Thursday, December 26, 2013

Season 22 Preseason Power Rankings

Season 22 is right around the corner, and it's time to take a look at the preseason power rankings before the season gets under way.   Defending champion Dover remains atop the rankings, but there are a lot of solid contenders who could give them a run for their money.  Here are your complete preseason power rankings!


Season 21

Team  W L   Comments
1 Dover 114 48 The defending champs will be tough to beat
2 Vancouver  96 66 Seemingly always in the mix at the end
3 Tampa Bay  93 69 Looking solid all around yet again
4 Los Angeles 95 67 Made some moves to improve offense, so look out
5 Colorado Springs 89 73 Active in FA, and have made last 2 World Series
6 Buffalo  91 71 Very good across the board, should contend again
7 Pittsburgh  89 73 Came on strong at the end of last season
8 St. Louis 94 68 Should have another very good season
9 Houston 93 69 No reason to think they won't be good again
10 Boston  90 72 Not sure about bullpen, but solid everywhere else
11 Little Rock 92 70 Lost a few FA's, but still a very good team 
12 Atlanta  85 77 If owner is really committed, they will be solid
13 Rochester 85 77 If the pitching improves, they could be in the mix 
14 Louisville 83 79 Very strong offensively, we'll see about the pitching
15 Charlotte  80 82 If they can get a little more offense, look out
16 Salem 82 80 Pretty well-balanced, can they take the next step
17 Salt Lake City 89 73 Should be pretty good again, pretty much held steady
18 Detroit  86 76 Lost a bunch of Type B Free Agents, so we'll see
19 Burlington  76 86 Added a couple of pieces, so could be better
20 Helena 85 77 Losing Nieves is tough, but they still could be good
21 Las Vegas 75 87 Capable of improving on last season's record for sure
22 Ottawa 77 85 This team has been getting better, so we'll see
23 Durham  81 81 It's hit or miss with this team, you just never know
24 San Juan 75 87 Nieves was a nice add, offense needed a boost 
25 Austin  59 103 Very active in the FA market so should improve a lot
26 San Francisco 45 117 Out of Colorado now, which should help greatly
27 Texas 68 94 Looks pretty much the same as last season, we'll see
28 Syracuse  74 88 Not very active in the offseason, so jury is still out 
29 Seattle  69 93 Should have some good prospects coming up soon
30 New York  63 99 Could be another year of rebuilding here
31 Philadelphia 62 100 Not sure how much they'll improve this season yet
32 Jacksonville 57 105 This rebuild will take a few more seasons, but good start

Monday, December 2, 2013

Season 21 Wrap Up - Dover Finally Wins it all!

Dover
Dover Diamond Dogs (NL)
jiml60
View Hardball Dynasty Profile
Dover wins its first Cobbfather World Series in Season 21

Dover took the Season 21 crown, defeating Colorado Springs 4-2 in a rematch of the Season 20 World Series.  This was Dover's fifth attempt at a World Series title, as they made it in seasons 4, 7, 19 and 20, unsuccessful in each of these prior attempts.  But alas, after sitting at the top spot of the power rankings all season, they took home the crown in a tough series with Colorado Springs, whom after an up and down season fell just short of a repeat.  Dover assembled an impressive squad that ranked near the top of the league in just about every category.  The should be strong going into next season as well.   Congrats to Dover and jiml60 on finally reaching the peak in what has been a long journey.

Awards were also handed out, let's see which players took home the individual hardware in Season 21.

