MLB Power Rankings for May 25th- 2006

Although homerun stats have been watered down, Pujols continues a mind-boggling pace. Consider this: five players have hit 60 HR in a season, but only one has knocked in over 190 RBI, even in the recent “steroid-era” of baseball. Albert Pujols is on pace for 82 HR, but more impressive, would be if he could maintain his pace for 203 RBI.

His Cards drop a spot behind the red-hot Tigers, and the only thing keeping the Tigers from climbing on top of the whole sport is reputation. The big question this week is whether or not the Tigers are truly the best team in baseball.

Rank (Pv)	Team	Record	Comments
1 (1)		31-14	The Champs remain on top because of their consistency and proven track record, despite the Tiger’s recent onslaught. However, if the Tigers continue their dominance this spot won’t last.
2 (4)		32-14	Detroit has scored 75 runs more than their opponents, more than any other team in baseball. In fact, the next closest team is the ChiSox at a 61 run differential. The Tigers have won 5 in a row and 12 out of their last 13.
3 (2)		31-16	I’ve always maintained that Juan Encarnacion was an all-star in hiding. It’s finally time I admitted it publicly: I was wrong. He’s hitting just .247 with an OPS of .680. Last year Cardinal’s right fielders combined to knock in 88 runs with an OPS of .795.
4 (3)		28-17	Cliff Floyd needs to turn things around if the Mets are going to be successful. The leftfielder is hitting just .212 with 16 RBI. Last year he knocked in 98.
5 (5)		26-18	People always talk about how “clutch” David Ortiz is, but he’s only hitting .240 with runners in scoring position and two outs.
6 (6)		26-19	With all the talk of Atlanta looking mediocre and potentially missing the playoffs for the first time since 1990, it’s been overlooked that if the season ended today, the Yankees would also be out.
7 (8)		25-21	The Blue Jays have made some key off-season moves in the last couple seasons, but one of the biggest reasons they’ve been winning is Alex Rios. Coming into this season Rios had 11 career HR. This year he already has 9 and he’s hitting .357.
8 (7)		27-20	I said early on that I didn’t see Cincy competing all year, in part because David Weathers is not good enough to have the closer’s job. He’s blown 4 saves this season, with a record of 1-2.
9 (12)		27-19	Give credit to Leyland when the Tigers win. Give credit to Ozzie for the White Sox. Give credit to Torre and Cox and LaRussa. But I cannot believe that Bob Melvin has anything to do with Arizona’s success.
10 (9)		25-22	Closers must have a short memory. It appears Lidge doesn’t. He’s lost all command of his pitches, as if he’s afraid to leave pitches in the strike zone, one of the things that has made him dominant over the last couple years. Who would have thought that a power hitter like Scott Podsednik would have such an impact over the career of a flamethrowing closer?
11 (18)		27-20	The Dodgers are on fire as of late, but I have to think they are simply another Johnny-Come-Lately who’s won 9 out of their last 10, and 15 out of their last 18. The Reds, Phillies, Braves, Tigers, and Padres have all been in that category at some point in the season, and with the exception of the Tigers, they’ve all fallen back to earth since. Dodger fans will certainly complain about their ranking (in fact, a couple already did last week), but probably won’t admit their own mistake when they end up back at .500 again in a couple weeks.
12 (10)		25-22	Here’s a stat you wouldn’t have heard in past years: Colorado Rockies HR, Home–18; Away–28.
13 (11)		24-23	Khalil Greene leads the team with 9 HR. Interestingly a quarter of his hits have been homeruns. He’s only hitting .219.
14 (13)		23-22	People (myself included) have compared Cole Hamels to Mark Prior. Now, Hamels is facing the 15-day DL with a shoulder strain. They say it isn’t major, but that’s what the Cubs keep saying about Prior. This could be a major blow to a team already starved for starting pitching.
15 (14)		23-23	Michael Young is the most unheard of superstar in baseball. His career numbers look an awful lot like Nomar’s did when he was with Boston, but without the fanfare associated with the Red Sox. He’s hit over .300 for 3 consecutive years, winning his first batting title last year, and he’s had over 20 HR and 90 RBI for the last 2 seasons. This year he’s doing nothing different (.333-2-31, 17 2B), and still receiving little attention. His only flaw is that he strikes out too much, once per 6 AB in his career, unusual for a hitter with such a high average.
