VEB Power Poll, pre-Spring Training

by jd is legend on Feb 20, 2009 10:55 PM EST Comment 53 comments

Greetings, fellow VEB'ers!

As has been discussed in the Fox Power Poll thread, some of you have shown interest in creating a weekly power poll for this season. I'm volunteering my time each week to compile the results. I hope that doing this will accomplish two things. For one, I hope this will generate alot of discussion about the entire league once a week, while the rest of our time will be focused on our Cardinals. My other hope is that as many VEB members as possible will contribute to the poll.

The way I'm envisioning it working is that every Sunday, after the afternoon games, I will put up a FanPost asking for VEB input. The deadline will be noon central time Monday. At some point on that Monday, I will put up another FanPost, or maybe just a FanShot that shows the results of the poll, along with some other interesting (interesting, at least, to me) information such as each pollster's standard deviation from the total poll. For those who would be interested, I could divide the poll into an NL and an AL poll, but first and foremost, I'd like to have an entire MLB poll.

So how does this work? It's simple. All you have to do is type out your rankings in a readable way for me to input into an excel sheet. You do not have to comma-delimit the rankings (I'd actually prefer you didn't). My preferred format from you would be a line-by-line list of the teams, with the number rank in front of the team. For example:

1. Cardinals

You can give just the nickname, or the city name. I'm not planning on turning this into a CSV file or writing a program that compiles this. I'll be doing this all by hand. I don't think it will take too long, but if I find it to be too strenuous, I'll look into another way.

So, without further ado, I'm giving everyone until 5 PM central time on Tuesday, February 24 to submit his/her ballot for the pre-Spring Training poll. I'll post it sometime on Wednesday. If you have any questions, or if my description isn't clear enough, please ask. Have fun!

5 recs | Comment 53 comments

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List of Team names in format

xx – Angels
xx – A’s
xx – Astros
xx – Blue Jays
xx – Braves
xx – Brewers
xx – Cardinals
xx – Cubs
xx – Diamondbacks
xx – Dodgers
xx – Giants
xx – Indians
xx – Mariners
xx – Marlins
xx – Mets
xx – Nationals
xx – Orioles
xx – Padres
xx – Phillies
xx – Pirates
xx – Rangers
xx – Rays
xx – Red Sox
xx – Reds
xx – Rockies
xx – Royals
xx – Tigers
xx – Twins
xx – White Sox
xx – Yankees

by ubeddie on Feb 20, 2009 11:21 PM EST reply actions 2 recs

Thanks for doing that.

by spants on Feb 20, 2009 11:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ST rankings

1 – Yankees
2 – Phillies
3 – Red Sox
4 – Cubs
5 – Angels
6 – Rays
7 – White Sox
8 – Indians
9 – Mets
10 – Twins
11 – Cardinals
12 – Marlins
13 – Diamondbacks
14 – Dodgers
15 – Reds
16 – Tigers
17 – Braves
18 – A’s
19 – Brewers
20 – Giants
21 – Blue Jays
22 – Astros
23 – Rangers
24 – Royals
25 – Rockies
26 – Orioles
27 – Mariners
28 – Pirates
29 – Padres
30 – Nationals

by ubeddie on Feb 20, 2009 11:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

My ST rankings

1 – Yankees
2 – Red Sox
3 – Phillies
4 – Rays
5 – Mets
6 – Cubs
7 – Twins
8 – Angels
9 – Indians
10 – Cardinals
11 – Marlins
12 – White Sox
13 – A’s
14 – Dodgers
15 – Braves
16 – Blue Jays
17 – Tigers
18 – Diamondbacks
19 – Brewers
20 – Giants
21 – Reds
22 – Orioles
23 – Astros
24 – Rangers
25 – Royals
26 – Mariners
27 – Padres
28 – Rockies
29 – Pirates
30 – Nationals

by spants on Feb 20, 2009 11:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Mine

1-Rays
2-Red Sox
3-Yankees
4-Phillies
5-Cubs
6-Twins
7-A’s
8-White Sox
9-Angels
10-Cards
11-Mets
12-Dodgers
13-Indians
14-Blue Jays
15-Braves
16-Marlins
17-Reds
18-Diamondbacks
19-Brewers
20-Giants
21-Tigers
22-Royals
23-Rangers
24-Nationals
25-Orioles
26-Astros
27-Pirates
28-Padres
29-Rockies
30-Mariners

