power rankings update

Return of the Power Rankings

Since the writing of the last power rankings, Wallman lost two in a row, Lapine also lost back to back games, and Pollock(gasp!) lost one of the three games they played. Now while some people think a loss should result in a complete upheaval of the rankings, it doesn’t quite work that way. That being said, there are plenty of teams making some rumblings that were dormant earlier in the season.

Once again we’re having a season where the difference between the top and bottom is minimal. Revisiting a stat I mentioned weeks ago, we only have 5 teams that are 2+ games above .500. The worst run differential is Jacoby’s -2.4, which would be the highest run differential for the lowest ranked team in that category this decade. In addition, Jacoby’s run differential is likely to only improve after their great trading deadline deal to acquire hitting machine, Joe Spoto.  

All this is to say that we can brace for a potential repeat of last year’s crazy playoffs where the low seeds reigned supreme. Team Harris, for example, would be playing in the play-in game if the season ended today, yet at the same time has a legitimate chance at a 10-12 record and owns the best runs scored average in the league, not exactly the expected credentials for a bottom feeder. 

The balance is a strength of the league, but at the same time there should be an advantage for the top teams other than field selection.In case you’re thinking, “Of course he’s saying this. He’s on a top ranked team”,  I’ve argued for this before the beginning of every season. The regular season is long and should mean something. I say, bring back the 1-0 series advantage for the top two teams in the first round. Before the play in game, the bottom teams were almost always easy exits. Now with the play-in games, the bottom two teams automatically have momentum and a spark from winning their one game playoff. It means something. 

Ok, time for this week’s rankings:

1. Pollock (1): Yes, the author of the power rankings happens to be on the team ranked #1. This #1 ranked team also happens to own the best record, one of the best runs against of the decade, and leads the runs differential category by a healthy margin. If there’s any negative right now, it’s that our offense has been a little flat, only averaging 5.7 runs in our last three games. Still, we’re 2-1 in that span.  Judging by a certain person’s repeated “Best Bets” posts on Facebook, we also might be underrated by some.

2. Bykofsky (6): It was only a matter a time of “when”. Bykofsky never has a bad team, and even though other teams grabbed the headlines before the draft Bykofsky is once again putting together a stellar regular season. I still think there are a few other teams that might be a little better, but the team deserves their high placement after winning 8 out of 9 games.

3. Lapine (2): I’ve been nothing but positive about this team, but here are two interesting stats. Lapine is 0-5 when scoring fewer than 10 runs and they’re only 5-5 when not playing on Union Hill. If any team needs to secure a top field choice, it’s Lapine.

4. Marrone (4): 9-3 in their last 12 games and features the second best runs against in the league. The question is will they hit enough in the big games come playoff time? A great defense will carry you through the regular season, but usually the team that wins the championship has a potent offense. Marrone is only ranked 16th in runs scored.

5. Ferrarese (5): Ferrarese’s club isn’t shy about the fact they’ve beaten some top quality opponents in Pollock, Lapine, and Wallman. The other side to that coin is they are only 6-7 against the rest of the league. They’re part of a seven team group separated by one game in the standings, and there’s enough to like to put them towards the top of the group. 

6. Wallman (3): I’m shocked Wallman is only 9-8. They have all the ingredients for a dominating team. A top pitcher inPolzer,. Strong defense up the middle with Wallman and Younger, home run threats in Saler and Ziolowski. They are one of only two teams to score 20+ runs three times this season, but the consistency just hasn’t been there yet.

7. Schefkind (7): They have a similarly talented team to the one that made the finals last year. They win and lose in bunches, so expect a win this Sunday if the pattern continues. 

8. Granese (9): They are 6-4 with Granese in the lineup, which isn’t dominating but a sign that their 8-8 record is a little deceiving. 

9. Applebaum (NR): In a choice between the two teams left with winning records(Lombardi being the other), I went with the team currently on a winning streak. Getting Gluck back will help as a division title is still within reach.

Power Rankings Update

I will be away for next week, so this will be the last updated rankings until the week of our July 28th games. There most likely will be a lot shakeup with the second half of these rankings by then, although I anticipate the top 3 remaining relatively the same.