Most Valuable Player
American League
Eugene Brantley, Tampa Bay - .303 AVG 35 HR 113 RBI
Dustan Jackson, Kansas City - .286 AVG 47 HR 130 RBI 29 SB
The AL MVP race was literally too close to call and ended up in a tie between Eugene Brantley, his first MVP win, and Dustan Jackson winning his 2nd straight MVP.  Both players had outstanding seasons and in the end the voters could not decide, so they will split the honors.  Brantley took home his 5th Silver Slugger award this season, while Jackson was an all-star starter, his 3rd appearance, and won his 3rd Silver Slugger award

National League - Pascual Hernandez, Buffalo - .317 AVG 60 HR 172 RBI 17 SB
It's hard to argue against Hernandez winning the MVP with the incredible numbers he put up in Season 21.  He crushed the ball all season as apparent by his ridiculous numbers.  This is his first MVP win, and he was an all-star starter, his 3rd appearance, and won his first Silver Slugger award.  Well done, as this is one of the truly impressive seasons in recent Cobbfather history. 

Cy Young Award
American League -  Thomas Hutchinson, Atlanta -18-5 2.04 ERA 143 K
Hutchinson beat out perennial Cy Young Winner and greatest pitcher in Cobbfather history James Haselman to win his first Cy Young award.   Hutchinson led the way for an up and coming Atlanta squad with several solid prospects.  He made his 2nd all-star appearance this season and at just age 25, he has the potential to bring home a lot more hardware before his career is done.

National League - Norman LaPorta, Dover - 22-6 2.20 ERA 197 K
LaPorta was the top pitcher on the league's best team, so it seems fitting that he takes home the Cy Young award.  LaPorta was acquired in Season 20 in a trade and it has paid off as hoped for.  This is LaPorta's 3rd Cy Young win, his first since Season 14.  He made his 6th All-Star appearance this year as well.  Coming back to a solid Dover squad, he should be in the running next season as well.

Rookie of the Year
American League -  Aneury Tejeda, Atlanta -12-4 2.11 ERA 151 K
Tejada's impressive rookie season earned him the AL Rookie of the Year award.  His ERA was outstanding at a stunning 2.11 and that led to a solid 12-4 record.  With his teammate winning the Cy Young award, it shows that Atlanta's pitching staff will be a force to be reckoned with for seasons to come.

National League - Harry Sanchez, Buffalo - 17-10 3.21 ERA 127 K
Sanchez put together a very solid season for Buffalo in his rookie campaign to take home NL Rookie of the year honors.  After toiling in the minors for 6 seasons, he finally got the call in Season 21 and showed he has big league stuff.  He looks like he'll be a solid middle of the rotation starter for seasons to come, and will be an asset to the Buffalo staff.

Fireman of the Year
American League -  Jayson Klesko, St. Louis - 1.51 ERA 39 SV, 1st win
National League - Homer Butler, Los Angeles - 2.41 ERA, 41 SV, 2nd win

Well that does it for Season 21, looking forward to an exciting Season 22, we have a few openings, so let your friends, family, colleagues, and other world leaguemates know that Cobbfather is the place to be!  Hopefully we'll have a quick rollover and be getting started soon!   See you in Season 22!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Season 21 Final Power Rankings

Another regular season is in the books, and it's time for the playoffs, but before they get started, let's take a look at the final power rankings.   #1 Dover was the strongest down the stretch, will their playoff let downs continue or will they bring home the title?  #2 Vancouver has 3 titles in the last 6 seasons, are they ready for another?  Or will a lower ranked team emerge, maybe defending champ #11 Colorado Springs?  A lot of interesting questions going into the playoffs.  The results of the last quarter of the season provided some interesting movement in the rankings as well.  Without further adieu, here is the complete final power rankings for the end of Season 21.  Good luck to the playoff teams!


