IP Sports Baseball Rankings: 05/28/2010

Features, Top Story

Power Rankings

2 new teams in the top 10…one that should be there and one that would have been expected to be there all season.

These aren’t your typical rankings; I look at record, run differential, and farm system. I weigh the scores on all 3; record makes up half the score, the run differential makes up a third of the score, and a sixth of the score is from farm system.

For Run Differential, I use the Pythagorean Theorem formulated by Bill James to see what a teams record should be; you can predict how well a team should be playing by this. In theory, a team should be in about the same range for their Pythagorean Record as their true record.

Rank Team Record Pythagorean System Total Last Week
1 TB Rays 30 30 27 59 1
I expect them to be even better now that dead weight Pat Burrell is gone.
2 NY Yankees 29 29 6 50 4
Back to #2 even with Javier Vazquez pitching like he was an little leaguer.
3 Minnesota Twins 26 27 14 49 6
Being led by one of the most well rounded rotations in baseball, the Twins keep rolling.
4 San Diego Padres 28 28 5 48 5
The Padres are looking legit after taking 2 of 3 from the Cardinals.
5 Cincinnati Reds 27 18 25 47 14
First place in NL Central, even though their run differential doesn’t support the strong play.
6 Philadelphia Phillies 25 26 8 45 2
Did anyone expect a resurgence from Jose Contreras; it seems like he does this every couple of years.
7 Toronto Blue Jays 21 23 21 43 3
It’s tough to be a Jay’s fan; they are playing great ball, but are stuck in third.
8 Atlanta Braves 17 22 29 41 10
The Braves have put it together recently and have their sights set on the Phillies.
9 STL Cardinals 24 25 1 41 8
2 injuries to one of the top rotations in baseball have the Cardinals looking at options.
10 Boston Red Sox 20 17 28 41 15
They are starting to look like the team everyone expected.
11 LA Dodgers 22 15 23 40 12
Oswalt’s name is popping up here, since their rotation needs help.
12 Texas Rangers 23 16 9 37 11
Bankruptcy can’t hold this team back right now; they think they might be able to pull of a move or 2.
13 Colorado Rockies 18 24 2 35 16
They have been pretty unlucky, but have to feel good running Ubaldo Jimenez out every 5 days.
14 Florida Marlins 13 19 24 34 9
The Marlins are really struggling and Freddi Gonzalez could be on the hot seat.
15 Detroit Tigers 19 14 15 33 7
A solid second place in a weak division; not good enough to over take the Twins, but good enough to stay above every one else.
16 NY Mets 15 21 12 33 18
The Mets have really been up and down recently; if they could pull a deal for Oswalt, they’d be in good shape.
17 San Francisco Giants 16 20 10 33 13
The Giants have been jumped by the Dodgers and Rockies in the standings; they need Buster Posey now.
18 Washington Nationals 12 11 20 26 17
They are starting to fall off, but they are still better than this time last year; Strasburg in Mid-June should help.
19 Oakland Athletics 14 12 11 26 21
They are above .500, so that has to count for something. Ben Sheets hasn’t helped with that much though.
20 Chicago Cubs 11 13 17 25 19
Lou’s probably not going to be fired, since his contract is up at the end of the season.
21 KC Royals 8 9 30 24 22
Their strong farm system could help this team by the end of the year; they won’t be in contention, but they look much improved.
22 LA Angels 10 6 18 20 20
The loss of John Lackey is hurting this team, along with the disappearance of Scott Kazmir’s arm.
23 Chicago White Sox 9 8 13 19 28
It’s never going to happen, but you have to wonder if Ozzie could be on the hot seat.
24 Seattle Mariners 4 7 22 16 25
Cliff Lee could be on the move again, with the Mariners playing much worse than any one thought they would be.
25 Cleveland Indians 3 4 26 14 24
They have a few trade chips here, but they’ll need a heathly Grady Sizemore to win (now or in the future).
26 Arizona Diamondbacks 7 5 7 13 27
Their formula for success may need to be called into question, as they are playing pretty bad for a second straight season.
27 Milwaukee Brewers 5 10 3 13 23
They were considered one of the teams that would be in contention in the NL Central; instead they will be considered sellers.
28 Pittsburgh Pirates 6 1 16 12 26
I can’t figure out how they can win when their run differential is so bad.
29 Houston Astros 2 2 19 10 29
The fire sale rumors are starting; can they get much for Oswalt and Berkman?
30 Baltimore Orioles 1 3 4 4 30
No surprise that they are still the worst team in the league (of course, most wouldn’t be surprised if Houston was either).

If the playoffs started today…

Playoffs Based on Record Playoffs Based of Run Differential
Division Team Division Team
AL East Rays AL East Rays
AL Central Twins AL Central Twins
AL West Rangers AL West Rangers
AL Wild Card Yankees AL Wild Card Yankees
NL East Phillies NL East Phillies
NL Central Reds NL Central Cardinals
NL West Padres NL West Padres
NL Wild Card Cardinals NL Wild Card Rockies