2009 Playoffs

[Colby]

Combined standings look like this at of 7/27/09
AL East - Yankees
AL Central - Indians
AL West - Rangers
AL Wildcard - Red Sox

NL East - Phillies
NL Central - Astros
NL West - Rockies
NL Wildcard - Braves

It's only been a few weeks of play, but surprising the league are the Indians and Astros.  This is what happens when you start a league in the 2nd half though.  The Dodgers big lead in the NL West in the first half counts for nothing.  The Braves can start from scratch.  The Astros, controlled by the league and making no moves, have found them with one of the best records in baseball.  Meanwhile, teams such as the Nationals, Mets, Padres, Royals, and Mariners continue to struggle.  Teams that need to step up: Brewers, Cardinals, Dodgers, Tigers, Angels, and White Sox.

It will be roto-play the entire season, but the last three weeks are reserved for playoffs.  I am able to view a team's accumulated stats during a period, and so are any of you under the standings tab in Fantrax.

9/13 - 9/19, Divisional Series
9/20 - 9/26, ALCS/NLCS
9/27 - 10/5, World Series

[Colby]

About five weeks until the playoffs and a bunch of teams are in it...

AL East - Rays
Yankees were leading this division all along (almost) until today.  This appears to be like the real AL East as a three-headed monster with the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees.

AL Central - Indians
Unlike the real AL Central, the Indians are in it because we started this season late, and the Franchise GM team was somewhat of a buyer (relief pitching, not trading V-Mart) and a seller (DeRosa).  The White Sox, Tigers, and Twins appear to be closing the gap though.

AL West - Rangers
The Angels have fallen quite a bit, but they have the firepower to take this thing over.  Athletics are still in it, but I don't see how they will hold up.

AL Wildcard - Yankees
Here is how close the AL East teams are... in the combined standings today, we have:
6     Tampa Bay Rays     247.5
7    New York Yankees    245
8    Boston Red Sox    242
The Angels aren't far behind either, but it's a matter of time until they take their division, so it appears that the AL Wildcard will go to the East.

NL East - Phillies
Except for a short hot streak by the Braves, this one has been owned by the reigning champs the entire time.  Just as in real life, the Marlins and Braves are behind the Phils, hoping for a shot, but the Mets and Nats are out of it.

NL Central - Astros
Another beneficiary of the late start, the league-ran Astros have held the #1 standing in this division the past month.  However, the Cardinals have made up a lot of ground, and so have the Cubs.  The Pirates appear to be in it, but that's just a mirage my friends!

NL West - Rockies
Rockies, in real life, have closed the gap big time with the Dodgers.  Here, the team is in 1st, not 2nd, and the Dodgers are essentially tied up with the Giants and the surprising Diamondbacks.

NL Wildcard - Braves
Marlins, Dodgers, and D-Backs trail, but the closest NL Central team in the Cubs is ranked 17th.

[Colby]

Four weeks to go and the picture starts to become much clearer and more aligned with MLB.

AL East - Yankees
As I said, this has been the Yankees division just as in real life, but the Red Sox and Rays are 7th and 8th in the combined standings (call em' Power Rankings), so it's not like they are running away with it.

AL Central - Indians
If the Twins could find some pitching, they could take out the surprising Indians.  The Tigers have the best pitching, but they play the worst defense and are under the 100 run mark as of right now.  Royals and White Sox find themselves in the middle of this as well.  This will surely go down to the wire.

AL West - Athletics
One week later and the A's are leading the division while the real team is 18 games back.  The Angels, led by Kendry Morales, have had one of the best offenses in the league (169.8 RC to date), but they fall victim to their opponents' better pitching.  Roto probably flaws the Angels here because their 1.34 WHIP and 1.90 K/BB would fair much better if matched up with other teams in the AL.  Either way, the Angels are most likely to come out on top here.

AL Wildcard - Red Sox
The same teams are battling for the wildcard: Red Sox, Rays, and Angels.  I still think the Angels will take the West leading it to an NL East showdown for the wildcard.

NL East - Braves
The Braves won't quit thanks to a hammering offense (sans McLouth).  This is the Phillies division, but their #2 standing is actually due to their pitching.  Marlins are hanging around.

NL Central - Astros
This division has fixed itself, so that the Cubs and Cards are right behind the Stros.  The Brew Crew is out of sight thanks to bad pitching.  Who knows if Cliff Lee alone is enough to help this team.  My Pirates have fallen to the bottom as usual.  

NL West - Dodgers
The Dodgers are starting to heat up again and are tied with the Rockies today, but the tiebreaker (overall) goes to the Dodgers. Giants and Diamondbacks are still a threat, but the Giants will need to do more than just pitch well to take this one.

