Sim 4
The Best Juan - :was: - Record: 37-20 --- Washington spends a second straight week on top. Their pitching did fall behind a tad with Villima and Rugg struggling against some solid line ups, Mike Nearns costing the team a win during a late-game opportunity in Denver on the 17th, and Smith doing the same against the Marlins a week later. The offense moved to 3rd in the league in run scored per game, gulping up any small hiccups it's pitching partners may encounter. -- Previous Rank: 1 -- L10: 5-5
#2 -
- Record: 38-19 --- Is San Francisco for real? Even while going 8-8 last sim, they've managed to maintain the best record in FCM while scoring more runs than any other team not named the Cincinnati Reds. Their staff looks like it has staying power with All-Star hopefuls Martin Dutko and Brad Wile leading the charge. Bullpen has cleaned up some of their act, dropping from a 6.18 ERA to 4.87, obviously leaving room for improvement. The back 3 of their line up is still trying to emerge out of the dark, but that hasn't stopped the top-6 portion from bringing home 186 runs. I'm not too confident this team will have what it takes to maintain this kind of play, but they have been proving everyone wrong for about 2 seasons now. -- Previous Rank: 3 -- L10: 6-4
#3 -
- Record: 34-22 --- The Tigers went 8-7 last sim, finishing in a first place tie with the Roaring Royals. Howie Wright indeed proved he was worth more than a piece of Tampa Bay salary dump, showing up strong for 3 great starts versus the Twins, Pirates and Orioles and helping the pitching staff lower it's ERA to 3.59. So how has a team with the leading offense in the American League find itself going 14-14 in the month of May? Considering they lost 3 of 4 versus Houston and split two series against the Indians and Pirates, I really don't have any faith that they will continue to play like a "middle of the pack" team for much longer. They are just too good. If it doesn't shape up by mid-July, I do expect GB to make some moves that will give the league indication as to Detroit's future investments. -- Previous Rank: 5 -- L10: 7-3
#4 -
- Record: 34-23 --- Crothers, Calhoun and Morris went comatose on a pitching staff that did a tremendous job giving the club a chance to win every day. When you go 20-7 in April, hold the #4 offense in the league and then drop six of the last ten against three teams that combine to allow 5.52 runs per game, you can only blame coincidence, right? Ray Vizcaya is my choice for National League MVP. I know we still have 8 sims to go, but this guy has a very good chance of finishing the year with 30+ doubles, 30 HRs, 100+ RBI and 45+ Stolen bases. I don't even have to write down his hitting line, it's MVP caliber and then some. Let's also not overlook Jim Wetmore's resurgence! The Comeback Player of the Year candidate could very well see his first 30+ HR, .840+ OPS season. Atlanta has put it's neck out to prove it deserves a seat at the table with the top dogs, and they've succeeded so far. -- Previous Rank: 6 -- L10: 4-6
#5 -
- Record: 32-25 --- It's really hard not to hope this poor play by the Reds is a sign of things to come. It's probably not, anyway. Eric Lindsay is a god right now, putting up Ted Williams like numbers (.396/.427/1.062, 10 HRs, 44 RBI and 34 runs scored) within his first 200 ABs. I still have Ray V. marked as my MVP, but this Lindsay guy doesn't seem to care what I think. Vines has step up beautifully and given Andy some options with his power. Milton, Stanley and Vines have been the engine to a terrorizing offense that, of course, leads the league in almost every offensive statistical category. Cincinnati has the same problem most underachieving teams do - their pitching has been throwing up some goose eggs. While Pinnick had a nice 4 game turnaround, Kendrowski has allowed 4 or more runs in his last 3 starts and he hasn't pitched over 6 innings in any one of them. He's lucky he has the kind of offense that can bail him out as they did against the Dodgers. Bullpen arms Egan, Pendergrass and Winston have given up a combined 16 HRs in just 88 IP. I trust Pendergrass, but I'm not banking on the other two making long strides of improvement. Cincy is still in everyone's mind the team you absolutely do not want to face.....well, at least I feel that way. I'm calling a bounce back to total dominant control of the division by sim 7. -- Previous Rank: 2 -- L10: 5-5
#6 -
- Record: 36-22 --- Ben Dolan, Matthew Hagen and Tony Davenport have been offensive disappointments so far. It doesn't seem to bother the Yanks as their tremendous three in Pugh, Adler and Ugaki have combined powers with the bench to provide the support needed to secure a 3rd best record. Even behind shady pitching, this team is the league's best when the game is late and on the line. How that happens with a bullpen that allows over 4 runs every 9 innings is anyone's guess. My guess? Erick knows how to win. He may not be decorated, but he certainly should be taken seriously when you face his team in an upcoming sim. -- Previous Rank: 8 -- L10: 6-4
#7 -
