Post by Ken Rosenthal on Jun 25, 2023 21:25:53 GMT -5
Week 12 is in the books. Let's get into this week's rankings.... the theme this week? As some of you know, I'm a much bigger basketball guy than baseball....NBA legends tiers.
Week 12 Power Rankings - NBA Legends
Tier 1: The "GOAT" (MJ)
1. (1) Mariners 12-0 – MJ is the best. No argument right now. Seattle outlasted Cleveland to remind us they belong alone in the GOAT tier. They felt the need to get Jason Adam in a recent trade just to make sure everyone remains as scared as possible of them.
Tier 2: The "King" (LBJ)
2. (2) Nationals 12-0 – LBJ is amazing. Hard to put anyone else at number two after such a long career of incredible play. But he's not MJ level dominance. That's where I'm at with Washington. They look almost unbeatable... but there's Seattle, who looks more unbeatable. And Tim keeps trading away MLB guys for draft picks...
3. (4) White Sox 9-3 – When I think... which team has the best shot to knock off one of the undefeated teams... my mind immediately goes to the team that just scored 481 points in a regular scoring week and is completely all-in on the 2023 season. Love it. White Sox have regained control of the AL Central
4. (3) Blue Jays 10-2 – I think we're kind of sleeping on Toronto. Stephen is constantly tinkering with his club to improve it, as evidenced by the recent Vaughn/Detmers swap. This team is really good and could very easily be our 2023 World Series champion.
5. (5) Orioles 8-4 – Baltimore scored 384... but that didn't matter to the White Sox. The O's still belong in the King tier despite having four losses this season. Don't be shocked if this is the last game they lose this season. With all their young guys... it's just going to get better. Unless Mike trades them.
Tier 3: The "Generational With A Dash of Unique" (Magic & Bird)
6. (8) Cubs 10-2 – Magic & Bird. It's iconic. It represents a decade of basketball. The culture of it all almost shrouds their actual genius on the court. There's the Cubs. It's a wonderful story... they've bounced back from a long rebuild. We had a lot of fun with their winning streak. But oh yeah... this team is actually really good now too. In a weakened NL, they've got a shot.
7. (6) Giants 8-4 – Just six starts yet again from the Giants rotation as they fall to the Reds. We've been saying San Francisco needs to trade for pitching for awhile. Either they've been in the longest trade discussions in history... or it's not happening. It's the Giants though. They're staying up here in Tier 3.
Tier 4: The "Big Guys" (Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Duncan, Shaq)
8. (9) Guardians 8-4 – All of these guys were various forms of dominant for their time. Duncan's fundamentals. Russell's defensive tenacity. Shaq's sheer force. But if you put them against the tiers up from this... you don't feel as great. Cleveland had a great week, but it was against Seattle unfortunately. Still a game back in the AL Central.
9. (7) Tigers 9-3 – 205 points. YIKES. Can you really just stand pat at 9-3 after a week like that?
10. Diamondbacks 8-4 – A B- kind of week from Arizona against Washington. We were all hoping Kyle would hand Tim his first loss of the year. Could the D'backs steal the division away from the Giants?
11. (12) Astros 8-4 – Don't look now, but the Astros just scored 350 points. Will's teams consistently get 10 starts from the rotation. That'll keep them in the mix til the end of the year. On the outside looking in of a tough top six though in the American League.
12. (13) Reds 7-5 – Huge win for the Reds over the Giants as they start the climb back up the power rankings. Might be a win of the year kind of game when we look back if they make the playoffs.
Tier 5: The "More Fun To Watch Than Play With" (Kobe, Hakeem)
13. (11) Dodgers 8-4 – "Oh yeah, Kobe, he's incredible. I loved watching him." Pick up any given game to watch though... and you come away wondering if he's really adding more value than he's subtracting. Still amazing. Here we have the Dodgers... 262 points. Yawn. I just have a hard time seeing this rotation leading them to even the NLCS.
14. Cardinals 8-4 – Soler is now gone as well. The sell-off continues with the Cardinals still in a playoff spot. Will they pivot before the deadline if they're still hanging onto a playoff spot? Probably not? You know how I feel about these kind of sell-offs when in the playoff picture.
