Post by Ken Rosenthal on Jun 20, 2016 9:24:43 GMT -5
NEW YORK - Ken Rosenthal here, bringing you all the action from Week 11 (and the first half of the season) around the league.
Did we ever have some surprises take us for a ride in Week 11 to start the second half of the Base Knock Dynasty Baseball season. Atlanta surprised Arizona and Colorado shocked Cincinnati. The Marlins also picked up a huge win against the Astros in the Game of the Week. There's a lot to get to.
So as always, take a seat, grab a snack, and enjoy some (occasionally very) opinionated writing about your team. Previous rankings will be noted in parenthesis.
Group 5: The Next Year's Draft Prospects Fan Club
#30: Toronto Blue Jays (0-11)
The Blue Jays have lost 11 games in a row to start the season and are threatening to join the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates and 2014 New York Yankees as the only teams to go winless during a season. Unless something drastic happens to this Toronto roster, they won't win a game. Remember when this team was good? In 2014, this team scored nearly 6,000 points.
#29: New York Mets (0-11)
The Committee of One is surprised this team has held onto Victor Martinez for this long, but with or without him, the Mets are likely going winless along with Toronto. Could one of these teams please just surprise us and win one game?
#28: St. Louis Cardinals (1-10)
Zack Greinke was terrific with 48.7 points in two starts, but it wasn't enough for the Cardinals to get their second win of the season. I'd be shocked if this team doesn't make a serious trade of one of its aces by the trade deadline on August 15th. They could get a huge haul from a team like Chicago. But then again, trading a guy like Kershaw to a division rival? Tough.
#27(25): Pittsburgh Pirates (1-10)
Miguel Cabrera (another potential stud on the block) blasted his way to 41.5 points, but Pittsburgh couldn't quite catch the Phillies for that elusive second win of the season. The Pirates have lost ten games in a row since starting the season off with a W. This has been quite the drop off after just barely missing the post-season last year.
#26(24): Chicago White Sox (3-8)
Even with Cleveland's loss, one of the nails in the coffin has been pounded into the White Sox season. The team really needed a victory against K.C., but fell quite flat. Rookie Max Kepler, however, had a promising week with 34 points. This team has some young talent could start to show up late in the season.
#25(26): Kansas City Royals (3-8)
The Royals are one of the "rebuilding" teams that you would be foolish to fully count out on any given week. That being said, Kansas City has a looming matchup with the league leading 10-win Los Angeles Angels in Week 13. What better way to make a rebuilding season sweet than getting a win against the Halos?
#24(22): Seattle Mariners (5-6)
Edwin Encarnacion had a monster week with 49.5 points, inciting rumors once again that he will be traded to a contender in the coming weeks. Possible destinations? Anyone who's willing to pay the big bucks. Chicago is as usual a likely candidate, but they haven't shown they're willing to spend the money.
Group 4: The So-So's... The Not-so-great's... the Okay's
#23(27): Atlanta Braves (2-9)
The second highest scoring team in the National League in Week 11 was none other than the Atlanta Braves who put up a whopping 352.1 points. Mystery man Adam Duvall led the way with 44, but it was truly a team effort that knocked off the NL West division leading Arizona Diamondbacks. The playoffs are certainly far out of the Braves' grasp, but there recent place has made the end of their season intriguing. Watch out teams playing Atlanta down the stretch.
#22(21): New York Yankees (3-8)
Much like the Chicago White Sox, the Yankees failed to get a big divisional win against a similarly talented opponent to stay "in the hunt" for the playoffs. It's really been a disappointing season overall for the Yankees, who've scored just under 2,500 points. Not dreadful, but not playoff worthy, even in the American League (which I have to give credit, is playing a lot better than it was at the beginning of the season). The Yankees also shipped away some talent (see recent trade with Milwaukee).
