Rookie Evan Longoria has led the Rays' charge with a .312 average and 8 homers in June (imagesbyferg/Flickr.com)
MLB Power Rankings | Edition 14: 6/30/08
The Rays now sit atop both the AL East and the Power Rankings, after winning five of six this past week, over the Marlins and Pirates. Meanwhile, the Twins surged into the top-10, continuing to play excellent baseball, despite failing to extend their ten-game winning streak through a weekend series with Milwaukee. Down at the bottom, we find the Rockies and Padres, who have lost a combined fifteen consecutive games to land well out of contention — at least for the time being — in the not-so-competitive NL West. Read on to find out where the rest of MLB’s 30 teams rank in this week’s edition of the Power Rankings.
Note: the statistics found in the rankings are through either Saturday’s or Sunday’s games, and the records are through Sunday’s games.
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Rookie Evan Longoria has been excellent during the month of June, batting .312, mashing eight homers, and contributing spectacular defense at the hot corner. With a .271 average and 36 extra-base hits in 255 at-bats this season, he may have overtaken Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury for the midseason lead in the AL Rookie of the Year race. A pivotal series with Ellsbury’s Red Sox begins Monday night at the Trop. |
49-32 |
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1 |
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The Cubs stay ahead of the Southsiders despite getting swept over the weekend because their long-term prospects appear better, and Lou Piniella’s team was the one that did the crosstown sweeping last weekend. Southpaw Ted Lilly has enjoyed a nice June after struggling in April and May, posting a 3-1 record, a 3.21 ERA, and an awesome .196 BAA over five starts. He’ll look to play stopper when the Cubs open up a four-game series against the Giants in San Francisco on Monday. |
49-33 |
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10 |
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Revenge is sweet, and the ChiSox got it this weekend, sweeping the Cubs at US Cellular to avenge the broomwork done at Wrigley last weekend. Rookie Alexei Ramirez has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters during the month of June, posting a .372 average and a .958 OPS, while driving in 17 runs in 23 games. |
46-35 |
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It was an up-and-down week for the defending champs, as they took two of three from Arizona, before dropping two of three to Houston, and landing in second-place. Bullpen meltdowns were responsible for Boston’s losses on Saturday and Sunday, and the Red Sox’s relievers have now been charged with 14 losses this season, the third-highest total in the American League. They’ll look to turn that around in a crucial three-game series against the Rays, hoping to regain the division lead. |
50-34 |
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Whenever your pitching staff holds the other team without a hit and you still manage to lose the game, as the Angels did against the Dodgers on Saturday, you know your offense isn’t exactly running smoothly. The Halos did bounce back to win a 1-0 decision over their crosstown rivals on Sunday, but a mediocre 3-3 week nearly knocked them out of the top-five. With a pair of three-game series against the A’s remaining before the All-Star Break, the Angels have a chance to separate themselves from their chief division rivals. But they’ll need to hit more consistently to increase what’s currently a 4.5 game lead. |
49-33 |
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Tony La Russa’s team continues to get quality offensive production from unlikely sources. Ryan Ludwick’s breakout campaign appears to have hit a road block of late, but fellow outfielder Skip Schumaker has stepped things up in his stead, batting a terrific .333/.385/.560 with nine extra-base hits in 84 June at-bats. |
47-36 |
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The Athletics have been toying with the middle of their lineup ever since Frank Thomas’ quad forced him to the disabled list in late-May, but the experiment involving Bobby Crosby has not worked well. Manager Bob Geren has tried Crosby everywhere from second to fifth; with a .260 average and .692 OPS in 96 June at-bats, however, the surprisingly durable shortstop hasn’t exactly earned the privilege of batting in the heart of the order. |
44-37 |
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7 |
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Southpaw Manny Parra had a perfect month of June, going 5-0 in five starts, the latest of which put the kibosh on the Twins’ 10-game winning streak on Saturday. The Brewers need the 24 year-old to build on his 2.59 ERA June effort going forward, with Yovani Gallardo out for the year, and the back-end of their rotation continuing to look rather shaky. |
44-37 |
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The Twins finally saw their 10-game winning streak snapped by the Brewers on Saturday, but they bounced right back to win the rubber match of a three-game set with Milwaukee on Sunday. A three-hit gem from young righty Kevin Slowey keyed Minnesota’s latest victory, and his awesome 46/9 strikeout-to-walk ratio portends a very bright future. That, however, may not be the case for the Twins, who face a brutal July schedule, beginning with a series against the surging Tigers on Monday. |
45-37 |
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Five consecutive victories finally have the Tigers over the .500 mark, and into the top-10 of the Power Rankings. Gary Sheffield is batting .300 with a pair of homers in 20 at-bats since returning from the disabled list. And Detroit will need him to continue producing, with Magglio Ordonez now shelved for at least a couple of weeks due to a strained oblique. |
