Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Season 36 Preseason Power Rankings

Season 36 is off and running and it's time to kick off this season's blog coverage with the preseason power rankings!  These are always the toughest to do, and it's certain there will be some volatility once some of the regular season data is in, but we'll give it a shot anyways!

Topping the rankings is your defending champion, Montgomery.  They bring back a stacked lineup and some excellent pitching.  Surprisingly, this is the first time they have ever been ranked #1. Coming in at #2 is an up and coming Little Rock squad that features the top ranked Starting Pitching in Cobbfather and an excellent offense as well.  Sioux Falls, Florida and Salt Lake City round out the top 5.  

It should be another interesting season in Cobbfather, as there are many teams in the hunt for the title, it seems.  It will be exciting to see who comes out on top.  Good luck to all in the regular season! Here are the complete rankings!

Starting Relief
Pitching Pitching Hitting Fielding
Team  W L Rank Rank Rank Rank
1 Montgomery 96 66 7 5 1 7
2 Little Rock 91 71 1 30 5 6
3 Sioux Falls 102 60 2 10 7 17
4 Florida 98 64 4 1 9 11
5 Salt Lake City 84 78 9 3 4 31
6 Baltimore 88 74 10 9 6 7
7 Nashville 88 74 13 2 2 20
8 Santa Fe 101 61 12 4 2 27
9 Boston  91 71 8 6 11 11
10 Oklahoma City 49 113 6 16 20 15
11 Jackson 99 63 11 7 14 7
12 Portland 79 83 5 22 22 20
13 Buffalo  94 68 17 20 9 13
14 Cincinnati 80 82 14 13 17 17
15 Houston 106 56 19 17 11 20
16 Kansas City 88 74 18 14 19 2
17 St. Louis 75 87 25 12 8 20
18 Richmond 76 86 20 15 15 27
19 Salem 92 70 15 27 18 17
20 Los Angeles 75 87 16 24 21 20
21 Fargo 95 67 3 23 30 2
22 Helena 71 91 24 20 23 20
23 Syracuse 86 76 28 10 16 20
24 Norfolk 82 80 22 26 26 2
25 Minnesota 50 112 26 31 13 30
26 Charlotte  77 85 21 18 27 13
27 Milwaukee 69 93 27 8 24 7
28 Memphis 73 89 23 19 29 5
29 Colorado Springs 72 90 30 32 25 29
30 Honolulu 59 103 32 29 28 15
31 Atlanta  58 104 29 28 31 32
32 New York 48 114 31 25 32 1

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Season 35 Wrap Up - Montgomery Takes the Crown!

Montgomery
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Montgomery Takes the Season 35 Title in a Thriller!

The Season 35 World Series couldn't have been any closer, as the top two teams in the Final Power Rankings, Houston and Montgomery battled it out.  It all came down to Game 7 in Houston and nine innings weren't enough to determine the Season 35 Cobbfather champion.  After a scoreless 10th inning, a 2-out single in the top of the 11th, followed by a steal and an errant throw that got the runner to 3rd, it was up to star slugger Jamie Lo who had been struggling at the plate in the postseason, but on this occasion he came through, knocking in the go-ahead run from 3rd with 2 outs to take the lead.  In this back-and-forth game, nothing was a given with Houston up at the plate in the bottom of the 11th, but Montgomery closer Davey Torrealba managed to close it out, completing a perfect postseason out of the bullpen for him and bringing the championship back to Montgomery for the team, their 2nd title in five seasons.  What an ending and what a series!  It's unfortunate either team had to lose, it was a great performance by both teams. 

Thanks everyone for playing in Season 35, hope to see you all back next season!

Monday, October 23, 2017

Season 35 Award Winners

The hardware has been handed out for Season 35, so let's see who took home this season's awards!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Sean Gosling, Charlotte - .282 AVG 52 HR 136 RBI 21 SB
The Season 33 Rookie of the Year has stepped up his game another notch to take home an MVP trophy in a landslide win.  Gosling pretty much did it all for Charlotte this season, leading the AL in Home Runs, RBI, and Slugging, being named an All-Star starter and winning both a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove. You pretty much can't do more than that in a season.  This is Gosling's first MVP win, and we expect the 25 year-old superstar to be in contention for many more.

