Power Rankings- Week 8

There seems to be a point in every NFL season where talk show hosts and columnists have the epiphany that this is the year where there is parity in the league. Every single year it happens and every single year they sound surprised. I’m getting the feeling the same holds true for the Marlboro Softball League. Last week was the week that made it clear that there really IS parity in this league. Consider the following:

Teams that went into last Sunday with four or more wins went a combined 2-5. One of those wins occurred only because they faced another four win team so somebody had to be the victor.

On the other hand, teams that went into last Sunday with two or fewer wins went a combined 4-1. The only loss occurred when that team played another team with two or fewer losses so somebody had to be the loser.

In addition, both winners this Wednesday were the teams with the lower records. As a result, there are only a few teams who are clearly the cream of the crop right now and an even fewer amount of teams who are not in the middle of the pack. This makes for a power rankings where the #13 or 14 team can easily be the #5 or 6 team. We’ll see how things play out:

 Week 8 Power Rankings. Last week's ranking is in parentheses.

1.       Younger(1)- And despite all the talk about parity, Younger is by far the best team in the league right now. Even if they lose this week against the #2 ranked Lapine, they’ll retain the top spot.

2.       Lapine(2)- This week’s showdown vs. Younger is the game of the year so far. Lapine is coming off a devastating loss, so it’ll be interested to see how they rebound.

3.       Pollock(3)- The improved defensive play is a big reason why our team is starting to create some separation in the AL East. This marks the beginning of a tough three game test(Applebaum,Lapine,Younger) where our opponents currently have a combined 18-5 record.

4.       Applebaum(3)- What better way to start off the interleague part of the schedule than to have the top 4 teams facing each other? Team Applebaum needs to start proving that their 5-0 start was no fluke. Hopefully for my team’s sake, they’ll start proving it next week instead.

5.       Feldman (4)- It is not the best of times for Team Feldman after a brutal double header. Still, there is a lot of talent here and they’re too good to continue this losing streak much longer.

6.       Harris (8)- Team Harris is probably still celebrating their improbable win from last Sunday. They should be able to build on that momentum.

7.       Sarcona(7)- The 10.9 runs against average is a bit of a concern right now, but here’s a team that epitomizes the state of the league right now. I don’t imagine Sarcona going on any long winning or losing streaks this season. I think they’ll have anywhere between 11 and 13 wins and could make a deep run in the playoffs if everything goes right for them.

8.        Wallman (6)- Once again, it’s not the makeup of this team that’s resulted in a losing record so far. It’s that they’re not getting on base as often as they have in the past. A team built around getting on base can be successful even without sluggers, but Team Wallman is currently ranked 15^th in OBP. I expect their win totals to increase as their OBP machines start getting the job done.

9.       Granese (12)- there have only been five times this season that a team has scored 20+ runs in a game and Granese has done it for their last two games. Sunday’s matchup against Wallman should be fun to watch. On one hand we have a hot offense playing on the field most conducive to high scoring games. On the other hand, we have one of the better defenses in the league. Which will win out?

10.   Carlin (14)- Will Sunday’s comeback victory against Sarcona be the spark thatignites Carlin’s season? After a few uninspiring performances it looks like this team is ready to get back on track. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Team Carlin in the top 5 before the August hits.

11.   Randell (9)- Although they did go 1-1 since the last rankings, this time falls two spots because of the lack of consistency shown. It’s hard to get optimistic about a club who has yet to put a string of good games together. Oncce the defense comes along, the wins could come in bunches.

12.   Schefkind (11)- This is where it bears mentioning again that a majority of these teams are so bunched together as far as team outlook goes. I don’t see much difference between Team Schefkind than I do from Harris or Sarcona except for just a smaller amount of offense.

13.   Mamone (13)- It’s hard to believe that a team that just gave up zero runs and was a pre-season favorite is still far down on this list. As impressive as the shutout was, Mamone still only scored five runs as their puzzling offensive drought continues. Whether or not this time can rise to their early promise completely depends on whether or not they can find the stroke that led to 30 runs the first two games.

14.   Jacoby(10)- With Team Jacoby on pace to play 30 games before Harris, Sarcona, Mamone play their allotted 22, we should have a good idea where this team stands. However, despite impressive wins against Pollock, Applebaum, and Feldman they’re also a team that gives up 20 runs two out of their last three games.

15.   Goldfarb (16)- Perhaps I’m underrating them a bit based on their 20 run outburst and 2 game winning streak. I still feel like other teams around them have a little more upside, but I’ve been wrong before. Another win this week against Carlin will make me a believer.

16.   Beilis (15)- The bad news is Beilis has scored 6 runs over their last three games. The good news is they’ve only given up 21 runs in that same stretch. Ok, so that’s not the best of news. Maybe a game at the friendly confines of Union Hill will jumpstart the offense.