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Rk Team
Overall WL
Week WL
Comment

1


Yankees
72-43
6-1
.610
Up
That’s Why They Pay ‘Em the Big Bucks: The Yankees claim the top spot for the first time since Opening Day, as A.J. Burnett (7.2 1 0 0 6 6) and CC Sabathia (7.2 2 0 0 2 9) help them knit together a 31-inning scoreless streak amid a four-game sweep of the Red Sox; they outscore their rivals by a combined 25-8 score across the series. Alex Rodriguez belts two key homers, one breaking a scoreless tie in the 15th inning, the other doing the same in the seventh frame. Contrary to his reputation, Rodriguez has actually been quite clutch this year; twelve of his 21 homers and 34 of his 63 RBI have either tied the game or given the Yanks the lead, and he’s leading the league in shutting up.

2


Dodgers
69-46
2-4
.609
Down
Tightening Up: Despite allowing just two runs in 11 frames, Chad Billingsley departs his second start in a row with hamstring issues which will cost him a start and perhaps a trip to the DL. He may need the rest, as he’s been lit for a 6.14 ERA while averaging just under five innings per start since July 4. Also showing signs of wear is the bullpen, which has been rocked for a 4.87 ERA this month, with Ramon Troncoso and Guillermo Mota both carrying double-digit ERAs. Amid these woes, the Dodgers’ division lead shrinks to just five games, their smallest margin since May 14.

3


Rays
61-53
1-5
.568
Down
There’s No Crying in the AL East: A rough week sends the Rays 10½ back in the AL East and four back in the Wild Card; their Playoff Odds have tumbled from 50.3 percent to 25.8 percent since Sunday. The pitching staff is strafed for 7.7 runs per game for the week, with Scott Kazmir (6.50 ERA, .419 SNWP) and David Price (5.13 ERA, .449 SNWP) again failing to pull their weight, and the bullpen taking three losses as well. The staff just isn’t as effective as last year, ranking seventh in the league in both SNLVAR and WXRL this year, compared to third and first last year.

4


Rockies
64-51
5-2
.563
Up
Five Tulo: Troy Tulowitzki joins Dante Bichette, Neifi Perez, Todd Helton, and Mike Lansing as the fifth player in Rockies history to hit for the cycle; he goes 5-for-5 with seven RBI for the night, not to mention the first of three homers for the week. He’s hitting .357/.434/.714 since the All-Star break, and the Rox are now closer to the top of the NL West than they’ve been since late April.

5


Red Sox
65-49
3-4
.563
Down
Red Ass, Red Face: Kevin Youkilis charges the mound after being hit by a pitch for the second game in a row, earning a five-game suspension that he takes lying down (and he wonders why he’s the designated payback target with fighting skillz like that?). Even with the team’s recent roster shuffle, it’s a bad time to go Youk-less for a team whose offense-aside from one 18-run outpouring-is averaging just 4.2 runs per game since the All-Star break. Their offensive drought includes a 31-inning dry spell amid a four-game sweep by the Yanks in which the Sox manage just eight runs on .174/.300/.250 hitting.

6


Angels
68-44
4-2
.555
Flat
Return of the Impaler: Vlad Guerrero bashes four homers in a five-game span, including a pair against the Rays, one of them the game-winner. Those four homers match his pre-injury output; he’s hitting .375/.412/.750 since returning from a four-week stay on the DL on August 4. The Halos continue to hammer opponents into submission with their 6.8 runs per game output in the second half; they need to average just 4.6 runs per game over their final 50 games to break the franchise record.

7


Rangers
64-49
4-2
.547
Up
You Don’t Have to Go Home But You Gotta Flotilla the Hell Out of Here: The Rangers move within a half-game of the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card chase thanks in part to Derek Holland‘s first career shutout (9 3 0 0 1 8), and they send Vicente Padilla and his ugly stat line (4.92 ERA, .488 SNWP, 4.9 K/9) packing after a final shellacking. Despite their low strikeout rate (6.1 per nine, 13th in the league), the team now ranks second in the league in SNLVAR-and not coincidentally, second in Defensive Efficiency as well.

