Season 23 Final Regular Season Power Rankings

The regular season is over for Cobbfather Season 23, but before we put it in the books, it's time for the final power rankings of the season.  It was interesting season for sure, the AL South was extraordinarily good, while the AL West was equally as bad, and 2 teams posted dominant win totals.  In the end it was Atlanta finishing #1 with an impressive 108 wins, and Dover coming in at #2, who can't be counted out to complete the three-peat.  A surging Charlotte team finished #3, and Pawtucket comes in at #4, who posted great numbers and had a nice stretch run.  Upstart San Juan rounds out the top 5.  It will be an interesting postseason for sure, will the 2 dominant regular season teams meet in a World Season rematch?  It won't be an easy road for either.   Good luck to the playoff teams and here are the complete final rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Atlanta	108	54	1	Strong finish to cap a very impressive season
2	Dover	107	55	2	Look primed to make a run at the three-peat
3	Charlotte	98	64	7	Excellent season, a very well-balanced team
4	Pawtucket	92	70	12	Great finish and probably ever better then their record
5	San Juan	90	72	5	They're in as a wildcard, offense has stepped it up
6	Boston	96	66	3	Bad finish, not that they had much to play for
7	Tampa Bay	89	73	10	Solid record in world's best division, yet no playoffs
8	Helena	88	74	14	A very respectable season in winning their division
9	Buffalo	85	77	15	Nice finish, but just missed the playoffs
10	Houston	87	75	9	Not great down the stretch, but won the division
11	Florida	86	76	11	Playoffs after 4 seasons with wins in the 50's, impressive
12	Pittsburgh	86	76	4	Tough stretch run, but had the division fairly wrapped up
13	Louisville	87	75	6	Stumbled down the stretch in a very tough division
14	Los Angeles	88	74	8	Won the division with outstanding pitching yet again
15	Ottawa	83	79	13	Heading in the right direction, but more offense needed
16	St. Louis	81	81	16	Not a bad team, could be a player or two away
17	Salt Lake City	81	81	22	Pitching took a step forward down the stretch
18	Austin	82	80	20	Fantastic finish gets them over the .500 mark, good sign
19	Rochester	78	84	21	Good offense, but pitching was fairly mediocre
20	Syracuse	77	85	29	Played great down the stretch with improved pitching
21	New York	78	84	23	The pitching isn't there yet, but look to be improving
22	Trenton	77	85	19	Pretty middle of the road across the board numbers wise
23	Texas	80	82	17	Not great the last 40, but overall the numbers aren't bad
24	Little Rock	74	88	18	Offensive powerhouse didn't get the pitching to contend
25	Las Vegas	71	91	26	A little more offense is needed to take the next step
26	Colorado Springs	74	88	24	Introducing your AL West Champions!!!!
27	Durham	69	93	25	Offense didn't produce as you'd expect in their park
28	San Francisco	64	98	27	Great offensively, if they ever improve pitching, look out
29	Seattle	69	93	28	Still can't get over the hump offensive, pitching is decent
30	Albuquerque	58	104	30	Sub-par pitchers got rocked, salary cap was an issue
31	Salem	55	107	32	AL West is up for grabs, so a quick rebound is possible
32	Philadelphia	55	107	31	Not quite there yet, but should have some good youth

