Thursday, July 30, 2009

SmokieJoe Report

Philly's baby on Christmas morning.... He was sitting on his present and would not get off it until he was able to open it... You can tell he is adopted, he is alot better looking than Philly . I just want to let everyone see Philly's son.

Smokiejoe39

Season 5 Playoffs - Division Championship Series Preview

Leon Jackson - Cobbfather Post Gazette

The Play-In round featured 4 great series, a few upsets, and 3 game 5's. Let's see what excitement the Division Championship Series holds!

NATIONAL LEAGUE

5 Memphis Mayhem vs. 1 Jackson Rockets
Season Series: Jackson won 7-3

Memphis got past the New York Primetimers in Round 1 to advance to face division rival Jackson in the DCS. Memphis’s starting pitching was nearly flawless in the first round, and clearly the key to their series victory in the Play-in round. Their bullpen got roughed up a bit, but they still survived. It’s unlikely however, if their bullpen woes continue, that they will be able to duplicate the series win against a very tough Jackson squad. Offensively, it was the Buddy Poole show for Memphis, as he had 3 HR and 5 RBI, they hope his hot bat can continue through the next round, and will need some help from the rest of the lineup, which was pretty quiet in the Play-in Round.

Jackson comes into the series on the heels of a 103 win regular season which saw them lead the majors in team ERA. Jackson has 4 strong starters to choose from for their playoff rotation, they only had one bum in their regular season rotation – Bum Cohen, who posted a 4.76 ERA, and likely will be relegated to the ‘pen. Speaking of the pen, it was also very good during the regular season, and will be tough for Memphis to crack, with several members posting excellent stats for the season. Offensively, Jackson was in the top 10 in AVG and OPS. They don’t have a ton of power, but have enough to be dangerous. Players to watch out for are OBP machine Todd Nicholson, and speedy William Katou, who swiped 95 bases in 101 attempts.

Final Analysis: We picked Jackson to make the World Series, and there’s been nothing that’s happened to change our mind.

Prediction: Jackson in 4

6 Honolulu Haoles vs. 2 Sacramento Fighting Cornish Hens
Season Series: Sacramento won 8-2

Honolulu pulled off the upset of the Rochester Rolling Rocks, who were in the top 2 of the Power Rankings most of the year, to advance to face NL West foe Sacramento. Sacramento posted another 100 win season, featuring an offense that was top 5 in OPS and Home Runs, an asset that Sacramento teams in the past haven’t had. They had 13 players hit double digit home runs, but one of those is departed perennial all star SS Moises Terrero. It certainly looks like the offense will be all right without him, thanks to sluggers Troy Barker, Blake Howell and Paxton McDonald. It was another trademark excellent pitching staff for Sacramento, led by another stellar year by closer Sammy Felix. The rest of the bullpen is nothing to scoff at either. Looking at their starters Elvis Leon stepped up with his best season yet, while Maduro and Chouinard remained staples in the rotation.

It’s certainly going to be a tough task for Honolulu to take on Sacramento, but the same could be said for their series against Rochester, and they came out on top there. Honolulu’s offense was firing on all cylinders in the Play-In round. The hot bats of Bill Guerrero and William Power will need to stay on fire in order to get past Sacramento. It was a mixed bag for the Haoles as far as pitching goes in the first round of the playoffs, some good performances, some bad, but they got enough to get past a tough Rolling Rocks offense. But do they have enough to tame the Fighting Cornish Hens?

Final Analysis: We could go the easy route here, but another Sacto-Jackson matchup would be kind of boring. Plus FW doesn’t win much in the playoffs. So it’s time to go UPSET, Honolulu is on a roll!!!

Prediction: Honolulu in 5

AMERICAN LEAGUE

4 New York Pride of the Yankees vs. 1 Tampa Bay Tankers
Season Series: Tampa Bay won 8-2

The New York Pride of the Yankees are coming off a dramatic 5 game series with the Burlington Huskies, which they barely got out of alive. In their series against Burlington, the New York offense was decent, but not the usual powerhouse they normally are. Moises Terrero’s struggles in New York continued, as he didn’t have a great series. As a team, they only hit .250 during the series, a figure they will definitely have to improve on if they are to advance to the LCS. They did get great pitching during their opening series. Surprisingly, the only weak link was staff ace Ken Evans. If Evans can get on track, and the rest of the staff remains hot, it’s definitely a good sign for New York.

New York has a great task in front of them facing the Tampa Bay Tankers, the #1 team in the Power Rankings for much of the second half of the season. Coming off an impressive 112 win season, the Tankers will look for their impressive offense to come through in the playoffs for them. The Tankers lead the majors in Home Runs and OPS, while scoring the 4th most runs. 6 players topped 28 home runs for the tankers, so there will be no easy outs in this lineup. On the mound, Tampa Bay was 2nd in ERA, and allowed the least runs in the majors. Their bullpen was stellar, and they have 5 different SP’s capable of stepping up with big time playoff performances. This will be a tough team to take down for sure.

Final Analysis: Tampa Bay is stacked, but this is the playoffs, anything can happen. And we did pick New York to go all the way preseason. Despite having a down year, we call for the UPSET!!

