Preseason Power Rankings

PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS

Team	Hitting	Pitching	Total
Edwards	123.20	97.47	220.67
Anderson	124.20	94.18	218.38
Iwert	130.15	86.21	216.36
Mugica	139.96	58.34	198.30
Karalis	109.01	83.53	192.54
Hedlin	124.00	60.68	184.68
Kim	108.67	68.33	177.00
Knowles	118.67	55.13	173.80
True	99.21	73.89	173.10
Paul	107.21	64.90	172.11
Hulka	129.99	38.52	168.51
Settanni	119.09	46.36	165.45

Note: These rankings were compiled using the average of projected stats from 3 websites.

Comments:

Edwards:



If it was 2005, this lineup boasting Arod, JRoll, Brian Roberts, Abreu, and Manny would be sick. However, its 2011 and all these players will assuredly get injured. I do think the pitching staff is the 2nd best in the league with Kershaw and Latos anchoring the staff and Neftali Feliz racking up saves. I don't think my team will be as good as it is on paper unless all those players listed above stay healthy.

Anderson:


Halladay, Price, Lilly, Matusz and Mariano/Krod comprise the best pitching staff in the league. This team is extremely dependent on Yankees, but I'm not worried about that line-up putting up numbers. Jason Heyward is a stud. Jose Reyes needs to stay healthy for this team to maintain success.

Iwert:

We'll see how Cabrera responds to his rocky off-season. Kemp, Posey, Phillips, and Bay all represent solid value at their respective positions. Lester, Weaver, Liriano, Hughes, and Soria form a solid starting staff. Lance Berkman is an intriguing player on the bench.

Mugica:
Is it me or do these guys appear to be switch hitters? Nonetheless, Ellsbury, Youk, Tulo, Bautista, Kinsler, and Santana are all amongst the top rankings at their respective positions. Oswalt, Haren, Garza, Hudson, and Vazquez comprise a pitching staff that is better than the rating above, in my opinion.

Karalis:
Braun, Greinke, and Marcum will leave Karalis confused as to which team to cheer for. Cliff Lee is back is a legit ace. If this team doesn't win steals with Pierre, Bourn, and Pedroia it will be in trouble. The Morales injury is a concern as Gaby Sanchez and Adam Laroche aren't the greatest.

Hedlin:


Chase Utley's wife his hot and he is the key to this team's season. Crawford, Holiday, Mauer, Butler, Big Papi, and Kung Fu Panda round out a lineup that is better than its rating in my opinion. Verlander, Cain, and Carpenter will need to carry the staff along with Papelbon and Nathan having bounceback seasons.

Kim:
Shin-Soo, BJ Upton, Cano, Morneau, and VMart are all stand-outs at their positions causing this lineup to be extremely underrated in my opinion. After the San Fransisco combo of Lincecum and Wilson, this pitching staff appears questionable.

Knowles:
CarGo, Wright, and Dunn should keep this team in contention for the hitting categories. Ubaldo, Beckett, and Scherzer are proven starters and I like Big Z as a sleeper candidate.

True:
This team will be working the waiver wire to fill in around Votto, J. Upton, Uggla, Andrus, King Felix, Gallardo, and Bumgarner.

Paul:
This staff is anchored by CC and Josh Johnson who are both very underrated in my opinion. Longoria, Fielder, and Werth are all solid players. Ethier, Hart, Young, Prado, and Castro are intriguing players that will need to come through for this team.

Hulka:
Looks good, doesn't it? This team has a great lineup with Albert, Cruz, Zimmerman, Ichiro, and Jeter. After Hanson, this team has a questionable pitching staff in my opinion.

Settanni:


Hanley, Howard, Hamilton, Pence, Rasmus, and Rios form a well-rounded offense. After Cole Hamels, this team is relying on guys like Jake Peavy to help out.

Domination

See y'all next year, let's raise the stakes.