- Record: 35-23 --- Where the hell did they come from? KC almost found themselves sliding out of the rankings, now they're in first place. Mike lost just 5 of the 17 games he played last sim, his offense stepping up to the plate as ageless wonder Jonathan Woods directed the train with 14 hits in his last 10 games. Winegardner and the bullpen turned it around for the most part, only drawback being Furusato's inability make it out of the 9th and finish off the Rangers even after his team gave him a commanding 4 run lead. If the starters continue to pitch well, Big Game Ace Marin stays healthy and the bullpen remains capable, Kansas City actually has a shot. How far can the Roaring Royals go? As I've mentioned previously, their offense will have the most say about that, but it'll be fun to watch! The AL Central has been by far the most entertaining division in FCM so far, with 4 different teams claiming the lead in the first 4 sims. -- Previous Rank: 15 -- L10: 8-2
#8 -
- Record: 32-26 --- The Indians cooled off big time after a great run in sim 3. They faced some quality teams, going 7-11 against the Rangers, Tigers, Cubs, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees while still staying on pace with their division rivals at just 3 games behind first. Cleveland has displayed some of FCM's best pitching, southpaw Austin Wimbush and veteran closer Aaron Smith at the helm of a staff allowing just 3.75 runs per game. It's the Tribe's offense that has been the yin to their yang, hitting .250 as a team and ranking 24th in runs scored. When Toronto (14-44) and Pittsburgh (20-39) are the only teams that have a lower team OPS than you, something needs to be done in order to stay in contention. They did lose a bunch of close games late in month, so there is room for a positive outlook. I'm not too sure contention was on Matty's mind at the start of the season, but if his pitching can continue it's mastery and the bats start hitting the ball it will be juicy to watch what Matty decides to do with this team. -- Previous Rank: 5 -- L10: 5-5
#9 -
- Record: 34-24 --- The Athletics still own the best bullpen in the league, seemingly making it easier on a staff that doesn't have any superstars and a line up that has just one player hitting over .266 (100 ABs minimum). A's fans can't get too excited though - relying on Moreno or Brown every late game situation isn't going to cut it, and the rotation has been slowing down for 3 straight sims. I think this team is in a bit over their heads, with a light schedule and an even less frightening division giving them almost no problems at all. Fred's in first place still causing trouble for the Astros, throwing his middle fingers up at anyone who doubts Oakland, and he'll make sure he sticks them up for as long as he can. -- Previous Rank: 10 -- L10: 5-5
#10 -
- Record: 32-25 --- Houston.....we have a problem! In the form of pitching that allowed 4 or more runs in 11 of their last 17 games. The bullpen is allowing just under 5 runs per game this year, and last sim featured two heart breaking blown saves from Hayman and one by Adair. This had to be a big factor in Houston losing 7 games by 2 runs or less in during the sim 4 stretch. The Astros' hitters have been doing all they can to pick up the slack, but daily ROY/MVP performances from Robinson and some solid contributions around him isn't going to push this club past Oakland. The pitchers need stay reliable in order for my division title prediction to come true. -- Previous Rank: 7 -- L10: 4-6
#11 -
- Record: 36-23 --- Libreros drops just a sim after Huey does, wonderful! I've been playing good ball, but I don't exactly know if my bullpen can hold or even if my rotation will continue to pitch close to as well as it has. Hopefully my offense keeps it all together some how. -- Previous Rank: 12 -- L10: 5-5
#12 -
- Record: 31-26 --- The Red Birds make their rankings debut, soaring to a 12-6 record for sim 4, taking 2nd place in the NL Central and trailing Cincinnati by just one game. Now that the battle with early season demons is over, the entire St. Louis starting rotation is ready to do what it does best: terminate wood! Their bullpen is no less destructive besides the mishaps of Davis and Delgalleo. The peculiar thing about this club is their talented offense. The players for the most part have posted pretty good numbers so far this year. Mitch Dorn and Howie Dow igniting the team's offense with their speed, Mike Smith and Carsolad doing their jobs to bring Dorn and Dow home, and even Atterman providing support in the lower half of the line up. Now the 5-7 guys have been nothing to write home about, but I still strongly believe this team isn't as bad as their 23rd ranking in runs scored suggests. They'll face some light pitching from Seattle and Philly, with the best rotation in baseball smacked in between those two for a four game set. Let's see what GD has in store.....he may become a blindsiding threat to Andy's comeback. -- Previous Rank: / -- L10: 8-2
#13 -
- Record: 30-28 --- Previous Rank: 9 -- L10: 4-6
#14 -
- Record: 30-28 --- Previous Rank: 13 -- L10: 3-7
[b]#15 -
- Record: 30-29 --- Previous Rank: 14 -- L10: 6-4
