1. Tampa Bay Rays (1) (40-23)- The Rays almost get bounced from the top spot in this week’s rankings, but ultimately their consistency gives them the benefit of the doubt. After taking two of three from the Blue Jays, the Rays dropped two of three from their in-state rivals, the Marlins. The starting pitching has shown some signs of weakness but Carlos Pena is really starting to heat up. Pena homered in six consecutive games at one point and BJ Upton’s average has been on the rise, as well. The Rays are finally dealing with a little bit of adversity. Let’s see how they deal with it before removing them from the top spot.
2. New York Yankees (2) (40-23)- I wish I could list the Yankees right next to the Rays this week, but that is not an option. The Yankees have dealt with their fair share of injuries to this point and continue to win games at a consistent pace. That is a testament to Joe Girardi and the job Brian Cashman has done to give this organization some depth in the minor leagues. It seems like every week I say the same thing but Robinson Cano is really coming into his own. We are looking at a perennial MVP candidate, perennial batting title contender, and a tremendous defensive second basemen. With Chase Utley slumping, Cano is the best second basemen in the game.
3. Atlanta Braves (4) (37-27)- The Braves end week 11 fresh off a series win over the Twins and continue to lead the pack in the NL East. Martin Prado leads the league in hits with 90 and Troy Glaus has his average up to .290 with 13 long-balls after hitting under .200 in April. Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson have been a tremendous duo atop the rotation and Billy Wagner has been lights out in the back end of the bullpen.
4. Boston Red Sox (5) (37-28)- Here we are, more than 60 games into the season, and we have three teams in the AL East in the top four spots in these power rankings. Looking back at my pre-season rankings, I was pretty close, with all three of these squads in the top five. Adrian Beltre’s season has flown under the radar for some reason. Beltre is hitting .335 with 9 homeruns and 44 RBI’s. Jon Lester and Clay Bucholz continue to lock down this Red Sox rotation as John Lackey and the rest of the bunch search for some consistency. If the back end of this rotation does find their stuff, the sky is the limit for the Bosox.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (6) (36-27)- The Dodgers impressed me early in the week with a sweep of the Cardinals and then severely disappointed me by getting swept by the Angels. Clayton Kershaw is starting to go deeper in the games along with Chad Billingsley. That is the recipe for success for this Dodgers team. The offense is doing more than enough to keep the wins coming but there has to be some concern for Manny Ramirez. He only has five homeruns so far but he is getting on base at a very good clip. Same old same old for Jonathan Broxton in the ninth inning. He has a 0.95 ERA with 42 strikeouts and only 3 walks. Amazing.
6. Minnesota Twins (3) (36-27)- The Twins have gotten very inconsistent over the last several weeks, with some dominant outings from their starting rotation and less than stellar performances. Joe Mauer has not hit for much power after signing his mega-contract this off-season and Justin Morneau has carried this offense during that time. The Twins are fine but it would be nice to see Mauer show some signs that the power stroke is still there. They have a 2.5 game lead in the division and Detroit will begin to fade sooner or later.
7. San Diego Padres (9) (37-26)- This team is 23rd in batting average, 25th in homeruns, 24th in RBI’s, and 21st in hits, so how are they in first place? Pitching. Pitching. Pitching. They are first in ERA, 2nd in strikeouts, and 1st in WHIP. Their pitching has been unbelievable and as their offense picks up a bit, which it has to realistically, they could distance themselves from the pack a bit. I still don’t think this team has enough to hold off the Dodgers, though.
8. Cincinnati Reds (10) (36-28)- Did anybody see this coming from Scott Rolen? Rolen is now 35 years old and is putting up one of the best seasons of his career. He is hitting .313 with 14 homeruns and 45 RBI’s after hitting 11 homeruns all of last year. Rookie Mike Leake has been nothing short of spectacular after spending 0 days in the minor leagues out of the draft. The Reds lead the league in batting average and 3rd in homeruns but their pitching has not really delivered their end of the bargain. The Reds have only outscored opponents by 27 runs and I still say this team is not as good as their record says. Cardinals still take this division.