Updated power rankings

1. My Ass 89 2. Chubs 84 3. Castle" Marmol 77 4. Servais 74 5. Thru Violence 71 6. Mound 68.5 7. next year 64 8. Poo 62 9. Down The House 56.5 10. Hedlin 52 11. Ichiros 50 12. D P 32

Objective Power Rankings

I used fantasy projections to compile the following 'objective' power rankings:

			Total
	Hitting	Pitching	Starters
YOUKILIS MY ASS	130.92	97.25	228.17
TEAM ANDERSON	119.51	102.18	221.69
TEAM GAHR	144.48	70.99	215.47
CARLOS "WHITE CASTLE" ...	129.25	65.75	195
BOTTLE SERVAIS	123.8	65.5	189.3
FLUBADUB CHUBS	125.31	62.91	188.22
PANTS ON THE MOUND	157.55	29.47	187.02
WAIT "TIL" NEXT YEAR	112.91	71.24	184.15
TEAM HEDLIN	97.6	82.03	179.63
SHIN-SOO POO	143.01	28.91	171.92
TEAM DP	106.6	58.36	164.96
PURIFICATION THRU VIOL...	113.12	44.1	157.22

Comments:

Youkilis My Ass: Halladay, Holliday, Bay, Mourneau, Beckett, and Youkilis represent the core of a team primarily comprised of players with a proven track record of fantasy baseball success. A well-rounded lineup with a deep pitching rotation have me awfully optimistic about my squad. The one knock on this team is a lack of upside.

Team Anderson: If he were able to start Berkman and Reyes week 1, the team would have an overall ranking of 245.82, which would be good enough for the #1 spot. They say you can never have enough pitching. This team challenges that theory boasting a rotation of LinceCUM, Hamels, Billingsley, Porcello, Shields, Lowe, and some guy named Rivera as the closer. If 3/4 of Berkman, Reyes, Manny, and Mad Vlad can stay healthy and put together quality years, this will be the team to beat. Right now, the difference between the #1 ranked team and #2 is that you don't see the word "If" in the first paragraph.

Team Gahr: Frankly, I think this team is overrated. Pujols, Pedroia, and CC form an elite trio, but names like Alex Rios, Javy Vazquez, Carlos Beltran, and Ichiro do not get me very excited. Who the hell is Jeff Niemann anyway?

Carlos "White Castle" Marmol: AGonz, The Big Bad Jew (Braun), and Justin Utpon are all in their prime and should put up monster years. Beltre, Abreu, and Bartlett represent decent value at their respective positions. This team needs Cliff Lee to come through in a big way. Adam Wainwright is a legitimate ace and I love me some Ubaldo Jimenez but Oswalt and Kuroda are big question marks.

Bottle Servais: First of all this is far and away the best team name. Thunder (Ryan Howard) and Lightning (Carl Crawford) form a dynamic duo. Santana, Cain, Burnett, and Dempster sound like the all star team from 2008 but I believe this staff is better than it is currently rated. Erick Aybar is a nice back-up with a lot of upside and Figgins' imminent move to 2b will provide greater lineup flexibility. This team is probably underrated in my humble opinion.

Flubadub Chubs: This team has the worst bench in the league and its not even close. Good thing the league only counts starters, and when you have Teixiera, Longoria, Phillips, Pence, and Bruce, you have some pop in the lineup. Verlander, Gallardo, Price, and Zambrano comprise a high-upside pitching staff. This is another underrated team that will be in contention.

Pants On The Mound: No worries on the steals front with Hanley and Ellsbury leading the charge. Billy Butler is an underrated 1b without a big name and Brian McCann is the best fantasy catcher not named Mauer. Robinson Cano will look to build off of a career year. Other than Josh Johnson, who is not a legit ace, this pitching staff is atrocious. I guess Johnny Cueto may have a breakout year but Peavy, Sheets, Liriano, and Floyd carry bigger names than their stats support.

