Monday, September 28, 2009

Season 6 Power Rankings - Regular Season #5

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's time for this week's edition of the power rankings! And yes, Rochester is still #1, and for that matter Memphis is still #2, each posting solid 12-7 records this week. The NL dominates the top 2 spots in the rankings, but after that, the next 7 teams are all from the AL. Surging Tampa Bay jumps 4 spots to #3 after going a league best 15-4 in the last week. Boston comes in at #4, and Vancouver drops 2 spots to #5.

One of the biggest stories in the league in the past week has been the Los Angeles Lunatics. After spending most of the past 2+ seasons buried near the bottom of the rankings, L.A. posted the second best record in the World this week at 14-6, and made one of the biggest jumps in the history of the rankings, jumping up 13 spots to #14.

Other big jumpers include the New York Primetimers (+7) and Ottawa and Kansas City (+6).

Meanwhile, it's been a struggle this week, and this year for that matter, for perennial NL powerhouses Jackson (-9 spots) and Sacramento (-6), while Cheyenne dropped 7 spots, and Chicago also dropped 6.

Here's the five best and five worst over the last week in Cobbfather:

Five Best:
#3 Tampa Bay (15-4)
#14 Los Angeles (14-6)
#11 New York (NL) (13-7)
#1 Rochester, #2 Memphis, #6 New York (AL) (12-7)
#18 Dover (12-8)

Five Worst:
#20 Jackson (6-13)
#26 Cheyenne, #31 Durham (7-13)
#32 Wichita (7-12)
#5 Vancouver, #9 Burlington, #15 Honolulu, #28 Oakland (8-12)
#8 Florida, #22 Chicago, #27 Little Rock (8-11)

And now the Unveiling of this week's edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!



Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Rochester

64-21

1

2

Memphis

56-29

2

3

Tampa Bay
53-32

7

4

Boston

50-354

5

Vancouver

51-34

3

6

New York (AL)

49-36

8

7

Atlanta

49-36

9

8

Florida

47-385

9

Burlington

47-38

6

10

San Francisco

44-41

13

11

New York (NL)

43-42

18

12

San Juan

44-41

10

13

Cincinnati

43-32

15

14

Los Angeles

42-43

27

15

Honolulu

43-42

12

16

Detroit

41-44

20

17

Syracuse

41-44

21

18

Dover

40-45

22

19

Buffalo

41-44

14

20

Jackson

40-45

11

21

Austin

38-47

23

22

Chicago

39-46

16

23

Sacramento

39-46

17

24

Ottawa

36-49

30

25

Kansas City

36-49

31

26

Cheyenne

37-48

19

27Little Rock

37-48

24

28

Oakland

37-48

25

29

Charleston
37-48

26

30

Boise

35-50

28

31

Durham

32-53

29

32

Wichita

29-56

32


Check back next week for the next installment of the power rankings!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Season 6 Power Rankings - Regular Season #4

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

Welcome to this week's edition of the power rankings. Another week, same old story at the top of the rankings, as Rochester cruised this week to a league best 14-5 record, retaining the top spot in the rankings. There's not another team in the league close to consideration for the top spot, at this point. Memphis stayed at #2, Vancouver held their #3 ranking, and Boston and Florida round out the top 5, each moving up a spot in the rankings.

Outside of the top 5, some teams highly thought of in the preseason started to put it together. #7 Tampa Bay had a great week, posting the league's second best mark in the last week, and #17 Sacramento and #18 New York (NL) each gained 7 spots in the rankings after plummeting the week prior.

#19 Cheyenne had a nice week as well (12-7), and #28 Boise bounced back with a 10-9 mark under new ownership.

On the downside, #15 Cincinnati struggled, but still held on to a share of the NL East lead, despite an under .500 record (32-33). #32 Wichita fell to the bottom spot in the rankings with the worst record in the league over the past week.

