MBL POWER RANKINGS - 2/19/2015

Each team has played at least 30 games for the year, so we're at about the 20% mark on the season.  Time for another look at the Power Rankings.  A lot of movement in this edition.  Some teams are trending upward, while others have slumped badly.  And a surprise change at the top as the Beaneaters are knocked off their perch atop the standings for the first time this season.  Here are how the teams graded out this time around:

RNK	+/-	TEAM	BAT	PIT	FLD	PCT	rDiff	PYTH	xW	xL	LUCK
1	1	New York Rippers	9	2	2	0.727	55	0.690	23	10	1
2	(1)	Boston Beaneaters	2	1	16	0.758	85	0.738	24	9	1
3	7	Washington Tribe	4	6	17	0.733	62	0.688	21	9	1
4	5	Colorado Briar Jumpers	12	3	10	0.633	46	0.660	20	10	(1)
5	6	Baltimore Stouts	1	10	21	0.667	51	0.622	22	14	2
6	(3)	Detroit Buckeyes	3	16	3	0.556	31	0.575	21	15	(1)
7	5	Oakland Osprey	6	8	19	0.556	37	0.601	22	14	(2)
8	10	San Francisco Quakers	18	7	9	0.556	10	0.530	19	17	1
9	10	Miami Panthers	11	9	19	0.485	1	0.503	17	16	(1)
10	(6)	Houston Buffaloes	8	14	14	0.533	8	0.526	16	14	0
11	(4)	Minnesota Millers	24	3	5	0.485	8	0.529	17	16	(1)
12	(6)	Arizona Apaches	14	13	4	0.515	(12)	0.465	15	18	2
13	7	Washington Senators	10	12	18	0.467	(2)	0.494	15	15	(1)
14	0	Seattle Lightning	22	5	13	0.533	10	0.538	16	14	(0)
15	2	Milwaukee Phantoms	13	23	1	0.424	(29)	0.422	14	19	0
16	(3)	Atlanta Stonecutters	15	19	8	0.455	(21)	0.438	14	19	1
17	(2)	San Diego Vipers	21	10	7	0.455	(22)	0.433	14	19	1
18	(2)	St. Louis Sliders	7	18	23	0.424	(32)	0.417	14	19	0
19	4	Brooklyn BA Bums	17	17	12	0.394	(23)	0.434	14	19	(1)
20	(15)	Pittsburgh Crawfords	5	21	24	0.389	(32)	0.426	15	21	(1)
21	3	New York Bombers	20	15	15	0.361	(33)	0.405	15	21	(2)
22	(1)	Los Angeles Diablos	19	22	11	0.303	(42)	0.380	13	20	(3)
23	(15)	Cincinnati Red Stockings	16	20	21	0.367	(36)	0.393	12	18	(1)
24	(2)	Cleveland Rock 'N Rollers	23	24	5	0.242	(120)	0.237	8	25	0

GLOSSARY

RNK - Overall Power Ranking +/- - Difference between this ranking and the team's last ranking BAT - Batting Rank

PIT - Pitching Rank

FLD - Fielding Rank

PCT - Actual Win Percentage rDIFF - Run Differential

PYTH - Expected Win Percentage xW - Expected Wins xL - Expected Losses

LUCK - Difference between actual wins and expected wins

Observations:

• Obviously a change at the top as the New York Rippers supplant division rival Boston Beaneaters for the #1 spot.  While Boston has done nothing to really lose their grip on the top spot, grading out as the top pitching team and second best hitting team, the Rippers are more well rounded.  New York is the only team to crack the top-10 in all three categories.   They lead the league in stolen bases by a wide margin, and are also adept at gunning down opposing runners, butting down eight of 20 would-be thieves.
• Another thing that instantly jumps out to me is the decline of both the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Cincinnati Red Stockings, both teams dropping a whopping 15 spots in the rankings.  Pittsburgh has went 2-13 since the last rankings, while Cincinnati has failed to win a game, dropping nine straight.  The Crawfords still grade out as the 5th best offensive squad, but they rank dead last in team fielding and 21st in pitching.  The Red Stocking rank in the bottom 10 in all three categories.
• On the flip side, both the San Francisco Quakers and the Miami Panthers have improved 10 spots in the rankings.  San Fran is beginning to play some good ball, going 10-5 since the last rankings.  Miami is an odd case though.  They actually have a losing record since the last rankings, going only 5-7.  But they grade out in the top-11 in both the hitting and pitching categories.
• The Minnesota Millers are arguably the league's most disappointing team to date.  They sat atop the league in the preseason rankings.  But the team has not found it's hitting stroke, ranking dead last in hitting, averaging only 4.3 runs per game.  That number is sure to improve.  When it does, the Millers will be a tough team to play as they currently grade out as the 3rd best pitching team and the 5th best fielding squad.
• The league's unluckiest team to date is the Los Angelas Diablos.  They come in at 22nd in the rankings, but their Pythagorean Win/Loss % says they should have won three more games than they have to date.  Not that the change would put them in the playoff hunt, but still.
• Conversely, the Baltimore Stouts and Arizona Apaches are the luckiest teams so far, both winning two more games than they "should" have.
• Speaking of Baltimore, they jumped six spots in the standing behind their #1 ranking offensively.  The Stouts lead the league in runs per game (6.4), home runs (67), batting average (.295), on-base percentage (.372), slugging percentage (.518) and OPS (.890).  They also grade out 4th on the basebaths, swiping 21 bags while only being caught four times.
• The highest rated team from the Expansion League is the MBL defending champion, the Colorado Briar Jumpers.  They've went 8-4 since the last edition of the rankings and currently sit atop the Western Division by three games.  The team grades out well in all categories, ranking in the top-12 in all three.  Their pitching been their brightest spot, ranking 3rd overall, 2nd in WHIP and 3rd in team ERA.
• The Cleveland Rock 'N Rollers come in at the bottom of the rankings.  The team grades out as the 23rd ranked offense and worst overall in pitching.  Their team ERA of 7.70 is two full runs worse than their next closest competitor, and four-and-a-half runs worse than league leading New York.
• The Expansion's Pacific Division still has all four teams ranked in the top-10 in pitching (SEA 5, SF 7, OAK 8, SD 10).