Thursday Night Power Rankings, 5.9.13

Matt Kemp gives a young disabled fan the shirt off his back at AT&T on Sunday.

 

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1) Braves (21-13) [Last Week: 2]

The Braves reclaim the top spot following the Red Sox bad week.  Brian McCann is back and doing well. The Nationals are creeping up on them, but they are proving resilient. Kimbrel is showing some cracks- he gave up two HR in a blown save to the Reds, but even a mere mortal version of Kimbrel is better than most closers.

 

2) Cardinals (21-12) [Last Week: 4]

Last year’s closer, Jason Motte, is officially not going to be back as he had Tommy John surgery.  This isn’t too big of a surprise.  And Mujica has proven quite the replacement, going 9 for 9 in his save opportunities.  The interchangeable parts continue to get it done.

 

3) Rangers (21-13) [Last Week: 3]

Last week I wrote that their upcoming weekend series with the red-hot Red Sox would prove whether they should be so high.  Well, they swept the Sox.  They were so smart not to re-sign Josh Hamilton. The trend of signing free agents for longterm deals isn’t working out that great, and the Angels are close to slipping behind the Astros, while the Rangers are sitting on top.

 

4) Red Sox (21-14) [Last Week: 1]

They had a terrible week.  Swept by the Rangers and then losing 3 of 4 from the Minnesota Twins.  They lost another closer.  Big Papi’s hitting streak ended and is now 0 for his last 10.  Then he also got butt-hurt because of questions about steroids, going so far as to call it an ethnically motivated act of discrimination.  Bullshit.  Big Papi, do you think we forgot that you tested positive in 2003?  Maybe your adoring Red Sox fans (and Ken Burns— no mention of it in his Baseball update, though he went after everyone else). Dustin Pedroia looks like one of the dudes from Deliverance.

 

5) Yankees (20-13) [Last Week: 5]

They have caught the Red Sox and sit atop the AL East. The way Mariano Rivera is pitching, it seems a shame that he is planning to retire. And they still have Teixeira and Granderson coming back.

 

6) Tigers (19-13) [Last Week: 7]

The Royals are right behind them, but that is a minor threat.  Miguel Cabrera is just incredible.  I had first pick in my fantasy league draft- I flipped a coin- and went with Mike Trout.  Doh!

 

7) Nationals (19-15) [Last Week: 11]

Werth is hurt, Gio is pitching poorly, and yet they aren’t fading.  One of the missing pieces- Adam La Roche- is showing signs of life. Stasburg looks not to be hurt.  From all I’ve read, his delivery is a little off.  He’ll get it fixed.  The Braves can feel the heat.

 

8) Orioles (21-14) [Last Week: 10]

It is becoming apparent that last year was no fluke.  The Orioles are a good baseball team.  It is also becoming quite clear that all of the hype surrounding Manny Machado last year was valid.  His name has come up a lot this week in the whole Trout/Harper conversation.  JJ Hardy also doesn’t look like he’s having one of his off years.  Great bullpen.

 

9) Giants (20-15) [Last Week: 9]

Chris Rose, co-host of Intentional Talk, compared Buster Posey to Tim Duncan, called the Giants a boring team and said that he didn’t want to hear any of this “East Coast bias” shit. Well, fuck you, Chris Rose.  The Giants are not boring.  There are multiple personalities and last weekend’s sweep of the Dodgers in dramatic fashion (two walk-off HRs) was not boring.All this, and their starting pitching has been shaky, to say the least.

 

10) Diamondbacks (20-15) [Last Week: 13]

And sitting right alongside the Giants atop the NL West are the Diamondbacks. Goldschmidt is a stud.  SP Corbin is a great surprise. I wouldn’t worry about them too much as a Giants fan if it wasn’t for the one x-factor that Giants fans know can make a difference: Cody Ross. J.J. Putz went on the DL, but surprisingly, given his terrible performance last year, Heath Bell is 4 for 4 in save opportunities (though I think he’s given up a double in each one).  They’ve got others in place though should Bell prove not up to the task.