8


Phillies
64-48
3-3
.546
Down
Pedro Martinez gets the win in his Phillies debut (5 7 3 3 1 5), a performance sullied only by fifth-inning struggles while protecting a 12-1 lead. Not everyone is happy to see him, however, particularly Jamie Moyer, who complains he was somehow misled when the team shelled out a record-setting two-year, $13 million deal to a 46-year-old and expected competence in return. The ancient Phil was unaware of an even more ancient custom where sucking-a 5.47 ERA and a .435 SNWP, in this case-can cost one his job.

9


Braves
60-54
5-0
.541
Up
The Real Heroes: Ryan Church and Kelly Johnson homer in extra innings on back-to-back nights against the Dodgers, kicking off a five-game winning streak that pushes the Braves to a season-high six games above .500. Despite those heroics, it’s the pitching staff who have spurred the team’s 17-9 second-half run; they’ve put up a 3.03 ERA, with all five starters under 3.70, and relievers Mike Gonzalez, Peter Moylan, and Kris Medlen combining to allow just two runs in 39 innings while whiffing 45.

10


Cardinals
64-52
5-1
.535
Up
Every Day’s a Holliday: Matt Holliday continues his tear, and the Cardinals retake sole possession of first place in the NL Central. Holliday goes 13-for-23 on the week with five multi-hit games; he’s now hitting .486/.519/.800 with 34 hits in 18 games since being acquired, and .446/.484/.777 with 50 hits in 28 games dating back to July 11. The Cardinals are cranking out 4.9 runs per game since his arrival, compared to 4.4 prior.

11


Giants
62-52
2-4
.525
Down
Eugenius: Despite hitting a searing .382/.417/.588 in 72 PA and starting at four positions since being recalled from the minors, Eugenio Velez sets the Giants back and reminds why he’s not their regular second baseman when he makes a key error on a potential double-play ball, opening the floodgates in a loss to the Dodgers. The defeat costs the Giants the series and helps push them down to third place in the NL West, and 1½ games back in the wild-card chase.

12


Blue Jays
54-59
3-3
.522
Flat
Talentless: J.P. Ricciardi makes the biggest salary dump in baseball history when he lets Alex Rios go to the White Sox via waivers for nothing but salary relief from the $61 million remaining on his contract through (gulp) 2014. It’s a move which obviously saves the Jays a pretty penny, but it’s merely the latest embarrassing gaffe in a series which has seen the GM’s name become synonymous with awful contracts, not to mention some awkward attempts to evade their full impact. On the field, Marco Scutaro continues to be the exception that proves the rule when it comes to Ricciardi’s penchant for buying high; he’s hitting .296/.387/.441 and ranking in the top five in both walks and runs while earning a base salary of $1.1 million.

13


White Sox
58-57
2-4
.510
Down
My Final Offer is… Nothing: The White Sox score themselves a potential long-term solution in center field by claiming Alex Rios on waivers from the Blue Jays and refusing to submit to J.P. Ricciardi’s demands of any talent in return to offset the $61 million remaining on his deal. It’s a bold and obviously costly move, but his defensive numbers suggest he can cover the middle pasture which more easily justifies the investment in a 28-year-old hitting to a .275 EqA tune in a down year. Add in the fact that Jake Peavy is beginning a rehab assignment, and it’s clear the AL Central race is about to get interesting.

14


Marlins
61-54
6-1
.510
Up
Vital Cogh: Chris Coghlan helps the Marlins complete a three-game sweep of the Phillies with a leadoff homer off of Cole Hamels, followed by a four-hit afternoon. Coghlan’s been on fire since the calender turned to August, hitting .526/.640/1.166 with 23 hits in 11 games, including eight multi-hit games in a row. Between that streak, the arrival of Nick Johnson, and the benching of Emilio Bonifacio, the Fish are averaging 6.5 runs per game this month, though they’ve allowed just as many runs, and their overall run differential remains in the red.

15


Cubs
58-55
1-6
.504
Down
Unfriendly Confines: A moronic Cubs fan tosses a beer on Shane Victorino mid-catch, but it’s the Cubs who end up all wet as they’re swept by the Phillies in Wrigley. Losers of five in a row and seven out of eight, they tumble out of a share for first place in the NL Central, and along the way they send Carlos Zambrano to the DL and Aramis Ramirez to the trainer’s table. The Cubs are 25-17 in games in which Ramirez has started, 33-38 in games he hasn’t, with his replacements hitting a combined .242/.319/.420.