15. Rockies 7-5 – 308 points. Not too shabby. Making the playoffs feels like a long-shot for Colorado. But we were saying that around this point last season about Miami... look what happened there.
Tier 6: The "No One Like This Guy" (KG, Steph, KD)
16. Angels 7-5 – KG... who's more competitive than that man? Seriously crazy. I don't think we'll ever see another Steph Curry. Could you make a more perfect basketball player than KD in a lab? All unique players who bring so much to the NBA story. Derrick's history speaks louder than his current roster for the purposes of this tier... the current team is just hoping some of the AL teams pull a Nik and start selling off mid-playoff run.
17. (18) Rangers 5-7 – A win for the Rangers. Jordan Walker looks like a good acquisition, he's been better. I think we'll all be high on Texas coming into next year.
18. (17) Marlins 5-7 – Everyone loves Travis. The Marlins are always around... I'm sure they'll be back in the mix next year.
Tier 7: The "Boring, but Good" (Oscar, both Malones, Stockton)
19. (18) Padres 4-8 – I just don't get that enthralled watching Oscar/Karl/Moses/Stockton highlights. The passing is nice I guess. John Stockton or Michael Jordan. Sorry John. Karl Malone or LeBron James. Sorry Karl. The loss to the Cardinals probably seals their fate for 2023. A disappointing one for Denver for sure. Now, will they finally start selling to get ready for 2024?
20. Rays 5-7 – The Rays have really come back down to earth. That's all I've got.
21. (22) Braves 4-8 – The Braves made trades AND beat the Brewers. Woohoo!
22. (24) Athletics 4-8 – THREE wins in a row for Oakland. Put up a banner!
23. (21) Brewers 3-9 – Fun to hear Tim on the podcast this week. 3-9 is indeed not a fun group to manage. Get your team back to greatness, Tim!
The "Entertaining, but Missing Something, *like 3pt shooting or defense" Tier (Chuck, Giannis, Dirk, Dr. J, Wade)
24. (22) Mets 3-9 – I love watching all the players in this tier. They're so fun, so unique. There's just one thing holding each back. Giannis can't shoot... but is other-worldly in everything else. Wade really could've used a 3 point shot. The Mets have a lot of potential, but scored 164 points. Next year they'll add the 3 ball and change the game
25. Royals 3-9 – The trades have begun.. and the Royals are shopping Marcus Semien heavily according to reports. I expect him to be dealt within the week.
26. (25) Red Sox 2-10 – The Red Sox WIN.... the tanking battle against Oakland. Good job Sean! Would still love to hear more thoughts on the Seager/Devers trade.
27. (26) Twins 1-11 – Can they please trade Manny Machado? Put him on a good team.
28. Pirates 1-11 – The Pirates lost! WOW. What an effort from Pittsburgh. Luis Robert and Nick Castellanos had a very difficult time playing 2 on 9 reportedly. They have asked out and the Pirates are trying to find trades for them.
29. (30) Phillies 1-11 – The Phillies unfortunately won their game. Lose for Crews seems like a pipe dream now. Sad. Zach seemed so excited. Dreams for Skenes? I honestly don't even know how to pronounce Skenes so that could be way off.
30. (29) Yankees 0-12 – The Yankees were overjoyed to see the Phillies win. They're on track for the first pick come February 1st.
Current Playoff Picture
National League:
1. Washington Nationals (12-0)
2. Chicago Cubs (10-2)
3. San Francisco Giants (8-4)
4. Arizona D'backs (8-4)
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (8-4)
6. St. Louis Cardinals (8-4)
...Cincinnati Reds (7-5)....Colorado Rockies (7-5)
American League:
1. Seattle Mariners (12-0)
2. Toronto Blue Jays (10-2)
3. Chicago White Sox (9-3)
4. Detroit Tigers (9-3)
5. Baltimore Orioles (8-4)
6. Cleveland Guardians (8-4)
....Houston Astros (8-4)....Los Angeles Angels (7-5)
Week 13 Games To Watch
ARI vs STL
CIN vs WAS
HOU vs DET
TOR vs SEA
KR
Week 12 Power Rankings - NBA Legends
Tier 1: The "GOAT" (MJ)
1. (1) Mariners 12-0 – MJ is the best. No argument right now. Seattle outlasted Cleveland to remind us they belong alone in the GOAT tier. They felt the need to get Jason Adam in a recent trade just to make sure everyone remains as scared as possible of them.