1. Pollock (1)- I am not sure how many teams have won 10 in a row in the past, but this helps put the streak in perspective: Granese has had five seasons this decade where he didn’t win more than 10 games the entire season.

2. Lapine (2): In 1981, Foreigner’s “Waiting For A Girl Like You” sat at #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for 9 consecutive weeks, while Olivia Newton John’s “Physical” kept it from the top spot during its 10 week stay at #1. While Lapine has already tasted the sweet success of being #1 on the power rankings, I’m thinking(and hoping) Lapine will be entrenched in the #2 spot for awhile.

3. Wallman (5): I know I had Marrone ranked ahead of Wallman last week, but if I’m asked who the best three teams in the league are right now I’m going to say ours, Lapine, and Wallman. We’re used to Wallman having a stellar defensive team, but the 12.2 runs per game would mark the best he has had all decade. 

4. Marrone (3): The keeping opponents to single digits is up to 8 for Team Marrone. Their only loss in the last 8 games was when they were missing Mike Conti vs. the top ranked team in the league.

5. Ferrarese (7): Here’s a team hovering around the .500 mark that will be a serious threat in the playoffs. They excel in two areas more than (almost) any other team in the league: Home run threats and tremendous up the middle infield defense. If they can secure a Union Hill field in the playoffs, watch out.

6. Bykofsky (8): I mentioned a month ago that I expected Bykofsky to appear in the top 9 soon, and here they are moving up the list. The -1.6 run differential is rare for an 8-5 team though. The best record by a team with a run differential that was -1.6 or worse was when Randell went 10-12 with a -2.5 run differential in 2017. The worst run differential by a team with a +.500 record? Feldman going 12-10 in 2017 with a -1.0 differential. 

7. Schefkind (4): This team certainly does not go under the radar with their social media presence. Their solid defense and deep lineup means they should keep their heads above water the rest of the season. 

8. Lombardi (6): They are here because they’re still above .500 but the 3-6 record over their last 9 games shows that Team Lombardi might be regressing to their pre-season prediction. They would have to go 2-7 the rest of the way to match the 9-13 write up. That sounds easy to outperform, but the team needs to gel again to make it happen. 

Usually I like to include teams that are .500 or above on the rankings, but with only 8 teams meeting that criteria, I’m forced to include one underperforming team. I could go with Jacoby, who following the tradition of 2015 Team Granese and 2018 Applebaum looks to have improved significantly with a Replacement player. They’re still 5-10 though, so I’ll wait a few more games before considering them for the top 9. I can go with Brock, who let’s face it, is going to end up going 8-14 or 9-13 and disrupt the whole playoffs when healthy. But until they’re back playing at full strength they don’t deserve the prestigious power rankings recognition. Instead I’m going with…..

9. Granese(NR) Granese has made it clear his underperformance is due to missed games. That’s a fair enough point, and they’re winning games now, so here they are. They are short-handed this week against a short-handed, but still lethal, Team Lapine so their rise to respectability faces a huge obstacle this week. 

Power Rankings Update

This week will feature the new rankings without any commentary for the listed teams. Last week was all about an evening of the power structure in the league; six out of the top seven teams in run differential lost. While I don't want to overrate the results of one week, it's also time to give certain teams their due. Only one top team continued their strong play last week,and it's finally time to see if we can avoid the curse of the #1 ranked team.

1. Pollock (2)

2. Lapine (1)

3. Marrone (7)

4. Schefkind (9)

5. Wallman (3)

6. Lombardi (4)

7. Ferrarese (5)

8. Bykofsky (NR)

9. Applebaum (8)


Quick Notes:

I wish Jeff Turner and Justin Brock speedy recoveries. Hopefully I'll see you on the field soon.

I know certain captains might feel disrespected by their non-appearances on this list, but for the most part I try to only include teams that are at least .500. While it's true that certain teams have performed dramatically better when the full team is there(or at least all of the "As", I want to see it happen on a more consistent basis before factoring it heavily in the rankings. Just for fun though, here is how all the teams are ranked, record wise, when they have a full 13.

