In this not-likely-to-be-regular feature, we’ll take a look at how the teams across the BBL have performed so far, and extrapolate from that to rank how likely they are to reach the postseason.

Backyard League

1) Super-Duper Wombats. There was a lot of doubt surrounding this team at first, thanks to their weak defense, but early on its AI version is squarely in the middle of the Backyard in terms of number of runs allowed, and a pair of strong scores have shown that Wizard knows how to use this offense – 13 more runs in the first two games than the closest competitors! The Wombats are going to be a tough force to stop this season.

2) Green Monsters. The Green Monsters of yore are finally back! This team is essentially the Wombats but slightly less so, as they lost in a direct matchup last week. But we also have yet to see them at their full potential – I expect some big scores at TCA coming up.

3) Seattle Mariners. In the MOTW, JorgesBankAccount showed true skill in the form of exceptional plate discipline that let him rack up the pitch count and score many more runs than he otherwise could have. The Mariners should be underestimated no more, and against more fragile defenses than the Purple Sox’s, they could deal some exceptional damage.

4) Red Phillies. Crazyei8hts has had a good start to his championship defense season, but there’s a very good chance that his slower team won’t fare so well when it goes up against the other big dogs of the division. I think the faster hitting-based teams will perform better.

5) Blue Red Sox. The Purple Sox’s lack of pitching has been proven to be a definite liability, but at the same time not one that will prevent them from winning games. At this point it’s still tough to know what trajectory their season will take, but they’ve at least shown themselves to be capable of being competitive.

6) Baltimore Orioles. The bottom three teams in the division have had noticably lower run output than the top five, and each of the three will need to improve that considerably if they’re to have a shot at competing. Of those three, the O’s have scored the most, have done the most damage with their AI offense, and have had the toughest schedule to start out. Once they finally get some games not against the division’s heavy hitters, they should start looking better.

7) Boston Cubs. The Cubs’ AI has given up the least runs of any AI defense after two games, but I don’t expect that to remain the case for long when they go up against the hitting-based teams of the division. At that point, their low run output will be hard-pressed to keep up.

8) Junior Brewers. So far, the Brewers have indeed been the master of none. With an only average performance on defense and the lowest run output of any team so far, they need to figure out how to harness their strengths quickly or else they’ll be stuck in the dust.

Indoor League

1) Arizona Diamondbacks. Sisu clearly knew what he was doing in the draft, pairing a best-in-division defense (giving up only 5 runs in the first two games) with an offense that can get it done and has the division’s second-higest run total after two games. The D’Backs opponents will be hard-pressed to find a way to come out above them this season.

2) Los Angeles Angels. The Angels’ 31 runs in Week 2 are tied for the highest score league-wide in the first two weeks of play, and their strong AI defense should make its impact felt more in the coming weeks as well. If Nate can usually play even half as well as he did last week, this will be a team to be greatly feared.

3) Texas Rangers. The Rangers’ offense has proven quite capable so far on both the player and AI side. If the D’Backs or Angels don’t live up to their early potential, Texas will be at the top of the list to swoop in and steal their position.

4) Milwaukee Braves. Despite starting off 2-0, the Braves so far have the lowest run total in the division. But who needs to score a lot of runs when you can hold your opponents to even lower scores? This would hardly be the first time that such a strategy has proven successful.

5) Baltimore Bombers. A quite strong game followed by an abysmal game has left the Bombers’ prospects very uncertain early on. More results will be needed before we can tell which trajectory they will follow throughout the season.

6) Seattle Fishes. The Fishes haven’t yet found their niche, although elchrisblanco is known to be a coach who performs better after more time with his teams. We’ll see if a late-season surge is in order, but it can only do so much if he doesn’t hold the fort early on.

7) Boston Reds. The Reds have yet to assert themselves in any particular category. We’ll see if that breakout comes soon, but for now they’re stuck near the bottom of the rankings.

8) Super-Duper Melonheads. Two weeks in, the Melonheads are tied for the second-lowest run total, second-lowest AI run total, most runs allowed as a human, and stand alone with the most runs allowed as an AI. Perhaps a move away from livestreaming will help, but in any case they need to show concrete evidence of improvement before they have a prayer of climbing out of the cellar.

Frontyard Division

1) New York Yankees. Their stock is likely to go down as new coaches find their footing, but the Yankees rule the roost early on. They’ve performed quite well for the first two weeks, and things are looking up from coach Marco, who most definitely hails from New York.

2) Humongous Hornets. There is something to be said for consistency, and the Hornets have put forth two consistent good results. If they can keep it up, they should start seeing the wins rack up.

3) Minnesota Twins. It looks like the Twins started to get in a rythm last week, which bodes well for their future. This could be the beginning of a strong season, although they’ll also need to staunch the flow of runs scored off their AI if that’s to fully manifest.

4) Tampa Bay Devil Rays. T-Boz has leveraged his experience to be one of the higher-scoring coaches here early on. If his AI defense can prove capable, and he can tighten up and allow less AI runs, he could be a real contender.

5) Junior Athletics. It’s not yet clear if their 14 runs in Week 2 were a flash in the pan or the start of a new dynasty. For now we’ll listen to coach Mello and take that score with a grain of salt, though it is worth noting that the AI Athletics only gave up three runs in the first two weeks.

6) Florida Marlins. The Marlins showed promise in their opener, only to completely collapse against the Athletics. Between that poor performance and an alarmly high number of runs allowed by their AI, they have an uphill climb to regain their standing.

7) San Francisco Giants. The Giants’ defense has performed better than most here to start the season, but they need to really start producing runs if they’re to become a strong team.

8) Los Angeles Dodgers. At this point we don’t even know who will be coaching the Dodgers. Whoever it is, their new coach will be thrown into the deep end with a significant swim ahead and a notoriously harsh GM. It won’t be the most enviable of positions to be in.