Power Rankings

For the penultimate edition of the 2012 power rankings, I'm just going to list the teams without commentary. There will be a more thorough look at each team as we get ready for the playoffs. One note: Wallman moves ahead of Lapine just because they went 2-0 this week and Lapine went 1-0. The #2-5 teams are so close that the one extra game played can have that effect.

1.       Younger(1)

2.       Pollock(3)

3.       Wallman(5)

4.       Lapine(4)

5.       Feldman(2)

6.       Harris(7)

7.       Goldfarb(6)

8.       Mamone(10)

9.       Carlin(8)

10.   Applebaum(9)

11.   Jacoby(13)

12.   Randell(14)

13.   Beilis(12)

14.   Sarcona(11)

15.   Schefkind(16)

16.   Granese(15)

Game Predictions- Week 18

Arrow (Beilis) v Ace Aluminum (Wallman)

Fradkin Law (Jacoby) v Main Electric (Applebaum)

Tuscanyrose (Schef) v Paco's (Granese)

Express Imprints (Pollock) v Elite (Mamone)

CK Baseball (Harris) v Massage Envy (Sarcona)

Massage Envy (Sarcona) v Arrow (Beilis)

Bagel World (Goldfarb) v LawCash (Younger)

Pizza/Pasta (Carlin) v Nonna's (Lapine)

Jiffy Lube (Feldman) v SportsZone (Randell)

Week 18 Power Rankings

                                                           Week 18 Power Rankings

1.       Younger(1)- The only question for this team whether or  not they had enough offense. 46 runs in their last 2 games seems to have answered that question.

2.       Feldman(4)- Not only have they won 10 out of their last 11 games but they are making it look easy. Their last 8 victories have been by a margin of four or more runs.

3.       Pollock(3)- It’s been a consistently great season for the defending champs. We have a league best 5-2 record against teams with a running record- a good sign for the playoffs.

4.       Lapine(5)- An impressive doubleheader including a 20 run victory over Sarcona and a win against a dangerous Team Mamone earns them a spot in the top four this week. Underrated all season, they still have a legitimate chance at the top seed in the American League.

5.       Wallman(2)- Dropping three spots in one week may seem excessive but this is really just a result of how the other top teams played last Sunday in addition to Wallman’s loss. This is going to be the first season in awhile where the Bykofskys were not on the team with the best regular season record.

6.       Goldfarb(7)-  While I think there is a dropoff after the top 5, the move to #6 for Goldfarb is quite an accomplishment. Since being placed at #16 on the power rankings, they’ve gone 9-4 and are positioning themselves as a dark horse in the playoffs. There’s one problem: a 2-7 record against above .500 teams.

7.       Harris(6)- I was tempted to drop Harris to the 8^th spot, but I believe they’re a much better team than their last four games represents. Still, a -40 run differential in their last five games is very alarming even if they were missing some players. Harris needs to build some momentum going into the playoffs if they are going to avoid an early exit.

8.       Carlin(10)- Team Carlin is like a monster in a horror movie that you’re never going to be relieved until you KNOW it’s dead. They have one of the two or three best offensive players in the league(Brad), the AL’s top average hitter(Darren), another player on the leaderboard in almost every offensive category(Marc), and a guy who batted over .700 last year(Ronnie). With three wins in their last four games, they may be finally playing up to their abilities. The fact that they have a chance of going in as a 7^th seed is horrible news for the runner up to the AL crown.

9.        Applebaum(8)- It may seem odd that a division leader is ranked this low, but that’s what happens when you’re fortunate enough to play in the NL East. Ever since that 5-0 start, Team Applebaum is just 6-9. The good news is that winning their division earns them the #2 seed and a likely berth into the elite 8.

10.   Mamone(9)- Just lke Carlin, Mamone is a team that nobody wants to face in the playoffs. As their very convincing win versus Wallman shows, they can be dangerous when playing up to their potential.

11.   Sarcona(11)- At 6-4 I suggested that their record was slightly better than where I think the team should be. Since then they’ve gone2-5 with a -40 run differential. In fairness, their 4 game losing streak includes 3 games against division leaders.