41-40 |
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The Yankees earned two series splits this week, the first in a two-game tilt with the Pirates (the third game was rained-out and will be made up on July 10th), and the second in a four-gamer with the Mets. They were carried offensively by a scorching Bobby Abreu, who batted .478 with nine RBIs over the past seven days. |
44-38 |
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9 |
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After heating up to the tune of a .322 average in May, center-fielder Shane Victorino has cooled off significantly this month, batting just .242/.327/.316 in 107 trips to the plate. Unless he turns things around soon, Victorino may be in danger of losing his grasp on the two-hole in Charlie Manuel’s batting order. |
44-39 |
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The Marlins will be tested offensively over the next week — possibly two — with Dan Uggla shelved due to a sprained ankle. Fortunately, should they struggle to produce in Uggla’s absence, they could always turn to shrewd offseason addition Dallas McPherson, who leads all of professional baseball with 27 homers at Class-AAA Albuquerque this season. |
42-39 |
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13 |
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The Diamondbacks offense has been absolutely putrid during the month of June, posting a league-low .636 OPS. It’s hard to put the blame on any individual player over the others, but Eric Byrnes hasn’t done a thing since coming off the disabled list, going 2-for-21. Arizona has slipped all the way back to .500, and is now just 2.5 games up on the Dodgers in the awful NL West. |
41-41 |
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Josh Hamilton is still in contention for the AL Triple Crown, but he wasn’t able to carry over the torrid pace he set in April and May through the month of June. All but a shoo-in for a trip to the All-Star Game, Hamilton has batted just .267 with eight extra-base hits in 90 at-bats this month, striking out a whopping 26 times over that span. |
42-41 |
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Brian Roberts has spent his June making a late push for a trip to the All-Star Game, hoping to overcome Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler in the balloting that’s set to end in a couple of days. A .346/.403/.579 effort at the plate this month, combined with outstanding defense, was enough to earn him my vote. |
41-39 |
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The Mets struggled mightily at the plate over the past week, mustering just fourteen extra-base hits in their last seven games, while batting a putrid .223 as a team. Carlos Delgado has just three hits in his last 25 at-bats; fortunately for him and the Mets, two of those hits are homers, and he drove-in a career high nine runs to propel the Mets to a cakewalk victory in the first game of a twinbill with the Yankees on Friday. |
40-41 |
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When the Dodgers acquired Angel Berroa from the Royals to serve as a short-term stopgap at shortstop until Rafael Furcal is ready to return, they probably expected just a little more offensive production than they’ve since gotten. In 57 at-bats so far this season, Berroa has just ten hits; he has not homered or driven in a run. Nevertheless, due to the Diamondbacks’ struggles, the Dodgers are now within spitting distance (2.5 games) of the NL West lead. |
38-43 |
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Bobby Cox’s squad lost series this week to the Brewers and Jays, continuing to struggle in close games, particularly those decided by one run. It’s hard to blame Mark Teixeira for any of those losses, however, as the first-baseman broke out of a lengthy slump to blast six homers and drive in eleven over the past seven days. |
40-43 |
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Winning two of three against the Red Sox this past weekend upped the Astros six spots in the rankings. Houston has gotten unexpectedly solid starting pitching from veteran Brian Moehler of late; the 36 year-old northpaw went 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in five starts during the month of June. |
39-43 |
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Roy Halladay may not top many midseason Cy Young ballots, largely because of his unspectacular 8-6 record, but the veteran right-hander has been excellent for the Jays, eating a whopping 121.1 innings in 17 outings (16 starts), while still posting a solid 3.12 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. A terrific 100/19 strikeout-to-walk ratio provides plenty of evidence that Doc Halladay still has plenty left in the tank. |
40-43 |
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The Reds could not hit the broad side of a barn in June, as they’ve managed only a .210/.296/.343 line as a team, plating just 97 runs in 27 games. Couple that with a 4.66 total ERA, and it’s not hard to see why Dusty Baker’s squad is a disappointing 11-16 on the month. | 38-45 |
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A six-spot surge is the Giants’ reward for a 4-2 week during which they won two of three in road series at Cleveland and Oakland. Offseason addition Aaron Rowand remains one of baseball’s best road hitters this season, with a .344 average and .918 OPS away from AT&T Park. Unfortunately, the refreshing road trip ends Monday, when the Giants return home for a four-game series against the NL-leading Cubs. |
