Bleacher Report - Articles by Jacob Nitzberg

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 13 Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:34:21 -0500

Welcome to the Week 13 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube . For Week 13, we have rankings from four members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Walker and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

The top echelon of teams in the rankings have gained themselves a new member, as the San Diego Chargers have closed the gap between themselves and the top four. The Saints, after their convincing win on Monday Night, remain at No. 1 for the 11th consecutive week, followed by the Colts at No. 2.

On the other side of the Monday night game, the Patriots dropped one spot behind the Minnesota Vikings, who jump to No. 3 after their destruction of the Chicago Bears.

For the second straight week, only one team dropped out of the Top 10, as the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped two spots to No. 11 after their overtime loss to Baltimore. Back in the Top 10 for the first time since Week 1 are the Green Bay Packers, who jumped four spots from No. 9 after their third straight win.

The bottom six teams in the rankings only had one change this week, as the Buccaneers and Raiders swapped spots at No. 29 and No. 30. The bottom six of Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Cleveland have now remained the same for four straight weeks.

The movement in the ranks was similar to the last few, as 11 teams stayed in the same position as last week. However, of the 21 teams that did move, only six of them moved at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The biggest positive movement this week came from the Tennessee Titans, who moved up five spots after defeating the Cardinals on the final play of the game for their fifth straight win. Look for their stock to fly even higher if they make it six straight against Indianapolis next week. The biggest downward mover was at the opposite end of that game, as the Cardinals fell four spots to No. 15.

The disagreements among the rankers were few and far between this week, with just four disagreements of at least six spots in their ranks. However, this week there were none that reached a double digit disagreement between two of the contributors.

Seattle Seahawks (9) – Gideon 20, Smokey 29

Arizona Cardinals (7) – Jacob 12, Gideon / Smokey 19

Jacksonville Jaguars (7) – Jacob 15, Gideon 22

Buffalo Bills (6) – Smokey 21, Jacob 27

On the divisional side, the AFC South remains at the top with an average score of 12.25. The AFC North edged out the NFC East for second by an extremely slim margin, with average score of 14.31 compared to 14.38.

The bottom division remains the same for the 10th consecutive week and might just stay that way for the rest of the year. The NFC West checks in with a 22.50 average score, while second to last is the AFC West, coming in with a score of 18.69.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here . As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. Without further ado, onto the rankings .

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 12 Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:56:49 -0500

Welcome to the Week 12 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week 12, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker, and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

The top-four teams in the rankings seem to have distanced themselves from the pack. The Saints, Colts, Patriots, and Vikings have been there since the Week 9 rankings, and for the sixth straight week, the Saints and Colts held on to the top two spots.

Only one team dropped out of the Top 10 this week, but they fell hard, as the Denver Broncos dropped five spots from No. 9 to No. 14 after a drubbing by the division rival Chargers. Moving back into the Top 10 after a one-week absence were the Eagles, who climbed one spot to No. 10 after a win over the Bears.

The bottom of the rankings remained unchanged for the first time since the Week 8 rankings, as Cleveland and St. Louis held onto the bottom two spots. While the holder of the very bottom spot has been changing, the bottom six remained the same for the third straight week, as Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Cleveland have entrenched themselves below the No. 27 spot.

In what is now a continuing trend, there was less movement in the ranks than there has been the past few weeks, as 12 teams stayed in the same position as last week, including the aforementioned four at the top and two at the bottom. Of the 20 teams that did move, nine of them moved at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The biggest positive movement this week came from the New York Giants, who gained four spots after defeating the Falcons in overtime and ending their losing streak. The biggest downward mover was already mentioned, as the Denver Broncos dropped five spots after their fourth straight loss.

The disagreements among the rankers were nearly identical in number to last week, but the teams differed. There were just five disagreements of at least seven spots in their ranks, and for the second straight week there was one double-digit disagreement between two of the contributors. And similar to last week, four of the five disagreements involved our pal Smokey.

Baltimore Ravens (7) – Jacob/Smokey 7, Mickey 14

Arizona Cardinals (10) – Smokey 9, Gideon 19

Green Bay Packers (7) – Smokey 8, Walker/Mickey 15

Jacksonville Jaguars (7) – Walker 13, Gideon 20

Seattle Seahawks (7) – Walker 22, Smokey 29

On the divisional side, the leader has changed for a second consecutive week, as the AFC South has all four teams in the Top 18, good enough for an average score of 12.95. The NFC East jumps back into second thanks to the Giants, coming in with an average score of 13.75.

The bottom division remains the same for the ninth consecutive week and might just stay that way for the rest of the year. The NFC West checks in with a 22.65 average score, while second to last is the AFC West, coming in with a score of 18.45.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. So, without further ado, onto the rankings.

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 11 Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:26:00 -0500

Welcome to the Week 11 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube . For Week 11, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and Smokey.

So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

For the fifth straight week, the Saints and Colts held on to the top two spots in the rankings after their respective close wins. However, for the first time in a month, it was not unanimous, as Walker chose to give the Colts the nod as the NFL’s top team and Gideon moved the Patriots up to No. 2 despite their loss.

After a big win over the Eagles, the Chargers jumped back into the Top 10 for the first time since Week 3, moving up five spots to No. 7. Also re-entering the Top 10 were the Ravens, who moved up three spots to No. 8. Falling out as a result were the Eagles and Falcons, who each dropped two spots following their losses.

The bottom of the rankings got another change this week, as it appears the dreadful teams are separating themselves from those that are just merely awful. The Cleveland Browns found themselves in the No. 32 position for the first time all year, slightly below the Buccaneers, Chiefs, Raiders and Rams. The bottom third of the rankings got two new entries, as both the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers fell after their miserable Thursday night game.

There was less movement in the ranks than there has been the past few weeks, as ten teams stayed in the same position as last week. Of the 22 teams that did move, eight of them moved at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The biggest positive movement this week came from the aforementioned Chargers, but the next biggest just was surprisingly the Jaguars, who moved up four spots after defeating the Jets. The biggest downward mover was not surprising, as the Chicago Bears dropped four spots after failing to find the end zone on Thursday night.

The disagreements among the rankers remained few and far between this week, but when they did occur they were a little bigger. There were just four disagreements of at least seven spots in their ranks, but there was a double digit disagreement between two of the contributors. And back to our old ways, all four disagreements involved our pal, Smokey.

Philadelphia Eagles (10) – Walker 7, Smokey 17

Green Bay Packers (9) – Smokey 9, Mickey 18

Baltimore Ravens (7) – Jacob / Smokey 8, Mickey 15

Arizona Cardinals (7) – Smokey 11, Gideon 18

On the divisional side, the NFC East’s lead has evaporated, as they now rank fourth among the divisions. Leading the way is the AFC North with an average score of 12.95. They barely edge their friends from the AFC South, who come in with an average of 13.45. The bottom division remains the same for the eighth consecutive week, and this time it isn’t close. The NFC West checks in with a 22.55 average score, while second to last was over 3.5 points higher, with the AFC West coming in with a score of 19.00.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here . As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. Without further ado, onto the rankings .

Dear NFL: Please Explain Your Punishment Scale

Jacob Nitzberg — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:06:49 -0500

Thanks to the Bears' dismal performance on Thursday night , I'm pretty sick of football right now, so I'm gonna keep this short and sweet.

Over the past few days, the NFL has levied fines from incidents that happened in three separate games in Week Nine. These were the Falcons-Redskins sideline brawl, the Chad Ochocinco attempt to bribe a referee, and two incidents in the Bears-Cardinals game—Jay Cutler's arguing with officials and Tommie Harris' punch to the head of a Cardinals player.

Of those four incidents, two involve violent confrontation, one involves a verbal argument, and one involves a joke involving a small prop, in this case a one dollar bill. Which two do you think cost the offending player the most money?

Jay Cutler and Chad Ochocinco were each fined $20,000 for their infractions, while the highest fine in the Falcons-Redskins brawl was $15,000 (for a coach no less), and Tommie Harris was fined just $7,500.

Commissioner Goodell, please explain to me in what universe that makes sense.

I've admired your tough stance on off the field behavior, but why doesn't the same logic apply to actions occurring on the field of play? How is a clear joke/stunt performed by a WR more than two times worse than a punch to the head which resulted in an ejection? Tommie Harris is the only one kicked out of the game for his infraction yet his fine is the least? I just don't get it.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM .

Thursday Night Football: Stick a Fork In The Bears

Jacob Nitzberg — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:09 -0500

I don't just mean because they're done. I literally want to stick a fork in some of the Bears.

Let's be honest for a minute, the Bears' chances of winning the NFC North pretty much went out the window when Brian Urlacher was lost for the season in Week One. The playoffs weren't likely, but then this team gave us hope after rolling off three straight wins heading into the Week Five bye.

Just four games later, it was all but over. At 4-5 following a 10-6 loss to the 49ers on Thursday night, the Bears are still mathematically alive for a postseason berth, but their play and remaining schedule make it a long shot at best. So what went wrong on Thursday night?

Let's start with the statline making all the headlines, Jay Cutler's five interceptions. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are or how many weren't his fault, five interceptions in one game is unacceptable.

To be fair to Cutler for those who couldn't see the game on NFL Network (another rant for another time), in my opinion three of the five picks weren't his fault. Devin Hester fell down after the ball had been thrown on one, an ump set an accidental pick on Hester on another, and one of the more blatant pass interference calls I've seen in awhile was not given on a third. I promise you, that last one has nothing to do with bias.

What is concerning, and has been all season, are the nature of his other two interceptions, both of which happened in or right in front of the end zone. Both picks saw multiple defenders in the path of his intended receivers, and appear to be the result of nothing more than poor decision making. Jay Cutler certainly has all the tools to be an NFL QB, but it seems like he allows those tools to let him think he can make throws that just aren't there.

Much is made of home-road splits in the NFL, but in Cutler's case, what cannot be ignored is his day-night splits. In six games during the day, Cutler is 4-2 with an average QB rating of 93.5, 11 TDs and 6 INTs, three of which came in the dismal loss to Cincinnati. In three prime time games, he is 0-3, has an average QB rating of 65.3, and has thrown just 3 TDs to 11 INTs, five of which of course came yesterday.

Cutler's yardage average is greater by nearly 50 per game at night, but that is a result of him attempting nearly ten more passes per game. Whether this is a coincidence or a mental issue, I'm not sure, but the Bears' next contest is a Sunday nighter against Philadelphia at home, where Cutler will need to improve.

To continue with the negative aspects of the Bears' night/season, where the heck has the running game gone? This can no longer be considered a slow start for Matt Forte, as he rushed 20 times for only 41 yards on Thursday night, at just over two yards per carry. Granted, he had eight receptions for 120 yards, but as we saw Thursday night, that means nothing if the Bears can't get anything going on the ground.

Part of the issue is the porous offensive line, as they seem to let everyone through except Forte. The names are all there, but these guys just aren't creating holes for Forte. As a result, he seems to be dancing around in the backfield a la Thomas Jones more often than not, and getting stuffed for no gain way too often.

I won't put all the blame on the offensive line, as another troubling aspect is Forte's lack of breakaway speed. On multiple occasions this season, he has failed to leave a trail of defenders in his wake and been stopped earlier than he should have.

A good example was in the second quarter last night, as Forte took a screen pass 37 yards to midfield before being stopped from behind. The very next play was one of Cutler's INTs, which led to the 49ers only TD of the game. Forte just doesn't seem to have that extra gear that can get him past the last level of defenders, in the rare occasion he gets past the first.

Finally, before I get into the redeeming aspect of last night's game, let's talk about the penalties. The Bears committed 10 penalties for 75 yards, which of course does not include those declined by the 49ers.

There were at least three offsides calls in which the Bears were lined up in the neutral zone, an inexcusable offense. One of those penalties actually nullified an interception which would have given the Bears the ball near midfield. Go figure. This is just an undisciplined team, whether it's an offside penalty or a block in the back on a punt with no return, and it's frustrating beyond belief.

Was there anything positive to take from this outing? Absolutely, the performance of the defense. I know Alex Smith is no Kurt Warner, but the Bears defense made him look more like Matt Leinart. The Bears allowed just 216 total yards, and the 49ers longest drive didn't even make it to their team name, covering just 48.

The defense came up with some critical stops, including a 4th and inches at midfield in the middle of the 3rd quarter which should have swung momentum, and a goal line stand in the fourth quarter which gave the Bears a chance to win. The only time the Bears let the Niners in the end zone was a one-play drive which started in the red zone, and held Frank Gore to 4.2 yards per carry, a full yard below his season average.

One week after being throttled by Arizona and allowing the Cardinals to score on their first six possessions of the game, the defensive unit dug in, got pressure, including two sacks, batted balls down at the line, and made a few plays. Aside from the offside penalties, the only other major blemish was the inability to recover the Frank Gore fumble in the 4th quarter inside the red zone.

So while the outcome was not the desired one, at least 49ers TE Vernon Davis was forced to eat his words, as he caught just three passes for 16 yards on the day and didn't "destroy" anyone.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM .

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 10 Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:23:04 -0500

Welcome to the Week 10 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube . For Week 10, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

As it has been for nearly a month now, the Saints and Colts held on to their unanimous places in the top two spots in the rankings after their respective close wins. The Minnesota Vikings may have gotten a real life boost during their bye week, but not so in the rankings, as the New England Patriots leapfrogged them into the No. 3 spot, their highest such ranking since the preseason edition.

Entering the Top 10 for the first time this season are the Dallas Cowboys, who jumped three spots to No. 8 after their Sunday night victory over Philadelphia which moved them into first place in the NFC East. Falling out as a result were the Ravens, who dropped two spots to No. 11 after their second loss to Cincinnati this season.

After dropping five spots in the last two weeks, the Giants fell down to No. 14 this week after suffering a fourth straight loss; a heartbreaker to the San Diego Chargers at home. The Chargers, on the other hand, jumped up three spots to No. 12 as a result.

The bottom of the rankings got another change this week, as there are finally no more winless teams in the league. Tampa Bay jumped to No. 31 after their first win of the season, an indication that beating Green Bay means more than defeating Detroit. St. Louis again occupies the bottom spot, but both Tampa and Cleveland are not far away.

As with last week, change was the theme in the rankings. Including the two undefeated teams, there were just five teams that held steady this week, with eight teams moving at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The Arizona Cardinals can’t decide what kind of a team they are, but after another big win had the biggest positive movement this week, jumping four spots back to No. 15 where they stood two weeks ago after defeating the Giants. The biggest downward mover was not surprising, as the Green Bay Packers fell six spots after their loss at the hands of previously winless Tampa Bay.

The disagreements among the rankers remained very little this week. There were just five disagreements of at least six spots in their ranks, and this marks the third consecutive week with no double digit disagreements between any of the contributors.

Carolina Panthers (7) – Mickey 18, Walker 25

Seattle Seahawks (7) – Walker 18, Gideon/Mickey 25

New York Giants (6) – Smokey 11, Gideon 17

New York Jets (6) – Gideon 14, Smokey 20

Oakland Raiders (6) – Mickey 26, Walker 32

On the divisional side, the NFC East’s lead is nearly gone, as their average score of 12.80 barely leads the AFC North, who came in with a 13.00 average this week. The bottom division remains the same for the seventh consecutive week, as the NFC West checks in with a 22.65 average rank. Second to last did get a change, as the Broncos fall gave the lowly AFC West a score of 18.90.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. Without further ado, onto the rankings.