National League - Edinson Hernandez, Montgomery - .317 AVG 31 HR 110 RBI 48 SB
The 28 year-old right fielder for Montgomery finally broke through in Season 35 to take home his first MVP trophy.  With many impressive seasons under his belt, this was perhaps his best season, leading the NL in Hits and Runs.  Surprisingly, he was passed over for the All-Star team, which speaks to the depth of talent in the NL, but in the end won the MVP by a significant margin.  The all-around five-tool star should certain be in contention to add to his award collection going forward.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Jimmie Hartman, Jackson - 22-4 3.08 ERA 167 K
The AL Wins leader ended up taking home the Cy Young Award as well, capping off a phenomenal season for the 25 year-old stud righty out of Jackson.  He also led the AL in Innings Pitched and Quality Starts and made his 2nd All-Star team in Season 35.  With a near flawless make-up, the former #8 pick in the Season 31 draft should continue to post impressive numbers for the foreseeable future.

National League - Monte Daley, Sioux Falls - 20-8 2.27 ERA 174 K
When you lead the league in Wins, ERA, Quality Starts and Innings Pitched, it's a good bet the Cy Young will be coming your way as well, and that's what happened for the 28 year-old Sioux Falls lefty. The former #1 overall pick in Season 27 finally made good on his potential in Season 35 en route to being named the NL's best pitcher.  On top of winning his 1st Cy Young Award, Daley also made his 1st All-Star team in Season 35.  With Sioux Falls looking strong, expect more awards to come for their top starter.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
American League - Charlie Lyons, Boston - .310 AVG 29 HR 82 RBI
The 22 year-old DH for Boston had a most successful rookie campaign, capping it off with a Rookie of the Year trophy.  Lyons has elite contact and an elite batting eye, which propelled him to the league lead in both OBP and OPS this past season.  Lyons was the 6th overall pick in the Season 31 draft and helped lead Boston to their first division title in 13 seasons.  He appears to be a big part of the future in Boston going forward.

National League - Sherman Berkman, Portland - 11-5 2.54 ERA 158 K
It was a tight race for NL Rookie of the Year, but the 23 year-old lefty out of Portland, who dazzled in 24 starts this past seasons, came out on top.  Berkman adjusted well after only a short stint in the minors, as he was the #2 overall pick in the Season 34 draft.  Already sporting very impressive ratings across the board, the ceiling is extremely high for Berkman, who should have some development left to go.

FIREMAN OF THE YEAR
American League - Jace Sale, Boston - 3.59 ERA, 48 SV, 1st Win
National League - Al Balentien, Monterrey, 2.28 ERA, 46 SV, 2nd Win

SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS
American League
DH
Robert Hamilton
Houston
2nd
C
Rob Gagne
Atlanta
1st
1B
Albert Cruz
Milwaukee
12th
2B
Wandy Guillen
Cheyenne
3rd
3B
Sean Gosling
Charlotte
2nd
SS
Rymer Mota
Colorado Springs
1st
LF
Wiki Unamuno
Houston
6th
CF
Norman Berry
Little Rock
1st
RF
Francis King
Salem
5th

National League
P Gregor Lopez Buffalo 1st
C Derrick Frank Dover 3rd
1B Benny Romano Monterrey 1st
2B Yohan Gomez Buffalo 3rd
3B Cesar Ozuna Monterrey 1st
SS Junior Wilson Monterrey 1st
LF Haywood Swann Nashville 1st
CF Kirt Raggio Sioux Falls 4th
RF Yoenis Portillo Buffalo 2nd

GOLD GLOVE AWARDS
American League
P
Braeden Abercrombie
Albuquerque
2nd
C
Christopher Martin
Milwaukee
2nd
1B
Crash Cepeda
Albuquerque
2nd
2B
Hipolito Villar
Jackson
1st
3B
Sean Gosling
Charlotte
1st
SS
Ugueth Perez
Fargo
3rd
LF
Yusmeiro Seguignol
Jackson
1st
CF
Jon Curtis
Detroit
2nd
RF
Patrick Browne
Little Rock
3rd

National League
P Raul Delgado Kansas City 2nd
C Jumbo Zambrano Philadelphia 1st
1B Albert Pineda Florida 3rd
2B Ernie McEnerney Baltimore 1st
3B Enrique Renteria Richmond 1st
SS Brian Haynes Kansas City 1st
LF Everth Sosa Boise 1st
CF J.T. Constanza Minnesota 4th
RF Dizzy Hawkins Dover 2nd

Friday, October 20, 2017

Season 35 League Leaders

Here's the recap of this past season's League Leaders!

