Author: Garrett Rudolph

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…

Some things never change. Griffey’s hurt. The Cubs are without Prior and Wood. Barry Bonds is still a jerk. The Yankees are atop the East, with the Royals, Rays, and Pirates dwelling in the basement.

But, there is hope. The Reds and Tigers are challenging for their division leads, and the Rockies have some young talent on the rise. Jimmy Rollins may have lost his hitting streak, but Edgar Renteria has started his own. And, the best thing of all… the increasing likelihood of a postseason free from the Tomahawk Chop.

Week three of the MLB Power Rankings and neither the Reds or the Tigers have fallen out of the sky. And, to think, Sparky Anderson is nowhere to be seen.

Welcome to the second week of the Major League Baseball Power Rankings. Remember, questions, comments, and complaints are always welcome. Feel free to talk some smack, but be prepared to have it sent back at you.

Welcome to the first of this season’s official SC Power Rankings. Power Rankings will be published every Friday throughout the season. Comments, questions, gripes are all welcome.

10.    I’m sorry, but what you’ve heard is true. Chicks dig the long ball. Despite all the controversy that modern home run statistics are becoming irrelevant because of the live ball era, steroids, the lowered pitcher’s mound, maple bats, body armor for the hitters, diluted pitching talent, shrinking strike zone, global warming, outfield fences steadily marching inward, and the blasphemy above all- baseball being played in the thin air of Colorado- the home run is still revered above all plays in baseball. Do you remember anything about the playoffs last year besides bad umpiring? Yes, of course you do. You remember Albert Pujols tattooing a Brad Lidge fastball into the ozone layer. Just in the same way you remember crippled Kirk Gibson taking Eckersly deep to win game one of the series in `88, and Carlton Fisk’s body language that kept his deep fly fair to win the series game in `75. Almost every sports fan could recite verbatim the home run call when Aaron passed Ruth, yet would struggle on the first line of the Pledge of Allegiance. An old Nike commercial said it best: “Face it fellas, a low ERA just isn’t that sexy.”