Rankings as of May 1, 2016

[oldskool42]

Man did I struggle with the rankings this week.

1. St Marks (11-2). 2-2 vs top ten. Beat Sals and Carv but lost to Smy, Appo

2. Caravel (9-3). 2-2 vs top ten. Beat Smy and Cape but lost to St Mks and Sals.

3. Mtown (10-2). 3-2 vs top ten. Beat Smy, Appo, Tech but lost to Cape and St G.

4. Smyrna (9-2). 3-2 vs top ten. Beat St Mks, Appo, Dov but lost to Mtown and Carv.

5. Sals (7-3). 3-2 vs Top ten. Beat Carv, Appo, St G but lost to St Mks and Tech.

6. Appo (10-3). 1-3 vs top ten. Beat St Mks, lost to Smy, Sals, Mtown.

7. Dover (11-2). 1-2 vs top ten. Huge win over Cape 10-0, lost close ones to Smy, Tech

8. Cape. (8-2). 1-2 vs top ten. Huge loss to Dover this week 10-0. Beat Mtown, lost close game to Caravel.

9. St Georges (8-2). 1-1 vs top Ten. Beat Mtown, lost big to Sals.

10. Sussex Tech (8-4). 2-1 vs top ten. Wins over Sals this week and Dover prior while losing late to Mtown did enough to earn a top ten spot.

 

[SussexCountyFair]

S.Tech has good wins against Dover and Sallies. But losing to CR, Newark and Woodbridge knocks them out of the top 10 for sure.

 

[oldskool42]

SCF - I can't argue with that. But my next best team is Conrad who hasn't beaten anyone in the top ten and got destroyed by St Marks. These rankings were tough and I'm curious what others think.

 

[gone*country]

Oldskool........your are correct. The rankings were very difficult and for the most part I agree with the exception of the #1 spot. I believe either Smyrna or Middletown should be there. They are the only teams with 3 Top 10 wins plus Smyrna beat St. Marks head to head. Since Middletown beat Smyrna maybe they are deserving of the #1 spot. Again, as you stated, its a struggle.

SCF.......who would you have at the #10 spot instead of Tech? Your are correct that they loss to CR, Newark and Woodbridge but they also beat Sallies and Dover. Since Sallies loss to Central and Tech and neither of them are in your Top #10 should Sallies be taken out?

 

[SussexCountyFair]

Believe I'm not saying his rankings are wrong. Rankings are never easy and mostly off good options. I didn't really take into considered the #10 spot was so close. Now your comment about Sallies lets be honest they are one of the top programs in the state and losing to S.Central and S.Tech is better then losing to CR,Woodbride and Newark at least those two teams Sallies lost too are somewhat decent. The 10 spot in my opinion is really between three teams. Conrad S.Tech and Polytech. I've always had Polytech there but lost to a good Cape team 4-1. Conrad same way hasn't beat any top team teams yet either. Tech has but they also lost to teams who aren't even in the top 25-30 range. Polytech losses are Dover 2-1 Cape 4-1 and Archmere 9-1 besides the Archemere games those are all somewhat close. Conrad losses St.E 4-3 and St.Marks 13-3. Tech good wins but lost to a 3-7 Woodside team 4-1 lost to a decent Newark team 5-4 a 5-4 CR team 2-1 good loss to M-Town 13-10. And on top of that barely beat a 0-10 Seaford team 12-11. Looking at the games those teams lost I'd stick with Polytech.

 

[oldskool42]

Gone*country- I definitely looked to drop St Marks out of the number #1 spot but I just don't see anyone else there. I think the top 5 are solid and an argument could be made for any order. I don't think Mtown or Sallies are #1. I think St Marks, Caravel and Smyrna could put up a decent argument for #1.

Also if we agree that the top five is solid, then I would argue that St Marks is the only team to have 2 wins over other top 5 teams giving them a slight advantage over the others.

 

[gone*country]

SCF...I see your logic in the #10 spot and all three are deserving or at least #10, #11 & #12. Maybe in Oldskool eyes the 4 previous losses were over shadowed by the Sallies win? Either way its nice to debate and the next 2 weeks are going to be interesting. I believe any of these teams mentioned in the Top #10 plus P Tech and Conrad have a chance to be in the tournament at the end. Should make for a great Post Season.

Oldskool.... your points are all valid. For now, I see St. Marks in the #1 spot by a VERY slim margin. The loss to Smyrna and their next 11 day game schedule should solidify or change our minds. They play Sallies, S Tech and Cape. Going to be interesting down the stretch.

 

[DE-Sussex]

Here's a little coach speak to add to the discussion...I think that on any given day anyone in the top 20-25 are capable of beating anyone. Teams will play up/down to their competition.

It's all about who is hot at any given time. A weeklong streak could be 1 game or 4 depending on a situation. Thus when this happens is key and could have a big impact on your season. An injury to a key player makes a huge impact

Good pitching beats good hitting more often than not and you're only as hot as youre next day's opposing starting pitcher. Some teams may be seeing every ace, some may be lucky enough to face the #2 or 3 based on the schedule. For some a bad day might be traveling issues, or routine changes like having a game on a day school is closed.

A 2 out hit with runners on base, or the ability to stop the bleeding is key.

Teams can't simply throw their gloves on the field and think they're gonna win.

Just look at last year's season. Cape struggled early but then got hot and went to the finals. Appo flew under the radar and ended up winning it all as a higher seed.

 

[8yaz]

News Journal May 2

1. St. Mark’s (11-2) 1

2. Caravel (9-3) 5

3. Middletown (10-2) 4

4. Smyrna (9-2) NR

5. Dover (11-2) NR

 

[oldskool42]

Just as i move Mtown up in the rankings, they disappoint me with a loss to Friends. Not taking anything away from friends, but in my rankings i had Friends just outside of my top 20. So i really consider this a pretty big upset. But to DE-Sussex' point...any given day. Good job Friends....thanks for making next week's rankings even harder.

 

[pksundevil]

Friends winning puts them in good shape to get a winning record. That helps their opponents with bonus points, right?

 

[oldskool42]

Absolutely PKSUNDEVIL. It also helps Friends with their own playoff status.

 

[8yaz]

I thought Friends was going to end Red Lions run.