Yeah yeah yeah, I know this thing hasn't been posted on since the end of spring training, but hey, there's no shame in reviving what once was a halfway-decent blog. Here's some midseason power rankings to get me back into the groove:
1. Detroit Tigers - Not much arguing with a .674 winning percentage and a 3.47 team ERA. The combo of youngsters Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson and Justin Verlander, anchored by veteran lefty Kenny Rogers is poised to take this scrappy Detroit team well into the playoffs (with or without cameramen)
2. Chicago White Sox - Maybe its all the homophobia, cursing and All-Star game idiocies, but whatever Ozzie's doing in Chicago is making Southsiders very happy. But seriously Ozzie, don't you think six White Sox is a little eccentric?
3. Boston Red Sox - Despite a shaky series against the D-Rays recently, Papi's boys have been on an absolute tear as of late. The Sox went and impressive 17-9 in June, which included a 12 game winning streak. David Ortiz is absolutely filthy.
4. New York Mets - As much as it pains me to talk about the
other New York Team, I've got to give these youngguns credit. David Wright makes circus plays at third, while Jose Reyes is leading the National League in base stealing. Tom Glavine is looking like himself again.
5. New York Yankees - Brian Cashman, what are you doing?! Signing Sidney Ponson as a 5th starter is one of the worst moves I've seen in a while, and yes, I'm being negative so that you will prove me wrong, quickly. In all fairness, Sidney's not that bad, excluding a series of three consecutive bad starts in which he let up 18 runs in less than 9 innings. With fewer injuries, this team would be golden.
6. St. Louis Cardinals - With a .557 Winning Percentage, the Redbirds are stealing this division. What is usually a very dominant team has been flailing without Albert Pujols in the lineup, but his return should bode well for St. Louis baseball. If he hadn't been hurt, Alberto would have given Barry a run for his money for the single-season home run record.
7. Toronto Blue Jays - I still dont really get how this team is good, but I guess offseason aquisitions paid off for our neighbors up north. Vernon Wells is playing to his potential, and Roy Halliday is still Roy Halliday. If they keep playing like they have been, the AL Beast will be a tight race.
8. Minnesota Twins - Interesting how six teams in the top 8 have come from just two divisions. Joe Mauer is establishing himself as the best offensive catcher in the Majors. Sadly, it looks as if the Twins will miss the playoffs for another year. Oh yeah, who the F#$@ is Francisco Liriano?
9. Texas Rangers - With youngsters Michael Young and Mark Texiera anchoring this dominant Texas lineup, the only thing that can stop them is faulty starting pitching. They play in a perrenially underachieving division, but barring an Oakland surge (which happens every year), the Rangers can sneak easily into the playoffs, where they will promptly be destroyed.
10. Oakland Athletics - With double-play wednesdays over in Oakland due to the closing of the upper-deck, fans are looking for more from this squad of underpaid superstars. Frank Thomas is starting to hit home runs (circa 1996), and if the team surges again, fans might be seeing a Green October. (By the way, how annoying are those "A hunt for a green October" shirts?)
11. San Diego Padres - OH MY GOD THE NATIONAL LEAGUE SUCKS. The Pads are riding a 5-game win streak coming into the all-star break, which got them to the top of an extremely weak division. I have to say though, it was cool when Kahlil Greene hit that home run to break his homerless streak on a walkoff line drive.
12. Cincinatti Reds - Adam Dunn did possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen when he broke his bat on a pitch that he missed entirely. He was trying to hold up a swing, but because of the momentum of the bat head, the thing broke clean in two. Sorry, that didnt have anything to do with the Reds...
13. Los Angeles Dodgers - Nomar Garciaparra is freaking incredible, hitting .354 in 274 at-bats. Brad Penny is also making a name for himself (again), with his ERA of 2.91 being one of the best in the big leagues.
14. San Francisco Giants - The irony that is Barry Bonds brings me so much happiness, but Matt Cain and Noah Lowry, San Francisco's two young starters, have been taking headlines off Bonds, and onto some of the more positive aspects of the team. Nothing makes me laugh harder than seeing Steve Finley leg out a triple.
15. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - The name's got a ring to it, doesn't it? John Lackey's pitching has been stellar, but lack(ey)s the run support to make him worthwhile. Vlad is Vlad, and he'll need to lead this team if they want a chance at the post season.
16. Houston Astros - Much to my dismay, Roger Clemens is still on top of his game. Morgan Ensberg's injury might hurt the team a bit, but the team will need more than Ensberg if they want to play in October.
This is the point where we get to the teams that have no chance of making the playoffs, so instead of writing about each, I'll just list them. Rounding up the top 30 are:
17. Seattle Mariners
18. Cleveland Indians
19. Milwaukee Brewers
20. Colorado Rockies
21. Philadelphia Phillies
22. Baltimore Orioles
23. Florda Marlins
24. Atlanta Braves :(
25. Arizona Diamondbacks
26. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
27. Chicago Cubs
28. Washington Nationals
29. Kansas City Royals
30. Pittsburgh Pirates
Peace out, Dusty.
