MLB Power Rankings 28 September 2005

Here are the latest MLB power rankings, as always comments are welcome. Tune in to the MLB this weekend if you can. The schedule makers have managed to set up one of the most compelling final weekends in recent memory.

Rank(Pv)	Team	Record	Comments
1(1)		97-61	Last Friday’s 9-6 lost in Milwaukee was the Cardinal’s first loss at Miller Park this year.
2(2)		94-63	Paul Konerko has been nominated for the AL’s Hank Aaron award for the league’s best hitter along with Baltimore’s Miguel Tejada, New York’s Alex Rodriguez, Boston’s David Ortiz, Anaheim’s Vladimir Guerrero and Texas’ Mark Teixeira.
3(5)		92-65	The Yankees became the first team ever to hit over 200 HRs in six consecutive seasons last week.
4(3)		92-65	Cleveland has now beaten Kansas City nine straight times, the longest such streak in club history.
5(6)		91-66	Since losing four straight games September 12-15 the Angels are 10-1.
6(4)		92-65	Keith Foulke wasn’t very good this year, but his being out for the rest of the season still hurts the Boston bullpen since they’re so thin to begin with.
7(7)		90-68	John Smoltz skip his last start, probably a good idea since he hasn’t looked quite up to snuff in his last couple outings.
8(9)		86-71	Houston is 51-26 at home this year, the second best record in the MLB. If they win their last four home games, they’ll have had the best home record of any Astros team ever.
9(8)		85-72	The A’s are virtually eliminated from playoff contention thanks to the Angels’ recent hot streak.
10(10)		84-74	Since September 17, Bobby Abreu has only four hits and 0 RBI. Not exactly helpful for a team that needs all the help they can get to overtake the Astros in the NL Wild Card race.
11(17)		80-77	The Mets have all but been eliminated from the playoff, but it wasn’t for lack of effort during the last couple weeks. It was for lack of winning during the weeks before that.
12(16)		79-78	All the Brewers need to do to finish the season above .500 is win a series against the Pirates this weekend.
13(12)		80-78	If Washington manages to avoid committing eight errors in their last games then they’ll set the franchise record for fewest errors in a season.
14(11)		80-78	AJ Burnett will not be offered a contract with the Marlins in the off season and will not pitch again this year. Too bad they couldn’t have got something for him way back when the Orioles were in contention.
15(15)		78-79	Texas is on pace to be the third team in MLB history to have a home runs allowed to home runs given up differential of more than 100. If they do so, they’ll join the 1927 and 1961 Yankees.
16(14)		79-78	Joe Mauer grounded out with the bases loaded last week, making him 0-6 with the bases loaded so far this year.
17(13)		78-79	Trevor Hoffman’s blown save on Monday was his first in 38 consecutive opportunities.
18(18)		77-80	Miguel Batista became the first closer this year to strike out four batters in a save against the Yankees. He’s also the first closer to strike out four Yankees in a save since 1969 (when saves became a stat).
19(19)		77-80	Now that the Cubs season is all but over, attention has turned to Dusty Baker, specifically whether or not he’ll be back next season. I know if I were a Cubs fan, I certainly wouldn’t want to see Baker in the dugout again next year.
20(20)		74-83	Randy Winn has been especially good during the Giant’s run at the NL West lead, hitting .430 with 9 HRs (which is half his total all season) in September to this point.
21(23)		73-84	Bank One Ballpark has been renamed as Chase Field after the two companies merged. I would have preferred Chase Stadium (it just sounds better to me) but whatever.
22(25)		71-86	After last Friday’s loss, Detroit had a 45-minute players meeting to discuss their disappointing play. They’ve won four in a row since then.
23(22)		72-85	Sadly, Ken Griffey Jr. is out for the rest of the season after surgery on his left knee and right hamstring. He played 128 games this year, improving his career average in Cincinnati to 98 games played per year.
24(24)		70-87	Since joining the Dodgers in early August, Jose Cruz Jr. has raised his average from .215 to .260 and hit six home runs.
25(21)		71-86	This season can’t really get any worse for the Orioles, but now Brian Roberts will be out until mid-March of next year in addition to the remainder of this year. In addition to that, Rafael Palmeiro blamed Miguel Tejada for his steroid test, making himself look even worse by citing a substance that isn’t even banned.
26(27)		66-91	Tampa Bay’s much improved second half couldn’t keep Lou Piniella around as he’s still convinced, correctly, that the Devil Ray’s ownership is more concerned about the future than the present.
27(26)		67-90	Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki have each played in every game this season for the Mariners.
28(27)		65-92	Backup catcher Todd Greene, a Georgia native, hit the game winning homer in the Rockies 6-5 comeback victory over the Braves last week.
29(29)		64-94	Dale Sveum, currently a third-base coach for Boston, is being considered as a candidate for the Pirate’s managerial position. He did good work developing players at Pittsburgh’s AA Altoona team, managing a team that sent ten players to the majors so far.
30(30)		54-103	Monday’s win over the Twins in Minnesota was the Royals’ first road victory since September 9.