1. St. Louis Cardinals. Put six players in the All-Star Game: a Cy Young contender (Adam Wainwright), an MVP candidate (Yadier Molina), a Rookie of the Year favorite (Shelby Miller), a first-rate closer (Edward Mujica), the league's best hitter with runners in scoring position (Allen Craig), and a potential Hall of Famer (Carlos Beltran).
2. Boston Red Sox. If he continues to pitch at this elite level (a 2.78 ERA and excellent strikeout numbers), MLB should rename the Comeback Player of the Year Award after John Lackey.
3. Detroit Tigers. Despite all the star power on its roster, Detroit is still only a game-and-a-half up on Cleveland in the AL Central. Proof that defense and bullpens matter.
4. Texas Rangers. With only 11 extra base hits this season, Elvis Andrus owns the dishonorable distinction of having a better on-base percentage (.300) than slugging percentage (.280).
5. Oakland Athletics. The exact opposite of the Tigers: the A's don't have a single star on their roster (Josh Donaldson is their best player) but they're still a top-10 team in both offense and pitching while sitting in first place in the AL West.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates. Amazingly, Pittsburgh's pitching staff has a collective 3.09 ERA this season, which means the entire team as a whole is pitching like Roger Clemens.
7. Cincinnati Reds. Fifth starter Mike Leake has a 2.69 ERA. It's a pitcher's world right now.
8. Atlanta Braves. Justin Upton hit 12 home runs in April and has hit four since.
9. Tampa Bay Rays. Still thought of as an all-pitch, no-hit team, the Rays actually have a better offense (6th in runs scored) than pitching staff (11th in ERA).
10. Baltimore Orioles. Rick Reilly wrote a cynical article for ESPN.com suggesting that Chris Davis' "out of nowhere" offensive explosion could be a result of performance-enhancing drugs. Reilly clearly isn't paying attention -- since his debut in 2008, Davis' fly balls have left the ballpark 22.6% of the time, the fifth-best rate in baseball over that span, trailing only Pedro Alvarez, Ryan Howard, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jim Thome.
11. Arizona Diamondbacks. Yeah, they're in first place, but it's hard to take a team that employs Health Bell as its closer seriously.
12. Cleveland Indians. Yasiel Puig hogged all the attention in June, but Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis was arguably even better (.419/.517/.699).
13. Washington Nationals. The first half's most shocking disappointment. The Nationals looked like a 100-win team in March, but they're only 48-47 in mid-July.
14. New York Yankees. Robinson Cano getting hit on the knee by a Matt Harvey fastball in the first inning of the All-Star Game perfectly encapsulates how this season has gone for the Yankees.
15. Los Angeles Dodgers. This whole Yasiel Puig honeymoon period is awesome and everything but at some point people (including opposing pitchers) are going to realize that he has 36 strikeouts and six unintentional walks.
16. Toronto Blue Jays. At first, you recoil at the sight of R.A. Dickey's ugly 4.36 ERA. Then you realize it's the best ERA in Toronto's starting rotation, and you begin to weep.
17. Philadelphia Phillies. When Michael Young has the highest OBP on your roster, it's time to reevaluate your roster.
18. Los Angeles Angels. Maybe the Angels should try to solve their many problems by throwing obscene amounts of money at top free agents. Have they tried that yet?
19. Kansas City Royals. It bears repeating, over and over again, that this team is giving playing time to Miguel Tejada.
20. San Francisco Giants. Quietly eight games under .500, the defending champions' once-elite pitching staff is now leaning heavily on quality starts from Chad Gaudin.
21. Colorado Rockies. Typical Rockies development: three hitters in the All-Star Game starting lineup; four games under .500.
22. Seattle Mariners. Clearly, Raul Ibanez still has a few Horcruxes left.
23. San Diego Padres. Opening Day starter Edinson Volquez has a 1.62 WHIP in 20 major league starts, which is hard to do.
24. Chicago Cubs. Their clearance sale continues: Matt Garza will probably be traded any day now, and that won't be the last deal the Cubs make.
25. New York Mets. At the ripe age of 30, David Wright (career: .301/.382/.506) is already the best player in Mets franchise history.
26. Milwaukee Brewers. He's stuck on a last-place team, but Carlos Gomez is having an MVP-caliber season: a .296/.338/.534 line, 14 home runs, 21 steals, and elite defense in center field.
27. Minnesota Twins. Collectively, Twins starting pitchers are allowing a .308 opponent average while only striking out 4.73 batters per nine innings, which is impossibly bad.
28. Chicago White Sox. A soul-crushing offense that doesn't have a single regular player with a .330 OBP or an .800 OPS.
29. Miami Marlins. It's one thing to be last in the majors in runs scored. It's another thing entirely to be thirty-nine runs worse than the 2013 Chicago White Sox.
30. Houston Astros. How many Astros can you name? If it's more than two, pat yourself on the back.
Showing posts with label Uber Power Rankings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uber Power Rankings. Show all posts
Friday, July 19, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
MLB Power Rankings
1. St. Louis Cardinals. In back-to-back starts against the Rockies this weekend, Shelby Miller and Adam Wainwright combined to throw 18 innings of shutout, three-hit baseball.
2. Texas Rangers. Lance Berkman is quietly putting up a .425 OBP for an offense that's survived the losses of Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli.
3. Detroit Tigers. Over the past calendar year, Torii Hunter has hit for the fourth-highest batting average in all of baseball (.328) even though his career average is just .278.
4. Cincinnati Reds. Shin-Soo Choo was the most important acquisition made by any team over the winter. Cincinnati's leadoff spot was a black hole last year; now Choo is wreaking havoc from that position with a .309/.451/.547 slash line and seven home runs. Remarkably, he's also reached base on a hit-by-pitch 11 times already this season.
5. Boston Red Sox. Once 20-8, they've lost eight of ten and a shaky bullpen is becoming a concern.
6. Atlanta Braves. After surrendering only seven runs all of last year, Craig Kimbrel has already given up five.
7. San Francisco Giants. Through 92 career starts, Madison Bumgarner is on pace to have essentially the same career as Clayton Kershaw.
8. Washington Nationals. A five-game winning streak has them back on track, but Ryan Zimmerman's throwing woes, Adam LaRoche's terrible start, and Gio Gonzalez's regression are all reasons to worry.
9. Baltimore Orioles. Bryce Harper in 2012: .270/.340/.477. Manny Machado in 2013: .323/.363/.513.
10. New York Yankees. Vernon Wells has as many home runs for the Yankees as Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols have, combined, for the Angels, which really can't be explained by modern science.
11. Cleveland Indians. Good luck finding any pitching on this roster, but the likes of Carlos Santana (1.063 OPS) and Mark Reynolds (.996) are fueling a suddenly-powerful offense.
12. Arizona Diamondbacks. The latest pitching phenom out in the desert is Patrick Corbin, who has surrendered just nine runs across his first seven starts in 2013.
13. Oakland Athletics. An extended skid (16 losses in 23 games) has dropped the A's back into a virtual tie for second place in the AL West with the Mariners. Uncharacteristically, they've scored the most runs in all of baseball but own just the 25th-best ERA.
14. Tampa Bay Rays. Turns out that last year's spectacular bullpen performance (collective 3.19 ERA) hasn't carried over to 2013 (4.67 ERA).
15. Kansas City Royals. They fancy themselves contenders, but it's difficult to take them seriously as long as Jeff Francoeur and his appalling .229/.266/.322 batting line are starting in right field.
16. Pittsburgh Pirates. Career Revival Alert: in 39 starts with the Pirates since the beginning of last year, A.J. Burnett has struck out nearly a batter per inning and owns a 3.33 ERA. He's also a free agent next winter ...
17. Los Angeles Dodgers. Thank goodness the Blue Jays and Angels exist, because otherwise, everyone would be noticing how utterly dreadful this expensive roster has been (15-21 record, last place in the NL West).
18. Colorado Rockies. Troy Tulowitzki (.324/.415/.627) is immeasurably better than every other shortstop in baseball. If he could stay healthy, he'd be the best player in the sport.
19. Los Angeles Angels. Who's to blame for this smoking crater of a baseball team? The easy target is Josh Hamilton, whose .338 slugging percentage is lower than Omar Vizquel's career mark of .352. And all four of his home runs came against the Astros.
20. Toronto Blue Jays. After the World Series, the Blue Jays and Angels should play a seven-game series to the death in which the loser gets contracted out of Major League Baseball.
21. Philadelphia Phillies. No one has mastered the art of the empty batting average quite like Michael Young: 32 of his 40 hits are singles, and he's already grounded into 10 double plays.
22. Milwaukee Brewers. It's Carlos Gomez's world, and we're all just living in it. The Brewers' center fielder is hitting .371 and slugging .645 with six homers and seven steals.
23. Seattle Mariners. In 24 starts since joining the Mariners last season, Hisashi Iwakuma has been shockingly dominant: a 2.33 ERA with 129 strikeouts against just 36 walks.
24. Chicago White Sox. After 29 games played in 2013, Jeff Keppinger has yet to draw a single walk. This is the most interesting baseball development involving the 2013 Chicago White Sox.
25. New York Mets. If the Mets win a game, but no one is there to see it, did it really happen?
26. Minnesota Twins. All of their pitchers have combined to strike out just 189 hitters all season, good for dead last in baseball and half as many as the league-leading Red Sox.
27. Chicago Cubs. Getting strong pitching performances from unlikely sources like Scott Feldman and Carlos Villanueva, who could be interesting names to remember for trading season.
28. San Diego Padres. At least the Astros and Marlins are actively seeking ways to be spectacularly bad, which makes them interesting. The Padres are just normal-bad, leaving them as the most bland and irrelevant team in baseball.
29. Houston Astros. Since throwing a perfect game a year ago, Philip Humber's ERA has been over 7.00 and he's been cut by the pitching-starved Astros. One of the all-time great flukes.
30. Miami Marlins. The Marlins' team slugging percentage is .321. In other words: they've been even worse than Josh Hamilton.
2. Texas Rangers. Lance Berkman is quietly putting up a .425 OBP for an offense that's survived the losses of Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli.
3. Detroit Tigers. Over the past calendar year, Torii Hunter has hit for the fourth-highest batting average in all of baseball (.328) even though his career average is just .278.
4. Cincinnati Reds. Shin-Soo Choo was the most important acquisition made by any team over the winter. Cincinnati's leadoff spot was a black hole last year; now Choo is wreaking havoc from that position with a .309/.451/.547 slash line and seven home runs. Remarkably, he's also reached base on a hit-by-pitch 11 times already this season.
5. Boston Red Sox. Once 20-8, they've lost eight of ten and a shaky bullpen is becoming a concern.
6. Atlanta Braves. After surrendering only seven runs all of last year, Craig Kimbrel has already given up five.
7. San Francisco Giants. Through 92 career starts, Madison Bumgarner is on pace to have essentially the same career as Clayton Kershaw.
8. Washington Nationals. A five-game winning streak has them back on track, but Ryan Zimmerman's throwing woes, Adam LaRoche's terrible start, and Gio Gonzalez's regression are all reasons to worry.
9. Baltimore Orioles. Bryce Harper in 2012: .270/.340/.477. Manny Machado in 2013: .323/.363/.513.
10. New York Yankees. Vernon Wells has as many home runs for the Yankees as Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols have, combined, for the Angels, which really can't be explained by modern science.
11. Cleveland Indians. Good luck finding any pitching on this roster, but the likes of Carlos Santana (1.063 OPS) and Mark Reynolds (.996) are fueling a suddenly-powerful offense.
12. Arizona Diamondbacks. The latest pitching phenom out in the desert is Patrick Corbin, who has surrendered just nine runs across his first seven starts in 2013.
13. Oakland Athletics. An extended skid (16 losses in 23 games) has dropped the A's back into a virtual tie for second place in the AL West with the Mariners. Uncharacteristically, they've scored the most runs in all of baseball but own just the 25th-best ERA.
14. Tampa Bay Rays. Turns out that last year's spectacular bullpen performance (collective 3.19 ERA) hasn't carried over to 2013 (4.67 ERA).
15. Kansas City Royals. They fancy themselves contenders, but it's difficult to take them seriously as long as Jeff Francoeur and his appalling .229/.266/.322 batting line are starting in right field.
16. Pittsburgh Pirates. Career Revival Alert: in 39 starts with the Pirates since the beginning of last year, A.J. Burnett has struck out nearly a batter per inning and owns a 3.33 ERA. He's also a free agent next winter ...
17. Los Angeles Dodgers. Thank goodness the Blue Jays and Angels exist, because otherwise, everyone would be noticing how utterly dreadful this expensive roster has been (15-21 record, last place in the NL West).
18. Colorado Rockies. Troy Tulowitzki (.324/.415/.627) is immeasurably better than every other shortstop in baseball. If he could stay healthy, he'd be the best player in the sport.
19. Los Angeles Angels. Who's to blame for this smoking crater of a baseball team? The easy target is Josh Hamilton, whose .338 slugging percentage is lower than Omar Vizquel's career mark of .352. And all four of his home runs came against the Astros.
