Tuesday, September 7, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 21

The final PowerRankings for our 2010 league are below. The Lyin' Co. Reformers built the best team and although the owner is presently on the DL, his team seems to be rolling, currently beating TeamLA 9-0 for a spot in the championship game. Although my Cocos had the power of Coco Crisp for the last couple of weeks, I still managed to lose the first round of playoffs to Jon's ThunderCRACK after the Seal Beach Dreamers won the tie-breaker to gain a bye in the first week of playoff play. Who will ultimately wear the cufflinks this year?

A post on off-season trading will be up sometime soon. If your season ended like mine, you're probably looking for a bit of redemption and a shot at the cufflinks next season. Hopefully, the next post will clear up any confusion about off-season trading and re-ignite the age-old debate of live draft versus automated draft.

Weekly PowerRank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
19SD Thunder is BACK5.0
22deus ex machina4.9
311Lyin' Cty. Reformers3.3
45The Cocos1.9
57CV Mom1.3
64Seal Beach Dreamers1.0
73Arlen's Marlins-0.6
86Lucky 13's-0.9
98Team LA-2.0
101Charisma-2.5
1112Corn Poppers-2.5
1210Soi Disant-9.0

Yearly PowerRank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers8.2
22The Cocos5.8
33Seal Beach Dreamers4.0
46deus ex machina0.1
54Team LA-0.3
65Arlen's Marlins-0.5
78Lucky 13's-1.5
87Soi Disant-1.9
99Charisma-2.7
1011SD Thunder is BACK-3.0
1110CV Mom-3.2
1212Corn Poppers-5.0

Monday, August 23, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 20

Good weeks, but is it too late?

Charisma and deus ex machina turned in the top scores this week, but is it too late for post-season dreams? Perhaps, although one might make it if they win 10-0 and everyone else loses 0-10. Despite the fact that charisma very well may be out of it this year, he put up a strong 8.6 PR this week, the 5th highest week total this season.

For any team, a strong finish may indicate the players they'll want to keep for next season. Keepers may be sent to me at any time and you can trade keepers beginning December 1st. You may trade keepers for other keepers provided that all keepers are submitted to me a week before a trade. You may also trade your keepers for another team's draft pick. I'll get more information about how this might work coming soon, but it is never too early to begin thinking about keepers for next year.

Weekly PowerRank

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
16Charisma8.6
211deus ex machina4.0
38Arlen's Marlins1.6
43Seal Beach Dreamers1.2
52The Cocos0.6
64Lucky 13's0.5
75CV Mom0.1
87Team LA-1.8
910SD Thunder is BACK-2.5
1012Soi Disant-2.6
111Lyin' Cty. Reformers-3.6
129Corn Poppers-6.1

Yearly PowerRank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers8.2
22The Cocos5.8
33Seal Beach Dreamers4.2
44Team LA0.2
55Arlen's Marlins-0.5
68deus ex machina-0.7
76Soi Disant-1.0
87Lucky 13's-1.4
911Charisma-2.5
109CV Mom-3.4
1110SD Thunder is BACK-3.8
1212Corn Poppers-5.0

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 19

With just 2 weeks left to play in the regular season, the race for the last playoff spots are heating up. With the Lyin' Co. Reformers cementing their return to the playoffs. The Arlen's Marlins and SD Thunder is Back are tied for the 6th and final playoff spot with the Soi Disant and CV Mom within 2 games.

Weekly PowerRanks

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
13Lyin' Cty. Reformers6.0
210The Cocos5.8
32Seal Beach Dreamers4.8
45Lucky 13's3.0
511CV Mom2.7
612Charisma2.2
78Team LA0.1
89Arlen's Marlins-1.4
91Corn Poppers-3.1
106SD Thunder is BACK-6.0
114deus ex machina-6.9
127Soi Disant-7.1

Yearly PowerRanks

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers9.3
22The Cocos5.9
33Seal Beach Dreamers4.0
44Team LA0.6
56Arlen's Marlins-0.6
65Soi Disant-0.8
78Lucky 13's-1.6
87deus ex machina-1.7
910CV Mom-3.2
109SD Thunder is BACK-3.3
1112Charisma-4.1
1211Corn Poppers-4.5

Monday, August 9, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 18

Race tightens for final playoff spot

The Soi Disant and SD Thunder Is BACK are tied for the final playoff spot 22 games in back of the leader. Lyndsey tied former champion TeamLA while the Thunder knocked off the most improved team in the second half, the Lucky13's, by a score of 6-4. There are still three weeks to go and the two teams face each other on week 20. It will be an exciting race to the finish for everyone.

As you prepare your team for the playoffs and the off-season, please remember the trade deadline is August 15th. Also, remember that you are able to trade draft picks in next year's draft. If you wish to do this, email me when the trade is agreed upon and I'll make sure that everyone is on the same page and that the trade is recorded for next year.