#21(20): San Francisco Giants (4-7)
The Cubs didn't score THAT much (267.5 points), but the Giants simply didn't show up in a pretty big game for them. With Arizona's loss, they could have narrowed the gap to 2 games between the bottom and the top of the NL West division. Outfielder Justin Upton scored 39.5 points in what has been a somewhat discouraging season for him. Don't sleep on the Giants yet, they have prospects galore who could be called up during the late summer.
#20(23): Boston Red Sox (4-7)
It was Boston, not New York, picking up their fourth win to stay just two games out of the final wild card spot. I'm telling you, this is a team that needs to be calling Seattle or St. Louis. They're one top-of-the-line player away from being able to make that final push into October baseball.
Group 3: The possible playoff participants
#19(17): Cleveland Indians (5-6)
Cleveland actually played well against Minnesota, but the Twins were just too much to handle. In the end, the Tribe dropped back below .500, two games behind the division leader in the AL Central. The Indians could be great buyers at the trade deadline. The team, however, gets Texas and Oakland in the next two weeks. Ouch.
#18(16): Los Angeles Dodgers (6-5)
The Dodgers have truly yet to wow us this season with their play. I mean, sure, John Lackey's having a terrific season, and there's been a few other bright spots. But 215 points in a big matchup against the Nationals? Come on now. The Dodgers get a big time division matchup against the Rockies this week.
#17(18): Detroit Tigers (6-5)
Although it was ugly, the Tigers took care of business against the Mariners to stay within one game of the Minnesota Twins. The problem is they are next in line to play the Los Angeles Angels. If there ever was a great time for Detroit to really surprise us, it'd be right now for the sake of Tigers' fans.
#16(19): Colorado Rockies (6-5)
Colorado earned one of the biggest upsets of the week, taking down the Cincinnati Reds and scoring the 3rd most points in the National League in Week 11. What's even more surprising? They didn't have a single player score more than 30 points. This is a team with a lot of depth that most likely didn't expect to be over .500 at this point in the season. They have a huge game against Los Angeles this week.
#15: Baltimore Orioles (6-5)
You can't really fault Baltimore for losing, because they played the Angels. But the Rays came up big time against the Rangers, so the Orioles have to keep pace, right? Here's the ray of sunshine, the Orioles play Boston in back to back weeks before playing Kansas City. All teams under .500. They need to pick up these three wins to solidify a wild card if the division race fails.
#14: Minnesota Twins (7-4)
The Minnesota Twins are back in business this season, and the Committee of One is enjoying it. Catcher Salvador Perez had a big week with 43 points, and is having a stellar season altogether with a .307 batting average and 12 home runs. Minnesota gets the White Sox this week.
#13(12): Cincinnati Reds (6-5)
In a week when Houston faltered, the Reds were also the big stumblers in Week 11, falling to the Colorado Rockies to lose their fifth game of the season. Things are getting tight in Cincy. They trail a lot of teams for that sixth wild card spot. The Reds play the newly talented Atlanta Braves in Week 12.
#12(11): Arizona D'backs (7-4)
In what should have been a relatively easy win for the D'backs, the Braves pulled a quick one on the Committee of One and rest of the league by knocking off this team. Arizona is still 7-4 and tied atop the division, but they really haven't been scoring well lately. Remember, this team was fourth in the league in scoring just last season.
#11(13): San Diego Padres (7-4)
The Committee will just say it, the Padres got a little lucky that the D'backs lost, but they'll take it! San Diego blew by the Cardinals to move into a tie with Arizona for the division lead. Amidst a very disappointing season, second baseman Brian Dozier had 33.5 points to assist in the victory. Padres get a date with the Astros next week. Big game for sure.
Group 2: The Contenders... They're for real
#10(8): Philadelphia Phillies (7-4)
Yeah, the Phillies won... but I just couldn't find anywhere to put them besides #10. They had a good week, defeating Pittsburgh and getting there seventh win of the season. But no one would tell you that things are rolling on all cylinders in Philadelphia. This team might need to add a piece to compete with the best in Base Knock.