Here's the five best and five worst over the last week in Cobbfather:

Five Best:
#1 Rochester (14-5)
#7 Tampa Bay (14-6)
#6 Burlington (13-6)
#4 Boston (12-6)
#2 Memphis (13-7)

Five Worst:
#32 Wichita (5-15)
#15 Cincinnati (5-14)
#31 Kansas City (5-13)
#21 Syracuse (6-13)
#24 Little Rock, #26 Charleston (7-12)


And now the Unveiling of this week's edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!



Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Rochester

52-14

1

2

Memphis

44-22

2

3

Vancouver
43-22

3

4

Boston

40-255

5

Florida

39-27

6

6

Burlington

39-26

7

7

Tampa Bay

38-28

10

8

New York (AL)

37-2911

9

Atlanta

38-27

4

10

San Juan

35-31

15

11

Jackson

34-32

8

12

Honolulu

35-30

9

13

San Francisco

33-32

17

14

Buffalo

32-32

13

15

Cincinnati

32-33

12

16

Chicago

31-35

21

17

Sacramento

30-35

24

18

New York (NL)

30-35

25

19

Cheyenne

30-35

27

20

Detroit

31-35

16

21

Syracuse

31-35

14

22

Dover

28-37

18

23

Austin

28-38

19

24

Little Rock

29-37

20

25

Oakland

29-36

26

26

Charleston

28-38

22

27Los Angeles

28-37

28

28

Boise

26-40

31

29

Durham
25-40

32

30

Ottawa

25-41

30

31

Kansas City

26-39

23

32

Wichita

22-44

29


Check back next week for the next installment of the power rankings!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Season 6 Power Rankings - Regular Season #3

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's Chuckles back with another edition of the Power Rankings! To start off, I'd like to announce a slight format change - the Power Rankings will now come out every Monday morning, as opposed to every 15 games.

Now, on to the rankings, and at the top it's Rochester, who looks to be prepping for a season long stay at the top spot, as they seem to be the undisputed top team in the league right now. Going 15-3 since the last rankings, Rochester stands at an impressive 38-9 record. Memphis put together a nice run of it's own going 13-4 since the last rankings to claim the #2 spot, vaulting up 4 spots in the rankings. Vancouver, Atlanta, and Boston round out the top 5, all who have been playing about .500 ball since the last edition of the rankings.

Outside the top 5, Tampa Bay rebounded from a slow start, Honolulu continued to play solid to hold on to the NL West lead, and Cincinnati continued to play well. Chicago, Charleston and Kansas City all kicked it up a notch as well, each winning 10 games since the last edition, and each making significant gains in the rankings.

On the downside, sorry to rub salt in the wounds of our biggest droppers, but perennial playoff contenders Sacramento and New York (NL) have been just plain bad this season. We think each can rebound, but for now, Sacramento drops 13 spots, and New York drops 12.

Here's the five best and five worst since the last rankings:

Five Best:
#1 Rochester (15-3)
#2 Memphis (13-4)
#9 Honolulu, #10 Tampa Bay, #12 Cincinnati (11-6)
#11 New York (AL) (11-7)

Five Worst:
#29 Wichita (2-14)
#30 Ottawa (4-13)
#24 Sacramento (5-13)
#25 New York (NL), #26 Oakland, #32 Durham (6-11)

And now the Unveiling of the third edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!



Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Rochester

38-9

1

2

Memphis

31-15

6

3

Vancouver
31-15

2

4

Atlanta

29-173

5

Boston

28-19

4

6

Florida

27-20

5

7

Burlington

26-20

7

8

Jackson

26-218

9

Honolulu

26-20

9

10

Tampa Bay

24-22

10

11

New York (AL)

