Team of the Week: Tampa Bay Rays (pictured above)
Bust of the Week: Kansas City Royals
Well, by now, we've started to fall into the routine of summer baseball. A loss, a couple wins, then another loss...
Anyhow, mid-season baseball has begun to settle in, and the back-and-forth patterns have started to show themselves. For example, 24 out of the 30 total teams have a record between 4-6 and 6-4 in their last ten games, and currently the longest win/loss streak is just five.
However, this doesn't mean that things can still change in the standings. This week in baseball, we experienced the overtaking of the up-and-coming Blue Jays (which turned the AL East into a back-and-forth battle for first), the implosion of the Royals, who have dropped quite a bit in the power rankings recently (read on to see how much), and, finally, the continued dominance of the Dodgers.
Rankings Method
10%...Last season's success
60%...Success this season
25%...Current Streak
5%...Intangibles (injuries, etc.)
PR...Previous Ranking (last ranked May 11th)
GA...Games ahead
1. (PR-1) Los Angeles Dodgers (39-19)
Well, although they've begun to settle in to a routine, the Dodgers are still managing to completely dominate the National League Standings. And this is all without Man-Ram.
2. (PR-4) Boston Red Sox (33-23)
With last night's impressive rout of the AL West-leading Rangers, the Red Sox have moved into first place in the hotly-contested AL East. It's not going to be any smooth ride to a division title, though, with the Yankees and Jays right there, and the Rays coming on strong.
3. (PR-12) Philadelphia Phillies (32-22)
Although they have gone on a two-game losing skid since posting a 7-1 streak, the Phillies still lead their division by three full games and, if they can improve their home field play, should be in a good position heading into the hot summer months.
4. (PR-6) Milwaukee Brewers (33-23)
The Brewers are currently pouring it on strong and have now lead their division for nearly a month straight. However, I question their ability to consistently play at their recent level.
5. (PR-16) New York Yankees (32-23)
The Yanks slipped a game yesterday and fell out of first in their devastating loss to the Rays. However, the certainly have the ability and talent to easily win the division.
6. (PR-11) Texas Rangers (32-23)
The Rangers could definitely be a team to watch this summer. They have the pitching and hitting that they need to succeed, and are falling into a winning routine, as well.
7. (PR-2) St. Louis Cardinals (31-25)
The Cardinals have fallen a significant amount since I last ranked them, and are below .500 in their L10. Although they are bursting with hitting power, for some reason, St. Louis has struggled a bit recently.
8. (PR-5) New York Mets (29-25)
9. (PR-3) Toronto Blue Jays (31-27)
This has not been a good week for the Blue Jays. They've fallen all the way to third in the division, and are also 4-6 in L10. I guess this may have been what we were all expecting all along.
10. (PR-18) Tampa Bay Rays (29-28)
After an extremely slow first few months, the defending American League champs may finally be starting to hit their stride and pull themselves back into contention.
11. (PR-7) Detroit Tigers (29-25)
With the drastic fall of the Royals, the Tigers are now beginning to open up a decent lead on the weak AL Central, despite being below .500 in L10.
12. (PR-10) Chicago Cubs (27-26)
13. (PR-14) San Francisco Giants (28-26)
Pretty nice surprising run the Giants have made in the past couple weeks, winning seven of their last ten games. One question we all have, though, is: how are they doing it?!
14. (PR-9) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (28-26)
15. (PR-15) Cincinnati Reds (29-26)
16. (PR-17) Minnesota Twins (28-29)
21-12 at home, despite being below .500 in the overall standings. Interesting. Maybe that stat will help them possibly recover from this mediocre first several months.
17. (PR-13) Florida Marlins (27-30)
18. (PR-21) Seattle Mariners (27-29)
19. (PR-20) Chicago White Sox (26-29)
20. (PR-29) Pittsburgh Pirates (26-29)
21. (PR-24) San Diego Padres (26-29)
Even though the Padres were able to pull out a victory yesterday with their six-run sixth against the Diamondbacks, they are a below-average 3-7 in L10 and have already fallen quite a ways back of the wild card race.
22. (PR-19) Atlanta Braves (26-28)
The Braves are another team that is 3-7 in L10, and, as that record shows, they certainly have been quite disappointing recently, having also gone on a three-game losing streak in their past several matches.
23. (PR-25) Oakland A's (24-30)
What a crucial win streak the A's have posted this past week. I'm almost certain that their hopes would've been dead if they hadn't been sparked at just the right moment and won five in a row.
24. (PR-22) Houston Astros (24-30)
Despite losing last night to the Pirates, the Astros are actually above .500 in L10 (6-4) and may not be that dead and gone. Warning: do not give up on Houston just yet!
25. (PR-27) Colorado Rockies (23-32)
The Rockies have managed to win their last three contests, which is certainly creditable to them, but this is just not the team we saw two seasons ago in the NL Playoffs.
26. (PR-23) Arizona Diamondbacks (24-32)
27. (PR-8) Kansas City Royals (24-31)
Ugh. What a drop by the Royals. If not for their win last night, they would have just one win in their last ten games, and, either way, the Royals are basically gone from playoff contention for the rest of this year, for that kind of drop is hard to overcome.
28. (PR-28) Cleveland Indians (24-34)
29. (PR-26) Baltimore Orioles (24-32)
I'm inclined to say that their current four-game losing streak may be their high point of the season.
30. (PR-30) Washington Nationals (15-39)
Example of a father-and-son conversation in a family living somewhere in the D.C./Baltimore metropolitan area:
Father - Hey, son, do you want to go see an Orioles or a Nationals game today?
Son - I'd rather see neither.
Mark Jones' 2009 MLB Playoffs Projections
American League
1. Boston Red Sox (Record: No. 1)
2. Texas Rangers (No. 3)
3. Detroit Tigers (No. 6)
----------
4. New York Yankees (No. 2)
-----------
5. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (No. 4)
6. Tampa Bay Rays (No. 5)
7. Toronto Blue Jays (No. 7)
National League
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. St. Louis Cardinals
-------------
4. Milwaukee Brewers
-----------
5. New York Mets
6. Chicago Cubs
7. Florida Marlins
- Login to post comments