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 9 Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:06:03 -0500

Welcome to the Week 9 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week 9 we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

While we are almost at the midway point of the NFL season, we have reached the midpoint of the Power Rankings for the year. As a result, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the teams that have done the most movement since the preseason to see how off we really were before the 2009 campaign kicked off.

The biggest surprise in almost everyone’s opinion was the Denver Broncos, who overcame the Jay Cutler saga and Brandon Marshall suspension to start the year 6-0. After ranking them a composite No. 26 to start the year, the Broncos moved up a whopping 23 spots to No. 3 as of last week, the most movement of any team.

The opposite of the Broncos turned out to be the Tennessee Titans. After giving them a composite ranking of No. 8 to start the year, the Titans fell 21 spots all the way to No. 29 after starting the year at an 0-6 clip. A close second was Mickey and Smokey’s beloved Panthers, who started the year at No. 9 but fell 17 spots to No. 26 after a poor start.

The teams who moved the least were those who started at the bottom and stayed at the bottom. St. Louis has not cracked the Top 30 this year, spending seven weeks at the very bottom of the ranks before emerging this week. The Kansas City Chiefs also haven’t moved much, fluctuating only five spots between their current No. 26 and No. 30 for the entirety of the year.

The Cubicle GM rankings have only seen two teams at the top of the rankings, starting with the Steelers defending their title and followed by the Saints after their hot start. Five teams have occupied the No. 2 spot, including the Colts for a third straight week. Half the league has found their way into the Top 10, but that includes our misreads on Tennessee and Carolina in the preseason.

Looking now at the Week Nine rankings, Denver fell from the ranks of the undefeated with their loss to Baltimore on Sunday and also out of the top three. Jumping back into that spot was the Minnesota Vikings, who looked impressive in their win at Green Bay. The Saints and Colts held on to their unanimous places in the top two spots in the rankings after their respective wins.

After dropping five spots in the last two weeks, the Giants fell again after suffering a third straight loss, a shellacking at the hands of the rival Eagles. Their position at No. 10 is their lowest of the year. Replacing them at No. 7 were those Eagles, jumping up three spots.

The bottom of the rankings got a change this week, as the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans removed themselves from the ranks of the winless. Tampa is now the lone team without a win and finds itself at No. 32 in the rankings. Cleveland falls down four spots to No. 30, and after seeing them in person this week, I’m not sure that’s low enough.

Outside of our top two undefeated teams, change was the theme in the rankings this week. There were 27 teams that changed spots this week, with 12 teams moving at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The Titans had the biggest positive movement this week, jumping four spots after finally winning a game. The biggest downward mover was interesting this week, as the Jets fell five spots after losing to the Dolphins for the second time this season.

The disagreements among the rankers dwindled this week to nearly nothing. There were just four disagreements of exactly seven spots in their ranks. This is the second consecutive week with no double-digit disagreements between any of the contributors.

Dallas Cowboys (7): Walker 9, Smokey 16

Green Bay Packers (7): Gideon 7, Jacob/Mickey 14

Atlanta Falcons (7): Gideon/Smokey 10, Walker 17

New York Jets (7): Gideon 13, Smokey 20

On the divisional side, the NFC East continues to lead the way with an average score of 11.50, holding its lead over the AFC North, who came in with a 13.20 average this week.

The bottom two divisions remain the same for the sixth consecutive week, as the NFC West remains at the bottom even with a win by the Rams, checking in with a 22.80 average rank. They are trailing the NFC South, which has a 19.45 average thanks to Tampa at the bottom.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. Without further ado, on to the rankings.

Orlando Magic's JJ Redick To Release a Rap Album: You're Kidding, Right?

Jacob Nitzberg — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:30:18 -0400

It's a Thursday in late October, and there is a World Series Game, two NBA games, seven NHL games, and a Top 25 college football game going on this evening. Yet, regardless of what happens in any of those 11 contests, none of them will produce the most shocking headline of the day.

"Orlando Magic's JJ Redick Releasing Rap Album."

Naturally, when I first saw the headline I assumed it was a joke. It very well might turn out to be, but as far as I can see doing some extensive research (read: google searches), this appears to be legitimate.

"According to Redick, he’s part of a 'rap super group' that will release a new single before the end of the year titled 'Waste Management'." The group does not yet have a name, but still hopes to drop their song before the year's end.

“We’re not taking ourselves to seriously," Redick went on to say. "We have some influences, and when you hear our sound eventually, you’ll pick them up right away.”

If you had showed me a headline that said "NBA Star to Release Rap Album", Redick would have been the 445th person on my list of potential rappers. I'm not sure what he is trying to accomplish here, as I find it hard to believe that anyone will take this venture of his seriously.

However, in the interest of fairness (even to a Dukie), I'll reserve judgment until the single and/or album actually comes out. At that point, when the public is able to hear it, we can talk about how ridiculous this really is.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM .

All quotes taken from allhiphop.com

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 8 Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:01:12 -0400

Welcome to the Week 8 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week 8, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker, and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

With their loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, Minnesota fell from the ranks of the undefeated and also out of the top three. Those spots in the rankings belong to the three remaining undefeated teams in the league. The Saints held on to their unanimous place at the top of the rankings after their comeback victory over Miami on Sunday.

The No. 2 ranking is also unanimous, as the Colts received all five votes at that position. The third and fourth spots were nearly uniform, as only Smokey chose not to vote Denver at No. 3 and New England at No. 4.

After dropping three spots last week after their loss to New Orleans, the Giants fell another two this week after falling to Arizona on Sunday night The Eagles regained a spot in the top 10 after taking care of the Redskins, replacing the Falcons, who fell four spots after their loss to Dallas.

The bottom of the rankings was nearly unchanged this week, as none of the bottom eight teams moved at all from Week Seven. In fact, the only change in the bottom third of the league was Buffalo and Carolina swapping positions after the Bills win in their matchup on Sunday.

While the bottom of the rankings is pretty stable, the same cannot be said for the top and middle. Sixteen of the top 21 teams changed spots this week, with eight teams moving at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The Arizona Cardinals had the biggest upward movement, jumping four spots to No. 15 after their upset of the Giants. Not surprisingly the biggest downward mover was the Chicago Bears, falling six spots after being dismantled by Cincinnati.

The disagreements among the rankers increased this week, but are localized in the middle of the ranks. Out of the six disagreements of seven or more spots in their ranks, five were between No. 11 and No. 17. This week also marked the first time that there were no double digit disagreements between any of the contributors.

Green Bay Packers (9) – Gideon 6, Smokey 15

San Diego Chargers (8) – Smokey 11, Walker 19

Houston Texans (8) – Smokey 12, Mickey 20

Dallas Cowboys (7) – Walker 11, Smokey 18

Atlanta Falcons (7) – Smokey 9, Walker 16

Cleveland Browns (7) – Walker 23, Jacob 30

On the divisional side, the NFC East continues to lead the way with an average score of 11.85, but their lead over the AFC North is diminishing quickly, as that division improved to a 12.40 average this week.

The bottom two divisions remain the same for the fifth consecutive week, as the NFC West still cannot escape the last place Rams, checking in with a 21.80 average rank. They are trailing the NFC South, who has a 20.40 average thanks to Carolina and Tampa near the bottom.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. So without further ado, onto the rankings.

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 7 Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:08:42 -0400

Welcome to the Week Seven edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday, you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube . For Week Seven, we have rankings from four members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Mickey, Walker, and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

The top four spots in the rankings belong to the four remaining undefeated teams in the league. The Saints have rightfully claimed their unanimous place at the top of the rankings after taking care of the Giants on Sunday in decisive fashion.

The Giants dropped three spots to No. 5 after their loss to New Orleans, while Indianapolis, Minnesota, and Denver each moved up one spot as a result. The only Top 10 team from last week to fall out was the Eagles after their disappointing loss to Oakland.

The bottom of the rankings remained unanimous, as all of us voted the St. Louis Rams as the No. 32 team as they remained undefeated. There were two new entries to the bottom five, as both Tennessee and Washington dropped five spots this week after bad losses.

This week’s games featured a few surprise winners, including Oakland’s win over Philly, Buffalo’s OT win over the Jets, and Houston taking down Cincinnati on the road. As a result, there were quite a few jumps in the ranks this week.

Eight teams moved at least three spots up or down the ranks, with the Falcons, Texans, Bills, and Raiders tying for the biggest positive movement after wins this week. There were three teams tied for the biggest downward mover, as the Eagles, Titans, and Redskins each dropped five places after their respective losses.

While many teams were jumping all over the rankings, the disagreements between the contributors in the ranks remained rare. Just two weeks ago, 14 teams saw a gap of seven or more spots in their ranks, while this week there were just two, with just one in double digits.

San Diego Chargers (11)— Smokey 10, Walker 21

Cleveland Browns (7)— Walker 23, Jacob 30

Dallas Cowboys (6)— Walker 13, Jacob 19

Houston Texans (6)— Smokey 15, Mickey 21

Miami Dolphins (6)— Walker 15, Smokey 21

On the divisional side, the NFC East continues to lead the way despite the drops from the Giants and Eagles, coming in with an average score of 11.69. Coming in second was the AFC North with a score of 13.25, even though three of its four teams lost.

At the bottom, the NFC West cannot escape the last place Rams, checking in with a 22.06 average rank, followed by the NFC South with a 19.50 average thanks to Carolina and Tampa near the bottom.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. Without further ado, onto the rankings:

1. New Orleans Saints (1)— Drew Brees picked apart the Giants secondary as seven different Saints found the end zone in a big win for New Orleans.

2. Indianapolis Colts (3)— This upcoming Colts-Rams showdown could look a lot like Sunday’s Patriots-Titans blowout.

3. Minnesota Vikings (4)— The Vikings absolutely refuse to lose, holding off a three-score comeback by the Ravens to pull out their sixth victory to open the season.

4. Denver Broncos (5)— The Broncos simply cannot be scored upon in the second half, allowing just three points to the Chargers in yet another victory.

5. New York Giants (2)— Among the things the Giants have to worry about after their first loss is Brandon Jacobs, who left the game with an injury and finished with just 33 yards rushing.

6. New England Patriots (7)— The Patriots must wish it could snow every week in Foxboro after a performance like that.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (8)— Ben Roethlisberger threw for 417 yards, but somehow the Steelers only scored 27 points and won by less than two scores.

8. Atlanta Falcons (11)— The Falcons defense really stepped it up in the red zone and held on late in the 4th quarter in their win over the Bears.

9. Baltimore Ravens (10)— One positive to take away from the Ravens’ narrow loss was the performance of RB Ray Rice against the No. 1 ranked run defense in the league.

10. Cincinnati Bengals (9)— After wins over Pittsburgh and Baltimore, the Bengals lose to the Texans by double digits at home?

For the rest of this week's rankings, click on over to Cubicle GM.

Avoiding Humiliation: Can the NFL's Four Remaining Winless Teams Get One?

Jacob Nitzberg — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:21:08 -0400

Just a few years ago, the notion of an NFL team going either undefeated or winless was dismissed as crazy talk. Now with the 2007 Patriots going 16-0 and the 2008 Lions doing the opposite, it is a distinct possibility for teams to reach these heights (or lows).

Yesterday I took a look at the five undefeated teams and the possibility of each of them going through the rest of the season without losing.

Today, I'll look at the four winless teams. Due to matchups between these teams, a maximum of three of them could go winless. So what are the chances that each of these teams could lose all their games? Let’s take a closer look at each one and find out.

Tennessee Titans (0-5)

I can’t believe they are 0-5 either, but the Titans have struggled defensively as a result of the loss of Albert Haynesworth. This in turn has caused the offense to play from behind and neutralize their running attack of Chris Johnson and LenDale White.

However, whether or not the Titans turn to Vince Young to replace Kerry Collins at QB shouldn’t matter. This team is too talented to go winless, and their schedule is too easy.

After facing New England this Sunday, the Titans have five straight winnable games against Jacksonville, San Francisco, Buffalo, Houston and Arizona. And if all else fails, St. Louis comes to town in Week 14, and I don’t see any way the Titans fall to the Rams.

Chances of Going Winless : Zero Percent

Kansas City Chiefs (0-5)

The Chiefs are winless, but have lost to three extremely tough teams in Baltimore, NY Giants, and Philadelphia. They’ve also lost to Oakland, but that’s beside the point for now. The Chiefs are a solid team, and have just barely missed out on wins on two separate occasions.

KC is currently 24th in the league in both points per game and rushing offense per game, two stats which, in this writer’s opinion, are highly correlated to one another. If the Chiefs finally hand the starting RB job over to Jamaal Charles and relieve Larry Johnson of his duties, the improved running game should open up the passing game and lead to wins.

And if that doesn’t work, the Chiefs can always beat Washington, Oakland, Buffalo or Cleveland.

Chances of Going Winless : Two Percent

St. Louis Rams (0-5)

The Rams have scored 34 points in five games this season. Over that same span they have committed 39 penalties. Combine that with their -12 turnover differential, good for second worst in the league, and you’ve pretty much summed up the Rams season to date in three sentences.

When I asked my friend Boxer, a St. Louisian, his thoughts on the chance the Rams went winless, he said: "95 percent without looking at the schedule." So there you have it.

The Rams have been atrocious through five games, but they do have signs of life in their offense. Running back Steven Jackson is a great talent, and young wide receivers Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton have shown promise. Although they were shut out twice already this season, I believe this offense is capable of scoring enough points on a bad defense to win a game or two.

The Rams’ schedule isn’t pretty, as they have dates with undefeated Indianapolis and New Orleans in their next four games, but during that span they also travel to Jacksonville and Detroit. If the Rams catch Jacksonville still in a funk from their Seattle loss or the Lions without Matthew Stafford or Calvin Johnson, they could steal a win from one or both of these teams.

If not, it doesn’t look pretty, and their best shot would be Week 15 when they host the Texans.

Chances of Going Winless : 70 percent

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-5)

Whether it’s Byron Leftwich, Josh Johnson or Josh Freeman under center, Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward or Earnest Graham running the ball, or Antonio Bryant or some other guys at wideout, this Bucs offense is bad. The Buccaneers are in the bottom third in the league in most offensive categories, including 29th in points per game, 26th in rushing offense, and 23rd in passing.

The schedule makers didn’t do them any favors either, as they drew the AFC and NFC East as their divisions to face this season. Having already lost to Washington, it doesn’t appear that Tampa has the firepower to take out any other team from either of those divisions.

Tampa finished third in the NFC South last season, and as a result draw the Packers and Seahawks, neither of which they are likely to be able to keep pace with. That just leaves their division. Tampa still has all six divisional games remaining, and barring any unforeseen injuries, I would cross Atlanta and New Orleans off the list of potential victories.

So that leaves us with the Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers host the Panthers this Sunday, and frankly, if they don’t win this game at Raymond James Stadium, I find it hard to see them winning any games at all.

