2008 BRASSball Preview - Summary

With our divsion-by-divsion reviews complete, I thought it would be interesting to compile the projected records into one projected end-of-season standings grid. You can find that chart below. (Click on it to enlarge.)

There is likely a large margin-for-error for each team's projected record -- and many more roster moves will certainly be made before the 2008 season begins (including our annual draft). However, these standings should provide a reasonable benchmark of where each team currently stands.

The AL East projects to be an exciting three-way race between Windy City, Tinley, and Hessville. The stakes may be high, as it will be tough for any of these teams to earn a Wild Card berth. Cook County and Plaza project to earn two post-season berths from the AL Central, with Santa Barbara and Malibu also looking like strong playoff candidates from the AL West.

In the NL East, Springfield and Glen Allen will likely fight for one post-season berth between them. Fleetwood and Bloomington project to make the playoffs from the NL Central, with Ocala and Metropolis also showing as strong post-season bets from the NL West.

In terms of total wins by division, the NL Central shapes up to be the strongest division in BRASSball with 387 combined wins. The AL West (336 combined wins) and NL West (334 combined wins) are in a virutal tie for for second. The AL Central is fourth with 323 combined wins. The AL East (291) and NL East (274) finish fifth and sixth in combined wins respectively.

Looking at payroll by division, the AL Central combines for nearly $168 million in total salary. The AL West and NL Central finish second and third with $167 million and $165 million respectively. The AL East's total of $135 million finishes a distant fourth, with the NL West ($123 million) and NL East ($121 million) rounding out the league.

One might judge each team's payroll efficiency by looking at dollars spent per projected win. According to the standings above and each team's current payroll, the "most efficient" and "least efficient" teams are as follows. (Note: These rankings are for entertainment only, as both playoff-caliber and non-playoff caliber teams appear on both Top 5 lists.)



And with that, this multi-part series comes to an end. I hope you enjoyed reading these articles as much as I enjoyed compiling them. I wish each BRASSball team the best of luck in 2008.