Weekly PowerRank

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
19Corn Poppers7.6
24Seal Beach Dreamers5.6
32Lyin' Cty. Reformers2.8
47deus ex machina2.4
512Lucky 13's0.1
61SD Thunder is BACK0.1
78Soi Disant-0.6
85Team LA-0.8
93Arlen's Marlins-1.7
106The Cocos-2.5
1110CV Mom-6.2
1211Charisma-6.8

Yearly PowerRank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers8.7
22The Cocos5.6
33Seal Beach Dreamers3.3
44Team LA0.6
55Soi Disant-0.1
66Arlen's Marlins-0.5
77deus ex machina-1.0
88Lucky 13's-2.0
99SD Thunder is BACK-2.8
1010CV Mom-3.5
1112Corn Poppers-4.0
1211Charisma-4.3

Monday, August 2, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 17

The trade deadline

For those who care, I cannot stand the latest Dodgers trades. It may be only one game but seeing Theriot go 0-4 with 2 strikeouts while seeing Blake DeWitt get 3 hits in his Cubs debut is indicative of the type of trade the Dodgers made. Talent with upside given away for veterans who can't hit but have some mystical leadership ability. The Dotel trade was even worse considering Dotel walks around 4 batters per 9 innings. I don't like those odds. James McDonald and Andrew Lambo are top prospects and giving them up for 2 months of Dotel seems like a waste.

Back in our league, the race is tightening for first place. My Cocos are playing first place Lyin' Co. Reformers for a chance to close the 4.5 games between them. While having a down week last week against the Soi Disant, the Cocos still managed to win and remain in the hunt.

As a reminder, our league's trade deadline is not until August 15th, so if you don't quite have all the pieces for your end-game run to the playoffs, now is the time to trade for this year or acquire future talent for next year.

Weekly PowerRanks

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
14SD Thunder is BACK8.9
23Lyin' Cty. Reformers7.8
310Arlen's Marlins3.4
46Seal Beach Dreamers2.1
57Team LA1.1
62The Cocos-0.1
78deus ex machina-0.8
85Soi Disant-3.8
912Corn Poppers-4.0
1011CV Mom-4.0
119Charisma-4.4
121Lucky 13's-6.2

Yearly PowerRanks

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers9.1
22The Cocos6.6
33Seal Beach Dreamers2.3
44Team LA1.1
55Soi Disant-0.1
66Arlen's Marlins-0.1
78deus ex machina-1.8
87Lucky 13's-2.3
911SD Thunder is BACK-2.7
109CV Mom-2.7
1110Charisma-3.4
1212Corn Poppers-6.0

Monday, July 26, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 16

Chase gets Lucky?

Chase's Lucky 13s not so quietly knocked off his first-place dad 8-1 to move into a 4th place tie in the standings. This, though you may have missed it, is his 2nd week in a row leading the PowerRanks and 3rd time in the last 5 weeks. As little as 3 weeks ago, his team was in last place in the Yearly PowerRankings and has suddenly jumped to seventh place.

Looking over his past PowerRankings, it shows a steady progression to becoming one of the best in the league. However, can he maintain that and overcome the wins the top 3 already have in the bank? Yes. He is just 9.5 games off the new leader, Lyin' Co. Reformers who had a good week too. A 9.5 game swing in the few remaining weeks isn't that unheard of and if Victor Martinez starts playing again like he might tonight, he'll be in a great position to take the league.

Here is a graph of his PowerRank by week:


Weekly PowerRank

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lucky 13's10.4
22The Cocos5.1
34Lyin' Cty. Reformers4.5
45SD Thunder is BACK2.4
53Soi Disant0.8
612Seal Beach Dreamers0.8
711Team LA-0.6
87deus ex machina-1.7
98Charisma-3.3
109Arlen's Marlins-4.8
1110CV Mom-5.3
126Corn Poppers-8.1

Yearly PowerRank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers8.0
22The Cocos6.8
33Seal Beach Dreamers1.7
44Team LA1.0
56Soi Disant0.4
65Arlen's Marlins-0.6
710Lucky 13's-1.4
88deus ex machina-1.9
97CV Mom-2.0
109Charisma-2.8
1111SD Thunder is BACK-3.6
1212Corn Poppers-5.6

Friday, July 23, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 15 All*Star Week

A rather quiet week as there were only a few games. Scores will probably deviate more this week than any other as they are the victims or beneficiaries of luck. Some players had a good game and that was enough to push teams to the top this week whereas in a regular week that performance would be evened out a little more.