9. St. Louis Cardinals (7) (34-29)- It must be really difficult to have three starting pitchers of the caliber that the Cardinals have and still be looking up at the Reds in the division. Jaime Garcia has an ERA of 1.49, Wainwright is at 2.30, and Carpenter sits at 2.54 after his performance on Sunday. Colby Rasmus continues to blossom right in front of our eyes as he hits along side Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. Rookie David Freese still leads this team with a .305 average and in my opinion, it is only a matter of time before the Cards catch the Reds.
10. Texas Rangers (12) (35-28)- Josh Hamilton is on absolute fire and suddenly Vlad Guerrero doesn’t have to carry this offense anymore. Hamilton is on a 9 game hitting streak with 5 homeruns during that stretch. Colby Lewis threw a tremendous game on Saturday, striking out 10 in a victory. Rich Harden still does not appear to be getting his act together, though. That is a major concern for this team because Scott Feldman has not been able to repeat his performance from last year. I have liked this team from the beginning of the season and I believe they can hang onto this division.
11. San Francisco Giants (14) (35-27)- Welcome to San Francisco, Pat Burrell. Pat the Bat is hitting .375 as a Giant with a homerun and 4 RBI’s through 9 games. Since Burrell’s arrival how have the G-men done you ask? 6-3 for a solid winning percentage of .667. Matt Cain has also done his share, as he has absolutely dominated in his last 5 starts. Entering his start on Sunday, Cain had an ERA of 0.26 in his previous 4 trips to the mound. With Burrell in the lineup with Posey, Huff, and Uribe, suddenly the Giants have a legitimate offensive attack. Who knew that all the bat needed was a return to the National League?
12. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (13) (36-30)- After an impressive clean sweep of the in-state rival Dodgers, the Angels now sit in a virtual tie with the Texas Rangers for first place in the division. Even after the devastating and season-ending injury to Kendry Morales, this team has continued to work through their injuries. Mike Napoli has done enough with the bat to stay at first base for the time being but Tony Reagins will probably need to go get a bat to help this squad for the stretch run.
13. New York Mets (16) (35-28)- The Mets took the first series of the week over the Padres and then enjoyed beating up on the Orioles like the rest of the league has. One week after complaining about Rod Barajas’ refusal to take a walk, he is still sitting on just 4 free passes on the season. This lineup doesn’t have a .300 hitter and Jason Bay’s power has been non-existent but their pitching has been surprisingly effective recently. Hisanori Takahashi has done well since he as put into the rotation and Johan Santana has his ERA under 3.00, once again. I am still skeptical that all of this can continue but you cannot argue with the results.
14. Colorado Rockies (15) (33-30)- Ubaldo Jimenez had one of his worst starts of the season and his ERA goes UP to 1.16. He now has 12 wins and 1 loss on the year. Several years ago, it looked like Manny Corpas was going to be one of the top young closers for years to come but he struggled for whatever reason. It is good to see him succeeding in that role once again. His stuff is phenomenal. How good are Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez? These guys are two of my favorite young players in baseball right now and are both a pure treat to watch. This team can put it all together at anytime. They’re like a sleeping giant that has yet to wake up. Wait till they do.
15. Toronto Blue Jays (11) (34-30)- I don’t want to say I told you so again but look at these batting averages drop. Fred Lewis is now hitting .281, Vernon Wells is down to a human .292, and Jose Bautista is now hitting .232. Meanwhile, the struggles with Adam Lind and Aaron Hill that everyone said would not continue, have done just that. Those guys are still hitting .186 and .210, respectively. I do like this front four in the rotation for this team, though. Brandon Morrow is really starting to show signs that he has mastered his phenomenal stuff and when added to the mix of Romero, Cecil, and Marcum this team could be good for a long time. The offensive attack just isn’t there yet.