#9: Washington Nationals (9-2)
9-2, best in the tough NL East Division, and the Committee of One has this team at #9? I understand any hate that may come my way, but I'll stand by this ranking. The Nationals have scored less points this season than Milwaukee, Houston, Cincinnati, Miami, Chicago, and Philadelphia... the Padres are also right on their tail.
#8(10): Tampa Bay Rays (8-3)
Neither team below the Rays in this ranking lost a game in Week 11, but they still needed to be moved up after a thrilling victory over the defending-champion Texas Rangers. The Rays outscored Texas on the last day to win by just 30 points. Is this a possible playoff matchup? It certainly would be an entertaining one. Hats off to Freddie Freeman, who had four 3+ hit games en route to 59 points on the week. The Rays have a big game against the Oakland Athletics this week. Game of the week right here folks.
#7: Chicago Cubs (7-4)
Okay.... I'm going to try to make this my last cry for the Cubs to move. Chicago has a lot of cap space... and good prospects to trade. Please, go out and trade for Edwin Encarnacion. Imagine Houston, Milwaukee, and an improve Chicago all in the post-season. Man, the playoffs are shaping up to be incredible! The Cubs have a massive game against the Washington Nationals this week.
#6: Miami Marlins (8-3)
Having won a couple of games in a row, all Miami needs is for Washington to lose a couple. The numbers say that Miami is the better team, but the Nationals keep surprising everyone this season after missing the playoffs last year. Washington actually owns the tiebreaker due to a close Week 2 victory. All of this points to Week 19, when the Marlins will play the Nationals for possibly the division.
Group 1: The Best of the Best
#5(4): Texas Rangers (8-3)
Losses like the one that Texas suffered to Tampa Bay in Week 11 are always painful, especially when the Rangers had a solid lead until the very end. Still, the worst case scenario in my opinion has Texas in the #5 slot for the post-season, which would mean a potential game against Oakland? Best case I suppose would be catching Los Angeles, but hey, last season Texas won the title as a wild card.
#4(5): Oakland Athletics (9-2)
David Price came up big time in two starts with 18 strikeouts in 16 innings. The Athletics ace led them with 40.7 on their way to their ninth win of the season. With the Rangers' loss, it's even more sweet. Oakland now will try to do what Texas could not and defeat the Rays from Tampa in Week 12.
#3(2): Houston Astros (8-3)
Don't get me wrong, the Miami Marlins are a good team, but the Committee of One just sensed that Houston, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles were in a different tier than the rest of the league. Perhaps not? The Astros had a big down week for their standards, only scoring 257 points as they were handed their third loss of the year. The team will look to rebound this week against San Diego.
#2(3): Los Angeles Angels (10-1)
The Angels are the first this season to reach double digit wins after their resounding win over the Baltimore Orioles in Week 11. Third Baseman Josh Donaldson simply could not be stopped. The slugger tallied 64 points in the victory. When he and Trout and playing well, this team is tough to stop offensively.
#1: Milwaukee Brewers (9-2)
Once again, the Milwaukee Brewers led the league in scoring for the week with 411.5 points in a near 400 point victory over the lowly New York Mets. Wil Meyers' (49 points) comeback season has been one of the reasons for the Brewers' great success. The record for most points in a season is 7,386.7 by the 2013 Angels.... will the Brewers come close?
Biggest +: Braves +4
Biggest -: Phillies, Dodgers, Indians, Mariners, White Sox, Pirates -2
Week 12 GoTW: Athletics vs. Rays
Week 12 Match-ups & The Committee's Predictions (in bold)
Rockies vs. Dodgers
Cardinals vs. Marlins
Nationals vs. Cubs
Pirates vs. Mets
Braves vs. Reds
Phillies vs. Brewers
Giants vs. D'backs
Padres vs. Astros
Mariners vs. Royals
Twins vs. White Sox
Rangers vs. Indians
Angels vs. Tigers
Blue Jays vs. Yankees
Orioles vs. Red Sox
Athletics vs. Rays
The Committee's record:
Wk. 11: 9-6
Overall: 115-50
Did we ever have some surprises take us for a ride in Week 11 to start the second half of the Base Knock Dynasty Baseball season. Atlanta surprised Arizona and Colorado shocked Cincinnati. The Marlins also picked up a huge win against the Astros in the Game of the Week. There's a lot to get to.