Weekly Rankings

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
16Lucky 13's6.6
22The Cocos5.7
310Soi Disant2.5
41Lyin' Cty. Reformers2.3
59SD Thunder is BACK1.6
68Corn Poppers1.0
712deus ex machina0.4
811Charisma-1.1
93Arlen's Marlins-1.9
107CV Mom-4.2
115Team LA-5.5
124Seal Beach Dreamers-7.5

Yearly Rankings

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers7.9
22The Cocos6.3
33Seal Beach Dreamers1.8
44Team LA1.6
55Arlen's Marlins0.3
67Soi Disant-0.1
76CV Mom-1.4
88deus ex machina-2.0
99Charisma-2.7
1012Lucky 13's-3.4
1111SD Thunder is BACK-4.0
1210Corn Poppers-4.4

Friday, July 9, 2010

Tools to help manage your team: Benchcoach

Are you looking for a way to figure out how well you're doing? Do you want a way to evaluate a trade someone else has proposed to you? Well, Benchcoach is a tool which will analyze your team and provide you with some recommendations. The owners of the site have pioneered a new technology called "Fangelica" which does the back end heavy lifting to calculate what moves would be best for you to make.

ARLINGTON, TX - JUNE 27:  Second baseman Ian K...Like any system, it is imperfect, but if you are looking for a way to easily manage your team or evaluate trades, this is a great tool. For example, they recommended I trade Hiroki Kuroda to Lyndsey for Ian Kinsler. I asked Lyndsey if she would go for that. Not surprisingly, she turned me down. However, they also recommended I trade Heath Bell for James Loney. That did sound reasonable to Lyndsey, although I don't need a 1B. So, if you use it, don't check your brain at the virtual door. Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Do you have a favorite evaluation system? Share it here!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 13 Another week, Another Trade

Team LA shows us why he's in first

Arlen's Marlins were again active on the trade market sending Ryan Zimmerman and Hiroki Kuroda to The Cocos for Ben Zobrist. Coming into the season, Zobrist was a keeper (24th round) while Arlen's Marlins drafted Zimmerman 3rd (25th overall) and Kuroda in the 12th round (144th overall). The Marlins have been busy filling the middle of the infield positions with Pedroia and now Zobrist and adding an extra bat with Manny. Unfortunately, Pedroia and Manny are nursing injuries, but hopefully will be back soon to help out in the stretch run. The Cocos give up their best stolen bases guy for someone who provides a huge boost of power and get a pitcher who, until his last start, has been fairly dependable. We'll soon find out if the gamble was worth it.

Team LA got a whopping 13.5 PR score this week while 8 other teams went negative. He won 9-1 over last place charisma cementing his 1st place standing going into All-Star week. The rest of the league is beginning to separate as 25.5 games separate first and last place. However, who will be in the playoffs is still very much in the air and will probably come down to who goes on a hot streak to finish the season.

Weekly PowerRanks

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
18Team LA13.47445338
25The Cocos3.850307593
37Seal Beach Dreamers3.329371732
410Soi Disant0.090846982
56Arlen's Marlins-0.01855904
61Lucky 13's-0.910970562
73Lyin' Cty. Reformers-2.653140869
84Corn Poppers-2.739639144
911CV Mom-2.97227674
1012SD Thunder is BACK-3.299219761
119Charisma-4.016644163
122deus ex machina-4.134529409

Yearly PowerRank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers7.101073382
22The Cocos3.934261417
33Seal Beach Dreamers3.213357679
45Team LA3.207734429
54deus ex machina0.438299661
67Soi Disant0.291405675
76CV Mom-0.321095153
88Arlen's Marlins-0.700531791
99Charisma-1.789583288
1011Corn Poppers-4.796844018
1110SD Thunder is BACK-4.888856088
1212Lucky 13's-5.689221906

Monday, June 28, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 12

Deus ex machina jumps from 8th to 4th with a very strong week (Jordan are you reading this?) and Chase and the Lucky 13's lead the 2nd half improvement with a 12.4 point jump in PR over the first half.

Arlen's Marlins was finally able to get the decent middle infielder they needed netting Pedroia and also Manny Ramirez from Adam. Charisma got Evan Longoria, Michael Young, and Alfonso Soriano in exchange. Vote on who "won" the trade in the sidebar.

Meanwhile, here are the new PowerRanks:

Weekly PowerRanks

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
16Lucky 13's6.8
24deus ex machina6.5
33Lyin' Cty. Reformers5.8
411Corn Poppers1.5
57The Cocos1.1
610Arlen's Marlins0.0
72Seal Beach Dreamers-1.5
89Team LA-2.3
95Charisma-2.3
108Soi Disant-2.5
111CV Mom-5.4
1212SD Thunder is BACK-7.8

Yearly PowerRanks

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers8.1
22The Cocos3.4
33Seal Beach Dreamers2.7
48deus ex machina1.0
54Team LA0.7
65CV Mom0.2
76Soi Disant0.0
87Arlen's Marlins-0.6
99Charisma-1.0
1010SD Thunder is BACK-3.8
1111Corn Poppers-4.7
1212Lucky 13's-6.0

Monday, June 21, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 11

I don't have a lot to say as I've suddenly got quite busy. These PowerRanks reflect week 11's stats. The "previous week" is actually week 7.