16. Philadelphia Phillies (8) (32-29)- The slide continues for the Phillies as they were dominated as badly in the first two games of the series against the Red Sox as you will see. The Phils have now dropped to third place behind the Mets and Braves. The once feared offensive attack is now 20th in batting average, 15th in homeruns, 22nd in hits, and 19th in RBI’s. The back end of the rotation is also struggling again, so if the Phillies want to have any chance to take this division, a move needs to be made. It is sad that a team of this caliber would have to depend on a signing of Pedro Martinez or anyone of that nature. General Manager’s responsibilities are to provide depth for your club in case of injuries or struggles. Ruben Amaro has not done that.
17. Detroit Tigers (17) (33-29)- I almost moved the Tigers up just because they traded Dontrelle Willis. Turns out I have to base these rankings on something atleast somewhat legitimate so I kept them at 17. They did sweep the Pirates late in the week but that is the equivalent of beating an invalid in a boxing match. That doesn’t really show me much. Miguel Cabrera is an absolute stud. I don’t know how many more times I can say it but he is really impressive. If he can boost that batting average a little bit, we could be looking at a triple crown candidate.
18. Florida Marlins (19) (31-32)- Any time you can take a series on the road from a team of the Rays caliber, it is very impressive. The Marlins seem to have all the pieces in play to make a run, especially with the recent call-up of the enormous Mike Stanton. Dan Uggla has 14 homeruns, Ronny Paulino is hitting .300, Jorge Cantu has 45 RBI’s, and Hanley Ramirez has not even gotten hot yet. With the way Josh Johnson is pitching, this team could come from behind and cause the Braves some problems in the East.
19. Washington Nationals (20) (31-33)- Wow. That is all you can say about Stephen Strasburg. His electrifying fastball that pushes triple digits is breath-taking. His 90 mph change-up is dazzling and his knee-bending curveball is simply unbelievable. I said this after his first start, but this kid might be the best pitcher in baseball right now. I’m not saying he will be the best pitcher in a year, two years, or whatever. I’m saying Stephen Strasburg is the best pitcher in the game. A little much? I don’t care.
20. Chicago White Sox (22) (28-34)- The White Sox had their four game winning streak halted by Ted Lilly and the Cubs. The Sox were almost no-hit, if not for a single in the ninth by pinch-hitter, Juan Pierre. Alex Rios is hitting well and Paul Konerko has 46 RBI’s but Gordon Beckham and Andruw Jones continue to struggle. Jones was in the leadoff spot on Sunday and attempted to bunt for what could have been the first time in his career. That is a hint when it might be the end for a guy like Andruw Jones. When you find yourself hitting leadoff because the manager wants to get you out of your month long slump, and you are running out of the box trying to bunt. I hope no other teams get scammed into thinking this guy has something left in the tank next season. Andruw Jones is finished.
21. Oakland Athletics (18) (32-33)- I’ve had enough of this team. I really have. I don’t understand the entire organizational philosophy on totally ignoring offense while constantly trading major talent for prospects in continuous process that never really seems to have an end in sight. When does this team take their shot at winning? When do they hold on to some pieces in order to make a push for the playoffs? When does Billy Beane become a buyer at the deadline for a bat to help this anemic offense? These are all questions I have no answers to. Until a bat (s) are added to this team, they are just a tease.
22. Chicago Cubs (21) (28-35)- Ted Lilly took a no-hitter into the ninth on Sunday, before Juan Pierre lined the 1-0 pitch up the middle for a clean single. What is with all these marginal pitching talents throwing no-hitters, perfect games, and shutouts? This really is this year of the pitcher when you have guys like Dallas Braden, Ted Lilly, and Armando Galarraga tossing gems like this. It looks like Sweet Lou is finally going to give more playing time to the youngster, Tyler Colvin. The lineup can only benefit from that move and Lou is only a month late making this decision.