So as always, take a seat, grab a snack, and enjoy some (occasionally very) opinionated writing about your team. Previous rankings will be noted in parenthesis.
Group 5: The Next Year's Draft Prospects Fan Club
#30: Toronto Blue Jays (0-11)
The Blue Jays have lost 11 games in a row to start the season and are threatening to join the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates and 2014 New York Yankees as the only teams to go winless during a season. Unless something drastic happens to this Toronto roster, they won't win a game. Remember when this team was good? In 2014, this team scored nearly 6,000 points.
#29: New York Mets (0-11)
The Committee of One is surprised this team has held onto Victor Martinez for this long, but with or without him, the Mets are likely going winless along with Toronto. Could one of these teams please just surprise us and win one game?
#28: St. Louis Cardinals (1-10)
Zack Greinke was terrific with 48.7 points in two starts, but it wasn't enough for the Cardinals to get their second win of the season. I'd be shocked if this team doesn't make a serious trade of one of its aces by the trade deadline on August 15th. They could get a huge haul from a team like Chicago. But then again, trading a guy like Kershaw to a division rival? Tough.
#27(25): Pittsburgh Pirates (1-10)
Miguel Cabrera (another potential stud on the block) blasted his way to 41.5 points, but Pittsburgh couldn't quite catch the Phillies for that elusive second win of the season. The Pirates have lost ten games in a row since starting the season off with a W. This has been quite the drop off after just barely missing the post-season last year.
#26(24): Chicago White Sox (3-8)
Even with Cleveland's loss, one of the nails in the coffin has been pounded into the White Sox season. The team really needed a victory against K.C., but fell quite flat. Rookie Max Kepler, however, had a promising week with 34 points. This team has some young talent could start to show up late in the season.
#25(26): Kansas City Royals (3-8)
The Royals are one of the "rebuilding" teams that you would be foolish to fully count out on any given week. That being said, Kansas City has a looming matchup with the league leading 10-win Los Angeles Angels in Week 13. What better way to make a rebuilding season sweet than getting a win against the Halos?
#24(22): Seattle Mariners (5-6)
Edwin Encarnacion had a monster week with 49.5 points, inciting rumors once again that he will be traded to a contender in the coming weeks. Possible destinations? Anyone who's willing to pay the big bucks. Chicago is as usual a likely candidate, but they haven't shown they're willing to spend the money.
Group 4: The So-So's... The Not-so-great's... the Okay's
#23(27): Atlanta Braves (2-9)
The second highest scoring team in the National League in Week 11 was none other than the Atlanta Braves who put up a whopping 352.1 points. Mystery man Adam Duvall led the way with 44, but it was truly a team effort that knocked off the NL West division leading Arizona Diamondbacks. The playoffs are certainly far out of the Braves' grasp, but there recent place has made the end of their season intriguing. Watch out teams playing Atlanta down the stretch.
#22(21): New York Yankees (3-8)
Much like the Chicago White Sox, the Yankees failed to get a big divisional win against a similarly talented opponent to stay "in the hunt" for the playoffs. It's really been a disappointing season overall for the Yankees, who've scored just under 2,500 points. Not dreadful, but not playoff worthy, even in the American League (which I have to give credit, is playing a lot better than it was at the beginning of the season). The Yankees also shipped away some talent (see recent trade with Milwaukee).
#21(20): San Francisco Giants (4-7)
The Cubs didn't score THAT much (267.5 points), but the Giants simply didn't show up in a pretty big game for them. With Arizona's loss, they could have narrowed the gap to 2 games between the bottom and the top of the NL West division. Outfielder Justin Upton scored 39.5 points in what has been a somewhat discouraging season for him. Don't sleep on the Giants yet, they have prospects galore who could be called up during the late summer.