Wait "Til" Next Year: This team would clock in at 4th overall with 204.27 if not for the injury to Ian Kinsler with no back-up on the roster. Skip Schumacher and Freddy Sanchez are the top free agents. If you have an extra 2b, I suggest you give Hulka a call. Other than the glaring issue discussed above, this is a solid team. Greinke, Hanson, and Wandy are a respectable 1-2-3, and you can't go wrong with Arod and Morales. I wasn't going to draft him but Soriano was a great value.

Team Hedlin: At first glance, the lineup begins with Joe Mauer and Miguel Cabrera. Unfortunately, it proceeds to drop-off to the likes of an over-the-hill Brian Roberts, a below average Ian Stewart, and several unproven prospects. The pitching staff is solid with Haren, Carpenter, Garza, and Jurrjens holding it down. This team has a ton of upside and if a couple of them work out, it will be right in the thick of things.

Shin Soo Poo: I'm assuming this team name is describing the pitching staff. Baker, Weaver, Buchholz, and Sanchez would not start on most teams. The lineup is very good featuring Prince, VMart, Sandoval, Tulo, and Carlos Lee. If this team can field any kind of a pitching staff on a weekly basis it will have a chance.

Team DP: I do not think this is the 2nd to worst team in the league. There is a strong dependence on the Phillies middle infielders but DLee, Grandeson, Ethier, and Ibanez are reliable veterans. Ricky Nolasco and Jon Lester are probably the two most underrated pitchers in baseball. Lackey isn't half bad either. The closer combo of Ryan Franklin and Chad Qualls will produce saves.

Purification Thru Violence: This team is worst in the league because Felix Hernandez won't be able to fill all 4 SP spots on a weekly basis. Zobrist and Hamilton have already had their career years and Sizemore is a big question mark. Matt Kemp and Joey Votto are nice players but this team needs help.

Food for thought and strictly based on projections. I expect this league to be very competitive and am eager to get started.

2010 CNMFBL Power Rankings

Gentlemen,

Even though I have a man-crush on Mark DeRosa, I think I'd still rather have his wife...

I've gone through many calculations and I've also thrown in personal opinion so these rankings don't mean a whole lot except to start generating some good ol' fashioned conversation.

Now keep in mind that this looks like a really competitive league and anyone can win this league - even the 12th ranked team which is...

12. Team Hedlin - Blake Hedlin (Lineup: B- Pitching: B- Bench: C+)

Sans Brian Roberts this team looks like it could win the league in CNMFBL 2012 but the team is too young and unproven to make much noise this year. Miggy and Mauer highlight the lineup but after that there isn't much to like here. Haren and Carpenter are a nice 1-2 combo but it would be a surprise to see them pitch 300 innings between the 2 of them.

11. Bottle Servais - Matt Karalis (Lineup: C+ Pitching: B Bench: B-)

The lineup swings and misses a lot. Karalis do yourself a favor and pickup someone besides Akinori Iwamura at 2B. Now the pitching staff has some promise from top to bottom but not much depth - Edwin Jackson is the only bench pitcher worth rotating in. The bench looks like dogshit to me but I gave it a B- because he has young players/players in the right situation that COULD have a decent year.

10. Team DP - Dave Paul (Lineup: B- Pitching: B+ Bench: C-)

The lineup looks a little long in the tooth at a few places. I love Derrek Lee but I'm not sure he can replicate last year. There's too many questions - can Ibanez replicate last years 1st half? Can Granderson, Rollins and Beckham hit .300 or .265? I think his pitching staff is filthy but having 2 bench pitchers (both could be relievers) leaves me scratching my head - he will have to actively work the waivers to bolster his pitching staff all year.

9. Flubadub Chubs - Steve True (Lineup: C+ Pitching: B Bench: B-)

Soto - bounceback? Alcides Escobar - was he just drafted because you'll get to watch him in the NL Central? The OF could be good but it could be bad. I like the pitching though and I think Zambrano will have a decent year. Having the best closer in the game will be his biggest asset. Steve's a great fantasy owner so I wouldn't expect anything less than strategically working the waivers to place in the top 4 by years end.

