as they had 3 other players with 29 HR+, and their lineup also features a lot of speed. NL East Champion New York Primetimers were about right at the league average in most offensive categories. They did have 4 hitters eclipse the 30 HR marks, but with only mediocre BA's and OPS's. They do feature a lot of speed, however, so it looks like there will be a lot of SB attempts in this series. NY's pitching finished 5th in team ERA, coming just under 4.00, and have 4 great starters who posted sub 4 ERA's that Dover could see in this series. New York also has a very tough bullpen, with several quality arms.

Final Analysis: We like New York's pitching to come through in this series, despite losing game 1.

Prediction: New York in 5

#5 Jackson Rockets vs. #4 Syracuse Sycophants

Jackson finshed #4 in the regular season power rankings, winning 99 games, and barely missing out on a division title, where Syracuse greatly exceeded expectations this season and took the NL North title. Jackson, who won game one, clearly has a strength in pitching, as they finished 2nd in team ERA. No pitcher on their team finished with an ERA above 4.25, and their top 3 SP's, Wirth, Aguilera, and Warden were all outstanding. Also, it's hard to find any weakness in their bullpen. Jackson finished around the league average in most offensive categories, but do have some weapons in Brian Taylor (.329 AVG 45 HR 120 RBI) and Bernie Heiserman (.312 BA 30 HR 120 RBI) and look out for William Katou on the basepaths, as he swiped 70 bases. Syracuse doesn't feature a spectacular offense either, and will be looking for their top performer Candy Daniels (.313 BA 35 HR 104 RBI) to come through and for their top slugger Benny Romano (41 HR) to hit a few out of the park. Syracuse doesn't run much, so the hitters will have to do the work to advance the runners. Syracuse has a good pitching staff, and finished in the top 10 in team ERA. They'll be looking to Dom Lazzeri to continue his regular season dominance in the rotation, Velandia and Berroa to be solid when Lazerri isn't pitching, and for continued bullpen excellence.

Final Analysis: This is a matchup of 2 very similar teams - but Jackson's pitching just looks to be a notch above Syracuse's

Prediction: Jackson in 4

Good luck to all of the teams in this round!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Season 4 Power Rankings - End of Regular Season

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's time for the final edition of the Power Rankings for Season 4! And the story of the last rankings period has to be the Austin Rock Stars (#7) who end the season on a 14 game win streak. Clearly, they are the hottest team in the league going into the playoffs and have a lot of momentum.

The top 5 remains unchanged from the previous rankings. Florida takes the #1 spot for the 7th straight rankings period, with an impressive 10-2 mark to end the season. Sacramento, Memphis, Jackson and New York Pride round out the top 5 - who finished the season solid, but not spectacular.

Other notable performances to end the season include #6 New York Primetimers (10-2), #9 Syracuse (9-3), and perhaps the most surprising of all, #30 Cheyenne goes 8-4!

Now, instead of the standard teams on the rise and decline, we're going all the way back to the preseason rankings and comparing them to the final rankings to see who climbed the most in the rankings, and to see who declined the most in the rankings.

Teams who improved the most: #8 Vancouver (+13), #9 Syracuse (+13), #15 Colorado Springs (+13), #3 Memphis (+12), #16 Charleston (+8)

Teams who declined the most: #29 Texas (-22), #17 Detroit (-10), #12 Chicago (-9), #17 Fargo (-9), #18 Huntington (-8)

Here is the complete final edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!


Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Florida

113-49

1

2

Sacramento

106-56

2

3

Memphis
100-62

3

4

Jackson

99-634

5

New York (AL)

99-63

5

6

New York (NL)

97-65

7

7

Austin

95-67

11

8

Vancouver93-696

9

Syracuse

91-71

9

10

Burlington

90-72

8

11

Dover88-74

10

12

Chicago89-73

12

13

Rochester
86-76

14

14

St. Louis

82-80

13

15

Colorado Springs

79-83

18

16

Charleston

79-83

15

17

Fargo

79-83

16

18

Huntington

77-85

22

19

Boston

77-85

17

20

Oakland

76-86

21

21

Honolulu

76-86

23

22

Hartford

75-87

19

23

Buffalo

75-87

20

24

Sioux Falls

71-91

24

25

Kansas City

67-95

25

26

Ottawa

69-93

27

27

Detroit

65-97

28

28

Durham

63-99

30

29

Texas

64-98

26

30

Cheyenne

60-102

31

31

Atlanta
60-102

29

32

Los Angeles

52-110

32



We hope you enjoyed the Power Rankings this season, thanks for reading!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Season 4 Power Rankings - Regular Season #10

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's time for the 10th edition of the Power Rankings! And Florida holds onto the #1 spot with another solid 10-5 showing over their last 15. But whether or not they can fend off red hot #2 Sacramento, who for the 2nd straight period went 12-3, for the top spot in the final regular season rankings is in question.

However, despite going 12-3 two periods in a row, Sacto isn't even the hottest team in the league. #4 Jackson put up a 12-3 mark, and are 25-5 in their last 30 to claim the title of the league's hottest team. Division rival #3 Memphis answered the call this rankings period with an 11-4 record to hold off Jackson for the division lead. The NL South race will surely be an exciting one to watch down the stretch. The New York Pride rounds out the top 5.

Vancouver surged to the #6 spot with an impressive 11-4 mark in their last 15. And a special shout out goes to Kansas City who jumped 5 spots to #25 with a solid 9-6 record since the last rankings

The rest of the top 20 all played solid this period, with the New York Primetimers being the only team to post more than 8 losses since the last rankings.