25-22

12

12

Cincinnati

27-19

16

13

Buffalo

25-22

14

14

Syracuse

25-22

15

15

San Juan

23-23

18

16

Detroit

23-23

20

17

San Francisco

22-24

17

18

Dover

21-26

21

19

Austin

20-26

22

20

Little Rock

22-25

23

21

Chicago

21-25

26

22

Charleston

21-26

28

23

Kansas City

21-26

29

24

Sacramento

19-28

11

25

New York (NL)

19-27

13

26

Oakland

21-26

24

27

Cheyenne

18-28

31

28

Los Angeles

19-28

32

29

Wichita
17-29

19

30

Ottawa

17-29

25

31

Boise

16-31

27

32

Durham

16-31

30


Check back next week for the next installment of the power rankings!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Season 6 Power Rankings - Regular Season #2

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's Chuckles back with another edition of the Power Rankings! And at the top spot, it's Rochester, who continues to dominate, putting up a league best 12-2 mark since the last rankings. Vancouver leaped over Atlanta for #2 with a solid 11-3 mark, while Atlanta takes the #3 spot. Boston holds steady at #4, and it's a long awaited return to the top 5 for Florida, who jumps 2 spots to #5, who are trying to rekindle their championship run of 2 seasons ago.

Outside the top 5, the usually dominant #11 Sacramento is off to a slow start at 14-15, and one of the powers of last season, #10 Tampa Bay, is struggling as well at 13-16. #27 Boise has had it rough lately going a league worst 3-11 since the last rankings, and if things don't turn around quickly, could be looking at the bottom spot in the rankings.

On the upside, #16 Cincinnati (+7 spots) has been playing well lately, #19 Wichita (+5 spots) has started off the season well and #23 Little Rock (+5 spots) and #24 Oakland (+5 spots) are off to a good start in proving that the preseason prediction that they'd be amongst the league's worst teams was wrong.

And now the five best and five worst since the last rankings:

Five Best:
#1 Rochester (12-2)
#2 Vancouver (11-3)
#5 Florida (11-4)
#3 Atlanta, #6 Memphis, #16 Cincinnati (10-5)

Five Worst:
#27 Boise (3-11)
#20 Detroit, #21 Dover, #26 Chicago, #28 Charleston, #29 Kansas City (5-10)

And now the Unveiling of the second edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!



Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Rochester

23-6

1

2

Vancouver

22-7

3

3

Atlanta
20-9

2

4

Boston

20-104

5

Florida

18-11

7

6

Memphis

18-11

8

7

Burlington

17-12

9

8

Jackson

16-1310

9

Honolulu

15-14

13

10

Tampa Bay

13-16

5

11

Sacramento

14-15

6

12

New York (AL)

14-15

11

13

New York (NL)

13-16

12

14

Buffalo

17-13

16

15

Syracuse

16-13

20

16

Cincinnati

16-13

23

17

San Francisco

13-16

17

18

San Juan

13-16

19

19

Wichita

15-15

24

20

Detroit

14-16

14

21

Dover

12-18

15

22

Austin

13-16

22

23

Little Rock

15-14

28

24

Oakland

15-15

29

25

Ottawa

13-16

25

26

Chicago

11-18

21

27

Boise

8-21

18

28

Charleston

11-18

26

29

Kansas City
11-18

27

30

Durham

10-20

30

31

Cheyenne

11-18

31

32

Los Angeles

11-19

32


Check back after game 45 for the next installment of the power rankings!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Organizational Rankings - AL East Recap

Top Positional Prospect: Willie Seay, Boston
Top Pitcher Prospect: Alan Henley, Durham
Top Reliever: Kane Hemphill, Boston
Top Prospect 20 or under: Alan Henley, Durham
Top Organizational Depth: Boston