All-Time Top 5 Performances in Season 35
Shutouts - Midre Tavarez, Fargo - 4 - Tied for 5th All-Time

Multiple Category Leaders
Monte Daley, Sioux Falls - NL - 4 - ERA, Wins, IP, QS
Sean Gosling, Charlotte - AL - 3 - HR, RBI, SLG
Jimmie Hartman, Jackson - AL - 3 - Wins, IP, QS
Charlie Lyons, Boston - AL - 2 - OBP, OPS
Mitchell Sweeney, Philadelphia - NL - 2 - HR, RBI
Edinson Hernandez, Montgomery - NL - 2 - Hits, Runs
Chick Munson, Fargo - AL - 2 - Strikeouts, WHIP
Midre Tavarez, Fargo - AL - 2 - CG, Shutouts
Gregor Lopez, Buffalo - NL - 2 - Strikeouts, Shutouts
Randall Washington, Florida - NL - 2 - CG, Shutouts
Thomas Lyon, Philadelphia - NL - 2 - CG, Shutouts

Complete League Leaders
Offense
American League
Batting Average Ron Corino Salem .325
Home Runs Sean Gosling Charlotte 52
RBI Sean Gosling Charlotte 136
Stolen Bases Dennis Brock Charlotte 94
Hits Luis Valverde Boston 190
Runs Wandy Guillen Cheyenne 120
OBP Charlie Lyons Boston .425
SLG Sean Gosling Charlotte .579
OPS Charlie Lyons Boston .963
National League
Batting Average Junior Wilson Monterrey .333
Home Runs Mitchell Sweeney Philadelphia 49
RBI Mitchell Sweeney Philadelphia 139
Stolen Bases Damon Mackowiak Monterrey 67
Hits Edinson Hernandez Montgomery 208
Runs Edinson Hernandez Montgomery 145
OBP Yoenis Portillo Buffalo .421
SLG Kirt Raggio Sioux Falls .603
OPS Haywood Swann Nashville 1.013
Pitching
American League
ERA Armando Merced Houston 2.63
Wins Jimmie Hartman Jackson 22
Strikeouts Chick Munson Fargo 224
Saves Jace Sale Boston 48
WHIP Chick Munson Fargo 1.02
Innings Pitched Jimmie Hartman Jackson 254.0
Quality Starts Jimmie Hartman Jackson 24
Complete Games Midre Tavarez Fargo 9
Shutouts Midre Tavarez Fargo 4
National League
ERA Monte Daley Sioux Falls 2.27
Wins Monte Daley Sioux Falls 20
Strikeouts Gregor Lopez Buffalo 200
Saves Al Balentien Monterrey 46
WHIP A.J. Gil Sioux Falls 0.99
Innings Pitched Monte Daley Sioux Falls 229.2
Quality Starts Monte Daley Sioux Falls 28
Complete Games Randall Washington Florida 4
Kris Saarloos Dover 4
Thomas Lyon Philadelphia 4
Shutouts Randall Washington Florida 2
Thomas Lyon Philadelphia 2
Gregor Lopez Buffalo 2

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Season 35 Final Power Rankings

The regular season is over and the playoffs are barely under way, so let's see where everyone finished in the final power rankings of Season 35!  At the top, finishing where they started in the preseason rankings, is Houston.  There were three different #1's between their stays at the top, but they do finish where they started.  Up 4 spots to #2 is Montgomery.  They had an impressive stretch run, led by improved pitching.  Rounding out the top 5 is Sioux Falls, Monterrey and previous #1 Jackson.  Now for the biggest climbers and biggest falls since the last rankings!

Biggest Climbers: #18 Dover (+7), #2 Montgomery (+4), #10 Boston (+4), #12 Baltimore (+4), #15 Norfolk (+4), #16 Cheyenne (+4), #20 Portland (+4), #22 Milwaukee (+4), #23 Colorado Springs (+4)

Biggest Falls: #27 Richmond (-9), #24 Albuquerque (-7), #19 Detroit (-6), #17 Philadelphia (-5), #5 Jackson (-4)

Here are the complete rankings, good luck to the playoff teams!