 

11) Rockies (19-15) [Last Week: 6]

Tulowitzki missed three games this week. The Rockies fade was imminent.  I could be wrong, but I would be surprised if they are still in the NL West conversation by mid-June.  But then, I’m an idiot and wrong most of the time.

 

12) Reds (19-16) [Last Week: 14]

I have grown to dislike Shin-Soo Choo. Admittedly, it is partly because he was so lousy on my fantasy team a few years ago- the year he got a DUI- but as I’ve stated before, I hate that he gets away without even attempting to get out of the way of a pitch.  I saw all of his 11 HBP in sequence the other day, and towards the end, a few of them looked to be high and inside.  I don’t want him beaned– but I would like him to quit adding to his OBP cheaply.

 

13) A’s (18-18) [Last Week: 8]

They got totally screwed by MLB- by the umpire crew chief Angel Hernandez and by Joe Torre- in that bullshit call on Adam Rosales game-tying HR against the Indians in the 9th yesterday. If instant replay doesn’t work, then they sure shouldn’t keep adding it to the game. The Indians official Twitter feed sent out a celebratory tweet after their “win” yesterday– and were roundly shut up by the twitter-verse. The A’s have serious injury problems though– Reddick, Crisp, and Chris Young all on the DL.  Thankfully Cespedes had just returned.  When they get healthy, they will be fine, I just hope they don’t end up one game out of playoff contention at the end.

 

14) Royals (18-13) [Last Week: 12]

They probably shouldn’t have dropped two spots- they went .500 for the week- but I did some tweaks to how I calculate this list.  The downside was that they had a game postponed in which Ervin Santana was pitching, and pitching well, and missed his spot.  If Hosmer heats up- he finally hit his first HR of the season today- they might be able to hang in there.  Forgive me for not being a believer yet.

 

15) Pirates (18-16) [Last Week: 15]

Closer Grilli finally blew a save.  The team had a so-so week.  Garrett Jones is exceeding expectations however, and Starling Marte is having an All-Star season.  It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.  A.J. Burnett pitched brilliantly on Wednesday, but had the misfortune of going up against the Mariners Felix Hernandez, who was a bit better.

 

16) Indians (18-14) [Last Week: 23]

They are hot.  They’ve “won” 9 of their last 10 (sorry, it isn’t their fault Angel Hernandez is an incompetent umpire).  Rayburn, Reynolds, Santana, Kipnis…. all doing great.  Swisher is hot as well.  Closer Perez is still a little iffy, but who knows, they might have the right combination of skill and team chemistry to keep it going. How many of their starters can you name off the top of your head?  Kazmir has looked pretty good, but I wouldn’t put a whole lot of money on them.  Then again, I’m not a degenerate gambler.  Just a degenerate.

 

17) Twins (16-15) [Last Week: 18]

They took three of four from the Red Sox, and put an end to Big Papi’s hitting streak, which is fine by me.  Yes, I’m bitter that he didn’t perform for the Twins the way he did for the Red Sox, and no, I’m not surprised that he tested positive the year after the Twins non-tendered his ass. The Twins are better than what everyone expected, but they aren’t going to be a threat.  If they can end the season at .500, that will be the equivalent of a playoff slot.

 

18) Mets (14-17) [Last Week: 19]

There aren’t pitchers, that when they take the mound (no, not the frickin’ ‘bump’, the goddamn mound), that it is an event.  Matt Harvey’s starts have become an event.  He very nearly pitched a perfect game the another night (the infield hit he gave up should have been fielded better, sorry, but it should have).  Here is the problem for the Mets…. Harvey nearly pitched a perfect game, giving up just one infield hit in 9, and he ended up without a decision.  The Mets won it in the 10th, but there you go.

 

19) Dodgers (13-20) [Last Week: 16]

I’ll call it.  They’re done. Too many injuries.  Greinke is coming back ahead of schedule, but it is kind of like, who’s next?  When Nick Punto is your rally monkey, you’ve got a bad team.  Teams just aren’t intimidated by them.  Not even by Clayton Kershaw.  They know that if they can just hang with him- and the Dodgers anemic offense- they’ll eventually get to the bullpen.  On a side note- the Matt Kemp act of kindness in San Francisco last Sunday was pretty cool.