36-46 |
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Leadoff man David DeJesus hit .435/.500/.652 over the past seven days, doing his best to catalyze what’s been a rather dormant Kansas City attack. The trouble is, cleanup hitter Jose Guillen hasn’t done a whole lot lately, knocking just four hits in his last 22 at-bats. Hoping to provide some sort of synchronicity to their sputtering offense, the Royals have brought young Billy Butler back from the minors, where he tore up AAA pitching for a .400 average in 45 at-bats. |
37-45 |
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The Indians are 7-9 since Victor Martinez went on the disabled list to recover from surgery on his right elbow, and he isn’t expected to return for at least another month. With the White Sox, Twins, and Tigers all playing very well, the Tribe may soon be left in the dust in the AL Central, greatly increasing the odds that C.C. Sabathia will be dealt before the Trade Deadline. |
37-45 |
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Adam LaRoche has always been a better hitter during the second-half of seasons than the first (.239/.324/.439 before the All-Star Break last year, .312/.371/.482 after), but his three-month-long slump to start the 2008 campaign has done little to help his trade value. Though he was previously viewed as a potential trade chip for GM Neal Huntington, LaRoche’s .220/.297/.358 line with 67 strikeouts in 268 at-bats isn’t likely to fetch much at the moment. |
38-43 |
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Starter John Lannan is 0-4 in five starts this month, even though four of the five have been quality efforts. With a 3.54 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 56/29 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season, the 23 year-old southpaw is hardly deserving of the terrible 4-9 record that currently sits on his stat-sheet. |
33-50 |
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Well, the Mariners have found a team they can handily beat — the Padres — bringing brooms to Petco Park this weekend. Unfortunately, they won’t play San Diego again this year, and a tough July schedule — beginning with a homestand against the improving Jays and Tigers — is on the horizon. |
31-50 |
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The Rockies looked, for a little while, like they were going to climb back into contention in the not-so-competitive NL West. Then, they hit a bump, and that bump has since turned into a full-on collapse, as seven straight losses have the Rox just a half-game out of the NL West cellar. Todd Helton deserves part of the blame for their recent struggles, having slumped to the tune of a .229 average and .647 OPS this month. |
32-50 |
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Getting swept by last week’s cellar dweller is a good way to land in the cellar. Losing nine games in a row and finishing with a revolting 3-15 record in Interleague play doesn’t help either. When does the fire sale start? |
32-51 |
By Daniel Rathman
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Aramis Ramirez's walkoff blast on Friday catalyzed the Cubs' impressive weekend, which bumped them to the top of the rankings (terren in Virginia/Flickr.com)
MLB Power Rankings | Edition 13: 6/23/08
The Cubs return to the top spot after sweeping the Windy City Series against the White Sox, while the A’s are back into the top-five with two wins in three games versus the Marlins. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks kept slithering down the rankings after being swept aside by the surging Twins, whose six game winning streak propelled them into the top-dozen. Read on to find out where the rest of MLB’s 30 teams rank, as we get closer and closer to the midway point of the 2008 regular season.
Note: the statistics found in the rankings are through either Saturday’s or Sunday’s games, and the records are through Sunday’s games.
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Lou Piniella’s team did an excellent job of defending its turf this weekend, taking all three games of the Windy City Series at Wrigley. Aramis Ramirez’s walkoff keyed a come-from-behind win on Friday, while the other two were relative walkovers for the Cubbies, who have now won 14 straight home games. |
48-28 |
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The Red Sox very narrowly avoided their first home sweep of the season, using a 13th-inning walkoff homerun by Kevin Youkilis, his second of the game, to defeat the Cardinals. That’s the good news; the bad news is that Daisuke Matsuzaka’s return from the DL was an absolute disaster, as the second-year import was charged with seven runs (three inherited) while recording just three outs. |
47-31 |
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The Halos haven’t budged since inheriting the three-hole three weeks ago, and an impressive sweep of the Phillies this weekend strengthened their hold on it. Vladimir Guerrero has done for Anaheim what J.D. Drew has done for Boston recently, crushing the ball to the tune of a .446/.500/.821 line with six homers in 56 at-bats this month. |
46-30 |
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One week was all it took for the Rays to reenter the top-five; a midweek sweep of the Cubs at Tropicana provided the boost, despite their losing two of three to the Astros over the weekend. One piece of bad news is that starter Andy Sonnanstine hasn’t put together a quality start since May 16th, failing to finish the sixth inning in each of his past five trips to the mound. |
44-31 |