20. Toronto Blue Jays. After the World Series, the Blue Jays and Angels should play a seven-game series to the death in which the loser gets contracted out of Major League Baseball.
21. Philadelphia Phillies. No one has mastered the art of the empty batting average quite like Michael Young: 32 of his 40 hits are singles, and he's already grounded into 10 double plays.
22. Milwaukee Brewers. It's Carlos Gomez's world, and we're all just living in it. The Brewers' center fielder is hitting .371 and slugging .645 with six homers and seven steals.
23. Seattle Mariners. In 24 starts since joining the Mariners last season, Hisashi Iwakuma has been shockingly dominant: a 2.33 ERA with 129 strikeouts against just 36 walks.
24. Chicago White Sox. After 29 games played in 2013, Jeff Keppinger has yet to draw a single walk. This is the most interesting baseball development involving the 2013 Chicago White Sox.
25. New York Mets. If the Mets win a game, but no one is there to see it, did it really happen?
26. Minnesota Twins. All of their pitchers have combined to strike out just 189 hitters all season, good for dead last in baseball and half as many as the league-leading Red Sox.
27. Chicago Cubs. Getting strong pitching performances from unlikely sources like Scott Feldman and Carlos Villanueva, who could be interesting names to remember for trading season.
28. San Diego Padres. At least the Astros and Marlins are actively seeking ways to be spectacularly bad, which makes them interesting. The Padres are just normal-bad, leaving them as the most bland and irrelevant team in baseball.
29. Houston Astros. Since throwing a perfect game a year ago, Philip Humber's ERA has been over 7.00 and he's been cut by the pitching-starved Astros. One of the all-time great flukes.
30. Miami Marlins. The Marlins' team slugging percentage is .321. In other words: they've been even worse than Josh Hamilton.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
MLB Power Rankings
1. Boston Red Sox. Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Ryan Dempster have been lights out. Jacoby Ellsbury has 11 steals. David Ortiz has decided not to make outs anymore. Things couldn't be going any better for the Red Sox right now.
2. Atlanta Braves. Swept by the Tigers, and 11 of Justin Upton's 12 April home runs have been solo shots because the likes of Jason Heyward (hitting .121) and B.J. Upton (.151) just aren't getting on base.
3. Texas Rangers. YU DARVISH CARES NOT FOR NEWTON'S LAWS OF MOTION:
4. Detroit Tigers. Anibal Sanchez struck out 17 batters in his last start, setting the Tigers franchise record.
5. Washington Nationals. In his first 162 major league games, Bryce Harper has been a .284/.356/.518 hitter. He's 20 years old.
6. Cincinnati Reds. Shin Soo-Choo and Joey Votto are getting on base at a remarkable rate, but for whatever reason. manager Dusty Baker insists on separating them in the lineup by putting poor-hitting shortstop Zack Cozart (career .281 OBP) in the two-hole.
7. St. Louis Cardinals. Your Adam Wainwright Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio Update: 37 strikeouts, one walk. That'll do.
8. San Francisco Giants. Defensive-minded shortstop Brandon Crawford (career .666 OPS) leads the Giants in most offensive categories. That is not a good thing.
9. Oakland Athletics. In this bizarro world, the A's lead the majors in runs scored. They went 4-10 while Yoenis Cespedes was on the DL, but he hit a game-tying 9th inning homer in his return to the lineup Sunday.
10. New York Yankees. Against right-handed pitching, the Yankees have the best OPS in baseball by a wide margin. Against lefties, that OPS falls by over 200 points for one of the worst marks in baseball. So goes life when Travis Hafner is obliterating baseballs but Vernon Wells is your best right-handed hitter.
11. Baltimore Orioles. At one point, their careers were left for dead. But Chris Davis (9 HR, 28 RBIs) and Nate McLouth (.941 OPS) are fueling a high-powered Baltimore offense that also features Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, and Manny Machado.
12. Arizona Diamondbacks. Doing their best to assume the honorary "2012 Baltimore Orioles" mantle, the D'backs are 6-0 in extra innings so far.
13. Los Angeles Dodgers. Entering the season, the Dodgers had the best pitching depth in baseball. Four injuries and a trade later, they needed minor leaguer Matt Magill to make an emergency start. The best laid plans ...
14. Los Angeles Angels. Your Depressing Angels Pitching Fact of the Week: Joe Blanton has given up at least one hit in every single one of his 30 innings this season. In related news: the Angels are 0-5 when Joe Blanton makes a start.
15. Milwaukee Brewers. Staff ace Yovani Gallardo was arrested for driving drunk at 2 A.M. with a blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit, but he won't be disciplined by Major League Baseball because thank goodness he wasn't on a genuinely destructive substance like steroids.
16. Kansas City Royals. A revamped rotation at least has the Royals back into faux-contention. They don't look like a playoff team, but crazy things tend to happen in the AL Central.
17. Tampa Bay Rays. The pitching assembly line continues to churn: Alex Cobb has a 1.82 ERA in four starts.
18. Toronto Blue Jays. It's hard to overstate just how miserable this team looks right now. There's no plate discipline to speak of. R.A. Dickey and Josh Johnson are nursing injuries. Defensively, they're a nightmare. What a disappointment after a triumphant offseason. Here's what the Blue Jays looked like during a 3-2 loss to the Yankees on Sunday:
19. Pittsburgh Pirates. A.J. Burnett leads the National League in strikeouts. Make of that what you will.
20. Philadelphia Phillies. Chase Utley's return to form has been a positive development: .300/.347/.522 with four homers and four steals.
21. Colorado Rockies. Hitting the cover off the ball, but the rotation still includes both Jeff Francis AND Jon Garland, so their hot start seems fluky. A more interesting Rockies-related exercise involves how quickly one can spot the hidden gem in the background of this image from a Colorado home game:
*Small hint: GIANT DANCING PURPLE DINOSAUR*
22. Cleveland Indians. How are things going? They had to give Scott Kazmir two starts. That's how things are going.
23. Chicago White Sox. A team OBP of .280. Fewer walks than the Marlins. Yuck.
24, New York Mets. In 35 innings, Matt Harvey has almost three times as many strikeouts (39) as hits surrendered (14).
25. Seattle Mariners. A disastrous start has left the Mariners as the franchise most likely to make sweeping management changes soon.
26. Minnesota Twins. There are 121 pitchers in baseball who have recorded at least 17 strikeouts on the season. There are no Minnesota Twins on that list. This organization's fetish for the "pitch-to-contact" strategy is bordering on lunacy.
27. Chicago Cubs. Their rotation has been excellent, but an awful bullpen has blown most of the leads they've been entrusted with.
28. San Diego Padres. Doing their best efforts to sabotage their top division rivals. The Padres are 4-2 against the Dodgers and just swept the Giants, but they only have two other wins against all other competition.
29. Houston Astros. A year ago, Philip Humber threw a perfect game. This week, he lasted exactly one out in a start against the Indians, giving up eight runs as part of a 19-6 shellacking. One of the all-time flukes.
30. Miami Marlins. Giancarlo Stanton finally hit his first homer -- and the scoreboard-clearing moonshot was certainly worth the wait:
29. Houston Astros. A year ago, Philip Humber threw a perfect game. This week, he lasted exactly one out in a start against the Indians, giving up eight runs as part of a 19-6 shellacking. One of the all-time flukes.
30. Miami Marlins. Giancarlo Stanton finally hit his first homer -- and the scoreboard-clearing moonshot was certainly worth the wait:
Friday, April 19, 2013
Some Way-Too-Early MLB Power Rankings
1. Atlanta Braves. Thirteen wins in sixteen games, Justin Upton has nine home runs, and Paul Maholm hasn't allowed a single run yet in three starts. Cruising right along.
2. Washington Nationals. Off to an unexpectedly uneven start (9-7), but just two weeks ago this team was widely considered to be the best in baseball. If there's a concern, it's how scary-bad Dan Haren has been (8.10 ERA).
3. Detroit Tigers. Power rotation, scary lineup ... the only weakness here is the bullpen, which lacks a shutdown reliever. The undead vampire Jose Valverde lurks in the minor leagues, biding his time.
4. Cincinnati Reds. Like the Nationals, it hasn't been smooth sailing. The injury to Johnny Cueto doesn't help. On the bright side, Joey Votto has already walked twenty-four times. Only one other player has even half that many. That's also four more walks than Delmon Young had in 608 plate appearances all of last season. Insane.
5. San Francisco Giants. A 10-7 record despite awful starts from Buster Posey and Matt Cain, both of whom will be just fine. Tim Lincecum has so far managed to keep his strikeout total (15) above his walk total (12), but it's a race worth following.
6. Texas Rangers. In 26.2 innings across four starts, Yu Darvish has struck out thirty-eight hitters, walked only eight, and allowed just a .144 batting average.
7. Boston Red Sox. Clearly going to be much better than preseason expectations. As long as they don't end up relying too heavily on quality innings from John Lackey, this looks like the best team in the AL East.
8. St. Louis Cardinals. In 29 innings, Adam Wainwright has struck out 28 hitters and walked ... zero. What happens when he faces Votto?
9. Oakland Athletics. Their 12-5 start would be far more impressive if eight of those wins hadn't come against the Astros and Mariners.
10. Toronto Blue Jays. Kind of a nightmarish opening to what was supposed to be a triumphant season. Jose Reyes is out for months, Jose Bautista and R.A. Dickey have been dealing with injuries of their own, and the pitching has been dismal. They've been outscored by 30 runs already, second-worst in all of baseball, ahead of only the lowly Marlins.
11. New York Yankees. Plugging right along with a hilariously bizarre lineup full of misfits and rejects, chief among them being Travis Hafner (hitting .349/.440/.767) and Francisco Cervelli (boasting an ever-so-slightly-inflated OPS of 1.012).
12. Los Angeles Dodgers. It might be time to start worrying about Matt Kemp, who's hitting .182 with 18 strikeouts against just three walks. Without him performing, only the Marlins have scored fewer runs this season than the Dodgers.
13. Baltimore Orioles. They've assembled a simple formula: scrape together just enough pitching to win while Adam Jones and Chris Davis (33 RBIs combined) hit the snot out of the ball.
14. Arizona Diamondbacks. Severely overshadowed in the NL West by the championship-winning Giants and the big-spending Dodgers. But this is a very solid team that will challenge for a playoff spot, especially considering how well Paul Goldschmidt is hitting (.333/.394/.556).
15. Los Angeles Angels. The left side of the infield is currently Brendan Harris and Luis Jimenez. Their lineup also just dropped eight runs on the Tigers on Friday. So maybe their lack of depth doesn't really matter. We'll find out.
16. Tampa Bay Rays. Basically the mirror image of the Angels. The pitching is outstanding, but their offense is literally vomit (who knew a team batting average of .217 was even possible). You're asking for it if Shelley Duncan is getting at-bats as your "designated hitter."
17. Kansas City Royals. There's a serious lack of power here; Billy Butler is the only Royal with multiple home runs.
18. Cleveland Indians. At the 2010 All-Star break, Ubaldo Jimenez was 15-1. His ERA in 45 starts with the Indians is 5.60. What happened?
19. Colorado Rockies. Somehow, this awful team is 12-4. I choose to ignore what I do not understand.
20. New York Mets. Young sophomore Matt Harvey has been the most electrifying pitcher in baseball so far, having allowed totals of just three runs and ten hits across four starts.
21. Pittsburgh Pirates. In his most recent outing, A.J. Burnett was flirting with a perfect game until he lost it in the most A.J. Burnett way possible -- by hitting a batter.
22. Philadelphia Phillies. Incredibly, this team went four straight games without drawing a single walk. How does that happen to a professional baseball team?
23. Chicago White Sox. Joey Votto, by himself, has 24 walks. The Chicago White Sox, as a team, have 26.
24. Seattle Mariners. They should be a lot better than this. They do have, after all, one of the best pitchers in baseball and a slightly-revamped lineup. But Raul Ibanez is also getting regular playing time in left field, which is indicative of how things are really going.
25. Milwaukee Brewers. The usual: lots of offense, not enough pitching, awful bullpen. Same as it ever was.
26. Minnesota Twins. Their current starting rotation is: Vance Worley, Scott Diamond, Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and Liam Hendriks. It's amazing that the Twins don't lose every game.
27. Chicago Cubs. Fun fact: their roster is a cornucopia of cool names, both first (Wellington, Starlin, Dioner) and last (Samardzija, Fujikawa, Rizzo). And in some cases, both at the same time (Darwin Barney). Those are the only interesting things there are to be said about the Cubs.
28. San Diego Padres. Here's all you need to know about the Padres: they've already committed five first-inning sacrifice bunts this year. Who sacrifices in the first inning?! Comparatively, the rest of baseball has combined for four first-inning sac-bunts. Maybe there's a reason for that.
29. Miami Marlins. 33 total runs scored in 17 games is ... not a good rate.
30. Houston Astros. Their hitters are striking out in over 26% of their plate appearances, which would be the all-time record. The Astros might be bad, but at least they're the best at being bad.