Prediction: New York in 5

6 San Francisco Hammer’d Leprechauns vs. 2 Vancouver Blaze
Season Series: Series tied 5-5

The Hammer’d Leprechauns advanced with an upset win over the Atlanta Expos to take on division rival Vancouver in the DCS. Vancouver, who won 102 games this season, is known for their potent offense. They ranked 5th in Home Runs, 2nd in OPS, and 1st in Batting Average and Runs Scored. Leading the Vancouver offense is perennial MVP candidate Jordan Abernathy who put up fantastic numbers once again in Season 5. Charlie Dickinson hit 49 home runs for them as well, and catcher Aaron Tam, who had stints in Oakland and St. Louis this year, hit 33 HR in 94 games for them. The list of impressive offensive players goes on, this impressive offense will be tough to tame in the playoffs. Not as impressive is their pitching staff, which only fared at about league average. They had 3 starters, Kline, Solano and Menechino, who had nice years, but no one in their bullpen finished with an ERA below 4, which could be problematic in the playoffs. Luckily, they have that offense to bail them out if the bullpen blows one late.

As mentioned, Vancouver’s opponent San Francisco defeated Atlanta, who many liked to go a long way this post season. The Hammer’d Leprechauns Play-in Series with full of ups and downs, their pitching was great in the 3 games they won, and got completely destroyed in the games they lost. A vulnerable pitching staff is not a good sign heading into a series against one of the league’s best offenses. Offensively, the Hammer’d Leps were carried by Kris Matthews (.476 BA 1 HR 6 RBI). The rest of the offense was anemic, and will need to step it up if they are going to advance to the LCS.

Final Analysis: Vancouver’s offense will just be too much for the Hammer’d Leprechauns, we think their luck has run out.

Prediction: Vancouver in 4

Good luck to the final 8 of Season 5!!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Season 5 Playoffs - Play-In Round Preview

Leon Jackson - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's playoff time again! As always, the Gazette has full coverage for its readers. First up, is the Divison Play-In Round - let's get right into the previews!

AMERICAN LEAGUE

6 San Francisco Hammer’d Leprechauns vs. 3 Atlanta Expos
Season Series: San Francisco won 6-4

The mighty Hammer’d Leprechauns are making their playoff debut against the Atlanta Expos. It will be a tough playoff debut for the Leps, as Atlanta has had documented playoff success. Both teams in the series feature solid offenses, as the Hammer’d Leprechauns were 3rd in batting average, while the Expos were 6th in OPS. Both teams have a fair amount of speed, with the Expos having the edge in power. Pitching wise, Atlanta may have the most feared 1-2-3 combo in the league with Cy Young contender Carl Sosa, Chris Pendleton and Matt Lawrence. Lawrence has underperformed a bit since being acquired by Atlanta, they will count on him to step it up in the playoffs. The Atlanta bullpen may be a slight weakness for them, as they really didn’t have much consistency in the regular season. While San Francisco doesn’t have the big guns in the rotation that Atlanta has, they definitely have the edge bullpen wise, led by lights out closer Pat Smith. The question will be whether San Francisco’s offense will be able to get to the tough starting pitching of Atlanta, so that Smith will have the opportunity to close out some games.

Final Analysis: We think the big three of Atlanta will be just too much for San Francisco to overcome.

Prediction: Atlanta in 4

5 Burlington Huskies vs. 4 New York Pride of the Yankees
Season Series: New York won 7-3

The Burlington Huskies pushed Atlanta hard all season for the AL East division title, but came up short. They’ll be facing the AL North Champion New York Pride of the Yankees, who despite winning the division, had a bit of a down year, compared to seasons past. One could attribute that to New York’s below average pitching staff. Ken Evans, their ace, was still good, but nowhere near his Cy Young numbers from the year before. The rest of the rotation was mediocre as well. The bigger problem was an extremely inconsistent bullpen that cost them several games. If they are going to make a run, New York will need to catch lightning in a bottle with their bullpen, and hope they can go on a strong run. Offense has never been a weakness for New York, and the same can be said this season, as they finished 2nd in OPS, 4th in Home Runs, and 3rd in runs scored. The X-Factor for the New York offense will be Moises Terrero, who struggled a bit after being acquired midseason. If he can get going, New York’s offense will be tough to stop.

Burlington’s offense is more of a small ball approach, as they were 2nd in the majors in stolen bases. This could prove a problem for New York’s weak armed catcher, Al Martinez. Their power source is 50 HR hitter Hector Ball – only one other player hit 20 Home Runs for Burlington. Ball will need to produce to keep them in the series. Burlington had a top 10 pitching staff this season, and certainly appear to have the edge over New York on the mound. It could be former New York pitcher Rick McCallum that poses the most problems for New York, that is, if he makes the playoff rotation.

Final Analysis: New York’s hitting edge seems to be just a little bit larger than Burlington’s on the mound, and that will decide the series.

