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MLB Power Rankings for June 20- 2007

The big news of this week has been the health of several aces. The news is bad for two teams in the NL West, as the Dodgers lose Jason Schmidt and the Diamondbacks lose Randy Johnson, both for an undetermined amount of time. Schmidt has already spent most of the season on the disabled list and has made comments that he never really felt like himself, posting a 1-4 record with an ERA over 6.00.

Johnson, on the other hand, began the season on the DL, but more often than not has looked like the 2001 World Series winning Big Unit, instead of the Booed in the Bronx Big Unit.

While the news out West is bad, Red Sox nation is breathing a sigh of relief, when Curt Schilling’s MRI revealed no damage to his shoulder, and he shouldn’t miss more than a start or two.

Rank (Pv)
Team
Record
Comments
1 (1) 45-26
It pains me to say this, but I’ve actually grown accustomed to the Los Angeles Angels.
2 (2) 44-25
Good news for Boston fans: Manny Ramirez is heating up. After an April that saw him hitting just .202 and slugging a mere .315, Ramirez has increased his average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage during each month of the season. So far in June, he’s hitting .388 with a .531 on-base percentage.
3 (3) 41-28
Casey Blake has hit safely in 36 of his last 38 games (.331 over the stretch), including his current 26-game hitting streak, longest in the Majors this season.
4 (4) 40-29
Very similar to last year, the Tigers are getting very balanced production from their entire lineup. Eight out of nine starters have knocked in more than 30 runs. Compare that to other vaunted AL offenses like Cleveland and New York, both with six.
5 (5) 40-28
Jake Peavy and Chris Young make up the best 1-2 punch in baseball right now. No other pair of teammates have ERAs under 2.80, while the Padres aces are currently at 1.82 and 2.26, respectively. Throw in Hall of Famer Greg Maddux and you’ve got a formidable playoff pitching staff.
6 (7) 40-31
With the Big Unit returning to the DL with his recurring back issues, the key will be for the Diamondbacks to hang in the playoff race without him, and resist the urge to bring him back too soon. They need him to be as close to 100% as he can, for the stretch run.
7 (6) 39-30
The Dodgers have been looking for a big bat for several years now, and have failed to get one, settling for Juan Pierre in the off-season. The question is, will they make a play to acquire somebody before the deadline? Some names that come to mind… Adam Dunn, Todd Helton, Richie Sexson, Mark Texiera.
8 (8) 38-30
I admit that I enjoy seeing the Mets flounder. I predicted the Phillies to win the division at the beginning of the season, because I didn’t think the New York pitching staff was worth the paper they signed their contracts on, and I took a lot of flack for doing so.
9 (10) 38-31
Mike Piazza is almost back from the DL and it appears that he might be playing catcher for them after all, potentially replacing Jason Kendall as the starting backstop, to allow for more power out of their designated hitter. Kendall supporters point to him as an on-base percentage type of hitter, but at this point his on-base percentage is just .264.
10 (11) 38-33
Andruw Jones is really choking in his free-agent season. He’s never been much in the batting average department, but Jones’ numbers this year are awful in all situations. He’s hitting .216 off lefties, .209 off righties, .210 with runners on base, .177 when he leads off the inning, .187 during the day, and .156 in the month of June.
11 (12) 39-31
Brewers management has said that it has budgeted money to make a trade deadline move if they need to make a push for the playoffs. My thing is, why wait until the trade deadline? Why not make the move now, before you slide too far down the slippery slope. A guy like Kevin Millwood could be available. He has playoff experience and his inflated numbers over the last two seasons are not indicative of the type of pitcher he is. Of course, the Rangers might be leery of trading with the Crew, after they unloaded Carlos Lee on them last year.
12 (15) 35-32
Despite sitting eight games back in the standings, the Yankees run differential is only one run worse than that of the Red Sox.
13 (9) 35-31
Last season the Mariner broadcasters made a constant push for people to vote for Jose Lopez in the All-Star Game. This year, they’ve taken up the “Vote for Kenji” campaign. Maybe I’m being overdramatic, but I find it to be morally reprehensible for them to push so hard for home-town votes for one specific player, especially when there are several catchers having significantly better seasons. Which is why I’ve decided to start my own Anti-Vote for Kenji campaign, by passing out John Buck pins and going door-to-door asking people if I can put a lawn signs in their yards.
14 (13) 36-34
With all the “can’t miss” prospects that you hear about, who never amount to anything, Cole Hamels appears to be the real deal. He leads the National League in wins and strikeouts and he’s 9-2 with a 3.47 ERA.
15 (14) 34-34
In my opinion, Joe Nathan is still one of the most underrated pitchers in the game. Over the past four years, Nathan has notched almost 140 saves, blowing only 16.
16 (17) 33-35
AJ Burnett’s return to the disabled list officially puts him in the “talented, but fragile” category, along with Rich Harden, Carl Pavano, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and Eric Gagne.
17 (16) 33-38
Dontrelle Willis is going to be one of the most coveted free agents on the market, when his time comes, but is he really as good as he is supposed to be? He leads the Marlins in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, but his ERA has gone up each of the last three years, currently at 4.58
18 (21) 35-34
Every week I struggle to find something to say about the Rockies. This week I decided not to lose too many brain cells searching for something to say.
19 (19) 30-39
After a big season offensively last year, Omar Vizquel is struggling with the stick this year, at age 40, hitting .225 and slugging .286.
20 (20) 29-37
Kenny Williams has said he has no plans of shaking up the White Sox roster, which really doesn’t seem to make much sense. With the amount of talent the Sox have, they could pick up some top-notch young talent in a bidding war for arms like Contreras or Buerhle, or a bat like Dye.
21 (22) 31-37
While free agent contracts skyrocketed in the offseason, Ted Lilly seems like a diamond in the rough. At $6 million, Lilly has been very consistent this year, posting a 3.69 ERA- almost one full run below his career average.
22 (23) 30-40
Mike Lamb probably wishes he could face the Seattle Mariners more often. During a three game sweep he went 8-10 with eight RBI and two homeruns, including a grand slam.
23 (24) 31-37
D-Ray manager Joe Maddon got engaged recently. Could a Viagra endorsement be far behind?
24 (18) 29-40
With Sam Perlozzo getting the axe, he becomes the first mid-season firing of a manager since the 2005 season. Rumors are that the birds will be pursuing Joe Girardi, who was a post-season firing from last year.
25 (25) 30-39
Matt Capps has replaced Solomon Torres as the Bucs’ closer. So far he’s been successful in five of six chances.
26 (26) 30-37
Chris Carpenter is sorely missed by the Cardinals. He began throwing bullpen sessions, but as of yet there is no established timeframe for his full return.
27 (27) 30-40
The Nationals are averaging about 22,000 fans at RFK stadium. Hopefully, when they get a new stadium built, it will generate some more interest. They currently have the 5th worst attendance.
28 (29) 29-42
Go to MLB.com and vote John Buck for the All-Star Game.
29 (28) 27-44
Eddie Guardado has started his minor league rehab assignment, and could bolster the Reds bullpen in the near future, or if he throws well, as trade bait.
30 (30) 26-43
Texas holds a lot of bargaining chips come trade deadline time, including Mark Texiera, Eric Gagne, Kevin Millwood, and Sammy Sosa.

3 replies on “MLB Power Rankings for June 20- 2007”

tiny mistake “They currently have the 26th worst attendance.” – That means they have the 5th best. I think you mean 5th worst attendance….

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