Season 23 Preseason Power Rankings

Season 23 is the brink, which means it's time for the preseason power rankings!  There were some interesting off-season events, including a change in ownership for the back-to-back champs Dover, who still come into the season as the #1 team, although they should be heavily challenged for that spot throughout the season.  Coming in at #2 is Houston, who has broken into the ranks of the elite by adding 3-time Cy Young Award winner Norman LaPorta and 2-time MVP Dustan Jackson to an already solid squad.  Tampa Bay comes in at #3, as they should have another great year, along with #4 Pittsburgh who has won 100 games 3 out of the last 4 seasons.  World Series runner-up Atlanta comes in at #5, despite being the undisputed, unchallenged #1 in their owner's mind.  Jokes aside, it wouldn't be shocking to see them a top the rankings at some point this season.   Here are the complete rankings, good luck to all the teams in Season 23!

	Team	W	L	Comments
1	Dover	109	53	Hard to drop the back-to-back champs at this point
2	Houston	94	68	Adding LaPorta and Jackson should make them elite
3	Tampa Bay	109	53	Some argue they are aging, but should be solid again
4	Pittsburgh	105	57	Looking like a contender again with great pitching
5	Atlanta	96	66	World series runner-up should have a great season
6	Los Angeles	92	70	Always in the thick of it, and should be this season
7	Boston	105	57	Not sure if they can repeat last season, but still good
8	St. Louis	89	73	Solid across the board, so should be in it this season
9	Las Vegas	86	76	NL West is tough, but they should be up for the fight
10	Buffalo	88	74	Great pitching, but how will the offense produce?
11	Helena	87	75	If the pitching improves, they could be on the rise
12	San Juan	83	79	Made some moves in FA, and have solid core of youth
13	Little Rock	86	76	Coming off a down season, have the talent to rebound
14	Durham	88	74	This team is up and down, what will this season hold?
15	Charlotte	82	80	Pretty solid club here, and could be headed higher
16	Austin	84	78	Offense needs to improve for them to contend
17	Ottawa	81	81	Offense was an issue for them, can they improve?
18	Pawtucket	80	82	Have some potential here, and city move should help
19	Louisville	77	85	Losing Jackson hurts, but pitching is the main issue
20	Colorado Springs	73	89	AL West contenders, but not because of team talent
21	Salt Lake City	80	82	Fell apart at the end last season, and lost some FA's
22	Seattle	61	101	Have good prospects, can the offense get it down?
23	Albuquerque	70	92	Lost a few FA's, as the new owner makes it their own
24	New York	72	90	We'll see if they're able to take a step forward
25	Syracuse	75	87	Pitching needs to improve for them to get better
26	Rochester	74	88	Pitching got rocked last season, will it improve?
27	Texas	67	95	Surprisingly bad offense last season needs to improve
28	Salem	71	91	At least you can't count them out of the AL West race
29	Trenton	69	93	Lost some FA's, so they're a bit of a question mark
30	Philadelphia	51	111	Not really sure where they're at with the rebuild
31	Florida	53	109	This is a rebuild for sure, but new owner is solid
32	San Francisco	55	107	Can they finally get it together this season?  Not sure.

Season 22 Wrap Up - Dover goes back to back!

Dover Diamond Dogs (NL) jiml60 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Dover wins it all again in Season 22! 

In one of the most talked about World Series in recent Cobbfather history, Dover beat Atlanta 4 games to 2 to take the title.  When Dover jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the series, many were predicting a sweep, but Atlanta battled back to take the next two games.   Atlanta couldn't keep the momentum going when the series headed back to Dover, losing a tight 4-3 game 6.  It looks like the power rankings had it right, as Dover was ranked #1 all season from wire to wire.  After their own boisterously predicted a World Series title preseason, Atlanta started the regular season slowly, but became hot near the end, and carried that momentum into the playoffs, almost fulfilling their prediction.  Both teams look to be solid for next season, and a potential rematch certainly isn't out of the realm of possibilities, but there will be a lot of hungry teams gunning for them.   Congrats to both teams on excellent seasons!

In addition to the World Series trophy, other hardware was handed out as well.  Let's review the individual award winners for Season 22!

Most Valuable Player
American League - Albert Cruz, Detroit - .303 AVG 48 HR 110 RBI
The young 22 year-old Detroit slugger took home the AL MVP in a tight race amongst many worth candidates.  In the end, his combination of solid average, high OBP and great power numbers appeared to give him the slight edge.  He also won a Silver Slugger award this season.  He looks pretty flawless at the plate, so expect him to compete for MVP awards for years to come. 

