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.
| Team | Playoffs | Champs | Division | nERD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Chicago Cubs | 98.70% | 23.80% | 91.80% | 2.43 |
| #2 | Boston Red Sox | 75.50% | 12.00% | 50.00% | 1.77 |
| #3 | St. Louis Cardinals | 44.60% | 3.50% | 5.40% | 1.23 |
| #4 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 65.80% | 8.40% | 44.20% | 1.22 |
| #5 | Seattle Mariners | 58.60% | 6.20% | 40.30% | 1.00 |
| #6 | Cleveland Indians | 65.90% | 7.80% | 52.80% | 0.95 |
| #7 | Washington Nationals | 79.20% | 7.40% | 54.20% | 0.90 |
| #8 | New York Mets | 66.30% | 5.00% | 35.70% | 0.65 |
| #9 | Toronto Blue Jays | 55.00% | 6.00% | 26.20% | 0.59 |
| #10 | San Francisco Giants | 68.80% | 4.80% | 50.70% | 0.43 |
| #11 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 28.80% | 1.00% | 2.60% | 0.36 |
| #12 | Tampa Bay Rays | 9.70% | 0.60% | 3.10% | 0.28 |
| #13 | Baltimore Orioles | 41.00% | 2.50% | 16.30% | 0.27 |
| #14 | Detroit Tigers | 28.60% | 1.40% | 16.80% | 0.03 |
| #15 | Houston Astros | 23.30% | 1.40% | 11.70% | -0.06 |
| #16 | Miami Marlins | 29.30% | 1.10% | 9.30% | -0.10 |
| #17 | Kansas City Royals | 32.00% | 1.60% | 19.90% | -0.25 |
| #18 | Texas Rangers | 60.80% | 3.10% | 40.60% | -0.27 |
| #19 | Chicago White Sox | 19.50% | 0.60% | 10.50% | -0.29 |
| #20 | New York Yankees | 13.90% | 0.60% | 4.40% | -0.35 |
| #21 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 4.50% | 0.30% | 2.40% | -0.44 |
| #22 | Los Angeles Angels | 11.80% | 0.60% | 5.40% | -0.46 |
| #23 | Colorado Rockies | 6.40% | 0.30% | 2.50% | -0.69 |
| #24 | Milwaukee Brewers | 2.40% | 0.00% | 0.10% | -0.82 |
| #25 | San Diego Padres | 1.00% | 0.00% | 0.20% | -0.85 |
| #26 | Oakland Athletics | 4.40% | 0.10% | 1.90% | -0.92 |
| #27 | Philadelphia Phillies | 4.30% | 0.00% | 0.80% | -0.94 |
| #28 | Minnesota Twins | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.41 |
| #29 | Cincinnati Reds | 0.20% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.65 |
| #30 | Atlanta Braves | 0.10% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -1.66 |