MLB Power Rankings for September 7th- 2006

We’ve finally gotten another no-hitter (ending the longest drought in MLB history), and although I wasn’t able to fulfill a life-long dream of seeing one in person, or even watching it top to bottom on television, I did get to see the final six outs on live TV, and I thought I was going to cry right along with Anibal Sanchez. I held it back. Barely.

Some other goings on have postseason implications- Mark Mulder is shutting it down for the season to have his torn rotator cuff repaired, Eddie Guardado is doing the same for a torn ligament in his elbow, and superstars Pedro Martinez, Hideki Matsui, and Gary Sheffield are still yet to return. On the other side of the coin, Big Papi is back in the lineup, and Flash Gordon has come back just in time for the Phils. But the loudest whispers on the injury news wire involve a guy named Liriano, and I’m not talking about Nelson.

Rank (Pv)	Team	Record	Comments
1 (1)		86-52	With all the positives that can be said about the Mets, it is easy to overlook some very obvious shortcomings. If Pedro can’t be 100%, then they’re looking at a starting rotation that includes 35-year old Steve Trachsel (5.02 ERA), Oliver Perez (7.14 ERA), and 36-year old (yeah, right, does anybody actually believe this?) Orlando Hernandez (5.15 ERA).
2 (2)		83-55	Some of the major sports media outlets have narrowed the MVP race down to Ortiz and Jeter. As the season goes on it seems more and more likely that Derek Jeter will win the MVP, although I’m not convinced his stats merit strong consideration for the award. If the season ended today, Jeter wouldn’t lead the league in any major offensive category. The MVP doesn’t have to go to a homerun hitting stud, but look at the last MVP who didn’t hit many homeruns, Ichiro. In 2001 he lead the league in hitting, hits, stolen bases, and was second in runs.
3 (3)		85-55	If I had been told at the beginning of the season that the Tigers would be in World Series contention all season long, I would have pointed at Todd Jones as the weak link. However the 38-year old closer with almost 1,000 innings under his belt has performed admirably. His ERA (4.56) hasn’t been stellar, but he has converted 35 of 39 saves.
4 (4)		80-59	Jermaine Dye (along with Justin Morneau) is one of the primary MVP candidates that is not getting as much press as the two from the northeastern part of the country. He is in the top five in the American League in hitting, homeruns, RBI, slugging, and OPS.
5 (5)		80-58	Twins fans can start salivating at the postseason smell. Francisco Liriano could be back in the rotation as early as next week.
6 (6)		80-59	The A’s are a hard team to get a handle on, in terms of how good they’ll be next year. On one hand, they should have Rich Harden, Bobby Crosby, and Huston Street healthy, but on the other hand, they’ll never be able to afford Frank Thomas for a second year, or to resident ace Barry Zito.
7 (7)		74-64	It’s obvious that Mark Mulder’s value has dropped significantly, but how cheap will he go? With teams as desperate for pitching as they are, it wouldn’t surprise me too much if he still got about $7 million next year.
8 (8)		75-65	Even with Colon gone almost all season, the Angels starting rotation has been solid. They have the second best ERA in the majors, lead by a trio of arms that would be a nightmare to face in the postseason (Lackey, 3.54 ERA; Escobar, 3.61 ERA; and rookie phenom Jered Weaver, 10-2, 2.16). Combine that starting staff with Scott Shields and Francisco Rodriguez and there are five teams in the AL that are hoping the Angels don’t make it to October.
9 (9)		74-65	The old cliché is that pitching and defense wins championships. In the case of the Dodgers, they’re going to need a lot of pitching if they’re going to be able to make it to the World Series, because they don’t hit for power and Rafael Furcal has 22 errors (the most of any middle infielder).
10 (10)		75-65	It seems the AL Rookie of the Year will go to whichever young gun can hold up for the entire season. Papelbon seemed like he had it locked up early, until Liriano came from the pen to mow everybody down. Then Liriano went down. So Verlander quietly emerged as the top rookie when Papelbon stumbled. Now, Papelbon seems to be done for the season, just like the Red Sox. An MRI revealed that there was nothing torn in his shoulder, but the weakness he is feeling could be a precursor to bigger things if he returns too quickly.
11 (11)		73-67	Josh Towers is back with the big ballclub, and opposing hitters can’t be happier. Towers has one win in ten decisions, with an ERA of 9.11. Opposing hitters are licking their lips. Manager John Gibbons says that Towers will help the team next year. How? By not showing up for spring training? Okay, I know, that’s a little harsh. I wish him the best, but I don’t see a Jeremy Bonderman turn around in the future.
12 (12)		73-67	Cla Meredith looks to be another huge mistake on the part of the Boston Red Sox. Last year, he got shelled in three games. This year, he has been nothing short of spectacular in his role as Trevor Hoffman’s setup man, a 4-1 record with 10 holds, and a 0.79 ERA. Good work Theo. Good work.
13 (13)		72-69	If there is one aspect of the game that can be ignored by the opponents of the Texas Rangers, it’s stealing bases. Ian Kinsler leads the team with a whopping nine.
