American League

1) Royals. Who wants to share a league with the Royals right now? Pretty much nobody, I’m guessing.

2) Cubs. Don’t let their -23 margin of victory fool you. If you ignore the Royals, the Cubs are far and away the best team in either league right now.

3) Devil Rays. Big_DAWG didn’t absolutely blow us away with his debut, but he proved that he has what it takes to get it done with this team. If he can keep up those levels of production, his defense can do the rest and this will still be a formidable team.

4) Reds. Cincy seems to have a bit more trouble at their home field, but they still have enough oomph to get the job done as long as their coach is behaving himself. They might be winless, but it sure doesn’t feel like they’re that bad of a team.

5) Angels. A big week for the Angels as despite losing, they proved that they can pop off with bigger scores. If this serves as a confidence booster for Bobby and he can replicate the feat multiple times, they have a solid shot at the playoffs.

6) Rangers. Perhaps I am underrating this team somewhat. Yeah, they’re not good at their home field, but overall this has been one of the toughest parts of their schedule this season. But the teams around this level are all very close in my estimation and a big Match of the Week could easily gain a couple spots back for New York.

7) Braves. A drop despite their huge win? Yeah, because the big asterisk attached to this win is from the fact that it was achieved by a guest coach. The bigger, and more concerning, sign for the Braves is the huge game that the Angels had against their defense – previously the biggest thing propping them up in the rankings.

8) Rockies. Despite the blowout loss, the picture didn’t really change for the Rockies. TCA things will happen at TCA, and they’re still churning out runs at a steady enough pace to pick up a few Ws here and there.

9) Orioles. The O’s put up quite an impressive performance in their breakout game… but that was their last game at Tin Can Alley. They can’t jump up very far here until they duplicate the feat at other fields.

10) Pirates. The Pirates claimed a win in their best performance yet, but their outlook still isn’t that rosy. Their offense was pretty limited for most of the game, they only took it due to an optional self-assigned penalty, and multiple of the other lower-scoring teams put up much better scores than they did.

11) Hornets. Another week goes by, and things look the same here.

National League

1) Monsters. The only thing you can say against the Monsters at this point is their scores haven’t been quite as dominant as one might expect in the past couple of weeks. But they’re the last undefeated team in the NL for a reason, have been kicking butt all around, and don’t appear poised to stop anytime soon.

2) Giants. Talk about bouncing back! The Giants followed a rough loss with the NL’s highest score of the season so far and proved they’re still one of the top teams this side of the league. Their defense also has the lowest high score allowed at this point – all in all, they are quite the formidable foes.

3) Diamondbacks. It wasn’t a good sign for the D’Backs as they absolutely folded against the Monsters. But their fans don’t need to give up on them yet – everybody has bad days sometimes, and the D’Backs are still in good shape if they can rebound and shake off this one rough game.

4) Cardinals. The Cards’ second home game proved that they are not well-suited for their home field. That’s going to cramp them and limit their potential, but the good news is that they’re still very imposing on the road.

5) Yankees. The Yankees lost but looked good doing it. Fourteen runners left on base obviously means this team had some struggles, but it also indicates that they just need a couple more clutch hits, maybe a bit of lineup retooling, and then have the potential to put up some really good scores. Crazy’s been knocked down a step from the dominance we’re used to and the team’s overall trajectory is hard to predict, but this still is not a team to be taken lightly.

6) Melonheads. Finally, the Melonheads managed to put up just enough runs to seal the deal! Their MOTW showing was not without some cause for concern, but the worst part of their schedule is now behind them, and as they start to face teams outside the top tier, several more wins might be in their near future.

7) Twins. The Twins still have yet to unlock their true potential, but even operating at half capacity, they can put up better scores than a number of other teams have yet to see. If they ever really break out they will be a team to be feared indeed; as it is, they’re a good step below the top competition, but more than capable of knocking out extra wins here and there.

8) Fishes. The Fishes managed to squeeze out a win against an imposing foe this week, and their defense has held pretty well in the past couple of games, giving some hope that they could establish themselves as strong contenders. However, overall their scoring has remained fairly low, and they’ll need to improve those numbers before they can rely on winning frequently.

9) Marlins. Even ignoring the huge score put up against them this week, the Marlins just haven’t been able to consistently deliver so far. Their scores are hanging around a point that’s just too low to win that many games, their ceiling hasn’t been high enough, and since that first week, their defense hasn’t been enough to make up the difference.

10) Athletics. A big tumble for the A’s prospects this week as they were nearly shut out while their defense didn’t do much to stop the opposition. They have two wins, but also two blowout losses now, and this isn’t signaling that they have what it takes to hold up against the tougher competition.