Weekly PowerRanks

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
16CV Mom4.906027673
27Seal Beach Dreamers4.211198572
38Lyin' Cty. Reformers3.188224354
41deus ex machina2.816563014
55Charisma2.566144009
69Lucky 13's-1.135161275
73The Cocos-1.25415409
82Soi Disant-1.263392686
911Team LA-1.327521894
1012Arlen's Marlins-1.800665166
114Corn Poppers-4.746068687
1210SD Thunder is BACK-6.161193825

Yearly PowerRanks

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRankTeam Owner
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers7.694133945Don Baker
23The Cocos3.525334932Grant Baker
34Seal Beach Dreamers3.366681649Cathy Baker
42Team LA1.561073026Dean Baker
58CV Mom1.537529982Corrine Baker
65Soi Disant0.440307398Lyndsey Baker
77Arlen's Marlins-0.418637951Mich
89deus ex machina-0.712016452Jordan Baker
910Charisma-1.093703735Adam Nehring
106SD Thunder is BACK-2.148547986Jon Manson
1111Corn Poppers-5.57053211Paul Manson
1212Lucky 13's-8.181622699Chase Baker

Monday, May 24, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 7

The so-called Soi Disant knock off former first place TeamLA

Image of Cathy Baker from FacebookImage of Cathy Baker

In a week that can only be described as “stunning” Lyndsey Baker's Soi Disant pulled off an upset of early favorite TeamLA. Team LA has been wildly inconsistent this year as far as the weekly PowerRanks. This week, by far his lowest at -3.8, he paid for it by losing 6-3 to the quite consistent Soi Disant who, over the last 4 weeks have had PR's between 2.0 and 2.6 resulting in a 6-3 win and are now tied for 2nd place, just one game behind Cathy Baker's Seal Beach Dreamers.

Jordan Baker's deus ex machina led this week’s PR with a 7.4. That is the third best score this year.

Top Weekly PR Ranks, 2010

Team PR Week
Lyin' Cty Reformers 7.92 Week 6
Lyin' Cty Reformers 7.71 Week 4
deus ex machina 7.43 Week 7
SD Thunder is BACK 7.19 Week 2
Team LA 6.49 Week 6

As you can see, just 3 teams have scored over 7 PR this year, and the team after that didn’t quite score .5 PR below that. Way to go Jordan!

Weekly PowerRanks

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
17deus ex machina7.4
24Soi Disant2.6
36The Cocos2.4
411Corn Poppers2.1
58Charisma0.8
69CV Mom0.4
73Seal Beach Dreamers-0.5
81Lyin' Cty. Reformers-1.2
912Lucky 13's-1.8
1010SD Thunder is BACK-2.0
112Team LA-3.8
125Arlen's Marlins-6.4

Yearly PowerRank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
12Lyin' Cty. Reformers6.6
21Team LA5.0
35The Cocos2.6
44Seal Beach Dreamers2.5
57Soi Disant1.1
66SD Thunder is BACK0.3
73Arlen's Marlins0.0
88CV Mom-0.6
910deus ex machina-1.2
109Charisma-1.6
1111Corn Poppers-5.9
1212Lucky 13's-8.8


Monday, May 17, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 6

It just got interesting

There are now TWO first place teams as Cathy Baker and Dean Baker lead the league with a .608 winning percentage. However, there are still 6 more teams within 10 games of the leader and no one is more than 12½ games behind the co-leaders.

Navigating the Trade Waters

The waiver wire remains active as well with several teams picking up players last week and several others putting players up on the trade block. I know I've made a few trade proposals and have received some others. If I haven’t gotten back to you yet, its just because I’m pretty busy at the moment. I encourage all of you to get out there and get the trade market hopping. Post your available players on the Trading Block and let others know about it through your comments here at the blog.

Also, don’t forget that you can trade things like draft picks in addition to players. To do so, indicate this in the trade comments and then email me if/when the trade goes through. This gives you added flexibility to go for it all this year or play for next year.

On to the PowerRanks

Image of Dean Baker from FacebookImage of Dean Baker

This week, TeamLA rose to 1st place in the Yearly PowerRanks. He achieved a 6.5 PR last week, despite losing 6-4 to Michael Bittiker’s Arlen’s Marlins and their 1.4 score. How can that be? Well, Dean scored very well in the pitching categories while Mich struggled there with a 5.97 ERA and 1.61 WHIP. Because Dean had such a large lead over the entire league in a few categories like ERA and WHIP, he scored very well in PowerRank even though he was fairly average in the other categories.

