Post by Nationals GM (Tim) on May 7, 2023 20:03:13 GMT -5
Week 5 Power Rankings
Respect My Authority Tier
1. (1) Nationals – Not a great performance this week for the Nationals. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sweating my prediction of them running away with this matchup by the middle of the week. The offense came through in a big way this weekend.
2. (2) Mariners – The Mariners have every right to claim they are the best team in the league after dismantling the sad Astros.
3. (3) Giants – San Francisco takes sole control of the NL West with an easy W against the Padres.
4. (4) Blue Jays – The Blue Jays easily dispatched division rival Baltimore. A big matchup next week against the Nationals.
Are You PC, Bro? Tier
5. (5) Guardians – Another upper echelon team with a not-so-great performance, but it was just enough to get a victory.
6. (11) Cardinals – The Cardinals climb back up the rankings with a win against the Reds in a matchup that keeps him 1 game behind the upstart Cubs.
7. (12) White Sox – The White Sox brought the fire and smoke against the Dodgers and ran away with this game.
8. (10) Cubs – Do the Cubs have a better record than 26 other teams? Yes. Are they currently better than the 7 in front of them? I don’t think so after an underwhelming performance versus the Athletics. I anticipated a big trade this week but it didn’t happen. Chicago better come to play next week with the Dodgers heading to town.
9. (6) Dodgers – The Dodgers dropped a big game against the White Sox this week. Chicago scored over 400 points, but that’s not the issue here; the Dodgers looked very bad.
10. (7) Marlins – The Marlins played really well and it looked like they had the game wrapped up on Friday. Unfortunately, Nestor Cortes had his Sunday start pushed back and that could have been the difference in this game.
11. (8) Orioles – The Orioles didn’t perform great this week and they needed to if they wanted to win against the Blue Jays. They are now 2 games back in the AL East.
Do You Have Any Tegridy? Tier
12. (14) Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks picked up a good victory against the Rockies in a game that probably would have dictated what direction they would go the rest of the season. I think the Diamondbacks will be a buyer in the upcoming weeks.
13. (9) Astros – Tough loss for the Astros but it was an expected outcome. A mid-week trade to add a starting shortstop will hopefully provide some stability on the infield.
14. (13) Reds – The Reds lost their matchup to division rival St. Louis and now they sit 2 games behind NL Central division leader, and league surprise Chicago Cubs.
15. (15) Angels – This was a game the Angels needed to win, and they came through against the Rangers. Still no movement in the front office to address gaping holes in the bullpen and on offense.
Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home Tier
16. (18) Tigers – The Tigers put together a sweet victory over the Twins after a couple of rough weeks.
17. (19) Braves – The Braves are sitting here at 3-2. Very much in the hunt for a playoff spot, I’d like to see them go out and make a trade or two
.
18. (21) Rays – The Rays are a bit of a surprise, sitting at 3-2. Mostly due to a soft schedule. I don’t expect any sort of ‘win now’ trades to be made for the Rays, but the 5 of their next 7 games look winnable. Who knows what they’ve got up their sleeve.
19. (20) Mets – The Mets are 2-3 and the next 3 games are very winnable. They’re in that weird window right now where good players are graduating from the minors but not quite enough to help them win the big games. Next year, I expect they’ll be buyers.
20. (17) Rockies – I think the loss this week has convinced the Rockies to be sellers. Probably not an all-out sell job, but some form of ‘kicking the can’ to next season.
21. (16) Rangers – I was really rooting for the Rangers here, but unfortunately, his team couldn’t put it together to score a victory. Not to pour salt in the wound but losing German Marquez to Tommy John surgery this week just plain sucks. He’s in A Arb year 6 of 7, so he’ll get no trade value from him and he’ll get no help from him this year or next.
Closed My Eyes And Sucked It Out Of A Hose Tier
22. (23) Brewers – An easy W for the Brewers versus the Pirates. I’m still waiting for them to make some sell trades.
23. (22) Padres – Still no wins yet for the Padres. I know they’re in the sell market, but we’ve seen nothing posted yet. Soon. Soon.
24. (24) Royals – The Royals indicated they are selling this week when Drew Smyly was shipped off to Washington. This will be the first of what should be multiple trades by the Royals front office.
25. (25) Twins – Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.
26. (26) Athletics – An expected loss this week to the Cubs has this team looking at shipping out superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor. Will it actually happen, and will they get a fair return for him? I hope it’s a yes to both.
If I Could Rank All Of These Teams Last I Would Tier
27. (27) Red Sox – If I could rank all of these teams last, I would
28. (28) Pirates – If I could rank all of these teams last, I would
29. (29) Yankees – If I could rank all of these teams last, I would
30. (30) Phillies – If I could rank all of these teams last, I would
Game of the Week
5-0 Nationals vs 5-0 Blue Jays
A battle between 2 of the 4 remaining unbeaten teams. The Blue Jays have been hot all season long while the Nationals might be showing some signs of inconsistency. This should be a close matchup all week long and both teams look like they’ll max out their pitching starts. My guess is that this matchup comes down to which offense performs best.