23. Kansas City Royals (23) (27-37)- It’s good to see Zack Greinke getting back to his dominant ways. Greinke had a complete game victory on Sunday as he struck out 12. The offense has been a pleasant surprise for this organization as Billy Butler is hitting .335, David Dejesus is hitting .314, and the vast majority of the rest of their lineup is hitting well over .260. The main issue the majority of this rotation has an ERA over 5.00. Time to bring up the kids, Dayton. Let Gordon, Moustakas, and Ka’aihue play in the big leagues.
24. Milwaukee Brewers (24) (26-37)- This team may have the worst pitching staff in the majors. That is saying a lot with teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore in the league but the Brewers take bad pitching to a whole different level. They did take one step in the right direction by cutting ties with the ridiculous contract of Jeff Suppan this week but he was only in a middle-relief role by the time he was released. After a quick run through the pitching numbers on this team, you get sick to your stomach. Trevor Hoffman’s ERA is still over 9.00 and he may become the new owner of the worst season for a relief pitcher in the history of the game. Breathe a sigh of relief, Mr. Lidge.
25. Arizona Diamondbacks (25) (26-38)- The D-backs have hit their fair share of homeruns this year but the overall average has left much to be desired. They treaded water this week by playing at a .500 clip but there really has been nothing to get excited about all year in Arizona. Chris Young hit a walk-off homerun on Sunday to beat the Cardinals but the Diamondbacks still sit 11.5 games back in a crowded division race.
26. Houston Astros (27) (25-39)- I know I bashed the Astros pretty badly in the first several weeks of the season. Can you really blame me? It was horrendous. This team is really starting to grown on me now, though. After Lance Berkman returned to the lineup and Carlos Lee has gotten back to hitting like he has done for over a decade, this team looks like a competitive baseball team. What in god’s name happened to Wandy Rodriguez? After a tremendous season last year, he is now 3-9 with a 5.60 ERA.
27. Cleveland Indians (29) (25-37)- Top prospect Carlos Santana was called up to the big leagues this week and manager Manny Acta has decided to throw him right into the fire. Santana was batting third in his big league debut and is hitting .286 through his first couple games. Adam Dunn gave him his own welcome to the league party by clobbering Santana at the plate in a collision. Besides the young prospects, though, there is not much to look forward to in Cleveland this season. Fausto Carmona did throw a complete game gem on Saturday and he is starting to look more like the 19-game winner of 2007.
28. Seattle Mariners (28) (24-39)- The Mariners just continue to lose games anyway they can. Even when they had a lead on Friday night, David Aardsma hands the game to the light-hitting Padres. Ian Snell is horrendous, Ryan Rowland-Smith is awful, and the team cannot hit at all. Ichiro is the only man in this lineup you would think twice about pitching to. There is not one other player on this roster that strikes one ounce of fear into an opposing pitcher. And please, stop running Ian Snell out to the mound every 5 days. It’s really getting embarrassing.
29. Pittsburgh Pirates (26) (23-40)- I give the Orioles a lot more grief than these loveable Pirates, but the fact of the matter is the Pirates are just as bad as the Orioles. The Pirates have just been a lot luckier. The Bucs have been outscored by 146 runs and rank 29th in ERA, and 30th in hits. Lastings Milledge hits third in this lineup on occasion and still doesn’t have a homerun as of June 13th. The lone bright spot on this squad right now is Andrew McCutchen, and boy is he a bright spot. He is a spectacular player. Without him on this roster, the 15 fans that show up every night to see this team play probably wouldn’t be there.
30. Baltimore Orioles (30) (17-46)- Boy, is this getting ugly or what? The Orioles are quickly becoming the Detroit Lions of baseball. 17 wins in mid-June? That is beyond awful and it is embarrassing to the organization as a whole. The O’s are 30th in RBI’s and 27th in ERA. How can you get any worse than that? This team has been outscored by 126 runs already through 63 games. Even the young arms that everyone was excited to see have struggled. It seems as if the Orioles reach new low every week and it is my job to find words to describe it. I have to be honest, its getting pretty difficult.
