*How easily we forget, eh Dews*
My apologies yet again for failing to provide any baseball related posts last week. With the Gonzo wedding throw-down and an array of other meaningless work related tasks, I simply did not have the time or energy to put toward the power rankings. On another note, I will not be in VA on Friday, so I present to you an early weekday edition of the power rankings. Because the 2008 season is George Costanza’s “Bizzaro World”, please forgive me if your not happy with some placements. It’s to early for Baltimore to be #1 and for Detroit occupy the cellar. And yes, to early for Oakland to be a top 5. "And you know this.....man".
*Seeing how I just got called out in the most unprofessionaly manner, I give you the updated Power Rankings. I had the O's at 20 hence treat it as such. Enjoy Dews*
*****1 (29) Baltimore Orioles (8-6) – They need to walk before they can run but you get the top 20. A feat I never thought I would ever bestow upon Oriole fan. But you deserve it. Markakis and Roberts are playing well enough, but it’s the pitching that has me in awe. I’m mainly looking at the bullpen here. I didn’t even know an Oriole reliever knew what a “hold” stood for. Well done! For Dews, and note the asterick.
1 (1) Boston Red Sox (9-6) – I was able to watch the tail end of the Saux game last night and I think they are a lot better than their record indicates. But injuries to Lowell, along side others, will hurt them in the short run. Oh, and note to Red Sox Nation; If you’re going to fuck with the Yankees and their new ballpark, DON’T TELL THEM!!! Those pink popped collars need less starch, not more. Take a lesson from Jimmie Hoffa, yah wiseguy's.
2 (12) Arizona Diamondbacks (11-4) – Why the big boost? They are dominating the NL (Like they were predicted to do) and their aces are pitching like them. Props for the haters who thought I was mental for calling their offense “AAA”. Justin Upton is staring at ROY honors right now.
3 (6) LA Angels (9-6) – Gonzo will want to punch a baby for this one, seeing how his A’s are making every doubter feel like a horses ass. But LA has been playing very good baseball without solid pitching and guys have stepped up (Saunders and Weaver). Imagine how good they will be once Lackey is back in the rotation.
4 (3) San Diego Padres (8-7) – Hands down the best pitching in baseball. Sure, they cant strike out the Pope right now, but they are getting hitters out the old fashioned way; ground outs and pop flies. They are playing great ball and if not for old man Hoffman, would be 10-5 right now. I can’t wait to see Health Bell take over the closer role!
5 (13) Chicago White Sox (9-5) – Someone tell me where the hell Joe Crede came from? He is a man possessed and is making his teammates around him better. Swisher found his swing and did anyone see that near no-hitter that Gavin Floyd threw the other day?
6 (7) Chicago Cubs (9-5) – I know, Soriano is on the DL so why the bump up? Well, he wasn’t playing good to begin with. This move will allow Felix Pie to see more innings on the field.
7 (5) New York Yankees (9-7) – After a shaky start, they are playing like a 200 million dollar payroll should. I’m not so much impressed with the youth movement in the rotation just yet, but I’m also not very patient. Congrats to the Yanks for finding their Joba replacement in Ross Ohlendorf (Once Joba enters the rotation of course).
8 (12) Milwaukee Brewers (8-6) – What can I say, their pitching is PHE-NOMINAL and the offense is clicking even with Braun and Fielder in a season long slump. Gagne is finally taking lessons from his own playbook and closing games. I honestly don’t see many flaws in Beervile. Oh, rumor has it Fielder is now a vegetarian, hence the lack of a HR on the season.
9 (2) New York Mets (7-6) – By far the biggest drop of the week. They have no excuse for playing like a mediocre team. Nobody of importance is hurt (Moises and Pedro ARE of no importance) so what’s up?? The rotation is playing with no heart and the bullpen is as solid as a sheet of ice in July (Northern Hemisphere) It is nice to see Ex-National Ryan Church earn his keep.
10 (9) Detroit Tigers (5-10) – I know they should be out of the top 10 but the offense has finally clicked. Ole Jim Leyland gave the Tiger’s the old Bobby Knight treatment and it looks like it is working. Good news: Dontrelle Willis is hurt and his replacement, Armando Galarraga was phe-nominal (.15 WHIP, 1 Hit allowed in 6+ IP).
11 (25) St Louis Cardinals (11-4) – I had to, Come on guys they have the best record in baseball. Everything I said about this team during spring training has been false. The pitching is excellent and Pujols is crushing baseballs. LaRussa proved to me once again that he is THAT good of a manager.
12 (4) LA Dodgers (7-8) – If I could get away with it I would drop this team of underachievers out of the top 20. If not for Penny and Lowe, this team would be dead in the water. There was 1 day in which this team was in last place this week and that should be a wakeup call. Apparently we do know something about AndrEw Jones that LA didn’t: he is not that good anymore! Oh, and note to Torre; It’s called a pinch hitter, USE IT! Scott Proctor can’t throw 200IP in the bullpen.
13 (10) Cleveland Indians (5-10) – Yeh, lets ignore the past 2 months of me kissing Sabathia’s feet. C.C is making Barry Zito look like, uhm Barry Zito 2002? The Indians did finally bench Borowski (or DL him) but that wont help ease the suffering.
14 (11) Seattle Mariners (8-8) – Erik Bedard did just what O’s fans expected him to do: Hit the DL Hard. This is devastating news for Mariner fan. No closer, no decent starters outside King Felix and an AL West division that isn’t supposed to play as well as they are!!
15 (28) Kansas City Royals (9-6) – They earn the middle of the pack honors here. Gordon, Gload, and Butler are playing like men possessed. They finally made KC baseball fun to listen to again. Meche is slowly shrugging off his slump and Bannister is looking terrific. Fun fact, 2006 #1 pick Luke Hochevar may make his first major league start on Sunday.
