MLB Power Rankings - Week 18 07/28/08

MLB Power Rankings - Week 18 07/28/08

Well, we're back from the break with some extended action......
MLB is in full swing as we enter August. Every division east of the Grand Canyon is hotter than a whore in church as no more than three games separate first and second in five of the six divisions.
-In the AL East, the Rays are holding on for dear life as the Sox methodically work towards first and the white-hot Yankees right themselves from their early struggles.
-The NL East is up for grabs as the Mets just put their claim on the division lead in taking two of three from Philly, meanwhile Florida refuses to go away.
-In the AL Central, the White Sox continue to slug their way through the division with a league-leading 143 HR, but the clutch hitting of the Twins has kept them in the race and now the resurgent Tigers look to put their paw print on the division.
-The NL Central hosts two of the best teams in the NL. The Cubs currently have the upper hand, but the Brewers are chugging along since CC joined the fray. Don't count out the Cardinals as they still have Pujols and who knows what impact the impending returns of Carpenter and Wainwright will have.
-The AL West has long been in the grasp of the Angels and while the Rangers and A's have made some noise, the true test will be to see if the Angels can secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs and maximize their use of that stupid monkey.
-And that brings us to the much maligned NL West, where the only thing hot in this division is the chimichangas they serve on the Mexican border. The putrid-ness of the division has allowed the fan favorite Rockies to make an appearance and their slim grasp of hope for a division title could quite possibly be the only exciting thing to come out of it.

1.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 64-40 (1)
-(7-2) The Angels have stormed out of the gates to start the 2nd half and they certainly look like the best team in baseball. With a solid rotation and an excellent bullpen, they are built to do well down the stretch, however, I find it difficult to take a team that serious that has been batting Maicer Izturis in their 3-hole (.263, 3 HR, 32 RBI in 270 ABs this year). But if it keeps working, they don’t need to fix it. The Angels will also be able to coast into the playoffs as they have practically zero competition from their division rivals.

2.
Milwaukee Brewers 60-45 (7)
-(8-2) The Brewers couldn’t be hotter coming out of the All Star break. They made quite the statement against the Cardinals by sweeping them in St. Louis in a four-game series. They’re led on offense by Ryan Braun, who has hit .384 in July with 8 HR and 22 RBI. Now they enter the week with CC getting the nod in the opening game against division leader Chicago Cubs … who will prevail?

3.
Chicago White Sox 59-44 (4)
-(5-4) Jermaine Dye is having a great year as he homered for the third straight game on Sunday for the third different time this season. Javier Vazquez continues to struggle; he is currently winless since June 17 and currently carries a hefty 4.73 ERA. With Jose Contreras on the DL with a bum elbow, the South-Siders are scouring the trade market for a starting pitcher and are in desperate need of one.

4.
Boston Red Sox 61-45 (3)
-(4-5) The Sox lost all the momentum they had going into the break and were lucky they had Seattle on the schedule as they went 1-5 versus the Angels and Yankees. Jon Lester has made two fantastic starts and the prospects of Beckett & him pitching four times in a playoff series makes Red Sox fans smile. That is, of course, if they make the playoffs. And how could we not bring up the Manny being Manny saga, easily the 2nd-most overblown and over-reported story of 2008, to the equally ridiculous Brett Favre saga. However, this could be huge for the Sox because if Manny is playing for a contract down the stretch, he’s going to put up some monster numbers.

5.
New York Yankees 58-46 (10)
-(8-1) The torrid pace after the break is nice, but can they sustain it? The bullpen has been ridiculously good … Edwar Ramirez and Kyle Farnsworth both retired 27 straight hitters without surrendering a hit, thus the MR no-hitter! They may regress some, but the addition of Marte should keep that pen smoking. The Yankees concern should be in the durability of a rotation that includes Sidney Ponson, Darrell Rasner, and Mike Mussina.

6.
Chicago Cubs 61-44 (2)
-(4-6) Alfonso Soriano made a booming return to the Cubs’ lineup with a three-run homer on Sunday night as the Cubs won 9-6. The week in itself was uninspiring, but they played a majority of the games on the road and still held onto first place. They better get it going fast, and I mean fast, as they hit the road to play the Brewers in a huge four-game series.

7.
New York Mets 57-48 (11)
-(6-4) Well, the bullpen blew a huge lead in the 9th without their closer Wagner, but then the Mets bounced back nicely to take the remaining two games with Wagner notching a save in both of them. The best part was it came against the Phillies and catapulted the Mets into first place. The week culminated in a CG pitched by Ace Johan Santana. The Mets mean business.

8.
Tampa Bay Rays 61-43 (8)
-(6-4) The Rays were baseball’s coldest team going into the break, losing 7 straight. But a little R&R can go a long way apparently, as they were able to get back on track and took back 1st place in the AL East. It also helped that they got disorganized Toronto, fast-fading Oakland and league punching bag Kansas City to start the 2nd half. The true test for this team will be 12 matchups in September against the Sox and Yankees, so their goal for August should be to stretch their lead as much as possible.