Tier 2: The "King" (LBJ)
2. (2) Nationals 12-0 – LBJ is amazing. Hard to put anyone else at number two after such a long career of incredible play. But he's not MJ level dominance. That's where I'm at with Washington. They look almost unbeatable... but there's Seattle, who looks more unbeatable. And Tim keeps trading away MLB guys for draft picks...
3. (4) White Sox 9-3 – When I think... which team has the best shot to knock off one of the undefeated teams... my mind immediately goes to the team that just scored 481 points in a regular scoring week and is completely all-in on the 2023 season. Love it. White Sox have regained control of the AL Central
4. (3) Blue Jays 10-2 – I think we're kind of sleeping on Toronto. Stephen is constantly tinkering with his club to improve it, as evidenced by the recent Vaughn/Detmers swap. This team is really good and could very easily be our 2023 World Series champion.
5. (5) Orioles 8-4 – Baltimore scored 384... but that didn't matter to the White Sox. The O's still belong in the King tier despite having four losses this season. Don't be shocked if this is the last game they lose this season. With all their young guys... it's just going to get better. Unless Mike trades them.
Tier 3: The "Generational With A Dash of Unique" (Magic & Bird)
6. (8) Cubs 10-2 – Magic & Bird. It's iconic. It represents a decade of basketball. The culture of it all almost shrouds their actual genius on the court. There's the Cubs. It's a wonderful story... they've bounced back from a long rebuild. We had a lot of fun with their winning streak. But oh yeah... this team is actually really good now too. In a weakened NL, they've got a shot.
7. (6) Giants 8-4 – Just six starts yet again from the Giants rotation as they fall to the Reds. We've been saying San Francisco needs to trade for pitching for awhile. Either they've been in the longest trade discussions in history... or it's not happening. It's the Giants though. They're staying up here in Tier 3.
Tier 4: The "Big Guys" (Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Duncan, Shaq)
8. (9) Guardians 8-4 – All of these guys were various forms of dominant for their time. Duncan's fundamentals. Russell's defensive tenacity. Shaq's sheer force. But if you put them against the tiers up from this... you don't feel as great. Cleveland had a great week, but it was against Seattle unfortunately. Still a game back in the AL Central.
9. (7) Tigers 9-3 – 205 points. YIKES. Can you really just stand pat at 9-3 after a week like that?
10. Diamondbacks 8-4 – A B- kind of week from Arizona against Washington. We were all hoping Kyle would hand Tim his first loss of the year. Could the D'backs steal the division away from the Giants?
11. (12) Astros 8-4 – Don't look now, but the Astros just scored 350 points. Will's teams consistently get 10 starts from the rotation. That'll keep them in the mix til the end of the year. On the outside looking in of a tough top six though in the American League.
12. (13) Reds 7-5 – Huge win for the Reds over the Giants as they start the climb back up the power rankings. Might be a win of the year kind of game when we look back if they make the playoffs.
Tier 5: The "More Fun To Watch Than Play With" (Kobe, Hakeem)
13. (11) Dodgers 8-4 – "Oh yeah, Kobe, he's incredible. I loved watching him." Pick up any given game to watch though... and you come away wondering if he's really adding more value than he's subtracting. Still amazing. Here we have the Dodgers... 262 points. Yawn. I just have a hard time seeing this rotation leading them to even the NLCS.
14. Cardinals 8-4 – Soler is now gone as well. The sell-off continues with the Cardinals still in a playoff spot. Will they pivot before the deadline if they're still hanging onto a playoff spot? Probably not? You know how I feel about these kind of sell-offs when in the playoff picture.