Season 23 Power Rankings # 3

As we head down the home stretch of Season 23, it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings.  There's a change at the top, as Atlanta and Dover continue their game of flip-flop, with Atlanta, inspired by being knocked off of the top spot in the last rankings, reclaimed its spot on the top of the rankings with the world's best record over the last 40 games, while a still very solid Dover team drops to #2.  Boston comes in at #3, an offensive powerhouse, but seemingly has struggled of late against the league's better teams.  Not a good sign for the playoffs.  Resurgent Pittsburgh has climbed 10 spots to #4 with another strong 3rd quarter run, while a scrappy San Juan team rounds out the top 5.  Several other good teams are in the mix as well, so it should be an interesting finish.  Some bad teams are in the mix too, such as AL West leader Colorado Springs (54-67).  Good luck down the stretch, here are the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Atlanta	80	41	2	Takes back #1 with a great third quarter
2	Dover	77	44	1	Still solid, but Atlanta has been a little bit better
3	Boston	77	44	4	Great offense, but struggling against best teams
4	Pittsburgh	69	52	14	Another second half surge is under way, playing great
5	San Juan	68	53	9	Better pitching vaults them into the top 5
6	Louisville	69	52	7	Pitching is getting better, but offense dropped some
7	Charlotte	72	49	3	Mediocre since half way point, offense is down
8	Los Angeles	68	53	10	Improving with better offense, pitching still lights out
9	Houston	67	54	8	Pretty steady since the last rankings, solid club
10	Tampa Bay	66	55	12	Coming on a bit, but division is incredibly tough
11	Florida	66	55	15	Still playing well, thanks to fantastic pitching
12	Pawtucket	65	56	6	Dropped off a bit, as the pitching fell off significantly
13	Ottawa	63	58	11	Very strong pitching has them hanging in there
14	Helena	66	55	5	Numbers down overall since last ranking, but still in it
15	Buffalo	61	60	13	Pretty mediocre as of late, offense is down some
16	St. Louis	60	61	17	Pitching has improved significantly as of late
17	Texas	61	60	19	Offense has slowed down, but pitching has been better
18	Little Rock	58	63	20	Fantastic offense, but pitching not getting it done
19	Trenton	57	64	23	Winning record the last 40, pitching has improved
20	Austin	56	65	26	Over .500 the last 40 as well, so making strides
21	Rochester	57	64	16	Did not play well since last rankings, numbers are down
22	Salt Lake City	60	61	18	Their ERA ballooned, but offense is up, and doing ok
23	New York	56	65	25	The bats have been struggling a bit as of late
24	Colorado Springs	54	67	27	Not many positives other than they lead the AL West
25	Durham	50	71	29	Improving some, but pitching has still been an issue
26	Las Vegas	51	70	21	Seems like they would have more W's, but not there yet
27	San Francisco	49	72	28	Offensive juggernaut is also a pitching disaster
28	Seattle	53	68	24	Pitching down the last 40, and getting little from the bats
29	Syracuse	53	68	22	Rough last 40 record wise, but numbers about the same
30	Albuquerque	44	77	30	Decent offense, but the pitching continues to get rocked
31	Philadelphia	42	79	31	Very little offense, and pitching has dropped off some
32	Salem	41	80	32	As mentioned previously, it's just not their season

Season 23 All-Star Coverage

The All-Star break is upon us!  Quite interestingly, Dover, Atlanta, Charlotte and Boston are all tied for the World's best record at the break.  The second half will be quite the battle.

But for now, it's time to look at the All-Star rosters.  In the AL, Elston Lloyd is making his impressive 9th All-Star appearance, while Victor Almanzar and Roger Hermida are each making their 6th.  Boston and Louisville, each have 5 players on the team, while 14 players made their first All-Star game.  One notable exclusion this season was James Haselman who had made the previous 11 All-Star teams.  He is still pitching well, but a hard luck 5-9 record likely kept him out of his 12th straight All-Star game.

In the NL, Mendy Kondou made his 9th All-Star team and Norman LaPorta is making his 8th appearance, his first with his new team, Houston.  Even though they no longer have LaPorta, Dover still led the way with 5 All-Stars.  10 players will make their All-Star game debut in the NL. 

Here are the complete All-Star rosters!

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Starters

	Player	Team	Appearance
C	Roger DuBose	Boston	3rd
1B	Albert Cruz	Pawtucket	1st
2B	Philip Vasquez	San Francisco	1st
3B	Brooks Gose	Trenton	1st
SS	Phil Yoon	Louisville	1st
LF	Neifi Gandarillas	Louisville	2nd
CF	Joshua Hendrick	San Juan	1st
RF	Vladimir Troncoso	San Juan	1st
DH	Joey Ryan	Louisville	3rd

Pitchers

	Player	Team	Appearance
P	Valerio Melendez	Louisville	1st
P	Gus Masaoka	Atlanta	2nd
P	Jayson Klesko	Boston	4th
P	Victor Almanzar	Boston	6th
P	Roger Hermida	Pawtucket	6th
P	Aubrey Corsi	Charlotte	1st
P	Yeico Oliva	Boston	1st
P	Paulie Flynn	Atlanta	2nd
P	Eugenio Guevara	Charlotte	1st
P	Henry Hermsen	New York	1st
P	Emmanuel Cora	Pawtucket	2nd
P	Alex Alfonzo	Tampa Bay	1st
P	Andres Moreno	Albuquerque	1st

Reserves

	Player	Team	Appearance
C	Elston Lloyd	Albuquerque	9th
1B	Vern Connelly	Louisville	2nd
2B	Gerald Jacobsen	Tampa Bay	3rd
3B	Benjamin Delcarmen	Rochester	2nd
SS	James Dillard	Charlotte	1st
LF	Theo Waters	Pawtucket	2nd
CF	Aaron Kennedy	Boston	4th
RF	Juan Mercado	Charlotte	3rd

AL All-Stars by Team

Boston	5
Louisville	5
Charlotte	4
Pawtucket	4
Albuquerque	2
Atlanta	2
San Juan	2
Tampa Bay	2
New York	1
Rochester	1
San Francisco	1
Trenton	1