* sarcasm might be involved in this comment

and....BEN SHEETS!!! **

**not that BEN SHEETS might be involved in this comment, just BEN SHEETS!!!
(BEN SHEETS might be involved in this comment)

by mattyfrommo on Feb 21, 2009 12:45 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Spring Training Rankings

1 – Red Sox
2 – Rays
3 – Phillies
4 – Yankees
5 – Cubs
6 – Angels
7 – Mets
8 – Indians
9 – Twins
10 – Cardinals
11 – Marlins
12 – Blue Jays
13 – Tigers
14 – White Sox
15 – Diamondbacks
16 – Dodgers
17 – Brewers
18 – A’s
19 – Braves
20 – Astros
21 – Giants
22 – Reds
23 – Rangers
24 – Royals
25 – Rockies
26 – Orioles
27 – Pirates
28 – Mariners
29 – Nationals
30 – Padres

I thought about being a true optimist and ranking everyone tied for first. When I finally finished channeling my inner TLR, I decided the bottom five or six teams just aren’t that good.

by Beardsville Rockers on Feb 21, 2009 12:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

1 – Rays
2 – Red Sox
3 – Angels
4 – Yankees
5 – Cubs
6 – Phillies
7 – Twins
8 – Indians
9 – Mets
10 –Marlins
11 – White Sox
12 – Cardinals
13 – Blue Jays
14 – Diamondbacks
15 – Dodgers
16 – Brewers
17 – Tigers
18 – Braves
19 – Giants
20 – Rockies
21 – Reds
22 – Rangers
23 – A’s
24 – Orioles
25 – Astros
26 – Royals
27 – Padres
28 – Mariners
29 – Nationals
30 – Pirates

by WyoCardsFan on Feb 21, 2009 1:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

ST Rankings

1) Red Sox
2) Rays
3) Yankees
4) Cubs
5) Mets
6) Braves
7) Phillies
8) Athletics
9) Cardinals
10) Indians
11) Marlins
12) Twins
13) Blue Jays
14) Angels
15) Dodgers
16) White Sox
17) Brewers
18) Giants
19 Diamondbacks
20) Tigers
21) Reds
22) Orioles
23) Mariners
24) Rockies
25) Pirates
26) Astros
27) Rangers
28) Padres
29) Royals
30) Nationals

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 21, 2009 1:03 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

ST RANKINGS...

1. Angels (Losing KRod won’t hurt but they’ll miss TEX.)
2. Rays (Ton of good offseason FA signings. Nelson was a steal.)
3. Red Sux (The core group is aging but still near the top. More young talent is coming.
4. Yonkees (Burnett is Carl Pavano part deux.)
5. Phillies (Rotation is weaker than appears at 1st glance. The lineup is now too LH.)
6. Atlanta (Still need an OF or 3. Ankiel?)
7. Mets (Can’t believe they didn’t sign Manny to play LF.)
8. Cubs (Will regret trading DeRosa and signing Bradley. Fuku is awful.)
9. Cardinals
10. Marlins (1997…..2003…..2009. The rotation is there.)
11. Athletics (How will Holliday hit out of Coors? Gallager will break out.)
12. Indians (Have been having success in odd-numbered years)
13. Twins (Will battle with the Tribe in a weak division.)
14. Chi Sox (In transition)
15. D-Backs (Webb and Haren aren’t enough? Reynolds isn’t worth the Es and Ks)
16. Dodgers (Severe erosion after losing Manny?, Lowe)
17. Blue Jays (Pitching depth has been eroded)
18. Texas (Lots of young talent)
19. Houston (Good group of core players, but crappy pitching besides Oswalt and wand)
20. Giants (Tons of pitching but no offense)
21. Milwaukee (Fall far after losing 2 Aces)
22. Tigers (Close your eyes when they turn to their bullpen)
23. Mariners (Lost their best offensive player Ibanez from an already pathetic offense)
24. Reds (Baker and Jocketty are clueless, but there is talent here)
25. Orioles (same old story)
26. Royals (Replaced Nunez and Ramirez with Farnsworth?)
27. Rockies (Rotation could be good)
28. Padres (Still have the Peavy/Young 1 – 2 punch)
29. Nationals (At least they still seem to care)
30. Buccos. (Mabye one of their 14 total fans will read this.)

by Czechguardsman on Feb 21, 2009 2:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Can you explain to me how the Angels are 1st?

I’m not trying to be challenging, I would just like to hear you’re reasoning.

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 21, 2009 2:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I saw that the Angels were dropped a bit in other polls(1 as low as 14th.)