Chances of Going Winless : 85 percent

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Pursuing Perfection: Can the NFL's Remaining Unbeaten Teams Keep It Up?

Jacob Nitzberg — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:59:45 -0400

Just a few years ago, the notion of an NFL team going either undefeated or winless was dismissed as crazy talk. Now, with the 2007 Patriots going 16-0 and the 2008 Lions doing the opposite, it is a distinct possibility for teams to reach these heights (or lows).

This got me curious. Through five weeks of the 2009 season, there are five undefeated teams. Due to matchups between these teams, there are a maximum of three teams that can go undefeated. So what are the chances that each of these teams could win all their games? Let’s take a closer look at each one and find out.

New Orleans Saints (4-0)

The Saints have faced two challenges already this season and passed both with flying colors. While they faced Philadelphia without Donovan McNabb, they beat them on the road and put up 48 points on a solid defense. Then, two weeks ago their offense was held in check by the Jets, but the defense stepped up for two scores in a 24-10 victory.

The Saints face the Giants on Sunday, the only remaining undefeated team on their schedule, but if they can get past them, a last place schedule looms. New Orleans still faces Carolina and Tampa Bay twice, St. Louis, and Washington. The Saints’ only remaining road challenges would be at Miami and Atlanta, and they welcome the Falcons and Patriots to New Orleans.

With the way the Saints are playing on both offense and defense, it’s hard to see this team putting up less than 12 wins this season. If they can take their undefeated record into their Week 12 Monday Night showdown with New England and leave with it intact, I think they have a real shot.

Chances of Going Undefeated: 25 percent (increases significantly with a victory over NYG).

Indianapolis Colts (5-0)

If the Colts don’t get to 8-0 I will be shocked. Peyton Manning is having what is arguably his greatest start to any season, and doing it throwing to just two names anyone had heard of before the start of the season.

The Colts lead the NFL in passing by over 30 yards per game, and they are the only team averaging over 300 yards per game. The Colts are second in the AFC in points per game, and are tied for the second in the entire NFL in least points allowed, a pretty deadly combination.

The Colts’ schedule is favorable, especially because it includes the NFC West. If the Colts are going to take a run at 16-0, Weeks 10 and 11 are the main roadblocks they will have to overcome. The annual New England game is a Sunday Nighter at home, and if the Colts get past that, they have to travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens.

If the Colts can survive that stretch, only the currently undefeated Broncos and the New York Jets would stand in their way, but if anyone can solve those tough defenses, it’s Peyton Manning.

Chances of Going Undefeated: 20 percent.

NY Giants (5-0)

The Giants have been arguably the NFL’s top team so far this season, getting contributions from all over the offense, and they are tied for the second fewest points allowed per game. However, five wins so far this season have come against teams with a combined six victories, and the rest of their schedule doesn’t do them any favors.

The Giants face three of the other four undefeated teams, Denver, Minnesota, and a trip to New Orleans this coming Sunday, and all three of these games are on the road. The Giants still have both of their games against Philadelphia yet to play, and also face Atlanta and San Diego in consecutive games in November.

The Giants are a very solid team, but with the health of their QB in question and the difficult schedule upcoming, it’s hard to see them winning 11 more games in a row.

Chances of Going Undefeated: 10 percent.

Minnesota Vikings (5-0)

The Vikings were 10 seconds away from not being on this list, but here they are. Minnesota has a rough road ahead, facing a first place schedule, but on the other hand, they have Adrian Peterson.

There is no denying that the Vikings offense has improved with Brett Favre under center, but what’s equally impressive is the upgraded play of their defense. Having the Williams Wall not face a suspension helps, but they are a solid unit nonetheless.

The only remaining undefeated team the Vikings are still to face this season is the Giants, but that matchup will likely be a meaningless contest as it occurs in Week 17. The toughest stretch of Minnesota’s schedule is the next three weeks leading up to their bye, as they host Baltimore and then travel to Pittsburgh and Green Bay. And you better believe the Packers are looking for revenge at home.

If the Vikes can make it to their bye week unscathed, their toughest remaining challenges would be the Bengals in Week 14 and the Bears in Week 16. Playing in Chicago in December is no picnic, especially on Monday Night, and Mr. Favre has had his struggles in that situation before (I was there, it was awesome).

While the Vikings are a very good team that looks poised to make another run at the postseason, they just don’t look like a crew built to go 16-0, especially with their upcoming schedule.

Chances of Going Undefeated: 5 percent.

Denver Broncos (5-0)
If you thought before the season that the Broncos would be here right now, you’re either a member of the organization or lying. I’ll give the Sports Guy his due for nailing the 4-0 start (scroll to Prediction VIII), but nobody in their right mind could have predicted their victory over New England.

Even now, nobody thinks this team can go 16-0, but let’s look at the facts (and remaining schedule). They are by far the league leader in least points allowed, with just 43 points allowed through five games. That averages to 8.6 per game, nearly a touchdown better than the next best team. In addition, they have allowed just seven points in the second half all season. Seven!

The defense may be great, but the Broncos’ remaining schedule is not. Denver faces two of the remaining undefeated teams, the Giants and Colts, in the span of three weeks starting in Week 12. If they want to be undefeated at that point, they will have to get through the tough stretch they face over the next month.

The Broncos travel to San Diego this Monday, then after a bye head across the country to Baltimore before returning home to host the Steelers. The Broncos are good, but I don’t see them coming out of that stretch without a blemish on their record.

Chances of Going Undefeated: 5 percent.

So there you have it. Tune in tomorrow for a look at the four remaining winless teams and their chances of staying that way.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week Six Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:16:23 -0400

Welcome to the Week Six edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week Six, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

The top five spots in the rankings mirror the NFL standings, as the five remaining undefeated teams are at the head of the class. The Saints remain at the top, but have the Giants close on their heels, trailing by an average rank of just 0.20.

Undefeated Denver jumped five spots after their defeat of the New England Patriots, who fell two spots as a result. The Ravens and Jets, just as they did last week, each dropped four spots after their second consecutive loss, this time dropping Rex Ryan’s Jets out of the Top 10.

The bottom of the rankings remained unanimous, as all of us voted the St. Louis Rams as the No. 32 team after their fifth straight loss to open the season. In fact, the entire bottom five stayed the same, as Cleveland was not given much credit for their ugly victory over Buffalo, who not surprisingly fell five spots to No. 27.

This week’s games featured a few shockers, including victories by Denver, Cincinnati, Miami and the blowout win by Atlanta. As a result, there were quite a few jumps in the ranks this week. Twelve teams moved at least three spots up or down the ranks, with Denver, Cinci and Seattle each moving up at least five places.

The Bills were the biggest downward mover, dropping five places. The next biggest drops came from the previously mentioned Ravens and Jets, as well as Jacksonville, who also fell four spots after being shut out by Seattle.

While many teams were jumping all over the rankings, the disagreements between the contributors in the ranks dropped to almost nothing, potentially as a result of Joey’s absence this week. Last week 14 teams saw a gap of seven or more spots in their ranks, this week there were just two, with just one in double digits.

Cincinnati Bengals (10)–Walker 6, Gideon 16

Pittsburgh Steelers (7)–Smokey 6, Jacob 13

Washington Redskins (6)–Mickey 23, Walker 29

Cleveland Browns (6)–Walker 24, Gideon 30

On the divisional side, the NFC East continues leads the way with the Giants and Eagles in the Top 10, coming in with an average score of 8.40. Coming in second was the AFC North with a score of 14.17, despite the Bengals defeat of the Ravens. At the bottom, the NFC West cannot escape the putridity of the Rams, checking in with a 21.70 average rank, followed by the NFC South with a 20.35 average despite retaining the No. 1 Saints.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. So, without further ado, onto the rankings.

MLB Postseason Predictions: Is It in the Cards?

Jacob Nitzberg — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:20:46 -0400

After a thrilling conclusion to Game 163, the playoff matchups are set, and the six long months of the regular season have come to a close.

With the postseason beginning Wednesday afternoon, it’s time to make some predictions about which team will still be standing in November.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Red Sox over Angels in four games

No need to look at 2009 statistics for this one. The past few years made this decision easy. The Red Sox won in four games in 2008, in three games in 2007, and in three games in 2004. I’ll take the team that has won 10 of the last 11 postseason meetings between these two teams.

Yankees over Twins in three games

The Twins have won 17 of 21, including five straight to sneak their way into the playoffs. Their reward is a trip to Yankee Stadium and a series starting less than 24 hours after the winning run scored against Detroit.

The Yankees led the league in runs, hits, homers, RBI, total bases, and OPS. While part of that may be Yankee Stadium, the Yanks have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Plus, Game One is CC Sabathia vs. Brian Duensing. Advantage Yankees.

ALCS: Yankees over Red Sox in six games

In the end, I think this series comes down to the Yankee offense vs. Red Sox pitching. Josh Beckett and Jon Lester comprise a formidable 1-2 combo, but Beckett has looked rather human lately, and I believe the Yanks can take him down in the Bronx and ultimately return to the World Series for the first time in 2003.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cardinals over Dodgers in four games

Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. The Cardinals' pair of fearsome duos is enough for them to outlast LA, who has question marks all over its starting rotation.

Phillies over Rockies in five games

This series can go either way. The Phillies have the edge offensively, and with the Rockies missing Jorge de la Rosa, the Phillies also have the edge in the starting rotation with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.

However, the Rockies have one big advantage, which is in the all-important ninth inning. Huston Street has been great, saving 35 games in 37 chances with a 3.06 ERA. I won’t even get into Brad Lidge’s struggles.

In the end, I’ll give the edge to the home team, but with very little confidence.

NLCS: Cardinals over Phillies in six games

I’m a Cubs fan, so it pains me to do this. At the same time, I’m hoping it’s also a massive reverse jinx.

In any case, both teams have a solid offense, and both teams have excellent starting pitching. However, assuming Pujols breaks out of his homerless funk, hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park should actually benefit the Cardinals, and I believe the two Cy Young candidates from the StL will be able to shut down the Phillies.

World Series

Yankees over Cardinals in seven games

The team with the most World Series titles faces off against the team with the second most World Series titles. All my baseball expertise is telling me to go with the pitching. Carpenter and Wainwright slightly edge Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, and barring injury, each should be able to pitch twice.

The Yankees are a superior offensive team from 1-9, but the Cardinals have Pujols. The Yankees definitely have the edge in the bullpen, if only because Mariano Rivera is still coming in to pitch the ninth. From a managerial standpoint, the edge has to go to Tony La Russa.

When it comes down to it, I gave the edge to the Yankees because of home field advantage and because I could never, ever pick the Cardinals.

For more playoff predictions and our votes for regular season award winners, click on over to Cubicle GM.

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 4 Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:55:00 -0400

Welcome to the Week 4 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday, you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by simply taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week Four, we have rankings from the full complement of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Joey, Walker, and Smokey.

Four of the five remaining undefeated teams make up the top four spots in the rankings, and 4-0 Denver has turned some into believers as they crack the Top 10. The Ravens and Jets each dropped four spots after their first losses of the year, but held their positions in the Top 10.

The bottom of the rankings finally became unanimous, as all six teams voted the St. Louis Rams as the No. 32 team after their shutout loss to the 49ers. The Cleveland Browns remain in the bottom five, but moved up three spots after showing some life in their OT loss to Cincinnati.

After four weeks of play, it appears teams are still settling into place. There were 25 teams that moved at least one spot in the rankings, but the big jumps have slowed down a bit. Only Denver, which jumped six spots while staying undefeated, moved by five or more places this week.

The Broncos were the biggest upward mover this week, followed by the Jaguars, who moved up four spots after their destruction of the Titans. Five teams tied for the biggest drop, as the Ravens, Jets, Chargers, Cowboys, and Seahawks each dropped four spots after their respective losses.

Bye weeks didn’t affect teams much, as the only team that didn’t play which moved in the rankings was the Panthers, who moved up one spot thanks to the Seahawks’ drop.

The disagreements between the contributors in the ranks have increased this week, thanks mostly to Smokey’s return from his Carolina-induced hangover. Fourteen teams saw a gap of seven or more spots in their ranks, with five of them reaching double digits.

Pittsburgh Steelers (12)—Smokey two, Jacob 14

San Francisco 49ers (10)—Walker nine, Joey 19

Cincinnati Bengals (10)—Smokey 11, Gideon 21

Chicago Bears (10)—Jacob 10, Smokey 20

Carolina Panthers (10)—Mickey/Smokey 21, Joey 31

On the divisional side, the NFC East still leads the way with the Giants and Eagles in the Top 10, coming in with an average score of 9.25. Coming in second was the AFC North with a score of 14.17, helped by jumps from Pittsburgh, Cinci and Cleveland. At the bottom sits the NFC West, checking in with a 21.67 average rank, followed by the NFC South with a 20.83 average despite having the No. 1 Saints.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. Without further ado, onto the rankings.

Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings: Sept. 30

Jacob Nitzberg — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:40:15 -0400

Welcome to the final edition of the Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings for 2009. While the MLB rankings may be coming to a close, be sure to check in next week for our playoff predictions column.

If you haven’t had your fill of Power Rankings, be sure to check out our NFL rankings.

The top seven teams remain in a group of their own, as none of them received a vote below No. 8. There were two slight changes from last week, as the Red Sox's losing streak dropped them behind the Angels, and the Cardinals and Rockies flip-flopped again.

The bottom 10 remained the same, as the No. 21 Cincinnati Reds are over three points behind the No. 20 Chicago White Sox, and again no team received a vote above No. 20. There was quite a bit of movement among these teams, however, as only No. 26 Cleveland stayed in the same spot.

The biggest mover was Houston, who dropped three spots to No. 24. They were followed closely by the Giants and White Sox, who each fell two spots. Moving the most in the positive direction were the Tigers, Cubs, and Padres, each gaining two spots in the ranks.

With just two weeks left in the regular season, the disagreements in the rankings between me, Gideon, and Mickey have almost worked themselves out. For the seventh straight week running, there were no double-digit discrepancies between any of the ranks, and there were only four gaps of six or more spots in the rankings, which, as usual, all involved our pal Gideon.

Detroit Tigers (8): Mickey 8, Gideon 16

Toronto Blue Jays (8): Gideon 13, Jacob 21

Tampa Bay Rays (7): Gideon 9, Jacob 16

Minnesota Twins (6): Mickey 9, Gideon 15

On the divisional front, the AL West regained its top spot with an average of 11.75, edging the AL East’s average of 12.33. This was due to switch of Angels and Red Sox, as well as the slight bump of the A’s. At the bottom, the NL Central held on to the cellar, but just barely, with its 18.78 average just edging the AL Central’s score of 18.67.

You can check out the backup data here.

So, without further ado, on to the rankings. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses.

1. New York Yankees (1)

The Yankees have clinched the best record in the league and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and they reached the 100-win plateau. Despite another solid outing from A.J. Burnett, one writer still sees him as a concern in the postseason.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (2)

The Dodgers have slipped lately, losing three of four to the Pirates and the first game in a series with the Padres. Despite that, they have clinched a postseason berth and are a win away from a second straight division crown. Bill Plaschke of the LA Times says it’s not time to panic, but there is cause for concern.