16 (20)		24-23	It pains me to do it, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Although I’m not ready to give him Hall of Fame status yet, John Smoltz has had an amazing career. Cy Young winning starter blows out elbow, and returns after Tommy John surgery. Until then he had never in 12 major league seasons made a regular season appearance out of the bullpen. He steps into the closer’s role when the team needs him to and goes on to save 92% of his 168 opportunities over a dominant four year span, and then, to fill a different team need goes back into the starting rotation to win 18 out of 27 decisions with an ERA hovering just over 3. And as if that weren’t enough, he’s been the cornerstone of a Braves team that has made the playoffs for 14 consecutive years. Very, very impressive.
17 (15)		24-23	The Brewers are desperate to fill gaps in their pitching staff. They’ve already used 20 different pitchers. Compare that to the bottom feeding Marlins (17), Pirates (12). In 2004 Texas had the worst pitching staff in baseball and they used 30 for then entire season.
18 (17)		24-23	Without a doubt Mike Matheny should be the NL All-Star at catcher. At least, that’s what I thought until I actually looked at his numbers. The toughest man in baseball is hitting .250 with 3 HR and 17 RBI. Okay numbers, I guess, but I should probably recast my ballot.
19 (16)		22-24	If only the A’s could play the M’s more often. Over the past two seasons they’ve beaten them 18 out of the last 27 times.
20 (19)		23-23	What can I say? The Tribe has an awesome offense, but an awful pitching staff. At least Sabathia (4-1, 1.52 ERA) gives them a fighting chance every fifth day.
21 (22)		21-26	Corey Patterson is having an amazing resurgence. He had never put up huge numbers, but always had the potential to be a big time lead-off hitter and basestealer. After his blown ACL and dismal season with Chicago last year many had given up on him. However, this year he’s hitting .304 with 5 HR, and has been successful on 15 of 16 stolen base attempts.
22 (23)		20-26	The big news for the Twins is that Liriano has been moved to the starting rotation. He is slated to make his second start of the season on Friday, against the offensively feeble Mariners, which should be a confidence booster for any young pitcher.
23 (25)		22-26	Seattle is finally showing some life, sweeping the Padres and taking 2 of 3 from the O’s. And this is despite their clean-up hitter, Richie Sexson straddling the Mendoza Line.
24 (24)		19-28	The Angels are just playing bad. Even Vlad is having a down year, by his standards, with an OPS of only .898. Of course, not many players can be said to be having a down year while hitting .312 with 12 HR and 40 RBI.
25 (21)		18-28	There’s a lot of talk swirling around Dusty Baker’s future with the Cubs, so I’ll put in my two cents. The Cubs implosion has not been his fault. At the same time, a poker player who holds four aces in his hand and fails to win should find another table. Let’s see here, Maddux, Wood, Prior, and Zambrano… yep, that’s four.
26 (26)		21-26	Joe Madden should ditch the computer-nerd glasses. At least then he wouldn’t be able to see how bad the Rays are.
27 (27)		18-29	Washington’s pitching is really not all that bad, with the 11th lowest ERA in baseball, but their offense is terrible. Only 4 teams have scored less runs than the Nationals.
28 (28)		14-31	The Marlins have 1 win for every $1 million they’ve spent on payroll. The Yankees have spent about $8 million per win. If you look at it like that, the Marlins are doing pretty good.
29 (29)		14-33	The Pirates are so bad one fan “almost” complained that they weren’t ranked lower. I’ll let him remain somewhat anonymous, but he knows who he is.
30 (30)		10-34	It has now been two weeks since the Royals have won a game. I have nothing else to say about this team until they win another game. If they don’t get a win by next Thursday this space will be blank next week. My mom always told me, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Mostly I don’t listen to her. For a team as bad as KC, I’ll make an exception.