Pitching Offense LAST 40
Team  W L PREV Rank Chg Rank Chg W L
1 Houston 106 56 2 2 0 8 3 29 11
2 Montgomery 96 66 6 4 4 3 0 27 13
3 Sioux Falls 102 60 3 1 0 18 1 25 15
4 Monterrey 101 61 5 12 4 1 0 23 17
5 Jackson 99 63 1 5 1 7 -3 21 19
6 Florida 98 64 9 6 0 17 3 25 15
7 Fargo 95 67 4 9 -6 5 4 21 19
8 Buffalo  94 68 7 3 1 14 3 21 19
9 Salem 92 70 8 8 2 13 -3 23 17
10 Boston  91 71 14 18 4 4 0 24 16
11 Little Rock 91 71 11 22 4 2 0 24 16
12 Baltimore 88 74 16 11 1 12 5 25 15
13 Kansas City 88 74 10 7 -2 18 -3 23 17
14 Nashville 88 74 15 20 2 6 2 24 16
15 Norfolk 82 80 19 17 0 22 3 25 15
16 Cheyenne 84 78 20 13 6 20 -4 23 17
17 Philadelphia 86 76 12 20 -2 15 -3 18 22
18 Dover 76 86 25 14 1 21 2 21 19
19 Detroit 80 82 13 22 0 10 -3 16 24
20 Portland 79 83 24 10 3 28 1 20 20
21 Los Angeles 75 87 21 16 -2 24 2 19 21
22 Milwaukee 69 93 26 24 -4 11 2 18 22
23 Colorado Springs 72 90 27 28 -1 16 4 19 21
24 Albuquerque 71 91 17 29 -4 9 -3 14 26
25 Charlotte  77 85 22 27 3 23 -9 17 23
26 St. Louis 75 87 23 15 -4 29 -2 14 26
27 Richmond 73 89 18 19 -10 27 -7 11 29
28 Boise 59 103 29 25 -4 30 0 17 23
29 Atlanta  58 104 28 26 3 25 -1 15 25
30 New York 48 114 32 31 1 32 0 17 23
31 Minnesota 50 112 30 31 0 26 2 8 32
32 Oklahoma City 49 113 31 30 -2 31 0 13 27

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Season 35 Power Rankings #3

It's time for the stretch run in Cobbfather Season 35, but first, it's time for another edition of the power rankings!  And we have our 4th different #1 team of the season, with Jackson taking over the top spot!  They had the best record since the last rankings and improved significantly both in pitching and offense.  Up 3 spots to #2 is Houston, who continues to play well, despite selling off some of their most formidable arms for younger talent.  Sioux Falls, with their top ranked pitching staff, comes in at #3, followed by previous #1, Fargo, followed by previous #2 Monterrey to round out the top 5.  Now for the biggest climbers and biggest falls since the last rankings!

Biggest Climbers: #8 Salem (+7), #9 Florida (+7), #19 Norfolk (+7), #1 Jackson (+6), #21 Los Angeles (+6)

Biggest Falls: #23 St. Louis (-12), #26 Milwaukee (-9), #12 Philadelphia (-6)

Here are the complete rankings.  Good luck down the stretch, there are a lot of tough teams this season, so you never know what will happen! 

Pitching Offense LAST 40
Team  W L PREV Rank Chg Rank Chg W L
1 Jackson 78 44 7 6 7 4 9 30 10
2 Houston 77 45 5 2 -1 11 10 28 12
3 Sioux Falls 77 45 3 1 1 19 1 28 12
4 Fargo 74 48 1 3 0 9 -3 21 19
5 Monterrey 78 44 2 16 -2 1 0 23 17
6 Montgomery 69 53 8 8 0 3 4 23 17
7 Buffalo  73 49 4 4 0 17 -2 24 16
8 Salem 69 53 15 10 0 10 7 25 15
9 Florida 73 49 16 6 5 20 4 27 13
10 Kansas City 65 57 14 5 1 15 -4 22 18
11 Little Rock 67 55 10 26 -5 2 1 20 20
12 Philadelphia 68 54 6 18 -2 12 -4 20 20
13 Detroit 64 58 18 22 2 7 2 20 20
14 Boston  67 55 9 22 3 4 -2 18 22
15 Nashville 64 58 12 22 1 8 -3 19 21
16 Baltimore 63 59 19 12 -3 17 0 20 20
17 Albuquerque 57 65 21 25 1 6 -2 20 20
18 Richmond 62 60 13 9 -3 20 -1 18 22
19 Norfolk 57 65 26 17 5 25 2 23 17
20 Cheyenne 61 61 22 19 9 16 -2 20 20
21 Los Angeles 56 66 27 14 3 26 4 23 17
22 Charlotte  60 62 24 30 0 14 -2 20 20
23 St. Louis 61 61 11 11 -6 27 -11 15 25
24 Portland 59 63 23 13 -1 29 -1 20 20
25 Dover 55 67 20 15 4 23 -2 15 25
26 Milwaukee 51 71 17 20 -5 13 -3 13 27
27 Colorado Springs 53 69 25 27 -7 20 3 18 22
28 Atlanta  43 79 31 29 3 24 1 20 20
29 Boise 42 80 30 21 6 30 -1 17 23
30 Minnesota 42 80 29 31 -2 28 -2 12 28
31 Oklahoma City 36 86 28 28 -10 31 0 9 31
32 New York 31 91 32 32 -1 32 0 9 31

