With the regular season over, it’s time for the last edition of the 2018 Power Rankings. Let’s take a look at which teams finished the season strong, and which team (Falcons) did not.
Rank | Change | Team | Notes |
1 | – | With the Lions having an off week, they were at risk of falling off the top spot. However, as the rest of the league beat up on each other the Lions record stood strong enough to withstand and it was the 2 ties that they got against the Eagles and Owls throughout the year that ended up being the difference. Meanwhile this team will be without any games played for nearly 3 weeks before the playoffs begin. Look for them to practice aggressively to make sure that they remain hot going into the Semi Finals. | |
2 | The Tigers are having a rollercoaster of a season. They had some tough games, but finished the season strong with two wins against the Owls and the Falcons. Mahmood Kara led the team with 3 of his 4 hits being homers, and 9 RBI’s to top it off. This team looks poised to have a run at the title, and if they continue to play the way they currently are, watch out. They are peaking at the right time having won 4 out of the last 5. Every team should be worried when they see them opposite them. | ||
3 | The Owls had a crazy two games this week, scoring a combined 32 runs over those games. However, they also allowed a combined 23 runs in those two games, giving the Owls a lot of room to improve come playoff time. Ultimately the up and down progress has propelled them into 5th place in the standings but when the team shows up they can beat anyone. With their quarter final game being at 8:30 AM we know that this has been a problem historically, so we’ll see who shows up and if he hot hitting bat of Shane Nasser stays as strong as it has been. | ||
4 |
The Eagles were .500 on the week, winning and losing versus the Bucks. A big part of that win was #1 overall pick, Ali Manek, hitting a grand slam that gave the Eagles all the momentum and the win that granted them home field advantage in the playoffs. However, when he is pressing as he was in the previous game he and the team will struggle. As Ali Manek goes so do the Eagles – he has easily been their MVP, but will need to play that way for the Eagles to be competitive. They have a difficult path to the championship, but one thing that is overlooked in the finish is that they are the only team to allow less than 100 runs to score (87 to be exact). Teams will need to be sharp defensively to have a chance as this team does not give up a lot. |
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5 |
Despite their drop to 2nd place overall, the Bucks had something happen in their games that hasn’t happened in a while – both Ali Raza Nasser and Minhal Jaffer started to find their swing again. The Bucks also played with Nadim Rahemtulla at SS and Minhal Jaffer at 2B, then followed by moving Minhal to the Rover position in the next game. It seems that they were trying to get their playoff legs ready. Unfortunately, the Eagles were not a team to be looked past and made the Bucks pay for taking them lightly. After having lost 4 of the last 5, their confidence is shaken so they needed these games to get that swagger back. This is a dangerous team to face as the entire team is skilled, can hit, can field, and is a nightmare to pitch against. If they come back with that early season confidence then look out. They just need to remember that they can’t look past any opponent. |
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6 | – | While the Wolves may sit in 6th place in the standings and in our power rankings, as we have said all season long – this is a team for the playoffs. They have too many players that have experienced what it takes to win a championship. They have a set of captains that will be driving them hard in practices leading up to the playoffs and they are going to be dangerous. In their last game of the season they beat the first place Bucks. Mikael Ratansi is currently hitting and placing the ball as he pleases – his batting prowess now matches his pitching skill. They have a formidable opponent in the Tigers coming and have lost the season series against them, but this is what they’ve been waiting for all season. | |
7 | – | The Falcons have had a rough season. They made 3 trades during the season, have had players missing for a lot of their season, and have struggled to put together a consistent effort. However, if you pay attention, there’s a lot of things that are happening – Shane Worthington looks to have broken out of his slump with a bases clearing triple, Imtiyaz Kara looks to be comfortable at SS, they had 2 innings to end the game where they scored 4 and 3 runs respectively. This team doesn’t really have a weak link but in order for them to win, they cannot have the absenteeism that they have experienced. There’s a reason we root for underdogs – anything can happen when you’re not supposed to win. Let’s see how the Falcons do when they realize there is no pressure on them. |