Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Bi-weekly Power Rankings - Season 4 Finale

Here is the final tally for the last power ranking vote of the season.


Current Rank (Previous Rank)

1. (2) Portland Beavers: Season 92-51, Points: 47, Ballots 10/10.
2. (1) Montreal Expos: Season 92-52, Points: 32, Ballots 9/10.
3. (T9) Arizona Diamondbacks: Season 86-57, Points: 25, Ballots 8/10.
4. (4) Charlotte Knights: Season 84-60, Points 18, Ballots 7/9
5. (3) Atlanta Braves: Season 84-60, Points 9, Ballots 6/9
6. (6) Cincinnati Reds: Season 85-58, Points 7, Ballots 3/10
7. (NR) Anaheim Angels: Season 80-63, Points 5, Ballots 3/9
8. (T9) New York Yankees: Season 77-66, Points: 4, Ballots 1/9
9. (5) Philadelphia Phillies: Season 82-62, Points: 2, Ballots 2/9
10. (NR) Toronto Blue Jays: Season 71-73, Points: 1, Ballots 1/9

Others Receiving Votes: None

Franchise Highlights - Washington Nationals

by 13killers

Majors:
The season has been somewhat of a disappointment in Washington. They are presently in 2nd place in the division, but that is a country mile out of the wild card. Despite posting poor win-loss totals, the pitching staff has been solid. Matthew Crosby has been as good as any closer in the league, but saves opportunities have been few and far between. Set-up man Derrek Carpenter, who was acquired from Texas, has been a pleasant surprise. The offensive attack or lack there of, has been the problem in Washington. Although Bing Miles is posting a career year, Ralph Levine has had his worst year as a National. The Washington Nationals are headed for a shake up, after already dealing a few veterans before the dead line.

Minors:
 AAA: Relief pitchers Cristian Simmons, Ralph Mays and Willie Green are all expected to make the move to the majors next season. They will be joined by power hitting Les Graham, Oswaldo Cela, Walt Washington and Harold Stokes.
 AA: Aaron Benson and Julio Romero had MVP type seasons, but newly acquired CF-Damion Stock will get first crack in the show. Sam Franklin and Greg Tomlinson are future major league relievers.
 HI A: The best talent in the franchise plays at HI A: Infielders Ralph Earley, Gabe Barrett and Allie White are all future Major Leaguers…joined by Sluggers Brett Stuart, Jackie Brohawn and Ted Lombardi, the nationals offensive woes could be over in the near future. Throw in defensive aces Walter Hutch, Jose Tavarez and lefty Stuart Wilson, the national have a large talent pool coming.
 Low A: The can’t miss player here has to be Julio Toca. His .309 avg 53 hr and 164 rbi have vaulted him to hot prospect status…and the kid can play defense. Eric Hunter, Andres Ortiz, Deivi Fuentes, Matt Swann and Vance Morgan round out a solid group of position players. Lefty Will Sanders should make a middle rotation starter as well.
 Rookie: The Nationals are waiting to see how well Brad Jackson and P.J. Robinson recover from injury. Davey Weston, Cozy Russell and Randall Johnson round out a thin group in Rookie ball for the Nationals.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Franchise Highlights - New York Mets

Front Office
The Mets are run by General Manager dherz_263. He is the second manager of the franchise and took control following the conclusion of the Season 2 regular season. While the Mets are yet to find any success with the big club, they are putting together some fine young talent and things look promising in the future.

Majors
The brightest stars of the entire organization are a pair of young lefty aces, former #1 pick Walt Hernandez and lifelong Mets fan from upstate NY Tony Stankiewicz. Hernandez looks to be developing into one of the most skilled pitchers in the NL while Stankiewicz two best pitches, a fastball and a slider, are being used to confound many a NL hitter.

Minors
At AA, the Mets have a good hitting shortstop in the making in 21 year old Juan Padilla. However in High A, they have a future superstar shortstop in the making in 20 year old Luis Franco. He will be a very valuable major leaguer as he is one of those rare talents that can have great success in the field at shortstop as well as at the plate. The Mets will someday have quite the double play combo as 19 year old second baseman Pablo Mendoza is also having great success for the High A Mets.
On the mound, 21 year old Sonny Spooneybarger has gotten a bit roughed up thus far in the minor leagues (currently High A), but scouts believe he has the talent to become the #3 man in a possible Met playoff rotation. Additionally, recent international signing 18 year old Yamid Medrano looks to blossom into a quality major league setup man.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Bi-weekly Power Rankings - Five Favorites

This week the members of Kinsella (15 of us) had a very clear view on what five teams belonged at the top of these rankings. The "Power 5" were named on 67 of a possible 72 ballots.