Prediction: New York in 5

NATIONAL LEAGUE

6 Honolulu Haoles vs. 3 Rochester Rolling Rocks
Season Series: Honolulu won 6-4

Honolulu, who grabbed the 2nd wildcard spot in the NL, is facing the NL North Champion Rochester Rolling Rocks, who spent most of the season in the top 2 of the power rankings, but faltered towards the end of the season, likely due to lack of competition in their division. They had the division wrapped up not too long after the all star break. Rochester finished in the top 10 in most offensive categories, lead by the three headed monster of Trey Padgett, Luis Carrasco and Banjo Maxwell. It certainly appears they have the advantage on offense, as Honolulu’s numbers were more towards the league average. Although, Honolulu may have the best power hitter in the series in Pascual Soriano, who pounded 59 home runs.

Pitching wise, Honolulu was 7th in ERA, which was the key in securing the wild card spot for them. Justin Powell was their ace this season, going 15-9 with a 2.59 ERA, while Corey Kennedy was dominant out of the pen. Add a couple of other sub-4 ERA starters, and the Honolulu staff definitely looks like a formidable playoff caliber group of hurlers. Rochester’s staff isn’t all that far behind Honolulu, as they finished 10th in ERA. They didn’t have an ace like Powell, but the entire rotation was extremely consistent, especially Boyer, Escobar and Durbin. The bullpen was a bit shaky, outside of Enrique Mesa, which is definitely a concern in the playoffs.

Final Analysis: Rochester has a clear edge on offense, and their staff should be good enough to get them the win in this matchup. If not, they’ll have to rely on the playoff magic of owner yanks21. Either way, we like Rochester.

Prediction: Rochester in 4

5 Memphis Mayhem vs. 4 New York Primetimers
Season Series: New York won 6-4

Memphis, one of the hottest teams in the league down the stretch, takes on NL East Champion New York in what will be a very good series, no doubt. Both teams feature superior pitching, with New York finishing 6th in ERA, and Memphis 8th. There’s not many weaknesses to note with the Primetimers’ pitching staff, as their starting pitching and bullpen were excellent. The only slight concern is a 4.99 ERA from closer Chad Lawrence, although he did save 40 in 46 opportunities. Memphis’ starters didn’t perform quite as well as New York’s this season, but appears to have the better bullpen, even though Billy Cox didn’t have the lights out season he did last year. They’ll be relying heavily on Pinky Matheson to get them to that great bullpen with a lead.

Offensively, both of these teams appear to be around the league average, with Memphis just a smidge higher than New York in most categories. New York can hit the ball out of the yard, as they have 4 guys who hit 30+ HR’s, but none of them had averages over .285, so it was a bit all or nothing with their top hitters. The Memphis offense is led by sluggers Buddy Poole (55 HR) and Frank Cain (49 HR). They had a couple of others top 30 HR as well, but without a lot of average. It appears both teams will be looking to get on a hot power streak – whoever does, likely will take the series.

Final Analysis: in this close series, we like the Memphis bullpen, offense, and great record down the stretch to prevail.

Prediction: Memphis in 5

Good luck to all the teams in the Play-in Round!

Season 5 Power Rankings - End of Regular Season

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's time for the final edition of the power rankings for Season 5. Down the stretch, the top teams really showed why they are there, for the most part. Leading the way was #1 Tampa Bay, holding on to the top spot with a 10-2 record down the stretch. #2 Jackson (10-2), #3 Sacramento (10-2) and #4 Vancouver (11-1) all jumped up one spot with impressive stretch runs. #5 Rochester faltered in their last 12, falling 3 spots in the final poll. Atlanta, New York (NL), San Francisco, Burlington and Memphis round out the final Top 10.

This being the end of the regular season, it's good time to go back and compare the final rankings with the preseason predictions. Here are the top five that most outperformed their predictions, the top five that most underperformed, and those that finished where they started.

Most Improved Teams from the Preseason Rankings: #23 Little Rock (+9, preseason #32), #8 San Francisco (+8, preseason #16), #11 Honolulu (+8, preseason #19), #15 Hartford (+7, preseason #22), #4 Vancouver (+6, preseason #10), #19 Buffalo (+6, preseason #25)

Most Decline from the Preseason Rankings: #27 Syracuse (-13, preseason #14), #13 New York Pride of the Yankees (-9, preseason #4), #12 Florida (-9, preseason #3), #24 Oakland (-7, preseason #17), #21 St. Louis (-6, preseason #15)

Finished Where they Started: #2 Jackson, #6 Atlanta, #30 Ottawa

Interesting to see those preseason comparisons, indeed.

And now the complete last edition of the Power Rankings for Season 5!!


Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Tampa Bay

112-50

1

2

Jackson

103-59

3

3

Sacramento
102-60

4

4

Vancouver

102-605

5

Rochester

98-64

2

6

Atlanta

96-66

6

7

New York (NL)

92-70

9

8

San Francisco
91-7110

9

Burlington

92-70

7

10

Memphis

 91-71
8

11

Honolulu

87-75

13

12

Florida

86-76

14

13

New York (AL)

85-77

15

14

Dover

86-76

11

15

Hartford

84-78

16

16

Austin

84-78

12

17

Boston

83-79

17

18

San Juan

82-80

19

19

Buffalo

80-82

18

20

Cleveland

76-86

20

21

St. Louis

71-91

21

22

Detroit

70-92

22

23

Little Rock

69-93

26

24

Oakland

69-93

23

25

Charleston

69-93

25

26

Cheyenne

66-96

24

27

Syracuse

64-98

29

28

Durham
65-97

28

29

Wichita
 64-98

27

30

Ottawa

59-103

31

31

Kansas City

59-103

30

32

Los Angeles

55-107

32


That's it for the Power Rankings for Season 5, good luck to the playoff teams!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Season 2 draft "BEST NAME"

The best name in season 2 was Heinie Olmos. Heinie has decent power, splits, contact, and a good batter's eye. When Heinie was young, he was always teased about his name. When he was hurt, his mom always called him a "pain in the ass" when he did poor in school, his teacher called him "a bad ass" , and when his girlfirend kissed him, she was heard saying" Kisisng him was like kissing an ass" No one knows why they say this, or probably cares. Heinie always takes it in stride and does not let it bother him.

Season 2 "Definite STUDS"

Season 2 also saw a list of definite STUDS. Bill Guerrero leads the list. He has great power, contact, splits,and a superb batter's eye.



Thumper Carpenter. Thumper is going to be alights out closer with no fear at all. He has great control, splits, 2 very good pitches, and the mentality to mow hitters away.



Daniel Russell. Daniel has yet to play in the ML. He has hit for average, power, drives in a lot of runs, and has the ability to take a game over. He will be a very good ML player in the next season or so. Great power, kills left handed pitching, very good batter's eye, and the poise to be within a level of putting Albert Pujols numbers. He has won a Silver Slugger and all star game MVP in AAA.



Talmadge Malone A favorite of mine, but we traded him to try and get better. Talmadge will be a major impact player. He will hit for power, average , and also steal some bases. Aswitch hitter who can get to the same level as Carlos Beltran in his prime.


Bonk Stephens. Bonk had already shown great power in the ML. 40/120 easily in his future. He will be a great player, and put of MVP number every season.



Gabe Butler. Gabe is a left handed hitter with power. He has superb power, very good contract, decent splits, and below average speed. He will easily hit 50 homers on a consistent basis.



William Colin. William is going to be a top not set-up guy or possibly closer in the future. He has a WHIP. H e average more than 1 strikeout per inning, and should be a major impact player in the future. His ERA is low, great control, great splits, and 4 pitches.





Jim Lee.... Jim is another player who will make an impact on any team he is on. He has very good power, contact, splits, and a great batter's eye. 40/120 easily in the ML. Florida should be proud to have him on thei team.

Season 2 Draft "so-so" picks

Season 2 had quite a bit of "so -so " picks. We start of with Brendan Fowler. Fowler is starting to show promise and the ability to succeed. For the most part he has been so -so. I still think he will be a double digit winner in the ML. I would expect a number 5 pick to be better, but hey look at my team :).

SO-SO PICKS # 8 pick Sherm Gates #9 Sam Cox #10 Wilt Pittinger #11 Joaquin Espinosa #14 Tomas Rodriguez #18 Kent Dillon #19 James Simmons #20 Milton Henry #24 Dennis Harmon #26 Seth Crane #28 Ray Fitzgerald # Hugh Humphries #32 Bernard Gray # 34 Dan Waltman # Darrell Beam #38 Kevin Kingland # 39 Tike Bennett #41 Leo Abbey #42 Dale Giles #43 Aaron Zimmerman #45 Eddie Cash #46 Stu Mateo #47 Yorrick Nathan.

Season 2 draft "under achievers"

Season 2 also saw a lot of under achievers in the draft. These are the players that have not lived up to their "hype" as of now.

1.Alex Pujols... When you see the name Pujols in any draft, you think greatness. This was the case here as well. Alex was scouted as a ss/if with decent power, contact, very good against right handed pitchers, and the ability to make an impact. So far the only impact he has made, is his hands in the clay while in pottery class. He has shown nothing to make us go "wow".

2.Donald Flores. Donald was also scouted as an if/of with decent numbers. He has hit for average at time in the minors, but really nothing more. He just entered AA this season, and the future could hold something bright for him still. But as of now, he is only a candle flickering in the wind. A 22nd pick, one would think you'd get more out of him than what he has shown thus far.

3.Esteban Rodriguez. Esteban may not to deserve to be on this list, but he did show up on it. He is currently on the DL for over 150 days, and that may become a trend accoring to his health ratings. He has great power, contact, decent splits, and a good batter's eye. I honestly think he can be a regular 30/100 guy if he stays healthy.



4.Drew Adkinson . Drew actually could progress in the near future to be off this list. He was scouted a a good player with decent power, contact, splits, and and the potential to win multiple gold gloves in LF/1B. Drew went from rookie ball to AAA ball, and that may helped in his lack of production since the draft. He still may gel into a fine player, but we have to go by what we see now. He has bounced around from AAA to the ML in the last couple seasons. He did make the all star team in Rookie ball in season 2.

5.Cory Byrdak. Cory was a player that was hit hard when the "new ratings " took place. At the time we had him in our minor league system. He has below average splits, decent control, and 4 so so pitches. He does great in AAA, but when he takes the step up to the big leagues, everything goes astray. His control leaves him, his ERA sky rockets, and he is not the same. He may end up as a career minor leaguer.