#20(23): Boston Red Sox (4-7)
It was Boston, not New York, picking up their fourth win to stay just two games out of the final wild card spot. I'm telling you, this is a team that needs to be calling Seattle or St. Louis. They're one top-of-the-line player away from being able to make that final push into October baseball.
Group 3: The possible playoff participants
#19(17): Cleveland Indians (5-6)
Cleveland actually played well against Minnesota, but the Twins were just too much to handle. In the end, the Tribe dropped back below .500, two games behind the division leader in the AL Central. The Indians could be great buyers at the trade deadline. The team, however, gets Texas and Oakland in the next two weeks. Ouch.
#18(16): Los Angeles Dodgers (6-5)
The Dodgers have truly yet to wow us this season with their play. I mean, sure, John Lackey's having a terrific season, and there's been a few other bright spots. But 215 points in a big matchup against the Nationals? Come on now. The Dodgers get a big time division matchup against the Rockies this week.
#17(18): Detroit Tigers (6-5)
Although it was ugly, the Tigers took care of business against the Mariners to stay within one game of the Minnesota Twins. The problem is they are next in line to play the Los Angeles Angels. If there ever was a great time for Detroit to really surprise us, it'd be right now for the sake of Tigers' fans.
#16(19): Colorado Rockies (6-5)
Colorado earned one of the biggest upsets of the week, taking down the Cincinnati Reds and scoring the 3rd most points in the National League in Week 11. What's even more surprising? They didn't have a single player score more than 30 points. This is a team with a lot of depth that most likely didn't expect to be over .500 at this point in the season. They have a huge game against Los Angeles this week.
#15: Baltimore Orioles (6-5)
You can't really fault Baltimore for losing, because they played the Angels. But the Rays came up big time against the Rangers, so the Orioles have to keep pace, right? Here's the ray of sunshine, the Orioles play Boston in back to back weeks before playing Kansas City. All teams under .500. They need to pick up these three wins to solidify a wild card if the division race fails.
#14: Minnesota Twins (7-4)
The Minnesota Twins are back in business this season, and the Committee of One is enjoying it. Catcher Salvador Perez had a big week with 43 points, and is having a stellar season altogether with a .307 batting average and 12 home runs. Minnesota gets the White Sox this week.
#13(12): Cincinnati Reds (6-5)
In a week when Houston faltered, the Reds were also the big stumblers in Week 11, falling to the Colorado Rockies to lose their fifth game of the season. Things are getting tight in Cincy. They trail a lot of teams for that sixth wild card spot. The Reds play the newly talented Atlanta Braves in Week 12.
#12(11): Arizona D'backs (7-4)
In what should have been a relatively easy win for the D'backs, the Braves pulled a quick one on the Committee of One and rest of the league by knocking off this team. Arizona is still 7-4 and tied atop the division, but they really haven't been scoring well lately. Remember, this team was fourth in the league in scoring just last season.
#11(13): San Diego Padres (7-4)
The Committee will just say it, the Padres got a little lucky that the D'backs lost, but they'll take it! San Diego blew by the Cardinals to move into a tie with Arizona for the division lead. Amidst a very disappointing season, second baseman Brian Dozier had 33.5 points to assist in the victory. Padres get a date with the Astros next week. Big game for sure.
Group 2: The Contenders... They're for real
#10(8): Philadelphia Phillies (7-4)
Yeah, the Phillies won... but I just couldn't find anywhere to put them besides #10. They had a good week, defeating Pittsburgh and getting there seventh win of the season. But no one would tell you that things are rolling on all cylinders in Philadelphia. This team might need to add a piece to compete with the best in Base Knock.