12.   Beilis(13)- Case in point that the AL features no bad team. Sure Beilis is 5-14, but take a closer look at the numbers. They actually have a positive run differential in their last 10 games despite a 3-7 record during that stretch. They’ve beaten the #2 AL team, Lapine, TWICE this season and barely lost to league leading Team Pollock(by one run) and division leader Team Applebaum(an 11 inning affair).

13.   Jacoby(15)- This is only the second time this season Team Jacoby has been higher than #14 on the power rankings.  It may take more than victories against Randell and Schefkind to start thinking “playoff run” but there are definitely huge positives to build on from these games. The problem is even if they continue this streak, they’ll be locked into playing a very tough opponent in the playoffs.

14.   Randell(16)- A very convincing win over Granese salvaged Randell from the #16 spot. For one game, their defense looked respectable. This snapped a seven consecutive game streak in which they gave up double digit runs. No other team has had a streak of more than five games all season.

15.   Granese(12)- It wasn’t too long ago that Granese was 7-8 and had a defense capable of keeping them in any game. All of a sudden, they stopped fielding the ball and their dormant offense has yet to wake up. In their last five games, Granese has given up an average of 15.2 runs per game. In the five games before that, their average runs against were 4.2 runs per game. Meanwhile, they’ve now been held to 7 or fewer runs in an astounding 10 consecutive games. No other team has gone more than 5 games in a row with that total.

16.   Schefkind(14)- Every year there seems to be a team who collapses by the end of the season due to injuries. Right now it looks like Schefkind is that team. Losers of 9 of their last 10 games, they’ve been outscored 60-12 in their last three. Something has to give when they square off against Team Granese this Sunday.

Wednesday Night Preview

Tuscanyrose (Schef) v Ace Aluminum (Wallman)

At this point, it all comes down to seeding.  Unless Team Pollock loses the next three games and Wallman wins their last three, Team Wallman will fall short of the division title. Meanwhile Team Schefkind finds itself in an (exciting?) four way race for the 8^th seed  in the National league. Staying healthy has been a big problem this season for Schefkind’s team and tonight it will be a contributing factor to another loss.  Team Pollock will have to wait until Sunday for a chance to pop the champagne and celebrate a division championship.

 SportsZone (Randell) v Massage Envy (Sarcona)

As one of the four teams looking to avoid the dreaded 8^th seed, Team Randell certainly has something to play for. Playing on what should be a favorable field for them,  Randell should be able to play more like the second game of their Sunday double header and not their first. Meanwhile, Team Sarcona has been in a tailspin lately. They’ve only scored more than 5 runs one time in their last seven games. I expect that trend to end tonight, but I don’t think they’ll have enough firepower to defeat Randell tonight.

Game Predictions

Predicted winners are bolded:

Elite (Mamone) v Ace Aluminum (Wallman)

Express Imprints (Pollock) v Arrow (Beilis)

LawCash (Younger) v SportsZone (Randell)

SportsZone (Randell) v Paco's (Granese)

CK Baseball (Harris) v Pizza/Pasta (Carlin)

Paco's (Granese) v Main Electric (Applebaum)

Massage Envy (Sarcona) v Nonna's (Lapine)

Nonna's (Lapine) v Elite (Mamone)

Bagel World (Goldfarb) v Jiffy Lube (Feldman)

Bagel World (Goldfarb) v Main Electric (Applebaum)

Tuscanyrose (Schef) v Fradkin Law (Jacoby)

Jiffy Lube (Feldman) v Tuscanyrose (Schef)

Week 17 Power Rankings

We’re set for a huge day(weather providing) that could result in lots of movement on this list. This will be my last week of laziness as hopefully I can provide some commentary for next week’s rankings.