Now the standard teams on the rise and teams on the decline section:

Teams on the rise: Sacramento, Memphis, Jackson, Vancouver, Dover, Kansas City

Teams on the decline: New York (NL), Huntington, Honolulu, Atlanta, Durham, Los Angeles

Here is the complete 9th edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!


Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Florida

103-47

1

2

Sacramento

99-51

2

3

Memphis
94-56

5

4

Jackson

92-586

5

New York (AL)

92-58

3

6

Vancouver

85-65

9

7

New York (NL)

87-63

4

8

Burlington

84-668

9

Syracuse

82-68

10

10

Dover

82-68

11

11

Austin83-67

7

12

Chicago83-67

12

13

St. Louis
77-73

13

14

Rochester

79-71

14

15

Charleston

76-74

16

16

Fargo

75-75

15

17

Boston

74-76

21

18

Colorado Springs

72-78

18

19

Hartford

72-78

22

20

Buffalo

70-80

20

21

Oakland

70-80

23

22

Huntington

70-80

17

23

Honolulu

70-80

19

24

Sioux Falls

65-85

24

25

Kansas City

61-89

30

26

Texas

62-88

28

27

Ottawa

63-87

26

28

Detroit

61-89

27

29

Atlanta

58-92

25

30

Durham

57-93

29

31

Cheyenne
52-98

32

32

Los Angeles

50-100

31


Check back for the final edition of the rankings after game 162!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Season 4 Power Rankings - Regular Season #9

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

Welcome to the 9th edition of the Power Rankings! Since the last rankings, a lot of teams have been playing very well, while and equal number of teams have been just plain bad. 9 teams posted double digit wins over the last 15 games, while the same number posted double digit defeats.

The hottest team in the league since the last rankings goes to the Jackson Rockets, with a phenomenal 13-2 record in their last 15. Three teams went 12-3: Sacramento, New York Primetimers, and Vancouver.

A special honorable mention goes to Atlanta, who went a respectable 8-7 in their last 15 to move up 4 spots in the rankings. Obviously, new ownership is taking the team in the right direction.

At the top of the rankings, Florida held on to #1, holding strong with a 10-5 record. Red hot Sacramento jumps to #2. It's tough at the top for the New York Pride, as even a 10-5 record this rankings period wasn't enough to hold on to #2 - they fall to #3, followed by the blazing NY Primetimers, and Memphis rounds out the top 5.

A division lead change also occurred this period with Syracuse overtaking Rochester for the NL North lead.

Now the standard teams on the rise and teams on the decline section:

Teams on the rise: Sacramento, New York (NL), Jackson, Vancouver, Syracuse, Dover, Colorado Springs, Atlanta

Teams on the decline: Rochester, Boston, Hartford, Oakland, Ottawa, Detroit, Durham

Here is the complete 9th edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!


Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Florida

93-42

1

2

Sacramento

87-48

4

3

New York (AL)
84-51

2

4

New York (NL)

81-545

5

Memphis

83-52

3

6

Jackson

80-55

7

7

Austin

76-59

6

8

Burlington

76-598

9

Vancouver

74-61

13

10

Syracuse

73-62

11

11

Dover72-63

12

12

Chicago74-61

10

13

St. Louis
69-66

16

14

Rochester

70-65

9

15

Fargo

68-67

14

16

Charleston

67-68

19

17

Huntington

66-69

21

18

Colorado Springs

65-70

22

19

Honolulu

66-69

20

20

Buffalo

63-72

23

21

Boston

65-70

17

22

Hartford

64-71

15

23

Oakland

63-72

18

24

Sioux Falls

58-77

26

25

Atlanta

55-80

29

26

Ottawa

58-77

25

27

Detroit

57-78

24

28

Texas

55-80

28

29

Durham

54-81

27

30

Kansas City

52-83

30

31

Los Angeles
47-88

31

32

Cheyenne

45-90

32


Check back for the next edition of the rankings after game 150!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Season 4 Power Rankings - Regular Season #8

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's time for the 8th edition of the Power Rankings! Florida continued their dominance this period going 11-4, holding on to #1. At this point, you can write them in as #1 for the rest of the season. There's a new #2, the New York Pride of the Yankees vaulted to the #2 spot with an 11-4 run since the last rankings. Memphis came in at #3, Sacramento #4, and the New York Primetimers round out the top 5.

The hottest team in the league since the last rankings were the Dover Diamond Dogs with an outstanding 12-3 record. They jumped 6 spots in the rankings to #12.

Now the standard teams on the rise and teams on the decline section:

Teams on the rise: New York (AL), Dover, Fargo, Hartford

Teams on the decline: Honolulu, Charleston, Durham, Cheyenne

Here is the complete 8th edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!


Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Florida

83-37

1

2

New York (AL)

74-46

4

3

Memphis
75-45

2

4

Sacramento

75-453

5

New York (NL)

69-51

5

6

Austin

68-52

6

7

Jackson

67-53

9

8

Burlington

68-527

9

Rochester

65-55

10

10

Chicago

66-54

8

11

Syracuse63-57

11

12

Dover62-58

18

13

Vancouver62-58

12

14

Fargo

61-59

19

15

Hartford

61-59

20

16

St.Louis

60-60

15

17

Boston

61-59

16

18

Oakland

59-61

17

19

Charleston

59-61

14

20

Honolulu

59-61

13

21

Huntington

57-63

22

22

Colorado Springs

54-66

23

23

Buffalo

54-66

21

24

Detroit

54-66

25

25

Ottawa

54-66

26

26

Sioux Falls

52-68

27

27

Durham

51-69

24

28

Texas

49-71

28

29

Atlanta

47-73

29

30

Kansas City

46-74

30

31

Los Angeles
43-77

32

32

Cheyenne

42-78

31


Check back for the next edition of the rankings after game 135!