MLB Rankings - Week 9
The Rays held on to our top spot in the Yardbarker MLB Rankings for the 7th consecutive week, but they've lost eight of their last 13 games and were not a unanimous pick. Some of us bloggers take "anti-establishment" too seriously.
Last week, we pointed out that the Atlanta Braves weren't getting the appropriate respect, despite leading the NL East and going 7-3 in their last 10. This week, they got the respect they deserved; moving up from #13 to #5. As an added bonus, the Phillies were bounced from the Top 10 for the first time this season.
The Red Sox have won 14 of their last 19 games and subsequently also made a big jump in our rankings this week; moving from #9 to #6 this week. They open a four-game series against Cleveland this week - which usually bodes well for teams not named "Indians".
After some week-to-week waffling at the bottom of our list, the Orioles came in at #30 for the second consecutive week. We'll continue to monitor their stability.
| RANK | TEAM | PREV | REC | COMMENTS |
| 1 |
|
1 | (37-20) | Best ERA in the league. Keeping the pedal to the metal. |
| 2 |
|
2 | (35-22) | Look on your milk cartons. Mark Texieria is missing |
| 3 |
|
3 | (33-24) | Twins keep rolling, but face yet another round of issues. |
| 4 |
|
4 | (33-25) | The Cards can't seem to shake the Reds despite taking two of three from them this past week |
| 5 |
|
13 | (33-25) | Baseball's hottest team over the last month (24-9 since May 1) seems almost unbeatable right now. |
| 6 |
|
9 | (34-25) | A game and a half behind the Yankees. The coma appears to be over. |
| 7 |
|
5 | (34-23) | Park adjusted, the Padres have been better offensively than every NL West team except the Dodgers. |
| 8 |
|
8 | (33-25) | Team SLG % is .474. Team has no lack of power at the plate. Imagine if they were playing in any Division other than the AL East |
| 9 |
|
7 | (33-25) | The Reds have the best offense in the league AND their pitching staff is in the top 3 for wins & saves - thank you Mike Leake |
| 10 |
|
10 | (34-24) | The Dodgers have been the majors worst fielding team (-27.5 UZR). Its a good thing they can hit and pitch. |
| 11 |
|
6 | (30-26) | Right now, this team couldn't hit its way out of a wet paper sack. |
| 12 |
|
11 | (30-27) | Broke but not a joke, as the Rangers almost swept the mighty Rays. June's easy schedule opens door to win and keep the Angels away in divison. |
| 13 |
|
16 | (31-25) | Lincecum has not looked good in his last three starts. Oh well. Its three starts. |
| 14 |
|
12 | (29-27) | Galarraga gets robbed...nuff said. |
| 15 |
|
18 | (32-28) | The Angels have won 5 in row, making them just a .5 game behind Rangers....this team is not going anywhere but up. |
| 16 |
|
17 | (30-27) | By Fangraph's WAR, the Rockies have been the best pitching team in the majors. |
| 17 |
|
14 | (30-27) | Still baseball's best at home (21-9). Horrible road play keeping them behind the Phalling Phils. |
| 18 |
|
15 | (30-29) | Still baseball's best at home (21-9). Horrible road play keeping them behind the Phalling Phils. |
| 19 |
|
19 | (28-30) | Similar to Washington, bringing up a highly touted prospect (Mike Stanton) could be very helpful. |
| 20 |
|
20 | (26-31) | Scoring seven runs and losing 2 of 3 to St. Louis is one thing; scoring 15 in 5 games while losing series to Pittsburgh and Houston is another |
| 21 |
|
21 | (27-31) | Instead of peaking before the arrival of St. Strasburg, they're tanking - 3-7 over last 10. |
| 22 |
|
23 | (24-32) | Building for the future now, seems to be best option. The White Sox just can't get things rolling. |
| 23 |
|
22 | (23-34) | Evidence that poor pitching leads to losses. At least the $42 million they spent on Jeff Suppan was worth it - Not |
| 24 |
|
28 | (23-34) | Pirates fans must really yearn for the Andy Van Slyke days |
| 25 |
|
25 | (24-34) | 1-7 with a 3.60 ERA??? What Happened to Greinke? |
| 26 |
|
24 | (23-35) | Edwin Jackson (4.27 FIP, 3.95 xFIP) has been significantly better than his ERA (5.33) indicates. |
| 27 |
|
26 | (23-34) | This week belongs to Ken Griffey Jr. and how smart he is to remove himself from this mess now. |
| 28 |
|
27 | (21-35) | Fair thee well Haiawatha, fair thee well. |
| 29 |
|
29 | (22-36) | A four-game winning streak highlighted a strong week for streaky Houston. Too bad, they still have the worst offense in the NL |
| 30 |
|
30 | (16-41) | Maybe a new manager can help this team out ... and then again, maybe not |
