Softball: The most messed up rankings ever

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I am the first to say that rankings don’t mean anything. Then again, it’s one of those things that fall squarely on my remarkably broad and well-chiseled shoulders, so I take it more seriously than I probably should. This is why I get paid the big bucks, left.

After this past weekend’s softball meltdown at the Nike Faster to First tournament, which was put together by Anaheim Canyon coaches Lance Eddy and Dan Hay and brought together a collection of some of the most highly ranked teams in the nation, the Southland’s Top 25 rankings were a mess. Good teams fell by the wayside, unknown teams stepped to the fore. Team A lost to Team C, which beat Team B but was beaten by Teams D and E. There seemed to be a lot of algebra in the mix.

So why did teams move up or down, or remain the same in this most unusual week? For a rare explanation, read on:

1. Corona Santiago (8-1) assumes the top spot in place of La Palma Kennedy (10-1) because it played a more impressive cast of teams in the tournament. Kennedy came through the losers bracket. Both were beaten by Ayala, but their body of work and their level of talent still make them the top two teams in the Southland.

3. Valencia remained No. 3. Had Norco not been pushed to the limit by Long Beach Wilson, maybe Norco would have assumed this spot. Either could interchange easily. If Norco wants to cry foul, I wouldn’t argue with it.

5. El Modena (6-5-1) may be too high, probably at the expense of Thousand Oaks, which beat the Vanguards earlier this season. Maybe I just got caught up in the fact that El Mo beat Ayala in the third-place game and have played six teams in this week’s rankings that are 12th or higher.

6. Ayala (6-4-1), believe it or not, probably would have been No. 1 had it beaten El Modena. It defeated Kennedy and Santiago, but the Bulldogs had a season-opening doubleheader loss to El Toro on their resume. They can blame it to not being game ready, but El Toro faced the same circumstances. Just because you weren’t ready doesn’t mean you aren’t accountable.

7. San Pedro (9-1) dropped from No. 4. The Pirates simply can’t move up to No. 1 because the teams in front of them lose. They purposely avoid these types of tournaments, and turned down an invitation to this one. Coach Tony Dobra doesn’t feel he has the depth to compete in a day-after-day grind. Fair enough, but no guts, no glory.

9. Thousand Oaks (3-1) didn’t play last week. The Lancers should benefit once they get quality more games under their belts, but they have a legitimate gripe for getting skipped by El Modena.

10-14. As difficult as it is to rank the top nine, it really gets wacky from here on out. El Toro (8-4-1) lost to El Modena and surprisingly to Long Beach Wilson, but also defeated Valencia. Basically, the Chargers were a push and remained No. 10, followed by teams that moved up through attrition.

15. Long Beach Wilson (6-3) was overshadowed by Ayala. Another field filler (like Ayala and Norwalk), the Bruins beat Garden Grove Pacifica and El Toro, and led Norco in the top of the eighth inning before losing. For winning only two games, they had a great tournament and went virtually unnoticed. Not anymore.

16. Mission Viejo (8-3-1) played in the Saddleback tournament and lost to No. 14 Marina. The Diablos must have known they weren’t going to remain No. 11.

17. Eight of the nine opponents faced by Camarillo (4-5) were ranked by The Times or in the Fab 50. The Scorpions went 2-1 against the Fab 50, and added a victory over Vista Murrieta (2-3), which is No. 18.

19. One of the burning questions as the weekend developed was how far to drop Garden Grove Pacifica (4-7)? Should the Mariners even be ranked? Sixth a week ago, they saved face with a victory over Hart, but they’re hanging on by a thread.

20.Hart (7-3) started the year off at No. 3, but was carried to the bottom of the pack by the Pacifica anchor.

21-23. The Marmonte League’s Simi Valley (4-0), Westlake (3-0) and Agoura (5-0) went a combined 1-0.

24. La Serna (7-2) is supposed to be really good. Seriously.

25. La Mirada (4-2) is traditionally a strong program, but the Matadors are here for one reason only: A doubleheader sweep of previous No. 14 Foothill, 11-2 and 14-11. Who knows if La Mirada will remain but for one day, it had all the magic of Ayala.