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Justin Duchscherer turned in another splendid start for the A’s on Sunday, helping Oakland win the rubber game of a home set with the Marlins, and picking up his eighth victory in the process. The converted reliever has recorded a quality start each time out since May 24th, and with a tidy 1.99 ERA and 0.97 WHIP on the year, he just might earn a trip to the All-Star Game. |
41-34 |
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Transitivity doesn’t work particularly well in baseball; the Cardinals’ week easily proves that. Tony La Russa’s team was first man-handled by the Royals at home, before nearly sweeping the Red Sox on their friendly pasture. Backup backstop Jason LaRue has made the most of the increased playing time he’s received due to Yadier Molina’s concussion, hitting .345/.387/.522 in 29 June at-bats. |
44-33 |
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Prince Fielder was once a sleeping giant, with a controversial vegetarian diet. Now, he’s one of the hottest hitters in baseball, and no one is questioning his dining habits. The portly first-baseman has whacked eight homeruns in June, equaling his total from April and May, while compiling a .343 average for the month. |
41-34 |
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The Yankees’ seven-game winning streak was halted by the Reds on Friday, and New York went on to lose two of three to Cincinnati at home. Johnny Damon very quietly ranks fourth in the American League in hitting, with a .327 average on the season. |
41-35 |
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Five straight losses dropped the Phillies out of the top-five, as a .216 team average conspired with a 4.73 team ERA to cause problems for Charlie Manuel’s formerly surging squad. Blame Pat Burrell for a decent chunk of the offensive issues; he’s been mired in a 4-for-21 slump for the past seven days. |
42-35 |
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The Southsiders were run out of town — well, at least out of the neighborhood — by the Northsiders this weekend, dropping three of three at Wrigley. After allowing 22 runs in the series, the White Sox’s pitchers can expect a scolding from manager Ozzie Guillen on Monday. They’ll get a chance at revenge in a three-game get-together at US Cellular that begins on Friday. |
41-34 |
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Marcus Thames has thirteen hits in 50 at-bats this month, but a whopping nine of them have been booming homeruns. It’s pretty darn hard to slug .840 while batting .260, but the veteran outfielder has done just that in June. |
36-39 |
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Ron Gardenhire’s team jumps eight spots after winning six straight games against the Nationals and Diamondbacks. Neither of the two sweeps was against an impressive opponent, but improved pitching (league best 2.04 ERA over the past seven days) has greatly strengthened the Twins chances of hanging around in a division that no team seems to want to win. |
40-36 |
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The Diamondbacks were once one of the elite teams in the National League, but they’re just 8-12 this month. Because the rest of the NL West division continues to meddle in mediocrity — the Dodgers are the only other NL West team in the top-20 — Arizona has managed to maintain a 3.5 game lead in spite of its struggles. The D’backs remain the odds-on favorites to repeat as division champs, but their hitters’ youth and high strikeout totals (3rd most in the league) will doubtless cause problems in October. |
39-37 |
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A pair of homers from Dan Uggla nearly propelled the Marlins to a win on Friday, but the powerful second-baseman made sure to finish the job on Saturday, bashing a three-run double to help Florida avoid a sweep in Oakland. Uggla is now the Major League leader in homers with 23, and he has seven in 70 at-bats this month. |
40-35 |
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The Mets are 3-2 since bidding adieu (in a less-than-courteous manner) to Willie Randolph, but they’re still seemingly unable to get on a roll, too often scoring seven runs one night, and one the next. Their leading hitter this month is — drumroll, please — Damion Easley, with a .395 average and 1.044 OPS in 38 at-bats. |
37-37 |
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Jeff Francoeur has been mired in an 18-for-80 slump during the month of June, and with just five walks against 16 strikeouts during that time, he’s hardly been an asset to the Braves offensively. The timing of Frenchy’s slump could not have been poorer, with Chipper Jones also starting to cool off, partly due to a nagging quad injury. |
38-39 |
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Dustin Pedroia leads the AL All-Star voting at the keystone but Texas’ Ian Kinsler is easily more deserving. Kinsler is batting .325 with a .996 OPS this month, and has firmly established himself as one of the best leadoff men in baseball. |
39-38 |
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Casey Blake has been one of Cleveland’s few hot hitters this month, batting .370/.420/.589 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 73 at-bats. Meanwhile, southpaw Aaron Laffey has continued to throw the ball very well for the Tribe. He’s contributed a quality effort in eight of ten trips to the mound, amassing a stellar 2.98 ERA, while pinning lefties to a .180 average. |
35-41 |
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The Dodgers only managed to win one of three against the Indians at Chavez Ravine this weekend. That’s in spite of the fact that first-baseman James Loney has been on an absolute tear of late, hitting .435/.519/.696 with just a single strikeout in his last 23 at-bats. |
28-35 |
