With over half of the 2008 MLB season in the books I thought it was appropriate to figure out which teams have the easiest time of it as they proceed through the next couple of months trying to make the playoffs…
I took the current MLB Power Rankings and then tied that to each team’s remaining schedule of games to come up with a Strength of Schedule (SOS) ranking similar to what is used in football.
Here was the situation through the games played on the Fourth of July…
Power National League Record Remains
Rank East W – L H – A
6 Philadelphia Phillies 48-39 40-35
18 Florida Marlins 44-42 35-41
17 New York Mets 42-44 37-39
21 Atlanta Braves 41-46 32-43
28 Washington Nationals 34-54 37-37
18.0 Division Rank-5 209-225
Rank Central W – L H – A
8 Chicago Cubs 52-35 41.34
9 St. Louis Cardinals 49-39 36-38
11 Milwaukee Brewers 47-39 39-37
24 Pittsburgh Pirates 40-45 37-40
25 Cincinnati Reds 41-47 38-36
23 Houston Astros 40-47 45-30
15.3 Division Rank-4 217-217
Rank West W – L H – A
19 Arizona Diamondbacks 43-44 37-38
15 Los Angeles Dodgers 42-44 39-37
20 San Francisco Giants 38-49 42-33
29 Colorado Rockies 36-51 37-38
30 San Diego Padres 34-53 37-38
22.6 Division Rank-6 193-241
Now for a look at each team’s SOS… These were determined by using the opponent’s Power Rank and multiplying by the number of games played against each opponent, with one variation. One point in the rankings was subtracted from the home team’s Power Rank to weight the results in favor of the home team, just as in reality the home team has a certain advantage. Hopefully this will yield more realistic results to these findings. Finally the results were then tallied and divided by the number of remaining games to be played…
Here is the Strength of Schedule determined by this method: (the easiest schedules are listed first)
Power Current
Rank Team SOS Rank Standing Games Out
29 Colorado Rockies 20.89 1 4th-West 7
20 San Francisco Giants 20.80 2 3rd-West 5
15 Los Angeles Dodgers 20.11 3 2nd-West 1
19 Arizona Diamondbacks 19.88 4 1st-West -
11 Milwaukee Brewers 19.47 5 3rd-Cent. 4
30 San Diego Padres 18.57 6 5th-West 9
23 Houston Astros 18.43 7 6th-Cent. 12
17 New York Mets 18.34 8 3rd-East 5
6 Philadelphia Phillies 18.16 9 1st-East -
24 Pittsburgh Pirates 17.57 10 4th-Cent. 10
25 Cincinnati Reds 17.55 11 5th-Cent. 11
8 Chicago Cubs 17.36 12 1st-Cent. -
28 Washington Nationals 17.14 13 5th-East 15
21 Atlanta Braves 17.05 14 4th-East 7
9 St. Louis Cardinals 17.03 15 2nd-Cent. 3
18 Florida Marlins 16.39 16 2nd-East 4
Here is how it appears, and always with the injury disclaimer,
In the East, the Philadelphia Phillies have withstood the Florida Marlins attempts to retake the lead they once enjoyed. It appears if the Mets can right their ship (get consistent pitching) they might challenge for the East, but this may be too tall an order. The Mets and Phillies’ schedule match up so there’s no advantage there. The Marlins have the toughest schedule of all the National League teams and for this reason I believe they will fade as the season progresses. The second place team in the East will be left out in the October cold... The Phillies are too strong to be overhauled here.