Tags: Angels, Astros, Athletics, blue jays, Braves, brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, indians, Mariners, marlins, Mets, Nationals, orioles, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Reds, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, Twins, White Sox, Yankees
Braves are very solid, once Ruiz, Happ, Madson and Rollins click Phils will nudge them! Would they put Lidge to sleep already! Braves are a wild card team for sure!
John– last week a writer on this website said he had a hunch the Phillies slump was over. I think they’re 5-1 since that statement, and put up 9 runs so far tonight. Hate to say I told you so, but…
Was it Schmitty? Haha Nice call, CK.
Was not Schmitty, I say the Phils still suck and have to take a risk and trade Werth right now TODAY for Lee and start Francisco in right field. Rollins back will off set some of the loss of Werth’s production. PITCHING WINS WORLD SERIES! NOT BIG ERRATIC BATS! WAKE UP RUBIE DOOBIE!
You can go to hell, Johnny G
Dale– what an idiotic comment.
I think you base too much of your rankings on what you THINK will happen and not on what HAS happened. Power rankings are supposed to show the best teams at that particular moment. Right now the Mets are certainly playing like a top 10 team. Overall not too bad. It does seem that right now there are only a few elite teams and a bunch of good teams that could go anywhere from 5th -15th.
That is what makes these rankings slightly different than every other rankings on the internet. I have stated many times that my opinion on what will happen in the future regarding these teams has an effect on my rankings. If you have followed from week one, i have been right most of the time even when the overall majority disagreed. IE: the blue jays, giants, red sox
So you are pretty much saying that you could put any team anywhere you want, because of what you think might happen in the future??
Why call it Power Rankings than? Just call it, “How good I think teams will be in the future, sometime…maybe”
Don’t listen to the haters Johnny G, your rankings are awesome and just as good as anyone else’s. Great Job and keep up the good work.
Thanks Leo. Appreciate the support.
It is great to see you still throwing out your pointless drivel on a weekly basis, you moron. Never in my life have I seen someone so unqualified and ridiculous speaking to the masses. I am embarrassed for you and your family for your lack of knowledge and intelligence. OWNED
Nice to see you are accepting the reality of the Philly’s situation.
You had them ‘way’ too high last week.
I’m not sure how the Pirates have been lucky, except that they played Chicago when the Cubs were really playing poorly earlier in the year. But make no mistake, the O’s and Pirates are at the bottom of that list for lots of justifiable reasons.
All you have to do is look at their run differential to see that they’ve been lucky.
it’s good to see that you dropped us out of that 3 slot. i bought that earlier in the season, but we haven’t played well enough, long enough to maintain that ranking.
Yeah our bats need to heat up a lot to in order to escape from LA. We can’t always count on our pitching to get us through October.
Garland is not going to have a sub 3 era come August, so the bats better pick up big time.
This ranking was pretty fair overall, and a decent analysis of the teams in the league. In the earlier rankings, you had too many slumping teams a bit too high but the slumping teams are now at the bottom and the surging teams at the top.
If anything, I think the Jays’ ranking is too high. They are about to fall back down to Earth.
Actually, I think you’re a bit hard on the A’s. The reason they are constantly trading away good players is because they don’t have the payroll to lock up even one star player long term. Not Billy Beane’s fault, he’s one of the best GMs in the game for my money.
The teams are all around the same area because i had the foresight to see that the Red Sox were not going to be a bad team this year. I did not overreact to a week’s worth of games and totally bury good teams that got off to slow starts.
What in your opinion makes Cito Gaston “horrendous”? He has taken a bunch of individuals and made them into a team that works together and obviously has fun playing together. This was never the case with Tosca or Gibbons. I’m afraid some of the criticism of Gaston is ageist and racially tinged (not from you). I think he is one of the finest managers in the league whose team is exceeded expectations by far.
