Mid Season Power Rankings….
1)
Milwaukee Boys of Summer (62-30). Milwaukee is here because they are tied for
the best record in baseball, hit the ball in the top third of league, but more
importantly can pitch like you wouldn’t believe. 3 of their 5 starters have ERA in the 2’s and
not one has missed a start. Andrew
Sadler is a crazy 13-1 with a 2.29 ERA and a front runner for the Cy Young
Award this year. And why don’t we just
throw in the fact that they are 14 games in first place in their division. Clearly the midway favorite for winning it
all.
2)
Monterrey Gringos (62-30). Monterrey is right up there with the Boys of
Summer, but they go about it in a slightly different way. Think more like slow pitch softball. They have scored 614 runs this year in 92
games. That is almost 7 runs a
game. The next closest team is 56 runs
back. Marvin Shannon is the big reason. After slightly more than ½ the season done,
he has over 100 RBIs. With a good
finish, he could break 200 and if he gets 203 he will be the first non-season 1
player to crack the top 5 all time.
3)
Philadelphia Stomp (60-32). Philadelphia has made the smooth transition
from being a team full of veterans to a bunch of young kids and did it
flawlessly. He continually makes the
playoffs and is set to do it again this year, but with a very young team. In fact, he has the 8th youngest
team, but third most talented roster. He
is helped by having the most talented rotation in the league with an average OV
rating of 78.
4)
Little Rock Mockingbirds (56-36). How do they do it?? They are hitting and fielding right around
the mid point in the league, their pitching is slightly above normal, and their
talent ranking is near the bottom. The
trick must be the grizzled veterans, like the 93 Phillies. They are the 3rd oldest team and 4th
highest payroll and but he is getting the most from these guys! The bet is that injuries and stamina will win
out and by the end of the year, they will struggle to make the playoffs. But that being said, Overeasy is a genius, so
I am sure I will be eating my words in no time.
5)
Washington DC Generals (54-38). It is not surprising they are this high on
the list. They have a very talented
team, good starting lineup and solid starting pitching. Right now their hitting is carrying them
because their pitching has been struggling to keep runs off the board. Washington is also in a bit of a funk, losing
7 of their last 10 games. Fortunately
for them, no one in their division is making a charge right now.
6)
Baltimore Revolution (55-37). Having an awesome year, but talk about some
bad luck, having the 5th best record, but still 5 games out of first
place! What Baltimore does have is a
bunch of talent. They are right up there
with the Stomp for their pitching rotation and their starting lineup is ranked
#2. This reporter still thinks that the
Stomp will have all they can handle from the Revolution.
7)
Houston Buushwackerz (53-39). Houston is a team on fire right now, winning
9 of 10 against some pretty solid competition. But even with that run, they are still 9 games
out of first place. They have to be
thinking wildcard right now. Houston has
the one of the highest ML salaries in the league, and one of the oldest
rosters, so he is geared to win right now.
Winning 9 in a row will make turzich feel good with his investment!
8)
Cleveland Lake Shores (50-42). There is a rumor the Johnny Manzel was at the
last Lake Shores game having a beer with some of his buddies which led to his
last benching. Cleveland has been
treading water for a while now, being 11-11 over their past 22 games. Cleveland is the king of close games, with 38
games decided by one run. And they have
won the vast majority of those games. Cleveland
also has one of the deepest benches in the league, so as the wear and tear of
162 goes on, look for the Lake Shores to be able to handle any bumps in the
road.
9)
Richmond Rebellion (50-42). Here is a team that doesn’t hit much, doesn’t
field all that well, but has a pitching staff to keep the games close. So this keeps them in the games and more
often than not, gets them the wins. This
is another team cursed by being in a tough division, they are playing well, but
are 6 games out from first place.