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Aubrey Huff is batting a torrid .347/.424/.640 this month in 75 at-bats. But perhaps more important to the Orioles is the fact that youngster Adam Jones has broken out of a lengthy slump that saw him bat just .226 in May. The 23 year-old centerpiece of the Erik Bedard deal is up to .304 this month, though his 3/17 walk-to-strikeout ratio still leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps if Adam would learn to open his eyes when he bats, he’d become the second coming of Torii Hunter many expect him to be. |
38-36 |
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The Royals enjoyed a 5-1 week, capped by a thrilling 11-10 victory over the Giants on Sunday, and have won eight of their last ten games. A hot Jose Guillen has provided a spark to their previously dormant offense. The veteran outfielder has compiled a .400 average, mashed six homers, and driven-in 21 runs in 80 at-bats this month. |
33-43 |
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The last week has shown that even Bruce Almighty isn’t slump-proof; the young slugger knocked just three hits in 24 at-bats this week, none of them for extra-bases. Nonetheless, thanks to superb mound work from youngsters Edinson Volquez and Daryl Thompson (ML debut), the Reds impressively took two of three from the previously streaking Yankees in the Bronx. | 35-42 |
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Utilityman Jeff Baker’s hometown (Bad Kissingen, Germany) might cast doubts on his kissing ability, but the former Clemson standout has been smooching baseballs pretty well the past seven days. A .474 average and four long-balls in the last week provide plenty of evidence of that. |
32-44 |
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Shaun Marcum ranks second in the American League with a 2.65 ERA this season. Unfortunately, he has merely a 5-4 record to show for his efforts, largely because of nonexistent run support. Worse still, for the 26 year-old right-hander, a sore elbow will shelve him for at least the next two weeks, meaning that he may not even earn his sixth victory before the All-Star Break. |
36-41 |
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The Pirates’ pitching staff has been downright awful over the last week, getting torched for a 6.71 ERA, the worst in baseball. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s hitters have been similarly ineffective, logging only a .217 aggregate average. Yet, somehow, the Buccos have managed to go 3-3 in the last seven days. Go figure. |
36-40 |
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The normally potent Astros hit just .214 as a team over the past seven days. Combine that with a bloated 5.44 team ERA, and Houston, we’ve got a problem. |
35-41 |
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27 |
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21 |
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Adrian Gonzalez is batting .290/.359/.547 with 20 homers this season. That his line rockets up to .324/.373/.628 outside of Petco Park is evidence that Gonzalez is one of baseball’s best kept hitting secrets because of the dimensions of his home ballpark. With so little support in the Friars’ lineup, it’s almost inevitable that he’ll soon get the Barry Bonds treatment. No, not the rampant steroid frenzy; just the intentional walks. |
32-45 |
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28 |
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Cristian Guzman leads the Nationals with a .310 average on the season, and no one else with at least 150 at-bats is even remotely close. Second-place (among active players) belongs to Felipe Lopez, and he’s all the way down in the dumps at .252. It’s hardly surprising, then, that the Nats are last in the bigs with only 279 runs scored in 76 games this season (3.67 per game). |
30-47 |
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29 |
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The Giants, as a team, have hit 10 homeruns this month. For the sake of comparison, Boston’s J.D. Drew has hit that many by himself. Rich Aurilia has been one of San Francisco’s most potent hitters in June, batting .392 with a .917 OPS. But even Richie’s hot bat hasn’t cranked a single ball out of the yard in those 51 at-bats. |
32-44 |
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30 |
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30 |
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The Mariners still have the worst record in baseball, but at least they no longer have the worst GM. Bill Bavasi was fired early last week, and so — later on — was manager John McLaren. With the failed bosses gone, it’s time to take out the on-field trash. Releasing the badly overpaid Richie Sexson, a move that has been rumored for days, would be a nice start. |
26-49 |
By Daniel RathmanPermalink
3 Comments »
Placido Polanco hit a ridiculous .519 last week, and his Tigers roared back into the top-15 (kw111786/Flickr.com)
MLB Power Rankings | Edition 12: 6/16/08
Here come the Tigers: five consecutive victories have Jim Leyland’s team back in the top-15 of the rankings for the first time in ten weeks! Meanwhile, five straight losses dropped the Dodgers into the bottom-10. The AL East is the lone division with three teams in the top-10, as the Red Sox hung on to the number-one ranking with a series win in Cincy, the Rays notched the seven-spot, and the Yankees finally cracked the elite third of the rankings after an impressive weekend performance in Houston. Read on to find out where the rest of MLB’s teams rank, as we near the midway point of the regular season.
Note: the statistics found in the rankings are through either Saturday’s or Sunday’s games, and the records are through Sunday’s games.