Mostly his ridiculous quotes and “old-school” style of managing. As far as taking the bunch of individuals bs, that is garbage. The Jays have exceeded expectations but its not because of gaston. It’s because guys like jose bautista and alex gonzalez are having career years well into their 30’s. I don’t watch the blue jays enough to throw specific examples out there but the game has passed cito gaston and guys like him.
I respectfully disagree. I have seen mostly every Blue Jays game for the last decade and I honestly think Cito is doing an outstanding job, though naturally I don’t agree with all of his decisions. No, I don’t think getting a team to play together as a unit is bs. It is a skill than many managers lack.
I don’t think getting a team to play together is BS. I think the fact that you think you can tell if Cito Gaston is getting the 2010 Toronto Blue Jays to play as a unit more so than another manager, when you are sitting at home watching on tv is BS.
I can see the difference. It is pretty obvious from the results whether I’m watching the game at home, sitting in the stands at the ball park, or being in the dugout.
You can see they are playing better. You ever think that could be because they just have better players? The truth is you have no idea what goes on in that clubhouse and it is foolish to claim that you think Cito Gaston has this team “playing together.
your opinions and wording in your blurbs of the poor teams in the MLB absolutely crack me up. Keep it coming, Johnny!
thank you, Donnie. glad i could make you chuckle, big guy.
Excellent job. I agree with Bub when I say you really know how to stay professional.
I see far too many “writers” put their own distorted spin on these power-rankings, wrecking the entire thing. Not to mention, you know your stuff. I can’t really disagree with anything.
I have to commend you for keeping it “inside” while writing the Phillies’ part, and not losing it. It must be frustrating.
Thanks for the great read!
Thanks alot. Appreciate your compliments.
Props for putting the Phillies low. I thought i was going to come on here complaining about how you have the Phillies ranked in the top 10 despite their recent awful play.
Not here, my man. I have no biases whatsoever.
Looks right for my Tigers and the rest of the league. Nice work!
thank you.
I can’t argue with anyone that puts the Yanks over the Rays or the Rays over the Yanks. Either way, they are both just as talented as one another, in my opinion. I will give the Yanks the edge though simply due to experience. When the stretch hits in September, I feel the Yankees experience will get them over the top in the East.
I have to ask you your opinion. I did my own division preseason prognostications just for fun and one “lock” I had was the Phillies to win the East. Early on, they looked like the team I picked, but lately, they’re like the Cardinals. What in the world is going on in Philly, and will it turn around???
Solid rankings. I really like your writing style.
The Phillies were not built with any depth. The blame must go to ruben amaro. When you continuously lock up again veterans with long-term deals, its going to come back to bite you. Kendrick, Moyer, and Blanton right now are awful and when you combine that with the fact that almost every hitter in the lineup is slumping, it makes for a miserable stretch of baseball. If Chase Utley’s average is down in the .250’s, chances are this team is struggling.
You’re right. The hot hitters like Lewis, Wells & Bautista have come down to earth.
The slow starters, Hill & Lind are still slow.
The starting pitching staff is a bright spot. The Bullpen is another story. The blown leads last week have hurt us.
I know I’m right. I am always right…
Pretty nice to see an outsider not just completely bash the blue jays and just call it like it is. The offense is bad and the pitching is great. Even though i am from the toronto area, i think i will be checking these rankings first with my Monday morning cup of coffee. Thanks for the non-biased look at the MLB, Johnny.
You got it. Thanks for the compliment. Toronto is just in a very tough division. It’s ashame.
I don’t have a problem with the placement of the Royals although they might very well be better then the Cubs. I would like our chances against them in a three game set. I have two issues this week. After watching the Reds closely all weekend, their lack of starting pitching and a bullpen worse than the Royals means their ranking is too high, in my opinion. If they were playing anywhere other than the NL Central, they would be middle of the pack. The Tigers are starting to get solid starting pitching after a slow start. They should probably be ranked higher.
A bullpen worse than the royals? They have cordero and arthur rhodes. I’m pretty sure that alone is better than the royals entire bullpen even if you include soria. I’m not a big reds believer either but take it easy over there in kansas city.