11) Brewers. At last, the Brewers managed to break free from 3 runs! They’re still far below their potential output, but progress often comes gradually, and if they can sustain this growth, things will be looking far, far better for them.

12) Wombats. One away game in the books, and things are looking exactly the same for the Wombats.

Note: These rankings were specifically written from the perspective of after all Week Two games, but without any Week Three games taken into account, which is why some of them may seem odd given the Week 3 results that have come out.

American League

1) Royals. Two weeks in, the Royals possess the two highest scores that have been seen league-wide. Their offense is tearing it up right now, and as long as that continues, any other considerations are virtually irrelevant.

2) Cubs. The Cubs put up a surprisingly mediocre score at Tin Can Alley. They’re still a force to be feared, but they’re a little short of utter dominance right now.

3) Braves.The Braves proved they could get it done against the Rangers this week, and assured us that their offense isn’t a complete pushover. So far their defense has held up well too; right now the big question is what sort of run output is going to be the norm for them.

4) Reds. After a surprisingly strong start, the Reds came crashing back down to earth in a game they couldn’t complete until the bottom of the sixth. Now, given the power on the Royals, this may be an extreme case for them, but in any case it does give one pause and force us to wait a few more weeks to see how strong this team will normally be.

5) Rangers. As could have been expected, the Rangers didn’t perform so well at a home field that favors power, not speed. If their strength is restricted to road games, then their impact on the season is going to be limited.

6) Devil Rays.Of the Devil Rays’ three coaches, one is completely missing, one is completely untested, and the third has only one game left. Their defense has been formidable so far and gives them a nice advantage, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see their stock continue to plummet in the coming weeks.

7) Angels. The good news is that the Angels are 2-0 to start the season. The bad news is that neither of their winning scores has been very high. If they’re to compete with the big dogs, they’ll need to start upping the output.

8) Rockies. The Rockies may be more comfortable than they were last season, but so far their otuput has still been pretty limited. Especially given they’ve been playing at the Alley, there’s still a lot of room for growth with this team.

9) Pirates. The good news for the Pirates is that their defense held up this game. The bad news is that they still weren’t able to score a whole lot of runs. Their prospects are looking bleak until they manage to punch through an opposing defense.

10) Orioles. It’s been a very rough start for a promising team. These early struggles are tanking their stock fast, and they need to see some success if it’s to rise back up.

11) Hornets. The situation remains the same for the Hornets.

National League

1) Monsters. The Monsters took most of Game 2 to really get going at TCA, but get going they did, and put up another of the NL’s best scores so far. They’re doing quite well on their own end, and the fact that their AI is also 2-0 is just the icing on the cake.

2) Giants. The Giants proved that Week 1 wasn’t a fluke by putting forth another solid performance in Week 2; even five runs surrendered to the AI wasn’t enough to bring them down. If they can keep this up, they should be able to cruise to a division title.

3) Diamondbacks. The D’Backs still aren’t scoring quite as much as one might expect from such a stacked offense, but the great news for them is that their defense also isn’t surrendering as many runs as one might expect. It’s held out well twice now, and if it continues to do so they’ll be in excellent shape.

4) Yankees. Week One was indeed a fluke as Crazy rebounded nicely in his second game. I’m not expecting a drop back down for this team, and while behind early, they stand a good chance of overtaking the D’Backs down the stretch.

5) Cardinals. Week Two was a significant one for the Cards, as they proved they can get it done on the road with a convincing victory. I’m still not sure how well they’ll do in their remaining home games, but at least in away contests, they’ve proven themselves to be contenders.

6) Twins. The Twins made a partial rebound this week, hitting several home runs at Steele to grab their first win. They clearly aren’t all the way back yet, though; there’s still room to recover more and their prospects on the road are questionable. The next few weeks should show if they’re to be true playoff contenders.

7) Marlins. After a very promising Week One, the Marlins fell right back down the next week, putting up a rather lower score in rather more favorable conditions while their defense didn’t do much. Their opening performance may just have been a flash in the pan.

8) Athletics. The A’s have put up similar performances in both games so far, but their defense fared a lot worse at home against an offense-focused team. If they’re to be serious contenders, they need to start upping their run output, and soon.

9) Melonheads. The Melonheads haven’t won any games yet, but at least they’ve kept it close so far. Their run output hasn’t been terrible even while they’ve left a lot on the table, and if they can ever put everything together, we’ll see some big scores and some wins from them. Their coach’s inability to reliably put everything together is the biggest thing keeping them down right now.