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There’s David Ortiz, and then there’s his replacement in the three-hole, David Jonathan Drew. With the exception of an 0-fer on Friday, Drew has been phenomenal in Big Papi’s stead. He’s hitting .444/.544/1.067 with six homers and 15 ribbies since May 31st, the day Ortiz tore the sheath tendon in his wrist. |
44-28 |
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2 |
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3 |
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Leaving Petco Park for the more hitter-friendly dimensions of Wrigley Field seems to have breathed new life into Jim Edmonds’ bat. The veteran center-fielder is hitting .297/.333/.500 in 64 at-bats since joining the Cubbies, after managing only a .178/.265/.233 line in 90 at-bats for San Diego. |
45-25 |
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2 |
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The Angels are 42-28 in real life, but if the Pythagorean formula were foolproof, they’d be a mediocre 35-35. Still, Mike Scioscia’s squad is an astounding 14 games over .500, despite having compiled a terrible .318 team on-base percentage, the third-worst mark in the AL (ahead of only Kansas City and Seattle). |
42-28 |
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4 |
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Cut the Phillies some slack for losing two of three to St. Louis; they wasted all their runs in a ridiculous 20-2 blowout on Friday night. One potential cause for worry is that Ryan Howard appears to be heading back into a slump. After heating up during the second half of May, Howard is batting just .236 with a .694 OPS in the month of June. Particularly concerning is his atrocious 1/16 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 55 at-bats. |
41-30 |
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The Redbirds deserve credit for bouncing back with two straight wins over the weekend, after getting clobbered 20-2 on Friday. Their 19-15 road record is the best in the National League, so the Cardinals should be glad that, after a three-game set against the Royals, they will leave Busch Stadium on a nine-game tour. |
42-28 |
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Losing two of three to the Rockies dropped the ChiSox out of the top-5, and the Southsiders may be without one of their best hitters for a couple of weeks, after Paul Konerko suffered an intercostal strain that may require a trip to the disabled list. Fortunately, Alexei Ramirez and A.J. Pierzynski are both swinging scorching bats at the moment; the former is batting .405 in the month of June, while the latter is at .400. |
38-31 |
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6 |
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The Rays’ schedule has been brutal for the first half of June, as they’ve squared-off against the Red Sox, Rangers, Angels, and Marlins. It won’t get any easier until next weekend, with the Cubs coming to town next. That, coupled with the injury to Carlos Pena, explains why Tampa Bay is just 6-7 on the month. |
40-29 |
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8 |
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11 |
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The A’s just won’t go away, as they’re back within 3.5 games of the Halos after sweeping the Bay Bridge Series in San Francisco. Though their ace, Rich Harden, has won just one of his three June outings, each of them has been a quality start, and the A’s emerged victorious in all of the games. |
38-31 |
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9 |
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7 |
|
Bob Melvin’s team keeps on slithering down the rankings, and has very nearly played itself out of the top-10. Fortunately for the D-backs, the rest of their division has been similarly awful of late, so they’re still 5.5 games ahead of the Dodgers. That’s little consolation to Micah Owings, however, as the young right-hander has been a pinata lately, failing to come anywhere close to a quality start since he beat the Braves on May 25th. |
37-33 |
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10 |
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12 |
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The Yankees absolutely obliterated the Astros this weekend, bringing brooms to Minute Maid by outscoring the home team 25-5. Joe Girardi’s team has won four in a row in convincing fashion, so one may be inclined to think, “here comes New York!” Except, Sunday’s 13-0 laugher was a bit of a frowner as well, because ace Chien-Ming Wang sprained his foot, and is likely to be out at least two weeks. |
37-33 |
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11 |
 |
10 |
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Prince Fielder is still ever the liability at first-base, but his bat has certainly come around this month. He’s at .341/.442/.636 through 44 at-bats this month, with three homers and a solid 8/9 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Meanwhile, Ben Sheets is 3-0 with a brilliant 1.96 ERA over his past five starts. |
36-33 |
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12 |
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9 |
|
The Marlins are just 5-9 this month, and shaky pitching is chiefly responsible for that. A bloated 5.13 June ERA provides ample evidence that Florida’s pitchers haven’t been giving their hitters much of an opportunity to win ballgames lately. |
37-32 |
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13 |
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20 |
|
The Tigers are still under .500, but I can’t wholly disagree with what Wayne Montgomery said in last week’s comments. “They are getting healthier every game and if this continues then the Central division belongs only to them.” Specifically, the impending return of Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya should bolster the relief staff significantly. Jim Leyland’s team has won its last five games behind excellent offensive production, and with the Giants and Padres next on the docket, this streak could (emphasis on could) go on awhile. |
32-37 |
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14 |
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14 |
|
The Braves have lost seven of their last ten games, but they did take two of three at Anaheim this weekend to avoid dropping out of the top-half of the rankings. After slumping to the tune of a .698 OPS in May, shortstop Yunel Escobar has bounced back strong in June, batting .298/.394/.438 in 57 at-bats. |
34-36 |
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15 |
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18 |
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Jhonny Peralta’s bat has been frigid in June, as the Tribe’s shortstop is “hitting” .115/.179/.115 with no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts in 26 at-bats. On the bright side, leadoff man Grady Sizemore has picked up the slack, hitting .333 with four homers and a double in 24 at-bats. |
33-37 |
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16 |
 |
21 |
|