National League - Felipe James, Los Angeles - .327 AVG 35 HR 110 RBI 21 SB
This is one free agent acquisition that paid off, as offseason signee Felipe James took the NL MVP award for Los Angeles.  His already impressive numbers are even better when you consider the park he played in.    James started in the All Star game and won a Silver Slugger award as well.  Fun fact, James is the 16th different NL MVP winner in the past 16 seasons, wow!

Cy Young Award
American League - James Haselman, Tampa Bay - 21-4 2.11 ERA 202 K
Chalk up another Cy Young for Haselman, who won the award by a significant margin.   Haselman did it all again for Tampa this season, with impressive all around numbers.  This is his staggering 6th Cy Young award for the 34 year old hurler, who made his 11th All Star appearance in 11 seasons as well.  With a great deal of young pitching talent in the AL, and the effects of age, it may be difficult to ring up #7, but you can never count out Haselman. 

National League - Lewis Peterson, Pittsburgh - 19-9 2.41 ERA 215 K
Peterson won a closer race for the NL Cy Young Award with an impressive ERA, and a solid 19-9 record over 40 starts.  Peterson joins the ranks of multiple time winners, as he also won the Cy Young in Season 18.   He made his 2nd All Star appearance this season as well.  At 31, Peterson has the potential to be a Cy Young contender for a handful more of seasons. 

Rookie of the Year
American League - Vladimir Troncoso, San Juan -.298 AVG 33 HR 108 RBI
Offense won out over pitching in the AL Rookie of the year race, barely, by just one vote in fact.  Troncoso has amazing power, with great splits and batting eye that should lead to many more years of impressive stats.   His numbers this year were definitely legit. 

National League -  
Paul Burroughs, Austin - 16-7 3.04 ERA 128 K,                                              
Ryan Martin, Seattle -.299 AVG 25 HR 93 RBI 31 SB
NL Rookie of the Year voters couldn't decide between pitching and offense, as the vote ended up in a tie, and we have Co-Rookies of the Year.   Burroughs is a 21 year old hard throwing righty, who has plus ratings across the board, except for splits.  He is so high everywhere else, that shouldn't limit his future success.  Martin is a five tool player, whose out put was extremely impressive given his home park.  It will be interesting to see if he can maintain those numbers in that park, but he will still be a valuable asset either way. 

Fireman of the Year
American League - Walt White, Charlotte - 3.56 ERA, 48 SV, 2nd win
National League -  Manuel Estrada, Houston - 1.72 ERA, 43 SV, 2nd win

That wraps up Season 22, hoping for a quick turnaround to Season 23, don't forget to renew!   See you next season!

Season 22 Final Power Rankings

Season 22 is in the books, so it's time for the final power rankings of the season.  The top 4 remained the same, as all were equally solid down the stretch, and won 105 or more games.  But that doesn't mean there aren't some strong contenders to challenge them.  Atlanta looked great down the stretch, and comes in at number 5 and hopes to carry that momentum to help fulfill a promised World Series title.  Los Angeles is looking good right now too, coming in at #6.  Should be an interesting postseason, here are the final rankings.  Good luck to the playoff teams!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Dover	109	53	1	Holds on to #1 with impressive stats all around
2	Tampa Bay	109	53	2	A really close #2, no doubt they are a great team
3	Pittsburgh	105	57	3	Looking good at playoff time, could give Dover a run
4	Boston	105	57	4	Struggled a bit down the stretch, but still good
5	Atlanta	96	66	7	Turning it up in hopes of fulfilling WS title promise
6	Los Angeles	92	70	8	Offense improved, which they'll need in the playoffs
7	St. Louis	89	73	16	Impressive stretch run, hot going into the playoffs
8	Houston	94	68	5	Not great down the stretch, but a very solid team
9	Helena	87	75	11	Nice stretch run to grab an NL Wild Card spot
10	Little Rock	86	76	12	Missed playoffs, but should bounce back next season
11	Buffalo	88	74	6	Grabbed NL Wild Card, despite rough stretch run
12	Las Vegas	86	76	10	Good season, but faltered down the stretch a bit
13	Durham	88	74	13	Got an AL Wild Card, which is always a good thing
14	San Juan	83	79	18	It's starting to come together, will be good next season
15	Ottawa	81	81	19	Offense was a weakness, but still a good season
16	Austin	84	78	14	Not a bad season at all, bats could use more punch
17	Detroit	80	82	22	Amazing stretch run, could be sign of things to come
18	Salt Lake City	80	82	21	Good team, a victim of an incredibly tough division
19	Charlotte	82	80	9	Faltered towards the end, but not a bad team at all
20	Louisville	77	85	15	Rough stretch run, they have a very good offense
21	Syracuse	75	87	28	Played much better down the stretch, a good sign
22	Colorado Springs	73	89	20	Did they really win their division?  Wow!
23	Vancouver	70	92	17	Wheels fell off, probably sad about the retiring owner
24	Rochester	74	88	26	Pitching was bad, but over .500 down the stretch
25	Salem	71	91	24	Numbers were middle of the pack all around
26	Burlington	69	93	25	Incredibly tough division didn't help them this season
27	New York	72	90	23	Bad stretch run, and middle of the pack stats wise
28	Seattle	61	101	29	Great pitching, hitting is tough going in that park
29	Texas	67	95	27	Offense just wasn't there this season for them
30	San Francisco	55	107	31	Still need to work on their pitching, which was last
31	Philadelphia	51	111	32	Looks to be full rebuild mode here, rough season
32	Jacksonville	53	109	30	Rebuilding too, we'll see what next year holds for them

