Powers' Rankings: Week 18

The stretch run is upon us. Just 4 weeks to go, and still only 5.5 games between Seed 6 and Seed 11. White flags have been flowing in San Fernando for some time, but even with their proximity to the promise land it looks as though Rakeville and Rio de Janeiro are publicly jumping ship as well. Where does your team stand? 

Powers' Rankings: Week 18
By: Max Powers; Baseball Tri-Weekly

Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
1	3	10	Tijuana Hispanics Overall 9-4-4 Last Five 4-1-0 Magic Number Playoffs: 25 Division: 34		Top of the standings and top in our hearts. Don't bother asking yourself how we got here, you may not like the answer. Week 18 Match Up: Santo Domingo
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
2	1	4	Quebec City Piglets Overall 8-7-2 Last Five 3-2 Magic Number Playoffs: 31		The All-Star Factory learned from Las Vegas's match up the previous week, and sat a whole bunch of pitchers once they felt they had a good enough lead in SV, ERA, and WHIP on Quebec City. If only the Piglets had a closer or two to stop teams from doing that.... Week 18 Match Up: Dublin
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
3	4	6	Santo Domingo All-Star Factory Overall 8-7-2 Last Five 3-1-1 Magic Number Playoffs: 34		Squeezing out a victory in Quebec is nice, but we all know how it will end in Tijuana. It's destiny. Week 18 Match Up: Tijuana
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
4	2	2	Weymouth Shaddupu Overall 11-4-2 Last Five 1-2-2 Magic Number Playoffs: 29.5 Division: 34.5		One win in the last 5 means being knocked down a peg in these rankings, but it doesn't mean they lose much ground in the actual standings. With match ups against Rakeville and San Fernando still on the horizon, the Poo are sitting pretty. Week 18 Match Up: Rakeville
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
5	7	5	Las Vegas Doggs Overall 7-7-3 Last Five 3-2-0 Magic Number Playoffs: 35		Back-to-back 8-2 wins bring the Doggs within spitting distance to the top seed of the East. Might we be looking at a final week showdown when Las Vegas visits Weymouth in Week 21? The fans can only hope. Week 18 Match Up: San Juan
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
6	5	7	Rakeville Rockets Overall 7-7-3 Last Five 2-2-1 Cursed Number Playoffs: 34.5		That offense though. Week 18 Match Up: Weymouth
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
7	6	9	Tokyo Omyoujis Overall 9-7-1 Last Five 3-2-0 Cursed Number Playoffs: 39		As much of an undeserving flogging as any we've seen this year, Tokyo would have beaten most other teams in any other match up. Luckily, they get to work it out against Rio, who has publicly announced their losing intentions, so there's that. Week 18 Match Up: Rio de Janeiro
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
8	8	7	Rio de Janeiro Cristos Overall 6-6-5 Last Five 2-1-2 Cursed Number Playoffs: 39.5		Rio management scolded their players at the start of the week after they showed obvious signs of trying to win and they promptly responded by losing 4 out of 5 hitting categories. Now that's a management style that works! Week 18 Match Up: Tokyo
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
9	10	3	San Juan Guerites Overall 7-8-2 Last Five 2-3-0 Magic Number Playoffs: 39.5		Did all those moves pay off? So far, so good, as San Juan now finds itself on the inside looking out after spending so much time as of late clawing their way back in. Week 18 Match Up: Las Vegas
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
10	9	1	Dublin Snake Chasers Overall 7-6-4 Last Five 2-2-1 Cursed Number Playoffs: 38.5		Dublin did just enough to tie a team officially trying to lose. The schedule isn't going to be kind to the irishmen's chances moving forward. Week 18 Match Up: Quebec City
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
11	11	11	Bridgewater Weasels Overall 6-9-2 Last Five 1-3-1 Cursed Number Playoffs: 34.5		Treading water against the top seed in your division only gets you so far this late in the season. Still, the Weasels only sit 5.5 games back from a playoff spot and still get to gain some ground against the Jets so not all hope is lost. Week 18 Match Up: San Fernando Valley
Current Rank	Last Week	Pre Season	Team		Notes
12	12	12	San Fernando Valley Jets Overall 2-15-0 Last Five 0-5-0 Cursed Number Playoffs: 5 #1 MaDP: 10.5		8 weeks ago I predicted the Jets would clinch the top MaDP after Week 18. It's well within their reach, especially since they're playing the next worst team. Week 18 Match Up: Bridgewater