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.