Team  W L PREV   Comments
1 Dover 114 48 1 Great regular season, can they finally take it this season?
2 Vancouver  96 66 4 3-time champs will be a tough playoff matchup for sure
3 Tampa Bay  93 69 5 Steady down the stretch, yet not spectuacular
4 Buffalo  91 71 11 Offense really brought it down the stretch
5 Los Angeles 95 67 6 Do they have enough offense to win it?  Pitching is great.
6 Pittsburgh  89 73 12 Back to their old form, wouldn't want to see them in playoffs
7 Little Rock 92 70 2 Pretty brutal down the stretch, but capable of bouncing back
8 St. Louis 94 68 3 Slumped down the stretch a bit, but still AL #2 seed
9 Houston 93 69 10 Excellent bounce back season for this team, #3 NL seed
10 Boston  90 72 8 Mediocre towards the end, but managed to win division
11 Colorado Springs 89 73 9 Decent at the end, but a major question mark in the playoffs
12 Honolulu  85 77 20 Great record the last 40, will be tough next season
13 Detroit  86 76 13 In as an AL Wild Card, pretty good season for them 
14 Atlanta  85 77 14 Up and coming team, should have made the playoffs
15 Rochester 85 77 19 Played great the last 40, if pitching improves, look out
16 Salt Lake City 89 73 7 Stumbled down the stretch, missing playoffs, but solid team
17 Kansas City  83 79 21 Pitching shaped up toward the end, great offense to build on
18 Charlotte  80 82 22 Looked great the last 40, bats need to improve to contend
19 Burlington  76 86 25 Over .500 down the stretched, showed overall improvement
20 Syracuse  74 88 26 Looked better the last quarter for sure, made strides
21 Salem 82 80 16 Mediocre down the stretch, but some good base to build on
22 Durham  81 81 15 Fell apart down the stretch, as the pitching came unhinged
23 Florida  75 87 27 Taking strides in the right direction, offense still a concern
24 Boise 75 87 17 Pretty good numbers, good be just a player or two away
25 Minnesota  77 85 18 Disappointing season for them, talent better than record
26 Seattle  69 93 29 Pretty decent down the stretch, a step in the right direction
27 Texas 68 94 24 Offense was down a bit this season in a hitter's park
28 New York  63 99 23 Looks to have been a rebuild season for them
29 Philadelphia 62 100 32 Actually played decent the last 40, which is a good sign
30 Jacksonville 57 105 30 Major rebuild project seems to be going ok through season 1
31 Colorado  45 117 31 Not sure Colorado is the right park for this team. 
32 Austin  59 103 28 Pretty awful down the stretch, not much effort shown

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Season 21 Power Rankings # 3

It's time for another edition of the power rankings!  For the most part things held pretty stable since the rankings, but there were a few risers and fallers.  It will certainly be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out.  Good luck to all down the stretch!  Here are the latest rankings!


Team  W L PREV   Comments
1 Dover 84 37 1 Still rolling, great all-around team
2 Little Rock 73 48 2 Finally playing up to their numbers, it seems
3 St. Louis 75 46 4 Have played great all season and not slowing down
4 Vancouver  73 48 7 Offense has turned it up since the last rankings
5 Tampa Bay  70 51 8 Playing well as of late, solid on all fronts 
6 Los Angeles 73 48 10 Pitching is outstanding as always, offense picking it up 
7 Salt Lake City 71 50 13 Best record since the last rankings, mopping it up 
8 Boston  69 52 6 Pitching fell off a bit, but offense has been very solid
9 Colorado Springs 67 54 11 Still playing well, can they turn it up for a run at a repeat?
10 Houston 70 51 9 Pitching has fallen off a bit, but still winning a lot
11 Buffalo  66 55 3 Bad luck lately, as their numbers haven't changed
12 Pittsburgh  62 59 21 Playing like the 100 win teams of the last 3 seasons again
13 Detroit  64 57 20 Pitching has really come around as of late 
14 Atlanta  63 58 16 They're getting it together, expect to see a great last quarter
15 Durham  66 55 5 Tough run as of late, the bats haven't been producing
16 Salem 62 59 12 Pitching has been better, but offense hasn't been there
17 Boise 57 64 14 Their numbers aren't bad, just not getting wins
18 Minnesota  60 61 17 Pitching took a step forward, bats a step back 
19 Rochester 61 60 24 Still in the division race, but pitching is a bit rough
20 Honolulu  58 63 25 Pitching has improved, and a very nice offense here
21 Kansas City  58 63 15 Although improved, pitching remains an issue here
22 Charlotte  55 66 19 Pitching took a hit since the last rankings, as did the win total
23 New York  50 71 30 Over .500 since the last rankings, coming around
24 Texas 52 69 23 Numbers are mediocre across the board, but not bad
25 Burlington  54 67 18 Offense has fallen off since the last rankings
26 Syracuse  50 71 27 Have really struggled as of late, especially with pitching
27 Florida  52 69 26 Good offense, but could use a few more quality arms
28 Austin  51 70 22 Major fall off across the board since last rankings
29 Seattle  49 72 31 Pitching has stepped it up, but could use more offense
30 Jacksonville 42 79 32 New ownership is starting to right the ship
31 Colorado  36 85 28 Pitching staff has started a relocation petition
32 Philadelphia 43 78 29 Rough going lately, fall off across the board