10)
Tucson Taco’s (50-42). How can I say anything bad about tacos. I love to eat them, I love Taco on the TV
show “The League”. This team is definitely an anomaly. How
could a team be 8 games over .500 when they have give up 51 more runs than they
have scored. 51!!! I guess giving up 14, 17, 11, 7 and 25 during
an 8 game run towards the beginning of the season didn’t help. You would think that he had it straightened
out, but with losses giving up 12, 24 and 13 in the last two weeks, may tell
another story.
11)
Anaheim Peppers (49-43). Well, at the halfway
point, Anaheim is right in the middle of the pack in hitting, pitching and
fielding. They are about .500 in one run
games, and when you look at their ranking in talent, they are right in the
middle of the pack. Believe it or not,
they are also right in the middle of the pack in average age of the ML team
and…wait for it….their salary is right in the middle too. Anyone think that they should finish right
around .500 this year???
12)
Vancouver Tragedy Twins (48-44). The Twins are a talented team, with good
pitching, and above average fielding.
The Twins couldn’t be bothered worrying about going base to base when
they can just sit back and hit a 3 run homer.
They are in the top ten in HRs and Slugging percentage, but down in the
lower half in batting average. At their
last game, I heard their first basemen say “Why should I try to leg out a
double, when the next guy will probably just hit a homerun anyhow…”
13)
Montreal Rockets (48-44). The Rockets headed into the All Star break on
a bit of a run, winning 4 in a row and 7 of 10. That should have allowed them to make a dent
in Milwaukee’s death hold on the division, but unfortunately, Milwaukee went
7-3 too. How is Montreal doing so well? This reporter has no idea. They have a good starting lineup but no real
depth to the pitching staff. This team
is one big injury away from dropping from contention…
14)
Iowa City (46-46). As hard as it is to get players to play in
the middle of Iowa, littlejim has done a great job at keeping aging/starting to
rebuild team relevant. But, lets chat
about his pitching staff for just one second.
Last time I saw guys this old, they were playing bocce ball. His staff only has 2 players that were born
after the league started and 10 that are mostly in their mid to late
thirties…. I heard he was trying to get
Jamie Moyer to come out of retirement.
15)
Kansas City Mucklucks (47-45) KC owns the
highest salary in the league and also has one of the highest Average Length of
Contract. This means that KC is spending
for the talent he has and has locked them up for a long while. And what has that bought him? 2 games over .500. Here is an interesting fact about them. They have scored exactly the same amount of
runs that they have given up. They are
in a bit of a funk right now, going 5-14 in their last 19 games but have won
their last two, so hopefully they have turned it around.
16)
Scottsdale Camels (47-45). Lek’s team can score some runs. They have 533 so far and are batting a gaudy .281. Part of that is the crazy amount of stolen
bases he has. Singles are now doubles
and doubles are triples. This team gets
on base, and then moves around the diamond with the quickness. So, how can they be only 47-45 you ask??? Great question. Could it be their 5.20 ERA? That is a bad ERA for a pitcher, it is a huge
number for a staff. He needs to get that
under control if he wants to make a run.
Bottom 16 teams need to get it in gear…unless you are in the
AL North….
Some interesting facts for the year:
Hottest team right now:
Houston Buushwackers winning 11 in a row
Coldest team right now: (tie) Salt Lake City Bees and
Charlotte Legends have both lost 8 in a row.
Worst Division: AL North with the three first place teams
that are 8 games under .500.
Best Division: AL East with three teams well over .500
Best Starter: Andrew Sadler (MIL) 13-1 2.29 ERA
Best Closer: Joseph Kim (MON) 0-1, 25 Saves in 25 chances,
1.35 ERA
Longest Hitting Streak This Year: Julian Arencibia (WAS) 28 games
Longest Current Hitting Streak: Brent Nix (CHA) 16 games
Rookie of the Year Candidates at the halfway point:
Denny Berry (SAL) .304 BA, 39 HR, 98 RBIs
Vin Long (VC) 3.31 ERA, 31 saves in 34 opportunities
Stan Wilkerson (DET) 9-8, 4.21 ERA 78K