Atlanta is way overrated as are Boston, Texas, and SD. As much as I hate to admit it, anyone watching the Reds stub their toes against the might KC Royals for the second year in a row will tell you we are over rated as well. Philadelphia , LAA and in particular, the Blue Jays, should be rated higher. I believe Minnesota, LAA, and even the Diamond Backs are also better than their rankings.
I could not disagree with your post anymore than i do. How is Boston overrated? I realize the majority of this country hates the red sox but they have a very good team. It’s getting old.
Those rankings are pretty generous for my cubs but i really enjoy reading the information on each team. How you can capture that much about a team that is located across the country is beyond me. I have trouble just following my Cubs! Kudos to you Johnny G.
thank you sir. I try my best to stay up to date on each team.
The only rankings that mean anything are the standings.
thanks for your input. That really is meaningful.
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I give the Orioles a lot more grief than these loveable Pirates, but the fact of the matter is the Pirates are just as bad as the Orioles. The Pirates have just been a lot luckier.
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That and the fact the the Pirates have had a lot easier schedule. The Orioles have had the second toughest strength of schedule in MLB, while the Pirates have the 22nd toughest schedule. If the Pirates replace the Astros, Brewers and Cubs with the Yankees, Red Soxes and Rays our luck may run out.
good point.
Wow these rankings are very good. I really enjoyed reading them. This is only my first time so i may go back and check out the previous editions. I agree that Adrian Beltre’s season is flying under the radar. I just saw his stats the other day for the first time in weeks, and I can’t believe his BA or home runs. People outside of Boston really aren’t hearing about the job this guy’s doing.
Thank you. Appreciate it. Adrian Beltre is a stud. I wanted the Phillies to sign him in the off-season instead of Polanco.
Look, I understand 4 walks for the season is ridiculously low, but you seem to be hanging on that fact a little too much. Wright is showing signs of coming back into his form, or is coming back into form, however you wanna see it. Bay will get going eventually (broken record I know, but he will), and Beltran is maybe a month away. If the Mets get another SP they can be dangerous. But, that’s for the future to decide. In the here and now I’d slot the Mets top 10, because they’ve been playing that way. 9-2 in the month of June so far is no joke. Yeah, they beat up on the Orioles, but that’s the first true bottom tier team the Mets have faced this season. They’ve faced below .500 teams, but none I would consider “bottom tier”. Anyway, I was digressing into the future again. I’ll stop here.
I’m not hanging on the fact at all except to provide an interesting statistic for the readers. It is absolutely amazing that any capable major league hitter is sitting here on June 14th with 175+ atbats and has FOUR walks. That is ludicrous. Do i think that is the entire reason the mets won’t make the playoffs? No. But i do find it interesting enough to keep track of an a week-to-week basis.
Why will bay get going eventually? He has looked awful from day one. If the mets get another start, they would be more dangerous but that lineup and rotation doesn’t strike fear into anybody. Until they really start to pull away from people, i will remain skeptical. I think this team is a pretender.
How in the world did the Mets move DOWN in the rankings since your last ranking? We’ve been playing great baseball since that time.
I’m not one of those nasty anti-Phillies fans like some of the folks on this board…just curious…
They didn’t move down, champ. They moved up three spots.
Phils at 16th is well deserved at this point, but Hamels looked dominant yesterday. And once Rollins comes back, and hot weather Howard heats up, the Phillies are a top five team, if not top three. They’ll be there come October/November.
But I admit that I am completely miffed by this slump.
Hamels did look very good yesterday but I don’t think coming out of this slump is as simple as you think. The pitching is already starting to show signs of struggles and they obviously will have some rough patches, the offense will NEED to produce. It won’t be a situation where you can win these low-scoring games anymore. The Phillies are not built with a deep pitching staff. They are built to score runs.
You were doing fine until you referred to Lilley as a marginal pitcher.That puts a big question mark on your whole blog.