9.
Philadelphia Phillies 52-44 (6)
-(4-5) The Phighting Phils were lucky to steal one off of the Mets’ Wagner-less bullpen else they would have been swept out of Queens. And they were able to salvage their week by twice coming back from big leads against the Braves (and punching Mark Teixeira’s ticket out of town as the Braves should switch to all-out sell mode after those choke jobs). The Phillies desperately need their starting pitchers to pitch better or they might end up wondering why they went with the cheap option (Blanton) over the expensive one (Burnett).

10.
Minnesota Twins 57-47 (5)
-(4-5) They hit a tough stretch by going on the road against the Sawx and Yanks and it doesn’t get much easier as the White Sox come into town for a four-game set. Look for the team leaders to step it up as Mauer and Morneau are some of the best in the game, but the infusion of Denard Span into the leadoff spot has brought great dividends and his glove is second to none in RF. Also, the Liriano watch hit red alert and I’d think if the Twins had any hope of winning the division this would be the perfect time to use their Ace in the hole.

11.
Arizona Diamondbacks 53-51 (16)
-(6-3) Maybe the D-Backs just needed a bit of a break to turn their season around. The D-Backs are finally over .500 again and miraculously are still in first place in their division. Acquiring Jon Rauch should be able to stabilize their shaky bullpen and hopefully the D-Backs will show Brandon Lyon the exit out of the closer role sooner rather than later.

12.
Detroit Tigers 53-51 (15)
-(6-4) I can't believe I'm going to say this but if the Tigers hope to take the Central they're going to have to turn on the jets right now while the Twins and White Sox beat on each other this week. The Tigers sent Ivan Rodriguez to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth.

13.
Los Angeles Dodgers 52-52 (16)
-(6-3) The Dodgers took two out of three in Arizona to start out the 2nd half and ended their week by completing a 3-game sweep of the Nationals, holding them to just two runs. And how they have been able to string wins together with Nomar and Jeff Kent as their double-play combination is simply amazing to me. If this were 1998, they’d have the best middle-infield in baseball; sadly, it is 2008.

14.
Florida Marlins 55-50 (12)
-(5-5) The Marlins pitching staff is getting another boost with the return of Anibal Sanchez from the DL on Thursday. With the trade deadline looming, the Fish are in dire need of a catcher and have rumored to have interest in Yorvit Torrealba of the Rockies and Bengie Molina of the Giants. And with 9 of their next 12 games against the Phillies and Mets, they desperately need to get it going in a hurry.

15.
St. Louis Cardinals 58-49 (9)
-(5-6) The Redbirds ran into a stellar Johan Santana this past Sunday and put up only 1 run on the board, which was a solo shot by Sir Albert Pujols. Losers of 6 of their past 7 games, the Cardinals are excited to have Chris Carpenter back to start on Wednesday and Adam Wainwright back in the very near future. Still in need for bullpen help, look for the Cardinals to be part of the George Sherrill and Brian Fuentes trade discussions.

16.
Colorado Rockies 48-58 (25)
-(9-1) The Rockies have gone 9-1 since the All-Star break, thanks to pitching that is finally turning it around and their best offensive production of the season, outscoring their opponents 76-32. If the Rockies continue this hot streak, they are looking more like buyers than sellers at the trade deadline. Will there be a dramatic run to the playoffs this year? I doubt it, but weirder things have happened.

17.
Toronto Blue Jays 53-52 (19)
-(6-4) The Jays came out of the break playing well but unfortunately for them and JP Riccardi it's a little too late as the Rays, Sox, and Yankees are going to be the three teams fighting for the AL East this year. Scott Rolen's shoulder continues to be a problem and Roy Halladay continues to pitch his ass off while getting lousy run support.

18.
Texas Rangers 54-51 (12)
-(4-5) The Rangers started slowly, the Angels started fast and their deficit in the AL West has grown to double-digits. 9 straight road games after the break was a tough schedule handed out to them. But if the Rangers want to get back into the wild-card race, they need much better pitching, as they yielded an average of 5.7 runs per game. That’s even worse when you realize every game they lost was on the road and they only pitched 8 innings in those games. The team’s post-break ERA is over 6, and that includes Padilla’s 3.46 ERA over his last 13 innings (most on the staff). Why they haven’t tried to acquire an stud starter is beyond me.

19.
Atlanta Braves 49-55 (18)
-(4-5) Chipper & Tim Hudson land back on the DL and McCann suffers a nasty concussion. So much for any chance of a run in that tough NL East. Now Atlanta fans can see what uninspiring prospects they’ll receive for Teixiera. Mike Hampton pitched his first game in 1,072 games, and the result … 4 IP, 6 ER. I certainly wouldn’t hold my breath on this guy returning to form.