The Best Juan - :was: - Record: 37-20 --- Washington spends a second straight week on top. Their pitching did fall behind a tad with Villima and Rugg struggling against some solid line ups, Mike Nearns costing the team a win during a late-game opportunity in Denver on the 17th, and Smith doing the same against the Marlins a week later. The offense moved to 3rd in the league in run scored per game, gulping up any small hiccups it's pitching partners may encounter. -- Previous Rank: 1 -- L10: 5-5
#2 -
- Record: 38-19 --- Is San Francisco for real? Even while going 8-8 last sim, they've managed to maintain the best record in FCM while scoring more runs than any other team not named the Cincinnati Reds. Their staff looks like it has staying power with All-Star hopefuls Martin Dutko and Brad Wile leading the charge. Bullpen has cleaned up some of their act, dropping from a 6.18 ERA to 4.87, obviously leaving room for improvement. The back 3 of their line up is still trying to emerge out of the dark, but that hasn't stopped the top-6 portion from bringing home 186 runs. I'm not too confident this team will have what it takes to maintain this kind of play, but they have been proving everyone wrong for about 2 seasons now. -- Previous Rank: 3 -- L10: 6-4#3 -
- Record: 34-22 --- The Tigers went 8-7 last sim, finishing in a first place tie with the Roaring Royals. Howie Wright indeed proved he was worth more than a piece of Tampa Bay salary dump, showing up strong for 3 great starts versus the Twins, Pirates and Orioles and helping the pitching staff lower it's ERA to 3.59. So how has a team with the leading offense in the American League find itself going 14-14 in the month of May? Considering they lost 3 of 4 versus Houston and split two series against the Indians and Pirates, I really don't have any faith that they will continue to play like a "middle of the pack" team for much longer. They are just too good. If it doesn't shape up by mid-July, I do expect GB to make some moves that will give the league indication as to Detroit's future investments. -- Previous Rank: 5 -- L10: 7-3#4 -
- Record: 34-23 --- Crothers, Calhoun and Morris went comatose on a pitching staff that did a tremendous job giving the club a chance to win every day. When you go 20-7 in April, hold the #4 offense in the league and then drop six of the last ten against three teams that combine to allow 5.52 runs per game, you can only blame coincidence, right? Ray Vizcaya is my choice for National League MVP. I know we still have 8 sims to go, but this guy has a very good chance of finishing the year with 30+ doubles, 30 HRs, 100+ RBI and 45+ Stolen bases. I don't even have to write down his hitting line, it's MVP caliber and then some. Let's also not overlook Jim Wetmore's resurgence! The Comeback Player of the Year candidate could very well see his first 30+ HR, .840+ OPS season. Atlanta has put it's neck out to prove it deserves a seat at the table with the top dogs, and they've succeeded so far. -- Previous Rank: 6 -- L10: 4-6#5 -
- Record: 32-25 --- It's really hard not to hope this poor play by the Reds is a sign of things to come. It's probably not, anyway. Eric Lindsay is a god right now, putting up Ted Williams like numbers (.396/.427/1.062, 10 HRs, 44 RBI and 34 runs scored) within his first 200 ABs. I still have Ray V. marked as my MVP, but this Lindsay guy doesn't seem to care what I think. Vines has step up beautifully and given Andy some options with his power. Milton, Stanley and Vines have been the engine to a terrorizing offense that, of course, leads the league in almost every offensive statistical category. Cincinnati has the same problem most underachieving teams do - their pitching has been throwing up some goose eggs. While Pinnick had a nice 4 game turnaround, Kendrowski has allowed 4 or more runs in his last 3 starts and he hasn't pitched over 6 innings in any one of them. He's lucky he has the kind of offense that can bail him out as they did against the Dodgers. Bullpen arms Egan, Pendergrass and Winston have given up a combined 16 HRs in just 88 IP. I trust Pendergrass, but I'm not banking on the other two making long strides of improvement. Cincy is still in everyone's mind the team you absolutely do not want to face.....well, at least I feel that way. I'm calling a bounce back to total dominant control of the division by sim 7. -- Previous Rank: 2 -- L10: 5-5#6 -
- Record: 36-22 --- Ben Dolan, Matthew Hagen and Tony Davenport have been offensive disappointments so far. It doesn't seem to bother the Yanks as their tremendous three in Pugh, Adler and Ugaki have combined powers with the bench to provide the support needed to secure a 3rd best record. Even behind shady pitching, this team is the league's best when the game is late and on the line. How that happens with a bullpen that allows over 4 runs every 9 innings is anyone's guess. My guess? Erick knows how to win. He may not be decorated, but he certainly should be taken seriously when you face his team in an upcoming sim. -- Previous Rank: 8 -- L10: 6-4#7 -