The Central division is the strongest of the in the National League’s divisional Power Rankings, coming in fourth overall. Like the AL Central, this division is adding up to be another shootout. The Cubs have led this division while accumulating what was the best record in baseball most of the way, but the Cardinals and Brewers have hung with them. Now Milwaukee has added a top arm for the stretch run with a couple more weeks to go before the trade deadline. Will the Cubs and Cards act to improve their chances? This will be hotly contested regardless of whether any new additions are made to these teams. The Wild Card team in this league will come from the Central… I’m going to play it conservatively here and pick the Cubs to win the division and follow through with the Brewers sliding into the playoffs as the Wild Card team…
The West division is bar none, the weakest division in Major League Baseball this year. If any one of these teams gets hot and can sustain it for a month or so, they might walk off winning this division title, and that’s what it’s going to take to make the playoffs. Being a Giant fan it really grinds on me to say this, but the way it stands right now, the Dodgers should be the team that “gets ‘er done” here. They’ve hung around while the Diamondbacks slowly have fallen back to the pack after an impressive start out of the gate. The Bums have had what seemed like their whole team on the DL at one time or another, but now they appear to be getting healthy. If these guys can keep away from any future injuries, this division race will be over. I can’t see any trades before the deadline being made as these teams, other than the Dodgers, are becoming more fiscally responsible…
So here is how I see the playoffs developing as the second season begins…
Division Winners –
American National
East – Tampa Bay Rays Philadelphia Phillies
Central – Minnesota Twins Chicago Cubs
West – Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild Card Teams –
Chicago White Sox Milwaukee Brewers
There ya have it! Now we’ll sit back and see if I get picked off base or get a good jump and come in safe!
With over half of the 2008 MLB season in the books I thought it was appropriate to figure out which teams have the easiest time of it as they proceed through the next couple of months trying to make the playoffs…
I took the current MLB Power Rankings and then tied that to each team’s remaining schedule of games to come up with a Strength of Schedule (SOS) ranking similar to what is used in football.
Here was the situation through the games played on the Fourth of July…
Power American League Record Remains
Rank East W – L H – A
1 Tampa Bay Rays 53-32 34-43
5 Boston Red Sox 52-37 40-33
16 Baltimore Orioles 44-41 42-34
10 New York Yankees 45-42 36-39
13 Toronto Blue Jays 41-46 40-35
9.0 Division Rank-1 235-198
Rank Central W – L H – A
2 Chicago White Sox 49-37 40-35
4 Minnesota Twins 48-38 30-46
14 Detroit Tigers 43-43 42-34
22 Kansas City Royals 39-48 38-37
27 Cleveland Indians 37-49 40-36
13.8 Division Rank-3 216-215
Rank West W – L H – A
3 Los Angeles Angels 52-34 37-39
7 Oakland Athletics 47-39 33-43
12 Texas Rangers 44-43 36-39
26 Seattle Mariners 34-52 37-39
9.6 Division Rank-2 177-168
* * * * *
Now for a look at each team’s SOS… These were determined by using the opponent’s Power Rank and multiplying by the number of games played against each opponent, with one variation. One point in the rankings was subtracted from the home team’s Power Rank to weight the results in favor of the home team, just as in reality the home team has a certain advantage. Hopefully this will yield more realistic results to these findings. Finally the results were then tallied and divided by the number of remaining games to be played…
Here is the Strength of Schedule determined by this method: (the easiest schedules are listed first)
Power Current
Rank Team SOS Rank Standing Games Out
4 Minnesota Twins 13.92 1 2nd-Cent. 1
2 Chicago White Sox 13.11 2 1st-Cent. -
1 Tampa Bay Rays 12.84 3 1st-East -
14 Detroit Tigers 12.58 4 3rd-Cent. 6
3 Los Angeles Angels 12.28 5 1st-West -
7 Oakland Athletics 11.49 6 2nd-West 5
27 Cleveland Indians 10.68 7 5th-Cent. 12
5 Boston Red Sox 10.58 8 2nd-East 3
22 Kansas City Royals 10.39 9 4th-Cent. 11
16 Baltimore Orioles 10.34 10 3rd-East 10
12 Texas Rangers 10.05 11 3rd-West 8
26 Seattle Mariners 9.46 12 4th-West 18
13 Toronto Blue Jays 8.93 13 5th-East 13
10 New York Yankees 8.49 14 4th-East 10
Here is how it appears, and always with the injury disclaimer, if these teams play as they have and considering the quality of their competition:
In the East, the strongest division in baseball, Tampa Bay has the inside track towards winning the AL East. Let’s face it, if the Rays just play .500 ball the rest of the season, they will end up with over 90 wins. With their pitching and defense coupled with an awakening offense, this team will not play at or below .500. This is a young, low paid team that now knows it is a force to deal with and they are playing with confidence. The Red Sox are going to have to hustle to make it into the playoffs as a Wild Card and I expect to see them doing whatever they can as they open their wallet to once again shore up their chances. Competition will come from the AL Central for the Wild Card berths. Like it or not, the Yankees chances are slim and none…
The West division is actually considered the second strongest in baseball and it is shaping up to be a race to the finish. Here is another example of a young, low salary team challenging the established team with a big salary and older players. Can the Angels stay healthy and withstand the Athletics as they attempt to force the issue? The Rangers have been playing better ball lately as well, but they face a tougher schedule. The Rangers will have something to say about who eventually wins this division. I look for the Angels to end up winning this race with no candidate here for the Wild Card…
The Central division rounds out the top three of the six divisions in baseball coming in third in the divisional Power Rankings. I look for a real shootout here as the White Sox, Twins and Tigers will go toe to toe through the final three months of the season. In this case, the Minnesota Twins represent the youthful, lower salary team trying to take the division from two older, much more well healed teams from Chicago and Detroit. What in the world happened to the Indians? When it’s all said and done, I look for the Twins to come out on top and the White Sox to be a strong Wild Card team out of a division that was all but handed to the Tigers at the start of the year…
Yes, the three strongest divisions all reside in the American League. Wonder who will win the All-Star Game???
Tomorrow, look for a similar rendition of the Senior Circuit.
Last night Ken Griffey Jr. knocked the 600th home run of his career, is this a harbinger of great things for the Juniors of this world? This coming Sunday is Father’s Day, are the stars lining up? What could be more fitting than to do something fantastic on Father’s Day when your name is followed by the term Junior? Ken Griffey Jr. has set the pace… Who are the other Juniors that could do their Dads proud this week?
There are many in baseball, but since Ken Griffey Jr. has already stepped up, we’ll concede baseball to him.
The NBA Finals are on the schedule, but neither the Celtics nor the Lakers have any Juniors on their rosters… Whats up with that?
The U.S. Open is on this week. I suppose many look at the game of golf as an uppity endeavor and based on the fact that I couldn’t find a single “Junior” in the field, this may be an indication. The fact that there are two with the “III” at the end of their names goes a long way toward reinforcing that uppity moniker… The two “high brows” are Davis Love III and Charles Howell III, well la-de-dah… Personally, I grew up with a guy who had the “III” behind his name and if he was any indication, then the uppity thing works… Remember the old MASH sitcom with Major Charles Winchester III? Now that’s uppity personified…
Davis Love III and Charles Howell III
So that boils the week’s sporting events on this Father’s Day week down to racing. No, the Formula cars and the Indy cars will be idle this week. NASCAR will be on the docket with the Trucks and Sprint Cup cars running Friday and Sunday at Michigan International Speedway (the Cool City Customs 200 and the LifeLock.com 400, respectively) and the Nationwide cars will be running Saturday at Kentucky Speedway in the Meijer 300.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
There will be two Juniors trying to qualify for the Truck race as Ron Hornaday Jr. and Scott Lagrasse Jr. are among the drivers there. There is only one Junior trying to qualify for the Nationwide field in Kentucky. Bobby Hamilton Jr. will be looking for a top finish there. That leaves us looking at the Sprint Cup LifeLock.com 400 on Sunday. There will potentially be three Juniors in this field as Martin Truex Jr., Sam Hornish Jr. and finally, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be in the qualifying.
Ron Hornaday Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. and Bobby Hamilton Jr.