I still like the Angels as the best team in baseball right now. The rotation is set with Lackey/Santana/Saunders/Weaver/Escobar/Adenhart, and the setup corps of Shields/Arredondo/Fuentes is also elite.

Abreu is not a player of Texieras caliber but he’ll be a decent stopgap. Brandon Wood, Adenhart, and Kevin Jepsen should all emerge to play roles on the club. The Angels have the advantage of playing in a weak division that they can still dominate, though the As have improved. This team did win 100 games last year with only 2 months of Tex. I think that the Angels have the strongest case of any club to be considered a “lock” for the postseason.

by Czechguardsman on Feb 21, 2009 3:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The AL West is really up for grabs.

In the end, I think that the Athletics will actually take the division. It could very well be the Angels too.

My avatar is 3 years into the future for sure...

by Taskmaster on Feb 21, 2009 6:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It is really a tough call as to how well the As will play next year. I personally think that

they will have a good season. As much as the AL East and AL Central teams will beat up on eachother I think it is very likely the wildcard will come from the AL West.

I wanted to put the Yankees lower down in my poll. They look strong on paper but they are becoming an annual Potemkin village. The Yanks still have a number of holes and alot of aging/injury issues.

by Czechguardsman on Feb 21, 2009 10:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm confused

Is your ranking by best projected record, or by probability to make the playoffs.

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 21, 2009 10:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Best Projected Record.

(Sorry for not using the format listed above. I didn’t notice it at first.)

by Czechguardsman on Feb 22, 2009 2:03 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Then I really have to question your process

The Angels are going to be in a fight to win there own mediocre divsion. Do you really think that they are better than the Red Sox, Yankee’s or the Rays? You should take a look at these standing from last year. The Angels were essentially the 6th best team in the AL. The have replaced Texiera with Abreu and K-Rod (overrated but still excellent) with Fuentes, so they have clearly not improved.

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 22, 2009 2:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

His thought might be

that wins will come easier against their division.

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Feb 22, 2009 2:50 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

third order wins covers that

I think

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 22, 2009 2:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I will not back down from my choice to rank Anaheim 1st.

I fully acknowledge the fact that with replacing K-Rod and Tex with Abreu and Fuentes the Angels have at best broke even. As the Angels are now I think that they stack up with any club in the AL East. I feel more that alot of guys already in their system like Wood, Aybar, Arredondo, Adenhart etc… will improve. Kelvim Escobar is coming back. Their starting rotation is quite formidable and Arredondo and Fuentes will form an intimidating 9th inning combo.

Anaheim only had Texiera for the last 2 months of last year, and they were well on their way to 100 wins before picking him up. Yes, the Angels will rack up some cheap wins in their division but overall I think that their club is better and more balanced then the aforementioned AL East clubs.

by Czechguardsman on Feb 22, 2009 3:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The point is

that there 100 wins were a mask for what was actually a pretty average team. Using there run differential and there 3rd oder wins, they actually were more like a 84-88 win team. I do respect you’re opinion, but you can’t just say that they will be good next year because they won 100 games last year.

Anyway, PECOTA projects the Angels for just 84 wins next year. Another very thorough standings projection pegs them for 91 wins. I think that they are probably somewhere along the lines of a 84-91 win team.

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 22, 2009 4:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I totally get what your saying and I respect and understand the

pythagorian chart you showed and apparently the Angels got very lucky last year. Its not realistic to expect 100 wins again but I’ll call 92 or 93 wins and a postseason berth.

I’ll favor and stack Lackey/Escobar/Santana/Saunders against anyone’s rotation, including the Yankees. I think that the Red Sox, despite the infusion of some young talent are starting to look old and the Yankess are still a house of cards with a ton of holes and injury/aging questions. I personally predict a sophomore slump for the Rays.

The O’s and Jays are going to be tough clubs to beat on a game to game basis, despite the fact that the former has no pitching and the latter has a weak offense. The RedSox, Rays, and Yankees will obviously wear eachother down and suck wins from eachother.

by Czechguardsman on Feb 22, 2009 4:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh boy...

