The Tigers are still on the rise, the Reds seem be falling. Yankees injuries might have the boss reaching for his pocketbook again, and a couple DC men reach for their pocketbooks and write MLB a big check. Woods makes his return to the rubber, but gets shelled. And Bonds hasn’t hit 714. Maybe he never will…
Rank (Pv) |
Team |
Record |
Comments |
| 1 (1) |  |
26-14 | The Sox no longer hold the best record in baseball, but they are still the best team. |
| 2 (3) |  |
26-15 | Albert Pujols has played a role in 45% of the Cardinal’s runs (48 RBI, 40 runs). |
| 3 (2) |  |
24-16 | X-Factor: Nady had 25 career homeruns until this year. So far he’s hitting .287 with 8 HR and 20 RBI. |
| 4 (6) |  |
27-13 | The Tigers have been undefeated since last week’s rankings, and they’ve been doing it with pitching. They have the best starting ERA in baseball and the 2nd best relief ERA. |
| 5 (7) |  |
23-15 | Without Timlin (10 holds, 1.08 ERA) and Papelbon (14 saves, 0.42 ERA) throwing the way they are, the Red Sox would be in trouble. 18 of their 23 wins have been by four runs or less. |
| 6 (5) |  |
23-16 | People pay a lot of attention to Sheffield’s injuries, Matsui’s injury, and Johnson’s struggles, but the fact that they have the third best starting ERA in the AL is often overlooked. |
| 7 (4) |  |
24-17 | The Reds have lost 8 out of their last 12 games. Is this the beginning of the Cincy slide? |
| 8 (9) |  |
22-17 | Toronto has 2 players with an OPS over 1.000 and 3 with batting averages over .340. The rest of the AL East only has 3 1.000 OPS players and 2 .340 hitters. |
| 9 (8) |  |
22-19 | Clemens could be making a decision within the next week or two on whether or not to return, but what Houston really needs is bullpen help |
| 10 (10) |  |
22-19 | Coors is no longer the hitter’s haven that it once was, ranking 19th in runs per game, and 23rd in HR per game. All around this is a good thing for the Rockies–hitters are no longer given an asterisk for monster offensive seasons (aka the Vinny Castillo factor) and pitchers don’t have to ride the roller coaster of pitching at home versus away. |
| 11 (13) |  |
23-18 | The Padres have cooled down a bit, but they still have the 3rd best all around pitching staff in baseball. Their Achilles heel, partially because of Petco, is their offense. Brian Giles leads the team in hitting, at a mere .289. |
| 12 (11) |  |
22-18 | The entire NL West should be looking forward to the upcoming interleague play. It will be the highest combined winning percentage versus the weakest division in baseball. |
| 13 (15) |  |
22-18 | Until their recent three game losing streak Philadelphia was the hottest team in baseball. However, their starting pitching needs help–top prospect Cole Hamel has looked good and Brett Myers has been solid, but they’re not enough to bring Philly to the postseason. Perhaps “Stand-Pat” Gillick should find out what Beane wants for Zito. Sooner, rather than later, because if the A’s get hot, like they have a tendency to do late in the season, he won’t be available. |
| 14 (12) |  |
21-19 | Texas got a little relief from their 20 games in 20 days because of rain in Boston, but that just means they’ll have to play them later in the season, when the pitching staff has rubber arms and home games mean 100 degrees with humidity. |
| 15 (18) |  |
22-19 | Milwaukee is slowly working their way up the ranks, but I still have a hard time believing they’ll be within striking distance of the playoffs come August. They are 6-12 on the road, a sure sign of a team headed nowhere. Every division leader in baseball has a winning record on the road with the exception of St. Louis (8-8). |
| 16 (17) |  |
21-19 | Oakland is 21st in overall salary, but it is interesting to see where they spend their money. Jason Kendall is their highest paid player and he hasn’t hit a homerun in over 180 games. Mark Kotsay (4th) has never had more than 82 RBI or 17 HR. Steve Karsay (5th) has been a career middle reliever / setup-man. |
| 17 (16) |  |
21-20 | The Giants have to assume that Bonds will not be productive all year long. At this point they need to think more about the rest of their season than they do his career homerun total. |
| 18 (19) |  |
21-20 | Nomar is starting to hit, and he seems to have adjusted to playing the other side of the diamond, but will he stay healthy? |
| 19 (14) |  |
20-21 | Mighty Casey is the hottest hitter in baseball, but the Mudville Nine continue to lose. |
| 20 (24) |  |
21-20 | Until this last week, Jeff Francoeur had been struggling. In this past week he’s hit .333, with 2 HR and 11 RBI. |
| 21 (20) |  |
17-23 | Woods is back, but it’s the Cubs offense that is limping. At this point it might be worth allowing Derek Lee to hit one handed. |
| 22 (23) |  |
19-22 | Like the A’s, Orioles spending makes me scratch my head. Javy Lopez is getting $9 million to be a backup catcher, and setup-man LaTroy Hawkins is the 4th highest paid player. |
| 23 (21) |  |
17-24 | Exact opposite of their division rival Tigers, the Twins haven’t won a game since last week’s rankings. In past years pitching has been one of Minnesota’s major strengths. This year their team ERA is 6.48. |
| 24 (22) |  |
17-23 | The AL West is just begging for somebody to step up and take control of the division, but nobody seems to be volunteering. |
| 25 (25) |  |
17-25 | Mariner starting pitchers have the 4th best ERA in the AL, but only have 12 wins in 31 decisions. |