So which of these racing Juniors is the most likely to once again bring glory to the name he proudly wears?
After looking at their histories on the tracks being run and with careful consideration into who is due to win, I’ve got to believe that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the most likely to win in their respective races this weekend…
To all you fathers out there, have a Happy Father’s Day, and may the best Junior win!
That destroyer of championship dreams in Major League Baseball has reared its ugly head early this year. The grueling wear and tear the Major League ball players go through usually begins to take its toll in the late summer, but not this year. The New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins have been bit the hardest by the injury bug as they have each already had 9 different players on the disabled list (DL) and we’re only two months into the season. The New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics have also had more than what should be their fair share of injuries as they have had 8 players each on the DL to date. The Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals have each had 7 players on the DL so far, while the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers have all had 6 players go down. Two of the five oldest teams in the league have pretty much avoided the injury bug up until the announcement this morning that the Boston Red Sox will lose David Ortiz for at least a month with a wrist injury. Ortiz becomes the third Red Sox player to land on the DL so far. The oldest team in the league right now, the Houston Astros, only has one player on the DL. Is it the water? In Houston???
Key everyday players that have visited the DL so far this season besides new arrival Ortiz include the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, the Mets’ Moises Alou, the Tigers’ Gary Sheffield, the Dodgers’ Nomar Garciaparra, Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones and the Blue Jays’ Vernon Wells. The biggest hit the Yankees have taken though has been among their pitching staff where seven are currently on the DL. The Red Sox have been without the services of Curt Schilling since the beginning of the season and more recently, Daisuke Matsuzaka, two of their preseason starting pitching rotation. Other top pitchers who have seen the DL this year include the Rays’ closer Troy Percival and their pitcher of the month in May, Scott Kazmir who missed all of April, the Padres’ premier starter Jake Peavy, and the Mets’ Pedro Martinez, who is just back from a long stint on the DL.
Here is a look at all the MLB teams, their average age by category and the number of players they’ve had on the DL this season to date…
Arranged by oldest to youngest everyday (Position) players:
Team Ave. Age- Positions Bench S. Pitchers R. Pitchers DL
Houston Astros 31.1 33.8 28 31.2 30.3 1
SF Giants 28.8 32.9 24.4 25.4 29.6 6
Toronto Blue Jays 30.3 32.2 28.3 27.4 31.1 6
New York Yankees 30.8 31.9 30 31.4 29.4 9
Detroit Tigers 29.5 31.1 26 29 29.9 6
Chicago Cubs 30.2 30.9 29.4 28.2 31.4 3
Seattle Mariners 29.9 30.7 29.8 30 29 1
Boston Red Sox 30.2 30.6 29.2 31.6 29.5 3
Chicago White Sox 29.5 30.6 30 28.8 28.4 0
Pittsburgh Pirates 28.4 30 30 25.4 27.7 2
Philadelphia Phillies 29.9 29.9 31.6 29.8 28.8 4
San Diego Padres 29.8 29.9 28.6 31.6 29.4 8
New York Mets 29.8 29.8 31.8 29.2 28.9 8
Baltimore Orioles 29.2 29.8 28.5 28.8 29 7
Los Angeles Angels 28.4 29.3 26.3 26.6 29.6 3
Florida Marlins 27.8 28.9 30 26 26.9 9
Texas Rangers 28.5 28.8 25.8 28.6 29.6 6
Colorado Rockies 27.8 28.6 25.3 25.8 29.6 9
St. Louis Cardinals 29.3 28.5 29 30.4 29.7 9
Oakland Athletics 27.4 27.9 24 26.2 29.6 8
Cincinnati Reds 29.6 27.8 31.6 26.8 32.4 5
Kansas City Royals 28.3 27.8 29 27.8 28.9 3
Milwaukee Brewers 30 27.5 32.8 27.8 32.3 5
Cleveland Indians 28.7 27.2 28.5 28.6 30.9 2
LA Dodgers 28.6 27.1 29.8 29.4 28.9 6
Washington Nats 28 27.1 28.8 27.8 28.5 7
Minnesota Twins 27.7 26.6 29.5 26.8 28.7 4
Tampa Bay Rays 27.6 26.6 28.8 24.6 30.6 3
Atlanta Braves 28.6 26.5 29.5 29.2 29.8 7
Arizona D’backs 27.4 25.4 27.4 30 27.9 1
I put this in terms of a comparison in age since I believe that plays a key role in whether injuries will dominate a team’s performance. Yes, the injury bug is indiscriminant, but the age factor has got to weigh in at some point. Let’s face it, younger bodies can handle the grind better and if hurt, they will mend quicker, it’s just nature. This is part of the adversity that these teams are confronted with. How well they deal with it may lead them to the playoffs or drop them into the ranks of the also-rans.
