Here at numberFire, we like math. We're not about subjectivity. So when we calculate our power rankings, it's not based on what our eyes are telling us or what our feelings say. It's based on straight up math.
For baseball, we use our nERD metric to show how good a team actually is performing. nERD, for those of you who are unaware, tells us how many runs a team should win by against a league-average opponent on a neutral field. A nERD of 1.00, for instance, means that team would beat an ordinary one by a run. If that team was facing a squad with a nERD of -0.5, we'd expect them to win by 1.5 runs.
Take a look at how things are shaping up around Major League Baseball, sorted by nERD.
| Rank | Team | Playoffs | Champs | Division | nERD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Chicago Cubs | 95.80% | 22.00% | 84.80% | 2.45 |
| #2 | Boston Red Sox | 83.50% | 14.00% | 62.30% | 1.91 |
| #3 | Seattle Mariners | 75.10% | 9.00% | 58.60% | 1.49 |
| #4 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 60.80% | 7.30% | 36.80% | 1.21 |
| #5 | St. Louis Cardinals | 41.80% | 3.50% | 8.00% | 1.2 |
| #6 | Washington Nationals | 79.20% | 8.20% | 57.30% | 1.04 |
| #7 | Cleveland Indians | 44.50% | 4.20% | 31.90% | 0.62 |
| #8 | Toronto Blue Jays | 50.00% | 4.00% | 20.50% | 0.57 |
| #9 | New York Mets | 60.80% | 5.50% | 32.40% | 0.55 |
| #10 | San Francisco Giants | 73.50% | 5.80% | 56.00% | 0.49 |
| #11 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 39.70% | 1.40% | 6.90% | 0.48 |
| #12 | Tampa Bay Rays | 9.30% | 0.50% | 2.60% | 0.34 |
| #13 | Baltimore Orioles | 30.80% | 1.80% | 9.90% | 0.32 |
| #14 | Kansas City Royals | 49.30% | 3.20% | 37.00% | 0.07 |
| #15 | Chicago White Sox | 31.80% | 1.40% | 20.40% | 0.05 |
| #16 | Miami Marlins | 24.20% | 0.80% | 8.90% | -0.06 |
| #17 | Houston Astros | 16.20% | 1.00% | 6.90% | -0.22 |
| #18 | New York Yankees | 19.60% | 1.00% | 4.70% | -0.23 |
| #19 | Detroit Tigers | 18.30% | 1.40% | 10.70% | -0.41 |
| #20 | Los Angeles Angels | 12.70% | 0.60% | 5.00% | -0.45 |
| #21 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 5.10% | 0.30% | 2.60% | -0.45 |
| #22 | Texas Rangers | 50.60% | 2.20% | 26.40% | -0.46 |
| #23 | Colorado Rockies | 10.20% | 0.40% | 4.30% | -0.53 |
| #24 | Philadelphia Phillies | 6.00% | 0.10% | 1.40% | -0.91 |
| #25 | Oakland Athletics | 8.00% | 0.40% | 3.00% | -0.92 |
| #26 | Milwaukee Brewers | 2.00% | 0.00% | 0.30% | -1 |
| #27 | San Diego Padres | 0.80% | 0.10% | 0.20% | -1.11 |
| #28 | Minnesota Twins | 0.10% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.5 |
| #29 | Atlanta Braves | 0.10% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.51 |
| #30 | Cincinnati Reds | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -2.18 |