All-Chicago World Series Taken To 6 Games

Major League Baseball Playoff Prediction

American League Divisional Series
No. 1 seed CHW over no. 4 seed TAM in 4 games.
No. 2 seed BOS over no. 3 seed OAK in 4 games.

National League Divisional Series
No. 1 seed CHC over no. 3 seed ARI in 3 games.
No. 2 seed PHI over no. 4 seed STL in 3 games.

American League Championship Series
No. 1 seed CHW over no. 2 seed BOS in 5 games.

National League Championship Series
No. 1 seed CHC over no. 2 seed PHI in 4 games.

*** World Series ***
*** No. 1 seed CHC over no. 1 seed CHW in 6 games. ***

Baseball Rankings Now: June 10, 2008 -- Rays #1 in AL

MLB League Rankings
1 - AL - 53.0%
2 - NL - 47.0%

Baseball's Top Ten Ballclubs
1 - CHC
2 - TAM
3 - CHW
4 - BOS
5 - PHI
6 - OAK
7 - TOR
8 - MIL
9 - LAA
10 - STL

MLB Division Rankings
1 - AL-E - 100.0%
2 - NL-C - 88.4%
3 - NL-E - 40.1%
4 - AL-W - 23.6%
5 - AL-C - 11.9%
6 - NL-W - 0.0%

AL Power Ratings
1 - TAM
2 - CHW
3 - BOS
4 - OAK
5 - TOR
6 - LAA
7 - BAL
8 - CLE
9 - NYY
10 - TEX
11 - MIN
12 - DET
13 - KAN
14 - SEA

NL Power Ratings
1 - CHC
2 - PHI
3 - MIL
4 - STL
5 - CIN
6 - PIT
7 - ATL
8 - HOU
9 - ARI
10 - LAD
11 - NYM
12 - FLA
13 - SFO
14 - SDG
15 - COL
16 - WAS

Phillies Move Into 100-Win Club

MLB Final Record Predictions
1 - CHC : 103 - 59
2 - PHI : 100 - 62
3 - CHW : 98 - 64
4 - BOS : 97 - 65
5 - OAK : 91 - 71
6 - STL : 91 - 71
7 - TAM : 90 - 72
8 - LAA : 89 - 73
9 - ARI : 88 - 74
10 - ATL : 88 - 74
11 - TOR : 86 - 76
12 - FLA : 85 - 77
13 - MIL : 82 - 80
14 - LAD : 81 - 81
15 - NYY : 81 - 81
16 - NYM : 80 - 82
17 - BAL : 79 - 83
18 - TEX : 79 - 83
19 - HOU : 78 - 84
20 - CLE : 78 - 84
21 - PIT : 76 - 86
22 - CIN : 76 - 86
23 - MIN : 75 - 87
24 - SFO : 74 - 88
25 - DET : 73 - 89
26 - SDG : 67 - 95
27 - COL : 63 - 99
28 - KAN : 62 - 100
29 - WAS : 60 - 102
30 - SEA : 60 - 102

Cards Take NL Wild Card; Chicago over Boston in AL Championship Series

Major League Baseball Playoff Prediction

American League Divisional Series
No. 1 seed CHW over no. 4 seed TAM in 4 games.
No. 2 seed BOS over no. 3 seed OAK in 4 games.

National League Divisional Series
No. 1 seed CHC over no. 3 seed ARI in 3 games.
No. 2 seed PHI over no. 4 seed STL in 3 games.

American League Championship Series
No. 1 seed CHW over no. 2 seed BOS in 5 games.

National League Championship Series
No. 1 seed CHC over no. 2 seed PHI in 4 games.