10) Brewers. A team that showed lots of promise in the preseason has struggled hard in the early games. They have the ability to bounce back, but potential does not equal reality, and the truth may be that there’s a lot more rough games ahead for them.

11) Fishes. The Fishes’ first games haven’t gone very well for them or left them with much of an upside to look at. Even if improvement does come later in the season, it may very well end up coming too late to matter.

12) Wombats. Things are looking about the same for this team after another week. Their biggest hope right now is that they can prove more effective on the road.

A’s over Indians. The Indians just suffered their first loss of the season to the Red Sox, and nobody seems to be able to stop the A’s. Philly has the edge in this battle for the top team of the Backyard League.

D’Backs over Blue Jays. One could consider the setting of this matchup at sandy Casa to be an advantage for the Jays, but they themselves didn’t perform too well in either of the game they’ve played there so far, and the D’Backs did just fine at Sandy Flats just a few weeks ago. Their rampage against the non-East teams will likely continue.

Red Sox over Rockies. This could be a crucial matchup in the tight playoff race gripping two-thirds of the AL, but the Red Sox have a clear edge as they’ve largely consistently been the higher-scoring team.

Pirates over Orioles. The Pirates have cooled down since laying the smackdown on the Melonheads, and the Flats will likely deflate their score further, but the Orioles are on a major slump that’s unlikely to be made any better by another game at Sandy.

Tigers over Melonheads. On paper, the Melonheads have the edge here, with the Tigers’ coach still learning the ropes, and the Melonheads having put up solid scores the past three weeks and desperate for a win. But Eauxps has a history of choking in some of the most favorable-seeming matchups, and that could happen again here to maintain the equilibrium in the AL West.

Wombats over Monsters. The Monsters have a new coach with lots of enthusiasm, and whose practice games for Weeks 1 and 7 would have been wins, but he also just dropped three runs last week. The Wombats have been consistently hovering around a score of 10 per game, and broke out last week, making them the definitive favorites for this matchup.

Angels over Yankees. The Yanks’ reprieve from the Casa didn’t last for long, and their chances against a red-hot Angels team would have been extremely questionable even if they weren’t at their hated home field.

Expos over Braves. The Expos have turned over a new leaf and turned into a dominant team over the past two weeks. Either of their past two scores would have defeated the Braves’ best score all season, so a similar effort should easily carry the day here.

Tapirs over Marlins. The French Fish are untested at the beach, but it’s likely that they’ll struggle a bit more there as most teams do, and the Tapirs have proven that it doesn’t bother them at all.

Bombers over Giants. After a Week 7 surge, the Giants fell back to another low score last week, leaving them apparently easy prey to the strong Bombers.

Mariners over Cubs. The Mariners have been up-and-down the past few weeks, but they have a higher ceiling than the Cubs team whose best score so far is a lone 5.

Cardinals over Devil Rays. This could become a battle of the AIs, but Tampa’s has flagged since suffering its first loss, while St Louis’s has remained consistent except for its most recent game.

All recaps provided by JorgesBankAccount.

Bombers 10, Braves 1

The Braves have already played the entire season out and are just waiting on their opponents for their submissions. They didn’t have to wait long this week, as the Bombers posted their results in the narrow span of time between the start of the week and crazyei8hts posting the prediction challenge. While this meant that very few people got prediction points for this game (2, to be specific: Eauxps I. Fourgott and JorgesBankAccount), it also meant that the Bombers continued their role as one of the strongest teams in the league, with 18 hits on 31 at-bats for 9 runs and a shutout from Ernie Steele. While they had an easy time in this game, the Braves struggled when pitcher Todd Xavier allowed 7 runs and 15 hits (facing 30 batters) in an 8-7 squeaker that would have required the Bombers to lose to the AI for the Braves to win.

Player of the game: Ernie Steele went 2-of-3 including the game’s only homer and also had a perfect 4 innings to start the game, knocking out 12 batters on 38 pitches and recording 3 strikeouts.

Expos 10, Yankees 1

A Yankees team that’s currently cold as ice offensively collided with an Expos team that had finally started beating AIs for the biggest upset of the week when Jarod Johnson not only got his first win, but did so in style. The Expos notched 14 runs for the highest score at La Chancla in the NL this season, beating the previous high of 12 set by the Tapirs. Interestingly, both these high scores came from away teams; perhaps Casa de Pablo is a good place to vacation but not a good place to live? Either way, even though the AI Yankees managed 4 runs, Marco could only manage 2 while giving up a run of his own, and the Expos come away with their first win in an absolute demolishing of New York.