Here are some other statistics that you won’t find on the sports page:
For more insight into the significance of these numbers, cross reference them against the current league standings with a third of the season in the books.
If that isn’t a real eye opener I don’t know what is!
I won't forget what this Yankee tried to do...
As I post this article, the Tampa Bay Rays along with the Arizona Diamondbacks are in first in their divisions while the Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins are all running close seconds…
Where's the money coming from in the future? This is the standard question being asked as business people strive to increase profits and stay out in front of the competition. Sports has become a huge business over the last few decades and this same question must be being asked here as well. What drives sports revenues? Well, we as fans do.
San Francisco's old Kezar Stadium
In the early days we paid admission to stadiums and arenas so we could watch and cheer for our favorite teams. We bought publications that kept us abreast of the daily fortunes of our teams, we listened to radio broadcasts and occasionally we even got to see our favorites on live television. Man, that was a great treat!
So the ticket prices began to rise. In the professional sports we were told that the advent of free agency forced these prices up… Then there was inflation. If it wasn’t one thing it was another. Next, we had to more closely identify with our favorites so it became important for us to wear the team colors. Sports apparel has grown from the days of simply wearing a ball cap or a tee shirt emblazoned with our team’s logo to some now wearing complete outfits in their team's sanctioned authentic apparel lines. Have you priced a ball cap or tee shirt these days? Next, the stadiums and arenas were more than happy to supply the fan's needs for food and beverages. Today we have to pay ridiculous prices if we want something to eat or drink. On top of this we are normally banned from bringing our own snacks inside the stadiums. Couple this with the cost of getting to the various sporting venues. Parking fees, something unheard of in the old days, were begun and have steadily increased to the point that they exceed what a set of two tickets used to cost. Today the cost of fuel has skyrocketed. It seems that now, everywhere a sports fan turns, there is someone standing there with their hand out expecting you to cross it with silver just so you can attend a sporting event.
All of these things have changed the fan's faces in the stands, as many just can't afford to attend these events anymore. Today we are seeing some sports beginning to suffer as their fans have stopped attending their events. The major professional sports, the NFL, NASCAR, MLB, the NBA and the NHL are seeing the effects of their exorbitant costs to the fans as many of the smaller market teams are now struggling to make ends meet. They simply don’t have a fan base large enough to include several thousands of fans willing and able to afford these expenses more than once or twice a season. The same effect is beginning to be seen in the collegiate sports and smaller time sporting enterprises like your local race tracks and minor league baseball. So where is the money going to come from in the future?
Through all of this there has been one shining star that kept fan interest high. In the 1950’s our nation, having won a world war with our citizen’s courage and our technological prowess, our industries developed and brought us wonderful new conveniences. One of the most significant was that we got wired into television. We had entered into the communication age and by the end of that decade, darn near every home had a television. The world had shrunk considerably. The sixties brought us color television and in the seventies the major television networks that had sprung up started getting competition from independent stations. Most of the country could receive television transmissions over the airwaves by antennae. You had t
Marlins attempts to retake the lead they once enjoyed. It appears if the Mets can right their ship (get consistent pitching) they might challenge for the East, but this may be too tall an order. The Mets and Phillies’ schedule match up so there’s no 
advantage there. The Marlins have the toughest schedule of all the National League teams and for this reason I believe they will fade as the season progresses. The second place team in the East will be left out in the October cold... The Phillies are too strong to be overhauled here.
