MLB Power Rankings- Week 13 06/23/08

MLB Power Rankings- Week 13 06/23/08

Interleague rivalries are awesome.

The MLB schedule-makers blessed us with more interleague play this week (with more to come!) which has mostly just reaffirmed that the American League teams are just much, much better than their National League brethren. The AL teams combined to go 49-35 this week, stretching their season advantage to 96-72. Basically, an AL team beats an NL team at the efficiency of a playoff-caliber team over the course of the season. And if you remove the performances of Toronto & Seattle (who both had managerial changes this past week), the rest of the AL went 46-26 this week – that sort of winning percentage would equal a 104-win pace if one team was to play at that clip. If anyone brings up reasoning on how the NL is better, we’d love to hear it, because the NL is clearly inferior. Yet the Cubbies have retained the top spot. You figure it out.

1.
Chicago Cubs 48-28 (1)
-(3-3) Derrek Lee during an interview earlier this week on ESPN’s PTI said he was happy for the White Sox when they won the World Series in 2005. If any Cubs fans took that the wrong way all their qualms should have been quashed this past weekend as the Cubbies swept their inter-city rivals. Ryan Dempster improved to 8-0 at home, and increased their lead to 4.5 games in the NL Central, which is ever more important now that they have to weather injuries to both Soriano and Zambrano.

2.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 46-30 (2)
-(4-2) I’m amazed by the Angels, as they are only +13 in run differential this year yet are 16 games over .500. They also just swept the Phillies and they were +11 in runs against them. The Angels have a special talent of winning close games and getting their asses kicked. A lot of that has to do with Francisco Rodriguez, who has saved 30 games this year (out of 46 wins) and is on pace to save 64 games, which would obliterate Bobby Thigpen’s record of 57 saves in a season.

3.
Boston Red Sox 47-31 (3)
-(3-3) Dice-K’s return to the DL was subsequently his worst outing and first loss. Papelbon blew a save (but they recovered). A 3-3 week against NL teams? Shouldn’t there be panic in Red Sox Nation?!? Not this week, not after the Celtics won the NBA title. I’ll admit it too; it was tough getting back into the Sox after the Celtics’ incredible playoff run. On a scale from 1 to 100, the intensity of playoff basketball fluctuates between 90 and 100. The intensity of June baseball: About a 4. Not exactly the same rush.

4.
Tampa Bay Rays 44-31 (7)
-(4-2) The Rays continue to hang around like Mike McDermott. These kids got alligator blood. The Rays swept the top-notch Cubs and then lost two close ones to Astros. The other shoe seems like it could be dropping at any point, but they continue to hold it together. Look for some pre-4th fireworks when they meet up with the Sox next week, as 1st place in the AL East should be up for grabs.

5.
Philadelphia Phillies 42-35 (4)
-(1-5) Do you think the Phillies can’t wait for July? Because the rest of June is six more interleague games and the Phillies morph into the Mariners for these games. Winning just one game in a six-game home-stand is troubling. Granted those games were against the crème de le crème of the AL, but for a team that has World Series aspirations, this is not a good development.

6.
Chicago White Sox 41-34 (5)
-(3-3) Being swept away by cross-town rival Cubs, will certainly cause manager Ozzie Guillen to throw a conniption and possibly a chair or other locker room equipment. However, Jermaine Dye is currently going through one of the hottest weeks of his long career batting a hefty .444 (12-27) with 6 HR and 15 RBI’s.

7.
St. Louis Cardinals 44-33 (6)
-(2-4) Ouch. Their Mizzou rivals, the lowly Royals, came to town and swept them. That sure does hurt, but the red birds also took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox at Fenway to salvage their week. While we’re here, we have a message to Jason Isringhausen: you’re not that good anymore, but even so, what’s with your fear of Alex Cora? Please retire and bring Mike Timlin with you.

8.
New York Yankees 41-35 (11)
-(4-2) Andy Pettitte’s last three starts have all been wins for the Yankees. He’s pitched an astounding 21 innings allowing just 1 ER and 14 hits. He’s shouldered the burden of being the team ace and it couldn’t have come at a better time, as Wang will be sidelined until September. The pitching has keyed the Yankees resurgence as Mariano Rivera is quietly putting up one of his best seasons (0.76 ERA 21 saves) and Joba (5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 9 K) is living up to the hype.