16


Twins
55-59
2-4
.501
Flat
No Idle Threat: Acquired for a PTBNL the day before and apparently uninjured in transit, Carl Pavano shuts down Detroit for seven innings in his Twins debut; he’s now tamed the Tigers four times this year, three of them within a month, putting up a 1.48 ERA and 18/1 K/BB in 30 1/3 innings. Of course, that means he’s put up a 6.21 ERA against everyone else, but when you’re trying to contend with a rotation that’s giving you a 48 percent chance of winning on any given day, beggars can’t be choosers.

17


Tigers
60-54
3-4
.498
Down
Money for Maggs: Just 12-15 since the All-Star break, the Tigers continue to play uneven ball. Their offense is averaging just 4.0 runs per game in the second half, and that’s even with Magglio Ordoñez hitting a relatively robust .306/.342/.528. The bigger problem regarding Ordoñez is that despite Jim Leyland’s stated intent to platoon the former slugger, Ordoñez now needs just 84 PA over the team’s final 48 games for his $18 million option to vest, a gruesome proposition given his .271/.335/.383 overall line; “former” is apt. The math might work out such that the marginal value of a playoff appearance exceeds that of the option, but for a team that could use the financial flexibility, the situation was preventable nonetheless.

18


Diamondbacks
52-63
2-4
.492
Down
The Wind Machine and the Four Winds: Despite his 218-strikeout pace, Mark Reynolds homers in four straight games, pushing his season total to 36 (second in the league) and helping raise his slugging percentage to .600 (third). Not to be outdone, rookie Trent Oeltjen homers three times in his first four games, then follows it with a four-hit effort in victory. Elsewhere, the 2009 Diamondbacks continue to scatter, with slumping Chris B. Young schlepping his .194/.297/.359 line to Triple-A Reno, tragedy-stricken Scott Schoeneweis landing on the DL due to depression, and the ever-injured Tom Gordon getting released after just three appearances.

19


Mariners
60-55
4-3
.488
Flat
This Guy’s Nuts: Adrian Beltre‘s 16-for-36 streak-and perhaps his season-comes to an end when an errant one-hopper strikes him in the groin; unbelievably enough, he apparently wasn’t wearing a cup, so he may need surgery to stop the internal bleeding. More definitively shelved for the year is Erik Bedard, who’s headed for another shoulder surgery; he’s put up a 3.23 ERA in 30 starts as a Mariner, but will have spent more than half of his two seasons with the club on the DL.

20


Indians
49-65
3-3
.473
Flat
No Laffey Matter: Aaron Laffey contributes to a combined shutout against the Rangers, the third time in four starts he’s pitched at least 6 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. Laffey’s 3.25 ERA and .589 SNWP are second only to the departed Cliff Lee, which makes him the staff ace in a Jeremy Guthrie kind of way. Elsewhere in the rotation, Carl Pavano escapes, Fausto Carmona breaks his string of eight straight starts with more walks than strikeouts (albeit in defeat), and Jake Westbrook suffers a season-ending setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.

21


Mets
53-61
2-4
.469
Down
No Drama: It’s a relatively uneventful week for the Mets, with no executive firings or pratfalls, just peace, quiet, and losing, as befits a team whose playoff odds have fallen below 0.2 percent. The team does reward those masochistic enough to still pay attention with another injury setback (Carlos Delgado) and some late-inning heartbreak, as Francisco Rodriguez yields five ninth-inning runs to the Padres in Petco, an occurrence whose extreme unlikelihood breaks the Baseball Prospectus Infinite Improbability Drive.

22


Brewers
56-58
2-4
.465
Flat
Break Up the Brewers: With his team having lost 13 of 21 and fallen further out of first place than they had all year, Doug Melvin takes a set of drastic measures. He options struggling J.J. Hardy to Triple-A and promotes top prospect Alcides Escobar; the veteran shortstop was hitting just .229/.300/.367 and has been slightly worse than that since the All-Star break. He DFAs Bill Hall despite still owing more than $10 million on the utilityman’s contract, but if .174/.248/.309 against righties in over 400 PA since the beginning of last year isn’t a firing offense, what is? Finally, he axes pitching coach Bill Castro in favor of Chris Bosio, some rough justice for a guy who wasn’t dealt a particularly good hand to begin with (Braden Looper + Yovani Gallardo ≠ CC Sabathia + Ben Sheets). It all adds up to too little, too late, particularly when one considers the rotation upgrades that Melvin might have secured when Hardy was coming off of last season (6.8 WARP).