- Record: 35-23 --- Where the hell did they come from? KC almost found themselves sliding out of the rankings, now they're in first place. Mike lost just 5 of the 17 games he played last sim, his offense stepping up to the plate as ageless wonder Jonathan Woods directed the train with 14 hits in his last 10 games. Winegardner and the bullpen turned it around for the most part, only drawback being Furusato's inability make it out of the 9th and finish off the Rangers even after his team gave him a commanding 4 run lead. If the starters continue to pitch well, Big Game Ace Marin stays healthy and the bullpen remains capable, Kansas City actually has a shot. How far can the Roaring Royals go? As I've mentioned previously, their offense will have the most say about that, but it'll be fun to watch! The AL Central has been by far the most entertaining division in FCM so far, with 4 different teams claiming the lead in the first 4 sims. -- Previous Rank: 15 -- L10: 8-2#8 -
- Record: 32-26 --- The Indians cooled off big time after a great run in sim 3. They faced some quality teams, going 7-11 against the Rangers, Tigers, Cubs, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees while still staying on pace with their division rivals at just 3 games behind first. Cleveland has displayed some of FCM's best pitching, southpaw Austin Wimbush and veteran closer Aaron Smith at the helm of a staff allowing just 3.75 runs per game. It's the Tribe's offense that has been the yin to their yang, hitting .250 as a team and ranking 24th in runs scored. When Toronto (14-44) and Pittsburgh (20-39) are the only teams that have a lower team OPS than you, something needs to be done in order to stay in contention. They did lose a bunch of close games late in month, so there is room for a positive outlook. I'm not too sure contention was on Matty's mind at the start of the season, but if his pitching can continue it's mastery and the bats start hitting the ball it will be juicy to watch what Matty decides to do with this team. -- Previous Rank: 5 -- L10: 5-5#9 -
- Record: 34-24 --- The Athletics still own the best bullpen in the league, seemingly making it easier on a staff that doesn't have any superstars and a line up that has just one player hitting over .266 (100 ABs minimum). A's fans can't get too excited though - relying on Moreno or Brown every late game situation isn't going to cut it, and the rotation has been slowing down for 3 straight sims. I think this team is in a bit over their heads, with a light schedule and an even less frightening division giving them almost no problems at all. Fred's in first place still causing trouble for the Astros, throwing his middle fingers up at anyone who doubts Oakland, and he'll make sure he sticks them up for as long as he can. -- Previous Rank: 10 -- L10: 5-5#10 -
- Record: 32-25 --- Houston.....we have a problem! In the form of pitching that allowed 4 or more runs in 11 of their last 17 games. The bullpen is allowing just under 5 runs per game this year, and last sim featured two heart breaking blown saves from Hayman and one by Adair. This had to be a big factor in Houston losing 7 games by 2 runs or less in during the sim 4 stretch. The Astros' hitters have been doing all they can to pick up the slack, but daily ROY/MVP performances from Robinson and some solid contributions around him isn't going to push this club past Oakland. The pitchers need stay reliable in order for my division title prediction to come true. -- Previous Rank: 7 -- L10: 4-6#11 -
- Record: 36-23 --- Libreros drops just a sim after Huey does, wonderful! I've been playing good ball, but I don't exactly know if my bullpen can hold or even if my rotation will continue to pitch close to as well as it has. Hopefully my offense keeps it all together some how. -- Previous Rank: 12 -- L10: 5-5#12 -
- Record: 31-26 --- The Red Birds make their rankings debut, soaring to a 12-6 record for sim 4, taking 2nd place in the NL Central and trailing Cincinnati by just one game. Now that the battle with early season demons is over, the entire St. Louis starting rotation is ready to do what it does best: terminate wood! Their bullpen is no less destructive besides the mishaps of Davis and Delgalleo. The peculiar thing about this club is their talented offense. The players for the most part have posted pretty good numbers so far this year. Mitch Dorn and Howie Dow igniting the team's offense with their speed, Mike Smith and Carsolad doing their jobs to bring Dorn and Dow home, and even Atterman providing support in the lower half of the line up. Now the 5-7 guys have been nothing to write home about, but I still strongly believe this team isn't as bad as their 23rd ranking in runs scored suggests. They'll face some light pitching from Seattle and Philly, with the best rotation in baseball smacked in between those two for a four game set. Let's see what GD has in store.....he may become a blindsiding threat to Andy's comeback. -- Previous Rank: / -- L10: 8-2#13 -
- Record: 30-28 --- Previous Rank: 9 -- L10: 4-6#14 -
- Record: 30-28 --- Previous Rank: 13 -- L10: 3-7[b]#15 -
- Record: 30-29 --- Previous Rank: 14 -- L10: 6-4