Organizational Rankings - Durham Radicals

1. Alan Henley (Age - 19; Level - Majors; Position - SP) Henley, a lefty, has been rushed to the Majors in what is potentially a development-threatening move. Of course it could pay off, but Henley clearly isn't ready for the Majors at this point after sporting just a 4.10 ERA in Rookie ball as an 18-year old. Henley will sit atop a very deep pitching organization until it is known that he has no ability to be a ML starter. He will struggle to make it past 80-90 pitches consistently, but his stuff is good enough that he may be able to make it to the 6th or 7th giving his team a chance in every game. Henley features an elite slider and good sinker and has very good control with elite velocity. He keeps the ball on the ground very well and projects as almost impossible for lefties to hit while being almost as tough on righties. Grade: A (so long as he remains a starter)

2. Torey Ontiveros (Age - 20; Level - Majors; Position - SP) Ontiveros projects as a very good major league pitcher, but the concern is the same as it for Henley. He has played just one in year in Rookie ball and one in AA and is now being thrust into the ML spotlight with very little experience despite his loads of talent. Ontiveros has great control and velocity and projects as very difficult on righties while featuring a plus plus fastball. He also keeps the ball on the ground very well. Grade: A

3. Donaldo Cordero (Age - 20; Level - AAA; Position - 2B) Cordero profiles as both an above average fielder and hitter. He is very consistent, hits for above average power, especially from the 2B spot and has a good eye. He hits both RHP and LHP well, has a career minor league OPS of .895, and is coming off of a 23 HR/104 RBI season. He has a very good glove with range and an arm to match and could really play anywhere on the field. Grade: B+

4. Posiedon Cameron (Age - 19; Level - Majors; Position - SP) Add Cameron to the list of guys clearly not ready for the Majors but who are being initiated by fire. This strategy of having all top-tier prospects up before they are ready is potentially rewarding, but incredibly risky. Cameron profiles as a potential middle-of-the-rotation starter, and maybe a little better if he can keep his walks low. He has below average control, but a very good arm with a very good sinker. Because of the sinker, he keeps the ball down well and is very tough on righties. Grade: B

5. Carlos Felix (Age - 23; Level - Majors; Position - SP) Carlos Felix profiles as a back end power/control pitcher with medicore to below average stuff. He put up a 3.71 ERA in his first professional season last year, and keeps the ball down well, but is just mediocre at getting righties out. Grade: B-

6. Tomas Batista (Age - 19; Level - AAA; Position - RP) Batista is a future ML reliever with elite control, a very good sinker, and the ability to keep the ball on the ground very well. He is particularly tough on righties, but also above average against lefties and could be a future ML closer. Grade: B-

7. Octavio Gonzales (Age - 24; Level - AAA; Position - SP) Gonzales projects as a control pitcher with great command who is fairly tough against righties. He has a career 3.95 minor league ERA with around a 3:1 strikeout:walk ratio and a 2.5:1 IP:BB ratio. He has a great slider, very good curveball, and ML-caliber fastball. Overall, he could be a back-end starter or good long reliever. Grade: C+

8. David Barrios (Age - 21; Level - AAA; Position - CF) Barrios is a slap hitter with exceptional speed and range in CF. He should be able to steal 40-50 bases and he has a good enough eye to enable him to get on base. He is a decent contact hitter, but it's questionable whether his lack of slugging will allow his bat to play, even in CF. If it does, he could be a legitimate starting option in CF, or at least a 4th OF/PR option. Grade: C

9. Welington Henriquez (Age - 21; Level - Majors; Position - RF) Henriquez projects as a better hitter than Barrios, but he plays a non-premium position and his defense isn't on the same level, although it could play in RF. He has a better, above average eye and significantly more power, and hits righties well. He is coming off of by far his best season in the minors (likely because he started as an 18-year old in AA), and he had a .320/.389/.507. Grade: C

10. Adam Becker (Age - 25; Level - AAA; Position - 1B) Becker profiles as an average hitter with medium power, but an very good eye. He has good speed for a 1B, and a decent glove, and is likely a backup 1B/PH at ML level. Grade: D+

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Season 6 Power Rankings - Regular Season #1

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

Welcome the first regular season power rankings of Season 6! And we start with a familiar face at the top of the rankings, as Rochester, who spent much of last season at #1 in the Power Rankings, jumps one spot to take over the top spot in the Power Rankings. Rochester is off to an 11-4 start. Atlanta at 10-4 climbs 2 spot to a franchise best #2 in the rankings. Vancouver is #3, Boston, also claiming their highest spot in the rankings, comes in this week at #4, and Tampa Bay, the preseason #1, falls to #5.