Weekly PowerRanks

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
111Lyin' Cty. Reformers7.9
27Team LA6.5
32Seal Beach Dreamers2.1
44Soi Disant2.1
55Arlen's Marlins1.4
63The Cocos0.8
712deus ex machina-1.9
86Charisma-2.1
98CV Mom-2.5
101SD Thunder is BACK-2.6
119Corn Poppers-5.5
1210Lucky 13's-6.1

Yearly PowerRank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
12Team LA6.9
21Lyin' Cty. Reformers6.9
33Arlen's Marlins2.8
46Seal Beach Dreamers2.6
55The Cocos2.6
64SD Thunder is BACK1.4
79Soi Disant-0.2
88CV Mom-0.9
97Charisma-2.7
1010deus ex machina-3.6
1111Corn Poppers-6.8
1212Lucky 13's-8.9


Monday, May 10, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 5

Fight for the top knots virtual 2nd place tie

Behind TeamLA, four teams are within four games of claiming first place. SD Thunder IS BACK have led the charge and are just 3.5 games behind the leader. The other teams are the Seal Beach Dreamers, Soi Disant, and The Cocos.

Image of Jon Manson from FacebookImage of Jon Manson

Jon Manson of the SD Thunder has put together a crack team that is in the top 3 in all pitching categories and leading batting strikeouts. He has also gotten surprising production from Alex Rios and Ryan Theriot. As for pitching, no one can doubt that Lincecum is helping out, but Francisco Liriano? Who thought he would be doing this well after struggling so much after Tommy John surgery? Seven of his pitchers are in the top 100 in Yahoo’s rank. It’s not surprising then that he was tops in PowerRank this week with a 4.8 and improved from 6th to 4th in the yearly PowerRank.


This week has some interesting matchups as all four 2nd and 3rd place teams play each other and Dean Baker (Team LA) plays Arlens’s Marlins who are 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Yearly PowerRanks.

Weekly Rank

RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
18SD Thunder is BACK4.8
29Seal Beach Dreamers2.5
34The Cocos2.4
45Soi Disant2.4
56Arlen's Marlins1.8
67Charisma1.5
73Team LA1.5
810CV Mom0.7
911Corn Poppers0.4
1012Lucky 13's-5.0
111Lyin' Cty. Reformers-6.0
122deus ex machina-7.1

Yearly Rank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers5.402189439
22Team LA5.186046434
33Arlen's Marlins3.628191112
46SD Thunder is BACK2.662336224
54The Cocos2.168704839
65Seal Beach Dreamers2.055793344
77Charisma-0.831047507
88CV Mom-0.865740052
99Soi Disant-1.114582188
1010deus ex machina-4.779252739
1112Corn Poppers-6.188355067
1211Lucky 13's-7.324283838


Monday, May 3, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 4

Big Wins, Big Losses

Five of six matches had the winner scoring 7 or more points. Three of those scored 9. However, the difference between first and last place is just 10 games meaning a big week will get you right back into it. Everyone still has a good shot. You may just be missing one piece. There are 11 potential trade partners out there, so find someone who matches up well with your team's needs and make a trade.


RankLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
14Lyin' Cty. Reformers7.707772133
28deus ex machina5.500410795
33Team LA4.537061983
45The Cocos3.548194213
511Soi Disant2.029211142
67Arlen's Marlins0.726446093
71Charisma0.657337359
810SD Thunder is BACK-0.394424078
912Seal Beach Dreamers-2.337492751
102CV Mom-5.515657943
119Corn Poppers-7.459363922
126Lucky 13's-8.999495024

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRank
11Lyin' Cty. Reformers8.7
23Team LA4.8
32Arlen's Marlins3.2
47The Cocos2.0
54Seal Beach Dreamers1.2
65SD Thunder is BACK1.1
78Charisma-1.0
86CV Mom-1.2
910Soi Disant-2.1
1012deus ex machina-2.3
119Lucky 13's-6.6
1211Corn Poppers-8.0

Monday, April 26, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 3

TeamLA Thunders into Lead

With their 7-2 victory over the SD Thunder, TeamLA takes first place in the Happier Family League. The Thunder managed to edge out TeamLA on batting strikeouts and on base percentage and managed to tie in saves at 5 apiece (league average last week was just 2.5). Dean and Jon trade places in the yearly PowerRank as Dean is now ranked 3rd and Jon is 5th.

This week, the SD Thunder try to get back on track against the floundering, yet seemingly always undervalued Charisma while TeamLA goes up against the 3rd place Seal Beach Dreamers.

It is still a young season as only 10 games separate first place from last place, so if your team isn’t doing well right now, a good week could put you right back in the hunt, especially against a higher positioned team.