3. Los Angeles Angels (4)

The Angels clinched the AL West on Monday with a victory over the Rangers and will face the Red Sox in the playoffs again. Expect to see a steady diet of backups for the Angels during the last week of the season.

4. Boston Red Sox (3)

The Red Sox backed their way into the postseason last night, clinching the Wild Card despite losing their fifth straight game thanks to a Texas loss. The Sox did get some good news, as Josh Beckett plans to make his next start.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (5)

The Phillies are just one win away from another playoff berth after defeating the Astros on Tuesday night. Charlie Manuel’s bullpen situation is no closer to being resolved, as Ryan Madson picked up a six-out save despite Brad Lidge warming in the pen.

6. St. Louis Cardinals (7)

The Cards have clinched the NL Central but are backing into the playoffs, losing four of their last five games. One StlToday writer thinks the Cards could not be slumping at a worse time, but don’t forget 2006 so quickly.

7. Colorado Rockies (6)

The Rockies finally got a bit of breathing room in the Wild Card race after a win and a Braves loss on Tuesday night. The Rockies never make it easy for themselves, as they won this one in walkoff fashion.

8. Atlanta Braves (8)

After winning seven straight to pull within two games of the NL Wild Card, the Braves finally slipped Tuesday night with a loss to Florida. Even if the Braves fall short this year, they look primed to succeed in 2010.

9. Texas Rangers (9)

The Rangers' current three-game skid proved to be the final nail in their 2009 coffin. One bright spot in the second half has been OF Julio Borbon, who looks to figure prominently in Arlington in 2010.

10. Detroit Tigers (12)

After seeing their AL Central lead shrink to one game in the first half of Tuesday’s doubleheader, the Tigers put their ace on the hill and took game two. Despite the importance of the game, there were plenty of good seats available in Detroit.

11. Minnesota Twins (11)

12. San Francisco Giants (10)

13. Chicago Cubs (15)

14. Tampa Bay Rays (13)

15. Florida Marlins (14)

16. Seattle Mariners (16)

17. Toronto Blue Jays (17)

18. Oakland Athletics (19)

19. Milwaukee Brewers (20)

20. Chicago White Sox (18)

21. Cincinnati Reds (22)

22. Arizona Diamondbacks (23)

23. San Diego Padres (25)

24. Houston Astros (21)

25. New York Mets (24)

26. Cleveland Indians (26)

27. Kansas City Royals (28)

28. Baltimore Orioles (27)

29. Pittsburgh Pirates (30)

30. Washington Nationals (29)

NFL Power Rankings by Cubicle GM: Week Three

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:49:30 -0400

Welcome to the Week Three edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by simply taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week Three, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Joey, and Walker.

The top three teams in last week’s rankings each improved to 3-0 on the season, and as a result remained in the same spots as last week. The only team to move into the top 10 this week was the New England Patriots, who made their way back to No. 7 with their defeat of formerly 2-0 Atlanta.

The bottom of the ranks are littered with 0-3 teams, but the Redskins have found their way into the bottom five after their loss to the lowly Lions, who jumped all the way to No. 27 after their first victory in well over a year.

As it is still early in the 2009 season, the rankings are still volatile for the time being. This week, 24 teams changed spots in the rankings, but only two moved five or more spots.

There were four teams tied for the biggest upward movements, as the Patriots, Broncos, Bengals, and Lions all moved up four positions after their respective wins. Two teams suffering disappointing losses tied for the biggest move in the opposite direction, as Pittsburgh and Tennessee both dropped six spots in the ranks this week.

While there is still plenty of movement, the disagreements between the contributors in the ranks have dropped significantly. Just six of the teams saw a gap of seven or more in the rankings, with only three teams having a gap of double digits:

Denver Broncos (12) – Walker 11, Gideon 23

Miami Dolphins (11) – Gideon 17, Joey/Jacob/Mickey 28

Carolina Panthers (10) – Gideon 22, Joey 32

San Francisco 49ers (8) – Mickey 12, Joey 20

San Diego Chargers (7) – Gideon 6, Walker 13

Atlanta Falcons (7) – Walker 17, Everyone else 10

On the divisional side, the NFC East leads the way despite the drop from Washington with an average score of 10.15. Coming in second was its counterpart from the AFC, which scored a 14.20 thanks to jumps from the Pats and Jets. At the bottom sits the NFC West, checking in with a 21.30 average rank. Thanks to the Buccaneers, Falcons and Panthers losses, the NFC South is still second from the cellar with a 20.05 average.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. Without further ado, on to the rankings.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings: September 23rd

Jacob Nitzberg — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:42:20 -0400

Welcome to another edition of the Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings. With one playoff race heating up, the rankings saw a bit of a shakeup in the middle. However, it has become abundantly clear that there are three distinct groupings of teams in MLB.

The top seven teams remain in a group of their own, as none of them received a vote below No. 8. The only change from last week was the flip-flop of the Cardinals and Rockies. While the teams tied in the voting, the Rockies get the edge as they hold a 4-0 advantage in the season series.

The next distinct group is the teams from No. 8 to No. 20. Only the No. 20 Milwaukee Brewers received a vote higher than in the teens.

The biggest movers this week were the Minnesota Twins, who jumped five spots to No. 11 while closing the gap in the AL Central. Close behind were the Atlanta Braves, who jumped to No. 8 while winning eight of their last 10. The biggest fall came from the Chicago Cubs, who dropped three spots after losing four straight, including two to the first-place Cardinals.

The bottom ten in the ranks look to stay that way for the rest of the season, as the No. 21 Houston Astros are four points behind the No. 20 Milwaukee Brewers and no team received a vote above No. 20. These 10 teams remained nearly stagnant from last week, as only the Royals and Nationals swapped places as KC has won three straight and five of six.

With just two weeks left in the regular season, the disagreements in the rankings between me, Gideon, and Mickey have almost worked themselves out. Mickey has come around on Seattle, Gideon has come around on Toronto, and I have put my NL Central bias aside with regards to Houston.

For the sixth straight week, there were no double-digit discrepancies between any of the ranks, and there was just one gap of seven or more, as Gid was pretty down on Detroit. There were, however, five gaps of six spots in the rankings, which were all between me and Gideon.

Detroit Tigers (8) - Mickey 9, Gideon 17

Tampa Bay Rays (6) – Gideon 9, Jacob 15

Florida Marlins (6) – Jacob 10, Gideon 16

Oakland Athletics (6) – Gideon 15, Jacob 21

Houston Astros (6) – Jacob 20, Gideon 26

Cleveland Indians (6) – Jacob 28, Gideon 22

On the divisional front, the AL East regained with an average of 12.00, narrowly edging the AL West’s average of 12.08. This was due to the slight climb of the Rays and slight drop of the Rangers. At the bottom, the NL Central re-took the cellar from its AL counter part thanks to the fall of the Cubs, coming in with a score of 19.22. The AL Central jumped out of the cellar with an average score of 18.93, thanks mostly to the climb of the Twins.

You can check out the backup data here. So, without further ado, onto the rankings. As always, last week’s ranks in parentheses.

1. New York Yankees (1) – The Yankees remain at the top of the rankings and hold on to a 5.5 game lead for the best record in the majors. Oh, and they clinched a playoff spot last night with a victory over the Angels.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (2) – The Dodgers have won three straight and eight of their last 10 to open up a five-game lead in the NL West, and are just two wins away from clinching a playoff berth. The Dodgers dismantled the Nationals on Tuesday, and in doing so, were encouraged by Clayton Kershaw’s return to the mound.

3. Boston Red Sox (3) – After winning 10 of 11, the BoSox have slipped a bit in losing two straight to the Royals. It’s hard to blame them for the latest one, as Zack Greinke blanked them over six innings while turning in another Cy Young-worthy performance.

4. Los Angeles Angels (4) – After winning four of five, the Angels were slowed by the Yankees in Anaheim last night despite coming back from a 5-0 deficit. The Angels got another mediocre start from Ervin Santana, who could be moved to the pen for the postseason.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (5) – After splitting a doubleheader with Florida, the Phillies lead the East by 7.5 games with just 12 games to play. The Phillies bullpen has been suspect as of late, but they could be getting some reinforcements in time for the playoffs.

6. Colorado Rockies (7) – The Rockies dealt with 45-degree weather, a poor outing from Jorge de la Rosa, and a shaky ninth inning from the bullpen, but still pulled out an 11-10 win over San Diego to maintain a five-game lead in the Wild Card race. The Rockies also got Huston Street back from injury, and he will return to the closer’s role.

7. St. Louis Cardinals (6) – The Cardinals have all but clinched a playoff berth, but are still in the hunt for the best record in the NL. The Cards could get a big bat back if Troy Glaus is able to return for the last week of the season.

8. Atlanta Braves (11) – After debuting in our rankings at No. 23, the Braves have made a huge climb and finally broken into the top 10. As they cling to life in the NL Wild Card race, the Braves took a hit as catcher Brian McCann left Tuesday night’s game with a hand injury.

9. Texas Rangers (8) – The Rangers are seeing postseason baseball slip from their grasp after losing seven of their last nine games. Doing without Josh Hamilton and Michael Young for the majority of September didn’t exactly help their chances.

10. San Francisco Giants (9) – The Giants have split their last four games since falling short in their effort to sweep Colorado last week, and now sit five games out of playoff contention. With the Giants nearly out of it, one SF Gate writer thinks it’s time to give top prospect Buster Posey a look.

11. Minnesota Twins (16)

12. Detroit Tigers (10)

13. Tampa Bay Rays (14)

14. Florida Marlins (13)

15. Chicago Cubs (12)

16. Seattle Mariners (15)

17. Toronto Blue Jays (17)

18. Chicago White Sox (18)

19. Oakland Athletics (19)

20. Milwaukee Brewers (20)

21. Houston Astros (21)

22. Cincinnati Reds (22)

23. Arizona Diamondbacks (23)

24. New York Mets (24)

25. San Diego Padres (25)

26. Cleveland Indians (26)

27. Baltimore Orioles (27)

28. Kansas City Royals (29)

29. Washington Nationals (28)

30. Pittsburgh Pirates (30)

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 2

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:57:19 -0400

Welcome to the Week 2 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by simply taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week 2, we have a full complement of rankings from the entire Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Joey, Walker and the addition of Smokey to the mix.

Each contributor has their own methodology to the rankings, as you can see in greater detail in the backup data here. It’s clear that some of us are skeptical of a few of the 2-0 teams, and that a team’s record isn’t necessarily indicative of their rank.

As such, teams like Miami and Carolina moved up despite losses to good teams, while teams like Denver, Buffalo, and Washington dropped in the ranks even though they won.

For those of you who feel strongly about a certain contributor's ranking, we’ve added a new feature on the site, and you’ll now be able to track the individual standings of each of the contributors. Using a simple system where the road team is given a three-spot cushion, each week we will see who did the best job of ranking by looking at how many times the higher ranked team won the matchup. We will also keep overall standings for the season.

Last week, we took a bit of heat about the lofty placement of the New Orleans Saints, whose aggregate ranking was third in our Week 1 rankings. After a second straight week of dominance, this time on the road in Philadelphia, the Saints have ascended to the top spot in the ranks, receiving four of six first place votes. It’s hard to argue with an offense that put up the most points in their first two games of any team in over 40 years. Apparently Joey knew what he was doing last week.

The bottom of the ranks have become a bit clearer, as the St. Louis Rams garnered five of six last place votes to finish at the bottom for a second straight week. The bottom four of Cleveland, Kansas City, Detroit, and St. Louis might move amongst themselves, but they will be hard pressed to crack the Top 28 this season.

As we still are figuring out who is for real in the NFL and who simply played two awful opponents to start the campaign (Denver), so there is going to be plenty of movement in our rankings. Of the top 30 teams in the rankings, 29 of them moved at least one spot, with only the Minnesota Vikings staying put at No. 6.

Eight teams moved at least five spots up or down the ranks. Of those, the Jets were the biggest climber, moving up eight spots to No. 7 after defeating the Patriots. Philadelphia and Seattle moved the most in the opposite direction, each dropping eight spots after losses last week.

As it’s still early in the season, there is bound to be plenty of disagreement between the contributors here. Seventeen of the teams saw a gap of seven or more in the rankings, with 12 teams again having a gap of double digits. The main detractors this week were newcomer Smokey and last week’s culprit Joey, as at least one of them was involved in every double digit dispute.

San Francisco 49ers (14)—Mickey 9, Smokey 23

Carolina Panthers (14)—Mickey 16, Joey 30

Tennessee Titans (13)—Smokey 9, Joey 22

Arizona Cardinals (12)—Joey 10, Walker 22

Philadelphia Eagles (11)—Smokey 3, Joey 14

Chicago Bears (11)—Gideon 10, Smokey 21

Seattle Seahawks (11)—Joey 16, Smokey 27

Minnesota Vikings (10)—Joey 2, Smokey 12

New York Jets (10)—Joey 4, Smokey 14

Atlanta Falcons (10)—Gideon/Mickey 5, Smokey 15

Miami Dolphins (10)—Gideon 17, Joey 27

Washington Redskins (10)—Mickey 19, Joey 29

On the divisional side, the NFC led the way again, and thanks to Da Bears victory over the defending champs, the North regained its top spot with an 8.50 average. Coming in second was the NFC East at 9.33, which was hurt by Dallas’ loss and Washington’s close win over the Rams.

The AFC West remains clearly at the bottom with an even 21.00 average rank, thanks in large part to the stinkfest that was the KC-Oakland game. Second to last was the NFC South, improving to 18.50 thanks to New Orleans’ rise to the top.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. Without further ado, onto the rankings. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses.

1. New Orleans Saints (3)

Drew Brees and Co. proved that their Week One performance wasn’t due solely to their opponent being the Lions.

2. Baltimore Ravens (9)

Another big day from the Ravens offense and a solid day from the defense has Baltimore as one of just four undefeated teams in the AFC.

3. New York Giants (5)

The Giants spoiled the Cowboys’ big home opener thanks to great performances by Eli Manning, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (1)

The Steelers definitely missed Troy Polamalu in a tough road loss to the Bears, but missed the real Jeff Reed most of all.

5. Indianapolis Colts (10)

The Colts improve to 2-0 despite having the ball for less than one quarter of the game in Miami.

6. Minnesota Vikings (6)

Brett Favre is eventually going to need to average more than 6.7 yards per completion for the Vikings to keep winning.

7. New York Jets (15)

Are they for real? The Jets have climbed 15 spots in the last two weeks after Rex Ryan backed up his pregame talk with a big win over the Patriots.

8. Atlanta Falcons (11)

The Falcons get off to a 2-0 start with a divisional win over Carolina, but will be tested next week when they travel to New England.

9. San Diego Chargers (7)

The Chargers fought valiantly without LT in their home opener, but ultimately fell short despite solid efforts from Philip Rivers and Darren Sproles.

10. Philadelphia Eagles (2)

The Eagles’ biggest problem isn’t Kevin Kolb playing QB, it’s figuring out what went wrong with their defense in their home opener.

11. New England Patriots (4)

The Patriots failed to score an offensive TD for the first time in over two full seasons.

