We Start a segment today we will run all year, where our eye in the sky, the Owl, breaks down the league by giving us power rankings. Here are questions to comment on: Who is too high? Who is too low? Who will change the most? Who will the surprise teams be? Here's the Owl.
Here we go for another season. Which teams will
surprise this year? Last year I'd have to say the Red
Sox and Cardinals were the two surprise teams.
1. Phillies- This team has been the most consistant
and dominant team in the NL the last three seasons and
in they had won one more game each of those leagues
you could include the the whole league as well. This
year the Pitching has been phemoninal. This team
never seems to slump.
2. Twins- Team had huge losses but Luke did some
dealing and so far the moves have paid off.
3. Rangers- Yawn, Team has the ability to win it all
again. I'll copy and paste this for the next 5
seasons
4. Mariners- They keep putting heat on the Rangers and
the rest of the league. They will be a factor.
5. Yankees- Yanks lead the Majors in runs scored but
the Pitching staff will have to improve before this
team is a contender.
6. Reds- New look Reds starting to jell. Gehrig
tearing up the NL
7. Indians- solid team on the brink of making another
run. Matter of time.
8. Marlins- Team is 6 games over .500 and Babe Ruth is
hitting .210 with 4 Homers and 13 RBI. Think he won't
break loose? Hmm is he on the trade block? :)
9. Dodgers- Long stretch of winning should continue
but age will be a factor and this might be the last hurrah
as the Division is getting tougher.
10. Expos- The Expos could surprise this year if the
Bullpen delivers. P Josh Beckett could finally have
that breakout year
11. Pirates- Pirates have been out the gate fast
before. Could this be the year they keep it going?
12. Cardinals- Pitching and Defense are there. Will
the Hitting be strong enough with the loss of Nettles
for a good portion of the season? Could we see
prospect 3B Clete Boyer soon?
13. Tigers- Nice start for the Tigers. Terry has done
a good job transforming this team. 1b Cooper and Vet
Fred Lynn have had great starts
14. A's- Team over .500 and in a Division with the
Rangers and Mariner says a lot. Team might be only a
player or two away form being a factor. A 5th starter
looks to be a need.
15. Giants- Team is on the upswing and that trend
should continue if the hiting improves and OF Bobby
Abreu is due for a hot streak.
16. Brewers- you can win with pitching and the Brewers
are proving that again. So far the pitching has
combined with timely hitting.
17. Astros- Sam has transformed his team in many ways
over the years and he has a record of getting the most
out of his personal and filling a need. So far this
years team has pitching as a strength but will he have
enough hitting?
18. Rockies- Team has outscored their opponents by 30
runs and still remain under .500. If they scoring
trend continues the Rockies should be in the NL West
race for the duration but they have to stay healthy.
19. Red Sox- A few of the new players haven't found a
comfort zone yet and need to rebound. The Pitching is
good enough to win the AL East like last season so
maybe when the weather heats up the hitting will as
well.
20. White Sox- Rough start could of sank this team for
another season but the team has come on of late. I
think it is a matter of time before this team arrives.
To bad it's in the AL Central.
21. Braves- Team is underachieving. Hard to get a
handle on why as this team has some talent
22. O's- The rebuilding process has begun. It will
take time.
23. Royals- Royals have had a pitching meltdown and
that is with Rogers Clemns having a great start. Can
they recover?
24. Cubs- Pitching is still the achilles heel of this
team. Mark has tried to assemble a staff but can't
seem to have any luck. Could Wrigley be a factor?
25. Mets- Could their be any truth to the rumor that
instead of Cork in the bats they Mets have wood putty?
The lack of power hurts the hitting and so far the pen
hasn't done the job for the pitching.
26. Padres- Young pitchers starting to show thier
stuff but the lack of hitting isn't helping them.
27. Jays- Rebuilding process continues but they have
been competitive.
28. Angels- Pitchers Bender and Lawrence are a
combined 8-3. The rest of the staff are 6-27. Looks
like the team hits only when those two are pitching.
Oh and a reminder too owners. If a player has the
dreaded "Bruised Heel" injury, report it to Jeff and
the length of time for that injury will be reduced by
67%
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9 comments:
So far RedSoxs have the best pitching staff in AL. Bullpen is solid and rotation has been deep. Defense is improved and Easter and Klu will heat up. Boston should be in the upper 50% of Habla. RedSoxs will win AL East again!! They have best overall team in division..
Well, let me be one of the few to say this:
My bullpen/rotation sucks.
There - now not every team you've ever talked to has said they have the best bullpen/rotation in the league :)
The stats dont lie....
Maybe this is a good stream to go on. Who is the best staff in each league?
Boston has played well, but you cant say they are hands down the best pitching team in the AL. They are 5th in quality starts, and only 1st in era by a slim margin over Seattle.
Also, it seems that their 3-5 pitchers are out of their minds overachieving (maybe 1-2 as well).
just my opinion. what are your thoughts on the best rotations in each league?
I posted this in the wrong comment section. So let me say thanks for the vote of confidence on my rebuilding of the Tigers. After trading Ryan and Ford away not sure how well my team would do. So far so good. But early yet. Thanks, Terry - Detroit Tigers
I agree with you Nick..I was equating the remark to the entire staff, not just rotation. All 5 of those starters could possibly be under 4.00 career at seasons end. Honeycutt, Sherrid, Gobble, Livingston and Kardow..they are all right there. One could agrue its a little underrated. These guys all had the stats to back their success...Kardow was good as starter...not so as reliever etc...this is a nice medium for discussion!
The one staff I've seen/looked at a lot that I'd take without question is Texas' even though they don't have a top 3 ERA, yet. Rau, Valenzula, Peavy, Roe? Yeah - works for me. Add that to a bullpen that acually works, and it's heaven.
Among the top 3 ERA staffs, I think I'd take Seattle's. Their pitch ratings and pitcher types seem strong and I love their very low IRS% rate. The OAvg is a tad high for a top 3 ERA - a question mark Philly and Boston don't have right now, but I'd run with those guys with confidence - especially with a OSlg that could support a top 3 rank for the long haul - although Philly's OSlg is crazy low.
I do like Boston's performance, and I think they can maintain it with their OAvg staying that low, considering they have the same Reds cornerstones of defense :). Seriously though, I loved the ex-Reds guys Boston has in the field behind my pitchers. Baldelli is awesome in the field - Kluszewski is strong (one of those good hit AND field 1B!) and Upton is a force with the glove at an important position, especially in BBPro.
One low ERA staff that seems to be a bit over-acheiving is Milwaukee's. I don't think Riske can maintain around a 0.66 ERA for the season and the other bullpen arms have average-ish ERAs. That will put pressure on their SP to keep the ERA down and I wonder if the bullpen will sabotage a top 5 ERA ranking..
That is a fantastic idea...
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