Player of the game: Judy Abwunza went 4-for-4 with 3 singles and a dinger to knock in 4 runs. Plus, she crossed the plate 3 times herself. Not too shabby.

Tapirs 14, Devil Rays 1

The Devil Rays AI started the year with a fearsome reputation, as it won the first four games of the year. With a couple of losses, cracks started to show, and after this latest game, I believe we can say that those four wins occurred because of weak competition: specifically, the NL West, where the New York Giants AI also managed to notch 3 wins (including one against T-Boz). Since leaving the division, the Devil Rays AI is 1-3, and the Devil Rays themselves have the same record. Meanwhile, the Tapirs continued their winning streak, extending it to four wins in a row as well as four games won by at least 12 runs. The Devil Rays still have a 2-game lead in the NL West, but one has to wonder if that can possibly hold for the rest of the season.

Player of the game: Dominique Lowe went 4-for-5 with 3 singles and a double, 5 RBIs, and 2 runs scored. Of course, if you want to credit someone else, A.C. Newman provided the soundtrack for the Tapirs with his magnificent 2012 album Shut Down the Streets. Just thought you might like to know.

Cardinals 6, Mariners 2

The Cardinals AI turned in yet another incredibly good performance, one that didn’t beat their opponent but kept them chained to a low score that made it easier for shrewsbury91 to win. Most of the Mariners only got up to bat thrice (the exception being Shawn Green, who came up four times), none of them got more than two hits, and the longest hits they had were doubles (3 in total). Despite holding the Cardinals to 1 run, the Mariners could only manage three off of 13 hits. Meanwhile, although the Cardinals registered 3 fewer hits and as many fewer plate appearances, they got two homers, one of which was a Jeff Conine grand slam. Combine that with not letting up any runs, and St. Louis took this game easily.

Player of the game: Jeff Conine only had one hit, but boy was it a big one: a grand slam that proved to be more than the margin of victory due to the sixth-inning home bonus.

Athletics 9, Orioles 2

The A’s have been arguably the strongest team in the AL, but this week revealed that there’s something that can slow them down: Sandy Flats. Nick Foles was only able to produce a 10-1 outing in what was easily the weakest game the A’s have produced this season (previous low: a run differential of 18 at Tin Can Alley against the Minnesota Monsters in a 24-18 loss). While they didn’t have too much trouble getting on base, with 20 hits on 35 at-bats, it was advancing the A’s had a problem with, as they left 10 runners stranded over the course of the game. Despite their comparatively poor performance, the A’s still managed to win because the Orioles had an even worse day, finishing with a 4-2 score that required them to knock in 2 in the bottom of the sixth. Like Philadelphia, Mavfatha had a problem with getting runners across the plate, as the Orioles had 16 hits on 28 at-bats but needed homers for most of their runs (2 homers accounted for 3 runs; the other one was a single from Matessa Sturges that brought Dmitri Petrovich home).

Player of the game: Amanda Hellerman went 3-of-4, notched a homer, and knocked in 2 runs (including the one she scored on the homer). But what’s really impressive is her pitching performance, where she struck out 12 Orioles at Sandy Flats.

Red Sox 16, Melonheads 13

The Red Sox continued their winning streak with a big day at the plate, sending 41 players up to bat. Everyone got at least one hit, and six players got three or more as the Red Sox knocked in sixteen runs in an “away” game at their home field. The Melonheads, meanwhile, had their best game since week 4, but it wasn’t enough to drag them across the finish line; part of this was the fact that as a team they only went 14-for-29 and a walk, which while not horrible by any means wasn’t enough (although give them credit: they only left four people on base).

Player of the game: In a heroic effort for the losing team, Maria Luna went 3-for-3 with a homer, knocked in 3 runs, scored 2 herself, and stole a team- and game-leading 4 bases–not to mention that on the mound she got 8 strikeouts and only allowed 2 hits in a 53-pitch shutout.

Angels 18, Giants 11

The Giants had their best game of the year offensively, notching 12 runs at home (although they did give up three). This was the fourth-best performance of the week in the NL. Unfortunately for them, they were playing the Angels, who have been on a rampage that would give even the most seasoned AL veterans pause and who posted the best score in the NL this week. So it was this week, when takenotes011 took over Dirt Yards to the tune of 24 runs. Even giving up a surprisingly large 6 runs wasn’t enough to give the Giants the boost they needed, and the Angels head into the All-Star Break with a winning record and a ton of momentum.

Player of the game: Troy Glaus went five of six, notched the cycle with an extra double(!), and smacked in 5 while crossing the plate four times himself. I’d say that warrants mention.

