“When you get guys out, you’re big. When you don’t get guys out, you’re fat.”
–White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on struggling closer Bobby Jenks (Arlington Heights Daily Herald).
A week and a half down, too many more to go. I know I was going to put up the pitcher rankings, but work and a new house have slowed that down. All the players are ranked, but I haven’t had a chance to say anything about the players (e-mail me if you would like a copy of them).
This week I’m going into my bi-weekly team rankings. For the rankings, I have weighed the current record/standing, Bill James’s Pythagorean record (comparing runs scored and runs allowed), and the team’s Farm System. The team with the best record/Pythagorean Record/Farm System received 30 points, while the last received 1. All standings and stats are as of Thursday morning.
First off for the team records, remember there is only a small sample size. You can’t expect the Braves to stay below .500 or the Tigers to be one of the better team in the AL. This part of the rankings will fluctuate for the next couple of columns.
Bill James’s Pythagorean Record Theory takes the runs a team scores and the runs a team gives up and formulates what the team should do over a season. The formula is:
Runs Scored squared (RS^2) divided by Runs Scored squared plus Runs Allowed squared (RS^2 + RA^2) multiplied by 162 games.
This does not actually predict how a team will do, but predicts more of what a team is capable of.
While the farm system may not impact a team right away, I feel that it should be reflected on the team as a whole. For the first installment, I have used Baseball America’s Farm System Rankings from the most recent Prospect Handbook. As the season goes on, I will adjust the systems according to overall records.
The Official Riding the Pine… Power Rankings
1. Cleveland Indians (75 pts.)
Record 6-2, 28 pts.
Pythagorean 102-60, 25 pts.
Farm System 22
2. Boston Red Sox (74 pts.)
Record 6-2, 29 pts.
Pythagorean 96-66, 22 pts.
Farm System 23
3. Detroit Tigers (72 pts.)
Record 5-3, 24 pts.
Pythagorean 125-37, 30 pts.
Farm System 18
4. Arizona Diamondbacks (72 pts.)
Record 4-4, 15 pts.
Pythagorean 109-53, 27 pts.
Farm System 30
5. Chicago Cubs (69 pts.)
Record 5-2, 27 pts.
Pythagorean 106-56, 26 pts.
Farm System 16
6. Colorado Rockies (67 pts.)
Record 5-3, 23 pts.
Pythagorean 102-60, 24 pts.
Farm System 20
7. New York Mets (62 pts.)
Record 6-1, 30 pts.
Pythagorean 122-40, 29 pts.
Farm System 3
8. Los Angeles Dodgers (60 pts.)
Record 4-5, 11 pts.
Pythagorean 84-78, 20 pts.
Farm System 29
9. New York Yankees (59 pts.)
Record 4-4, 17 pts.
Pythagorean 116-46, 28 pts.
Farm System 14
10. St. Louis Cardinals (54 pts.)
Record 5-3, 21 pts.
Pythagorean 100-62, 23 pts.
Farm System 10
11. Milwaukee Brewers (54 pts.)
Record 5-3, 20 pts.
Pythagorean 69-93, 8 pts.
Farm System 26
12. Baltimore Orioles (53 pts.)
Record 4-5, 13 pts.
Pythagorean 89-73, 21 pts.
Farm System 19
13. Atlanta Braves (52 pts.)
Record 4-5, 9 pts.
Pythagorean 81-81, 19 pts.
Farm System 24
14. Houston Astros (52 pts.)
Record 5-2, 26 pts.
Pythagorean 79-83, 15 pts.
Farm System 11
15. San Francisco Giants (52 pts.)
Record 4-2, 25 pts.
Pythagorean 76-86, 14 pts.
Farm System 13
16. Los Angeles Angels (51 pts.)
Record 5-4, 18 pts.
Pythagorean 59-103, 6 pts.
Farm System 27
17. Chicago White Sox (49 pts.)
Record 4-4, 16 pts.
Pythagorean 79-83, 16 pts.
Farm System 17
18. Minnesota Twins (44 pts.)
Record 3-5, 7 pts.
Pythagorean 75-87, 12 pts.
Farm System 25
19. Cincinnati Reds (41 pts.)
Record 5-3, 22 pts.
Pythagorean 79-83, 18 pts.
Farm System 1
20. Toronto Blue Jays (37 pts.)
Record 4-4, 14 pts.
Pythagorean 79-83, 17 pts.
Farm System 6
21. Oakland Athletics (37 pts.)
Record 5-4, 19 pts.
Pythagorean 75-87, 13 pts.
Farm System 5
22. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (36 pts.)
Record 4-5, 10 pts.
Pythagorean 59-103, 5 pts.
Farm System 21
23. Florida Marlins (32 pts.)
Record 1-6, 1 pts.
Pythagorean 54-108, 3 pts.
Farm System 28
24. Texas Rangers (30 pts.)
Record 3-7, 6 pts.
Pythagorean 69-93, 9 pts.
Farm System 15
25. Seattle Mariners (27 pts.)
Record 4-5, 12 pts.
Pythagorean 73-89, 11 pts.
Farm System 4
26. Pittsburgh Pirates (27 pts.)
Record 3-7, 5 pts.
Pythagorean 70-92, 10 pts.
Farm System 12
27. San Diego Padres (17 pts.)
Record 3-4, 8 pts.
Pythagorean 68-94, 7 pts.
Farm System 2
28. Philadelphia Phillies (14 pts.)
Record 2-6, 3 pts.
Pythagorean 52-110, 2 pts.
Farm System 9
29. Washington Nationals (13 pts.)
Record 2-7, 2 pts.
Pythagorean 54-108, 4 pts.
Farm System 7
30. Kansas City Royals (13 pts.)
Record 2-5, 4 pts.
Pythagorean 46-166, 1 pts.
Farm System 8
That’s it this week. Don’t like where your team is at, let me know. E-mail me or post your opinions in the forum (we need more reader interaction there).
Check out the other fine articles in the sports section (it’s getting late, so I’m not linking them) and the rest of the site. I’ll be back next week with something completely different.