2. Washington Nationals. Off to an unexpectedly uneven start (9-7), but just two weeks ago this team was widely considered to be the best in baseball. If there's a concern, it's how scary-bad Dan Haren has been (8.10 ERA).
3. Detroit Tigers. Power rotation, scary lineup ... the only weakness here is the bullpen, which lacks a shutdown reliever. The undead vampire Jose Valverde lurks in the minor leagues, biding his time.
4. Cincinnati Reds. Like the Nationals, it hasn't been smooth sailing. The injury to Johnny Cueto doesn't help. On the bright side, Joey Votto has already walked twenty-four times. Only one other player has even half that many. That's also four more walks than Delmon Young had in 608 plate appearances all of last season. Insane.
5. San Francisco Giants. A 10-7 record despite awful starts from Buster Posey and Matt Cain, both of whom will be just fine. Tim Lincecum has so far managed to keep his strikeout total (15) above his walk total (12), but it's a race worth following.
6. Texas Rangers. In 26.2 innings across four starts, Yu Darvish has struck out thirty-eight hitters, walked only eight, and allowed just a .144 batting average.
7. Boston Red Sox. Clearly going to be much better than preseason expectations. As long as they don't end up relying too heavily on quality innings from John Lackey, this looks like the best team in the AL East.
8. St. Louis Cardinals. In 29 innings, Adam Wainwright has struck out 28 hitters and walked ... zero. What happens when he faces Votto?
9. Oakland Athletics. Their 12-5 start would be far more impressive if eight of those wins hadn't come against the Astros and Mariners.
10. Toronto Blue Jays. Kind of a nightmarish opening to what was supposed to be a triumphant season. Jose Reyes is out for months, Jose Bautista and R.A. Dickey have been dealing with injuries of their own, and the pitching has been dismal. They've been outscored by 30 runs already, second-worst in all of baseball, ahead of only the lowly Marlins.
11. New York Yankees. Plugging right along with a hilariously bizarre lineup full of misfits and rejects, chief among them being Travis Hafner (hitting .349/.440/.767) and Francisco Cervelli (boasting an ever-so-slightly-inflated OPS of 1.012).
12. Los Angeles Dodgers. It might be time to start worrying about Matt Kemp, who's hitting .182 with 18 strikeouts against just three walks. Without him performing, only the Marlins have scored fewer runs this season than the Dodgers.
13. Baltimore Orioles. They've assembled a simple formula: scrape together just enough pitching to win while Adam Jones and Chris Davis (33 RBIs combined) hit the snot out of the ball.
14. Arizona Diamondbacks. Severely overshadowed in the NL West by the championship-winning Giants and the big-spending Dodgers. But this is a very solid team that will challenge for a playoff spot, especially considering how well Paul Goldschmidt is hitting (.333/.394/.556).
15. Los Angeles Angels. The left side of the infield is currently Brendan Harris and Luis Jimenez. Their lineup also just dropped eight runs on the Tigers on Friday. So maybe their lack of depth doesn't really matter. We'll find out.
16. Tampa Bay Rays. Basically the mirror image of the Angels. The pitching is outstanding, but their offense is literally vomit (who knew a team batting average of .217 was even possible). You're asking for it if Shelley Duncan is getting at-bats as your "designated hitter."
17. Kansas City Royals. There's a serious lack of power here; Billy Butler is the only Royal with multiple home runs.
18. Cleveland Indians. At the 2010 All-Star break, Ubaldo Jimenez was 15-1. His ERA in 45 starts with the Indians is 5.60. What happened?
19. Colorado Rockies. Somehow, this awful team is 12-4. I choose to ignore what I do not understand.
20. New York Mets. Young sophomore Matt Harvey has been the most electrifying pitcher in baseball so far, having allowed totals of just three runs and ten hits across four starts.
21. Pittsburgh Pirates. In his most recent outing, A.J. Burnett was flirting with a perfect game until he lost it in the most A.J. Burnett way possible -- by hitting a batter.
22. Philadelphia Phillies. Incredibly, this team went four straight games without drawing a single walk. How does that happen to a professional baseball team?
23. Chicago White Sox. Joey Votto, by himself, has 24 walks. The Chicago White Sox, as a team, have 26.
24. Seattle Mariners. They should be a lot better than this. They do have, after all, one of the best pitchers in baseball and a slightly-revamped lineup. But Raul Ibanez is also getting regular playing time in left field, which is indicative of how things are really going.
25. Milwaukee Brewers. The usual: lots of offense, not enough pitching, awful bullpen. Same as it ever was.
26. Minnesota Twins. Their current starting rotation is: Vance Worley, Scott Diamond, Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and Liam Hendriks. It's amazing that the Twins don't lose every game.
27. Chicago Cubs. Fun fact: their roster is a cornucopia of cool names, both first (Wellington, Starlin, Dioner) and last (Samardzija, Fujikawa, Rizzo). And in some cases, both at the same time (Darwin Barney). Those are the only interesting things there are to be said about the Cubs.
28. San Diego Padres. Here's all you need to know about the Padres: they've already committed five first-inning sacrifice bunts this year. Who sacrifices in the first inning?! Comparatively, the rest of baseball has combined for four first-inning sac-bunts. Maybe there's a reason for that.
29. Miami Marlins. 33 total runs scored in 17 games is ... not a good rate.
30. Houston Astros. Their hitters are striking out in over 26% of their plate appearances, which would be the all-time record. The Astros might be bad, but at least they're the best at being bad.
Friday, August 17, 2012
MLB Uber Power Rankings
With a month and a half to go in the season, the Nationals have dethroned the Rangers as the best team in baseball, while the Melky-less Giants and underachieving Angels drop a few spots. Last edition's rankings are in parentheses. All statistics and records are through August 17th,
1 (3). Washington Nationals (74-45): Good offense, dominant starting pitching, and a great bullpen is a pretty nice combination. Of course, this ranking will change when Stephen Strasburg hits the shelf.
2 (2). New York Yankees (71-48): Perhaps finding a new market inefficiency: age. They're extracting tremendous value out of Eric Chavez, Hiroki Kuroda, Freddy Garcia, Raul Ibanez, Andruw Jones, Derek Lowe, and Ichiro Suzuki; the average age of those players is almost 37.
3 (1). Texas Rangers (68-50): Ryan Dempster's American League ERA: 8.31. He'll miss a start in Toronto because he lost his passport.
4 (5). Cincinnati Reds (72-47): 25-9 since the All-Star break. The only team in baseball that's used just five starters all year. And Aroldis Chapman has 106 strikeouts, as a reliever. Things are good in Cincinnati.
5 (9). Atlanta Braves (70-49): Confirmed zombie Ben Sheets, who didn't pitch at all in 2011, has a 2.15 ERA for the Braves in his first six starts back.
6 (6). St. Louis Cardinals (64-55): Here they come, only two back of the wild card. Adam Wainwright has been stellar of late.
7 (11). Tampa Bay Rays (65-54): With Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce back from injury, Ben Zobrist is playing shortstop in order to field Tampa's optimal offensive lineup. And oh by the way, David Price has been the best pitcher in the AL.
8 (13). Detroit Tigers (64-55): Miguel Cabrera has obviously been awesome, but Austin Jackson (.310/.395/.508) has been just as important to Detroit's success.
9 (10). Chicago White Sox (65-53): The Sox might have the two frontrunners for Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Dunn and Alex Rios.
10 (8). Pittsburgh Pirates (66-53): A recent skid and James McDonald's struggles have the put that elusive playoff berth in doubt.
11 (7). San Francisco Giants (65-54): They can absolutely still make the playoffs without the suspended Melky Cabrera, especially with Brandon Belt hitting well over .400 in August. Some help from Tim Lincecum (5.45 ERA) would be nice, though.
12 (4). Los Angeles Angels (62-58): Massively underperforming. The pitching in particular has been extremely ugly. Opposite of the Orioles.
13 (12). Los Angeles Dodgers (65-55): Hanley Ramirez's OPS with the Dodgers is over 100 points higher than it was with the Marlins; he's hitting .317 for his new team.
14 (16). Baltimore Orioles (64-55): How does this team keep winning? Youngster Manny Machado has provided a lift, and Jason Hammel returning in September would be huge for an embattled rotation. Opposite of the Angels.
15 (20). Oakland Athletics (63-55): The best record in the AL since the All-Star Break. In any other season, Yoenis Cespedes (.301/.363/.506) would be the Rookie of the Year.
16 (17). Arizona Diamondbacks (60-59): No one's really paying any attention to sophomore Paul Goldschmidt, who's OPS sits around .900 for the otherwise-inconsistent D'backs.
17 (14). New York Mets (56-63): Since his no-hitter on June 1st, Johan Santana's ERA has been over 8.00 and he's surrendered at least six runs in five consecutive starts.
18 (18). Boston Red Sox (58-62): For almost a year now, the Red Sox have been "unlucky" or "underachieving" or "distracted" or "injury-stricken." Hey--maybe they're just not very good anymore.
19 (19). Toronto Blue Jays (56-63): More destroyed by injuries than any other team, the Jays' offense reads like a Triple-A lineup card.
20 (15). Cleveland Indians (54-65): Losing 16 of their last 20 has completely ruined their season. The Tribe actually owns the worst run differential in the AL.
21 (22). Milwaukee Brewers (54-64): Fun bright spot: the dominance of 27-year-old, unheralded, soft-tossing rookie Mike Fiers, who has an ERA of 2.63 and over five strikeouts for every walk.
22 (21). Miami Marlins (54-66): Heath Bell's ERA is back over 6.00. The bloated contract the Marlins gave him ranks as perhaps the worst decision any team made in the offseason.
23 (23): Philadelphia Phillies (54-65): Gone are Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence, and Joe Blanton. Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee are staying. They'll try again next year.
24 (25). Seattle Mariners (56-64): Felix Hernandez's page on Baseball-Reference.com bears this sponsored message from a Mariners blog: "Felix is ours and you can't have him."
25 (30). San Diego Padres (52-69): Apparently inspired by Ben Sheets, back-from-the-dead Jason Marquis has a 4.08 ERA in 14 starts with the Padres and recently shut out the Pirates.
26 (28). Minnesota Twins (50-68): One of the under-reported stories of the season is the success of former Rule 5 draft pick Scott Diamond, who has a sub-3.00 ERA in his 18 starts.
27 (24). Kansas City Royals (52-66): Trading away Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez was a terrible personnel decision, but flipping Sanchez for Jeremy Guthrie might work out; Guthrie has allowed 3 runs in his last 21 innings for KC.
28 (27). Chicago Cubs (46-71): Signs of progress: 22-year-old Anthony Rizzo hitting .296 and discussions of a long contract extension for talented shortstop Starlin Castro.
29 (29). Colorado Rockies (45-72): Maybe they should try to acquire the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton; he's homered in five straight games at Coors Field against the Rockies.
30 (28). Houston Astros (39-81): Seven wins since the beginning of July. Twelve road wins all season. Awfulness on an unprecedented scale.
1 (3). Washington Nationals (74-45): Good offense, dominant starting pitching, and a great bullpen is a pretty nice combination. Of course, this ranking will change when Stephen Strasburg hits the shelf.
2 (2). New York Yankees (71-48): Perhaps finding a new market inefficiency: age. They're extracting tremendous value out of Eric Chavez, Hiroki Kuroda, Freddy Garcia, Raul Ibanez, Andruw Jones, Derek Lowe, and Ichiro Suzuki; the average age of those players is almost 37.
3 (1). Texas Rangers (68-50): Ryan Dempster's American League ERA: 8.31. He'll miss a start in Toronto because he lost his passport.
4 (5). Cincinnati Reds (72-47): 25-9 since the All-Star break. The only team in baseball that's used just five starters all year. And Aroldis Chapman has 106 strikeouts, as a reliever. Things are good in Cincinnati.
5 (9). Atlanta Braves (70-49): Confirmed zombie Ben Sheets, who didn't pitch at all in 2011, has a 2.15 ERA for the Braves in his first six starts back.
6 (6). St. Louis Cardinals (64-55): Here they come, only two back of the wild card. Adam Wainwright has been stellar of late.
7 (11). Tampa Bay Rays (65-54): With Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce back from injury, Ben Zobrist is playing shortstop in order to field Tampa's optimal offensive lineup. And oh by the way, David Price has been the best pitcher in the AL.
8 (13). Detroit Tigers (64-55): Miguel Cabrera has obviously been awesome, but Austin Jackson (.310/.395/.508) has been just as important to Detroit's success.
9 (10). Chicago White Sox (65-53): The Sox might have the two frontrunners for Comeback Player of the Year: Adam Dunn and Alex Rios.
10 (8). Pittsburgh Pirates (66-53): A recent skid and James McDonald's struggles have the put that elusive playoff berth in doubt.
11 (7). San Francisco Giants (65-54): They can absolutely still make the playoffs without the suspended Melky Cabrera, especially with Brandon Belt hitting well over .400 in August. Some help from Tim Lincecum (5.45 ERA) would be nice, though.