Diamondbacks 15, Pirates 8

The Diamondbacks came into this game fresh off of a disappointing 5-run performance in a loss to the Tigers. The Pirates came into this game having scored only 7 in a game against the Blue Jays that they still managed to win. Both teams were looking to improve, but only one did, as the Pirates failed to do much offensively; although everyone but Ezra Travolta got a hit, only 4 players got more than one. When you couple that with only 5 hits being for extra bases (although three of them were triples, oddly enough), you’re not seeing a recipe for a high score in this league. Arizona fared much better, seeing 40 at-bats, 24 hits, and 11 stolen bases on their way to notching a 15-0 win where everyone got a hit.

Player of the game: Pamela Kirkos went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a triple to knock in 3 runs and cross the plate twice.

Marlins 15, Cubs 5

The Cubs had a fairly solid outing this week, garnering 12 hits and 2 walks on 27 plate appearances and knocking in five runs while only allowing one (defense being something MarcoMcGwire has had trouble with in the past). Unfortunately for them, the fish chose to turn the tables on the bears this time, as the Cubs found themselves totally gutted by jibbodahibbo’s onslaught. Even though the Marlins allowed four runs, this meant nothing as the Marlins steadily pounded the Cubs before snatching a couple of power-ups and really driving them into the ground. When the dust cleared, the Marlins had put up the second-best score in the NL this week, and the Cubs had ended up tied with the Expos after the Expos snatched their first win.

Player of the game: In a game where the Marlins managed to get 28 hits, the best performance came from Yvonne Carter, who went 5-for-5 with a home run and also took the mound to throw the last two strikes of the game. I think we can call that an all-around good performance.

Indians 12, Blue Jays 8

The Indians stayed undefeated by beating the Blue Jays 12-8. Interestingly, this 12-run outing is tied for their worst on the season with another 12-run game; both took place at Steele Stadium, suggesting that the Indians might be weaker at home. Still, if this is the Indians at their weakest, you do NOT want to face them at their strongest, as that low is the second-highest in the AL (behind the Red Sox at 13 in Weeks 2 and 5). The Indians didn’t have the most spectacular day, going 19 of 32 with a walk and leaving 10 stranded, but they had a solid day, and it was enough to beat the Blue Jays straight up as KiiiiiiiiiiiiiS stumbled to his third-straight single-digit game and his fourth this season (the Grounderball hangover hitting him especially hard). The Indians remain undefeated and at the top of the AL; the Blue Jays sit at 2-5, but losses by the Orioles, Wombats, and Melonheads keep them in the lead in the AL West.

Player of the game: Sammy Sosa went 4-for-4 with 2 homers and 3 RBIs.

Rockies 18, Wombats 8

The Rockies started out the year by winning by only 2 against the AI, while the Wombats exploded for a 17-run win. Since then, they’ve taken completely opposite trajectories, with the Rockies marching to a 5-2 record and nipping at the Monsters’ heels for the wild card slot and the Wombats falling to 1-6. This last game was no different, with mbless putting up what’s become a fairly standard performance for the Rockies (albeit one that’s a bit above average) and Wizard giving the Wombats a performance that’s decent but more fitting for the NL.

Player of the game: The Rockies haven’t sent in their stats for this one, so, uh…let’s give it to Robert Smith. Show me how you do that trick, indeed.

Monsters 20, Tigers 7

The Monsters beat the Tigers, but nobody cares about that. The big story in this game? The delay into the All-Star Break followed by the resignation of both coaches. So let’s talk about that instead. For the Tigers, it’s a fairly simple story: they started out weak, GSchlim had little free time to play, and after forfeiting in Week 4 and being unmotivated to play in Week 7, GSchlim decided to hand the team off to someone else. Interestingly enough, the story is the exact same for Aesnop and the Monsters, right down to the Week 4 forfeit (albeit after having been caught goosing the AI) and lack of motivation in Week 7. The only real difference is that in Week 6, Aesnop got Eauxps I. Fourgott to substitute as the Monsters coach (the Monsters’ second loss of the season). Either way, this meant substitute coaches came in to play the Week 7 game. jlund24 was tapped to coach the Monsters, and had a lot of fun, putting up 17 runs at Tin Can Alley while notching 28 hits and 3 walks on 42 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Ozzman took over the Tigers as their permanent head coach, and knocked in 13 runs in his game…while also allowing 6. Hopefully things improve for the Tigers next week.

Player of the game: Jordan Thorner went 5-for-5 with four singles and a homer, crossed home thrice, and batted in three runs. He was a constant thorn in the tiger’s paw. (Yes, I’m mixing up my fables to make the pun work. No, I don’t care.)