NL Wildcard - Marlins
Roto-combined standings as of today for NL teams
Braves - 308
Marlins - 274
Dodgers - 272
Phillies - 269
Rockies - 251
The Braves have a heck of a lead here, and with the Phillies expected to take the East, I don't see how the Marlins or Rockies could make the wildcard.  However, a 30 point swing in the combined standings in one month can happen.  I like the Braves to take the NL Wildcard with the Rockies and Fish trailing close behind.

[Colby]

Division leads changed in a day with the Red Sox, Rangers, and Cubs taking over for the Yankees, A's, and Astros, respectively. 

POWER RANKING (Combined Standings)
1    Atlanta Braves     295
2    Philadelphia Phillies    287
3    New York Yankees    282
4    Boston Red Sox    275
5    Colorado Rockies    265
6    Los Angeles Dodgers    252
7    Los Angeles Angels    242
8    Tampa Bay Rays    241
9    Florida Marlins    234
10    Oakland Athletics    217

[lp815]

Hey Colby, I have not seen where you get the combined standings at.  Is it viewable on fantrax or something you created?

[Colby]

Hey Colby, I have not seen where you get the combined standings at.  Is it viewable on fantrax or something you created?

Fantrax -> Standings -> Combined Tab

We will use that to determine the Wildcard teams for the playoffs.

[Colby]

Three headed monster in both of the Eastern divisions...

Rank     Team     Score
1    New York Yankees    298
2    Atlanta Braves    292
3    Florida Marlins    289
4    Philadelphia Phillies    270
5    Tampa Bay Rays    260
5    Boston Red Sox    260

What hurts the Phillies here compared to real life is the lack of Cliff Lee.

[Canada8999]

Four weeks to go and the picture starts to become much clearer and more aligned with MLB.

NL Central - Astros
This division has fixed itself, so that the Cubs and Cards are right behind the Stros.  The Brew Crew is out of sight thanks to bad pitching.  Who knows if Cliff Lee alone is enough to help this team.  My Pirates have fallen to the bottom as usual.  

plenty of time left, don't count us out yet!

[Colby]

plenty of time left, don't count us out yet!

The Brew Crew is charging forward as a contender with the latest standings...

[Colby]

Three and a half weeks to go, and the Central divisions are starting to look a bit more clear.

AL East - Yankees
Rays and Red Sox still trail by a slim margin.  Blue Jays are out of sight alongside the Orioles.

AL Central - Twins
Twins are racing ahead of the Indians, but the White Sox and Royals are not completely out of it.  The most intriguing team is perhaps the Tigers.  They could jump ahead of everyone if it wasn't for their position players playing poorly (Ryan Raburn had three errors at third the other night).

AL West - Angels
Jake's (lp815) Angels are tied with the Rangers for the division lead, but currently have the tiebreaker with the overall lead in the combined standings.  This will be a two-team race until September 13th with the A's and Mariners all but out of it.

AL Wildcard - Red Sox
Eric's (EK) Sox still have the wildcard in their hands.  Rays and Rangers are the next leading candidates, but as I said all along, this will go to the AL East as usual.

NL East - Marlins
Now it is turn for Jorge's (JMGC) fish.  This has turned into quite a race, and it appears that the real-life Phillies trade for Cliff Lee has kept them at the top whereas this version of the squad is floating in 2nd/3rd place.

NL Central - Cardinals
Where Cliff Lee did end up going was to the Brewers.  This has done a lot for the team as they went from the bottom half of the NL Central to the top half.  Currently three points out of first, Ben's (Brewers GM) Brew Crew is looking solid to steal the division.  The presence of the Cubs remains, but the inactivity of the GM (fantasy and in real life) limits this team's ceiling.

NL West - Dodgers
The Diamondbacks appears to have dropped out of the race.  Now it is down to the Giants and Rockies to upset Mike's (mjmezzetti) Dodger blue.

NL Wildcard - Braves
It appears the NL wildcard will go to its East division as well.  The next time behind the Phillies are the Rockies who have drifted even further from the WC hunt.

Power Rankings
Rank     Team     Score
1    Florida Marlins    303
2    New York Yankees    298
3    Atlanta Braves    291
4    Philadelphia Phillies    279
5    Boston Red Sox    263
6    Tampa Bay Rays    254
7    Los Angeles Angels    253
8    Colorado Rockies    237
9    Los Angeles Dodgers    223
10    San Francisco Giants    213

Race for the #1 pick?
30    New York Mets    82
29    Pittsburgh Pirates    98
28    Washington Nationals    112
27    Baltimore Orioles    113
26    San Diego Padres     115