Monday, September 18, 2017

Season 35 All-Star Recap

Results
National League    1
American League  0
W - T. Arnold
L - J. Hartman
S - A Gonzalez

Home Run Derby Winner: Trever Phillips, Philadelphia - 29 HR
All-Star Game MVP: Benny Romano, Monterrey - 0-2, RBI, SB
Futures Game MVP: Juan Siqueiros, St. Louis - 3-6, 2 HR, 3 RBI, SB

Appearance Leaders
American League - Wiki Unamuno, Houston; Yeico Miranda, Norfolk - 6 appearances
National League - Jhoulys Olmedo, Minnesota; Felix Tanaka, Baltimore - 5 appearances

Teams With Most Players
American League - Houston - 5
National League - Monterrey - 8

Complete Rosters

American League All-Stars
Starters
Player
Franchise
Appearance
C
Angel Johnson
Jackson
1st
1B
Crash Cepeda
Albuquerque
2nd
2B
Calvin Hukata
Detroit
2nd
3B
Sean Gosling
Charlotte
2nd
SS
Ugueth Perez
Fargo
4th
LF
Wiki Unamuno
Houston
6th
CF
Raul Galvez
Salem
4th
RF
Rubby Javier
Boston
2nd
DH
Kyuji Shinjo
St. Louis
1st

Pitchers
Player
Franchise
Appearance
P
Jace Sale
Boston
1st
P
Yeico Miranda
Norfolk
6th
P
Jimmie Hartman
Jackson
2nd
P
Midre Tavarez
Houston
2nd
P
Olmedo Valdez
St. Louis
2nd
P
Armando Merced
Houston
4th
P
Wascar Molina
Albuquerque
1st
P
Charles Lee
Little Rock
1st
P
Chick Munson
Houston
4th
P
Terrell Brownson
Little Rock
1st
P
Spud Newcomb
Boston
1st
P
Don Reid
Fargo
1st
P
Rube Hewitt
Charlotte
1st

Reserves
Player
Franchise
Appearance
C
Rob Gagne
Atlanta
2nd
1B
Claude Hughes
Houston
2nd
2B
Hipolito Villar
Jackson
2nd
3B
Edgardo Melendez
Little Rock
1st
SS
Dan Pribanic
Boston
2nd
LF
Jamey Crawford
Albuquerque
1st
CF
Norman Berry
Little Rock
3rd
RF
Corey Walker
Fargo
1st

AL All-Stars by Team
Houston 5
Boston 4
Little Rock 4
Albuquerque 3
Fargo 3
Jackson 3
Charlotte 2
St. Louis 2
Atlanta 1
Detroit 1
Norfolk 1
Salem 1

National League All-Stars
Starters
Player
Franchise
Appearance
C
Seth Robinson
Nashville
2nd
1B
Benny Romano
Monterrey
1st
2B
Yohan Gomez
Buffalo
2nd
3B
Cesar Ozuna
Monterrey
1st
SS
Jumbo Camacho
Buffalo
2nd
LF
Haywood Swann
Nashville
2nd
CF
Kirt Raggio
Sioux Falls
2nd
RF
Yoenis Portillo
Buffalo
2nd

Pitchers
Player
Franchise
Appearance
P
Al Balentien
Monterrey
2nd
P
Andre Harper
Richmond
4th
P
Gregor Lopez
Buffalo
1st
P
Jhoulys Olmedo
Minnesota
5th
P
Ernest Lewis
Kansas City
1st
P
Dante O'Connor
Montgomery
1st
P
Felix Tanaka
Baltimore
5th
P
A.J. Gil
Sioux Falls
1st
P
Bryant Landrum
Monterrey
4th
P
Monte Daley
Sioux Falls
1st
P
Raul Delgado
Kansas City
1st
P
Virgil Murphy
Monterrey
1st
P
Alberto Gonzalez
Monterrey
2nd
P
Tommy Arnold
Richmond
1st

Reserves
Player
Franchise
Appearance
C
Michael Mancuso
Monterrey
3rd
1B
Matt Prior
Kansas City
1st
2B
George Dubler
Nashville
2nd
3B
Marcell Johnson
Montgomery
4th
SS
Junior Wilson
Monterrey
1st
LF
Yohan Mairena
Buffalo
1st
CF
Trever Phillips
Philadelphia
1st
RF
Dizzy Hawkins
Dover
3rd

NL All-Stars By Team
Monterrey 8
Buffalo 5
Kansas City 3
Nashville 3
Sioux Falls 3
Montgomery 2
Richmond 2
Baltimore 1
Dover 1
Minnesota 1
Philadelphia 1