12 (4). Los Angeles Angels (62-58): Massively underperforming. The pitching in particular has been extremely ugly. Opposite of the Orioles.
13 (12). Los Angeles Dodgers (65-55): Hanley Ramirez's OPS with the Dodgers is over 100 points higher than it was with the Marlins; he's hitting .317 for his new team.
14 (16). Baltimore Orioles (64-55): How does this team keep winning? Youngster Manny Machado has provided a lift, and Jason Hammel returning in September would be huge for an embattled rotation. Opposite of the Angels.
15 (20). Oakland Athletics (63-55): The best record in the AL since the All-Star Break. In any other season, Yoenis Cespedes (.301/.363/.506) would be the Rookie of the Year.
16 (17). Arizona Diamondbacks (60-59): No one's really paying any attention to sophomore Paul Goldschmidt, who's OPS sits around .900 for the otherwise-inconsistent D'backs.
17 (14). New York Mets (56-63): Since his no-hitter on June 1st, Johan Santana's ERA has been over 8.00 and he's surrendered at least six runs in five consecutive starts.
18 (18). Boston Red Sox (58-62): For almost a year now, the Red Sox have been "unlucky" or "underachieving" or "distracted" or "injury-stricken." Hey--maybe they're just not very good anymore.
19 (19). Toronto Blue Jays (56-63): More destroyed by injuries than any other team, the Jays' offense reads like a Triple-A lineup card.
20 (15). Cleveland Indians (54-65): Losing 16 of their last 20 has completely ruined their season. The Tribe actually owns the worst run differential in the AL.
21 (22). Milwaukee Brewers (54-64): Fun bright spot: the dominance of 27-year-old, unheralded, soft-tossing rookie Mike Fiers, who has an ERA of 2.63 and over five strikeouts for every walk.
22 (21). Miami Marlins (54-66): Heath Bell's ERA is back over 6.00. The bloated contract the Marlins gave him ranks as perhaps the worst decision any team made in the offseason.
23 (23): Philadelphia Phillies (54-65): Gone are Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence, and Joe Blanton. Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee are staying. They'll try again next year.
24 (25). Seattle Mariners (56-64): Felix Hernandez's page on Baseball-Reference.com bears this sponsored message from a Mariners blog: "Felix is ours and you can't have him."
25 (30). San Diego Padres (52-69): Apparently inspired by Ben Sheets, back-from-the-dead Jason Marquis has a 4.08 ERA in 14 starts with the Padres and recently shut out the Pirates.
26 (28). Minnesota Twins (50-68): One of the under-reported stories of the season is the success of former Rule 5 draft pick Scott Diamond, who has a sub-3.00 ERA in his 18 starts.
27 (24). Kansas City Royals (52-66): Trading away Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez was a terrible personnel decision, but flipping Sanchez for Jeremy Guthrie might work out; Guthrie has allowed 3 runs in his last 21 innings for KC.
28 (27). Chicago Cubs (46-71): Signs of progress: 22-year-old Anthony Rizzo hitting .296 and discussions of a long contract extension for talented shortstop Starlin Castro.
29 (29). Colorado Rockies (45-72): Maybe they should try to acquire the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton; he's homered in five straight games at Coors Field against the Rockies.
30 (28). Houston Astros (39-81): Seven wins since the beginning of July. Twelve road wins all season. Awfulness on an unprecedented scale.
Monday, July 9, 2012
MLB Uber Power Rankings
At the All-Star Break, the Rangers and Yankees remain atop the power rankings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates continue their stunning surge to first place (while former "surprise teams" like the Dodgers and Orioles fall from grace). Last edition's rankings are in parentheses.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (52-34): This top ranking assumes their injured arms--Colby Lewis and Neftali Feliz in the rotation, Alexi Ogando and Koji Uehara in the bullpen--will get healthy. The Angels are closing fast.
2 (2). New York Yankees (52-33): No team has a bigger divisional lead at the break (seven games), which is impressive considering the entire AL East is at .500 or better. Over the last 30 days, Robinson Cano is hitting .355/.425/.664.
3 (4). Washington Nationals (49-34): One of the biggest factors behind the Nationals' rise to the top of the NL East is the emergence of Ian Desmond, who's been the best shortstop in the league and an incredibly clutch hitter.
4 (7). Los Angeles Angels (48-38): At 20 years old, is Mike Trout already the best player in baseball? It's not that far-fetched to say so.
5 (9). Cincinnati Reds (47-38): Over his last three starts, co-ace Mat Latos has allowed just 2 runs and 10 hits over 25 innings, striking out 28.
6 (8). St. Louis Cardinals (46-40): They might be under-performing relative to their true talent level, but last year showed both their willingness to swing a big deadline trade and their ability to pick up steam in the second half.
7 (14). San Francisco Giants (46-40): The National League All-Star lineup includes Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Melky Cabrera, and Matt Cain, but you can make the argument that none of those players deserved to start.
8 (18). Pittsburgh Pirates (48-37): No team in the majors has a better record than Pittsburgh since May 12 (they've won 34 and lost 19). Andrew McCutchen's season line is up to .362/.414/.625.
9 (5). Atlanta Braves (46-39): The loss of Andrelton Simmons for a month will hurt more than one might expect; the talented rookie shortstop has been spectacularly defensively while hitting nearly .300.
10 (10). Chicago White Sox (47-38): Going from the worst third base production in baseball to Kevin Youkilis (.990 OPS with his new team) is a pretty massive upgrade.
11 (3). Tampa Bay Rays (45-41): The devastating injuries to Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce have simply neutered the Rays' offense, which now features Ben Zobrist as its only potent threat.
12 (6). Los Angeles Dodgers (47-40): Just like the Rays, the Dodgers can't score without their two offensive weapons, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.
13 (19). Detroit Tigers (44-42): A five-game winning streak has finally given the Tigers some momentum as Austin Jackson and Quintin Berry are doing a fantastic job of setting the table for the big bats.
14 (20). New York Mets (46-40): After being baseball's worst everyday position player to start the season, Ike Davis has caught fire of late, hitting .294/.351/.635 over the past month.
15 (12). Cleveland Indians (44-41): What to make of this up-and-down team? They'll need more consistent pitching and a right-handed bat to stay in the AL Central race.
16 (13). Baltimore Orioles (45-40): The flimsy back of the rotation has completely collapsed, leaving the Orioles very vulnerable to second-half regression if they don't trade for pitching help.
17 (15). Arizona Diamondbacks (42-43): The talented-but-struggling Justin Upton will be the biggest name in play at the trade deadline.
18 (17). Boston Red Sox (43-43): Would it surprise anyone if the Sox went on a tear in the second half and won the wild card? Of course not. But would it surprise anyone if they finished last in the AL East and completely cleaned house this winter?
19 (11). Toronto Blue Jays (43-43): Despite a dynamic offense, pitching ineffectiveness and injuries have dropped the young Jays out of the playoff race.
20 (25). Oakland Athletics (43-43): Getting Josh Reddick from Boston last offseason was a coup; the young outfielder has 20 homers, 8 steals (without being caught), and an .880 OPS.
21 (17). Miami Marlins (41-44): 21-8 in June. 12-22 since. The Marlins are neither that good nor that bad, but with Giancarlo Stanton requiring knee surgery, they're closer to 'that bad.'
22 (22). Milwaukee Brewers (40-45): Eventually they must decide between buying and selling, which will determine the fate of Zack Greinke and cause the rest of the trade dominoes to fall.
23 (21): Philadelphia Phillies (37-50): The returns of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard could not keep the Phillies from losing ten of their last eleven games entering the break, virtually dropping them out of playoff contention and putting them in a difficult situation with impending free agent Cole Hamels.
24 (24). Kansas City Royals (37-47): Unfortunately, the All-Star Game will be the highlight of the season for Kansas City fans.
25 (23). Seattle Mariners (36-51): One regular player has an OPS over .800 (John Jaso). The 2012 Seattle Mariners: Redefining Offensive Ineptitude.
26 (28). Minnesota Twins (36-49): Former terrible-utility-player Trevor Plouffe has 18 home runs since May 16th. This is probably the most improbable development in baseball this season.
27 (29). Chicago Cubs (33-52): People finally have a reason to watch the Cubs with super-prospect Anthony Rizzo (team-leading 1.055 OPS in 12 games) finally in the majors.
28 (26). Houston Astros (33-53): They were respectable for a while, but at the halfway point, they ended up where everyone expected them to be: burdened with the worst record in baseball.
29 (27). Colorado Rockies (33-52): Why hasn't anyone been fired for this debacle yet?
30 (30). San Diego Padres (34-53): No team has used more starting pitchers than the poor Padres. On a lighter note: rookie catcher Yasmani Grandal hit two home runs--one from each side of the plate--for his first major league hits in his first major league start. Not a bad first day on the job.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (52-34): This top ranking assumes their injured arms--Colby Lewis and Neftali Feliz in the rotation, Alexi Ogando and Koji Uehara in the bullpen--will get healthy. The Angels are closing fast.
2 (2). New York Yankees (52-33): No team has a bigger divisional lead at the break (seven games), which is impressive considering the entire AL East is at .500 or better. Over the last 30 days, Robinson Cano is hitting .355/.425/.664.
3 (4). Washington Nationals (49-34): One of the biggest factors behind the Nationals' rise to the top of the NL East is the emergence of Ian Desmond, who's been the best shortstop in the league and an incredibly clutch hitter.
4 (7). Los Angeles Angels (48-38): At 20 years old, is Mike Trout already the best player in baseball? It's not that far-fetched to say so.
5 (9). Cincinnati Reds (47-38): Over his last three starts, co-ace Mat Latos has allowed just 2 runs and 10 hits over 25 innings, striking out 28.
6 (8). St. Louis Cardinals (46-40): They might be under-performing relative to their true talent level, but last year showed both their willingness to swing a big deadline trade and their ability to pick up steam in the second half.
7 (14). San Francisco Giants (46-40): The National League All-Star lineup includes Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Melky Cabrera, and Matt Cain, but you can make the argument that none of those players deserved to start.
8 (18). Pittsburgh Pirates (48-37): No team in the majors has a better record than Pittsburgh since May 12 (they've won 34 and lost 19). Andrew McCutchen's season line is up to .362/.414/.625.
9 (5). Atlanta Braves (46-39): The loss of Andrelton Simmons for a month will hurt more than one might expect; the talented rookie shortstop has been spectacularly defensively while hitting nearly .300.
10 (10). Chicago White Sox (47-38): Going from the worst third base production in baseball to Kevin Youkilis (.990 OPS with his new team) is a pretty massive upgrade.
11 (3). Tampa Bay Rays (45-41): The devastating injuries to Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce have simply neutered the Rays' offense, which now features Ben Zobrist as its only potent threat.
12 (6). Los Angeles Dodgers (47-40): Just like the Rays, the Dodgers can't score without their two offensive weapons, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.
13 (19). Detroit Tigers (44-42): A five-game winning streak has finally given the Tigers some momentum as Austin Jackson and Quintin Berry are doing a fantastic job of setting the table for the big bats.
14 (20). New York Mets (46-40): After being baseball's worst everyday position player to start the season, Ike Davis has caught fire of late, hitting .294/.351/.635 over the past month.
15 (12). Cleveland Indians (44-41): What to make of this up-and-down team? They'll need more consistent pitching and a right-handed bat to stay in the AL Central race.
16 (13). Baltimore Orioles (45-40): The flimsy back of the rotation has completely collapsed, leaving the Orioles very vulnerable to second-half regression if they don't trade for pitching help.
17 (15). Arizona Diamondbacks (42-43): The talented-but-struggling Justin Upton will be the biggest name in play at the trade deadline.
18 (17). Boston Red Sox (43-43): Would it surprise anyone if the Sox went on a tear in the second half and won the wild card? Of course not. But would it surprise anyone if they finished last in the AL East and completely cleaned house this winter?
19 (11). Toronto Blue Jays (43-43): Despite a dynamic offense, pitching ineffectiveness and injuries have dropped the young Jays out of the playoff race.
20 (25). Oakland Athletics (43-43): Getting Josh Reddick from Boston last offseason was a coup; the young outfielder has 20 homers, 8 steals (without being caught), and an .880 OPS.
21 (17). Miami Marlins (41-44): 21-8 in June. 12-22 since. The Marlins are neither that good nor that bad, but with Giancarlo Stanton requiring knee surgery, they're closer to 'that bad.'
22 (22). Milwaukee Brewers (40-45): Eventually they must decide between buying and selling, which will determine the fate of Zack Greinke and cause the rest of the trade dominoes to fall.
23 (21): Philadelphia Phillies (37-50): The returns of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard could not keep the Phillies from losing ten of their last eleven games entering the break, virtually dropping them out of playoff contention and putting them in a difficult situation with impending free agent Cole Hamels.
24 (24). Kansas City Royals (37-47): Unfortunately, the All-Star Game will be the highlight of the season for Kansas City fans.
25 (23). Seattle Mariners (36-51): One regular player has an OPS over .800 (John Jaso). The 2012 Seattle Mariners: Redefining Offensive Ineptitude.