9.
Arizona Diamondbacks 39-37 (8)
-(2-4) How the mighty have fallen. This has been a disastrous June for the D-Backs (8-12). This young team is starting to feel the learning curve. They need to steal the Flintstones vitamins that the guys in Florida are chewing. Let's hope Justin Upton can put on a pair of big kid pull-ups and start hitting the damn ball again. He told everyone on the cover of ESPN that we would be fools if we didn't draft him ... I call shenanigans!

10.
Oakland Athletics 41-34 (9)
-(3-3) Along with Barry Zito, Joe Blanton’s name should always come up when talking about pitchers in 2008 who can lose 20+ games. A’s fans should be happy that Rich Harden’s glass arm is holding up, because if he goes down there is no true “ace” on this staff.

11.
Milwaukee Brewers 41-34 (14)
-(5-1) 53 Runs scored in their last 9 wins has put the Brew Crew seven games over .500 and made them legitimate contenders in the NL. The offensive explosion helped to win six of seven this week against the AL Least (Toronto & Baltimore), but tip your cap to Solomon Torres who saved three one run games this week … you think Gagne could have done that? Me neither.

12.
Minnesota Twins 40-36 (18)
-(6-0) They didn’t allow anymore than three runs in any game this week. Livan Hernandez righted the ship (2 wins, 14 IP, 2 ER) and Joe Mauer (.331) continues to rake, collecting 8 hits and 5 walks this week. The sweep of the week puts them in striking distance of the White Sox as they are just 1.5 games back.

13.
Florida Marlins 40-35 (10)
-(3-3) Look out Phillies, here come the fish! Dan Uggla continues to lead the charge to overcome a small one game deficit in the NL East. The upcoming battle of Florida series with the Rays should prove which team from the Sunshine State is for real and which team is just over-performing chum in the water.

14.
Texas Rangers 39-38 (17)
-(4-2) It’s too bad the Rangers’ offense and the Blue Jays’ pitching staff couldn’t combine and form some sort of super team. The Rangers have four legit offensive stars on their top-of-the-league offense and all four should be All-Stars: Hamilton, Bradley, Kinsler & Young (and you could make a case for all them to be starters). Unfortunately, their pitching staff (particularly their gawd-awful bullpen) is keeping them down.

15.
Atlanta Braves 38-39 (13)
-(4-3) Smoltz is done for the year. Chipper (quad) & Escobar (hip) are injured. The Braves were five games back of the Phillies; things were looking a bit dim down in the A-T-L. Then Mark Teixeira went yard three times, homering from both sides of the plate and in the process securing a big victory for the Braves. Coupled with a Philly loss, the Braves find themselves just four games back with some nice momentum.

16.
New York Mets 37-37 (15)
-(4-2) The two games the Mets lost this week were started by Johan and Pedro; these two can’t let that happen. A team can’t possibly be successful if their stoppers keep getting stopped. The managerial change and its surrounding shenanigans shouldn’t be the story of the Mets season as Jose Reyes (who had consecutive games which he led off with a triple this week), David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran have to respond with more weeks like this last one.

17.
Detroit Tigers 36-39 (26)
-(4-2) This is the week the doctor ordered for the Tigers. As the Tigers get closer and closer to .500, they're starting to come together and look like the competitive team that everyone was expecting them to be. The AL Central hasn't been won yet by any means and every team has a fighting chance, except the Royals because they suck that bad.

18.
Baltimore Orioles 38-36 (20)
-(4-2) I am pretty sure that the Orioles are looking at George Sherrill and saying, “Yeah, we like him better than Erik Bedard.” Sherrill is currently tied for second in the AL in saves while Bedard is currently packing his bags and praying for a one-way ticket out of Seattle. I hope Adam Jones becomes a superstar so the O’s can just rub this in the face of the Mariners’ inept management.

19.
Cleveland Indians 35-41 (24)
-(2-4) The Indians come and go. Two weeks ago, they were rolling; Last week, they were floundering. Even though they've been pretty inconsistent this year, they still have the talent and experience to make a run at a playoff spot and doing some damage if they get there. Watching CC Sabathia go yard last week reminded me of that fat kid in little league who looked incredibly unathletic, but for some reason his fatness would project that ball over the fence. Does anyone else find it strange that the leadoff hitter, Grady Sizemore, has the most homeruns on the team (17)? Might be time to consider batting him in the 3-hole.