*** World Series ***
*** No. 1 seed CHC over no. 1 seed CHW in 6 games. ***

Baseball Rankings Now: June 9, 2008

MLB League Rankings
1 - AL - 53.0%
2 - NL - 47.0%

Baseball's Top Ten Ballclubs
1 - CHC
2 - CHW
3 - BOS
4 - TAM
5 - PHI
6 - TOR
7 - OAK
8 - LAA
9 - MIL
10 - STL

MLB Division Rankings
1 - AL-E - 100.0%
2 - NL-C - 83.4%
3 - NL-E - 47.8%
4 - AL-W - 25.3%
5 - AL-C - 11.8%
6 - NL-W - 0.0%

AL Power Ratings
1 - CHW
2 - BOS
3 - TAM
4 - TOR
5 - OAK
6 - LAA
7 - BAL
8 - NYY
9 - TEX
10 - CLE
11 - MIN
12 - DET
13 - KAN
14 - SEA

NL Power Ratings
1 - CHC
2 - PHI
3 - MIL
4 - STL
5 - ATL
6 - HOU
7 - PIT
8 - ARI
9 - CIN
10 - FLA
11 - LAD
12 - NYM
13 - SFO
14 - SDG
15 - COL
16 - WAS

Soccer (and Euro 2008) No Match For Baseball

I had an interesting discussion today with my German colleagues, who firmly believe that baseball is far more boring than soccer could ever be. We all realize that the best game is what you grow up with, so there can be no true resolution to this question. But I did throw out the following truth:

The average soccer game features 2.67 total goals scored over 90 minutes of play (but in reality, about 2 hours in front of the TV).

The average baseball game this season featured just over 9 runs total (4.75 runs for the home team plus 4.29 away; stats calculated on my own computer). The average game lasts 2:52 (but we'll say three hours for simplicity).

Soccer, therefore, offers the fan 1.33 goals per hour. By comparison, baseball's average scoring is 3 runs per hour -- a 2.25x advantage for America's pastime. So while the Euro Cup 2008 is interesting because of its rabid fans and playoff format, I still can't bring myself to watch the games like the Germans do. Luckily, my colleagues and I have both come to accept it.

Los Angeles Angels Kick Tampa Out Of Wild Card - Then Fall In 3 Games To BoSox

Major League Baseball Playoff Prediction

American League Divisional Series
No. 1 seed BOS over no. 4 seed LAA in 3 games.
No. 2 seed CHW over no. 3 seed OAK in 5 games.

National League Divisional Series
No. 1 seed CHC over no. 4 seed ATL in 4 games.
No. 2 seed PHI over no. 3 seed ARI in 4 games.

American League Championship Series
No. 1 seed BOS over no. 2 seed CHW in 5 games.

National League Championship Series
No. 1 seed CHC over no. 2 seed PHI in 5 games.

*** World Series ***
*** No. 1 seed CHC over no. 1 seed BOS in 6 games. ***

Baseball Ratings Now: June 6, 2008

MLB League Rankings
1 - AL - 52.6%
2 - NL - 47.4%

Baseball's Top Ten Ballclubs
1 - CHC
2 - BOS
3 - TAM
4 - TOR
5 - OAK
6 - PHI
7 - CHW
8 - MIL
9 - ATL
10 - LAA

MLB Division Rankings
1 - AL-E - 100.0%
2 - NL-C - 93.9%
3 - NL-E - 76.0%
4 - AL-W - 41.5%
5 - AL-C - 34.4%
6 - NL-W - 0.0%

AL Power Ratings
1 - BOS
2 - TAM
3 - TOR
4 - OAK
5 - CHW
6 - LAA
7 - NYY
8 - TEX
9 - BAL
10 - MIN
11 - CLE
12 - DET
13 - KAN
14 - SEA

NL Power Ratings
1 - CHC
2 - PHI
3 - MIL
4 - ATL
5 - STL
6 - PIT
7 - HOU
8 - NYM
9 - CIN
10 - FLA
11 - ARI
12 - LAD
13 - WAS
14 - SFO
15 - SDG
16 - COL