14 (14)		70-69	I heard a thing about Philadelphia fans that I loved: During rainouts Philly fans go to the airport to boo the planes landing.
15 (19)		70-69	The Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell trade continues to pay dividends for the Florida Marlins. Anibal Sanchez recorded the first no-hitter since Randy Johnson’s perfect game in ’04. The amazing thing, to me, is that this was the fourth no-hitter by a Marlin pitcher in just their thirteenth year in existence (Al Leiter, Kevin Brown, A.J. Burnett, and Sanchez).
16 (17)		70-70	The Giants have been hot lately, pulling to within three games of the Wild Card. More importantly, however, is that they’ve finally escaped the #17 slot they’ve been stuck in for three straight weeks.
17 (15)		69-71	After hanging in for the better part of the season, it finally seems to be unraveling for the Reds. Griffey is out indefinitely with a sore toe. Guardado is out for the season, and in need of Tommy John if he’s ever going to pitch again. The Reds have lost 10 out of the last 12 games at this crucial point in the season.
18 (18)		68-71	Back when Minute Maid Park decided not to be named after corrupt corporate executives, it was known as a pitcher’s park. This year it is the most neutral park in all of baseball, just slightly in favor of the hitters (between Fenway on the offensive side, and Jacobs Field on the pitcher’s side). Personally I thought Enron had a nice ring to it.
19 (16)		65-74	Carlos Quentin has yet to capitalize on the departure of Shawn Green. Before: .237; After: still .237. But he has hit two homeruns in the past week.
20 (20)		64-76	The Brewers lead the majors in strikeouts, at 1,061. As a team they are hitting .335 when they make contact. Compare that to division leader, St. Louis, hitting .326 when making contact.
21 (21)		66-73	Is it time for the Braves to bring down the house and rebuild from the foundation up? After a 14-year playoff run, the Braves are looking their age. John Smoltz (who has a team option at the end of the year) might be the old man of the team, but he’s also the rock of the pitching staff. Andruw Jones was placed on waivers and could be a serious piece of trade bait, if the Braves want to go that route. They do have some solid youth to build upon (McCann, Francouer, Laroche), but they need some arms desperately.
22 (23)		66-73	The Mariners have the fewest walks in the MLB this year. If Seattle is going to reverse their recent losing trend of the past few years, they are going to have to learn to be more patient. The M’s have three starters with less than 20 walks (Johjima, Betancourt, Lopez; all are in their first full major league season, and all have more than 400 at-bats).
23 (22)		63-76	There have been plenty of compliments aimed at Brad Hawpe’s bat, but not many people have pointed out his gun. The Colorado right-fielder has thrown out 14 runners, more than any other right-fielder.
24 (24)		66-72	I always like looking back at preseason predictions, particularly when they go horribly wrong, and especially when the predictions come from so-called experts. Seven of nineteen ESPN analysts picked the Indians to win the AL Central and three more picked them as the Wild Card winners. Needless to say they are all wrong. One analyst picked Travis Hafner as the AL MVP and two picked Grady Sizemore. Hafner and Sizemore certainly haven’t been disappointments, but they won’t get much award consideration.
25 (25)		61-78	In 1997 the Orioles won the AL East. Since then they haven’t finished higher than 3rd, and have finished 20+ games back in seven of the eight seasons, 30+ games back four times. This season they are in fourth place, 22.5 games back.
26 (26)		61-78	There are a few interesting things about the season Alfonso Soriano is having. One, that he is six homeruns and 14 stolen bases shy of becoming the first 50-50 player in history (which I think is important to him, if for no other reason, than to use as a bargaining tool in the off-season); and two, that he only has 88 RBI (second on the team behind Ryan Zimmerman), showing truly that knocking in runs has a great deal of luck involved and, like batting average, is often a misused statistic in judging the value of a player. And three, that he leads all outfielders with 19 assists- not bad for a converted second basemen.
27 (27)		56-84	It would seem there is very little interest in baseball in the state of Florida, which is interesting, because I didn’t find the Miami/Florida State game very entertaining. Ten to thirteen? Sounds like a jail sentence for a petty thief. Regardless, the Devil Rays and Marlins have combined for a mere two million fans. Seventeen teams have achieved that mark individually.
28 (29)		57-84	Undoubtedly there will be some complaining, either by Chicago fans, or by Pittsburgh fans, but the Buccos have clawed their way out of the National League cellar and into the #28 slot.
29 (28)		56-84	The Cubs have the fewest hit batters in the majors. With as bad as they are, I have a piece of advice for their mindset at the plate. Hang in there and take one for the team.
30 (30)		52-89	The Royals have relished the role of spoiler. In the past month they’ve won four of seven from Chicago, two of three from Minnesota, two of four from Oakland, and swept Boston.