Weekly PowerRanks

RankTeam NamePowerRank
1Charisma5.4
2CV Mom4.7
3Team LA3.6
4Lyin' Cty. Reformers2.1
5The Cocos1.4
6Lucky 13's-0.6
7Arlen's Marlins-0.6
8deus ex machina-1.0
9Corn Poppers-2.3
10SD Thunder is BACK-3.2
11Soi Disant-4.7
12Seal Beach Dreamers-4.7

Yearly PowerRank

This WeekLast WeekTeam NamePowerRankTeam Owner
12Lyin' Cty. Reformers5.4Don Baker
24Arlen's Marlins3.5Mich
35Team LA3.3Dean Baker
41Seal Beach Dreamers3.1Cathy Baker
53SD Thunder is BACK1.5Jon Manson
67CV Mom1.1Corrine Baker
76The Cocos0.5Grant Baker
811Charisma-0.2Adam Nehring
99Lucky 13's-1.9Chase Baker
108Soi Disant-4.8Lyndsey Baker
1110Corn Poppers-4.9Paul Manson
1212deus ex machina-6.7Jordan Baker

Monday, April 19, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 2

Wow, losing 10-0 to your cousin. That was sad! I’m hoping for a big rebound this week against Seal Beach Dreamers, although I am losing 2-3 at the moment. Don’t forget to send in your predictions for the regular season!

Weekly PowerRank

Team NamePowerRank
1SD Thunder is BACK7.2
2Arlen's Marlins6.2
3Team LA5.8
4Lyin' Cty. Reformers3.9
5Seal Beach Dreamers3.2
6CV Mom1.9
7Soi Disant-0.8
8Charisma-4.3
9The Cocos-4.8
10Corn Poppers-5.1
11deus ex machina-6.1
12Lucky 13's-7.0

Year to Date PowerRanks

Team NamePowerRank
1Seal Beach Dreamers7.2
2Lyin' Cty. Reformers4.9
3SD Thunder is BACK4.7
4Arlen's Marlins4.2
5Team LA2.1
6The Cocos0.2
7CV Mom-1.1
8Soi Disant-2.8
9Lucky 13's-2.9
10Corn Poppers-4.5
11Charisma-5.0
12deus ex machina-7.0

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Who Will Wear the Cufflinks?

Recently, Lyndsey and I took a look at everyone’s team and ranked them according to how they would finish the regular season. Who do you think will win? Send in your ranks by email to grantebaker (at) gmail (dot) com or post in the comments below.


  1. Team LA
  2. Lyin Cty Reformers
  3. CV Mom
  4. SD Thunder is BACK
  5. Lucky13's
  6. The Cocos
  7. deus ex machina
  8. charisma
  9. Seal Beach Dreamers
  10. Corn Poppers
  11. Soi Disant
  12. Arlen's Marlins

First off, I don’t think there will be a repeat of the Cocos in first this year. I didn’t get any of the top pitchers I wanted and Pujols is great, but he alone will not guarantee a win every week. That’s the breaks of head to head—sometimes you draw a team you match up well against and sometimes you don’t.

Secondly, we see these more as tiers rather than a straight listing. This allowed us a little more leeway in deciding the standings. Basically, we see each set of three as a different tier. The top tier of the league is tied up in Team LA, Lyin Cty Reformers, and CV Mom. All have top talent through good keeper picks and the draft.

The second tier is: SD Thunder is BACK, Lucky 13’s, and The Cocos. We believe that these teams caught some breaks in the draft and had decent keepers, enough to get them into the playoffs, but don’t seem to have the number of dominating players that the top tier has.

Deus ex machina, Charisma, and the Seal Beach Dreamers are next and might just miss the playoffs but still have some solid players.

The last tier either has injuries to key personnel (Soi Disant losing number 1 and 2 picks and Arlen’s Marlins losing their closers) or have players that are waiting for their opportunity.

We’re not experts—we wouldn’t be surprised to see this all change. Remember the battle for the last playoff spot between Jordan and Dean last year?

Tell us who YOU think will be atop the standings this year!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

PowerRank, what's that?

The PowerRank numbers look a little different this year. What do they mean and how do they apply to our league?

Basically, the numbers are a measure of how well your team is performing regardless of who you played this week. If your number is above 0, your team is above average. If it is negative, your team is performing below average. It is possible to lose a week, but still have a good PowerRank. You probably just played a very good team.

You can use your team's rank to determine if your team is getting lucky or unlucky and to look at how you might do against the rest of your schedule. For example, if you are losing some weeks, you might use this to determine if your players are doing terrible and you need to work out a trade or if everything is fine, you're just playing teams that are either getting lucky or happen to be much better than average.

If you have any more questions, let me know in the comments.

Monday, April 12, 2010

PowerRanks: Week 1

Welcome to the new year! Baseball got underway and even though the Dodgers are off to an abysmal 2-4 start against teams they should be beating, I have found a way to cope.