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Starters

	Player	Team	Appearance
C	Mark Martin	Little Rock	6th
1B	Greg Riley	Texas	2nd
2B	Benny Lee	Pittsburgh	2nd
3B	Pepe Guillen	Ottawa	5th
SS	Esteban James	Pittsburgh	1st
LF	Vic Gonzales	Los Angeles	5th
CF	Eli Espinosa	Texas	1st
RF	Garrett Patrick	Dover	3rd

Pitchers

	Player	Team	Appearance
P	Artie Stone	Helena	1st
P	Don Monahan	Dover	4th
P	Lefty Leverton	Buffalo	1st
P	Will Ogden	Dover	2nd
P	Vic Vizcaino	Helena	2nd
P	Antonio Ishida	Buffalo	2nd
P	Lyle Wallace	Los Angeles	4th
P	Rajai Rossy	Seattle	1st
P	Rodrigo Ontiveros	Las Vegas	3rd
P	Norman LaPorta	Houston	8th
P	Tony Lopez	Los Angeles	6th
P	Marty Stokes	Ottawa	1st
P	Virgil Barr	Florida	1st
P	Jim Goulet	Texas	3rd

Reserves

	Player	Team	Appearance
C	Dan Pall	Helena	3rd
1B	Aurelio Lima	Syracuse	1st
2B	Hootie Cookson	Dover	3rd
3B	Mendy Kondou	Dover	9th
SS	Gail Roberts	Texas	2nd
LF	Willie Cerda	Little Rock	1st
CF	Gary Harvey	Florida	1st
RF	Jerrod Griffiths	Houston	3rd

NL All-Stars by Team

Dover	5
Texas	4
Helena	3
Los Angeles	3
Buffalo	2
Florida	2
Houston	2
Little Rock	2
Ottawa	2
Pittsburgh	2
Las Vegas	1
Seattle	1
Syracuse	1

Season 23 Power Rankings #2

We're half way through Season 23, and it is time to weigh in with another edition of the power rankings.  It has been quite an interesting season, with no clear cut #1 team, yet someone has to take that top spot, and it is Dover.  Although not a dominant #1 as in the past few seasons, they have been playing solid ball lately and are leading the way in the NL.  Atlanta drops to #2, as they have fallen off slightly since the last rankings, but still a force to be reckoned with.   The hottest team in the world, Charlotte, comes in at #3 and if they keep this up, could be headed to the top spot in the next rankings.   It will certainly be interesting to see how it all plays out, here are the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Dover	51	30	2	Numbers are up all around since the last rankings
2	Atlanta	51	30	1	Stats are down overall, but still one of the best
3	Charlotte	52	29	13	Killing it since the last rankings, can they keep it up?
4	Boston	50	31	4	Offense is crushing it, with bullpen help on the way
5	Helena	48	33	9	Playing very well, and look to be a legit contender
6	Pawtucket	47	34	7	Top team in pitching right now and offense is good
7	Louisville	48	33	8	Pitching looks questionable, but they are winning
8	Houston	44	37	16	Bouncing back after a very slow start, look tough
9	San Juan	45	36	12	Very nice offense, and the pitching is holding its own
10	Los Angeles	44	37	15	Pitching is lights out, but offense is a question mark
11	Ottawa	44	37	17	Getting great pitching, and are in the thick of things
12	Tampa Bay	43	38	3	Rough stretch as of late, but capable of bouncing back
13	Buffalo	42	39	6	Not playing well lately, but still a very good squad
14	Pittsburgh	41	40	11	Hanging in, and certainly capable of a strong finish
15	Florida	43	38	19	Really playing well, considering their recent history
16	Rochester	41	40	14	Struggling a bit as of late with numbers down overall
17	St. Louis	40	41	23	Huge improvement in pitching has them playing better
18	Salt Lake City	41	40	10	Pitching is down as of late, but offense improving
19	Texas	40	41	22	Pitching has been better recently, which is a good sign
20	Little Rock	39	42	5	Not playing well since last rankings, really fell off
21	Las Vegas	35	46	26	Showing significant improvement after horrific start
22	Syracuse	40	41	28	Also have shown major improvement over last 40
23	Trenton	36	45	24	Holding their own lately, but offense is a bit down lately
24	Seattle	38	43	27	Showed all around improvement, progress is in motion
25	New York	39	42	21	Not playing terrible, but offense has been down lately
26	Austin	35	46	20	Not playing well as of late, as all numbers are down
27	Colorado Springs	35	46	18	Horrible over the last 40, but yet still lead the division
28	San Francisco	33	48	25	Could still win division, good offense, horrible pitching
29	Durham	31	50	31	Major improvement, but bad start holds them down
30	Albuquerque	29	52	29	Pitching has been absolutely rocked this season
31	Philadelphia	26	55	32	Pitching has improved, but offense has really struggled
32	Salem	25	56	30	Um, yeah, they're just not good this season