15. Rockies 7-5 – 308 points. Not too shabby. Making the playoffs feels like a long-shot for Colorado. But we were saying that around this point last season about Miami... look what happened there.
Tier 6: The "No One Like This Guy" (KG, Steph, KD)
16. Angels 7-5 – KG... who's more competitive than that man? Seriously crazy. I don't think we'll ever see another Steph Curry. Could you make a more perfect basketball player than KD in a lab? All unique players who bring so much to the NBA story. Derrick's history speaks louder than his current roster for the purposes of this tier... the current team is just hoping some of the AL teams pull a Nik and start selling off mid-playoff run.
17. (18) Rangers 5-7 – A win for the Rangers. Jordan Walker looks like a good acquisition, he's been better. I think we'll all be high on Texas coming into next year.
18. (17) Marlins 5-7 – Everyone loves Travis. The Marlins are always around... I'm sure they'll be back in the mix next year.
Tier 7: The "Boring, but Good" (Oscar, both Malones, Stockton)
19. (18) Padres 4-8 – I just don't get that enthralled watching Oscar/Karl/Moses/Stockton highlights. The passing is nice I guess. John Stockton or Michael Jordan. Sorry John. Karl Malone or LeBron James. Sorry Karl. The loss to the Cardinals probably seals their fate for 2023. A disappointing one for Denver for sure. Now, will they finally start selling to get ready for 2024?
20. Rays 5-7 – The Rays have really come back down to earth. That's all I've got.
21. (22) Braves 4-8 – The Braves made trades AND beat the Brewers. Woohoo!
22. (24) Athletics 4-8 – THREE wins in a row for Oakland. Put up a banner!
23. (21) Brewers 3-9 – Fun to hear Tim on the podcast this week. 3-9 is indeed not a fun group to manage. Get your team back to greatness, Tim!
The "Entertaining, but Missing Something, *like 3pt shooting or defense" Tier (Chuck, Giannis, Dirk, Dr. J, Wade)
24. (22) Mets 3-9 – I love watching all the players in this tier. They're so fun, so unique. There's just one thing holding each back. Giannis can't shoot... but is other-worldly in everything else. Wade really could've used a 3 point shot. The Mets have a lot of potential, but scored 164 points. Next year they'll add the 3 ball and change the game
25. Royals 3-9 – The trades have begun.. and the Royals are shopping Marcus Semien heavily according to reports. I expect him to be dealt within the week.
26. (25) Red Sox 2-10 – The Red Sox WIN.... the tanking battle against Oakland. Good job Sean! Would still love to hear more thoughts on the Seager/Devers trade.
27. (26) Twins 1-11 – Can they please trade Manny Machado? Put him on a good team.
28. Pirates 1-11 – The Pirates lost! WOW. What an effort from Pittsburgh. Luis Robert and Nick Castellanos had a very difficult time playing 2 on 9 reportedly. They have asked out and the Pirates are trying to find trades for them.
29. (30) Phillies 1-11 – The Phillies unfortunately won their game. Lose for Crews seems like a pipe dream now. Sad. Zach seemed so excited. Dreams for Skenes? I honestly don't even know how to pronounce Skenes so that could be way off.
30. (29) Yankees 0-12 – The Yankees were overjoyed to see the Phillies win. They're on track for the first pick come February 1st.
Current Playoff Picture
National League:
1. Washington Nationals (12-0)
2. Chicago Cubs (10-2)
3. San Francisco Giants (8-4)
4. Arizona D'backs (8-4)
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (8-4)
6. St. Louis Cardinals (8-4)
...Cincinnati Reds (7-5)....Colorado Rockies (7-5)
American League:
1. Seattle Mariners (12-0)
2. Toronto Blue Jays (10-2)
3. Chicago White Sox (9-3)
4. Detroit Tigers (9-3)
5. Baltimore Orioles (8-4)
6. Cleveland Guardians (8-4)
....Houston Astros (8-4)....Los Angeles Angels (7-5)
Week 13 Games To Watch
ARI vs STL
CIN vs WAS
HOU vs DET
TOR vs SEA
KR