6. Alex Seguignol. A complete bust thus far. A career pitcher in the minors with an ERA around 6. He has great stamina, low control, low splits, and 5 pitches. His career mark is 23-43. The future holds a newspaper deliver job for this guy.

7. Alan Reed. Reed is probably going to be a decent player in the future, but has yet to make his mark. He is htting for good average, but has just reached AAA status. A left hander with decent speed. He should probably not be on the list, but time will tell if we are wrong.

Season 2 draft "DUDS"

Season2 draft also saw a lot of DUDS that came to collect money. There were a few that never even saw any playing time. Harry Julio was one of them . Harry was drafted by yours truly with the, but never signed. I honestly have no clue why he was not signed. He had good power, contact, splits, left handed, and a decent batter's eye. Nick Koch is the biggest mystery of the draft. He was highly scouted as a SS with good defensive skills, good power, decent contact, kills left handed pitching, and a player with good make-up. He signed as the 2nd pick in the draft, and than totally dropped off the face of the earth. He literally took the 3.9 mil signing bonus and disappeared. Rumor has it, he took Ploppie's sister to the CLUB MED down in Brazil. They were seen having intimate nights along the sandy beaches . No one has seen him since they contract signing. He did not play a single game in the minors before retiring after season 2.


Junior Rojas is also another player that was drafted in season 2, and never played a game. Junior was scouted as a power hitting 3rd baseman with decent contact, good splits, and a decent batter's eye. He also took his 2.1 mil bonus and disappeared. He may have gone down to Brazil with Koch and Ploppie's sister for a nice 3-some on the sand. Whatever the case, hopefully the details will be left out when he is finally found.

Season 2 draft "Where are they now"

Season 2 saw a draft that was some of the strangest players thus far. We had a player that got drafted, got his signing bonus, never played, and retired after the 2nd season. We have had players drafted , that makes you wonder why they were drafted. We have players that have never made it to the big leagues, and may never with the numbers they have put up in the minor leagues.

PLAYERS THAT SHOULD MAKE AN IMPACT

1. Branch Borders. He was chose by Cleveland with the first pick in the second season. He has very good power, contact, and splits. So far he is a 2 time all star in the minor leagues. He was nominated in season 3 (High A) and Season 4 (AAA). Season 5 saw him make his ML debut. He hit .283 with 25 homers, while driving in 80 runs. He has excellent pitch calling skills and should win multiple gold gloves in the future. He is a STUD WANNABE.


2. Paxton Mc Donald . Paxton was chosen with the 4th pick in season 2 by Wichita. He is a player that shold be very productive in the ML. In season 2 he started out in Rookie ball, but ended up in the ML. He has performed quite well considering the lack of minor league experience he had. In his ML debut in season 2, he hit .291 with 17 homers in 254 at bats. He has 99 career homer in just about 3 seasons in the major leagues. His career average is .277, which should get better as time goes along.

3. Aubrey Sherman. Aubrey was chosen with the 44th pick in season 2. He has 2 all star appearances so far to his credit. He was voted in season 2 while in rookie ball, and season 4 while in Low A ball. Season 4 also saw him take home a Silver Slugger award for his performance. He is a CF with decent power, contact, splits, and a very good eye. He should also bring home a few gold gloves in the future as well. I will call him a FUTURE STUD WANNABE



4. Billy Ray Heiserman... Billy Ray was chosen with the 3rd pick in the second season. He has good power, contact, decent splits, and a very good batter's eye. He is still only 21 and has a lot of time to learn and grow. He is also a switch hitter, which will make him more deadly when he performs with consistency. Seaon 4 saw him win a Silver Slugger award, as well as an all star nomination. He has dominted the minors thus far, and just recenly made his ML debut. He is a future STUD

Supplemental picks "worthy"

There are 2 supplemental picks that are worthy of mention from season's 1 draft.

1. Peter Fowler. Selected by Rochester with the 38th pick, Fowler is going to be a very good ML pitcher in the near future. He has 4 pitches, great control, decent splits, and the ability to keep the opponents off the scoreboard. He is 28-13 in 2 seasons of AAA, and he should be ready for his ML debut very soon.


2. Darrell Mays. Mays is actually a pitcher that was drafted with the 41st pick by Madison. He is a 5 pitch pitcher, has great control, stamina for long relief or spot starter, and decent splits. In his first season in the big leagues, he is 6-7 with a 3.19 ERA. He should get more wins playing for a team with better offense than the one he is on now (mine).

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Season 5 Power Rankings - Regular Season #9

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

Due to a writer's strike, the Game 135 Power Rankings were not published. Good news, we're back! And we've got 30 games of ground to cover, so let's get to it!

So what's gone on in Cobbfather the past 30 games? At the top, it's all about Tampa Bay, who takes over the top spot in the rankings, sporting the league's only 100+ win total. They dethrone Rochester, who has played sub .500 ball over the last 30 games, but that might be due to the fact that they have a 34 game lead in their division, and don't have much to play for. Still, Rochester comes in at #2, followed by Jackson holding steady at #3. Sacramento jumps 2 spots up to #4, and Vancouver rounds out the top 5.