26 (28). Minnesota Twins (36-49): Former terrible-utility-player Trevor Plouffe has 18 home runs since May 16th. This is probably the most improbable development in baseball this season.
27 (29). Chicago Cubs (33-52): People finally have a reason to watch the Cubs with super-prospect Anthony Rizzo (team-leading 1.055 OPS in 12 games) finally in the majors.
28 (26). Houston Astros (33-53): They were respectable for a while, but at the halfway point, they ended up where everyone expected them to be: burdened with the worst record in baseball.
29 (27). Colorado Rockies (33-52): Why hasn't anyone been fired for this debacle yet?
30 (30). San Diego Padres (34-53): No team has used more starting pitchers than the poor Padres. On a lighter note: rookie catcher Yasmani Grandal hit two home runs--one from each side of the plate--for his first major league hits in his first major league start. Not a bad first day on the job.
Monday, June 11, 2012
MLB Uber Power Rankings
The Rangers maintain their oh-so-tenuous hold on the top spot, while the Yankees and Nationals have jumped into the top five. The White Sox, Angels, and Pirates were the teams that made the biggest jumps up the rankings. All records and statistics are through Monday, June 11th. Last edition's rankings are in parentheses.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (35-26): Since a 15-4 start, the Rangers are 20-22. Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland have hit the DL, Alexi Ogando is banged up, and Roy Oswalt has degenerative discs in his back. Are they still the AL favorites?
2 (6). New York Yankees (35-25): 14 wins in their last 18 games, thanks to resurgent starting pitching; Andy Pettitte's 4.44 K/BB ratio would be the best mark of his career.
3 (3). Tampa Bay Rays (35-25): They've committed the third-most errors in baseball, are still without Evan Longoria...and somehow, some way, are tied for first in baseball's toughest division.
4 (7). Washington Nationals (36-23): Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg have been the two best strikeout pitchers in the NL, and Bryce Harper continues to do things that 19-year-olds shouldn't be able to do.
5 (5). Atlanta Braves (34-27): What to make of the streaky Braves? Brandon Beachy (1.98 ERA) and Michael Bourn (.372 OBP from the leadoff spot) have been sensational; Mike Minor (6.57 ERA) and Brian McCann (.234 average) have not.
6 (4). Los Angeles Dodgers (39-23): Despite getting no-hit by the Seattle Mariners, the Dodgers have won six of eight and Kenley Jansen has been dominant in the closer role.
7 (15). Los Angeles Angels (33-29): 15 wins in 19 games thanks in large part to 20-year-old Mike Trout, who amazingly ranks 3rd in the AL in Wins Above Replacement (with 2.9) even though he missed the first 20 games of the season.
8 (2). St. Louis Cardinals (31-30): Their +55 run differential is 2nd-best in baseball, but rather frustratingly, they're just one game over .500. And now Jaime Garcia's shoulder has imploded.
9 (11). Cincinnati Reds (32-27): Joey Votto would be the NL's MVP if the season ended today thanks to his godly .355/.476/.631 line.
10 (20). Chicago White Sox (33-27): 13 wins in 14 games propelled the white-hot White Sox to first place in the AL Central. Chris Sale has a sub-1.00 ERA over his last 5 starts and Adam Dunn is on pace for 50+ home runs.
11 (8). Toronto Blue Jays (31-30): Brandon Morrow's injury leaves the pitching rather thin after Ricky Romero, which is a problem in the cutthroat AL East. Perhaps a trade for...Matt Garza?
12 (9). Cleveland Indians (32-27): Jason Kipnis is quietly enjoying a fantastic season at second base, with 10 homers, 15 steals, and a .285 average.
13 (10). Baltimore Orioles (34-26): The exact opposite of the Cardinals: they're the only AL East team that's been outscored, yet they're 8 games over .500 with help from 9 (nine!!!) extra-innings victories.
14 (18). San Francisco Giants (34-27): They're 2-11 when Tim Lincecum starts. Who could've predicted that?
15 (16). Arizona Diamondbacks (30-30): By returning to what they do best (scoring runs in bunches), the D'backs have admirably fought their way back to .500.
16 (13). Boston Red Sox (29-32): Right when things finally get fixed (the bullpen, Clay Buchholz), more things start falling apart (Daniel Bard, Dustin Pedroia's thumb).
17 (12). Miami Marlins (32-29): June hasn't been as kind as May was; the Marlins were outscored by the Rays, 22-7, in a three-game sweep.
18 (27). Pittsburgh Pirates (32-27): How can you be a first-place team despite scoring the fewest runs in baseball? By employing some red-hot pitchers and playing in a division with the Cubs and Astros.
19 (14). Detroit Tigers (28-32): Haven't looked like a playoff team for some time now, and the front office needs to start contemplating some major moves to turn this thing around.
20 (19). New York Mets (32-29): Starting to come back to earth; it's as if they suddenly remembered they only have one capable hitter and absolutely no bullpen to speak of.
21 (17): Philadelphia Phillies (29-33): Roy Halladay is on the DL. Cliff Lee is winless. The Ghost of Jim Thome is hitting cleanup. Things have gone south very quickly in Philly.
22 (21). Milwaukee Brewers (28-32): Rickie Weeks (.158/.298/.287) apparently doesn't know that the season started two months ago.
23 (24). Seattle Mariners (27-35): Hey, at least they no-hit the Dodgers.
24 (23). Kansas City Royals (24-34): Eric Hosmer has finally come alive, but in the least-surprising development of all time, Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur aren't as good as they were last year.
25 (22). Oakland Athletics (26-35): Owners of the worst slugging percentage in baseball. It's time for a new ballpark.
26 (24). Houston Astros (26-34): Red Sox reject Jed Lowrie has 12 HRs and a .898 OPS, teaming up with Jose Altuve to form quite an intriguing double-play combination in Houston.
27 (26). Colorado Rockies (24-35): Opponents are hitting .297 off of the Rockies' unfathomably poor pitching.
28 (30). Minnesota Twins (24-35): Trevor Plouffe (not a made-up person) helped fuel a recent 9-3 stretch that has lifted the Twins out of the Power Rankings cellar.
29 (28). Chicago Cubs (20-40): They suck, but at least they're making headlines by dangling intriguing trade bait, making exciting draft choices, and signing Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler to a $30 million deal.
30 (29). San Diego Padres (20-41): They finally have a slugger who can knock it out of Petco Park (Carlos Quentin has 5 HRs in 10 games)...which means he's a safe bet to be traded within the month. That's the status quo for baseball in San Diego.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (35-26): Since a 15-4 start, the Rangers are 20-22. Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland have hit the DL, Alexi Ogando is banged up, and Roy Oswalt has degenerative discs in his back. Are they still the AL favorites?
2 (6). New York Yankees (35-25): 14 wins in their last 18 games, thanks to resurgent starting pitching; Andy Pettitte's 4.44 K/BB ratio would be the best mark of his career.
3 (3). Tampa Bay Rays (35-25): They've committed the third-most errors in baseball, are still without Evan Longoria...and somehow, some way, are tied for first in baseball's toughest division.
4 (7). Washington Nationals (36-23): Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg have been the two best strikeout pitchers in the NL, and Bryce Harper continues to do things that 19-year-olds shouldn't be able to do.
5 (5). Atlanta Braves (34-27): What to make of the streaky Braves? Brandon Beachy (1.98 ERA) and Michael Bourn (.372 OBP from the leadoff spot) have been sensational; Mike Minor (6.57 ERA) and Brian McCann (.234 average) have not.
6 (4). Los Angeles Dodgers (39-23): Despite getting no-hit by the Seattle Mariners, the Dodgers have won six of eight and Kenley Jansen has been dominant in the closer role.
7 (15). Los Angeles Angels (33-29): 15 wins in 19 games thanks in large part to 20-year-old Mike Trout, who amazingly ranks 3rd in the AL in Wins Above Replacement (with 2.9) even though he missed the first 20 games of the season.
8 (2). St. Louis Cardinals (31-30): Their +55 run differential is 2nd-best in baseball, but rather frustratingly, they're just one game over .500. And now Jaime Garcia's shoulder has imploded.
9 (11). Cincinnati Reds (32-27): Joey Votto would be the NL's MVP if the season ended today thanks to his godly .355/.476/.631 line.
10 (20). Chicago White Sox (33-27): 13 wins in 14 games propelled the white-hot White Sox to first place in the AL Central. Chris Sale has a sub-1.00 ERA over his last 5 starts and Adam Dunn is on pace for 50+ home runs.
11 (8). Toronto Blue Jays (31-30): Brandon Morrow's injury leaves the pitching rather thin after Ricky Romero, which is a problem in the cutthroat AL East. Perhaps a trade for...Matt Garza?
12 (9). Cleveland Indians (32-27): Jason Kipnis is quietly enjoying a fantastic season at second base, with 10 homers, 15 steals, and a .285 average.
13 (10). Baltimore Orioles (34-26): The exact opposite of the Cardinals: they're the only AL East team that's been outscored, yet they're 8 games over .500 with help from 9 (nine!!!) extra-innings victories.
14 (18). San Francisco Giants (34-27): They're 2-11 when Tim Lincecum starts. Who could've predicted that?
15 (16). Arizona Diamondbacks (30-30): By returning to what they do best (scoring runs in bunches), the D'backs have admirably fought their way back to .500.
16 (13). Boston Red Sox (29-32): Right when things finally get fixed (the bullpen, Clay Buchholz), more things start falling apart (Daniel Bard, Dustin Pedroia's thumb).
17 (12). Miami Marlins (32-29): June hasn't been as kind as May was; the Marlins were outscored by the Rays, 22-7, in a three-game sweep.
18 (27). Pittsburgh Pirates (32-27): How can you be a first-place team despite scoring the fewest runs in baseball? By employing some red-hot pitchers and playing in a division with the Cubs and Astros.
19 (14). Detroit Tigers (28-32): Haven't looked like a playoff team for some time now, and the front office needs to start contemplating some major moves to turn this thing around.
20 (19). New York Mets (32-29): Starting to come back to earth; it's as if they suddenly remembered they only have one capable hitter and absolutely no bullpen to speak of.
21 (17): Philadelphia Phillies (29-33): Roy Halladay is on the DL. Cliff Lee is winless. The Ghost of Jim Thome is hitting cleanup. Things have gone south very quickly in Philly.
22 (21). Milwaukee Brewers (28-32): Rickie Weeks (.158/.298/.287) apparently doesn't know that the season started two months ago.
23 (24). Seattle Mariners (27-35): Hey, at least they no-hit the Dodgers.
24 (23). Kansas City Royals (24-34): Eric Hosmer has finally come alive, but in the least-surprising development of all time, Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur aren't as good as they were last year.
25 (22). Oakland Athletics (26-35): Owners of the worst slugging percentage in baseball. It's time for a new ballpark.
26 (24). Houston Astros (26-34): Red Sox reject Jed Lowrie has 12 HRs and a .898 OPS, teaming up with Jose Altuve to form quite an intriguing double-play combination in Houston.
27 (26). Colorado Rockies (24-35): Opponents are hitting .297 off of the Rockies' unfathomably poor pitching.
28 (30). Minnesota Twins (24-35): Trevor Plouffe (not a made-up person) helped fuel a recent 9-3 stretch that has lifted the Twins out of the Power Rankings cellar.
29 (28). Chicago Cubs (20-40): They suck, but at least they're making headlines by dangling intriguing trade bait, making exciting draft choices, and signing Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler to a $30 million deal.
30 (29). San Diego Padres (20-41): They finally have a slugger who can knock it out of Petco Park (Carlos Quentin has 5 HRs in 10 games)...which means he's a safe bet to be traded within the month. That's the status quo for baseball in San Diego.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
MLB Uber Power Rankings
The Tigers and Red Sox are headed in opposite directions while MLB's two surprise teams--the Dodgers and Orioles--make big jumps up the rankings. All records and statistics are through Thursday, May 24th. Last edition's rankings are in parentheses.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (27-18): Still the best in the land, though they're 12-14 in their last 26 games and haven't won three in a row in a month.
2 (2). St. Louis Cardinals (25-20): As many feared, injuries are taking their toll on this fragile roster, with regulars Lance Berkman, Allen Craig, and Jon Jay all hitting the DL.
3 (3). Tampa Bay Rays (27-18): A streaky team trying to weather the losses of its offensive catalysts, Evan Longoria and Desmond Jennings.
4 (9). Los Angeles Dodgers (30-14): They keep winning, and Matt Kemp will be back soon. Ironically, the impending return of the Juans (Uribe and Rivera) might actually hurt.
5 (5). Atlanta Braves (26-20): They were flying high until a sobering four-game sweep at the hands of the Reds. Brandon Beachy, Tim Hudson, and Tommy Hanson compose the most underrated pitching trio in baseball.
6 (4). New York Yankees (23-21): Bumbling through a brutal May, their dismal numbers with runners in scoring position should normalize. Andy Pettitte (17 K's and 2 runs allowed in his last 15 innings) has been remarkable.