1.       Younger(1)

2.       Wallman(2)

3.       Pollock(3)

4.       Feldman(4)

5.       Lapine(6)

6.       Harris(7)

7.       Goldfarb(8)

8.       Applebaum(5)

9.       Mamone(11)

10.   Carlin(10)

11.   Sarcona(9)

12.   Granese(12)

13.   Beilis(14)

14.   Schefkind(13)

15.   Jacoby(16)

16.   Randell(15)

MVP Preview

You know we’re getting near the end of the season when every other game recap features a vote for MVP.  It’s time to start sorting through possible candidates and eventually arrive at a list of five players who I think should be the nominees for MVP. To narrow the list, players must meet a few important criteria:

1.       They must be on a team with a good record: As of now, this includes Applebaum, Younger, Feldman, Pollock, Wallman, Lapine, Harris. Team Goldfarb is on the cusp so perhaps by the end of the season, another name can be added to the list.

2.       They must be positive contributors both offensively and defensively: There are certain guys who are having monster offensive seasons, but I would not consider MVP candidates because they don’t fit this criterion. These players should be considered for Offensive Player of the Year instead.

3.       For the sake of equality, only one candidate per team will be considered.

Today I’m going to narrow it down to who I think are the eight finalists based on the above criteria. The final weeks of the season will help narrow this list of 8 to a final list of 5 names.

After considering my rules for MVP consideration I’m left with my first list of candidates.

Brian Applebaum (Applebaum)

Darren Kay (Younger)

Justin Brock (Feldman)

Jared Goldberg (Pollock)

Justin Bykofsky (Wallman)

Glen Roland (Lapine)

Mike Paladino (Harris)

Ari Mesmer (Goldfarb)

Team Goldfarb is only 9-9, but if they end the season as strongly as they’re playing now, Ari has to be part of the list.

So how do I narrow this list of eight great players to only five? A lot has to do with team record, which is something that we won’t have the final date until next month. Maybe player performance will help broaden the gap between the five candidates and the players who almost made the final cut. It’s great to see captains push their best players into the conversation, but these are the only eight names I can imagine making that final nominees list.

As of now, Justin Brock, Darren Kay, Jared Goldberg are essentially locks for the final five based on individual play and team record. I’ll revisit these names at the end of the season.  

Feel free to debate.

Stat of the Week

Here is every team's record vs. teams that are above .500(Applebaum, Younger,Feldman, Pollock, Wallman, Harris, Lapine): It's ranked from best to worst:

Pollock: 5-2
Harris: 4-3
Feldman: 3-3
Wallman: 4-4
Sarcona: 4-5
Lapine: 3-4
Younger: 3-4
Applebaum: 3-5
Jacoby: 3-6
Granese: 2-7
Beilis: 2-7
Carlin: 2-7
Mamone: 1-6
Goldfarb:1-6
Schefkind: 1-6
Randell: 1-7

Wednesday Night Preview

Elite (Mamone) v Main Electric (Applebaum) This game features two teams at crossroads. After getting off to a fast start, Team Applebaum has treaded water for awhile. They pretty much have the division locked up, but if they are going to have long term success they need to go back to beating quality opponents. And despite their 6-9 record, Mamone is a team that SHOULD be considered a quality opponent. Thanks to all the  Wednesday night rainouts, Mamone has more games than any other team to turn their season around. Tonight Mamone will take advantage of the fences and win their first Wednesday night game of the season.		8:00
Jiffy Lube (Feldman) v CK Baseball (Harris)

The Feldman train keeps on rolling and I don’t think it’s going to stop until they reach the finals.  Meanwhile Team harris has stumbled a bit in recent weeks, but they are more than capable of returning to playing at a high level. The one thing I’m especially impressed with Team Harris is they have a lot of fight in them. They’ll need that attitude tonight. In the end I think Feldman will edge them out though.

Week 16 Power Rankings

Power Rankings for Week 16. Since it was a shortened schedule last Sunday, I’m just going to do an abbreviated version:

1.       Younger(1)

2.       Wallman(4)

3.       Pollock(2)

4.       Feldman(3)

5.       Applebaum(6)

6.       Lapine(7)

7.       Harris(5)

8.       Goldfarb(8)

9.       Sarcona(9)

10.   Carlin(12)

11.   Mamone(10)

12.   Granese(11)

13.   Schefkind(13)

14.   Beilis(14)

15.   Randell(15)

16.   Jacoby(16)