1 – Rays
2 – Yankees
3 – Red Sox
4 – Mets
5 – Angels
6 – Phillies
7 – Cubs
8 – Indians
9 – Twins
10 – A’s
11 – Cardinals
12– Blue Jays
13 – Rangers
14 – Dodgers
15 – Marlins
16– Brewers
17 – Braves
18 – Giants
19 – Astros
20– Diamondbacks
21 – Tigers
22– White Sox
23 – Orioles
24 – Royals
25 – Nationals
26 – Reds
27 – Rockies
28 – Mariners
29 – Pirates
30 – Padres

Chuck Norris bows to no man...but he does bow to The Mang.

by miniboscorino on Feb 21, 2009 3:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

1-Red Sox
2-Rays
3-Yankees
4-Mets
5-Phillies
6-Cubs
7-Blue Jays
8-Athletics
9-Cardinals
10-Twins
11-Angels
12-Dodgers
13-Indians
14-Braves
15-Diamondbacks
16-Rockies
17-Rangers
18-Brewers
19-Giants
20-White Sox
21-Astros
22-Mariners
23-Marlins
24-Reds
25-Orioles
26-Royals
27-Tigers
28-Pirates
29-Nationals
30-Padres

"Statistics mean nothing to the individual"
"You are what you eat and you clearly went out and devoured a big fat guy"

by jacksonian on Feb 21, 2009 3:21 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Sure - this sounds fun.

I’ll give it a go.

1 – Rays
2 – Yankees (as much as I don’t think they’re going to do that well — so good on paper)
3 – Angels
4 – Cubs
5 – Phillies
6 – Red Sox
7 – White Sox
8 – Indians
9 –Twins
10 – Cardinals
11 – Mets
12 – Braves
13 – Diamondbacks
14 – Dodgers
15 – Marlins
16 – Tigers
17 – A’s
18 – Brewers
19 – Giants
20 – Rangers
21 – Blue Jays
22 – Reds
23 – Astros
24 – Mariners
25 – Royals
26 – Padres
27 – Rockies
28 – Orioles
29 – Pirates
30 – Nationals

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Feb 21, 2009 4:24 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

ST Power Rankings

1- Rays
2- Yankees
3- Phillies
4- Red Sox
5- Angels
6- Mets
7- Cubs
8- Indians
9- Braves
10- Cardinals
11- Twins
12- D-Backs
13- Marlins
14- A’s
15- White Sox
16- Astros
17- Blue Jays
18- Dodgers
19- Giants
20- Brewers
21- Tigers
22- Royals
23- Rockies
24- Orioles
25- Padres
26- Reds
27- Nationals
28- Mariners
29- Rangers
30- Pirates

Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...

by RunninRedbird on Feb 21, 2009 8:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

1. Yankees
2. Rays
3. Red Sox
4. Mets
5. Phillies
6. Angels
7. Cubs
8. Indians
9. Cardinals
10. Tigers
11. A’s
12. Blue Jays
13. Diamondbacks
14. Dodgers
15. Giants
16. Twins
17. Braves
18. White Sox
19. Brewers
20. Marlins
21. Astros
22. Rockies
23. Reds
24. Orioles
25. Rangers
26. Nationals
27. Mariners
28. Royals
29. Padres
30. Pirates

by rannpb on Feb 21, 2009 10:20 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for doing this, JD.

But I really think you’ll end up wanting it in a CSV file

1. Yankees
2. Red Sox
3. Rays
4. Cubs
5. Mets
6. D-backs
7. Angels
8. Phillies
9. Braves
10. Dodgers
11. A’s
12. Indians
13. Tigers
14. Blue Jays
15. Brewers
16. Twins
17. Cardinals
18. Reds
19. Rangers
20. Giants
21. Astros
22. Royals
23. Rockies
24. Orioles
25. White Sox
26. Marlins
27. Mariners
28. Padres
29. Nationals
30. Pirates

by chuckb on Feb 21, 2009 10:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

That may be

But I couldn’t think of a way to do it that would be easy for the “pollsters.” My original CSV idea was to have all the teams in alphabetical order, then place their rank in comma-delimited format (7,19,22,3,14,etc.). However, with 30 teams, that seems to leave too much room for error, and it may deter some users from participating, because it’s too much work. If you (or anyone else) have any ideas on how to make this easier for me while maximizing user participation, I’m all ears.

The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs

by jd is legend on Feb 21, 2009 11:10 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

what you really need is

a nice user interface that makes it easy for anyone making the rankings to make their list, while spitting out data in csv format. call me a nerd, but that would be really fun to build.

by ecaw1123 on Feb 21, 2009 11:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not that good at programming to come up with that

I’m not sure how SB nation would respond to a GUI like that either. However, if you can build it, I’ll give you all the credit!

