NPB Power Rankings 2008.4.28
Posted by japanstats on 2008 April 28日 Monday
I’m rather busy at the moment, so I’ll try to keep this entry short too. Previous week’s ranking in brackets.
1. Hanshin Tigers(1) 18-6-1 .750
Keeps on going strong, splitting the series against the Dragons (1-1-1) and taking 2 of 3 from the Giants with a dramatic game winning bases loaded walk against Yomiuri’s closer Kroon last night.
2. Chunichi Dragons(2) 15-8-2 .652
Couldn’t overcome the Tigers wall, but didn’t fare badly either. Ace Kawakami returned to the top team, made a relief appearance, but gave up a solo shot in 1 inning of work. He needs to return to form… by October.
3. Saitama Seibu Lions(3) 14-9-1 .609
Dropped both games against the Marines, then feasted upon the Buffaloes weak pitching to the tune of 29 runs in 3 games! The team gets on base (.324 OBP is 2nd in PL) and far outslugs anyone else (.432 SLG and 36 HR, no other team is above .374 and 27 HR). Pitching’s just mediocre though, and Watanabe’s questionable bullpen use (bringing in historically shaky Onuma or Mitsui into high leverage situations) doesn’t bode well for October (and the team’s slugging’s gotta come back down to earth sooner or later). Hiram Bocachica made a dramatic return to the top team, hitting 3 homers in the last 2 games, after a stint in the minors following early season struggles. He adds even more on base ability and power to the lineup, and Watanabe has a happy problem of having too many hot bats to fit into the lineup. If this were the majors, trading one or two hitters for good pitching would be considered, but alas..
4. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles(8 ) 16-13 .552
Had an undefeated week to jump up to 2nd in PL, thanks to complete game shutouts thrown by Nagai, Domingo, and Tanaka!
5. Chiba Lotte Marines(7) 17-14 .548
A great 4-1 week against the strong Lions and struggling Hawks, continuing its strong play.
6. Tokyo Yakult Swallows(4) 11-12 .478
Another 2-3 week. Though splitting the two games against the Carp, and taking 1 out of 3 against the Dragons is pretty much the expected result considering each team’s strengths.
7. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters(5) 15-15 .500
2-4 week. The team can’t score runs to save their lives with only 8 runs scored over 6 games, 6 of those against porous Buffaloes pitching. Fighters got swept by the rising Eagles.
8. Fukuoka Softbank Hawks(6) 14-17 .452
Continued its poor play, going 1-4 against key rivals Eagles and Marines.
9. Hiroshima Toyo Carp(9) 9-13-1 .409
The same ol’ the same ol’, a 2-3 week against the Swallows and BayStars.
10. Tokyo Yomiuri Giants(10) 11-14-1 .440
Continues to struggle. A 4-2 week sounds good, until you realize that 3 of those wins came against the worst team in NPB, the Yokohama BayStars. Kroon blew a save and lost last night’s game against the Tigers. Uehara was sent down to the minors. The team is definitely much less than what the sum of their parts should be.
11. Orix Buffaloes(11) 11-20 .355
Lost 2 to the Fighters who can’t score, and got absolutely bombed by the Lions and got swept.
12. Yokohama BayStars(12) 6-17-1 .261
Won 2 games against Hiroshima! But the team’s winning percentage is still barely above .250.
Aaron Guiel Watch
23GP 95PA 16R 8HR 21RBI .277/.358/.639 9BB 2HBP 18K
Only 1 HR, 1 walk, and striking out 6 times in 5 games, our man may be in a mini-slump.
NPB Power Rankings 2008.4.28 | said
[…] Simon Currie has his new NPB Power Rankings up hot off the big Hanshin/Chunichi 1-1-1 series split. He’s also got some info at the bottom pertaining to the demotion of Koji Uehara. Pretty soon the Giants are going to have a pretty good team down there. […]
yu darvish said
[…] Tigers wall, but didn??t fare badly either. Ace Kawakami returned to the top team, made a relief https://jhockey.wordpress.com/2008/04/28/npb-power-rankings-2008428/Is Yu Darvish the Next Dice-K? – FanHouse – AOL Sports BlogJan 2, 2008 … There aren&39t any […]