12. Green Bay Packers (8)

The Packers were the victims of the upset shocker of the week in a home loss to Cincinnati. A big factor was early drops by Packers receivers.

13. Dallas Cowboys (12)

The Cowboys had injury added to insult in their loss to the Giants when Marion Barber went down with a quad problem.

14. Chicago Bears (18)

A home victory over the SB Champs was just what Jay Cutler needed to win over the Chicago faithful.

15. Arizona Cardinals (22)

Another win, another NFL record for Kurt Warner, who completed 92 percent of his passes on Sunday.

16. Tennessee Titans (13)

The Titans are easily the most surprising 0-2 team, losing to the Texans despite 284 yards and three TDs from Chris Johnson.

17. San Francisco 49ers (16)

A 2-0 start in the division is mostly thanks to a career day from RB Frank Gore.

18. Houston Texans (21)

There is not much doubt anymore that Andre Johnson is the best wide receiver in football.

19. Buffalo Bills (17)

Fred Jackson is tightening his grip on the starting role, even with Marshawn Lynch due back in two weeks.

20. Denver Broncos (19)

Unfortunately for the Broncos, they can’t play teams from Ohio every week.

21. Cincinnati Bengals (25)

Who knew Cedric Benson still had a pulse? The Bengals rebounded nicely from last week’s stunning loss to pull out a win in Lambeau.

22. Seattle Seahawks (14)

The Seahawks drop to 1-1 and will likely have to do without QB Matt Hasselbeck who fractured a rib in the loss.

23. Miami Dolphins (24)

The Dolphins blew four leads against Indy on Monday night and lost despite having the ball for over 45 minutes.

24. Carolina Panthers (26)

Despite the loss, the Panthers have to be encouraged by the performances of Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith.

25. Washington Redskins (23)

There wasn’t much positive for the Redskins on Sunday outside of the final score, as they failed to reach the end zone against the lowly Rams.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars (20)

At least the fans in Jacksonville can’t watch this 0-2 team on TV thanks to the blackouts.

27. Oakland Raiders (28)

It’s not often a team wins when their quarterback’s line is 7-for-24 for 109 yards.

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (27)

Another week, another 30-plus points allowed from the once vaunted Tampa Bay defense.

29. Cleveland Browns (30)

Cleveland is not going to win many games when they get nine yards rushing in the second half.

30. Kansas City Chiefs (29)

Mr. Irrelevant is perfect so far in his short career. I couldn’t think of anything else positive to say about KC.

31. Detroit Lions (31)

The Lions have led at halftime of their last two meetings against Minnesota. Unfortunately that doesn’t stop a losing streak.

32. St. Louis Rams (32)

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for St. Louis, second overall pick Jason Smith will miss up to two weeks with a knee injury.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings: September 16th

Jacob Nitzberg — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:26:08 -0400

Welcome to another edition of the Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings. Despite no real shifts in any of the playoff races, there was quite a bit of movement in the ranks this week.

The Top 10 got another shakeup, as the San Francisco Giants got back into the NL Wild Card Race as well as back into the top third of the rankings. Dropping out were the Tampa Bay Rays, on the heels of an 11-game losing streak that saw them drop to just one game over. 500.

The Yankees remain at the top, but are again not a unanimous No. 1 selection, as Red Sox Nation member Gideon switched his vote back to the Dodgers. For the first time in nearly two months, a team from Los Angeles dropped out of the top three, as the Angels fall to No. 4 behind the Red Sox due to the head-to-head record tiebreaker.

The bottom of the ranks got a shakeup as well, as the Pittsburgh Pirates checked in at No. 30 for the first time. The ranks also got a new entry into the bottom five, as the Indians lost seven of eight to drop them four spots, to No. 26.

The aforementioned Indians and Rays were the biggest downward movers of the week, while the Chicago Cubs also moved four spots, but did so in the right direction, having won seven of their last eight.

There was a lot of overall movement this week, as 21 teams changed positions, although only nine of them were more than one spot.

An interesting aspect of this week’s rankings was the number of ties near the top. The Red Sox and Angels tied for third (Boston took it on head-to-head), Philadelphia and St. Louis tied for fifth (Philly wins the H2H tiebreaker), Detroit and Atlanta tied for 10th (Detroit takes it on win percentage), and Chicago and Florida tied for 12th (Chicago on H2H here as well).

The disagreements in the rankings between myself, Gideon, and Mickey are no longer a surprise. It is still clear that Gideon feels differently about Seattle, Toronto, and Houston than the rest of us, and will continue to do so until his formula says otherwise.

For the fifth-straight week running, there were no double-digit discrepancies between any of the ranks, and there were just four gaps of seven or more. In fact, these disagreements were the exact same four from last week. Of course, all involved good old Gid.

Seattle Mariners (8) – Mickey 11, Gideon 19

Toronto Blue Jays (8) – Jacob 20, Gideon 12

Houston Astros (7) – Jacob 18, Gideon 25

Arizona Diamondbacks (7) – Jacob 27, Gideon 20

On the divisional front, the AL West retained the top spot with an 11.50 average, an improvement from last week despite the Angels’ fall. The AL East remained in second with an average score of 12.20.

At the bottom, the AL Central retook the cellar thanks to the fall of the Indians, coming in with a score of 19.53, the lowest score by any division in the history of our rankings. The NL Central was second to last, but nearly a full point better with an average score of 18.61.

You can check out the backup data here. So, without further ado, onto the rankings. As always, last week’s ranks in parentheses.

1. New York Yankees (1) – The Yankees remain at the top of the rankings and maintain the best record in baseball by six games over the Los Angeles duo. Despite all that, all anyone is talking about today is the bench-clearing brawl that occurred in Tuesday night’s loss to Toronto.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (3) – What more can you say about the Dodgers and their come from behind/walkoff victories? The Dodgers won their 37th comeback victory of the season last night on Andre Ethier’s fourth walkoff homer of the season.

3. Boston Red Sox (4) – The Red Sox have won six in a row to close the AL East gap to just 6 1/2 games while opening up a 5 1/2-game lead on the Rangers in the Wild Card race. The Sox will have some tough decisions to make with regards to their playoff rotation after Dice-K made a strong return to the club.

4. Los Angeles Angels (2) – The Angels have a six-game lead in the AL West at 28 games over .500, but two LA Times writers fear that they can’t win the big ones when it counts coming off a loss to Boston in Fenway Park.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (5) – The Phillies have won three straight and six of eight to open a seven-game lead in the NL East, and can put the division away when they face Atlanta and Florida over the next week. The Phillies were encouraged by a great outing from Cliff Lee.

6. St. Louis Cardinals (6) – After sweeping the Brewers, the Cardinals have lost four of five to see their division lead drop back into the single digits. Bryan Burwell of StL Today thinks both Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright have a shot at the Cy Young, despite Wainwright’s loss to Florida.

7. Colorado Rockies (7) –The Rockies have seen their Wild Card lead shrink after four straight losses, including two to the Giants, and to make matters worse, they will have to face Matt Cain Thursday night. Despite the situation, the Rockies aren’t panicking, according to SS Troy Tulowitzki.

8. Texas Rangers (8) – Despite a recent slide which has seen them lose three straight and four of five, the Rangers remain at No. 8 in the rankings. The Rangers got good and bad news in Tuesday’s loss, as they snapped a 22-inning scoreless streak, but lost Michael Young to injury.

9. San Francisco Giants (11) – The Giants have won two big games over the Rockies to pull within 2 1/2 games of what appears to be the final available playoff spot. The Giants had to be encouraged to get a good outing from Barry Zito in Tuesday night’s win.

10. Detroit Tigers (9) – Detroit holds a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL Central, despite having a run differential of just +6 through 144 games. The Tigers will need to worry a bit about their rotation, as trade deadline acquisition Jarrod Washburn left after one terrible inning with an injury.

11. Atlanta Braves (12)

12. Chicago Cubs (16)

13. Florida Marlins (13)

14. Tampa Bay Rays (10)

15. Seattle Mariners (15)

16. Minnesota Twins (14)

17. Toronto Blue Jays (18)

18. Chicago White Sox (17)

19. Oakland Athletics (21)

20. Milwaukee Brewers (19)

21. Houston Astros (20)

22. Cincinnati Reds (23)

23. Arizona Diamondbacks (25)

24. New York Mets (24)

25. San Diego Padres (26)

26. Cleveland Indians (22)

27. Baltimore Orioles (27)

28. Washington Nationals (29)

29. Kansas City Royals (30)

30. Pittsburgh Pirates (28)

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 1

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:22:32 -0400

Welcome to the Week 1 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by simply taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week 1, we have rankings from me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and we welcome Joey to the mix.

Each contributor has their own methodology to the rankings, as you can see in greater detail in the backup data here. Some try and take into account factors such as strength of schedule or performance in losses, while others (Joey) appear to have a “what have you done for me lately?” approach.

As a result, the top of the rankings were not quite unanimous, with defending champion Pittsburgh receiving four of five first place votes. The bottom of the ranks were split in half, Detroit and St. Louis each received two 32^nd place nods.

As we learned last year from Detroit’s 4-0 showing, the preseason doesn’t mean much. After Week 1, there was a lot of movement in the ranks, as 17 teams moved at least five spots up or down the ranks, with four of those teams moving up or down by double digits.

As it’s still early in the season, there is bound to be plenty of disagreement between the contributors here. Twenty of the teams saw a gap of seven or more in the rankings, with 12 teams having a gap of double digits. Amazingly, after being involved in seven of eight major disputes last week, Walker was not involved in any. The main outlier was our pal Joey, who weighted Week 1 very heavily in his ranks.

Seattle Seahawks (17) – Joey 5, Gideon 22

Carolina Panthers (15) – Mickey 15, Joey 32

San Diego Chargers (13) – Jacob / Gideon 3, Mickey 16

Cincinnati Bengals (12) – Joey 18, Mickey 30

Miami Dolphins (11) – Gideon 17, Joey 28

Tennessee Titans (11) – Gideon 9, Joey 20

New Orleans Saints (11) – Joey 1, Gideon 12

New York Giants (10) – Gideon 2, Joey 12

Indianapolis Colts (10) – Jacob 5, Joey 15

Chicago Bears (11) – Gideon 14, Joey 25

Denver Broncos (10) – Joey 16, Gideon 26

Jacksonville Jaguars (10) – Jacob 17, Mickey 27

On the divisional side, the NFC led the way again, but after Week 1 the East took first place with an average score of 7.95. The NFC North, thanks to Da Bears, dropped to second with an 8.50 average. The AFC West remains at the bottom, although improving its average rank to 20.60. Second to last was the NFC South, dropping to 19.70 thanks to Carolina’s pitiful performance.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. Without further ado, onto the rankings. Last week’s ranks are in parentheses.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (1) – The Steelers got a good win over the Titans to get some revenge from last season, but paid a hefty price losing Troy Polamalu for three to six weeks with a knee injury.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (7) – The Eagles’ huge win on the road in Week 1 was overshadowed by the injury to QB Donovan McNabb.

3. New Orleans Saints (15) – Drew Brees’ 358 yard, six TD performance made fantasy owners everywhere smile. It would be nice to be able to play the Lions all 16 games.

4. New England Patriots (2) – Tom Brady triumphantly returned to Foxboro and led the Pats to an impressive comeback win. The status of LB Jerod Mayo’s knee is a major concern, however.

5. New York Giants (4) – The Giants’ defense looked good in a win over Washington, mostly thanks to the return of Osi Umenyiora.

6. Minnesota Vikings (12) – Adrian Peterson is really, really, really, really, really good at football.

7. San Diego Chargers (5) – The Chargers escape Week 1 with a divisional road win. It sounds much better when the Raiders aren’t mentioned as the opponent.

8. Green Bay Packers (14) – The Packers defense looked spectacular Sunday night against the Bears, and Aaron Rodgers came through when it counted.

9. Baltimore Ravens (6) – The Ravens defense didn’t look great in beating the Matt Cassel-less Chiefs, but QB Joe Flacco certainly did.

10. Indianapolis Colts (3) – The Colts squeaked out a win, as Reggie Wayne picked up the slack for the injured Anthony Gonzalez.

11. Atlanta Falcons (13) – The Falcons have to be happy with their addition of Tony Gonzalez, but even more pleased with the performance of the defense.

12. Dallas Cowboys (17) – No T.O., no problem. Tony Romo spread the ball around nicely while throwing for a career-high 353 yards in the Cowboys’ win over the Buccaneers

13. Tennessee Titans (8) – Despite a loss to the defending champs, the Titans have to be happy with their defensive performance.

14. Seattle Seahawks (24) – The Seahawks looked great on both sides of the ball in their win on Sunday. So would most teams playing against the Rams.

15. New York Jets (22) – It may only be one game, but the Jets’ decision to trade up for Mark Sanchez looks pretty smart right now.

16. San Francisco 49ers (25) – Mike Singletary’s first full season as a head coach has gotten off to a great start. The Niners will need more from their offense to keep it up though.

17. Buffalo Bills (23) – The Bills suffer another heartbreaking 25-24 loss on Monday Night Football.

18. Chicago Bears (10) – It’s hard to overshadow Jay Cutler’s miserable debut, but Brian Urlacher’s season-ending wrist injury did just that. Ouch.

19. Denver Broncos (26) – I’ll let Gus Johnson take this one.

20. Jacksonville Jaguars (21) – A bright spot in the Jaguars’ loss to Indy was their defense, which held the vaunted Colts offense to just 14 points.

21. Houston Texans (18) – A trendy sleeper pick before the season, the Texans were anything but in a disappointing home loss to the Jets.

22. Arizona Cardinals (11) – Starting the season with a divisional loss at home is not the best way to defend your conference crown.

23. Washington Redskins (19) – The Skins looked alright against the Giants, but turnovers and their inability to convert in the red zone cost them.

24. Miami Dolphins (16) – The Dolphins tried all kinds of trickeration against the Falcons. Not much of it worked, as the offense was stymied.

25. Cincinnati Bengals (27) – The Bengals suffered a tough loss in the waning seconds against the Broncos. What should be of more concern was their inability to score in the first 59 minutes of the game.

26. Carolina Panthers (9) – Which QBs are available in the free agent pool?

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20) – The decision by head coach Raheem Morris to name Cadillac Williams the starter looks like a good one. Not many other ones have, as the Bucs allowed 34 points to the Cowboys.

28. Oakland Raiders (30) – A valiant effort by the Raiders comes up just short, but their WR corps showed a great deal of promise.

29. Kansas City Chiefs (29) – The Chiefs put up 24 points on Baltimore with Brodie Croyle under center. Could this be a positive sign of things to come?

30. Cleveland Browns (28) – It’s going to be another long year in Cleveland. The Browns only had 188 total yards in the first 57 minutes of their loss to Minnesota.

31. Detroit Lions (32) – It can only get better. Right?

32. St. Louis Rams (31) – After the Rams’ offense put up a bagel against Seattle, QB Marc Bulger is already on the hot seat.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Time To Pack It In: Why the Chicago Cubs Should Shut Down Some Injured Vets

Jacob Nitzberg — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:11:10 -0400

With 24 games left in the season, the Chicago Cubs are 11.5 games back in the NL Central Division and eight games back in the Wild Card race. While the Cubs aren’t mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, they might as well start looking ahead to 2010.