I still don’t have the trade page opened up yet, but it should be coming soon. In the meantime, here are this weeks’s PowerRanks:


Team NameTeam OwnerPowerRank
1The CocosGrant Baker5.7
2Seal Beach DreamersCathy Baker5.4
3Lyin' Cty. ReformersDon Baker3.4
4Lucky 13'sChase Baker2.2
5SD Thunder is BACKJon Manson1.3
6Arlen's Marlins Mich Bittiker-0.1
7Corn PoppersPaul Manson-0.7
8Team LADean Baker-1.6
9CharismaAdam Nehring-2.6
10Soi DisantLyndsey Baker-3.7
11CV MomCorrine Baker-4.1
12deus ex machinaJordan Baker-5.2

It was quite the back and forth week as several teams had 10-0 leads at various points during the week. If you didn’t do well this week, remember, its only week 1. If you did great this week remember, its only week 1. It helps to get off to a good start, but its not going to make or break your season. Maybe...

What do YOU think of the ranks? Whose team do YOU think should be in first? Let us know in the comments!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Opening Day

Coming Soon!

In addition to Easter, baseball's Opening Day will be here this Sunday. Although only the Red Sox and Yankees will play, its a sign that winter is ending and baseball is here again.

Be sure to set your lineups and take note of those who have gone down with injuries already. I notice that several of you have already made some pickups to bolster your rosters. As I previously mentioned, you will soon be able to submit trading block proposals to me where I will give you the opportunity to pitch your proposals to everyone at once. In preparation, feel free to email me with the following information:

  • Introduction to what you want and what you're willing to give up
  • Player(s) name
  • Benefits each player will bring a trade partner’s team.
  • Any closing remarks

All of these will be optional, so if you just want to send me a list of players, that’s fine too.

I hope to have a great season, see you all on the diamond!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Welcome to Your New Team

You’ve probably seen that your team has been drafted and we're ready to go for the 2010 season.

You also may be a bit frustrated with your team and want to trade players. Yahoo has a trade block, but it can be a bit overwhelming or confusing and you can’t write notes to would-be trade partners

So, starting soon, you'll be able to email me with your various trade proposals where I can put them up for the league to see and respond. You’ll be able to add notes, request certain types of players, whatever you need to build your team. I hope this will increase league participation and help to facilitate trades that benefit all teams involved.


Also, if you have’t already, subscribe to The Happier Family by email or grab the RSS feed. This will ensure you receive the latest news from around the league.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Final Keepers List

Draft Status to “Ready” Tomorrow

Here is the final list of keepers. Get your pre-ranks ready!

Player Round Drafted

deus ex machina (Jordan Baker)

Ichiro Suzuki 2
Joe Mauer 6
Felix Hernandez 9
Yovanni Gallardo 11
Josh Johnson 14

charisma (Adam Nehring)

Manny Ramirez 1
Alex Rodriguez 4
Nick Markakis 5
Jacoby Ellsbury 6
Troy Tulowiski 7

Lyin' Cty Reformers (Don Baker)

Chase Utley 3
Roy Halladay 4
Cliff Lee 5
Derek Jeter 10
Kendry Morales 24

Arlen's Marlins (Mich Bittiker)

Evan Longoria 1
Derek Lowe 7
Denard Span 16
Andy Pettitte 24

Soi Disant (Lyndsey Baker)

Ian Kinsler 1
Jimmy Rollins 2
Bobby Abreu 8
Matt Cain 10
Shin-Soo Choo 12

The Cocos (Grant Baker)

Albert Pujols 1
Dan Haren 6
Pablo Sandoval 19
Tommy Hanson 23
Ben Zobrist 24

Seal Beach Dreamers

(Cathy Baker)

Mariano Rivera 5
Jayson Werth 13
Ubaldo Jimenez 18
Aaron Hill 23
Jason Bartlett 24

TeamLA (Dean Baker)

Mark Teixeira 1
Andre Ethier 2
Jose Valverde 11
Justin Verlander 12
Rajai Davis 24

Lucky13's (Chase Baker)

Matt Kemp 5
Derrek Lee 10
Zack Greinke 13
Brian Wilson 15
Chris Carpenter 18

CVMom (Corrine Baker)

Hanley Ramirez 1
Ryan Braun 3
Justin Morneau 4
Jair Jurrjens 16

SD THUNDER IS BACK
(Jon Manson)

Tim Lincecum 1

Final Keepers due today!

Just a reminder that I need your final list of keepers today!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Preliminary List of Keepers

Here is the preliminary list of keepers. Please note that you may update your final keepers until NOON CST, Saturday, March 27th. The draft status will be set to ready sometime on March 28th, so pre-rank your players (if you choose to) now.