7 (6). Washington Nationals (26-18): Stephen Strasburg can do it all: his ERA is 2.21 and his OPS is 1.162.
8 (7). Toronto Blue Jays (24-21): They would be one of the NL's best teams, but instead they're stuck in the meatgrinder that is the AL East and might not make the playoffs.
9 (10). Cleveland Indians (26-18): A three-game sweep of the Tigers solidified the Tribe as the AL Central's new team to beat.
10 (15). Baltimore Orioles (28-17): They've hit the most home runs in the majors and Adam Jones is emerging as a legitimate MVP candidate.
11 (11). Cincinnati Reds (25-19): Now in first place in the NL Central, though the lack of patience at the plate from everyone not named Votto is concerning.
12 (14). Miami Marlins (24-21): Their May turnaround (16-7 record) has been fueled by Giancarlo Stanton's dramatic emergence at the plate (nine homers in the month).
13 (16). Boston Red Sox (22-22): A nice job clawing their way back to .500, even with injuries that have reduced the starting outfield to Scott Podsednik, Marlon Byrd, and...Adrian Gonzalez.
14 (8). Detroit Tigers (20-24): Swept by the Indians and they haven't won consecutive games in over a month. Maybe some of that excessive preseason hype was misplaced?
15 (13). Los Angeles Angels (21-25): There are signs of improvement, like the ridiculous dominance of trade pickup Ernesto Frieri out of the bullpen, but they've been treading water for too long.
16 (12). Arizona Diamondbacks (20-25): Already 10.5 games behind the Dodgers and no series wins in May. Almost nothing has gone right.
17 (17). Philadelphia Phillies (23-23): Catcher Carlos Ruiz is putting up MVP-caliber numbers, with a .366/.417/.590 line, 7 HRs, and 29 RBIs.
18 (18). San Francisco Giants (24-21): Swapping Jonathan Sanchez for Melky Cabrera looks like the steal of the winter so far, considering Cabrera's .362/.409/.519 start for an otherwise-anemic offense.
19 (20). New York Mets (24-21): How can the Mets be over .500 with a negative-35 run differential? Because of David Wright, who's hitting .405 on the season.
20 (19). Chicago White Sox (23-22): One season after hitting only 11 homers, Adam Dunn has already swatted 14 and raised his slugging percentage by 300 points.
21 (21). Milwaukee Brewers (18-26): Great things are being done by Ryan Braun, Zack Greinke, and Jonathan Lucroy, and the Brewers still stink.
22 (22). Oakland Athletics (22-23): As a team, the A's are hitting just .210.
23 (27). Kansas City Royals (17-26): Actually 14-12 since that ugly 12-game losing streak. But Eric Hosmer has been one of the season's biggest disappointments, hitting just .191. Which is worse than the A's.
24 (23). Seattle Mariners (21-26): In his last 22 innings, 37-year-old Kevin Millwood has allowed one total run against the Yankees, Rockies, and Rangers. You can't make this stuff up.
25 (24). Houston Astros (21-23): Bud Norris has the lowest May ERA in all of baseball, and the Astros are becoming one of those bad teams that are fun to watch.
26 (25). Colorado Rockies (16-27): Weren't the Rockies good at some point?
27 (26). Pittsburgh Pirates (20-24): Despite Andrew McCutchen's .934 OPS, the Pirates have scored the fewest runs in baseball.
28 (28). Chicago Cubs (15-29): At one point, the Cubs went 59 consecutive innings without holding a single lead.
29 (29). San Diego Padres (17-29): They've already had nine different pitchers make a start, and it's not like the offense is picking up any of the slack.
30 (30). Minnesota Twins (15-29): The best ERA on the staff belongs to Carl Pavano, and his sits at 4.91. Things are ugly in Minnesota.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (27-18): Still the best in the land, though they're 12-14 in their last 26 games and haven't won three in a row in a month.
2 (2). St. Louis Cardinals (25-20): As many feared, injuries are taking their toll on this fragile roster, with regulars Lance Berkman, Allen Craig, and Jon Jay all hitting the DL.
3 (3). Tampa Bay Rays (27-18): A streaky team trying to weather the losses of its offensive catalysts, Evan Longoria and Desmond Jennings.
4 (9). Los Angeles Dodgers (30-14): They keep winning, and Matt Kemp will be back soon. Ironically, the impending return of the Juans (Uribe and Rivera) might actually hurt.
5 (5). Atlanta Braves (26-20): They were flying high until a sobering four-game sweep at the hands of the Reds. Brandon Beachy, Tim Hudson, and Tommy Hanson compose the most underrated pitching trio in baseball.
6 (4). New York Yankees (23-21): Bumbling through a brutal May, their dismal numbers with runners in scoring position should normalize. Andy Pettitte (17 K's and 2 runs allowed in his last 15 innings) has been remarkable.
7 (6). Washington Nationals (26-18): Stephen Strasburg can do it all: his ERA is 2.21 and his OPS is 1.162.
8 (7). Toronto Blue Jays (24-21): They would be one of the NL's best teams, but instead they're stuck in the meatgrinder that is the AL East and might not make the playoffs.
9 (10). Cleveland Indians (26-18): A three-game sweep of the Tigers solidified the Tribe as the AL Central's new team to beat.
10 (15). Baltimore Orioles (28-17): They've hit the most home runs in the majors and Adam Jones is emerging as a legitimate MVP candidate.
11 (11). Cincinnati Reds (25-19): Now in first place in the NL Central, though the lack of patience at the plate from everyone not named Votto is concerning.
12 (14). Miami Marlins (24-21): Their May turnaround (16-7 record) has been fueled by Giancarlo Stanton's dramatic emergence at the plate (nine homers in the month).
13 (16). Boston Red Sox (22-22): A nice job clawing their way back to .500, even with injuries that have reduced the starting outfield to Scott Podsednik, Marlon Byrd, and...Adrian Gonzalez.
14 (8). Detroit Tigers (20-24): Swept by the Indians and they haven't won consecutive games in over a month. Maybe some of that excessive preseason hype was misplaced?
15 (13). Los Angeles Angels (21-25): There are signs of improvement, like the ridiculous dominance of trade pickup Ernesto Frieri out of the bullpen, but they've been treading water for too long.
16 (12). Arizona Diamondbacks (20-25): Already 10.5 games behind the Dodgers and no series wins in May. Almost nothing has gone right.
17 (17). Philadelphia Phillies (23-23): Catcher Carlos Ruiz is putting up MVP-caliber numbers, with a .366/.417/.590 line, 7 HRs, and 29 RBIs.
18 (18). San Francisco Giants (24-21): Swapping Jonathan Sanchez for Melky Cabrera looks like the steal of the winter so far, considering Cabrera's .362/.409/.519 start for an otherwise-anemic offense.
19 (20). New York Mets (24-21): How can the Mets be over .500 with a negative-35 run differential? Because of David Wright, who's hitting .405 on the season.
20 (19). Chicago White Sox (23-22): One season after hitting only 11 homers, Adam Dunn has already swatted 14 and raised his slugging percentage by 300 points.
21 (21). Milwaukee Brewers (18-26): Great things are being done by Ryan Braun, Zack Greinke, and Jonathan Lucroy, and the Brewers still stink.
22 (22). Oakland Athletics (22-23): As a team, the A's are hitting just .210.
23 (27). Kansas City Royals (17-26): Actually 14-12 since that ugly 12-game losing streak. But Eric Hosmer has been one of the season's biggest disappointments, hitting just .191. Which is worse than the A's.
24 (23). Seattle Mariners (21-26): In his last 22 innings, 37-year-old Kevin Millwood has allowed one total run against the Yankees, Rockies, and Rangers. You can't make this stuff up.
25 (24). Houston Astros (21-23): Bud Norris has the lowest May ERA in all of baseball, and the Astros are becoming one of those bad teams that are fun to watch.
26 (25). Colorado Rockies (16-27): Weren't the Rockies good at some point?
27 (26). Pittsburgh Pirates (20-24): Despite Andrew McCutchen's .934 OPS, the Pirates have scored the fewest runs in baseball.
28 (28). Chicago Cubs (15-29): At one point, the Cubs went 59 consecutive innings without holding a single lead.
29 (29). San Diego Padres (17-29): They've already had nine different pitchers make a start, and it's not like the offense is picking up any of the slack.
30 (30). Minnesota Twins (15-29): The best ERA on the staff belongs to Carl Pavano, and his sits at 4.91. Things are ugly in Minnesota.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
MLB Uber Power Rankings
In this third edition of these rankings, the Indians and Orioles soar upwards, the Brewers take a tumble, and last year's World Series teams claim the top two spots. All records and statistics are through Thursday, May 10th. Last edition's rankings are in parentheses.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (21-11): Those three series losses in a row after injuries to Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton prove that this team's biggest weakness is its fragile health.
2 (3). St. Louis Cardinals (20-11): In the NL, the potent Cardinals are simply in a league of their own. Lance Lynn is 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA, and Lance Berkman hasn't even been playing much.
3 (4). Tampa Bay Rays (20-12): They're good enough to win without him, but losing Evan Longoria for two months will really hurt.
4 (2). New York Yankees (17-14): After weathering some devastating injuries and offensive slumps, the starting pitching is finally settling in.
5 (6). Atlanta Braves (19-13): The offense that was so pathetic last September has scored the third-most runs in baseball.
6 (7). Washington Nationals (19-12): Bryce Harper has arrived, and he's sorely needed in an outfield crippled by Jayson Werth's six-week injury.
7 (9). Toronto Blue Jays (17-14): Some long-awaited breakouts are taking place: Edwin Encarnacion has 10 homers and a .903 OPS while Brandon Morrow's tidy ERA sits at 2.27.
8 (5). Detroit Tigers (16-15): Since a 9-3 start, the Tigers are 7-12, and the Indians' strong play means the division race won't be the cakewalk it was supposed to be.
9 (8). Los Angeles Dodgers (20-11): They obviously can't be treated as a fluke anymore, though any team that feels the need to sign Bobby Abreu still has some major holes.
10 (18). Cleveland Indians (18-13): While they aren't as good as their record suggests, they have the 5th-best team OBP in the majors, which bodes well moving forward.
11 (14). Cincinnati Reds (16-14): Johnny Cueto (3 total ER in his last 5 starts) and Jay Bruce (7 HRs in his last 12 games) are on fire right now.
12 (10). Arizona Diamondbacks (14-18): One of those teams that's just much better than its disappointing start suggests.
13 (11). Los Angeles Angels (14-18): They've won three series all year: two against the Twins, one against the Orioles. Even with Chris Iannetta's two-month injury, I retain faith that they're not THIS bad.
14 (20). Miami Marlins (16-15): A recent seven-game win streak culminated in Carlos Zambrano's complete-game shutout.
15 (24). Baltimore Orioles (20-12): What a week: they won a 17-inning game in Boston with Chris Davis on the mound, gave up four homers to Josh Hamilton, and beat the Rangers by turning all five of their hits into home runs.
16 (12). Boston Red Sox (12-19): They've lost 11 of their past 12 home games and Josh Beckett, embroiled in a golfing scandal, was ruthlessly booed by the Fenway faithful during his stinker against Cleveland.
17 (13). Philadelphia Phillies (14-18): Just suffered a devastating three-game home sweep at the hands of the Mets, each loss featuring a late-game bullpen meltdown. Might Cole Hamels become July's shiniest trade target?
18 (15). San Francisco Giants (15-16): As much trouble as the Rays are in without Evan Longoria, the Giants will suffer twice as much with Pablo Sandoval on the shelf.
19 (16). Chicago White Sox (15-17): A 5-11 stretch and Chris Sale's elbow troubles have quickly ended Chicago's hot start.
20 (19). New York Mets (18-13): Easily the luckiest team in baseball right now; their minus-18 run differential is an omen for the coming regression.
21 (15). Milwaukee Brewers (13-18): Four straight series losses. Mat Gamel and Alex Gonzalez lost for the season. The third-worst run differential in the majors. Things aren't going well in Milwaukee right now.
22 (22). Oakland Athletics (16-16): There were some nice positives in their back-to-back road series wins at Boston and Tampa Bay.
23 (23). Seattle Mariners (15-18): Kyle Seager has been the most pleasant surprise, with his .298 average, .510 slugging percentage, and 20 RBIs.
24 (27). Houston Astros (14-17): They have a positive run differential, which nobody, not even the Astros, saw coming. As a bonus: Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers are improving their trade value.
25 (21). Colorado Rockies (13-17): Going through a typical Rockies season: lots of offense, miserable pitching, and often-baffling inconsistency.
26 (26). Pittsburgh Pirates (14-17): Not going anywhere with their pathetic lineup.
27 (28). Kansas City Royals (11-19): Almost everything has gone wrong for a Royals team that some expected to finally make some noise this season.
28 (29). Chicago Cubs (13-18): Bryan LaHair, career Triple-A masher, has a ridiculous .384/.476/.767 line with 8 homers, putting himself in the lead for best story of the year.