1. Lapine 4-0
2(t). Pollock 3-0
2(t). Marrone 3-0
4. Applebaum 2-0
5. Granese 1-0
6. Schefkind 4-1
7(t). Wallman 3-1
7(t). Fradkin 3-1
9. Harris 3-2
10(t). Lombardi 4-4
10(t). Jacoby 2-2
10(t). Brock 1-1
13. Ferrarese 1-4
14(t). Goldfarb 0-1
14(t). Larocca 0-1
14(t). Sarcona 0-1


Randell and Bykofsky have yet to play a game with their full squads.

Updated power rankings

1. Lapine (3): Why Lapine over my team for the top spot? Besides the half game advantage, I gave Lapine the edge for beating the other top tier team, Wallman, while we lost to them the first week of the season. Lapine is on track to have his best regular season since 2012 when he went 14- 8.

2. Pollock (2): Pollock is now an incredible 15-2 in their last 17 regular season games going back to last year. The offense erupted last week for 17 runs and the top ranked runs against total is 2.4 runs better than second place. There has only been only one other time this decase when there was a bigger difference between the best and second best runs against average (2010 Goldfarb 3.0 runs better than second place Beilis).

3. Wallman (1): At 7-4 I still view Wallman as clearly the third team in a top tier that has separated themselves from the rest of the league. If the slip, however, Team Brock and Schefkind aren’t too far behind in the division. I just don’t see Wallman slipping though. Right now they are ranked 5th in run differential, which would make this his 4th consecutive year of being ranked in the top 5. That’s the current longest streak in the league.

4. Lombardi (NR): Let’s be honest, when they lost 4 out of 5 games many probably thought this team was falling back the pre-season expectations many had. Lombardi is proving to be a great leader and it doesn’t hurt that Mark Goddard has been perhaps the MVP of the league with a .765 average. Lombardi’s on pace to go 14-8 in his rookie captain campaign, a rookie mark only bested this decade by Fradkin last year and Brock the year before(both 16-6).

5. Ferrarese(6): The curse of the #1 ranked team has gotten all the publicity, but the true curse has been for the 5th spot. Every team that has been ranked 5th has lost their next game. I think this team will break the curse tomorrow. The 3.2 run differential suggests the 6-4 record only undersells how solid this team has been this year.

6. Brock (4): The 2019 Brock team could be similar to last year’s Goldfarb’s club: Huge pre-season favorites who didn’t exactly fall flat on their faces, but could never put a run together to make their final numbers match expectations. At 6-5 there still is time to finish with 14-15 wins, but the window is closing. Still, this team is playing with at least three players who should be first rounders, so never count them out.

7. Marrone (7): A 10 run victory while missing their entire outfield is the most impressive win any team has had this year. Marrone is sneaking up on everyone. They’ve won 5 out of their last 6 games and were missing Mike Conti their only loss during this stretch. 

8. Applebaum (8): The team that has never lost back to back games this year has a chance of winning three in a row for the first time this year. Applebaum deserves some captain of the year votes for handing the pitching duties to Burns, who has done a great job in his first year as a full-time pitcher.

9. Schefkind (NR): It got ugly there with a 5 game losing streak, but it looks like Schefkind’s team is back to playing the solid ball that made them part of the Elite East group.

Power Rankings- Summer is here!

It’s starting to get to that time of year where we can look past hot and slow starts, fluky one-game performances, and start putting teams in different tiers based on overall performance. Without using any personal analysis, the standings provide a strong starting off point for this kind of division. We have:

Tier One: Teams well above .500

Tier Two: Teams that are .500 or one win/loss away from .500

Tier Three: Teams at least two games under .500

This year features perhaps the most balance the league has had this decade with only four teams are in tier 1 and four teams in tier 3. Over half the league is swimming in that middle division. The year this is most similar to is 2017 when four teams had 13+ wins, five teams had 13+ losses, and the rest of the league was somewhere in between. The author of this piece is hoping 2019 ends the same way 2017 ended.