Player Round Drafted

deus ex machina (Jordan)

Ichiro Suzuki 2
Joe Mauer 6
Felix Hernandez 9
Yovanni Gallardo 11
Josh Johnson 14

charisma (Adam Nehring)

Manny Ramirez 1
Alex Rodriguez 4
Nick Markakis 5
Jacoby Ellsbury 6
Troy Tulowiski 7

Lyin' Cty Reformers (Don Baker)

Chase Utley 3
Roy Halladay 4
Cliff Lee 5
Derek Jeter 10
Kendry Morales 24

Arlen's Marlins

Evan Longoria 1
Derek Lowe 7
Denard Span 16
Andy Pettitte 24

Soi Disant (Lyndsey Baker)

Ian Kinsler 1
Jimmy Rollins 2
Bobby Abreu 8
Matt Cain 10
Shin-Soo Choo 12

The Cocos (Grant Baker*)

Albert Pujols 1
Dan Haren 6
Javier Vazquez 9
Pablo Sandoval 19
Ben Zobrist 24

Seal Beach Dreamers

(Cathy Baker)

Mariano Rivera 5
Jayson Werth 13
Ubaldo Jimenez 18
Aaron Hill 23
Jason Bartlett 24

TeamLA (Dean Baker)

Mark Teixeira 1
Andre Ethier 2
Jose Valverde 11
Justin Verlander 12
Rajai Davis 24

Lucky13's (Chase Baker)

Matt Kemp 5
Derrek Lee 10
Zack Greinke 13
Brian Wilson 15
Chris Carpenter 18

CVMom (Corrine Baker)

Hanley Ramirez 1
Ryan Braun 3
Justin Morneau 4
Jair Jurrjens 16

SD THUNDER IS BACK (Jon Manson)

Tim Lincecum 1

* Denotes League Champion, bearer of the cufflinks.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Draft Day

Draft status to “Ready” on March 28th

Draft Day is fast approaching so get your keepers in today. Last year, there was a bit of tension with regards to when the keepers were announced. So this year, there is a deadline of THURSDAY MARCH 25th to e-mail me your keepers. I will post everyone's keepers and you may then review who everyone picked. If you wish to make changes to your keepers, you will need to send me your revised list by Saturday, March 27th. However, in order to have any keepers, you must send me at least one player to keep by March 25th.

Check your position in the draft here.

Check the rules for keepers here, but basically, you get 5 keepers this year. You will retain your keeper during the same round you picked them up last year.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Rules for Keepers

There’s been a lot of talk about keeper rules for the upcoming season (okay, so not really) and rightly so, the rules are still a bit murky and unformed. Here, I’ll try to bring some clarity to the confusion

What’s a keeper?

A keeper is a player from your roster last year who you want to keep on your team for the next season.

How do keepers work?

You select keepers by sending me an email with the players you want to keep

What is the purpose of keepers?

For our league, I want to give people a reason to keep playing even if they don't have a realistic shot at winning this season. Keepers allow players to trade for next year and allows everyone to think of their team as a multi-season investment.

What are the rules for keepers?

I want to make the game fun for everyone involved and so I want to reward players for picking up good, but latent talent, yet at the same time I don't want one team to dominate the league year after year. To this end I came up with this rule last year:

3 keepers can be chosen with any Yahoo O-Rank. These players will be added to your team during the first 3 rounds of the draft. 4 additional keepers can be selected with an O-Rank of 100 or less and would be added to your team for rounds 9 through 12. If you choose not to have keepers, you will receive draft picks in these slots instead.

However, after thinking about it some more, I see that a major weakness of this strategy is that for some players, it is far more advantageous to select no keepers and take the draft picks instead. I want the keepers to have value for everyone, so I have changed the rule to the following:

Each team may keep up to 5 players from their last roster. Each keeper will be added to your new team during the round where they were drafted last season. If they went un-drafted last season, the player will be added as your last pick. If two or more of your keepers were not drafted last season, they will be added as your last picks.

Also, take a look at last year's roster and last year's draft results to start preparing your team for this year's draft.

Draft Order for 2010

Hello everyone, here is the draft order for the 2010 draft. It will be a snake draft which means that during the first round, it will go in the order below but during the second round, it will be in reverse.

  1. sorbet d'arc-enciel | Mich
  2. Lucky13's | Chase
  3. Soi Disant | Lyndsey
  4. LA Dodgers | Tyler
  5. Charisma | Adam
  6. Mitchell Mudhens | Paul
  7. Seal Beach Dreamers | Mom
  8. Lyin' Co. Reformers | Dad
  9. Team LA | Dean
  10. SD Thunder is BACK | Jon
  11. tropical bakers | Jordan
  12. The Cocos | Grant

Also, please visit your 2009 team to begin thinking about keepers.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The 2010 Happier Family League is Here!

Head over to http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/thf to sign up today! As I mentioned in the email, we're hoping to do a Draft party at my parent's house in Doon, IA sometime near Easter. I welcome your suggestions. For those of you who can't make it, I'd love to Skype you in or call you so you can submit your draft picks. Rules about the league are the same as last year, although I may have to switch to Rotisserie scoring if we get an odd number of people. I'm hoping everyone comes back from last year, though, so sign up today! http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/thf