23


Athletics
51-63
4-2
.465
Up
Brought to You by the Letter G: Gio Gonzalez pitches his second consecutive scoreless outing, helping the A’s win seven of 10. Since being pummeled for 11 runs in 2 2/3 innings on July 20, Gonzalez has yielded just four in 24 2/3 frames while striking out 26 and lowering his ERA from 9.33 to 5.57. Elsewhere the team cuts bait on Jason Giambi, who was hitting just .193/.332/.364 before landing on the DL due to a quad strain.

24


Astros
56-59
3-4
.453
Flat
The Pouncin’ Puma and the Punchless Pretenders: Fresh off the DL after a three-week absence due to a calf strain, Lance Berkman doubles twice in the first two innings to help the Astros jump out to a 6-0 lead en route to a blowout against the Marlins. Alas, the ‘Stros remain below .500; they went 6-12 in Berkman’s absence while averaging just 3.9 runs per game. Amid Berkman’s absences from the lineup, Darin Erstad, Chris Coste, Geoff Blum et al have combined to hit just .231/.292/.365. Where’s Mike Lamb when you need him?

25


Reds
50-64
4-3
.419
Up
Rolen Downhill: Scott Rolen lands on the DL after just four games in a Cincinnati uniform due to a concussion sustained after being beaned by Jason Marquis. Not that the injury could have been foreseen, but it only underscores the ridiculousness of acquiring him given the team’s aggressive pursuit of the NL Central basement. Meanwhile, Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo are likely stuck in Cincy for the duration, which at least means the latter won’t have to pack up his considerable stash.

26


Orioles
47-67
2-4
.419
Down
Mama Said There’d Be Weeks Like This: Chris Tillman throws his first major league quality start but loses, Brian Matusz gets shelled, and Matt Wieters fails to walk across water as the Orioles’ second-half record falls to 7-19. The youth movement isn’t getting much help from former staff ace Jeremy Guthrie, either; he’s been bombed for a 7.81 ERA over his last four starts, and his .436 SNWP ranks 78th among the 84 pitchers who’ve made at least 20 starts this year.

27


Padres
49-67
4-2
.416
Up
Back in the Swing of Things: Adrian Gonzalez goes 6-for-6 as part of a 22-hit onslaught. He’s hitting .333/.464/.644 since the All-Star break, and the Pads have now won 11 of 16. On the other side of the coin, prospect-turned-suspect Cesar Carillo gets a rude welcome to the big leagues: 2.1 4 8 8 2 1 with three homers allowed, two by previously homerless Mike Rivera.

28


Pirates
46-68
1-5
.414
Down
Ross the Boss: Ross Ohlendorf stops an eight-game losing streak with a strong six-inning showing at Coors Field. The ‘Dorf has put together four straight quality starts with a 2.96 ERA, but in and around that, the Pirates have dropped 15 of 18 while scoring just 3.0 runs per game and allowing 5.9. Yes, the circus has left town, but still…

29


Nationals
40-75
3-3
.411
Flat
The Nats’ season-high winning streak reaches eight games, but the joy is tempered by the news that Jordan Zimmermann will undergo Tommy John surgery, likely costing him all of 2010. The 23-year-old put up a 4.63 ERA and .448 SNWP in 16 starts but missed plenty of bats while showing outstanding control (9.1 K/9, 3.2 K/BB). Speaking of pitching phenoms under Washington’s control, the deadline for overall #1 pick Stephen Strasburg’s signing draws nigh without any signs of progress.

30


Royals
45-69
3-3
.411
Up
The Royal Treatment: Kansas City’s offense breaks out for a dozen runsin support of Zack Greinke, one shy of what they’d given him in his previous seven starts combined. The outburst gives Greinke his first win in six weeks, a drought which will probably wind up costing him the AL Cy Young Award; though he still leads the league with a 2.43 ERA and a 6.1 SNLVAR, and is second in strikeouts at 167, he’s merely tied for eighth in wins at 11.

The Prospectus Hit List rankings are derived from Won-Loss records and several measurements pertaining to run differentials, both actual and adjusted, from Baseball Prospectus Adjusted Standings through the close of play on every Thursday.

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sbnirish77
8/14
Isn't it time to drop 'Boy Wonder' from the genius category given that he could barely field a 25 man roster last weekend?