The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs

by jd is legend on Feb 21, 2009 12:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i would be willing

maybe give me some time to mess around with it and get something together and i’ll let you know how feasible it’s going to be. i’m thinking it would have to be hosted outside of SB nation, since i doubt they are going to let us put something up on their servers.

by ecaw1123 on Feb 21, 2009 9:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

17 chuck?

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 21, 2009 9:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

he lives in Houston...

what do you expect?

"Baseball is dull only to dull minds." - Red Barber

by nomar34 on Feb 22, 2009 12:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sure I really based it

on projected record. There’s a good chance ours will be better than the Jays, for example, simply due to the difference in divisions and leagues. So I think we might have the 10th or 11th best record but really not be as good as some of those other teams. Who knows? it’s the first one.

by chuckb on Feb 23, 2009 10:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with that

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 23, 2009 10:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Power Rankings

1 – Red Sox
2 – Rays
3 – Yankees
4 – Cubs
5 – Mets
6 – Phillies
7 – Indians
8 – Dodgers
9 – Angels
10 – Cardinals
11 – Giants
12 – Twins
13 – Blue Jays
14 – A’s
15 – Braves
16 – Tigers
17 – D’backs
18 – Brewers
19 – Marlins
20 – Orioles
21 – Reds
22 – Rockies
23 – Mariners
24 – Rangers
25 – Royals
26 – White Sox
27 – Astros
28 – Pirates
29 – Padres
30 – Nationals

"Baseball is dull only to dull minds." - Red Barber

by nomar34 on Feb 22, 2009 12:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Very early Power Rankings.

1-Yankees
2- Phillies
3- Cubs
4- Mets
5- Red Sox
6- Rays
7- Angels
8- Dodgers
9- Indians
10- Giants
11- Twins
12- Cardinals
13- White Sox
14- Diamondbacks
15- Marlins
16- Astros
17- A’s
18- Brewers
19- Braves
20- Blue Jays
21- Royals
22- Tigers
23- Reds
24- Rangers
25- Orioles
26- Rockies
27- Mariners
28- Padres
29- Nationals
30- Pirates

If the Cards had a legit closer right now and another starter to replace Carp if needed, they would be a top 10 team for sure. But too many question marks to earn a top 10 spot.
I think the Giants are going to be a suprise contender this season.
The Red Sox are going to disapoint the Bean-town fans this year.
I think the Royals will be in contention through early September. They will be a suprise team in 2009.

We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there.

by KYCards on Feb 22, 2009 1:28 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I totally agree about the Red Sox.

They’re aging and haven’t really added much.

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Feb 23, 2009 1:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree

They had the best team in the majors last year by Pythag record and Third Order Wins. They may be aging, but they also have some young players (Lowrie, Lester, Buckholz) who should improve next year, and a lot of proven veterans who had injury or performance problems. David Oritz went from one of the top 3 hitters in the game over the last 4-5 years, to becoming slightly less productive offensively than Chris Iannetta last year. That may have been due to decline, but more likely it was due to his wrist injury. If it is in fact a sign of a true delcine, that that would be very surprising.

Furthermore, they added some potentially huge upgrades in Smoltz, Penny, Saito and Baldelli. All of those players come with a lot of risk, but even if only 1 or 2 of them work out, they will be a better team on paper than they were last year.

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 23, 2009 1:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I honestly don't see a single one

of those four working out to be anything of a difference maker. Penny might do a little bit, but that’d be a break for them.

On with the (good) youth movement!

by aet15 on Feb 24, 2009 5:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Smoltz will come back in july I think

If he is as good as he was before he got injured than he will be one of the better starters in the league.

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 24, 2009 6:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Indians

1 – Indians
2 – Rays
3 – Phillies
4 – Yankees
5 – Red Sox
6 – Cardinals
7 – Cubs
8 – Angels
9 – Mets
10 – Braves
11 – White Sox
12 – Twins
13 – Marlins
14 – Reds
15 – Giants
16 – Dodgers
17 – Diamondbacks
18 – Rangers
19 – A’s
20 – Orioles
21 – Blue Jays
22 – Brewers
23 – Tigers
24 – Pirates
25 – Rockies
26 – Astros
27 – Royals
28 – Mariners
29 – Nationals
30 – Padres

The Indians are going to be tough. Lee, Carmona, Westbrook, Reyes, Pavano/Laffey/Sowers, an improved bullpen with Wood closing (other relievers will slot better than last season), the addition of Derosa, a healthy Victor Martinez, the possibility of Matt LaPorta hitting, Hafner’s claimed improved physique, the outstanding Grady Sizemore (I hope Colby follows those footsteps). Reyes will probably win 15 games in Cleveland…

by Jumsy on Feb 23, 2009 12:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

now that would be interesting

vivaelbeñsheets

by vivaelpujols on Feb 23, 2009 12:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I have the Indians picked

as my team to win the AL Central. I slotted them at 8th, but I agree they will be a force this year.

Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...

by RunninRedbird on Feb 23, 2009 2:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree the indians will be much better this year...

And in a weaki-ish league, but no way can I see them being the best team in baseball or even having the best W/L record (even with the opportunity to beat up on Kansas all year).

Their rotation pales against the Rays and Yanks, and I don’t think they have the best position players either. Good pen, though, if Wood stays fit.

Because chicks dig the intentional base on balls.

by Felonius_Monk on Feb 25, 2009 12:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Blind-Throwing-At-The-Dartboard Power Rankings:

1.Rays
2.Red Sox
3.Cubs
4.Yankees
5.Phillies
6.Angels
7.Mets
8.A’s
9.Blue Jays
10.Indians
11.Cardinals
12.Dodgers
13.Braves
14.Twins
15.Brewers
16.Diamondbacks
17.White Sox
18.Astros
19.Marlins
20.Rockies
21.Giants
22.Tigers
23.Royals
24.Reds
25.Orioles
26.Mariners
27.Rangers
28.Nationals
29.Padres
30.Pirates

Honi soit qui mal y pense.

by palampe on Feb 23, 2009 3:00 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

wow...

you must be a really good dart player when blindfolded…me, im better at them when i have had a beer or six…

"Baseball is dull only to dull minds." - Red Barber

by nomar34 on Feb 24, 2009 11:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Are you kidding?

He has the Cubs at third!!! Someone must have shouted at him when he was tossing that dart, and he flinched.

Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...

by RunninRedbird on Feb 24, 2009 1:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

My shot

1. Rays
2.Red Sox
3.Mets
4.Cubs
5. Angels
6.Yankees
7.Cardinals
8.Indians
9.Phillies
10.Diamondbacks
11. Marlins
12.Twins
13.White Sox
14.Braves
15.Tigers
16.A’s
17.Brewers
18.Blue Jays
19. Dodgers
20.Rockies
21.Reds
22.Astros
23.Giants
24.Royals
25.Rangers
26.Nationals
27.Padres
28.mariners
29.Orioles
30.Pirates

I think the Rays are going to dominate this year, too much depth, good power additions, and still young and hungry talent. I don’t like the Red Sox, but I can’t put them lower than this because they still have too much. I hate putting the Cubs anywhere above the Cards, but we will just have to kick them out of the wild card. I am optimistic about the Cardinals—probably too much so, but I think Schu will do better than expected and our young guys to perform well. Obviously, I hope Carp and Wain are the heroes in reality just as they are in our hearts. (corny I know). Anyways..lets hope for a good fun season anyways. I am going to the ST game on the 8th of March, i am excited.

by ADMDrayson on Feb 23, 2009 4:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I just can't say how much I hate putting the Yankees at the top

1-Yankees
2-Red Sox
3-Rays
4-Phillies
5-Angels
6-Cubs
7-Twins
8-Indians
9-A’s
10-White Sox
11-Mets
12-Cards
13-Dodgers
14-Blue Jays
15-Braves
16-Marlins
17-Brewers
18-Reds
19-Tigers
20-Diamondbacks
21-Giants
22-Rangers
23-Royals
24-Orioles
25-Astros
26-Rockies
27-Padres
28-Pirates
29-Nationals
30-Mariners

by random on Feb 24, 2009 2:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Just stay away from the puppies!

Patiently awaiting the day Colby Rasmus does this: .275/.381/.551/.932, 29HR, in St. Louis...

by RunninRedbird on Feb 24, 2009 4:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

effin' puppies, effin' Yankees

gotta go find a file and sharpen my claws…

"That annoys the you-know-what out of me." - Bud Selig

by random on Feb 24, 2009 9:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

my rankings

1-Phillies
2-Rays
3-Yankees
4-Red Sox
5-Angels
6-Braves
7-Cubs
8 -Cardinals
9-Indians
10-Marlins
11-Mets
12-Twins
13-Dodgers
14-A’s
15-Blue Jays
16-Royals
17-Diamondbacks
18-Giants
19-White Sox
20-Reds
21-Rangers
22-Tigers
23Rockies
24Padres
25 Orioles
26Brewers
27Astros
28Nationals
29 Pirates
30 Mariners