Season 22 Power Rankings # 3

We're headed down the home stretch of Season 22, but before that it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings.  The top teams continued to play very well since the last rankings, with not a lot of movement at the top.  Dover holds on to the top spot again, with the offense stepping it up even further as of late.   Tampa Bay is a very close 2nd, playing incredible ball as of late.   Pittsburgh has shown they are capable of giving Dover a run for their money in the NL, as they've been playing outstanding since the last rankings, and they come in at #3.   Other teams are playing very well also, but the teams above them didn't falter.  Here's the complete power rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Dover	83	38	1	Staying on top, thanks to offense turning it up
2	Tampa Bay	82	39	2	Creeping closer to the top spot, playing great
3	Pittsburgh	79	42	4	Playing fantastic, the offense has stepped it up
4	Boston	80	41	3	Playing solid ball still for sure, holding steady
5	Houston	73	48	5	Getting it done with solid all around play
6	Buffalo	69	52	6	Pitching has been great, getting them W's
7	Atlanta	69	52	7	Offense is coming around, in the AL mix for sure
8	Los Angeles	66	55	11	Winning games with pitching, can bats come around?
9	Charlotte	65	56	15	Solid across the board numbers wise, playing well
10	Las Vegas	67	54	16	Pitching really stepped up to get them NL West lead
11	Helena	63	58	17	Showing improvement pitching wise, great offense
12	Little Rock	66	55	8	Pitching is coming around for them, offense is solid
13	Durham	69	52	9	Improved pitching, but offense fell off a bit
14	Austin	63	58	12	Offense showed a slight uptick, which is a good sign
15	Louisville	60	61	19	Played very well since the last rankings
16	St. Louis	62	59	10	Below .500 since last rankings, but still a solid team
17	Vancouver	58	63	18	In the lead in the AL West, which is still for the taking
18	San Juan	60	61	20	Making strides this season, but not sure about pitching
19	Ottawa	58	63	25	Major improvement in pitching since the last rankings
20	Colorado Springs	56	65	26	Still in the thick of it in AL West, despite rebuild
21	Salt Lake City	57	64	14	Have fallen off a bit, the offense is down some
22	Detroit	53	68	23	Playing a bit better as of late, may be coming around
23	New York	56	65	27	Numbers improved overall since last rankings
24	Salem	53	68	24	Offense has been better, but pitching is down a bit
25	Burlington	52	69	13	Wheels have fallen off lately, numbers down overall
26	Rochester	53	68	29	.500 since last rankings, but pitching is still an issue
27	Texas	53	68	21	Pitching stats ballooned a bit since last rankings
28	Syracuse	53	68	22	Not playing well lately, but offense is pretty good
29	Seattle	45	76	28	Playing better, and numbers have been up lately
30	Jacksonville	42	79	32	Not getting much offense at all has been an issue
31	San Francisco	37	84	31	Pitching is improving some, but not much offense here
32	Philadelphia	34	87	30	In a major slump, offense has been an issue for them