| 26 (26) |  |
17-24 | Tampa Bay fans (all 200 of them) are probably getting tired of hearing that Rocco Baldelli is getting closer to playing. We’ve been hearing that all year. |
| 27 (27) |  |
14-27 | The Nats finally have an owner other than… the other 29 teams they are in competition with. Hopefully the new owners will be willing to spend some money. Currently they only have one $10 million dollar player, Alfonso Soriano. |
| 28 (28) |  |
11-28 | The Marlins starters haven’t been great, but the bullpen has been awful, losing 12 out of 15 decisions. |
| 29 (29) |  |
13-28 | Mike Gonzalez is a bright spot for the Bucs. He had a sparkling 1.25 ERA in ’04, 2.70 last year, and 1.76 so far this year. He hasn’t blown a save yet, but then again, he’s only had 5 chances. |
| 30 (30) |  |
10-28 | The unbalanced schedule is working wonders for the White Sox and Tigers. Neither the Twins or the Royals have won a game in the past week. |
13 replies on “MLB Power Rankings for May 18th- 2006”
A’s Money In defense of Kendall and Kotsay. Jason Kendall is a very good defensive catcher who is loved by the pitching staff as he calls a great game. Mark Kotsay is also considered one of the best 4-5 defensive centerfielders and is a table setter which is why his RBI’s never total more than 80 something.
In terms of Steve Karsay, we just got him and the only reason why is because Justin Duchsherer, Joe Kennedy, and Jay Witasick are all on the DL and the A’s are desperate for bullpen arms. Traditionally we like to go 71-11 in the second half of the season but we’re hoping to not have to do that this year in order to make the playoffs.
Also I think if you go through the other contracts on the team, specifically Rich Harden, Dan Haren, Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby, and Mark Ellis you’ll find that the vast majority is playing for a contract well below their market value.
I realize they’ve lost 3 in a row but the Phillies need to get their due. Cole Hamels is as good as advertised and they are at least a top 10 baseball club. And DEFINITELY better than the Reds.
alright I know you’re not exactly a Braves fan, but ranking them 20th is ridiculous. Do you really think the Dodgers, Indians, and Giants are better? Atlanta is virtually tied with the Phils in the NL East, yet you ranked Philly 7 places higher.
power rankings are different then what you may be thinking of. you are thinking consistency. but over the past week or so, the phillies have been hot, while the braves, who may have a record similar to the phillies, have just been playing the same baseball as a team thus far.
Homers, homers, homers…. all of ya! Keep up the good work Garrett and don’t let these knuckleheads influence you
:-).
Pirates suck.
I almost complained that you didn’t rank them lower.
such a homer You’re just mad because this is the first time in 13 years that there will be no braves in the postseason. Which is awesome.
Let’s face facts. In terms of winning percentage they’re middle of the pack in baseball. Yes, they’ve been hot recently, but the rankings are about an entire season of work, and so far they haven’t proven anything.
Cole Hamel might be the real deal, but remember that’s what the M’s said about Felix Hernandez, the Cubs said about Mark Prior, and dozens that have come before them. There is no such thing as a sure-fire prospect anymore.
Also, the Phillies have some history in choking, so perhaps I’m biased in that regard.
Thanks RJ That made me laugh.
The Reds (as of press time) were 24-17. Is that that much of a better winning percentage that the Phils at 22-18? Yet the Phils just finished sweeping the Reds and you ranked them (8?) spots lower!
Of course, this is all out the window since we’re now on a 4 game losing streak.
And RJ, stop calling me a homo…er.. homer.
ok I don’t know what you were thinking of cernig, but as of press time the Braves had won 7 out of 8, which would lead me to think that they would move up more. The Phillies hadn’t been hot–they had just lost 4 in a row. And vin, there will be Braves baseball this postseason. For those who think the Mets are better, just look at the way they blew that game against the Yankees. And the Phillies have no chance at all of lasting the entire season with their starting pitching.
To be honest… 20th might be showing my anti-Braves sentiments a bit strongly, but without consideration to their success of past years I don’t look at this team being in the playoffs at the end of the year. They just seem okay. Not great, not terrible, just okay.
Their starting pitching is better than the Phillies, but their relievers are shaky, and offensively they’ll have to rely on their young talent. I look forward to a postseason without Atlanta, but until it happens, I am not counting them out.
I spent a lot of time responding to this and then my dialup internet connection was lost and along with it my will to rewrite everything twice. So I’ll be brief. The A’s have some of the best bang-for-the-buck players in baseball- Crosby, Street, Swisher, Harden, etc.
No matter how good he is defensively, Kendall is not worth $11 million. You could defend Karsay, and Kotsay, but not Kendall.
And the point about Karsay is a good one- their bullpen is so depleted they were willing to overpay him. With that preface, he is still being grossly overpaid.
The losing streak is now up to 5.