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June 11, 2012
9:05:52 AM
Entry #: 3930200
| Tough choices this week as a lot happened with many teams pretty much interchangeable in the standings.
1) Stockmen’s Irish (7-3) (4-0)
Had a good week. Beat FanHQ in league (new sexy pick with Blue Package). 4-0 in Skyline, looks like champs are getting on a roll.
2) St. Paul Capitals (7-3) (4-1)
On a 5 game win streak including wins over Sport and Spine and the River Pirates. Biggest mover this week.
3) Bloomington Bandits (9-3) (1-0)
Tied atop the Riverview with Hopkins. Beat Minnetonka this week in Riverview play. Big game with St. Louis Park coming up on the 18th of June.
4) Minnetonka Millers (10-2-1) (0-1)
Rough week with a tie and two losses (Bloomington and Victoria). Looks like the bats are silent right now, nobody is going to feel bad for Minnetonka, but we all know that they will get it all put together again quickly.
5) American Pie Patriots (8-4) (3-0)
Won two P Nash games this week and beat Shamrocks. Beat the Angels (a lot of people’s pick to win the Park National). Looks like the Patriots are making a big push to take the Park National this year.
6) St. Paul Shamrocks (5-2) (3-0)
3-0 in St. Paul league is looking good (beat Blue Package and Highland Park this week). June 30th matchup with the Capitals looks to be a huge midseason contest. Shamrocks look to be having a better league record this season and should have an easier path to the State Tourney.
7) St. Louis Park (11-4) (1-1)
Park got beat by a good Hopkins club in Riverview play. Beat Miesville and Lakeville. Always will be there in the end.
8) Hopkins Berries (3-1) (2-0)
Beat St. Louis Park in Riverview competition (tied with Bloomington for Riverview lead). Big test against the Minneapolis Angels on 6/11. Should contend for a state tournament spot from the Riverview.
9) Minneapolis Angels (6-4) (4-1)
Good Park National record. Lost to the Patriots, but look to be playing good baseball. Has a good non league test against Hopkins.
10) FanHQ Fantoms (3-0) (3-0)
Fantoms sneak into the rankings partially because of the 3-0 record, but mostly because of the other teams that have dropped off. We will find out more about FanHQ as the season moves along.
Dropped: Sport and Spine – tough to do here, but they dropped to .500 baseball. Still plenty of time to jump back in.
Next In: Blue Package (still sexy pick) is hard to put into the top ten yet, because of no website. No idea what the overall picture of this team is, other than word of mouth and some scores from teams that post scores. River Pirates – another team that doesn’t carry a website, but is traditionally pretty solid. Looks like they have some decent showing this season.
Random Thoughts: The Pub continues to struggle, now sitting at 3-9 overall and 1-4 in the Park National. Still time to get it going (oh who are we kidding, a team like the Pub only needs to get on a roll for playoffs and they will be fine) but still odd to see them sitting near the bottom of the Park National league. Minneapolis Lakers, are they starting to see the effects of such a heavy schedule? 33 very strong opponents this season, which is typical Lakers, but no rest and they need to bring it every game. Will it payoff again this year? Metro Knights are completely off the board now. Tough stretch for them.
Predictions for top three state tourney teams for each league (yes this is WAAAAY too early, but what the hell):
1) Park National = Patriots, Angels and Lakers/Pub
In this order. The only change will be if Lyons Pub can get hot, then it’s a tough break for either the Pats or Angels.
2) Riverview = Minnetonka, Bloomington, St. Louis Park/Hopkins
Same finish as 2011, but Hopkins could give St. Louis Park a big run for their money this year. Other than Hopkins, no big surprises here.
3) Skyline = Stockmen’s and roll the dice.
Is there any other league where there is no clue as far as who makes the tournament? Stockmen’s is clearly the class of the Skyline, but all others need to step up.
4) St. Paul = Capitals, Shamrocks and River Pirates
No way the Capitals miss out on the state tournament again this year. Shamrocks will play like they should (and could take the crown, but I think the Caps get rolling). River Pirates will over take Diesel and Sport and Spine will again be on the outside looking in.
I don't meant to bash any teams or leagues, but Skyline league, yes any team can beat any team on any day. However please know that your league is too crazy to pick a 2 and 3. Sport and Spine, your team normally has a good year and should have made the state tournament a few times recently, but somehow someway it doesn't happen. With Shamrocks and Capitals being locks this year there is only 1 more spot. Not happening.
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