29 (30). San Diego Padres (11-21): The possibility of losing Cory Luebke for the season is a tough break for Padres fans desperately searching for any reason to watch their team play baseball.
30 (25). Minnesota Twins (8-22): Their minus-63 run differential is the worst in the majors by a mile, mostly thanks to a frighteningly-bad pitching staff that also ranks as baseball's worst.
Two critical series loom this weekend: the Angels will try to start digging themselves out of their hole against the Rangers, while two of the top teams in the National League--the Cardinals and Braves--face off. Meanwhile, the Orioles continue their quest to prove themselves with another series against the Rays and Andy Pettitte makes his season debut on Sunday against the Mariners.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (21-11): Those three series losses in a row after injuries to Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton prove that this team's biggest weakness is its fragile health.
2 (3). St. Louis Cardinals (20-11): In the NL, the potent Cardinals are simply in a league of their own. Lance Lynn is 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA, and Lance Berkman hasn't even been playing much.
3 (4). Tampa Bay Rays (20-12): They're good enough to win without him, but losing Evan Longoria for two months will really hurt.
4 (2). New York Yankees (17-14): After weathering some devastating injuries and offensive slumps, the starting pitching is finally settling in.
5 (6). Atlanta Braves (19-13): The offense that was so pathetic last September has scored the third-most runs in baseball.
6 (7). Washington Nationals (19-12): Bryce Harper has arrived, and he's sorely needed in an outfield crippled by Jayson Werth's six-week injury.
7 (9). Toronto Blue Jays (17-14): Some long-awaited breakouts are taking place: Edwin Encarnacion has 10 homers and a .903 OPS while Brandon Morrow's tidy ERA sits at 2.27.
8 (5). Detroit Tigers (16-15): Since a 9-3 start, the Tigers are 7-12, and the Indians' strong play means the division race won't be the cakewalk it was supposed to be.
9 (8). Los Angeles Dodgers (20-11): They obviously can't be treated as a fluke anymore, though any team that feels the need to sign Bobby Abreu still has some major holes.
10 (18). Cleveland Indians (18-13): While they aren't as good as their record suggests, they have the 5th-best team OBP in the majors, which bodes well moving forward.
11 (14). Cincinnati Reds (16-14): Johnny Cueto (3 total ER in his last 5 starts) and Jay Bruce (7 HRs in his last 12 games) are on fire right now.
12 (10). Arizona Diamondbacks (14-18): One of those teams that's just much better than its disappointing start suggests.
13 (11). Los Angeles Angels (14-18): They've won three series all year: two against the Twins, one against the Orioles. Even with Chris Iannetta's two-month injury, I retain faith that they're not THIS bad.
14 (20). Miami Marlins (16-15): A recent seven-game win streak culminated in Carlos Zambrano's complete-game shutout.
15 (24). Baltimore Orioles (20-12): What a week: they won a 17-inning game in Boston with Chris Davis on the mound, gave up four homers to Josh Hamilton, and beat the Rangers by turning all five of their hits into home runs.
16 (12). Boston Red Sox (12-19): They've lost 11 of their past 12 home games and Josh Beckett, embroiled in a golfing scandal, was ruthlessly booed by the Fenway faithful during his stinker against Cleveland.
17 (13). Philadelphia Phillies (14-18): Just suffered a devastating three-game home sweep at the hands of the Mets, each loss featuring a late-game bullpen meltdown. Might Cole Hamels become July's shiniest trade target?
18 (15). San Francisco Giants (15-16): As much trouble as the Rays are in without Evan Longoria, the Giants will suffer twice as much with Pablo Sandoval on the shelf.
19 (16). Chicago White Sox (15-17): A 5-11 stretch and Chris Sale's elbow troubles have quickly ended Chicago's hot start.
20 (19). New York Mets (18-13): Easily the luckiest team in baseball right now; their minus-18 run differential is an omen for the coming regression.
21 (15). Milwaukee Brewers (13-18): Four straight series losses. Mat Gamel and Alex Gonzalez lost for the season. The third-worst run differential in the majors. Things aren't going well in Milwaukee right now.
22 (22). Oakland Athletics (16-16): There were some nice positives in their back-to-back road series wins at Boston and Tampa Bay.
23 (23). Seattle Mariners (15-18): Kyle Seager has been the most pleasant surprise, with his .298 average, .510 slugging percentage, and 20 RBIs.
24 (27). Houston Astros (14-17): They have a positive run differential, which nobody, not even the Astros, saw coming. As a bonus: Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers are improving their trade value.
25 (21). Colorado Rockies (13-17): Going through a typical Rockies season: lots of offense, miserable pitching, and often-baffling inconsistency.
26 (26). Pittsburgh Pirates (14-17): Not going anywhere with their pathetic lineup.
27 (28). Kansas City Royals (11-19): Almost everything has gone wrong for a Royals team that some expected to finally make some noise this season.
28 (29). Chicago Cubs (13-18): Bryan LaHair, career Triple-A masher, has a ridiculous .384/.476/.767 line with 8 homers, putting himself in the lead for best story of the year.
29 (30). San Diego Padres (11-21): The possibility of losing Cory Luebke for the season is a tough break for Padres fans desperately searching for any reason to watch their team play baseball.
30 (25). Minnesota Twins (8-22): Their minus-63 run differential is the worst in the majors by a mile, mostly thanks to a frighteningly-bad pitching staff that also ranks as baseball's worst.
Two critical series loom this weekend: the Angels will try to start digging themselves out of their hole against the Rangers, while two of the top teams in the National League--the Cardinals and Braves--face off. Meanwhile, the Orioles continue their quest to prove themselves with another series against the Rays and Andy Pettitte makes his season debut on Sunday against the Mariners.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
MLB Uber Power Rankings
In the second edition of the MLB Uber Power Rankings, the Braves take a big leap forward while the Diamondbacks, Angels, and Red Sox slide back. All records and statistics are through Thursday, April 26. Last edition's rankings are in parentheses.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (15-4): They're easily the best team in baseball, and it's not even close. At all.
2 (2). New York Yankees (10-8): They have two advantages over Texas: C.C. Sabathia and Mariano Rivera. The weak links are Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia, only one of whom can be replaced by Andy Pettitte.
3 (4). St. Louis Cardinals (12-7): The fragility of the team's health is mitigated by their impressive depth pieces, like Lance Lynn and Matt Carpenter.
4 (3). Tampa Bay Rays (12-7): The biggest weakness is the bullpen, where the Rays have somehow turned Fernando Rodney back into a solid closer.
5 (5). Detroit Tigers (10-9): They've cooled off after a hot start as they look for consistency behind Justin Verlander. Drew Smyly looks like he'll be a part of that.
6 (13). Atlanta Braves (12-7): The Braves have gone 12-3 since an 0-4 start thanks to the usual: strong pitching and streaky hitting.
7 (9). Washington Nationals (14-5): A stingy rotation has been the best in baseball, though concerns about the lineup persist.
8 (10). Los Angeles Dodgers (13-6): Absolutely nothing can stop Matt Kemp right now.
9 (11). Toronto Blue Jays (10-9): They've been middle-of-the-pack statistically, but Jose Bautista won't hit .203 all year.
10 (6). Arizona Diamondbacks (9-10): They've been hit hard by injuries, as Chris Young and Daniel Hudson have hit the DL and Justin Upton is dealing with a nagging thumb injury.
11 (7). Los Angeles Angels (6-13): A nightmarish start for the Angels. Albert Pujols has been quiet, the offense is slumping, and the bullpen is terrible. Things have to turn around...right?
12 (8). Boston Red Sox (8-10): A sweep of the lowly Twins has pulled the Sox out of their tailspin. The bad news? Carl Crawford is out for three months as he rehabs his elbow.
13 (14). Philadelphia Phillies (9-10): Losing Cliff Lee to the DL hurts badly considering how inept the offense is.
14 (12). Cincinnati Reds (9-10): Surprisingly, scoring runs has been the problem. Meanwhile, Aroldis Chapman in relief: 20 K's and 2 BB's in 11.1 innings, zero runs allowed.
15 (15). Milwaukee Brewers (9-10): They score in bunches, and can't stop other teams from scoring in bunches.
16 (20). Chicago White Sox (10-9): The Three Bad Contracts--Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, and Jake Peavy--are off to good starts. The rotation is underrated. The 'pen looks good. Sleeper team??
17 (21). San Francisco Giants (10-9): Amazingly, the offense has been competent. As long as Aubrey Huff never plays second base again, they'll compete for a wild card.
18 (18). Cleveland Indians (9-8): Their last four series have been against the Royals, Mariners, and Athletics. Stretches like that sure help your record.
19 (17). New York Mets (11-8): They won't make the playoffs, but they're going to be a lot more competitive than anyone thought they'd be.
20 (16). Miami Marlins (7-11): Everything, everything, everything has gone wrong for them in the early goings.
21 (19): Colorado Rockies (9-9): Jamie Moyer has been their best starter. Repeat: Jamie Moyer has been their best starter.
22 (25). Oakland Athletics (10-10): Yoenis Cespedes, OPSing .904 with 5 HRs and a cannon for an arm, is rapidly becoming one of the game's most exciting players.
23 (23). Seattle Mariners (10-10): Last Thursday, Felix Hernandez threw eight shutout innings, struck out twelve, allowed five hits...and got a no-decision. So goes life for a Mariners pitcher.
24 (28). Baltimore Orioles (12-7): Great starts for Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, and Nolan Reimold. But it's safe to say that the O's won't finish the season with a 3.29 ERA.
25 (27). Minnesota Twins (5-14): Josh Willingham is red-hot, and Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are healthy. Unfortunately, none of them can pitch.
26 (26). Pittsburgh Pirates (8-10): Amazingly, they've only scored 41 runs in 18 games. Erik Bedard has a 2.63 ERA and is still stuck with an 0-4 record.
27 (30). Houston Astros (7-12): There have been bright spots, namely Wandy "Trade Bait" Rodriguez's 1.42 ERA and the young offensive duo of J.D. Martinez and Jose Altuve.
28 (22). Kansas City Royals (5-14): A brutal 12-game losing streak has left the Royals winless at home.
29 (24). Chicago Cubs (6-13): The fire sale has already begun, kickstarted by Marlon Byrd's trade to the Red Sox.
30 (29). San Diego Padres (6-14): Only one San Diego regular has a slugging percentage above .400. No wonder they're finally considering moving in the Petco fences.
This weekend, four of the top five teams are in action against each other, as the Rangers are in Tampa and the Tigers visit the Yankees. In the NL, the Nationals face the Dodgers in a matchup of the young season's most surprising teams.
1 (1). Texas Rangers (15-4): They're easily the best team in baseball, and it's not even close. At all.
2 (2). New York Yankees (10-8): They have two advantages over Texas: C.C. Sabathia and Mariano Rivera. The weak links are Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia, only one of whom can be replaced by Andy Pettitte.
3 (4). St. Louis Cardinals (12-7): The fragility of the team's health is mitigated by their impressive depth pieces, like Lance Lynn and Matt Carpenter.
4 (3). Tampa Bay Rays (12-7): The biggest weakness is the bullpen, where the Rays have somehow turned Fernando Rodney back into a solid closer.
5 (5). Detroit Tigers (10-9): They've cooled off after a hot start as they look for consistency behind Justin Verlander. Drew Smyly looks like he'll be a part of that.
6 (13). Atlanta Braves (12-7): The Braves have gone 12-3 since an 0-4 start thanks to the usual: strong pitching and streaky hitting.
7 (9). Washington Nationals (14-5): A stingy rotation has been the best in baseball, though concerns about the lineup persist.
8 (10). Los Angeles Dodgers (13-6): Absolutely nothing can stop Matt Kemp right now.
9 (11). Toronto Blue Jays (10-9): They've been middle-of-the-pack statistically, but Jose Bautista won't hit .203 all year.
10 (6). Arizona Diamondbacks (9-10): They've been hit hard by injuries, as Chris Young and Daniel Hudson have hit the DL and Justin Upton is dealing with a nagging thumb injury.
11 (7). Los Angeles Angels (6-13): A nightmarish start for the Angels. Albert Pujols has been quiet, the offense is slumping, and the bullpen is terrible. Things have to turn around...right?
12 (8). Boston Red Sox (8-10): A sweep of the lowly Twins has pulled the Sox out of their tailspin. The bad news? Carl Crawford is out for three months as he rehabs his elbow.
13 (14). Philadelphia Phillies (9-10): Losing Cliff Lee to the DL hurts badly considering how inept the offense is.
14 (12). Cincinnati Reds (9-10): Surprisingly, scoring runs has been the problem. Meanwhile, Aroldis Chapman in relief: 20 K's and 2 BB's in 11.1 innings, zero runs allowed.
15 (15). Milwaukee Brewers (9-10): They score in bunches, and can't stop other teams from scoring in bunches.
16 (20). Chicago White Sox (10-9): The Three Bad Contracts--Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, and Jake Peavy--are off to good starts. The rotation is underrated. The 'pen looks good. Sleeper team??
17 (21). San Francisco Giants (10-9): Amazingly, the offense has been competent. As long as Aubrey Huff never plays second base again, they'll compete for a wild card.