In a twist from previous power rankings, there is a lot of stability at the top:

1. Wallman (1): The curse of the #1 ranked teams is over. I’ve been surprised by the high runs allowed total, but if their rookie slugger Ziolkowski continues to rake and Wallman keeps up his resurgent year, they can get away with not having a top 5 defense.

2. Pollock (2): Conversely, I’m surprised our offense hasn’t fully clicked yet. This is a team that has over half the same players as 2017 and 2018 when we led the league in runs scored. This is a team being led by pitching and defense.

3. Lapine (4): They beat a Brock team missing Justin (as did we) but that should not prevent them from flip flopping with Brock in the rankings. The team energy is great and I don’t see many games where their bats will be silenced. This is a team that feasts on Union Hill fields. Getting a top field choice for the playoffs will be important.

4. Brock (3): You all know what’s going to happen. Missed games is going to cause this team to finish either second or third in the division. Then because each division winner gets seeded before the other teams, Brock will be the 5th seed. Whoever they play is going to complain about their luck. They have to play the most talented team in the first round even though they’re not even one of the worst four teams in the playoffs.

5. Goldfarb (NR):As we enter the second tier, it gets much harder to separate these 10 teams. WHat impresses about Goldfarb is that they’ve won these last three games without their star rookie, Evan Rosenthal. While some teams would use missed games to justify losses, top teams find ways to win anyway.

6. Ferrarese (5): There are other teams with better records I could put in this spot, but like I always say: If these rankings were only based on team record, there would be no reason to publish this list. I like teams that have clear strengths to build around. In this team’s case, they have one of the best infield defenses and more power than probably anyone in the league. I’d be curious to see Team Stats listed on the website again; Team Ferrarese probably leads the league in home runs.

7. Marrone (9):I’ll be honest. I had a lot of trouble figuring out who to put in this slot, and who to fill out for the rest of the rankings for that matter. I went with Marrone because they’re currently on the second longest streak of giving up single digit runs, have done very well over the course of their last five games.

8. Applebaum (NR): Trivia question. Name the only team not to lose two consecutive games yet this year? If you said Applebaum because why else would I be mentioning it here, you’d be correct! Yes, this arbitrary little piece of information is enough to break away from a pack of similar performing teams and earn the 8th spot this week.

9. Fradkin (5): Like I mentioned, it was tough determining who would round out this week’s power rankings. I went with Fradkin because I think they have the best chance at having a good week, being they have a double header on Union Hill against teams with a combined 4-11 record. It was only a few weeks ago Fradkin was sitting atop the rankings. Here’s a chance to gain back some momentum.

Updated Power Rankings AKA Who Am I Putting The Curse on This Week?

For those keeping track at home, the #1 ranked team is now 0-6 in games played the week of posting the rankings.

1. Wallman (2): Am I putting Wallman at the top spot just so I can avoid putting the curse on my own team? Well, partly. The other part is both our teams are essentially tied for first and Wallman did beat us head to head.

2. Pollock (3): I don’t want to jinx our team, so I’ll be brief. It’s a pleasure to play with these fine gentlemen and Dave Meyer every week.

3. Brock (4): Just like our team, Brock has quickly made up for a subpar start to the season. No division this decade has had three 15-game winners, but that could change this year.

4. Lapine (6): Specchio is playing like the top prospect he was when he came into the league and Carroll might be the scariest lefty slugger in the league besides Fradkin. Brock vs. Lapine this Wednesday night is the game of the season so far. UH Left plays well to Lapine’s strengths.

5. Fradkin (1): The curse of the power rankings bit Fradkin last week. After giving up 39 runs in the double header Sunday, #1 ranked teams have now given up an average of 19.33 runs per game the week after earning the top spot. Their resume includes beating Lapine and Brock, so it’s not time to hit the panic button. Fradkin plays this week at UH Right which always give his team an edge.

6. Ferrarese (NR): They may not have a winning record, but the team with the best run differential deserves a spot on the rankings. They may have the best offense in the league(first in runs scored) and very few can compete with their infield defense.