Current Rank (Previous Rank)

1. (1) Montreal Expos: Season 69-37, Points: 61, Ballots 15/15
The Expos continue to roll with the best record in baseball and Kevin Marte continues to be one of the most feared hitters. With one of the best offenses and an upper third pitching staff, the Expos appear destined to wrestle away the Reds stranglehold on the NL North and make a serious title run.

2. (2) Portland Beavers: Season 67-39, Points: 45, Ballots 14/15
The Beavers continue to play solid baseball, with their only recent blemish being a 3-1 series loss to the New York Yankees. Harry Reid has been a great addition for this team which looks superior to the team that was an eyelash away from a championship. With the Mariners on the decline, the Beavers appear headed for their first AL West title.

3. (T5) Atlanta Braves: Season 65-41, Points: 41, Ballots 13/14
Dee Dee is having a rookie season for the ages and fellow all-star sluggers Eric Roosevelt and Dan Guerrero are having stellar seasons as well. This fearsome trio has already combined for 115 home runs and 311 runs batted in and we still have 56 games left in the season. The only questions left for the Braves this season are by how many games will they win the division and will Dee Dee break the single season home run record?

4. (4) Charlotte Knights: Season 65-41, Points 35, Ballots 14/14
The Knights have taken command of the AL South this season by having the highest scoring team in baseball. Adam Martin, Jose Mondesi, Earl Jorgensen, and BC Javier are the most potent quartet of hitters in the AL and have helped this team rise one place in the standings each season with this season's first AL South Division title seemingly a lock.

5. (T5) Philadelphia Phillies: Season 63-43, Points: 26, Ballots 11/14
Flying high now! The arrival of Rocky Balboa seems to have lifted this team's spirits and their bullpen woes have gotten under control. Although they still lead the majors in blown saves (16), the margin has shrunk as the frequency has decreased. With the division title already appearing to be a foregone conclusion, the arrival of ace Darren Chance makes the Phillies and even stronger title threat.

6. (7) Cincinnati Reds: Season 61-45, Points 6, Ballots 3/14
With a surprising shake-up in the front office, the Reds performance on the field appears to be unaffected. The Reds are a team of sluggers with 5 players with 20 or more homers (and their GG caliber SS with 19) and with one of the worst team on base percentages, they score many of their runs by means of solo homers. Fortunately, their pitching staff is top notch and makes them a tough team to face in the playoffs, this season as a wild card entry.

7. (3) Seattle Mariners: Season 60-46, Points: 5, Ballots 2/15
The Mariners continue to have one of the best pitching staffs in the game. However, their offense is not keeping pace and providing those great pitchers with the run support they need. Luis Reynoso, Brandon Curtis, and Richard Ishii have all slid downward from their early season performances. If someone does not step up soon, the Mariners may find themselves out of the playoffs.

8. (N/A) Minnesota Twins: Season 54-52, Points: 4, Ballots 1/15
The young Twins emerged late last season as a strong bet to become an annual fixture on this list. This season they find themselves in a dogfight for the AL North with the also young and talented Detroit Tigers. Led by young sluggers Pat Decker and Sam Kubinski, the Twins offense has carried this team through some inconsistent pitching performances, especially in the bullpen. This division is still completely up for grabs, so who is going to grab it?

T9. (8) Arizona Diamondbacks: Season 62-44, Points: 1, Ballots 1/14
With a well balanced offense and a superb pitching staff, the Diamondbacks continue to stay on top of the NL West, despite the Dodgers best efforts. The NL West race looks like it will go down to the wire and the strong veteran presence on this squad seems determined to raise a fourth straight NL West championship banner.

T9. (N/A) New York Yankees: Season 60-46, Points: 1, Ballots 1/14
The Yankees appear to be on the rise with their improved offensive performance and the recent addition of second baseman Randy Hodges. Despite their top level pitching staff performance, the Yankees lack a dominant starter and appear to be at risk for an early playoff exit.

Others Receiving Votes: None