16 (24) Oakland A's (9-6) – My final wedding present to the newly wed Gonzo
‘s. This was a difficult decision due to the recent injuries of Harden and “the Deusch”. But somehow they find a way to win, that includes the stoning of CC last week. Well done Oaktown.
17 (22) Toronto Blue Jays (8-7) – Its difficult to watch the Jays play when AJ Burnett is so bad. Rolen is on the DL (As if anyone cared) and Thomas is wasting playing time for any other Jay DH. If not for Vernon Wells, this team’s offense would be non-existent. Also, It was great to see BJ Ryan come back from the DL and get that 10th inning save the other day.
18 (16) Colorado Rockies (6-8) – I’m being very kind here. The pitching is bad, Holliday is playing poorly, and they are not hitting homeruns at home. I’m not sure what to say other than, “fluke!!!!”
19 (30) Florida Marlins (9-5) – You and I know this wont last but I think its only right to give them a taste of the good life. The pitching is HORRIBLE (Im looking at Miller and Olsen) but the offense has been good enough. Mike Jacobs is leading the MLB with 6 HR’s. Lets see if he can continue that good fortune.
21 (15) Tampa Bay Rays (6-9) – My team to beat is picking up the rear here and it’s not because the usual reasons. Crawford and Upton are mired in slumps and don’t seem to be getting out of it anytime soon. The rotation looks unstable but those years of #1 picks will slowly pick this team up.
22 (19) Cincinnati Reds- (6-9) – Now that the Reds how found future ace Johnny Cueto, its now time to seek out a new closer. They may have an unfavorable record, but they are playing better than expected.
23 (21) Philadelphia Philly’s (7-8) – I know Philly fan is hating the old SayHey right now, but I predicted this outcome long ago. They have a lot of problems; no rotation (outside of Hamels), no bullpen, and no closer. Outside of Howard, Utley, and Rollins they simply cannot hit.24 (22) Minnesota Twins (7-8) – Pedro Liriano is back in the bigs but did not present himself with authority. Nobody is hitting the ball for runs and the rotation is awful. Give credit to the bullpen though. If the Twins can hold a 1 run lead in the 6th, then forget about it.
25 (27) San Francisco Giants (6-10) – Sure we may still be in last place, but we are forcing teams to play us. We took 2/3 from the Cards and the Padres. Both teams being in first place. Rookie Jeff Bowker is making this fan a believer and our pitching (Yes Gonzo, outside of Zito and is 0-4 record) is brilliant. We may not reach first place or hell even 2nd or 3rd, but we will certainly not see 100 losses.
26 (18) Houston Astro’s (5-9) – The offense is to good for a 26 rank but the pitching leaves me no choice. Roy Oswalt is pitching awful, as is the rest of the rotation and bullpen. They can only win games by putting up 7+ runs on the board. Sorry Stro’s, this isn’t St. Louis Ramsvile.
27 (24) Pittsburgh Pirates (7-8) – Jason Bay is making a case for a comeback and even the rest of the offense has shown up. It’s the pitching that hurts. The rotation gives up too many runs too early in the game.
28 (28) Texas Rangers (6-9) – I repeat, the pitching is putrid. Hell, I would rather jump off of a cliff than to own any Ranger starter. But give Josh Hamilton some credit. He is playing phe-nominal baseball right now. Without this kid in the lineup, they could have a few less wins in that column
29 (23) Atlanta Braves (5-9) – With Hampton and Glavine on the DL, this team is pretty much out of any race. Sure, I like some aspects of the offense (McCann and Francoeur) but its not enough. The bullpen is hurt (Moylan and Soriano) and they have nobody to fill in those slots. Sorry Clone but these guys are done!
30 (14) Washington Nationals (4-11) – Well, a DC metro team had to take the last spot, I just wasn’t expecting it to be the Nats. The rotation isn’t the problem, more so the bullpen. They cannot hold a lead. It also hurts when your setup man has an 8+ ERA. Oh, doesnt help that Paul LaDuca is a shithead. "How do you groundout in an GAME ENDING DOUBLE PLAY" yah Schmuck!!
6 comments:
It is sad to see Moylan go down for the Braves, but I still see my boy Jair Jurrgens (sp?) kicking some serious ass this year in that rotation. Smoltz, Hudson and Jurrgens are my 3 horsemen there, so anything they get from old man Glavine and brittle bones Hampton is gravy.
Also on the Nats, did anyone read the Mitchell report portion about LoDuca and how scouts were saying that he definitely would not be a major leaguer if not for his use of HGH? I'm not entirely sure how it helped him bat over .300 a few years ago, but maybe it was all those roids in the crisp west coast breeze?
:)
True, Glavine is old but he has always been able to keep a balance in any rotation he is in. Sure, he wont shut you out or K 10 people, but he wont get shelled either. He still has value. As for Jair, its to soon to judge. He hasnt had a good outing at all this season. As for the rest, I think Atlanta's record speaks for itself.
I dont know about LaDuca. He was rock solid as Piazza's replacement in LA before the he took steroids. He was a good contact hitter and a great defensive catcher.
SayHey, we both are going to be watching our teams at the bottom of their respective divisions all year, so trust me when I say we have a lot in common there.
Its going to be a painful next 2-3 years I think for Baltimore and San Francisco trying to rebuild those rosters into competitive ones, but hell, at least there are bright spots to watch in the mean time for both.
What is the pink popped collars thing supposed to mean?
Pink Popped collar was an excuse to bash Red Sox Nation seeing how there is some truth into that sterotype.
My question is: Why did a member of Red Sox Nation have to tell the world about the jersey?? Would have been one of the best conspiracys in all of baseball!
Post a Comment