7. Lombardi (5): They picked up a much needed win vs. Sarcona because they have been skidding of late. I believe they’re one or two batters short from being consistently among the elite. I hope I’m wrong because I’m pulling for the Lombardis.

8. Randell (NR): As mentioned in my notes last week, this is a dangerous team when all players are on the field. Eventually though, attendance issues become a pattern and not just an anomaly.

9. Marrone (NR): Many teams hovering around the .500 mark can make a solid claim for the last spot on this list, but I’m going with the team that’s on one of the best streaks in the league. I don’t see Conti lighting up the leaderboard yet, so the team will only get better once he inevitably finds himself among the leaders.

Updated Power Rankings

If there is any bright side to all the rainouts that have plagued the league over the last two years, it's the Sundays when almost half the league has double headers. 15 games are slated for this Sunday including the first Sunday night game since week one. It'll be fun to see what kind of shakeup in the standings happen after all of Sunday's action. 

Power Rankings Update:

1. Fradkin (6)- Who would’ve thought that a Fradkin-led team would be one of the top offenses in the league? So far the results have been very similar to Fradkin’s first year as captain. An impressive start to his managerial career.

2. Wallman(1)- Out of all the longstanding captains who have not been to the finals this decade, Wallman is easily the most successful. This team has all the right pieces to end that drought. They will need rookie slugger Ziolkowski to return soon, but it’s hard to imagine Wallman winning anything fewer than 14 games this year.

3. Pollock (9)- Although we still have the reputation for being an offensive heavy team, our runs against rankings since 2016 have been, #2, #2,#1 respectively. Hopefully we can keep that up against two of the best offensive teams in the league this Sunday.

4. Brock (7)- With Brock rounding out the top 4, this means that 3 of the top 4 teams are from the East division. Like I mentioned last time, I feel comfortable putting this team ahead of others that have better records. They were heavy pre-season favorites for a reason and after stumbling just a little out of the gate, they seem to be back on track.

5. Lombardi(2)- In my unpublished(ok,unwritten) power rankings for last week, Lombadi was the #1 team. This means they suffered the same curse of the #1 slot that plagued Wallman and Larocca(watch out, Fradkin). It will be interesting to see how Lombardi’s team responds to the first bump in what has been an impressive season. Their defense will keep them in games, and Jim is well on his way to getting his first(overdue) Cy Young nomination.

6. Lapine (NR): I feel like every year I end up writing the same thing about Lapine’s team: Good team who just can’t stay consistently hot. Every time they look like they’re ready to break away from the pack, they lose a few games. Now that they’re on a three game winning streak, will they break the mold?

7. Applebaum(NR): Speaking of consistency, Applebaum is a tough team to figure out. They already have two shutouts this season, including a near no-hitter. On the other hand they also recently had a stretch where they gave up 34 runs over a three game span.

8. Schefkind(4): It was a tough double header going against the top two teams in the power rankings. Everyone has a rough day, and they nearly defeated Wallman, so I don’t see this team staying down for too long.

9. Granese (NR): I did not really know what to make of Granese’s team going into the year since they so many newbies/haven’t played in the league for a long time players. Ultimately, I think this team will finish around the .500 mark but will be a threat to win the Central division.

Other Notes:

Although they are not listed this week, I expect Bykfosky and Goldfarb to make appearances in the top 9 very soon. Both teams have only played four games, and I think the wins will starting piling once they play their make up games.

These last two weeks have been  missed opportunities for Ferrarese, first with playing against a three man OF against Granese and then losing a 13 inning game against Marrone. Still, the defense, especially infield, is one of the best in the league.

Team Randell has had trouble getting all their star players on the field at the same time but have shown they can be dangerous when they do. If the attendance improves then they'll likely make some noise in the rankings.

Every year there seems to be one team that just can’t avoid the injury bug. Last year it was Jacoby, and this year it seems to be Larocca. I wish Mark and Andrew speedy recoveries. Hope to see you on the field soon.

Updated Power Rankings

Power Rankings Update 5/26

Last week's rankings is in ().