Other big climbers in the rankings include Memphis, who has the best record in the league over the past 30 games, the New York Primetimers, and Detroit and Oakland both had nice jumps after posting above .500 records over the last 30.

The last 30 games haven't been as kind for Dover, Austin, and as previously mentioned, Rochester.

Here are your five best and five worst over the last 30 games!

Five Best: #8 Memphis (24-6), #1 Tampa Bay (21-9), #9 New York (NL) (21-9), #4 Sacramento (20-10), #7 Burlington (18-12)

Five Worst: #32 Los Angeles (9-21), #31 Kansas City (10-20), #28 Durham (10-20), #30 Ottawa (11-19), #29 Syracuse (11-19)

And now the complete latest edition of the Power Rankings!!


Rank

Team

Record

Prev

1

Tampa Bay

102-48

2

2

Rochester

95-55

1

3

Jackson
93-57

3

4

Sacramento

92-586

5

Vancouver

91-59

4

6

Atlanta

91-59

5

7

Burlington

89-61

7

8

Memphis
87-6311

9

New York (NL)

85-65

13

10

San Francisco

 84-66
9

11

Dover

82-68

8

12

Austin

81-69

10

13

Honolulu

80-70

12

14

Florida

79-71

14

15

New York (AL)

78-72

15

16

Hartford

79-71

17

17

Boston

77-73

16

18

Buffalo

73-77

18

19

San Juan

74-76

19

20

Cleveland

70-80

20

21

St. Louis

66-84

21

22

Detroit

66-84

27

23

Oakland

64-86

28

24

Cheyenne

62-88

22

25

Charleston

64-86

23

26

Little Rock

62-88

24

27

Wichita

61-89

26

28

Durham
60-90

25

29

Syracuse
 56-94

29

30

Ottawa

54-96

31

31

Kansas City

54-96

30

32

Los Angeles

49-101

32


Check back after the end of the regular season for the final power rankings for Season 5!

Season 1 picks #29-32

With the 29th pick, Durham chose Alex Cela. Alex was scouted to be a player on the same level as Joe Carter. Cela has good power, very good contact, good splits, and a very good batting eye. He was an all star in season 1 in the rookie level. Season 2 saw him jump all the way to the major league level. That was quite a jump for anyone, and it took him time to adjust. He has hit between .279 and .302 in his 4 years in the big leagues. I think he is a future stud, and will label him a a STUD WANNABE



With the 30th pick, Fargo chose Ben Neugebauer. Ben was scouted as a pitcher who should make the big leagues, and do very well there. He has decent stamina, good control, average splits, and 5 pitches to fool hitters with. Honestly he started out well in the bullpen in the lower minors for Fargo. From Low A to AAA he was looking to come in to his own. Most of the time his ERA was between 4.5-5.. This may have been the reason he was left unprotected in the rule 5 draft this season. For his new team Little Rock, his ERA is 7.16 in 32 games. No doubt he will not be around much longer with that kind of performance. A major DUD



With the 31st pick, Los Angeles chose DH Orlando Rojas. This guy is a major STUD in the making. He has great power, very good contact, very good splits, decent batting eye, and excellent base running skills. Season 1 saw him win the Silver Slugger award for DH/P and also earn an all star selection the same year. He has not won any more awards since than, but they are on the horizon for this slugger. He is left handed, and only 22. A STUD


With the 32nd pick, monterey chose William Power. Power is a 2 time all star, season 2 and 3. He also won a silver slugger in season 3 in High A ball. He has good power, great contact, decent splits, and a decent batting eye. A left handed hitter that hits for average, and will also drive in 100 runs regularly. I honestly see him as a Jason Bay type player. He should hit 40 doubles, 25 homers, and drive in 110-120 for a decent team. I will call him a FUTURE STUD

Season 1 picks 26-28

With the 26th pick in the first season draft, Sante Fe chose Dan Forrester. Dan was scouted to be a major contributor to the franchise for years to come. The franchise has questioned where all his signing bonus, and his salary went. The owner said" It sure was not on hitting lessons" This guy has very good power, very good against left handed pitchers, decent against right handers, and has a very good eye. Right now he could not hit the candy out of a pinata . He is listed as a DUD for the draft pick.



With the 27th pick, Mexico City chose Phillip Hawkins. This guy was scouted as a great set-up man, possible long relief, or closer. He has great control, decent splits, and 4 decent pitches. I honestly can say he has done nothing to thrill the fans as of yet. He has no awards, nothing spectacular to show for that huge chip the scouts put on his shoulder. He is a DUD.



With the 28th pick, Texas chose Chuck Tremie. Chuck was scouted as a player with decent power, contact, splits, very good speed, and a good eye. So far he has not proven his worth the last 2 seasons. He has 2 all stas appearances and a Silver Slugger award in his first 3 season in the minors. Seaon 4 and 5 saw little playing time, if at all for the youngster. He could be a very good player, if given the chance. As of now, he has to be called a DUD...

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Season 1 pick #21-25.