Respect My Authority Tier
1. (1) Nationals – Not a great performance this week for the Nationals. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sweating my prediction of them running away with this matchup by the middle of the week. The offense came through in a big way this weekend.
2. (2) Mariners – The Mariners have every right to claim they are the best team in the league after dismantling the sad Astros.
3. (3) Giants – San Francisco takes sole control of the NL West with an easy W against the Padres.
4. (4) Blue Jays – The Blue Jays easily dispatched division rival Baltimore. A big matchup next week against the Nationals.
Are You PC, Bro? Tier
5. (5) Guardians – Another upper echelon team with a not-so-great performance, but it was just enough to get a victory.
6. (11) Cardinals – The Cardinals climb back up the rankings with a win against the Reds in a matchup that keeps him 1 game behind the upstart Cubs.
7. (12) White Sox – The White Sox brought the fire and smoke against the Dodgers and ran away with this game.
8. (10) Cubs – Do the Cubs have a better record than 26 other teams? Yes. Are they currently better than the 7 in front of them? I don’t think so after an underwhelming performance versus the Athletics. I anticipated a big trade this week but it didn’t happen. Chicago better come to play next week with the Dodgers heading to town.
9. (6) Dodgers – The Dodgers dropped a big game against the White Sox this week. Chicago scored over 400 points, but that’s not the issue here; the Dodgers looked very bad.
10. (7) Marlins – The Marlins played really well and it looked like they had the game wrapped up on Friday. Unfortunately, Nestor Cortes had his Sunday start pushed back and that could have been the difference in this game.
11. (8) Orioles – The Orioles didn’t perform great this week and they needed to if they wanted to win against the Blue Jays. They are now 2 games back in the AL East.
Do You Have Any Tegridy? Tier
12. (14) Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks picked up a good victory against the Rockies in a game that probably would have dictated what direction they would go the rest of the season. I think the Diamondbacks will be a buyer in the upcoming weeks.
13. (9) Astros – Tough loss for the Astros but it was an expected outcome. A mid-week trade to add a starting shortstop will hopefully provide some stability on the infield.
14. (13) Reds – The Reds lost their matchup to division rival St. Louis and now they sit 2 games behind NL Central division leader, and league surprise Chicago Cubs.
15. (15) Angels – This was a game the Angels needed to win, and they came through against the Rangers. Still no movement in the front office to address gaping holes in the bullpen and on offense.
Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home Tier
16. (18) Tigers – The Tigers put together a sweet victory over the Twins after a couple of rough weeks.
17. (19) Braves – The Braves are sitting here at 3-2. Very much in the hunt for a playoff spot, I’d like to see them go out and make a trade or two
.
18. (21) Rays – The Rays are a bit of a surprise, sitting at 3-2. Mostly due to a soft schedule. I don’t expect any sort of ‘win now’ trades to be made for the Rays, but the 5 of their next 7 games look winnable. Who knows what they’ve got up their sleeve.
19. (20) Mets – The Mets are 2-3 and the next 3 games are very winnable. They’re in that weird window right now where good players are graduating from the minors but not quite enough to help them win the big games. Next year, I expect they’ll be buyers.
20. (17) Rockies – I think the loss this week has convinced the Rockies to be sellers. Probably not an all-out sell job, but some form of ‘kicking the can’ to next season.
21. (16) Rangers – I was really rooting for the Rangers here, but unfortunately, his team couldn’t put it together to score a victory. Not to pour salt in the wound but losing German Marquez to Tommy John surgery this week just plain sucks. He’s in A Arb year 6 of 7, so he’ll get no trade value from him and he’ll get no help from him this year or next.
Closed My Eyes And Sucked It Out Of A Hose Tier
22. (23) Brewers – An easy W for the Brewers versus the Pirates. I’m still waiting for them to make some sell trades.
23. (22) Padres – Still no wins yet for the Padres. I know they’re in the sell market, but we’ve seen nothing posted yet. Soon. Soon.
24. (24) Royals – The Royals indicated they are selling this week when Drew Smyly was shipped off to Washington. This will be the first of what should be multiple trades by the Royals front office.
25. (25) Twins – Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.
26. (26) Athletics – An expected loss this week to the Cubs has this team looking at shipping out superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor. Will it actually happen, and will they get a fair return for him? I hope it’s a yes to both.
If I Could Rank All Of These Teams Last I Would Tier
27. (27) Red Sox – If I could rank all of these teams last, I would
28. (28) Pirates – If I could rank all of these teams last, I would
29. (29) Yankees – If I could rank all of these teams last, I would
30. (30) Phillies – If I could rank all of these teams last, I would
Game of the Week
5-0 Nationals vs 5-0 Blue Jays
A battle between 2 of the 4 remaining unbeaten teams. The Blue Jays have been hot all season long while the Nationals might be showing some signs of inconsistency. This should be a close matchup all week long and both teams look like they’ll max out their pitching starts. My guess is that this matchup comes down to which offense performs best.