The Good: The Rangers have scored more runs (384) than any team in baseball this year. The Bad: The Rangers’ 5.08 team ERA is the worst in baseball this year. The Ugly: Texas’ pitchers done little to remedy that problem lately, as they’ve combined to allow a whopping 139 hits in 106 innings of work in the month of June, leading to a disgusting 6.79 total ERA. |
35-36 |
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17 |
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15 |
|
Though the Mets are just 6-8 in June, Johan Santana has more than done his job as the ace of the pitching staff. He’s making his case for another Cy Young award with a tidy 0.87 ERA on the month, having scattered sixteen hits and seven walks, while striking-out 21. Poor run support and shaky bullpen work (pointing and glaring at Billy Wagner), however, have limited him to just a single win in three solid starts. |
33-35 |
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18 |
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17 |
|
An even .500 record would be good enough for third, or even second, place in almost every other division, but in the competitive AL Central, 34-34 puts the Orioles in fourth, just a half-game out of the cellar. In better news, Baltimore leads the American League in team batting average with a .303 mark for the month of June. |
34-34 |
|
19 |
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16 |
|
The Blue Jays are now last in the AL East, but that still only puts them 8.5 games out of the lead — the smallest divisional gap between top and bottom in baseball. Still, K.P. Wee of MVN’s Jays Nest believes that the “Jays should be better than .500 after 70 games,” and that GM J.P. Ricciardi should be canned for making a number of questionable moves last winter. |
35-36 |
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20 |
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19 |
|
The Twins had an up-and-down week, taking two of three from Milwaukee, after winning just one of three in a series against the Tribe. With just three wins in their last ten games, the Twins — currently still in second-place in the AL Central — could soon be looking up at the Tigers and Indians, who appear to be coming around. |
34-36 |
|
21 |
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24 |
|
The Friars bounce up the rankings with seven wins in their last seven games. A series win over the Dodgers puts them above LA in the rankings, even though they’re below them in the standings. Unfortunately, the going may get rather rough in the coming days, with the surging Yankees and Tigers next on the schedule. |
31-40 |
|
22 |
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25 |
|
After 245 at-bats, Xavier Nady remains in the top-10 in the majors in batting average, with a .314 mark on the season. He has, however, cooled-off significantly of late, batting just .262 with a .683 OPS, while dealing with a sore shoulder. I mentioned in an earlier edition of the Power Rankings that GM Neal Huntington should’ve looked to sell high on Nady while he had the chance, and the window of opportunity on such a deal may now have expired. | 34-36 |
|
23 |
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13 |
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The Dodgers plunged ten spots this week after losing five consecutive games, capped with a road sweep at the hands of the Tigers. Now just 31-38 on the season, Joe Torre’s team will have to improve significantly to justify its preseason ranking as one of the top-five squads in the National League. LA is still only 5.5 games out of the NL West lead, but the gap between the Dodgers and the last-place Rockies has shrunk to a measly three games. |
28-35 |
|
24 |
|
27 |
|
While Brad Hawpe (.333/.393/.644) has hit very well since returning from the disabled list, Matt Holliday has struggled to find a groove, batting .263/.333/.368 without a homer in 19 at-bats. Still, the Rockies have won seven of their last ten games, including two of three against the White Sox this weekend, and could soon climb out of the NL West cellar. |
28-41 |
|
25 |
|
26 |
|
It’s hardly surprising that the Reds have had some trouble scoring runs lately, because more than half of their regulars are hitting at or below the Mendoza line over the past seven days. Paul Janish (.045), Ken Griffey Jr. (.100 despite number 600), Joey Votto (.130), Adam Dunn (.143), and Brandon Phillips (.200) have got to start producing more consistently for the Reds to climb out of the NL Central cellar. |
33-38 |
|
26 |
|
28 |
|
The Royals remain mired in last-place in the AL Central, but they impressively took two of three against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix this weekend. In worse news, right-hander Zack Greinke hasn’t won a start since May 18th, and his only quality start since then came in a 1-0 loss to Arizona on Friday. But even that seven-inning shutout performance was shaky, as Greinke issued a troubling seven walks. |
28-42 |
|
27 |
|
22 |
|
Cecil Cooper’s team was trampled by the Yankees this weekend, as the Astros’ pitchers were milked for 25 runs over three games, while their hitters were limited to just a handful. That, by the way, is despite the fact that Carlos Lee led all major leaguers with a terrific .524 average during the past seven days. |
33-37 |
|
28 |
|
30 |
|
Normally, a sweep is an impressive accomplishment, but considering that the Nationals swept the awful Mariners on their own turf, it merely pushed them two spots out of the cellar. Washington’s main weakness on the offensive end is an inability to hit right-handed pitching. The Nats are just 16-24 in games started by northpaws this year, and have a putrid .235 team average against them. |
29-42 |
|
29 |
|
23 |
|
The Giants have won seven games in a row away from AT&T Park, but have dropped ten of their last thirteen home games, including three to the A’s this past weekend. One reason for this odd split is that their two best hitters, Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand, have the best road batting averages in the NL (.361 and .375, respectively), but swing far less potent bats at home. |
30-40 |
|
30 |
|
29 |
|
Back to the cellar go the Mariners, after getting swept by — gasp! — the Nationals. Now an incredible 17.5 games behind the Angels, the M’s have got to be on the verge of calling 2008 a lost season. The team’s ownership is almost surely sleepless, but one can’t help but wonder when GM Bill Bavasi will finally be jobless. |
24-45 |
By Daniel RathmanPermalink
3 Comments »
J.D. Drew's blistering start to the month of June has upped his average to .318, and propelled Red Sox to the top of the rankings (JawkneeP/Flickr.com)
MLB Power Rankings | Edition 11: 6/9/08
The Red Sox surged back into the top spot with a 5-1 week against Tampa Bay and Seattle, while a seven-game winning streak (snapped Sunday) took the Angels all the way up to the two-hole. Meanwhile, the NL West’s bottomfeeders — the Giants, Padres, and Rockies — all rose up the rankings with solid play outside of their division, and the Brewers returned to the top-10 by showing improvement on the mound. Read on to find out where the rest of the teams ranked in this week’s edition of MLB Power Rankings.