#9: Washington Nationals (9-2)
9-2, best in the tough NL East Division, and the Committee of One has this team at #9? I understand any hate that may come my way, but I'll stand by this ranking. The Nationals have scored less points this season than Milwaukee, Houston, Cincinnati, Miami, Chicago, and Philadelphia... the Padres are also right on their tail.
#8(10): Tampa Bay Rays (8-3)
Neither team below the Rays in this ranking lost a game in Week 11, but they still needed to be moved up after a thrilling victory over the defending-champion Texas Rangers. The Rays outscored Texas on the last day to win by just 30 points. Is this a possible playoff matchup? It certainly would be an entertaining one. Hats off to Freddie Freeman, who had four 3+ hit games en route to 59 points on the week. The Rays have a big game against the Oakland Athletics this week. Game of the week right here folks.
#7: Chicago Cubs (7-4)
Okay.... I'm going to try to make this my last cry for the Cubs to move. Chicago has a lot of cap space... and good prospects to trade. Please, go out and trade for Edwin Encarnacion. Imagine Houston, Milwaukee, and an improve Chicago all in the post-season. Man, the playoffs are shaping up to be incredible! The Cubs have a massive game against the Washington Nationals this week.
#6: Miami Marlins (8-3)
Having won a couple of games in a row, all Miami needs is for Washington to lose a couple. The numbers say that Miami is the better team, but the Nationals keep surprising everyone this season after missing the playoffs last year. Washington actually owns the tiebreaker due to a close Week 2 victory. All of this points to Week 19, when the Marlins will play the Nationals for possibly the division.
Group 1: The Best of the Best
#5(4): Texas Rangers (8-3)
Losses like the one that Texas suffered to Tampa Bay in Week 11 are always painful, especially when the Rangers had a solid lead until the very end. Still, the worst case scenario in my opinion has Texas in the #5 slot for the post-season, which would mean a potential game against Oakland? Best case I suppose would be catching Los Angeles, but hey, last season Texas won the title as a wild card.
#4(5): Oakland Athletics (9-2)
David Price came up big time in two starts with 18 strikeouts in 16 innings. The Athletics ace led them with 40.7 on their way to their ninth win of the season. With the Rangers' loss, it's even more sweet. Oakland now will try to do what Texas could not and defeat the Rays from Tampa in Week 12.
#3(2): Houston Astros (8-3)
Don't get me wrong, the Miami Marlins are a good team, but the Committee of One just sensed that Houston, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles were in a different tier than the rest of the league. Perhaps not? The Astros had a big down week for their standards, only scoring 257 points as they were handed their third loss of the year. The team will look to rebound this week against San Diego.
#2(3): Los Angeles Angels (10-1)
The Angels are the first this season to reach double digit wins after their resounding win over the Baltimore Orioles in Week 11. Third Baseman Josh Donaldson simply could not be stopped. The slugger tallied 64 points in the victory. When he and Trout and playing well, this team is tough to stop offensively.
#1: Milwaukee Brewers (9-2)
Once again, the Milwaukee Brewers led the league in scoring for the week with 411.5 points in a near 400 point victory over the lowly New York Mets. Wil Meyers' (49 points) comeback season has been one of the reasons for the Brewers' great success. The record for most points in a season is 7,386.7 by the 2013 Angels.... will the Brewers come close?
Biggest +: Braves +4
Biggest -: Phillies, Dodgers, Indians, Mariners, White Sox, Pirates -2
Week 12 GoTW: Athletics vs. Rays
Week 12 Match-ups & The Committee's Predictions (in bold)
Rockies vs. Dodgers
Cardinals vs. Marlins
Nationals vs. Cubs
Pirates vs. Mets
Braves vs. Reds
Phillies vs. Brewers
Giants vs. D'backs
Padres vs. Astros
Mariners vs. Royals
Twins vs. White Sox
Rangers vs. Indians
Angels vs. Tigers
Blue Jays vs. Yankees
Orioles vs. Red Sox
Athletics vs. Rays
The Committee's record:
Wk. 11: 9-6
Overall: 115-50