With the 21st pick, Chicago chose Art Parris. Parris was scouted as a players with good power, control, splits and batting eye. He has been all of that. Parris won a gold glove for 2B his rookie season in High A ball. Season 2 and 3 also bought him an all start selcetion in AA and AAA. He is compared to the offense of an Aaron Rowand, and the defense of Harold Reynolds. Art has proven to be all of that ....and more. He hit .302 with 35 doubles, 20 homers, 93 RBIS'S, while scoring 86 runs. He is a STUD wannabe.


With the 22nd pick, Madison chose Erv Jodie. Erv was scouted to be a 5 pitch pitcher with control, decent splits, good stamina, and the ability to keep hitters guessing. Seaon 1 saw him go 7-5 with a respectable 3.28 ERA. Seaon 2 saw him promoted to High A where he went 7-1 with a 4.10 ERA. Season 3 was his best to date. In AA he went 19-3, with a 2.97 ERA and a Cy Young Award. He followed that with a 13-8 record in AAA. He is on the same level pitcher as a Millwood right now...He was 2-10 with a 5.03 ERA in his ML debut this season. He will get you innings, not alot of strikeouts consistantly, and will keep the ball in play for your team. He is another STUD wannabe.



With the 23rd pick Florida chose Wesley Cooke. Wesley was scouted as a pitcher who could make a different for the Florida franchise. The problem is, the scouts were drinking Margarita's down on the beach with Jimmy Buffet when they were scouting Cooke. After going 3-6 in his rookie season in Low A, he was traded to Wichita the next season. He than went 11-12 with an ERA over 5 for Wichita in High A ball. The next 2 seasons saw him repeat that performance in AA, and AAA. As a result he was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft, thus being chosen by another Wichita franchise. Maybe the new franchise has done his wonders, as he has gone 3-2 with a 4.20 in his first ML season. Overall we still have to call him a DUD.



With the 24th pick, Hartford Jeffcoat. Jeffcoat is a player with low power, decent contact, decent splits, decent speed, and decent batting eye. I would say his scouts thought he was going to be a decent player :) . He has not won any awards, but is pushing to be the best future ML bench warmer. He has put up very good numbers in AAA recently, but we will see how far that goes. He has done nothing impressive to elevate his status. We still label him a DUD.


With the 25th pick in the draft, San Diego chose Kris Matthews. Matthews was scouted to be a player with awesome power, the ability to crush left handed pitching, and a keen batting eye. To this day , he has not proven them wrong. The only problem is his health rating has caused him to sit alot of games. If he played a full season, you would see numbers like Pudge Rodriguez. He is a STUD wannabe, as we still feel he will break out soon. In 150 ML games, he has hit almost 40 homers, while driving in 101 runs. This is between 2 teams and 2 different seasons, but it shows you the promise he has. STUD wannabe for sure.

Season 1 pick #20

With the 20th pick, Cincinnati chose Nick Burkett. I guess he was chosen for his defensive skills. He has average contact, low power, trouble hitting left handed pitchers, and a decent batting eye. This has made him struggle the higher levels he has played in. Rookie season saw him on the all star team in rookie ball, but after that ... nothing. I really don't see him batting for a high average in the ML.. If he played all season, he would struggle to hit 25 doubles and 10 homers. Drafted as a potential gold glove winner in the future, thus far he has only won a "garden glove" award. He had 48 errors in AA last season. I give him a DUD award so far.

Season 1 pick#19

With the 19th pick, Colorado chose Weldon Black. Black was scouted as a pitcher with great stamina, control, decent splits, and the ability to fool hitters. He started out in season 2 in High A, where he promptly went 15-5 with a 3.67 ERA IN Colorado...WOW. Season 3 saw him split time between High A and AA. He combined went 13-5 with a 3.58 ERA. No one knows where he was after draft day in season 1.....he did not pitch at all. Season 4 saw him in AAA, where he went 11-10, with a 3.78 ERA. Season 5 saw him start in AAA, before being put in the ML to fill a starting pitcher gap...He has struggled at times, going 8-13 with a 5.02 ERA. He is also playing for a team that is rebuilding, and has only 53 wins. These stats will change as he continues to grow, and the team continues to get better. I will call him a STUD WANNABE

Season 1 pick #18

With the 18th pick, Colorado chose Dean Gagne. A switch hitter with good power, splits, and batting eye. He has not won any awards yet, but in due time he will produce as expected to. Moving from Colorado to Kansas City did impact his stats. He is projected to be a hitter on the same level as Bernie William. Right now he is performing like "Billy Dee" Williams. Hopefully time will bring him around, if not I see him being traded .

Season 1 pick#17

With the 17th pick, St.Louis chose Cesar Liriano. Now this has to be the Biggest surprise ever. Scouted as a huge impact player, excellent power, contact, splits, batting eye, and having the ability to take a game over. He retired after spending 2 seasons in Rookie Ball. Rumor has it, he was mad about not being promoted. Looking at his numbers, he was definitely "forgotten about" by the owner. In 2 seasons in rookie ball, he hit .420 and .363 ,hit 27 and 32 homers, drove in 112, and 129 runs in those seasons. Both seasons, he won the MVP, Silver Slugger award, and was an all star team member. A definte STUD.....but officially a DUD since he retired due to not being promoted.