Note: the statistics found in the rankings are through either Saturday’s or Sunday’s games, and the records are through Sunday’s games.
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1 |
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3 |
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The Red Sox once again flashed their home prowess, going 5-1 over the first six games of a nine-game homestand. J.D. Drew has enjoyed a $14 million start to the month of June, batting well over .500 with four homers and ten RBIs. The injured David Ortiz aptly described Drew’s current approach at the plate as “perfect”. |
40-26 |
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2 |
 |
4 |
|
Mike Scioscia’s team cracks the top-two for the the first time this year thanks to a seven-game winning streak that was snapped in extras on Sunday. Maicer Izturis has been dandy at the plate this month, batting .423 with a couple of homers, and two hits in six of seven games. |
39-25 |
|
3 |
|
1 |
|
The Cubs’ two-spot drop is due more to the success of the Red Sox and Angels than to their own woes, because there haven’t been many. Lou Piniella’s team returns home after a 4-3 road trip to San Diego and LA, which wasn’t up to par with its earlier success, but is certainly not lamentable. The question remains whether the pitching depth will hold up, and a potentially tough stretch looms against the Braves, Jays, Rays, and ChiSox. |
39-24 |
|
4 |
|
7 |
|
One of the Phillies’ greatest strengths is their ability to win on the road; they have a NL-best 18 wins away from Citizens Bank this season, and just completed an impressive sweep of the Braves at Turner, where Bobby Cox’s team had been a remarkable 25-7 prior to the series. Credit Pat Burrell with part of that success, as the veteran left-fielder has a 1.124 OPS on the road this season. |
39-26 |
|
5 |
|
10 |
|
Ozzie Guillen’s tirades may one day cost him his job, but they sure lit a flame under the White Sox offense this weekend. The Southsiders dropped 33 runs on the Twinkies in three games, bashing just about everything at the plate. And with the mediocre pitching staffs of Detroit, Colorado, and Pittsburgh next on the docket, the hot hitting may not stop for awhile. |
36-26 |
|
6 |
|
2 |
|
With Carlos Pena likely to miss at least a few weeks to recover from a fractured finger, the Rays may struggle, power-wise especially, against right-handed pitching for the foreseeable future. The Rays own pitchers had trouble this week as well, posting a 4.85 aggregate ERA, which was chiefly responsible for their Beantown beatdown at the hands of the now AL East-leading Red Sox. |
37-26 |
|
7 |
|
5 |
|
One caveat regarding the Diamondbacks’ hot start that was not often noted is that they played one of the weakest schedules in baseball over that span. As their opponents have gotten tougher, the Snakes have predictably come back down to earth, and nagging injuries to Conor Jackson, Eric Byrnes, and others have not helped. With 13 of their 20 remaining games this month scheduled to be played away from the desert, the D-backs will need to improve on their 13-17 road mark in order to maintain a comfortable cushion over the Dodgers in the mediocre NL West. |
34-29 |
|
8 |
|
6 |
|
Tony La Russa’s team was dealt a cakewalk start to the month of June, with series against the Buccos, Nationals, and the struggling Astros, and the Redbirds are off to a 5-3 start. A sizzling Troy Glaus has already bashed four homers this month, upping his season total to eight. |
38-27 |
|
9 |
|
8 |
|
The Marlins took two of three from the Reds this weekend, but dropped three of four to the Braves earlier in the week. Inconsistent hitting is partly responsible for their recent mediocrity, as Jorge Cantu’s hot bat (.407 average, 3 homers this month) has been offset by the slumping Jeremy Hermida and Mike Jacobs (.222 average for each). |
34-28 |
|
10 |
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17 |
|
After managing just a single quality start in his first eleven outings of the season, young southpaw Manny Parra has hurled at least six innings and surrendered three or fewer runs in each of his past two starts. He has the stuff and command to be a number-three starter, and the Brewers badly need Parra to continue stepping up to fill Yovani Gallardo’s lofty shoes. |
33-30 |
|
11 |
 |
11 |
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The A’s avoided being swept by the Angels at home, using a walkoff granny off the bat of Mark Ellis to defeat Anaheim n |