General Wiretap

Cubs Still Atop RealGM's Team Rankings

By Christopher Reina

At RealGM, we use the Field Impact Counter (FIC) to objectively measure how effectively teams are performing. We combine the position players and pitchers' FIC scores to measure which teams have played the best so far in 2008.

Click here for more information about the Field Impact Counter and the Reina Value.

*Through Mondays's games

Team: FIC Per Game Total (FIC Position Players/FIC Pitchers)

1. Chicago Cubs: 19.5 (9.0, 10.4)

The Cubs are leading the MLB in batting with a .284 clip.

2. Boston Red Sox: 19.5 (9.1, 10.4)

Dustin Pedroia, Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis are all heating up, as they each have an OPS above 1.000 over the past six games.

3. Philadelphia Phillies: 18.3 (8.6, 9.7)

Thie Phillies are 3-13 over their past 16 games.

4. Chicago White Sox: 18.2 (8.0, 10.2)

With 50 quality starts, the White Sox lead the majors in that category.

5. Tampa Bay Rays: 17.8 (7.0, 10.8)

Evan Longoria is hitting .216 at home and .328 on the road.

6. New York Yankees: 17.7 (8.0, 9.7)

Somewhat quietly, Alex Rodriguez is now hitting .322 with 15 homers on the season.

7. St. Louis Cardinals: 17.5 (8.0. 9.5)

Rick Ankiel is batting .320 with three homers in his past six games.

8. Texas Rangers: 17.3 (8.9, 8.5)

The Rangers lead the MLB in OPS (.807) and total bases (1,344).

9. New York Mets: 16.6 (7.2, 9.3)

The Mets are 6-6 since the firing of Willie Larry Randolph.

10. Toronto Blue Jays: 16.3 (6.0, 10.3)

The Jays are 5-3 since Cito Gaston?s return as skipper.

11. Atlanta Braves: 16.1 (6.9, 9.2)

The Braves have hit just .741 in June, the second consecutive month in which their production at the plate has dropped.

12. Milwaukee Brewers: 16.1 (6.2, 9.9)

The Brewers hit just 24 homers in April, but 44 in June.

13. Detroit Tigers: 16.1 (7.6, 8.4)

Continuing the monthly trend, the Tigers OPS in June was .827, which was a sharp climb from the .712 they had in May.

14. Minnesota Twins: 15.9 (6.5, 9.5)

The Twins lead the AL in triples with 24 thanks to at least two from six different guys.

15. Baltimore Orioles: 15.7 (6.5, 9.3)

Jeremy Guthrie has a 3.50 ERA this season.

16. Houston Astros: 15.4 (6.5, 8.9)

Wandy Rodriguez has been the staff?s ace with a 2.58 ERA and 7.74 K/9 ratio.

17. Los Angeles Angels: 15.1 (4.5, 10.7)

A team that is 16 games over .500 really shouldn?t be 17th on a rankings list, but this formula clearly does not close games into account and a club that has only scored 12 more runs than their opponents is difficult to know what to do with.

18. Pittsburgh Pirates: 14.9 (6.7, 8.2)

Pirates? pitchers are yielding an MLB-worst .813 OPS.

19. Oakland Athletics: 14.6 (4.6, 10.0)

Rich Harden has a dominant 2.15 ERA and has been extremely durable since May 11th.

20. Arizona Diamondbacks: 14.4 (4.7, 9.7)

The first of five NL West teams in the twenties.

21. Cincinnati Reds: 14.4 (5.4, 8.9)

The Reds lead the MLB in strikeouts with 636, but have given up 107 homers.

22. Los Angeles Dodgers: 14.2 (4.8, 9.4)

Russell Martin and Jeff Kent are leading the Dodgers with eight homers each.

23. Cleveland Indians: 14.2 (5.3, 8.9)

Cleveland has logged nine shutouts on the season, which is the best in baseball.

24. San Francisco Giants: 14.1 (4.8, 9.3)

The Giants hit a homer in every 53.2 at bats, which is last in the MLB.

25. Florida Marlins: 13.9 (5.1, 8.8)

Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, Jorge Cantu, Cody Ross and the Marlins lead the MLB in homers with 116.

26. Seattle Mariners: 13.4 (5.3, 8.1)

Carlos Silva has a 5.69 ERA and just 3.52 K/9.

27. Kansas City Royals: 13.3 (4.4, 8.9)

David DeJesus is batting .316 with eight homers.

28. Colorado Rockies: 13.3 (5.3, 8.0)

The Rockies have scored just 104 runs in June.

29. San Diego Padres: 11.0 (2.4, 8.6)

Adrian Gonzalez has 21 homers (12 on the road) in what is one of the better wasted seasons.

30. Washington Nationals: 10.9 (2.7, 8.2)

Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes have OPS totals of .679 and .738 respectively.

Via Christopher Reina/RealGM


MLB Announces Rosters For Futures Game

The Athletics, Rangers, and Phillies each had four players selected for next month?s Futures Game during the All-Star festivities at Yankee Stadium, as reported by the Associated Press.

MLB announced the 25-man rosters for the USA Olympic trial and World teams on Thursday. Players from all full-season minor leagues were eligible for the squads.

Via AP


Agent: Bonds Won't Play In Minors

Barry Bonds has no desire to play for an minor league team in an effort to create any interest among major league clubs, according to an Associated Press report.

The indicted career home run leader remains unsigned, even though he batted .276 last season with 28 homers, 66 RBI's, and a major league-leading 132 walks.

Via AP


General Jun 2008 Archive

  • Report: Central Location For Replay

    An instant replay system currently being considered by Major League Baseball would reportedly have home run calls analyzed at a central location in New York City.

  • Experts: Clemens Could Be Federally Indicted

    Experts believe that former Major League pitcher Roger Clemens could be federally indicted for committing perjury when he denied using steroids in front of Congress.

  • MLB Hopes To Have Replay Before Season's End

    Major League Baseball is going to attempt to implement instant replay for home-run calls before the end of the season.

  • Home Teams Winning At Pace Not Seen In 75 Years

    Home teams are winning at a rate not seen in 75 years in Major League Baseball.

  • Bonds Pleads Not Guilty To Refiled Federal Charges

    Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty to fifteen federal charges of lying to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

  • 2008 MLB Draft Big Board

    Brian Sabean and the Giants own the fifth overall pick. Will this be the year they find a franchise offensive player like Justin Smoak?

  • Meeting Set To Discuss Future Of Maple Bats

    Representatives from major league teams, the players union, and the commissioner's office with meet in New York later this month to discuss the future of maple bats.