Outside of the top 10, #16 Buffalo (10-5, up 6 spots) and #20 Syracuse (9-5, up 7 spots) are turning heads with their solid play to start the season.

Here's the five best starts, and five worst starts to Season 6:

Five Best: #1 Rochester (11-4), #3 Vancouver (11-4), #4 Boston (11-4), #2 Atlanta (10-4), #16 Buffalo (10-5)

Five Worst
: #30 Durham (4-11), #17 San Francisco (5-10), #18 Boise (5-10), #19 San Juan (5-10), #31 Cheyenne (5-10)

And now the Unveiling of the first Regular Season Power Rankings!!


Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Rochester

11-4

2

2

Atlanta

10-4

4

3

Vancouver
11-4

6

4

Boston

11-47

5

Tampa Bay

8-7

1

6

Sacramento

8-6

5

7

Florida

7-7

3

8

Memphis

8-68

9

Burlington

9-5

10

10

Jackson

8-7

11

11

New York (AL)

7-7

12

12

New York (NL)

6-8

9

13

Honolulu

8-7

16

14

Detroit

9-6

17

15

Dover

7-8

13

16

Buffalo

10-5

22

17

San Francisco

5-10

14

18

Boise

5-10

15

19

San Juan

5-10

18

20

Syracuse

9-5

27

21

Chicago

6-8

19

22

Austin

6-8

20

23

Cincinnati

6-8

21

24

Wichita

7-8

29

25

Ottawa

7-7

32

26

Charleston

6-8

23

27

Kansas City

6-8

26

28

Little Rock

6-9

30

29

Oakland

6-8

31

30

Durham

4-11

24

31

Cheyenne

5-10

25

32

Los Angeles

5-9

28


Check back after game 30 for the next installment of the power rankings!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Season 6 Power Rankings - Preseason

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

After permanently stepping down from the blog after Season 5, Chuckles vowed never to be heard from again in the blogging community. But hey, if Brett Favre can come out of retirement for the billionth time, good ole' Chuckles can do it for the first. Thanks for all the kind words to those who wanted the power rankings back - we're officially back for Season 6. As a starting point, we're going to use the ever saavy I.P. Daly's predictions for the preseason rankings. Check back tomorrow for the first regular season edition of the Power Rankings!



Rank

Team

Predicted Record

Prev

1

Tampa Bay

108-54

NR

2

Rochester

106-56

NR

3

Florida

99-63

NR

4

Atlanta

97-65

NR

5

Sacramento

96-66

NR

6

Vancouver

95-67

NR

7

Boston

92-70

NR

8

Memphis

91-71

NR

9

New York (NL)

91-71

NR

10

Burlington

90-72

NR

11

Jackson

89-73

NR

12

New York (AL)

88-74

NR

13

Dover

84-78

NR

14

San Francisco

84-78

NR

15

Boise

84-78

NR

16

Honolulu

81-81

NR

17

Detroit

81-81

NR

18

San Juan

80-82

NR

19

Chicago

79-83

NR

20

Austin

78-84

NR

21

Cincinnati

78-84

NR

22

Buffalo

77-85

NR

23

Charleston

74-88

NR

24

Durham

71-91

NR

25

Cheyenne

70-92

NR

26

Kansas City

70-92

NR

27

Syracuse

68-94

NR

28

Los Angeles

66-96

NR

29

Wichita

61-101

NR

30

Little Rock

59-103

NR

31

Oakland

57-105

NR

32

Ottawa

54-108

NR