8. Carlos "White Castle Marmol" Marmol - Kain Knowles (Lineup: B+ Pitching B+ Bench: C-)

The lineup is solid all around - the only question mark is the left side of the infield (Beltre/Bartlett). The staff should be pretty good as well. My major concern for this team is depth - if his whole lineup/staff made it through the year then I would say that this team could have a very serious chance of winning but I just don't buy Beltre, Bartlett, Abreu, Damon, Wainwright, Oswalt and Lee all sticking around but if the team only deals with 1 injury at a time, he could be looking pretty good.

7. Stevie Janowski - Bill Edwards (Lineup: C+ Pitching B: Bench: B)

Bill used Rotoworld for his power rankings and they rank Anderson #1 and his team #2. Look I used rotoworld for my team but I also play in ESPN and CBS leagues that keep me up to date on all different kinds of rankings. I think the lineup could use some work - I'm not sold on his "up and comers". Halladay is the best pitcher in the game year after year and even moving into that bandbox Citizens Bank Ballpark he also transitions from the AL East to the NL East which is quite a difference. Beckett is good WHEN healthy. The rest of the pitching/bench should be adequate contributors.

6. Shin-Soo Poo - Leon Kim (Lineup: A Pitching: C Bench: C)

It was obvious that the 2009 CNMFBL Champion utilized my strategy when drafting a great lineup and waiting on pitching. He has the best lineup in the league - he's short on 1 OF but I'm not quite sure what McCutchen is going to do but it's always a better idea not to have any Pirates in your lineup. The pitching staff isn't that good and I don't see much potential - there's no one that steps up as a #1 - it's a bunch of 2/3rd starters .

5. Purification Thru Violence - Mugica (Lineup: B+ Pitching: B Bench: C+)

Mugica drafts good teams but I always question his interest in the leagues I'm in with him. It seems like the league becomes an afterthought while his teams are always very competitive. This is a powerful lineup that will probably lead the league in HR's but I question... Napoli, Zobrist repeating last year, Hamilton staying clean/healthy, and Pena and Reynolds not to drive his batting average into the ground. King Felix and Webb are great. These pitchers will strikeout a lot of guys but will have fewer wins and a higher WHIP than the rest of the league- could be a dominate team in a H2H league but might struggle with the roto style.

4. Pants on the Mound - Crazy (Lineup: A- Pitching B- Bench C+)

The lineup is balanced and dominate. Reliance on Billy Butler and lack of a good 3B could hurt. The lineup is littered with .300 hitters and should rank high in the roto rankings (Hanley Ramirez at SS does not hurt either). The pitching staff has a lot of questionmarks and could be the demise of the team. Would like to see a healthy/productive Sheets and Liriano to stay at this level.

3. Team Gahr - Steve Kim (Lineup: B Pitching: B+ Bench: B)

Almost had this newcomer ranked atop the list. It's obvious that Leon and Steve are in cahoots because they draft good teams. Guy has just got great hitting all around - gotta love Pujols and Pedroia just have to wonder if Cabrera and Coghlan can improve on last years numbers. CC, Javier, Kershaw look great atop the pitching staff but carrying 4 closers seems like an odd strategy seeing as we only start 1 RP.

2. Team Anderson - Ande (Lineup: B+ Pitching: A Bench: B-)

The lineup looks good as a whole but I wouldn't get too high on it as I think every guy has a weakness that could affect the team. Is Doumit good? Berkman healthy? Can Uggla raise his BP? Is Reyes healthy? Vlad and Manny not too over the hill? Wright find his power stroke? The pitching staff is unquestionably the best in the league but when my team drafted the best staff last year... it all came crumbling down - it's just in my opinion that I think pitching is too unreliable to bank on championships.

1. wait "till" next year - James don't call me Jim "The Incredible" Hulka (Lineup: B- Pitching A- Bench: B+)

The lineup is good and balanced. Denard Span - don't like the guy and never will. Maybe the emergence of Travis Snider will carry this team to the championship? That's my bold prediction - that Snider is this years Adam Lind. The pitching staff is filthy and isn't very far behind Anderson's staff, some might even say it's better. I think the bench is pretty well constructed... I personally think this is the best all-around team and if he pays attention to the waivers should no doubt at least get his money back.