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Season 21 All Star Coverage

The Season 21 All Star Game is upon us, and it's time to look at who made this year's teams.  Deserving a special mention in the AL, James Haselman is making his 10th appearance, while Elston Lloyd is making his 8th. In the NL, both Mendy Kondou and Clarence Loney are making their 7th appearances. Atlanta had the most All Stars in the AL with 4, while in the NL, Dover had an amazing 9 members of the All Star Team!  I guess it's not all that surprising since they are the #1 ranked team, but still impressive.  Here's a complete listing of this season's all stars.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Starters

Player Team Appearance
C Roger DuBose Boston 1st
1B Alex Manto Atlanta 1st
2B Dustan Jackson Kansas City 3rd
3B Roberto Bennett Vancouver 6th
SS Javier Mairena Florida 1st
LF Lastings Morris Colorado 2nd
CF Morgan Cerda Atlanta 2nd
RF Mike Worthington Tampa Bay 2nd
DH Takumi Tanaka St. Louis 1st

Pitchers 

Player Team Appearance
P Jayson Klesko St. Louis 2nd
P Walt White Charlotte 2nd
P Freddy Masao Durham 1st
P Edwin Radlosky Boston 3rd
P Thomas Hutchinson Atlanta 2nd
P Alex Satou Colorado Springs 3rd
P Carl Young Detroit 1st
P James Haselman Tampa Bay 10th
P Torey Ontiveros Durham 3rd
P Javier Javier St. Louis 1st
P Miguel Sosa Charlotte 1st
P Tomas Batista Durham 2nd
P Moises Toregas Burlington 1st

Reserves  

Player Team Appearance
C Elston Lloyd Vancouver 8th
1B Luis Alarcon Colorado Springs 3rd
2B Vic Park Atlanta 1st
3B Carlos James Kansas City 4th
SS Curt Hebert Burlington 3rd
LF Stubby Shaw Boston 3rd
CF Vic Crowe Colorado Springs 2nd
RF William Sabathia Vancouver 4th

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Starters

Player Team Appearance
C Alex Molina Boise 1st
1B Will Maxwell Houston 3rd
2B Hootie Cookson Dover 2nd
3B Mendy Kondou Dover 7th
SS Xavier Dean Boise 3rd
LF Pascual Hernandez Buffalo 3rd
CF Chris Nye Dover 2nd
RF Garrett Patrick Dover 2nd

Pitchers  

Player Team Appearance
P Homer Butler Los Angeles 4th
P Don Monahan Dover 2nd
P Norman LaPorta Dover 6th
P Lyle Wallace Los Angeles 3rd
P Manuel Estrada Houston 2nd
P Alexi Garces Buffalo 1st
P Karim Nieto Seattle 1st
P Magglio Martinez Honolulu 1st
P Clarence Poole Houston 4th
P Marvin Walsh Pittsburgh 4th
P Lynn Mortensen Salt Lake City 2nd
P Dioner Ontiveros Austin 1st
P Bob Wood Los Angeles 2nd
P Felix Wheat Pittsburgh 3rd