1. Wallman(3)- I am not sure what that all-time record is for consecutive regular season wins, but Wallman has now won 11 in a row dating back to last year. He must be coming close.

2. Lombardi (4)- The best run differential in the league so far goes to a team that was not on many people's radar before the season started.

3. Bykofsky(3)- The slight dip in placement from last time is more due to the rainouts than anything else. Bykofsky should be well on its way to another 14+ wins season.

4. Schefkind(9)- The 19-3 pre-season prediction may have been tongue-in-cheek, but at this point they are more likely to come close to such a lofty projection than the other pre-ordained 19 win club(Brock).

5. Ferrarese(7)- There were some doubts about the Cowboy's ability to be a full-time pitcher, but through four games, Ferrarese is looking like a Cy Young nominee.

6. Fradkin (NR) Picking up seamlessly from last year, Fradkin once again has an offense that rankings in the top 3 in the league in the early going.

7. Brock(5)- How high can I put a team that is 1-3? Last week's loss can partly be blamed on Justin not being there, but the fact is so far the offensive production has not been there. They are one of only two teams(Randell being the other) to have played more than 2 games but not score double digits in any. That should change soon.

8. Larocca(1)- This sets a dubious record of biggest drop from #1 in power rankings history. This is what happens when you give up 39 runs in a double header. Still, there is a reason why I ranked them so high in the first place, and I expect Larocca to meet last year's 13 win total.

9. Pollock(NR)- With Pollock at #9, that makes it 5 teams from the East ranked in the top half of the power rankings. There will be some solid teams from the division whose records will be misleading given the extra games played against tough division rivals. Obviously I'm going to be optimistic about my team's chances, but the fact is we have the same core as the 2017 championship team and 7/13 players from last year's 19 win club. If the offense can click, then we can go on a nice run.

Toughest Omission:

Goldfarb- They did nothing wrong to knock themselves off the list since they did not even play last week. They'll earn a spot back next week with a strong performance this week.

Week 2 Power Rankings AKA It’s Way Too Early To Rush to Judgments But Let’s Do This Anyway

Power rankings are usually based on, in some order: personal opinion, team record, run differential, strength of opponent. In the early rankings I will also factor in the pre-season expectations.

While team record is not always the number one factor, it is my traditional practice to rank undefeated teams at the top. Once a team suffer a loss, then the other factors will come into play. Therefore, the top four teams will feature the four teams who have started 2-0. On the reverse side, teams without a victory can not appear in the top 9.

Here are the power rankings after Week 2:

1. Larocca- With Brock projected going to go 19-3 and dominate the league like no team has ever done, Larocca has earned the top slot for being the Kingslayer. With 8 returning players from last year’s 13 win team, similar results, maybe even slightly better results can be expected.

2. Bykofsky- Bykosfky’s 62 wins from 2014-2018 are the highest in the league(A commanding 10 wins more than second place Pollock). The 2-0 start, coupled with a strong pre-season prediction, makes it likely that 2019 will continue this dominant run. One of the big questions this season will be can Bykofsky finally have the post-season success to match their regular season performance.

3. Wallman- This team was projected to be one of the top 3 teams prior to the season and so far they haven’t disappointed. Their defense, led by a strong Todd Wallman at SS, will never go into a prolonged slump.

4. Lombardi- If there’s one team who can play the “Nobody believed in us!” card to motivate his troop this season, it’s Lombardi. The rookie captain’s squad was not given much respect after the draft, so Lombardi should get every bit of satisfaction as possible from a tremendous start.

5. Brock- Has there ever been a team predicted to be as dominant as the 2019 Brock squad? Nobody from memory has ever been projected to go 19-3 before and they dominated the Captains’ Pre-Season Poll. There can be a lot of pressure living up to those kinds of expectations. To me, this is the storyline of the year.

6. Goldfarb- This part of the rankings becomes tricky, so I have to go with the team that has the fewest overreaches at the draft(Gettleman, take notice).

7. Ferrarese- If Ritchie Bomenblitt can play like an MVP, and Mike can continue to control the strike zone, this team will win 13+ games. It’s better for the game summary page if this teams has success.