Welcome Back

http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4_zdwPMCjo

To Crazy's No Mercy Fantasy Baseball League. Let the posts begin...

Wait Till Next Year...

Ok so we are just about done with Year 1 of Crazy's No Mercy Fantasy Baseball League. Overall, it was OK but I think it lacked in a few areas... I might not have been the greatest commish but it's like the 1st version of everything the I-Phone, Pontiac G-6, etc... it just needs a lot of adjustments.

So I'm here to tell you on September 9th with the next draft being over 6 months away that I have decided to completely overhaul the scoring and playoff system. I am in a league that I thought would be stupid at the beginning because I have never heard of a pts system for baseball (scoring similar to fantasy football) and I wasn't too interested in it. Having a traditional 5x5 league is okay but I am not a big fan of all these ties and I wouldn't want to make odd categories because of the dependence on offense vs. pitching nor would I want to dillute the most important stats by adding more categories (like another crappy college league i'm in).

Waivers, scoring, playoff suggestions have all been considered and this is what I have come up with...

DRAFT
*This is completely open on my part - I would like to do an in person draft, it is tough to find a day that fits everyones schedule but if we set a date at the beginning of the year it might be possible to do. I am open on style of draft as well... I like the snake style draft but I have had some fun doing auctions... that I would leave up to a league vote.

SCORING
*Too many ties! I have been in a pts league for a few years and it is waaaaaaay better than rotisserie or traditional categories. Still like the Weekly H2H Scoring System That is Still in Place. The scoring works as follows...

Batting
Single 1pt
Double 2pt
Triple 3pt
HR 4pt
BB 1pt
Run 1pt
SB 1pt
RBI 1pt
Strikeouts -1pt
Hitting for the Cycle 20pt

Pitching
Inn Pitched 1pt
Earned Run -1pt
Wins 10pt
Saves 5pt
Quality Start 3pt
Walks -1pt
K's 1pt
Losses -2pt
Blown Save -2pt
Shutouts 10pt
No-Hitter 10pt

To give you an idea so far this year here are the top 5 in each category:

Batting
Pujols 661pt
Fielder 492pt
Teixera 471pt
Hanley 456pt
AGonz 450pt

Pitching
Lincecum 562pt
Greinke 551pt
Verlander 533pt
King Felix 501pt
Dan Haren 497pt

Typical weeks range from an average of 200-250pts per team per week. Very similar scoring to Fantasy Football. You start 9 guys, 4 SP and 1CP.

Entry Fee / Playoffs / Payout

This really is a pain in the butt to collect waiver fees and everyone generally spends between $10-$30 for waiver pickups so I suggest adding a general "fee" into the entry fee that will allow unlimited waivers while also adding other ways to make your money back.

Entry Fee: $125

12 team format with no divisions/leagues. The 4 best teams with the best record will be in the playoffs. 22 weeks giving everyone a chance to play everyone twice. The playoffs will be 2 rounds of 2 weeks each. (Note that this will take the playoffs until the very end of the regular season so there might be some teams that will sit some players but that will happen on both sides and you will have 2 full weeks to win (you will also have a chance to reset your roster after week 1 of each rd)).

Payouts

1st place - $525
2nd place - $250
3rd place - $125

Total Pts (Overall)
$250
Total Pts (2nd place *not that not always will this be the 1st and 2nd place teams but is generally in the top 4)
$125

Highest 1 Week Total
$125

Consolation Bracket Champion
$100

So either way... the top 4 teams make the playoffs, you can win your money back by having a good regular season, a really good week or almost make your money back by beating all the losers so you're not completely out of it.

I find this system the best way to go about next year and I look forward to all of your input.

Thank you for a good year, lets make the next one great...

~Commish Crazy