At this point, the age old question arises: Do the Cubs continue to try and put out their best roster in an effort to win as many games as possible? Or do they focus on getting younger players in the game in an audition for next year while resting veterans who are less than 100 percent?

For the 2009 Cubs, there needs to be a balance between the two.

The Cubs have 15 home games left, and fans (including this one) have paid major league prices to see major league baseball for those contests. When I head to Wrigley Field on Tuesday, I don’t want to see a lineup of players whose names I wouldn’t have known on Opening Day 2008.

By the same token, risking further injury in essentially meaningless games would be foolish. The Cubs have already held out left fielder Alfonso Soriano indefinitely with a knee injury (and general terribleness). Soriano may or may not play again this season, and this writer sees no reason why he should.

The Cubs, in my opinion, should do the same with 3B Aramis Ramirez. Ramirez has only played in 65 games so far this season due to a separated shoulder and then a recurrence of the injury. He is clearly less than 100 percent at the moment, and every time he dives for a ball or slides into a base, Cubs fans hold their collective breath.

While I'm sure Ramirez wants to be out there and helping his team win, all he can do right now is further damage to himself. His shoulder cannot heal without rest (as seen with his two-month layoff), so doesn't it make sense for him to get a one-month jump on the offseason?

If the Cubs were in striking distance, that would be one thing. But with the first-place Cardinals seemingly unable to lose a baseball game, and two other teams in between the Cubs and Rockies in the Wild Card race, it makes no sense to play Aramis anymore.

By holding out Soriano and Ramirez, they not only get them healthy for next year, but also audition guys like Jake Fox, Sam Fuld, Andres Blanco, Bobby Scales, and others for next season. At this point, as much as it pains me to say it, it’s time.

This article originally posted on Chicago Sports Then and Now.

Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings: September 8th

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:32:41 -0400

Welcome to another edition of the Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings. Looking at the rankings this week, it has become pretty clear which teams the contributors here believe have a shot at October and a World Series.

The eight teams which would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today were all in the top nine in our rankings. Only Texas at No. 8 was above a current playoff team. In addition, every team in the top half of the rankings was within eight games or less of a playoff spot.

Of all the playoff races, the closest in both the standings and the rankings were the Wild Cards in both leagues. Boston leads Texas by 2 ½ games and four spots in the rankings, while Colorado leads San Francisco by two games and the same margin ranking-wise. The only other races that saw teams within four spots in the rankings were Yankees-Red Sox and Dodgers-Rockies.

The Top 10 finally got a shakeup, as the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers widened their division lead and in turn jumped three spots to No. 9 in the rankings. The Yankees have finally become a unanimous No. 1 selection, as Red Sox Nation member Gideon finally gave them his vote. Both LA teams remain at Nos. 2 and 3, although flip-flopping for the second straight week.

The very bottom of the rankings remained the same for a fifth straight week, with the lowly Royals checking in at a unanimous No. 30. The entire bottom five was comprised of the same teams, with just the Padres and Orioles swapping spots.

The biggest mover this week was the Arizona Diamondbacks, who, after climbing four spots last week gave them all back and then some. The D-backs dropped five places to No. 25, a result of losing five straight and six of seven. Only one other team aside from Detroit and Arizona moved more than one spot this week, as the Giants at fell out of the Top 10 from No. 9 to No. 11.

The disagreements in the rankings between myself, Gideon, and Mickey are no longer a surprise. It has become clear that Gideon feels differently about Seattle, Toronto and Houston than the rest of us, and will continue to do so until his formula says otherwise.

For the fourth week running, there were no double-digit discrepancies between any of the ranks, and there were just four gaps of seven or more. And of course, all involved good old Gid.

Seattle Mariners (9)—Mickey 12, Gideon 21

Toronto Blue Jays (9)—Jacob 22, Gideon 13

Houston Astros (7)—Jacob 18, Gideon 25

Arizona Diamondbacks (7)—Jacob 26, Gideon 19

On the divisional front, the AL West regained the top spot from the AL East with an 11.83 average, barely better than the East’s 12.13. At the bottom, the NL Central retook the cellar, despite seeing its average increase to 18.56. A close second was the AL Central with a score of 18.47.

You can check out the backup data here. So, without further ado, onto the rankings. As always, last week’s ranks in parentheses.

1. New York Yankees (1)—Another week, another No. 1 finish in the rankings. The Yankees closest competition is our No. 2 ranked team, the Angels, who are 6 ½ games back in the race for the best record. While the Yankees are rolling, they might not have many reinforcements if they have any injuries to their pitching staff.

2. Los Angeles Angels (3)—The Angels and Dodgers have again swapped places in the rankings, as Gideon bumped the Angels and dropped the Dodgers by one spot each. The Angels did move up, but one LA Times writer thinks they looked more like the Royals in their weekend series in KC.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (2)—The Dodgers have seen their division lead slip to 3 ½ games, but have also seen the Cardinals catch them for the best record in the NL. It won’t help the Dodgers that star young pitcher Clayton Kershaw injured his non-pitching shoulder in batting practice. Not good news for my fantasy team’s playoff chances either.

4. Boston Red Sox (5)—The Sox lost three of four to Chicago over the weekend, but took two of three in a more crucial series in Tampa Bay. Josh Beckett took the loss against the White Sox on Monday, but looked better than he has the last few weeks in doing so.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (4)—The Phils had an uncharacteristic road series over the long weekend, losing four straight in Houston and dropping a spot in the ranks as a result. More starting pitcher injury news in Philly, as JA Happ was scratched from his last start with an oblique injury.

6. St. Louis Cardinals (6)—The Cardinals just keep winning ballgames, and amazingly took a game off their magic number every day they played in August and into the first week of September. This includes their win on Monday, as Chris Carpenter had a Cy Young worthy performance.

7. Colorado Rockies (7)—The Rockies have maintained their Wild Card lead by beating the teams they are supposed to, taking two of three from New York before sweeping Arizona last week. The Rockies then beat the Reds Monday, but are anxiously awaiting word on SS Troy Tulowitzki’s injury.

8. Texas Rangers (8)—The Rangers have lost two straight after winning four in a row, and remain 2 ½ games out of the Wild Card. The Rangers will have to try to keep pace this week without Josh Hamilton, who received a second injection Monday to ease the pain of a pinched nerve in his lower back.

9. Detroit Tigers (12)—The first place Tigers have opened up a 6 ½ game lead in the AL Central, and as a result regain a spot in the Top 10 of the rankings. The Tigers will be without Fernando Rodney for three games, as he was suspended by MLB for throwing a ball into the stands in celebration of a victory last week in Tampa.

10. Tampa Bay Rays (9)—The Rays are now 7 ½ games out of the Wild Card race and it appears they will fall short of repeating last season’s impressive run. The final nail in their 2009 coffin may be Carlos Pena’s season-ending injury after being hit on the hand by a CC Sabathia pitch.

11. San Francisco Giants (9)

12. Atlanta Braves (11)

13. Florida Marlins (14)

14. Minnesota Twins (13)

15. Seattle Mariners (16)

16. Chicago Cubs (15)

17. Chicago White Sox (18)

18. Toronto Blue Jays (17)

18. Chicago White Sox (14)

19. Milwaukee Brewers (19)

20. Houston Astros (21)

21. Oakland Athletics (22)

22. Cleveland Indians (23)

23. Cincinnati Reds (24)

24. New York Mets (25)

25. Arizona Diamondbacks (20)

26. San Diego Padres (27)

27. Baltimore Orioles (26)

28. Pittsburgh Pirates (28)

29. Washington Nationals (29)

30. Kansas City Royals (30)

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

A Chicago Sports Fan's Dream Day: Live Blog from Wrigley & Soldier Field

Jacob Nitzberg — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:14:59 -0400

It all started with a thunderstorm.

On June 16, I was all set to attend the first game of the Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and the White Sox at Wrigley Field. Then Mother Nature struck, postponing the game.

Instead of playing a double header, the game was rescheduled for the first mutual off day, Sept. 3. As fate would have it, the Chicago Bears, the team for whom I hold season tickets, just happened to be playing their fourth and final preseason game on that same day.

I’ve been racking my brain, and I can’t think of another time when a Chicagoan, or a fan from any city for that matter, would have the chance to attend a full game of three major sports teams from their hometown in the same day. While I’m lucky enough to be the one going, it would be rude of me not to share it with those of you in the Bleacher Report community.

So get ready, because starting with my arrival in Wrigleyville and lasting until the final whistle in Soldier Field, I’ll be coming to you live from both games via the World Wide Interweb.

Using just my phone and that fancy Twitter application, I’ll be live blogging from in and around both Wrigley Field and Soldier Field, bringing you all the action and perspective from a fan lucky enough to be at both games (in increments of 140 characters or less).

I’ll be posting the updates to the site as often as I can, but for the most up-to-date posts, check out the LIVE BLOG.

CUBS - SOX

12:10 PM - Grabbing the Red Line on my way to Wrigley Field...Live Blog from Cubs-Sox at 1:20 Central.

12:35 PM - Pitching matchup today features Ryan Dempster for the Cubs and Carlos Torres for the Sox, who is looking for his first career victory.

12:55 PM - Not everyone in Wrigleyville is a Soriano fan apparently... http://znl.me/RBN43

1:10 PM - Even with both teams fading fast, the game has importance to the rivalry. The Sox lead the series 3-2 this year and 36-35 overall.

1:20 PM - And the Cubs take the field...it's a beautiful day for a ballgame.

1:23 PM - The Sox waste a leadoff double with some awful awful baserunning.

1:31 PM - A quick inning for the Cubs as they go 1-2-3 without much of a fight.

1:35 PM - Noticeably absent from the Cubs lineup is Derrek Lee, with Fox taking over at first base. Bit of a height difference.

1:37 PM - Errant pickoff throw from Dempster. Not even the little leaguers from Texas had this many errors.

1:41 PM - The stadium breakdown appears to be about 50% Cubs fans, 30% Sox fans, and 20% empty. Not your typical Crosstown affair.

1:43 PM - A view from Section 411 http://znl.me/O250R

1:46 PM - Plenty of boos for Milton Bradley as he approaches the plate, but tepid applause as he beats out an infield single.

1:55 PM - Short break due to a phone malfunction - while I was gone, Milton Bradley gave the 3rd out to a Sox fan. At least he knew how many outs.

1:56 PM - Another good stop by Koyie Hill on a ball in the dirt. Demp looks a bit wild today.

2:01 PM - Ramirez was hit by the pitch and walks slowly down to first. Very slowly.

2:03 PM - Guy in front of me is wearing a 2003 NLCS tshirt. I'm tempted to throw him over the railing.

2:07 PM - Great running catch by Theriot in the Sox bullpen. Probably the left fielder's ball, but we wouldn't want Soriano to strain his legs.

2:10 PM – It’s pretty evident by that last at bat that Carlos Torres doesn't get to the plate much.

2:15 PM - A "Let's Go White Sox" chant tries to start in the bleachers. It's quickly booed down.

2:18 PM - Mmmmm Old Style.

2:20 PM - Fu-ku-do-me is the most fun name to chant. Ever. Seriously, you should try it.

2:23 PM - Bob Brenly just told a story that had nothing to do with baseball. I can't actually hear him, but I like my odds.

2:25 PM - Getz gets hit by the pitch, but no warnings are issued by the umps.

2:30 PM - Milwaukee leads St. Louis in the 6th. Too bad it doesn't matter.

2:35 PM - Bradley strikes out for the 3rd out but refrains from breaking his bat on home plate.

2:44 PM - For my money, nobody sings the 7th inning stretch better than Ron Santo.

2:46 PM - And the Cubs finally get an extra base hit. In the bottom of the 7th

2:47 PM - I offered 3 to 1 odds on strikeout vs anything else with Soriano at the plate and nobody would take it...smart move by them.

2:50 PM - The Cubs gamble and Jake Fox is thrown out at the plate by Dewayne Wise on a Jeff Baker single with only one out. Very close play.

2:52 PM - Apparently the fans in the left field bleachers think right field sucks, while those in right see it differently. Stay tuned for more...

2:54 PM - Soriano loses his footing on a routine fly ball, the ball ends up at the wall, Beckham scores and AJ is at 3rd. That's easily worth $18 million.

2:55 PM - And after an RBI single by Konerko that's all for Dempster. This would be a tough loss after a well pitched game.

2:58 PM - What's most surprising about the Soriano error was that it wasn't surprising at all.

3:00 PM - The crowd is hushed. Either the Sox runs took the life out of the fans or they are tired from the booing. A strikeout gets little applause.

3:02 PM - One noticeable difference about September baseball...the dugouts are much more crowded.

3:05 PM - The latest "Let's go White Sox" chant is met with much less resistance.

3:09 PM - Carlos Torres retakes the hill for the Sox in the 8th. With a shutout going no reason to take him out now. Yes that is an attempted jinx.

3:09 PM - And as the Cubs announce Fontenot as the PH Ozzie goes to the pen to get a lefty. The Cubs counter with Aaron Miles. Point White Sox.

3:12 PM - As Kosuke flies out the wind takes the ball from center all the way to left. Podsednik was closer to the foul line than Quentin.

3:15 PM - White Sox prospect Tyler Flowers makes his major league debut..bet he didn't think it would be at Wrigley Field.

3:18 PM - A strong throw from Bradley holds Podsednik at third on a single. It would be more significant if it was still 1-0.

3:20 PM - For some reason, Jake Fox looks home to try and get Pods at the plate. When he turns to throw to first, nobody is covering. 4-0 Sox.

3:23 PM - Theriot makes an unbelievable play to get the force at 2nd on a high throw, but comes up limping. The trainer and Lou are out for a visit.

3:41 PM - The Riot makes another great diving stop but cannot get enough on the ball to force Kotsay at 2nd. Another run crosses the plate for the Sox.

3:43 PM - Its barely over half full as the bottom of the 9th starts.

3:46 PM - When I say the stadium is half full, that includes the press box

3:47 PM - Jake Fox beats out a double play ball which brings Soriano to the plate to a chorus of boos. I bet he wanted a DP.

3:50 PM - Well that's it and that's all. The Sox take the game and the series. I'll be back in a few hours from Soldier Field. See ya then.

BEARS

6:37 PM - If I see a spaceship on top of a stadium, I must be at Soldier Field. Getting close to kickoff.

6:55 PM - While the Bears will mostly be resting, the Browns have a QB battle still to be decided. It will be interesting to see how much they play.

7:04 PM - The Bears get off the bus runnin, as the first four plays go to Kevin Jones.

7:13 PM - Typical bears. 3rd and 9 and they can't stop the screen.

7:18 PM - I honestly have no idea who is playing QB for the Browns, but he throws a TD to Massaquoi, who the Bears could have drafted in Rd 2.

7:22 PM - There's a timeout...apparently it’s on the field.

7:26 PM - Garrett Wolfe is trying to earn a roster spot with special teams, but letting the kickoff bounce and having trouble picking it up won't help.

7:27 PM - Most of the Bears first team defense is already wearing their hats with helmets nowhere in sight.

7:29 PM - Another Bears screen pass easily snuffed out. Hanie is looking mediocre right now.