18 (18). Cleveland Indians (9-8): Their last four series have been against the Royals, Mariners, and Athletics. Stretches like that sure help your record.
19 (17). New York Mets (11-8): They won't make the playoffs, but they're going to be a lot more competitive than anyone thought they'd be.
20 (16). Miami Marlins (7-11): Everything, everything, everything has gone wrong for them in the early goings.
21 (19): Colorado Rockies (9-9): Jamie Moyer has been their best starter. Repeat: Jamie Moyer has been their best starter.
22 (25). Oakland Athletics (10-10): Yoenis Cespedes, OPSing .904 with 5 HRs and a cannon for an arm, is rapidly becoming one of the game's most exciting players.
23 (23). Seattle Mariners (10-10): Last Thursday, Felix Hernandez threw eight shutout innings, struck out twelve, allowed five hits...and got a no-decision. So goes life for a Mariners pitcher.
24 (28). Baltimore Orioles (12-7): Great starts for Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, and Nolan Reimold. But it's safe to say that the O's won't finish the season with a 3.29 ERA.
25 (27). Minnesota Twins (5-14): Josh Willingham is red-hot, and Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are healthy. Unfortunately, none of them can pitch.
26 (26). Pittsburgh Pirates (8-10): Amazingly, they've only scored 41 runs in 18 games. Erik Bedard has a 2.63 ERA and is still stuck with an 0-4 record.
27 (30). Houston Astros (7-12): There have been bright spots, namely Wandy "Trade Bait" Rodriguez's 1.42 ERA and the young offensive duo of J.D. Martinez and Jose Altuve.
28 (22). Kansas City Royals (5-14): A brutal 12-game losing streak has left the Royals winless at home.
29 (24). Chicago Cubs (6-13): The fire sale has already begun, kickstarted by Marlon Byrd's trade to the Red Sox.
30 (29). San Diego Padres (6-14): Only one San Diego regular has a slugging percentage above .400. No wonder they're finally considering moving in the Petco fences.
This weekend, four of the top five teams are in action against each other, as the Rangers are in Tampa and the Tigers visit the Yankees. In the NL, the Nationals face the Dodgers in a matchup of the young season's most surprising teams.
Monday, April 16, 2012
MLB Uber Power Rankings
The first set of Semi-Weekly "It's Way Too Early in the Season To Take These Seriously" Uber Power Rankings of the 30 teams in baseball. Rankings are objectively subjective (the "effectively wild" of Power Rankings). All records and statistics are through Sunday, April 15.
1. Texas Rangers (8-2): Yu Darvish gets all the hype, but Neftali Feliz and Matt Harrison sport ERAs of 2.25 and 0.64 respectively.
2. New York Yankees (5-4): A healthy, deep roster will welcome Michael Pineda and Andy Pettitte to the rotation come mid-May.
3. Tampa Bay Rays (4-5): By hitting .353/.450/.735 with 3 HRs and 11 RBIs, Carlos Pena has carried a B.J. Upton-less lineup. And somehow, the Rays are also tied for the worst run differential in the majors. Impressive, yet worrisome.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (7-3): The offense has been the NL's best, while Kyle Lohse, Lance Lynn, and Jake Westbrook have chipped in six sensational starts.
5. Detroit Tigers (6-3): Boston gets a lot of crap about the back end of its rotation, yet no one wants to mention that the Tigers' starting five currently includes Adam Wilk and Drew Smyly. This might not matter, because they're going to lead the universe in runs scored if Austin Jackson continues to get on base at a .513 clip.
6. Arizona Diamondbacks (6-3): The best team no one talks about. Chris Young is OPSing 1.216, Trevor Cahill has been impressive, and Future Stud Trevor Bauer awaits in the minors.
7. Los Angeles Angels (3-5): The pitching will fix itself. What won't fix itself: the fact that Vernon Wells has received the 2nd-most at-bats on the team, and the fact that the bullpen leans on Jason Isringhausen and LaTroy Hawkins.
8. Boston Red Sox (4-5): Still a very good team even when the outfield is composed of Cody Ross, Ryan Sweeney, and Jason Repko. Boston's depth is being challenged all over the roster and the solutions may be on the trade market.
9. Washington Nationals (7-3): Outstanding starting pitching has helped Washington survive crippling injuries to Michael Morse and Drew Storen.
10. Los Angeles Dodgers (9-1): Matt Kemp is the hottest player alive right now. But the Dodgers have only played the Padres and Pirates so far. And they're still counting on the following players: James Loney, Juan Rivera, Jerry Hairston Jr., Juan Uribe, Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano...
11. Toronto Blue Jays (5-4): The starting pitching is underrated, and the offense and bullpen should improve. The Jays will only get better.
12. Cincinnati Reds (4-6): I refuse to rank the Reds any higher until Aroldis Chapman (15 K's, no BB's in 8 IP) is moved into the rotation.
13. Atlanta Braves (5-4): Looks like scoring runs will be a problem all year, and Fredi Gonzalez is just a bad manager.
14. Philadelphia Phillies (4-5): They've got to be ready to win a bunch of 2-1 games, because this offense looks terrible. No one has any idea of what to expect from Chase Utley's knees and Ryan Howard's Achilles.
15. Milwaukee Brewers (4-6): The starting pitching, supposed to be this team's strength, has been suspect. At least Ryan Braun has an OPS north of .900 and Corey Hart is homering once every 6 at-bats.
16. Miami Marlins (4-6): The offense has struggled mightily, Josh Johnson's ERA sits at 8.38, and Ozzie Guillen is gushing about dictators.
17. New York Mets (6-3): The Dodgers of the East. David Wright is murdering the ball, Johan Santana is back, and recently-extended Jonathan Niese has looked great. Yet they remain: the Mets.
18. Cleveland Indians (4-4): The starting pitching has been excellent, but Johnny Damon won't do much to boost an uneven offense.
19. Colorado Rockies (4-5): Thank goodness the offense has been cruising, because the top ERA among the starters belongs to Jamie Moyer, and his sits at 4.22.
20. Chicago White Sox (5-3): Paul Konerko and great pitching have turned the White Sox into the American League's most surprising team.
21. San Francisco Giants (4-4): Brian Wilson is out for the season, Tim Lincecum has looked frighteningly hittable, and Buster Posey has shingles. Matt Cain's complete-game, one-hit shutout was a much-needed bright spot.
22. Kansas City Royals (3-6): Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer are off to slow starts. Another promising youngster provides hope: lefty Danny Duffy threw six shutout innings of one-hit ball in his season debut.
23. Seattle Mariners (6-5): Jesus Montero has just a .755 OPS. Of course, he also leads the Mariners in OPS.
24. Chicago Cubs (3-7): Matt Garza and Jeff Samardzija could be an electrifying and amusingly-named duo at the top of the rotation.
25. Oakland Athletics (4-6): True to form, Yoenis Cespedes has three HRs and 13 strikeouts.
26. Pittsburgh Pirates (2-6): The lineup has been putrid. Granted, the Pirates have had to face a murderer's row of pitchers so far, including Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, and Matt Cain.
27. Minnesota Twins (2-7): Scott Baker being lost for the season hardly makes a difference, because even with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau healthy, this remains an awful baseball team.
28. Baltimore Orioles (5-4): Matt Wieters and Adam Jones provide the O's with some respectability, but consider that the other four AL East teams are all ranked in the top 11 on this list. It will be a long year for Baltimore with those division foes.
29. San Diego Padres (2-8): The Padres are building towards the future with their top-ranked farm system. With 2012 a lost cause, maybe they extract a nice ransom from the Red Sox for Huston Street and/or Carlos Quentin?
30. Houston Astros (4-5): They would kill to be the Padres. The Astros will punt 2012, 2013, and maybe 2014 too. The lack of talent in this organization is mind-numbing.
1. Texas Rangers (8-2): Yu Darvish gets all the hype, but Neftali Feliz and Matt Harrison sport ERAs of 2.25 and 0.64 respectively.
2. New York Yankees (5-4): A healthy, deep roster will welcome Michael Pineda and Andy Pettitte to the rotation come mid-May.
3. Tampa Bay Rays (4-5): By hitting .353/.450/.735 with 3 HRs and 11 RBIs, Carlos Pena has carried a B.J. Upton-less lineup. And somehow, the Rays are also tied for the worst run differential in the majors. Impressive, yet worrisome.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (7-3): The offense has been the NL's best, while Kyle Lohse, Lance Lynn, and Jake Westbrook have chipped in six sensational starts.
5. Detroit Tigers (6-3): Boston gets a lot of crap about the back end of its rotation, yet no one wants to mention that the Tigers' starting five currently includes Adam Wilk and Drew Smyly. This might not matter, because they're going to lead the universe in runs scored if Austin Jackson continues to get on base at a .513 clip.
6. Arizona Diamondbacks (6-3): The best team no one talks about. Chris Young is OPSing 1.216, Trevor Cahill has been impressive, and Future Stud Trevor Bauer awaits in the minors.
7. Los Angeles Angels (3-5): The pitching will fix itself. What won't fix itself: the fact that Vernon Wells has received the 2nd-most at-bats on the team, and the fact that the bullpen leans on Jason Isringhausen and LaTroy Hawkins.
8. Boston Red Sox (4-5): Still a very good team even when the outfield is composed of Cody Ross, Ryan Sweeney, and Jason Repko. Boston's depth is being challenged all over the roster and the solutions may be on the trade market.
9. Washington Nationals (7-3): Outstanding starting pitching has helped Washington survive crippling injuries to Michael Morse and Drew Storen.
10. Los Angeles Dodgers (9-1): Matt Kemp is the hottest player alive right now. But the Dodgers have only played the Padres and Pirates so far. And they're still counting on the following players: James Loney, Juan Rivera, Jerry Hairston Jr., Juan Uribe, Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano...
11. Toronto Blue Jays (5-4): The starting pitching is underrated, and the offense and bullpen should improve. The Jays will only get better.
12. Cincinnati Reds (4-6): I refuse to rank the Reds any higher until Aroldis Chapman (15 K's, no BB's in 8 IP) is moved into the rotation.
13. Atlanta Braves (5-4): Looks like scoring runs will be a problem all year, and Fredi Gonzalez is just a bad manager.
14. Philadelphia Phillies (4-5): They've got to be ready to win a bunch of 2-1 games, because this offense looks terrible. No one has any idea of what to expect from Chase Utley's knees and Ryan Howard's Achilles.
15. Milwaukee Brewers (4-6): The starting pitching, supposed to be this team's strength, has been suspect. At least Ryan Braun has an OPS north of .900 and Corey Hart is homering once every 6 at-bats.
16. Miami Marlins (4-6): The offense has struggled mightily, Josh Johnson's ERA sits at 8.38, and Ozzie Guillen is gushing about dictators.
17. New York Mets (6-3): The Dodgers of the East. David Wright is murdering the ball, Johan Santana is back, and recently-extended Jonathan Niese has looked great. Yet they remain: the Mets.
18. Cleveland Indians (4-4): The starting pitching has been excellent, but Johnny Damon won't do much to boost an uneven offense.
19. Colorado Rockies (4-5): Thank goodness the offense has been cruising, because the top ERA among the starters belongs to Jamie Moyer, and his sits at 4.22.
20. Chicago White Sox (5-3): Paul Konerko and great pitching have turned the White Sox into the American League's most surprising team.
21. San Francisco Giants (4-4): Brian Wilson is out for the season, Tim Lincecum has looked frighteningly hittable, and Buster Posey has shingles. Matt Cain's complete-game, one-hit shutout was a much-needed bright spot.
22. Kansas City Royals (3-6): Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer are off to slow starts. Another promising youngster provides hope: lefty Danny Duffy threw six shutout innings of one-hit ball in his season debut.
23. Seattle Mariners (6-5): Jesus Montero has just a .755 OPS. Of course, he also leads the Mariners in OPS.
24. Chicago Cubs (3-7): Matt Garza and Jeff Samardzija could be an electrifying and amusingly-named duo at the top of the rotation.
25. Oakland Athletics (4-6): True to form, Yoenis Cespedes has three HRs and 13 strikeouts.
26. Pittsburgh Pirates (2-6): The lineup has been putrid. Granted, the Pirates have had to face a murderer's row of pitchers so far, including Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, and Matt Cain.
27. Minnesota Twins (2-7): Scott Baker being lost for the season hardly makes a difference, because even with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau healthy, this remains an awful baseball team.
28. Baltimore Orioles (5-4): Matt Wieters and Adam Jones provide the O's with some respectability, but consider that the other four AL East teams are all ranked in the top 11 on this list. It will be a long year for Baltimore with those division foes.
29. San Diego Padres (2-8): The Padres are building towards the future with their top-ranked farm system. With 2012 a lost cause, maybe they extract a nice ransom from the Red Sox for Huston Street and/or Carlos Quentin?
30. Houston Astros (4-5): They would kill to be the Padres. The Astros will punt 2012, 2013, and maybe 2014 too. The lack of talent in this organization is mind-numbing.
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