Little League World Series 2010: Ranking the Bracket

The Little League World Series reminds fans why baseball is the game we love. It is baseball at its purest. The players are playing with smiles on their faces and are playing purely for the love of the game. There are no steroids, contract disputes, or players who lack hustle. There are simply kids having fun and playing baseball.

Although it is very enjoyable to watch, the Little League World Series does need to end at some point and it will on Sunday at 3 p.m eastern, on ABC. Until then, there are five games remaining and five teams that still have dreams of winning the World Series.

Since someone has to win, let’s take a look at Georgia, Hawaii, Texas, Japan, and Chinese Taipei to see who has the best chance of winning.

Georgia           

Georgia lost to Hawaii 7-5 yesterday, but will need to beat them today if they want to play Texas for the U.S championship. The kids from Georgia will be hoping they can redeem yesterday’s loss, but Hawaii has already proven they can beat Georgia, so it looks like Georgia will be going home later this afternoon. The loss to Hawaii was Georgia’s first of the tournament, so it will be interesting to see how they rebound.

Hawaii

Hawaii is ranked ahead of Georgia because they have already proven they can beat them. It is hard to beat a team twice, but with a chance to play for the U.S title on the line, the kids from Hawaii look like they will find a way to face Texas. Hawaii lost its first game of the tournament, but is on a three-game winning streak and looks to have found a rhythm.

Texas

For the fourth time in seven years, a Texas team will be playing in the U.S final. This Texas team had been known for its first-inning fireworks, but recently had to come from behind to stave off a tough Washington squad. Texas was down by two with just three outs to work with, but they found a way to score four runs and come away with a 7-5 victory. The Texas team is currently 3-1 and they have shown they are strong, but both remaining international teams are undefeated and look to be strong opponents. Expect Texas to win the U.S, but not the tournament.

Japan

Japan is 3-0 and it is hard to not pick them to win the tournament, but they simply have not been as dominant as Chinese Taipei. Japan has been to nine championship games and is always a strong, dominant, fundamental team. They play a lot of small ball and execute everything almost flawlessly. The Japanese kids are a lot of fun to watch because of how well they play the game. Unfortunately for this year’s team it looks like they will not play for the championship, despite being one of the two best teams in the tournament.

Chinese Taipei

This team is currently 3-0 and has outscored their opponents 46 to 1 in those three games. It is hard to pick against a team that has been so dominant throughout. Chinese Taipei has shown it can score a lot of runs and limit their opponents to very few. They can hit the long ball, and they can also lay down a bunt. This team is fundamentally sound and it will be surprising to see someone else win the tournament.