Stats Buffet: June 5, 2008

Underrated Teams
1 TOR
2 PIT
3 CLE

Overrated Teams
30 LAA
29 STL
28 FLA

---

Best in First Place
1 CHC
2 BOS
3 CHW

Worst in First Place
6 ARI
5 LAA
4 PHI

---

Better Away
1 WAS
2 MIN
3 SFO

Better at Home
30 ATL
29 BOS
28 MIL

---

Teams on the Rise
1 TOR
2 OAK
3 CLE

Teams on the Fall
30 TEX

---

Most Balanced Clubs (what is this?)
1 CHW
2 CLE
3 KAN

Least Balanced Clubs
30 MIN
29 STL
28 WAS

Baseball-Wide Power Rankings, Final Record Predictions

Overall Rank
1 - CHC
2 - BOS
3 - TAM
4 - TOR
5 - OAK
6 - CHW
7 - PHI
8 - MIL
9 - ATL
10 - LAA
11 - STL
12 - PIT
13 - NYM
14 - CIN
15 - HOU
16 - FLA
17 - CLE
18 - MIN
19 - NYY
20 - ARI
21 - TEX
22 - BAL
23 - LAD
24 - DET
25 - WAS
26 - SFO
27 - KAN
28 - COL
29 - SDG
30 - SEA

MLB Final Record Predictions
1 - CHC : 105 - 57
2 - PHI : 97 - 65
3 - BOS : 95 - 67
4 - OAK : 92 - 70
5 - CHW : 92 - 70
6 - ATL : 91 - 71
7 - STL : 90 - 72
8 - TAM : 90 - 72
9 - LAA : 89 - 73
10 - TOR : 89 - 73
11 - ARI : 88 - 74
12 - FLA : 85 - 77
13 - MIL : 84 - 78
14 - NYM : 83 - 79
15 - MIN : 82 - 80
16 - CLE : 81 - 81
17 - LAD : 80 - 82
18 - HOU : 79 - 83
19 - NYY : 79 - 83
20 - TEX : 79 - 83
21 - CIN : 77 - 85
22 - BAL : 76 - 86
23 - PIT : 76 - 86
24 - DET : 72 - 90
25 - SFO : 69 - 93
26 - WAS : 64 - 98
27 - SDG : 63 - 99
28 - KAN : 63 - 99
29 - SEA : 60 - 102
30 - COL : 60 - 102

Red Sox Creeping Up on Cubs -- Enough to Win World Series?

Major League Baseball Playoff Prediction

American League Divisional Series
No. 1 seed BOS over no. 3 seed CHW in 4 games.
No. 2 seed OAK over no. 4 seed TAM in 4 games.

National League Divisional Series
No. 1 seed CHC over no. 4 seed ATL in 4 games.
No. 2 seed PHI over no. 3 seed ARI in 4 games.

American League Championship Series
No. 1 seed BOS over no. 2 seed OAK in 6 games.

National League Championship Series
No. 1 seed CHC over no. 2 seed PHI in 4 games.

*** World Series ***
*** No. 1 seed CHC over no. 1 seed BOS in 6 games. ***

Baseball Rankings Now: June 5, 2008

MLB League Rankings
1 - AL - 52.5%
2 - NL - 47.5%

MLB Division Rankings
1 - AL-E - 100.0%
2 - NL-C - 94.7%
3 - NL-E - 76.3%
4 - AL-W - 38.7%
5 - AL-C - 38.6%
6 - NL-W - 0.0%

AL Power Ratings
1 - BOS
2 - TAM
3 - TOR
4 - OAK
5 - CHW
6 - LAA
7 - CLE
8 - MIN
9 - NYY
10 - TEX
11 - BAL
12 - DET
13 - KAN
14 - SEA

NL Power Ratings
1 - CHC
2 - PHI
3 - MIL
4 - ATL
5 - STL
6 - PIT
7 - NYM
8 - CIN
9 - HOU
10 - FLA
11 - ARI
12 - LAD
13 - WAS
14 - SFO
15 - COL
16 - SDG