Friday, November 18, 2011

Power Ranks (1-5)

5. Louisville- AL (Previous Rank: 3)

Originally I still had my team sitting in the 3rd spot however an injury to a certain 2-Time Cy Young award winner has a way of bumping a franchise down. Peaches Meredith a very capable replacement & a dude with a great name, has been called up to replace Kinkade but it still represents a considerable down grade. The Sluggers are off to a good start at 8-5


4. Los Angeles- NL (Previous Rank: 4)

The Baja Racers didn’t make any big moves in free agency but have been active in the trade market. Especially with his most recent trade, the deal was a classic help me now for help me later. The Baja Racers picked up Zip Carrol which represents a large upgrade over Corey Gibson today while giving up parts for the future. Z. Carrol joins Rabbit Denny (another great name), V. Martin, & I. Cruz to form a very formidable top 4. The Baja Racers have started strong at 8-5

3. Little Rock- NL (Previous Rank: 5)

As mentioned previously it wasn’t going to take much to move Little Rock up the rankings, while the Renegades lost a lot of quality players to FA they were active in replacing them. Signing two elite arms to the bullpen in P. Onitveros & W. Perez, these signings should ease the lost of R. Santiago. In addition to pitching help Little Rock also picked up E. Johnson to play 3b & T. Montgomery as a versatile fielder. These FA additions and a track record of success give Little Rock the top spot back in the NL. Little Rock is off to a hot start at 9-4

2. San Francisco (Previous Rank: 1)

A couple things combined to drop San Fran from the top spot, limited activity in the FA market & a trade that sent Esteban Fernandez to Pawtucket. While the Night Demons added a strong RP for Fernandez, the reliever won’t contribute in the ML for a season or two. The loss of Fernandez takes some immediate punch out of the line-up. SF did add V. Evans, I am assuming to fill the Fernandez role, it is still a downgrade. All of the above said it is splitting hairs the difference between number 1 and 2. SF is off to an 8-5 start

1. New Britain (Previous Rank: 2)

As stated in the first Power Ranks, I was very hesitant to drop the 2-time defending champs from the first spot. NB only had one major FA signing but the Yorkies did pick-up one of the better RP in Hunter history in Sammy Cruz. That coupled with the SF moves was just enough to nip them back into first place. Their strong record of 10-3 out of the gate certainly doesn’t hurt either

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