Nearly having to turn to one of the ultimate sabermetic deadheads - Chritian Guzman - would have been the ultimate embarrasment for Theo.
jjaffe
8/14
Yes, one shortstop crisis and his inability to prevent a couple other injuries certainly outweigh the two world championships, five postseason appearances and .580 winning percentage he's put up during his tenure in Boston. I'm sure angry Red Sox fans are ready to tar and feather him.
sbnirish77
8/14
One shortstop crisis .. how about 4 failed attempts to fill the postion

a couple of injuries .. how about 5 signings of unhealthy players in the off seson

economical spending .. how about a few more years of Drew and the $100 mil sink hole Matsuzaka

need I go on ... then I'll refer you to the list of 10 things wrong with the Red Sox posted at the Globe site ...

if you're going to write a book and tell us how smart the Red Sox were in winning a championship then you need to balance that with a remotely accurate assessment of what is going on this year - culminating in last weeks performance.

Otherwise, the complaints about BIAS will only continue
Mountainhawk
8/14
I'm not a Red Sox fan but live in the area. I'm certainly getting the feeling the tide is turning on Epstein. I've even heard people say that Duquette is the one that deserves the credit for the titles, and Theo just got lucky joining at the right time. Not sure that's sure, but I think Epstein's welcome in Beantown has worn pretty thin.
jjaffe
8/14
How's this for a remotely accurate assessment: if the season ended today, the Red Sox would be in the postseason for the sixth time in seven years, a stretch equaled or exceeded during the expansion era only by the Yankees and Braves. They're the only team to win two championships during this young millennium. And like the Yankees, they're successful enough even to afford the occasional expensive mistake (Matsuzaka, Lugo), to say nothing of the relatively inexpensive risks that they took on the health of Penny, Smoltz, Saito and Baldelli.

Do the Red Sox have areas that could be fixed? Hell yes, but so does every other team, and most of them would gladly trade their problems for the ones the Sox have. Right now they're going through a rough stretch, and as a fan that gives me glee. But as an objective analyst, I'd say it's far too early to start fitting them for a postmortem.
sbnirish77
8/14
if the season ended today ...

BP would have picked the Red Sox (4), Indians (4), A's (3) a grand total of 11 times to win their divisions in the past 5 years and been right exactly TWICE.

hows that for an assessment of BP's prognostication
krissbeth
8/14
We knew what we were getting when we got JD Drew: a professional hitter and a strong defender who was going to miss 30-50 games a year. And that's exactly what we did get, so it's hard to call that a mistake.

A .370 to .400 OBP makes up for a lot... as does that grand slam against the Indians.

And as for that list: Jason Bay's slash stats are .259/.387/.521 so I'm surprised that the Globe called him ineffective, and cited only his batting average. And the pitching depth has evaporated? Does the bullpen somehow not count now? The Orioles should have our pitching "problems."
krissbeth
8/14
But if we stormed Fenway Park, Nick Green might get hurt!! And that wonderful man just can't be risked...
jessehoffins
8/14
Oh my god! This is the first real light shed into the mets recent woe's to date. I was trying to figure out why alex cora was batting with a fish.
sweptaway3641
8/14
Braves with a big chance to clinch the Third Order Wins division this weekend.
tradeatape
8/14
Hi Jay! Could you explain to me how the Tigers are number 17 (dropping from no. 15 last week if I remember right), with the White Sox being 2.5 games behind them and ranked 13, and the Twins 5 games behind them and ranked 16? Also, for much of the season, the White Sox and the Twins have been ahead of the Tigers in your rankings, yet the Tigers have held on to the AL Central lead since sometime in May. Help!, or, What gives?!? Thanks.
jjaffe
8/14
The Hit List doesn't just use actual winning percentages, it equally weights them with first-order winning percentage (based on runs scored and runs allowed), second-order winning percentage (run elements - hits, walks, total bases, stolen bases, HBPs, etc.) and third-order winning percentage (adjusted for quality of opposition) - all of them via our Adjusted Standings page linked at the bottom of the list.