20.
Toronto Blue Jays 36-41 (12)
-(2-4) Here comes the Canadian Messiah: CITO GASTON! Let's not forget that Cito led the Blue Jays to two World Series Championships in the early ‘90s and was declared ruler of Canada. Now that Cito is back, the Blue Jays will be able to find fault in one more person before the hammer finally comes down on the incompetent JP Riccardi. He’s thrown money around like a drunken sailor to build this team, yet it's hard to see any results. Just like Obama would say, "It's time for change."

21.
Los Angeles Dodgers 35-40 (19)
-(4-2) The Dodgers were one of the few NL teams who had a winning record this week. Oh right, because they swept their fellow NL counterpart Reds to start the week before dropping 2 of 3 to the Indians. Shame on the D-backs for letting the Dodgers hang around; this team is way to talented to continue playing this poorly. James Loney had a huge week (.478, HR, 7 RBI, 1.338 OPS) as the Dodger offense has started to come around.

22.
Pittsburgh Pirates 36-40 (21)
-(2-4) As the trade deadline approaches it seems more and more likely that the Pirates are going to be one of the sellers on the market, despite the fact that they are rather competitive this year (at least by their standards). Jason Bay and Xavier Nady should already be getting their belongings ready for a potential change of scenery.

23.
Houston Astros 35-41 (16)
-(2-4) It's been a hard week on the Astros who continue to lose ground in their division. Getting swept by such a pathetic team like the Orioles, only makes your team that much more pathetic. The Ass-tros lost this 3-game series to the O's by a total of 4 runs, so this series could have easily been a sweep the other way – if their relief pitching didn't fall apart. Shawn Chacon has been demoted to Carlos Lee's bitch and the bullpen.

24.
Cincinnati Reds 35-42 (23)
-(2-4) Edison Volquez looked sick against the Yankees and it continues to look like he's going to be an ace for years to come. Taking 2 out of 3 from the Yankees in the Bronx either means this team has flashes of brilliance or the Yankees had a bad series; honestly, it’s a bit of both. Please raise your hand if you think that this series against the Yankees was the spark the Reds needed in order to get their season back on track and fight for the division. If you raised your hand you're an idiot.

25.
Colorado Rockies 32-44 (27)
(4-3) Until Troy Tulowitzki’s return from the DL, the Rockies will continue to suck. Matt Holliday is a great asset to any team that he is on. If the Rockies have any dreams and aspirations of returning to the World Series, they should NEVER under any circumstance trade Holliday (especially to the Yankees).

26.
Kansas City Royals 33-43 (29)
-(5-1) I think the Royals should lobby to the MLB offices about switching to the NL. Now 9-3 this year against the weaker league (and 38-28 since 2005), the Royals consistently look overmatched in the AL but terrific against the NL. Joakim Soria had quite a week, saving 5 games and allowing just one hit in those appearances. He’s also quietly developed into one of the game’s best closer, as he is 20 for 21 in save opportunities, has a 1.32 ERA & 0.79 WHIP with 35 K’s in 34 innings. Wow.

27.
San Francisco Giants 32-44 (22)
-(2-4) Is there light at the end of the tunnel for the Giants? Not this week my friend. This is going to be long season for San Fran, but unlike other shitty teams, the Giants are actually rebuilding the right way, with pitching. After another bad home-stand, the Giants have the worst home record in the majors. It’s almost seems that they feel more comfortable in enemy territory; maybe it's because they're nervous in front of their fans because of how awful they are. Silly Gold Diggers ...

28.
San Diego Padres 32-45 (25)
-(1-5) Is Chase Headley the answer to the Padres offensive malaise? He hit .292 with 2 HR in his first week with the club, which is inspiring. In fact, anyone that can provide some form of protection for Adrian Gonzalez (and his 21 HR and 65 RBI) is a welcome addition.

29.
Washington Nationals 30-47 (28)
-(1-5) Their one win this week was a 14-inning game. All other games ended at their regularly scheduled time, with the regularly scheduled result: a Nationals loss. I’m stunned this boring, shitty team still gets 29,000+ “fans” per night (at least tickets sold) and once the new stadium feel rubs off, their owners are going to be wondering why they moved this franchise to an area that only cares about crab cakes and football.

30.
Seattle Mariners 26-49 (30)
-(2-4) Felix Hernandez continues to show flashes of utter domination … at one point this past week, he struck out six consecutive Marlins. His heroics haven’t been enough as his 2.85 ERA have been good for just six wins so far this season. However, since his record dipped to 2-5, he’s rattled off four straight wins and allowed just three earned runs in his last four starts (28.1 IP). Young Felix is the lone bright spot in this dismal Mariner season.