7:31 PM - The view from Section 131. http://znl.me/H99B8

7:36 PM - I know it was probably expensive, but I don't get why people still wear Cedric Benson jerseys.

7:40 PM - Not a very exciting first quarter, and the crowd seems to know its the 4th preseason game as they are very subdued.

7:42 PM - Hanie's deep pass was woefully underthrown and intercepted. Shades of the last few years.

7:43 PM - A great new addition...tv on the back of the camera truck so the view isn't completely obstructed. http://znl.me/Q814F

7:46 PM - The crowd gets loud for 3rd and goal at the 2...and the D comes through with a nice goal line stand.

7:49 PM - You know it’s a preseason game when beach balls are flying around the south end zone stands.

7:51 PM - One thing is for sure, the Bears cannot afford any injuries to the offensive line. The protection is awful.

7:52 PM - Chris Jennings is getting the majority of the carries for Cleveland and is running well. Part of that might just be the 2nd string defense.

7:56 PM - Amazingly, there is little to no wind in Soldier Field tonight. As a result, Phil Dawson drains a 51-yarder with ease.

8:02 PM - A nice catch by Johnny Knox above his head and a better play after the catch to get to the Cleveland 17 at the two minute warning.

8:05 PM - One thing to appreciate about Wrigley...no games like guessing the price of cheese in 1935. Who cares?

8:13 PM - Robbie Gould is good again. Its nice to have a kicker that surprises you when he misses vs the other way around.

8:17 PM - New signing Rod Hood just got lit up by Browns RB Chris Jennings. Not a good start to your Bears career.

8:20 PM - Halftime show...youth football. Back in 12 minutes.

8:22 PM - One of the kids just put down the hardest hit of the day...easily.

8:37 PM - Wolfe is showing his value out of the backfield. Adrian Peterson hasn't really played, which doesn't bode well for his chances to be 1 of 53.

8:40 PM - Hanie to Gaines and Bear Down Chicago Bears. We've got a tie meaningless ballgame.

8:43 PM - Awful special teams coverage, as Robbie Gould is forced into action to save a TD.

8:51 PM - Rod Hood is burned deep on 4th down badly. The Browns punch it in on the next play for the lead.

8:52 PM - And there's the red flag...definitely looks like he was short.

8:54 PM - And now the Browns score...

8:57 PM - Johnny Knox is making a case for a roster spot with another solid return. He is lightning quick.

9:00 PM - Brett Basanez makes his first appearance of the game and promptly overthrows the tallest receiver on the team.

9:06 PM - Basanez hits Peterman for an All Northwestern connection. You're gonna see that a bunch this year on the practice squad.

9:10 PM - The Bears opt to pass on 4th and 1 and the slant works for a TD. I bet everyone, including me, was expecting a running play.

9:13 PM - It may be the 3rd string, it may be against the Browns, but its great to see a pass rush from Da Bears.

9:14 PM - Johnny Knox gets a big ovation, catches the ball inside the 5, then takes it back to midfield. Shades of Hester circa 2006. Well, kind of.

9:19 PM - A fun game to play during the 2nd half of the final preseason game is to try and spot a player on the field you've heard of. It’s not easy.

9:21 PM - We're finally hearing from the Bears' first pick Juaquin Iglesias, who has made a few nice grabs on this drive.

9:26 PM - Another way you can tell its preseason...they didn't even bother to paint the end zones.

9:27 PM - The Bears just ran the option...unsuccessfully. Wow.

9:32 PM - Rookie DJ Moore drops an INT on 3rd down, then is sent back to return a punt which he promptly fumbles. Awesome.

9:35 PM - Moore atones a bit with a nice tackle for a loss. You can see he wants to make amends.

9:40 PM - Smith calls a TO after the Browns barely convert on 4th and 1. Why not just challenge? Makes no sense.

9:45 PM - The Browns kick a FG down by 6 with 2:21 to play. Interesting decision by Mangini. I guess its time for onside kick practice.

9:46 PM - And they kick it deep instead. Guess he trusts his 3rd string defense. That or he doesn't care about winning a preseason game.

9:52 PM - With the stadium 1/3 full, the Bears go to Iglesias for again of 26. One more first down and the Bears are 3-1 in the preseason.

9:57 PM - That's it and that's all. Its been a fun day in the windy city, I hope you've all enjoyed the live blog, it was quite an experience.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings: September 2nd

Jacob Nitzberg — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:04:42 -0400

Welcome to another edition of the Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings. As the calendar has turned to September and the playoff races heat up, the teams at the top of the Power Rankings have separated themselves from the pack.

The Top 10 was identical to last week, with just two sets of teams flip-flopping spots. The Yankees remain a nearly unanimous No. 1 (I don’t think Gideon can bring himself to put them there), while both LA teams follow closely at Nos. 2 and 3.

The very bottom of the rankings remained the same for a fourth straight week, with the lowly Royals checking in at No. 30. Incredibly, for the third straight week, the three distinct groupings of teams have remained intact.

The teams comprising the No. 1-10, 11-20, and 21-30 spots in the rankings still have not changed from the August 11 rankings.

There were a couple of expected movers and shakers, most notably the Chicago White Sox, who fell four spots to No. 18 after a dreadful stretch which has seen them drop nine of 10.

The only other team to drop at least three spots was the Pittsburgh Pirates, who inconsequentially fell from No. 25 to No. 28.

On the upswing were teams that benefited from the previous teams’ falls. The Twins and the Reds each moved up three spots this week. The big winner was the Arizona Diamondbacks, jumping four spots to No. 20, their highest ever composite ranking.

The disagreements in the rankings were uniform this week between myself, Gideon, and Mickey. For the third consecutive week there were no double-digit discrepancies between any of the ranks, and there were just four gaps of seven or more, all of which were nine spots.

And of course, all involved good old Gid.

Seattle Mariners (9) – Mickey 13, Gideon 22

Toronto Blue Jays (9) – Jacob 21, Gideon 12

Houston Astros (9) – Jacob 17, Gideon 26

Oakland Athletics (9) – Mickey 26, Gideon 17

On the divisional front, the AL East regained the top spot for the first time in four weeks with a score of 11.80. The AL West dropped to second with a 12.33 average, followed closely by the NL West at 13.13.

At the bottom, the AL Central regained its rightful place in the cellar, seeing its average score jump to 19.20, mostly due to the White Sox. A close second was the NL Central with a score of 18.94.

You can check out the backup data here. So, without further ado, onto the rankings. As always, last week’s ranks in parentheses.

1. New York Yankees (1)

Another week, another No. 1 finish in the rankings. With the best record in the majors by five-and-a-half games, the Yanks could stay on top for awhile. New York got some good news, as CF Brett Gardner was scheduled to take batting practice on Tuesday.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (3)

Thanks to Gideon ranking them at the top, and winning five of seven, the Dodgers jump their neighbor to the South in the rankings. Bill Plaschke thinks despite all of the Dodgers’ recent moves, they are still missing one key piece.

3. Los Angeles Angels (2)

The Angels continue to maintain a four-and-a-half game lead in the AL West and look to stay on top. Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times makes a case for Kendry Morales to be AL MVP. It’s not as ridiculous as you might think.

4. Philadelphia Phillies (4)

The Phils keep winning, and have opened up a seven-and-a-half game lead in the division thanks to taking three of their last four. The last one was most impressive, as Cole Hamels looked like Cole Hamels while two-hitting the Giants on Tuesday.

5. Boston Red Sox (5)

The Sox have won eight of 10, and now lead the Rangers by three-and-a-half games in the Wild Card race. In defeating the Rays on Tuesday, closer Jonathan Papelbon got a few more outs than he normally does.

6. St. Louis Cardinals (6)

Thanks mostly to the rest of the teams in their division, the Cardinals now have the biggest division lead in the majors. The Cardinals’ acquisition of Matt Holliday paid off exactly as planned in their win over the Brewers on Tuesday.

7. Colorado Rockies (7)

After suffering a devastating sweep to relinquish their Wild Card lead, the Rockies got a strong outing from Jorge de la Rosa to stop their losing streak with a victory over the Mets. On the same day, the Rockies got positive news about some injured players.

8. Texas Rangers (5)

The Rangers are 16 games over .500, but still three-and-a-half games out of any kind of playoff spot. Texas did gain a half game yesterday, bouncing back from allowing 18 runs on Monday to sweep the Jays on Tuesday.

9. San Francisco Giants (10)

On the heels of their sweep of Colorado, the Giants jump up one spot to No. 9 in the rankings. San Francisco’s newest acquisition is excited to face his former team next week.

10. Tampa Bay Rays (9)

With their playoff hopes fading, the Rays have struggled, losing four of their last six. On Tuesday, the Rays received a power-hitting infielder to complete the Scott Kazmir trade.

11. Atlanta Braves (11)

12. Detroit Tigers (12)

13. Minnesota Twins (16)

14. Florida Marlins (14)

15. Chicago Cubs (15)

16. Seattle Mariners (17)

17. Toronto Blue Jays (18)

18. Chicago White Sox (14)

19. Milwaukee Brewers (19)

20. Arizona Diamondbacks (24)

21. Houston Astros (20)

22. Oakland Athletics (21)

23. Cleveland Indians (22)

24. Cincinnati Reds (27)

25. New York Mets (23)

26. Baltimore Orioles (26)

27. San Diego Padres (29)

28. Pittsburgh Pirates (25)

29. Washington Nationals (28)

30. Kansas City Royals (30)

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Preseason Edition

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:59:32 -0400

Welcome to the preseason edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Each Tuesday, starting in two weeks, you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams. Starting with Week One, you can also look forward to analysis on the movements and trends among the teams.

The rankings are determined by simply taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For the preseason edition, we have rankings from myself, Gideon, Mickey, and Walker.

The top of the preseason rankings were nearly unanimous, with defending champion Pittsburgh receiving three of four first-place votes. The New England Patriots received the other, but surprisingly it was from Walker and not Boston-homer Gideon. The bottom of the rankings were easily unanimous, as 0-16 Detroit received 32s from all four of us.

The only consistent theme of the preseason rankings was disagreement. More than half the teams (17) had a gap of seven or more in the rankings, while eight teams had a gap of double-digits. Of those eight teams, seven were in the NFC and seven involved our good buddy Walker:

Green Bay Packers (14) – Mickey 4, Gideon 18

Minnesota Vikings (13) – Walker 4, Mickey 17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13) – Walker 14, Gideon 27

Houston Texans (11) – Mickey 11, Walker 22

Seattle Seahawks (10) – Jacob 19, Walker 29

San Francisco 49ers (10) – Gideon 20, Walker 30

Arizona Cardinals (10) – Walker 6, Gideon 16

New Orleans Saints (10) – Jacob 10, Walker 20

On the divisional side, the NFC led the way, with the North ranking first with an average score of 7.81, followed closely by the East with an 8.75 average. The AFC West was in a class all by itself at the bottom, coming in with an average rank of 22.06. Second to last was the NFC South at 18.81.

All the backup data for our rankings can be seen here. Without further ado, onto the rankings...

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

The defending champs will have a difficult start to their title defense, facing Tennessee, Chicago, and San Diego in the first month of the season.

2. New England Patriots

Tom Brady's return will not be an easy one, as the Pats face five of last season's top 10 defenses this year.

3. Indianapolis Colts

New coaching staff, new faces, same Peyton Manning. Look for the Colts to thrive this year.

4. New York Giants

Eli Manning got a lot of money, but whom is he going to throw the ball to? Giants will still rely on their running game even with the departure of Derrick Ward.

5. San Diego Chargers

A .500 record might be good enough to win this division for a second straight year. Led by the new $93 million man, Philip Rivers, the Chargers should have an easy path to the postseason.

6. Baltimore Ravens

Will quarterback Joe Flacco suffer a sophomore slump? May not matter with a three-headed monster in the backfield.

7. Philadelphia Eagles

Even with the addition of Michael Vick, opponents shouldn't overlook Philly's rookie weapons, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. This could be a dangerous offense.

8. Tennessee Titans

Will the defense be able to succeed without Albert Haynesworth in the middle? Can the offense make up for his departure?

9. Carolina Panthers

Will Jake Delhomme be able to put that dreadful postseason loss in the rear-view mirror. He might not need to if the Panthers' running backs can stay healthy.

10. Chicago Bears

Da Bears finally have deir quarterback, but he can't do it all by himself. Chicago needs production from its running backs and tight ends to make up for the lack of a wide receiver corps.

11. Arizona Cardinals

Last year's NFC Champs are still getting no respect. Was 2008 a fluke? Only Kurt Warner can say for sure.

12. Minnesota Vikings

Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre. Wait, there are other players on this team?

13. Atlanta Falcons

The addition of tight end Tony Gonzalez should help Matt Ryan improve in his second season. Questions of Michael Turner's durability shouldn’t worry Falcons fans.

14. Green Bay Packers

Will the addition of Dom Capers and a switch to the 3-4 defense be enough to remedy Green Bay's woes? Don't count on it.

15. New Orleans Saints

An 8-8 finish last season gives the Saints a last-place schedule this year. If they can take advantage of facing Detroit and St. Louis, they could make a return to the postseason.

16. Miami Dolphins

Coming off a 10-win turnaround, the Dolphins face a first place schedule in 2009. Will they have enough firepower?

17. Dallas Cowboys

The 'Boys let go of Terrell Owens this offseason, so the biggest newsmaker in Dallas right now is the scoreboard.

18. Houston Texans

Will this finally be the year Houston finishes above .500? Texans are banking on an upgraded defense to do so.

19. Washington Redskins

Owner Dan Snyder spent a great deal of money this offseason. Is this the year the spending actually pays off?

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With a solid defense as always and another three-headed monster at RB, the main question down in Tampa is the quarterback situation. Does Byron Leftwich finally get it together? When do they play rookie Josh Freeman?

21. Jacksonville Jaguars

David Garrard finally has a true No. 1 receiver to throw to. May be a few years past his prime, though.

22. New York Jets

New coach Rex Ryan has named rookie Mark Sanchez as the starter at quarterback. Can't be worse than Favre.

23. Buffalo Bills

Will T.O.'s arrival in Buffalo be any different than his last few stops?

24. Seattle Seahawks

The biggest addition to Seattle this offseason isn't T.J. Houshmanzadeh, but coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp.

25. San Francisco 49ers

Will Michael Crabtree play for Mike Singletary and Co. this year? Will it make a difference?

26. Denver Broncos

New coach Josh McDaniels has dealt with enough drama to last a decade, and he hasn't coached a regular season game yet. Things aren't pretty in the Mile High City.

27. Cincinnati Bengals

Carson Palmer's health is the key to the Bengals' season. That and OchoCinco's foot.

28. Cleveland Browns

Will it be Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson under center? Does it matter?

29. Kansas City Chiefs

Will the ailing Matt Cassel prove to be the answer? Hard to see a great deal of success with no weapons outside of Dwayne Bowe.

30. Oakland Raiders

Even with lots of exciting weapons on offense, the biggest news out of Raiders camp is a fight between members of the coaching staff.

31. St. Louis Rams

The rebuilding continues, and the offensive line is a great place to get started.