Season 1 pick #16

With the 16th pick in season 1, Pittsburgh chose Jimmie Blanco. Blanco was scouted as being a pitcher with great control, good stamina, 5 pitches, and the ability to take over a game. In his rookie league debut in season 1, he went 5-10 with a 5.40 ERA. That was the highest his ERA has ever been in a season, and he is becoming more of a "John Smoltz" type pitcher. He has a dominating hard slider, and can pack up the K's. I personally see him as a 12-15 game winner every season. He keeps you in every game. He is still only 24, so he could be alot better than his scouts think.

Season 1 pick#15

With the 15th pick in season 1, Sioux Falls chose power hitting c/dh Denny Martin. Martin started out in High A in his first season. He hit .320 with 6 homers and 23 RBI'S in just 40 games. In his second season , also in High A he hit .337 in 90 games. Season 3 saw him promoted to AAA where he hit .324 . Season 4 also saw him in AAA, where he continued to hit exceptionallly well .316. He had 38 doubles, 24 homers, 110 RBI'S, while walking 94 times, and only fanning 52. He won the Silver Slugger in AAA for C in season 3, all star in season 4, and another silver slugger in season 4. Martin is a definite STUD. He made his major league debut this season, season 5, and is not missing a beat.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Season 1 pick#14

With the 14th pick, Jacksonville chose Frank Cain. Frank is another guy who needs to go "donate " to the local banks. He has devastating power, excellent batting eye, decent contact, and very good splits. He will make Prince Fielder look like Steve Balboni. He only played 11 games in his Rookie season, and did not play at all in season 2. That alone would make any man stoop to his knees. Season 1 saw him play only about a dozen games in rookie league.. He has dominated since than. He jumped to High A in season 2, and completely made mince meat of the pitchers. He made the all star team in season 3 , hitting 47 homers while driving in 155 runs. Season 4 saw him win the MVP award in AAA, in just 115 games he hit 48 homers and drove in 125 runs. In his rookie season in the ML, he promptly hit 45 homers while driving in 107. A major part of the future for this team. A STUD in all ways.

Season 1 pick#13

With the 13th pick, Tuscon chose Wendell Weaver. Wendell is a highly rated player, but has yet to perform to those ratings. He has average power and contact. He has decent splits, and a very good batting eye. Alot of his ratings are because of his make-up, health, durability, and speed. He also has very good fielding ratings as well. I honestly see him as a Placido Polonco type player... He could hit you 20 homers, have about 30-40 doubles, 40 steals, as well as about 70 walks a season. He is a wannabe STUD, but perforoming like a 3 legged animal at the circus.

Season 1 pick #12

With the 12th pick in season 1, Las Vegas chose Moose Fossum. In normal situations I would say he was a good pick up,but after just reporting the 11th player I am beginning to wonder that thought. Moose has been an average player since the draft in season 1. He has not won any awards, and really has not shown anything to make people "awe" over him. He has played at the most, 114 games in a season anwhere in the system. Personally I would call him average at best right now. Right now he is a DUD.

Season 1 pick#11

With the 11th pick in Season 1 , Oklahoma City chose Ronnie Bannister. The scouts projected him to be a right handed Ryan Howard. He has excellent power, very good contact, kills left handed pitched, and also has a better eye than Ryan Howard. I will go out on a limb and say he is actually going to have better numbers than Howard after his career is over. He walks about the same, strikes out about 100 times less in a season than Howard does. He started out in Rookie League in season 1. He played 7 games before he was promoted, the owner knew what was in store for this guy in the future. In season 2 and 3, both in AA he was voted to the all star team. He hit .335 and .345, while hitting 31 and 43 homers respectively. He dove in 113 runs and 139 as well . This earned him a promotion in season 3 to AAA, where he continued his dominating trend. He spent only 5 games in AAA before he was called up to the big leagues in season 4. He hit 37 homers, drove in 121 runs on his way to the Rookie of the Year award. There is nothing but a high ceiling for this young slugger. He is so much of a STUD, he should donate at the "local bank" to help other teams out in the future.

Season 1 pick #10

With the 10th pick in Season 1, Sacramento chose Johnny Sherman. A STUD by every meaning. Sherman's only problem is his low health rating. I think any owner would have chosen him, and I am actually surprised he dipped to the 10th pick. His best season so far was season 3 in the ML..He won a Silver Slugger, as well as being picked for the All star team. A switch hitter with great power, contact, splits, and batting eye will go along way on any team. STUD by far.

Season 1 pick#9

With the 9th pick in season 1, Minnesota chose Davey Rivers. Rivers has 4 pitches, including a good sinker, and knuckle ball. Season 1 in the rookie level saw him 9-2 with an ERA of 2.94. That also bought him home the CY Young Award. Season 2 saw him 12-5 in Low A with a 4.25 ERA. Season 3 he was in High A and AA, combining for a 14-4 record, with a 2.88ERA. Season 4 also bought him a 14-5 record in AA. Season 5 saw him in a new uniform, as he was claimed off rule 5 draft waivers. That alone was surprising . He has done a fair job jumping 2 levels...8-14 with a 4.24 ERA. A STUD in the making.

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