Reserves 

Player Team Appearance
C Stan Dickens Dover 3rd
1B Ray Rudolph Little Rock 2nd
2B Hideo Sakamoto Salt Lake City 1st
3B Pepe Guillen Minnesota 4th
SS Albert Pineda Dover 5th
LF Clarence Loney Dover 7th
CF Del Bolivar Syracuse 1st
RF Jerrod Griffiths Houston 1st

American League All Stars by Team  
Atlanta 4
Boston 3
Colorado Springs 3
Durham 3
St. Louis 3
Vancouver 3
Burlington 2
Charlotte 2
Kansas City 2
Tampa Bay 2
Colorado 1
Detroit 1
Florida 1

National League All Stars by Team
Dover 9
Houston 4
Los Angeles 3
Austin 2
Boise 2
Buffalo 2
Pittsburgh 2
Salt Lake City 2
Little Rock 1
Minnesota 1
Seattle 1
Syracuse 1

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Season 21 Power Rankings # 2

We're about half way through Season 21, which means another edition of the power rankings.  Dover remains in the top spot, although they weren't quite as dominant as they were in the first quarter of the season.  Little Rock comes in at #2, followed by Buffalo, and the team with the best record since the last rankings comes in at #4 in St. Louis.  Durham rounds out the top 5.   Here's the complete rankings!


Team  W L PREV    Comments
1 Dover 57 24 1 Bats are unbelievable, pitching has been rough lately
2 Little Rock 47 34 4 Great numbers, surprised they don't have more wins
3 Buffalo  48 32 6 Pretty balanced team, offense is coming around
4 St. Louis 49 32 13 Best record since last rankings, pitching is improving
5 Durham  48 32 9 Pretty steady since last rankings, pitching is hanging in
6 Boston  46 35 5 Decent since the last rankings, but numbers down a bit
7 Vancouver  48 33 2 Just above .500 since last rankings, offense cooled off
8 Tampa Bay  46 35 7 Looking pretty good, numbers are steady, but not dominant
9 Houston 47 34 8 Pitching has been lights out, offense has fallen off a bit
10 Los Angeles 47 34 10 League's top team in pitching, and offense picked up some
11 Colorado Springs 44 36 3 Big drop off everywhere, but over .500 since last rankings
12 Salem 42 38 22 They've picked it up since the last rankings, nice jump
13 Salt Lake City 43 37 14 Offense has been playing better for this squad lately
14 Boise 37 43 19 Offense is great, Pitching is not bad, surprised at the record
15 Kansas City  40 40 27 2nd worst pitching team, but getting it done on offense
16 Atlanta  38 42 28 They've come around after a rocky start, pitching is better
17 Minnesota  40 40 12 A bit of a drop off all around since the last rankings here
18 Burlington  39 41 24 Pitching is coming around, over .500 since last rankings
19 Charlotte  39 42 15 Offense is not getting it done, but pitching keeps them in it
20 Detroit  40 41 16 Had a nice streak going, may be on the verge of a big jump
21 Pittsburgh  37 44 17 Seems to be an off season for them, just can't get going
22 Austin  36 44 18 Fell off a bit since last rankings, pitching hasn't been great
23 Texas 34 46 32 Coming around after horrid start, huge improvement overall
24 Rochester 41 40 11 Good offense, but pitching fell off, leading to rough last 40
25 Honolulu  38 43 21 Great offensively, but pitching is not there yet 
26 Florida  37 43 20 Getting some good pitching, but offense is lacking so far
27 Syracuse  35 46 25 Numbers improved some, but their record didn't reflect that
28 Colorado  25 56 30 Improved as of late, but park is a problem for their pitching
29 Philadelphia 32 48 29 Their pitching did improve a lot since the last rankings
30 New York  29 51 26 It's been rough going for them since the last rankings
31 Seattle  33 48 23 Pitching got absolutely destroyed over the last 40 games
32 Jacksonville 26 54 31 Rebuild is going along well, as the pitching made strides.