The actual, 1st, 2nd and 3rd-order winning percentages for the teams in question:

White Sox: .504, .507, .517, .511
Twins: .482, .505, .508, .510
Tigers .526, .507, .481, .478

The Tigers have chalked up more wins than the other two teams, but the three teams' run differentials and first-order percentages are virtually identical. The Tigers are worse at converting their run elements into actual runs and/or preventing same, which is why their second-order percentage is well below .500, and they've done so against a weaker-than-average slate of opponents, as reflected in their third-order percentage.

louisma
8/14
Since this seems to come up every week, maybe you just need a big headline at the top of every BPHL column: "The standings not based on Actual Win Percentage, nor off-the-top-of-my-head guessery". Of course, that would still mean people had to read it. Can you make it pop up in the comment box on the HL, so every time someone tries to comment it says "You do remember this isn't based on actually W%, right?"
Just a thought.
jjaffe
8/14
I may have to get our tech team on that one. Not that I mind the occasional exercise of explaining something like I did above, because there's always somebody new here who's genuinely curious as to how this works. More evidence that I should probably tackle the annual Hit List remix piece that I usually do during All-Star week.
strupp
8/14
To be honest, I read the hit list every week, and need to be reminded by little posts like above too... every once in a while it's good to provide a reminder/rejoinder for any new readers there are (which is what I assumed the reader was asking, rather than the usualy kvetching). Resets are appreciated.
tradeatape
8/15
Hi! I knew that the Hit List was not based on win percentage (give a guy a little credit). I guess, deep down, my question was how Jay/the statistics could have a division leader for most of the season be behind two of its rivals on the Hit List for most the season, *especially* when a few weeks ago the Tigers won 3 out of 4 against the White Sox, and won 2 out of 3 against the Twins.

Doesn't that seem a little odd (enough to get a guy to ask a question on the comments page, risking derision for his apparent ignorance), when you're beating up on your division rivals in reality and yet the computer says in the bitstream you're a worse team than they are? I did!
tradeatape
8/15
Oh--I forgot to add that Jay explained everything all quite well--thank you. I did not know how exactly the rankings were calculated--now I understand!
jjaffe
8/16
The third order adjustments that Clay uses are based upon aggregated opposing hitter EqA and opposing pitcher EqA allowed (which were recently added to the Adjusted Standings report) so it's not quite as intuitive as a simple head to head result. I don't have the numbers in front of me on my iPhone but I can expand upon this point when I do.
sbnirish77
8/15
How could the White Sox third order (adjusted for quality of oppostion) be higher than the Tigers?

I thought I heard several weeks ago the the White sox would play some ridiculous number of games (50 of the last 70) against teams with winning records at the end of the year. That would seem to suggest that they played many of their earlier games against weaker oppostion (and theoretically lowering their third order winning percentage).

Have the last three weeks basically brought their schedule more in line with the norm or have the Tigers played an even easier schedule?
jjaffe
8/16
As noted above, the third-order adjustments are based on opposing hitter and pitcher EqA, not opponent winning percentages, but to answer your question regarding the schedule, I looked at this a few weeks ago, in late July. The relevant AL Central teams's opponent HLF (overall / 1st half / 2nd half):

White Sox .497 / .485 / .512
Tigers .495 / .488 / .503
Twins .494 / .499 / .487

Here's what I wrote at the time: "In the AL Central, the White Sox have by far the toughest road, with a particularly brutal slate the remainder of this month - a hefty .554 based upon hosting four-game sets with the Rays and Yankees, and making three-game visits to Detroit and Minnesota. Their opponents' strength drops to .508 in each of the final two months. The Tigers have it easier at .503 for the rest of this month, and then .504 for August and .493 for September/October... the Twins have the easiest slate of the three, with a .512 slate between here and the end of the month, followed by .477 and .480 cakewalks in August and September/October via 12 games apiece with the Royals and Indians."
swatdogg9
8/19
baseballprospectus gives the Phillies no love, once again. please explain to me why the defending champions, who have dramatically improved their lineup this season with the acquisitions of Lee and Ibanez, can be ranked as low as 8? i understand that they aren't as PECOTA friendly as some other top-tier teams, but anyone who watches them play knows that they have as good a shot as anyone to win the World Series this year. i remember reading an article early in the year about PECOTA projecting the Braves to finish ahead of the Fightins, and although i preach the benefits of advanced statistics to some of my peers, conclusions like that show that stats can only go so far, especially in team evaluation. i know i'm biased as a fan, but did anyone who follows these teams actually think that the phillies would finish anywhere other than first place in the NL East?
collins
8/20
Oh for Christ's sake
sbnirish77
8/21
Jared ... you can rest assure that any success the Phillies have will be in spite of anything you might read here ... you aren't alone in noticing