NECBL Power Rankings: Gulls lead the pack

Three days. Somehow, that's all that is left of the NECBL regular season. Two months have flown by, as this is my last regular season edition of my power rankings. The Newport Gulls are No. 1 yet again in this week's rankings, firmly securing the top spot with a league-high 26 wins. However, they haven't clinched the Southern Division thanks to a late push from the Mystic Schooners, while the Vermont Mountaineers meanwhile have a firm hold and can clinch their second consecutive Northern Division title tonight.

However, the rest of both divisions are dead heats. Just three games separate teams two through five, while the battle for the final three spots in the South comes down to 2 1/2 games. Head to head, this has been fun, and both will come down to the wire. After the first three teams, these rankings were near impossible to determine.

Just as a note, please feel free to contact me with comments either on Twitter (@bradleysmart15) or via email: bsmart17@student.u32.org

1. Newport Gulls (26-12) - (1)

The defending NECBL champs pieced together an eight-game winning streak that ended a few days ago to reach 25 wins for an unprecedented 15th straight season. Even without first-half ace James Karinchak, the Gulls still have a 3.20 ERA in July (2nd) while going 15-5.

2. Mystic Schooners (25-15) 2 (4)
Newport hasn't clinched yet thanks to Mystic, who've heated up and are on a five-game winning streak. The Schooners, leading the league in ERA (2.53) by 70 points, have won seven of 10 and sit just two games out of first place. The bullpen is among the leagues best, as they're 21-1 when leading after seven.

3. Vermont Mountaineers (24-15) 1 (2)
Vermont technically dropped a spot in this weeks rankings, but that's due to playing one less game. They can clinch the Northern Division title for the second consecutive season tonight against Sanford, so home-field advantage through the first two rounds is in store. A seven-game winning streak helped.

4. New Bedford Bay Sox (21-19) 5 (9)
A 5-1 stretch has vaulted the Bay Sox into third place into the Southern Division as they've won six of 10. En route to their first winning season since 2012, New Bedford climbed five spots after beating the likes of Ocean State, Vermont and Mystic.

5. Sanford Mainers (21-18) - (5)
Sanford didn't move in the last week or so after going 4-3, but it was enough to pull a half game up on Laconia for the second playoff spot and home field advantage in the first round. However, they place Vermont twice in the next few days and could easily be passed by Laconia.

6. Laconia Muskrats (21-19) 3 (3)
After conceding first place in the North last week to Vermont, Laconia has continued to fall. Losing Braxton Martinez and James Davision hasn't helped, as the Muskrats offense scored just 3.2 runs per game (.227 team average) and went 3-7 over their last 10 games.

7. Ocean State Waves (19-19) - (7)
The Waves didn't move for the second straight week as they are the only .500 team in the league after dropping back-to-back games. They were recently leapfrogged by New Bedford and now sit in fourth with the last playoff spot, but hold a 1 1/2-game lead.

8. Plymouth Pilgrims (18-21) 2 (10)
Winners of two straight, including a 3-2 win over first-place Newport, Plymouth sits just 1 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. Meanwhile, triple-crown candidate Brent Rooker leads the league in home runs (9) and RBIs (31) but sits 18 points behind the leader in average.

9. North Adams SteepleCats (19-21) 1 (8)
Valley practically gave the SteepleCats a playoff spot, as North Adams has gone 5-5 over their past 10 games while the Blue Sox plummeted. They're hitting just .235 as a team (11th) and have a pitching staff that is ninth in ERA. Still, they hold a half-game advantage in fourth.

10. Valley Blue Sox (18-21) 4 (6)
Valley is trending sharply downward, as they're on a four-game skid that has dropped them out of a playoff spot in the North. Only a half-game out of fourth, the season obviously isn't over, but the Blue Sox are just 2-8 over their last 10 games and rank near the bottom of the league in both average and ERA.

11. Danbury Westerners (12-27) - (11)
After going 1-7 in the past week, any hope that Danbury could extend a four-game winning streak was quickly dashed. The Westerners are en route to a third consecutive season with less then 20 wins and have had sub-.500 records in more then half of their 21-year old existence.

12. Keene Swamp Bats (11-28) - (12)
Well, not much to be said here. Keene has already set a franchise high for losses by four games, and there is still three games left in the season. The championship season of 2013 seems like ages ago, as they've gone a combined 32-49 the past two years.