have led this division while accumulating what was the best record in baseball most of the way, but the Cardinals and Brewers have hung with them. Now 
Milwaukee has added a top arm for the stretch run with a couple more weeks to go before the trade deadline. Will the Cubs and Cards act to improve their chances? This will be hotly contested regardless of whether any new additions are 
made to these teams. The Wild Card team in this league will come from the Central… I’m going to play it conservatively here and pick the Cubs to win the division and follow through with the Brewers sliding into the playoffs as the Wild Card team… 
Dodgers should be the team that “gets ‘er done” here. They’ve hung around while the Diamondbacks slowly have fallen back to the pack after an impressive start out of the gate. The Bums have had what seemed like their 
whole team on the DL at one time or another, but now they appear to be getting healthy. If these guys can keep away from any future injuries, this division race will be over. I can’t see any trades before the deadline being made as these teams, other than the Dodgers, are becoming more fiscally responsible…
play .500 ball the rest of the season, they will end up with over 90 wins. With their pitching and defense coupled with an awakening offense, this team will not play at or below .500. This is a young, low paid team that now knows it is a force to deal with and they are playing with confidence. 
The Red Sox are going to have to hustle to make it into the playoffs as a Wild Card and I expect to see them doing whatever they can as they open their wallet to once again shore up their chances. Competition will come from the AL Central for the Wild Card berths. Like it or not, the Yankees chances are slim and none…
example of a young, low salary team challenging the established team with a big salary and older 
players. Can the Angels stay healthy and withstand the Athletics as they attempt to force the issue? The Rangers have been playing better ball lately as well, but they face a tougher schedule. The Rangers will have something to say about who eventually wins this division. I look for the Angels to end up winning this race with no candidate here for the Wild Card…
real shootout here as the White Sox, Twins and Tigers will go toe to toe through the final three months of the season. 
In this case, the Minnesota Twins represent the youthful, lower salary team trying to take the division from two older, much more well healed teams from Chicago and Detroit. What in the world happened to the 
Indians? When it’s all said and done, I look for the Twins to come out on top and the White Sox to be a strong Wild Card team out of a division that was all but handed to the Tigers at the start of the year…
hardest by the injury bug as they have each already had 9 different players on the disabled list (DL) and we’re only two months into the season. The New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics have also had more than what should be their fair share of injuries as they have had 8 players each on the DL to date. The Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals have each had 7 players on the DL so far, while the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers have all had 6 players go down. Two of the five oldest teams in the league have pretty much avoided the injury bug up until the announcement this 
morning that the Boston Red Sox will lose David Ortiz for at least a month with a wrist injury. Ortiz becomes the third Red Sox player to land on the DL so far. The oldest team in the league right now, the Houston Astros, only has one player on the DL. Is it the water? In Houston??? 
more closely identify with our favorites so it became important for us to wear the team colors. Sports apparel has grown from the days of simply wearing a ball cap or a tee shirt emblazoned with our team’s
logo to some now wearing complete outfits in their team's sanctioned authentic apparel lines. Have you priced a ball cap or tee shirt these days? Next, the stadiums and arenas were more than happy to supply the fan's needs for food and beverages. Today we have to pay ridiculous prices if we want something to eat or drink. On top of this we are normally banned from bringing 
our own snacks inside the stadiums. Couple this with the cost of getting to the various sporting venues. Parking fees, something unheard of in the old days, were begun and have steadily increased to the point that they exceed what a set of two tickets used to cost. Today the cost of fuel has skyrocketed. It seems that now, everywhere a sports fan turns, there is someone standing there with their hand out expecting you to cross it with silver just so you can attend a sporting event. 