8. Applebaum- Seriously, one-hit shutout in Marlboro softball? Time will tell if there will be enough offensive production to keep this team in the top half of the year, but Burns’s performance singlehandedly earns Applebaum a spot on this week’s rankings.

9. Schefkind- I imagine this team will eventually move up in the rankings. I am impressed with how deep their lineup is, and they have one of the best OF defenses in the league.

Decade Statistical Leaders

With one more season remaining in our first decade keeping (almost)accurate statistics, I figured I’d post the top 3 decade leaders in key statistical categories.

Batting Average(Minimum of 450 plate appearances):

Ari Mesmer   .607
Ed Fradkin     .592
Justin Bykofsky  .578

 Ari Mesmer will coast to the decade title.

Hits:

 Justin Bykofsky 455

2.       Dave Polzer        426

3.       Justin Brock        422

Barring injury, it looks like Justin has this wrapped up.

Runs:

1.       Justin Bykofsky 318

2.       Justin Brock        298

3.       Joel Zaretsky      288

It would take a record setting season for Justin Brock to challenge Justin in this category.

RBI:

1.       Mike Conti                          315

2.       Justin Brock                        298

3.       Rick Schindelheim            278

Justin can have a great season and make it close, but it looks like Conti should finish with the lead.

Home Runs:

1.       Ed Fradkin           57

2.       Mike Conti          47

3.       Joel Zaretsky      40

Ed Fradkin will run away with the HR title. He also has this lead while having 135 fewer at bats than Conti and 163 fewer than JZ.

Doubles:

1.       Ed Fradkin           131

2.       Joe Mamone     118

3.       Justin Brock        111

A healthy 2018 Joe Mamone would have made this race interesting. Instead, it looks like Fradkin will win this one as well.

Triples:

1.       Glen Roland            26

2.       Brian Applebaum   24

3.       Joe Spoto                 23     

This may be the only title that is up for grabs.

2nd Annual Captains Poll

The 2019 season is finally here and for every team who had a strong regular season last year, it could not come soon enough. It was a postseason for the ages(and one this author would like to forget) as practically every strong regular season team fell short of expectations in the playoffs.

Before sharing this year's results of the Captains' Poll, here are 2018's Poll results along with how they actually performed:

Rank  Team(total points)     Regular Season Record           Playoff Result

1.       Goldfarb (21)                          12-10                          Lost in the first round
2.       Marrone (17)                           7-15                            Lost in the first round
3.       Bykofsky (10)                         17-5                            Lost in the first round
4.       Brock       (9)                           14-8                            Lost in the first round
5.       Wallman   (5)                          14-8                             Lost in the first round
6.       Fradkin     (5)                          16-6                             Lost in the second round
7.       Pollock     (3)                          18-4                             Lost in the second round


Pretty amazing. Other than Marrone's disastrous season and the fact Goldfarb didn't dominate the league, the Captains' Poll did a pretty accurate job of predicting which teams would have success in the regular season. But look at those playoff results. We'll never see anything like that again.


Onto the 2019 Captains' Poll Results. Captains were asked to rank the top 3 teams based on the draft. 3 points were given for first place, 2 for second place, 1 for third place. Over half of the captains took part, so while this is not a reflection of every captain, it does represent enough opinions to give us a solid idea of who the favorites are.

Rank        Team                            total points

1.              Brock                               29
2.              Wallman                           9
2.              Bykofsky                          9
4.              Pollock                             8
5.              Fradkin                             4
5.              Larocca                            4
7.              Schefkind                         3
8.              Randell                             1
8.              Goldfarb                           1


As you can see, Team Brock goes into the season as the overwhelming favorite. With three out of the top four teams and five out of the top seven, The East division should be fierce.

I plan on updating the power ranking. First with my own pre-season rankings(time permitting) and then regularly through the season, once we're a few games into the season.

What do you think of this poll? Do you feel a team has been wrongfully ignored? Do you think Team Brock will coast to a championship like many seem to think or will they stumble like all of the favorites last season?  Leave your comments below.