20.
Oakland Athletics 53-51 (14)
-(2-7) It seems like Eric Chavez’s surgically repaired shoulder can not be repaired any more. So, it seems like the 6-time Gold Glove winner has 2 options: (1) Move to first base or (2) Retire (and not pull any Brett Favre crap). Congratulations to Brad Zieger for breaking a 101-year-old record – he started his career by throwing 27 scoreless innings. Billy Beane will soon reward this accomplishment by trading him.

21.
Cincinnati Reds 50-56 (20)
-(4-6) On 80's night in Cincinnati, the Reds played as if they were the 1982 team which lost 102 games. Starter Homer Bailey lasted just 4 2/3 innings and allowed a whopping 15 hits. Do the math, Bailey retired 14 batters and gave up 15 hits. That is a ratio usually accepted in little league games, not MLB. If you are wondering about Bailey's run support, the Reds had a total of 2 hits in 9 innings.

22.
Houston Astros 48-56 (22)
-(4-5) The Astros are on a roller-coaster ride this season. Some weeks they're on a winning streak and others they can't seem to string together any wins at all. I still can't believe they made a trade for Randy Wolf and also LaTroy Hawkins, as if they plan on being in contention. Does Houston know they're 13.5 games out of first place in the NL Central?

23.
Baltimore Orioles 49-55 (21)
-(4-7) How long will the Orioles organization endure with the struggles of young pitchers Garrett Olson, Brian Burres, and Radhames Liz? All 3 pitchers have an ERA above 5.00 and cannot last more than 5 innings of work. Sure it is hard to go through the learning process of being a major league pitcher, but the line needs to be crossed and under-performing pitchers need to be sent back to the minors. But on the plus side, congratulations for breaking that 15-game Sunday losing streak (Props to the good humor of manager Dave Trembley, for puffing an unlit cigar at the postgame press conference).

24.
Pittsburgh Pirates 48-57 (23)
-(4-7) The Bucs are preparing for the future with the trade to the Yankees. In return for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, the Pirates received an immediate addition to the rotation in Jeff Karstens, a future closer in Ross Ohlendorf, a future starting OF in Jose Tabata and a pitching prospect in Daniel McCutcheon. Seems like a good move, especially when Yankees GM Brian Cashman says, “I have buyer’s remorse right away.” The only question now is if they will move any more players (see: Bay, Jason) before Thursday’s deadline.

25.
Cleveland Indians 45-58 (27)
-(4-5) As it was eluded to last week, one must wonder why we expected the Indians to be any good this year, it being an even year and all. Here are their win totals in the past few seasons: ’04: 80; ’05: 93 (just missed playoffs); ’06: 78; ’07: 96 (just missed World Series). So naturally they are sucking. Although I must say, this version of the Indians doesn’t look like they’re returning to prominence next year or anytime soon.

26.
Kansas City Royals 47-59 (26)
-(4-6) The Royals are so irrelevant that it’s surprising they are only 12 games under .500. They started out good, taking 2 of 3 in Chicago before getting swept at home against the Tigers. Billy Butler has been absolutely raking since the break (.314, 4 HR, 14 RBI) and showing signs that he can be a big-time slugger for them. Unfortunately, Alex Gordon continues to disappoint, which must be twice as hard for the Royals management to endure as they watch other young 3rd baseman in the league tear it up (Longoria and Wright, to name a couple).

27.
San Francisco Giants 43-61 (24)
-(3-6) The Giants continue to be awful but it's not like anyone reading this didn't already know that. The next time the Giants make the playoffs it will be because of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. Once the trade deadline passes we can hopefully begin to see a youth movement in San Francisco. The Giants should be ready to compete for the NL West by 2010.

28.
San Diego Padres 41-65 (28)
-(4-7) In the words of Ron Burgandy, “Boy, that escalated quickly ... I mean, that really got out of hand fast!” I’m not referring to their meteoric rise to success, but there catastrophic fall to failure since that fateful playoff game against the Rockies. What happened to Khalil Greene this season (BAVG .215)? Someone must have hit him with a trident. You Stay Classy, San Diego!

29.
Seattle Mariners 39-65 (29)
-(2-7) Ichiro collected his 2,998th hit on Sunday! Hold your umbrellas Seattle, those are combined MLB and Japan ball numbers, so it isn’t that big of a deal. But when you’re as bad as the Mariners, you need something to keep you going, so enjoy! Funny though, how when he wins rookie of the year, no one wants to consider his time in Japan as relevant, but when milestone stats come into play, everyone likes to count it … talk about having your sushi and eating it too.

30.
Washington Nationals 38-67 (30)
-(2-7) This team is going absolutely nowhere. If they even sniff .500 in the next 4 seasons, I’ll eat my face. After scoring a season-high 15 runs last Sunday, they proceeded to score only 9 runs in their next six games. They were shutout 3 times in a week! They lost to Barry Freaking Zito! They are dead-last in every major batting category. That’s tough to do.

MLB Power Rankings

MLB Power Rankings - Week 18 07/28/08

Popular Blogs

Last viewed:

Subscribe

User login

Poll