32. Detroit Lions

One win in 2009 would be an improvement.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

We Don't Hate You, Milton Bradley...You Just Stink

Jacob Nitzberg — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:53:58 -0400

On Tuesday, after an embarrassing 15-6 loss to the Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley said he feels "hatred" from Cubs fans and the city of Chicago.

"When I go home and look in the mirror, I like what I see. My family is there I have people I can talk to who are very supportive, in spite of everything and all the adversity and the hatred you face on a daily basis. But I'll be all right. I always have.

"I'm talking about hatred, period. I'm talking about when I go to eat at a restaurant. I've got to listen to the waiters badmouthing me at another table, sitting in a restaurant. That's what I'm talking about. Everything."

I don’t condone talking behind someone’s back, or badmouthing them in public. Cubs fans don’t hate you, but at the ballpark, come on Milton, what did you expect?

You signed a three-year, $30 million deal in the offseason. That’s more than $61,000 per game to play baseball. Each game you earn more than most of us make in a year. Think about that for a minute.

And that’s assuming you play 162 games, which we all know is nothing more than a pipe dream with your injury history. The economy is terrible, yet fans are still paying $50 or more per ticket and $6.50 per beer to come watch you play. When you don’t perform, they are going to get upset.

You’ve hit 11 home runs so far this year, which have cost the Cubs just under $1 million each, and your 35 RBI are currently coming at a cost of over $285,000 apiece. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

The Cubs brought you in because they needed left-handed hitting, yet you are batting just .238 from the left side. Teams are walking Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez in order to face you from the left side. Not good.

There isn’t much to complain about your fielding, with just three errors in 90 games, but there was the good old "throwing the ball into the stands with just two outs" incident against Minnesota in June.

All those stats give us Cubs fans good reason to be upset with you, but what you also need to realize is that you’re part of an offseason overhaul that has dramatically worsened a 97-win Division champion.

Thanks to your signing, the Cubs traded fan-favorite Mark DeRosa, who, to rub salt in our wounds, is now playing for the playoff-bound rival St. Louis Cardinals. His replacement, Aaron Miles, is batting just .177 with no homers and five RBI, and has made two trips to the DL. While that isn’t your fault, it doesn’t really help your cause.

To top it all off, with fewer than 40 games left in the season, the Cubs are all but out of it, trailing St. Louis by nine games in the Central Division and facing a seven-and-a-half game deficit in the Wild Card.

So, Milton, as a Cubs fan, I’m sorry you feel hatred aimed toward you. You were brought into a situation with extremely high expectations that you barely had a chance to meet.

So yes, I feel disappointment, aggravation, frustration, but not hatred. We’re not out to get you, Milton. We just want you to play baseball better.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

All quotes taken from ESPN Chicago.

Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings: August 25th

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:33:33 -0400

Welcome to another edition of the Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings. There appears to be an elite group forming at the top, as the No. 1- 4 teams all stayed the same from last week.

While there was no movement in the order of the teams, the Dodgers gained ground on the Angels in terms of average score, with the Phillies right on both of their heels.

The bottom of the rankings also held firm, with the Padres and Royals checking in at Nos. 29 and 30, respectively. There doesn’t seem to be much chance either of these teams will get above No. 28 for the rest of the season.

As we saw last week, the three distinct groupings of teams have remained intact. The teams comprising the No. 1-10, 11-20, and 21-30 spots in the rankings still have not changed from the Aug. 11 rankings.

Although much stayed the same, there were a few moves that were expected, mostly at the top. The Rangers went 2-3 over the last week and dropped one-and-a-half games behind Boston in the AL Wild Card race.

As such, Texas dropped three spots to No. 8 while Boston regained the two spots lost last week to check in at No. 5.

In addition, as the Cardinals have opened up a massive divisional lead against the Cubs in part by beating the higher-ranked Dodgers, they climbed two spots to No. 6, losing the tiebreaker to Boston based on winning percentage.

As the Power Rankings has grown, the contributors here at Cubicle GM have evolved our methods for ranking the teams. With this, the disagreements between myself, Gideon, Mickey and Joey have gradually decreased over time. For the second straight week there were no double-digit discrepancies between any of the ranks, and there were just four gaps of seven or more.

Houston Astros (9)—Jacob/Joey 17, Gideon 26

Detroit Tigers (8)—Joey 7, Gideon 15

Toronto Blue Jays (8)—Gideon 12, Joey 20

Pittsburgh Pirates (7)—Joey 22, Jacob 29

On the divisional front, the AL West remained in front but saw its average score drop to 12.06. The AL East remains in second, but also saw its average score drop, to 12.35. At the bottom, the AL Central has finally been supplanted, as its 18.60 average was just slightly better than its NL counterpart, which checked in at 18.67 this week.

You can check out the backup data here. So, without further ado, onto the rankings. As always, last week’s ranks in parentheses.

1. New York Yankees (1)—The Yankees are a league-high 30 games over .500 coming off another series win against the second-place Red Sox. After hitting two homers on Sunday, this piece looks at whether Hideki Matsui will be a Yankee in 2010.

2. Los Angeles Angels (2)—The Angels couldn’t take advantage of a bad week by the Rangers, losing two of three in Toronto and four of their last five. Even though there is still over a month left in the season, one Angels’ blogger takes a look at the team’s offseason decisions.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (3)—The Dodgers got a break this past weekend as they took three of four from the reeling Cubs, but they still saw their division lead shrink to just three games over Colorado. With that in mind, the upcoming series between the two teams is going to be a big one.

4. Philadelphia Phillies (4)—Philly has lost just once since the last edition of the rankings, and now leads the NL East by a seven-game margin. After a day off on Monday, SS Jimmy Rollins shouldn’t expect one for the rest of the year.

5. Boston Red Sox (7)—Despite dropping two of three to the Yankees, the Sox gained ground in the Wild Card race and moved back into the top five. Closer Jonathan Papelbon may not want the Sox to take a look at Billy Wagner, but one writer doesn’t really think that matters.

6. St. Louis Cardinals (8)—The Cardinals took care of business on the West Coast, winning five of seven on their trip to Los Angeles and San Diego, and now have a season-high eight game lead in the Central. New signing John Smoltz faced and beat the Padres on Sunday, in what turned out the perfect situation for his debut.

7. Colorado Rockies (6)—Even though the Rockies have won six of their last seven, they still fell one spot in the rankings as they were leapfrogged by the Cardinals. To show us, Colorado won a game in incredible fashion last night.

8. Texas Rangers (5)—Texas has lost four of six to drop into second place in the AL Wild Card, and now has a tough task as they travel to New York and Minnesota over the next week. Slated to be the fourth outfielder, a big part of the Rangers’ success has been the contributions of Marlon Byrd.

9. Tampa Bay Rays (9)—The Rays just keep winning at home, taking four of six last week at the Trop to improve to 42-21, third best in the majors. The Rays were also encouraged by Sunday’s start from David Price, despite the loss to Texas in that game.

10. San Francisco Giants (10)—The Giants saw their postseason chances take a major hit on Monday night, as they lost a heartbreaker to Colorado in 14 innings. The Giants are now seven games behind the Dodgers and trail Colorado by four. More bad news as recent acquisition Freddy Sanchez may wind up on the DL.

11. Atlanta Braves (13)

12. Detroit Tigers (11)

13. Florida Marlins (12)

14. Chicago White Sox (15)

15. Chicago Cubs (14)

16. Minnesota Twins (18)

17. Seattle Mariners (16)

18. Toronto Blue Jays (17)

19. Milwaukee Brewers (19)

20. Houston Astros (20)

21. Oakland Athletics (22)

22. Cleveland Indians (23)

23. New York Mets (24)

24. Arizona Diamondbacks (21)

25. Pittsburgh Pirates (28)

26. Baltimore Orioles (26)

27. Cincinnati Reds (25)

28. Washington Nationals (27)

29. San Diego Padres (29)

30. Kansas City Royals (30)

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Déjà Vu: A Dodgers Grand Slam Spells the End for the Chicago Cubs

Jacob Nitzberg — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:42:32 -0400

While watching the Cubs 7-2 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday night, I had an eerie feeling of déjà vu. While it was in a different city, with a different player at the plate and a different player on the hill, I felt I was watching the exact same scenario unfold.

A grand slam by the Dodgers to all but end the Cubs’ chances of a deep playoff run.

In 2008, it came in Game One of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. The Cubs led 2-0 thanks to a second-inning Mark DeRosa home run when the Dodgers came to bat in the fifth inning. Ryan Dempster proceeded to walk the bases loaded (his fifth, sixth and seventh walks of the game), before giving up a granny to James Loney on a 1-2 pitch.

Just like that, the energy was sucked out of Wrigley Field, and even though the Cubs were only trailing by two runs, you could read the same expression on everyone’s faces: “Not again.” The Cubs lost that game 7-2 as well, never led the rest of the series, and were swept out of the playoffs for the second straight season.

Fast forward back to Thursday night. The Cubs, who just two weeks ago were tied for first place in the NL Central, have taken a nose dive and fallen to six games out of first place. They enter a crucial four-game series with the Dodgers, who their rival Cardinals have just beaten two of three times.

With the score tied at 2-2, the Cubs’ Angel Guzman allows base hits to the first two batters, and after a sacrifice, James Loney is intentionally walked to face Russell Martin. One pitch, and déjà Grand Slam.

Couple the Cubs loss with a Cardinals win in St. Louis and the Cubs are now seven games back in the division with just 43 games left to play. Their once precious lead in the loss column is now a five game deficit, and the Cubs and Cardinals only have three games remaining on the slate, and that series is in St. Louis.

And don’t even think about the Wild Card, as the Cubs trail the Rockies by six games with San Francisco, Atlanta and Florida all in front of them too.

Despite the horrific play in Colorado, the destruction by Philadelphia and even losing two of three to the lowly Padres, including another Kevin Gregg masterpiece, I was still looking for ways the Cubs could make a comeback.

After Thursday night, the parallels are just too similar to last season, so I think it’s time to be realistic rather than optimistic. I'll still be rooting for the Cubs to pull it off and make the postseason, but you know what they say.

There’s always next year.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM.

Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings: August 18th

Jacob Nitzberg — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:16:40 -0400

Welcome to another edition of the Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings.

There was no change at either end of the spectrum, as the Yankees held on to the No. 1 spot while the Royals held firm at No. 30. In fact, interestingly enough, only one team in the rankings moved more than two spots in either direction this week: The Mets hold that honor falling three spots to No. 24 overall.

It also appears as if there are three distinct groupings of teams, as the teams comprising the No. 1-10, 11-20, and 21-30 spots in the rankings did not change from last week. In fact, only the Red Sox fell out of a grouping of five teams, dropping two spots from No. 5 to No. 7 this week.

Despite the lack of movement by the teams, there were still plenty of disagreements between myself, Gideo n, Mickey and Joey. For the first time there were no double-digit discrepancies between any of the ranks, but there were six gaps of seven or more, all which occurred with the teams ranked 11-20.

Toronto Blue Jays (9)—Gideon 11, Joey 20

Houston Astros (8)—Joey 17, Gideon 25

Detroit Tigers (8)—Joey 7, Jacob 15

Florida Marlins (8)—Jacob 9, Gideon 17

Atlanta Braves (7)—Gideon 9, Joey 16

Seattle Mariners (7)—Jacob/Joey 14, Gideon 21

On the divisional front, the AL West took charge of the top spot with an average score of 11.38, thanks to a climb by Anaheim and Texas and a drop by Boston, Tampa and Toronto, which saw the AL East drop to an average of 12.20. The AL Central holds the bottom spot for the fourth straight week with an average score of 19.45.

Since its now been two months since those of us at The Cube started putting together these rankings, we thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the changes in the ranks over that time period.

More than half the teams in the league, 16 to be exact, have moved five or more spots, but only two have jumped or dropped by 10 or more.

The Atlanta Braves have vaulted themselves from No. 23 to No. 13 in the rankings, while the Brew Crew has fallen by a dozen spots from No. 7 to No. 19. Only one team managed to stay in the exact same spot as they were back on June 30^th, as the Seattle Mariners have sat tight at No. 16.

You can check out the comparison between Week 1 and Week 8, along with the rest of the backup data here.

So, without further ado, onto the rankings. As always, last week’s ranks in parentheses.

1. New York Yankees (1)—Despite losing two of their last three, the Yanks have won seven of ten and maintain the best record in baseball by 1 ½ games. During a 10-3 loss to Seattle on Sunday, Derek Jeter set a ML record.

2. Los Angeles Angels (3)—Since the Rangers won’t go away, the Angels just keep winning to remain in first place by 4 ½ games. Within this story about Torii Hunter’s painful rehab, there is word that the Angels signed a Pac-10 quarterback.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (2)—The Dodgers have lost seven of their last ten, but still hold the highest run differential in the majors at +116. To keep the Rockies and Giants at bay, the Dodgers will need to play well at home against teams like their current opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers learned that Hiroki Kuroda will miss his next start after being hit in the head last week.

4. Philadelphia Phillies (4)—The Phillies remain the majors’ best team on the road this season, going 37-20 away from Citizens’ Bank Park. While trying to make his way back to the major league bullpen, Brett Myers had a freak injury during his rehab.

5. Texas Rangers (6)—Texas has won five of six, including two of three from Boston to take the lead in the Wild Card race. To get some help for the playoff push, the Rangers traded for Pudge Rodriguez earlier today.

6. Colorado Rockies (7)—The Rockies stumbled in Florida, losing two of three after taking care of business against the NL Central. Unexpectedly, the Rockies were able to sign their first round pick to a record deal.

7. Boston Red Sox (5) —After taking three of four from AL Central leading Detroit, the Red Sox lost two of three to Texas to fall seven games behind New York. The Sox finally gave up on a failed experiment, as John Smoltz was officially released.

8. St. Louis Cardinals (9)—Thanks to solid pitching and poor play from the Cubs, the Cardinals have opened a season-high six game lead in the NL Central. Always looking for more pitching, there is word that the Cardinals are talking to John Smoltz's agent.

9. Tampa Bay Rays (8)—The Rays are staying in the wild card race, but last week’s five-game losing streak has dropped them to 10 games out in the AL East. For two very different reasons, the Rays failed to sign their first two draft picks.

10. San Francisco Giants (10)—The Giants are staying in the race with their pitching, as they continue to lead the league with a team ERA of 3.49. Within this piece, it becomes official that last year’s first round choice Buster Posey will not be called up this year.

11. Detroit Tigers (11)

12. Florida Marlins (14)

13. Atlanta Braves (12)

14. Chicago Cubs (13)

15. Chicago White Sox (17)

16. Seattle Mariners (15)

17. Toronto Blue Jays (16)

18. Minnesota Twins (18)

19. Milwaukee Brewers (19)

20. Houston Astros (22)

21. Arizona Diamondbacks (23)

22. Oakland Athletics (20)

23. Cleveland Indians (24)

24. New York Mets (21)

25. Cincinnati Reds (25)

26. Baltimore Orioles (26)

27. Washington Nationals (28)

28. Pittsburgh Pirates (27)

29. San Diego Padres (29)

30. Kansas City Royals (30)

This article originally posted at Cubicle GM.