I said he was a marginal “pitching talent”. Meaning, he doesn’t have the great stuff that is usually necessary to throw no-hitters and perfect games. He is a fine pitcher in the big leagues but in addition to braden and galarraga, these are pitchers who have no business throwing perfect games.
Gee, shows Naps some love. No mention of Torii & company at all. SP no show. Loves TEX it shows.
I only get 4-5 sentences big guy. Take it easy. Texas is better than you guys anyway.
My opinion on the Blue Jays is we need a new manager, and it would do wonders. Heres a Cito quote for you!
Cito: “We lead the league in home runs. The altitude should’ve helped us.” Jays have scored 16 runs over their last 8 games.
This is who we have managing our major league team.
Agree. Cito Gaston is horrendous. Depending on guys like Jose Bautista to 50+ homeruns a year is also pretty bad though.
Your ability to remain objective is pretty admirable. The language you use in the Yanks, Braves, and Marlins write ups in this weeks rankings particularly, show an A+ effort at separating yourself for your task.
Tell me, if you have an opinion, where does the Braves’ success seem to come from, to you on the outside? Some of us have scratched our heads at the fact that McCann, Chipper, Jurrjens, Escobar, Kawakami, Lowe, and McLouth have all had career lows (or very close) in production so far, and yet they sit in first place with the best run differential in the league.
Some of the answers – Prado, Glaus, Medlen – are obvious enough, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to make up for the struggles mentioned.
High OBP, good bullpen work, and great production off the bench are the leading guesses around here. Is that how you see it? I certainly don’t have a “dominant” kind of feeling for this club, but there they are, if not dominating, at least playing very high quality baseball. You mention that you don’t see the Mets holding it together to make their run last. Why do you (if you do) feel differently about the Braves? Thanks.
Thanks, alot. I appreciate it.
I think the success comes from a very deep roster that doesn’t have many holes. You have Prado leading off and leading the league in hits. Heyward is a stud, even if he is slumping. Chipper is Chipper but he’s still walking enough to not totally kill you. Glaus has been an absolute beast since April. Mccann has not performed up to his career norms but even at this rate, he’s still one of the better catchers in the league. Yunel Escobar has the talent to be one of the best shortstops in the National league.
As far as pitching is concerned, Hudson and Hanson have dominated. Medlen has done well in his return to the rotation and Derek Lowe seems to be finding the form that has made him so succesful over the years. The only question mark in my mind is Kawakami, and when you compare him to the question marks of other teams like the Phillies with Moyer and Kendrick, I wouldn’t be too concerned.
Wagner looks better than ever and along with Moylan and O’flaherty, the back end of the bullpen is as shutdown as its going to get. The bench has also been tremendous.
Thanks much. It’s always helpful to hear from the outside what we can’t see by being too close – or can’t see as clearly. And ESPN def. doesn’t count, as you well note. I agree with your strategy on the rankings, being slower to move a team from an established rank, etc, too, and have been annoyed with the hyper movements on ESPN’s rankings even when it favors the Braves for three seconds.
Keep up the good work, and best of luck. I linked your site the Atlanta Baseball Talk already and will continue to check it out.
Mets should be 6th or 7th, we’ll be in first place within 10 days.
i don’t see that happening at all.
“and in my opinion, it is only a matter of time before the Cards catch the Reds.”
Hope you’re right.
IMO you could have put the Cards anywhere from the current 9 spot all the way through 16, and I wouldn’t really be able to argue that they’re too low.
I would.
Yea thats the way i see it. The Cardinals are a much better overall team than the Reds. With Dusty Baker at the helm, its only a matter of time before they collapse.
Cool, I like it. The Braves and Rays series should be an interesting one. If the Braves can continue to hold their own at home, especially against the best team in baseball, then I have faith that they can beat anyone.
Yea, i agree. That will be a very exciting series to watch. The Braves can beat anybody the way they are playing right now.