 

20) Rays (16-18) [Last Week: 20]

They are almost back to .500 and I expect that if any team makes big leaps in the rankings it will be them.  They just have too much talent.

 

21) Brewers (15-17) [Last Week: 17]

Is Carlos Gomez ever going to cool off?  Damn, he is having some kind of year.  As I’ve stated before, I don’t really buy it, but there it is and unless he tests positive for something, I’ve got to just give him his due.  I saw part of a Brewers game on TV this week and the crowd was noticeably sparse.  Wisconsin.

 

22) Phillies (16-20) [Last Week: 21]

Well, at least they finally figured out that Halladay had an injury.  He claims he can get back this season, following surgery, but that might be a little optimistic. Cliff Lee looked great against the Giants, but then again he always does… well, except for in the World Series (2010!).

 

23) Mariners (16-19) [Last Week: 25]

Getting CF Michael Saunders back from the DL has provided a spark.  Jason Bay is resurrecting his career.  Until Morse and Morales start showing some consistency, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Wedge to continue with Endy Chavez in right as his defense has made a difference, and to platoon Morse and Morales at DH. Closer Wilhelmsen got the save in yesterday’s game against the Pirates, but manager Wedge removed King Felix even though he had only thrown 94 pitches.  I don’t like this era where the 9th is reserved for the closer if their is a save opportunity.

 

24) White Sox (14-18) [Last Week: 22]

Jake Peavy turned out not to have to do a stint on the DL which was good for them, especially since Gavin Floyd is now lost to surgery. So far, Hector Sanchez has shown to be a decent replacement in his two starts- he held his own in the Harvey game the other night.

 

25) Blue Jays (13-23) [Last Week: 24]

The Ricky Romero experiment failed.  Called up to replace Josh Johnson, he lasted just 2/3 of an inning.  And now, of course, they’ve lost J.A. Happ for a month or more with the scary hit to his head off the bat of Desmond Jennings.  That game was on MLB Network, and for the around ten minutes he was on the field, blood from his ear (not knowing if it was coming through his ear) was scary.  The commentators even stopped speaking and the cameras just showed all of the other players, deep concern on their faces, as if this might be something similar to the injury Brandon McCarthy endured.  Luckily, it looks like Happ is going to be okay. The Blue Jays prospects of success don’t seem to be the same, but they won that night.  Hopefully they’ll get healthy and get goin’ around mid-season.

 

26) Padres (16-18) [Last Week: 28]

They likely won’t be much of a threat in the NL West, but damn, they are better than most think, and they will mess you up.  You can’t look at a series against them and count your chickens.  The Padres will kill them chickens, mold them into patties, bread ’em, deep fry ’em, and eat them.  A McDonald’s reference.  I always like the freedom of writing stupider crap than usual when I know nobody is reading. Seriously, though, a team not to be taken lightly.  Gyorko is starting to live up to his hype.

 

27) Angels (12-22) [Last Week: 26]

Enough of this Mike Trout hitting second bullshit.  Put him back in leadoff.  Every time he gets on while batting second, he can’t steal because they don’t want the bat taken out of the hands of Albert Pujols.  So put Trout up first, let him steal second, let Aybar (or whomever) maybe knock him in or advance him, and damn, it is really frustrating.  Scioscia needs to change or move on– he doesn’t know how to manage the big bats.  It sucks.  This team should be winning on offense alone, and they’ve neutered arguably their best player.  I was thinking about it the other night, and both Scioscia and Mattingly are on the hot seat– I’d like to see them traded.  Mattingly would do a better job with the Angels, and Scioscia would be back in L.A. blue.  Do it.

 

28) Cubs (13-21) [Last Week: 27]

So now Kevin Gregg’s the stated closer.  Okay.  I’ll check back later.

 

29) Astros (10-25) [Last Week: 29]

If the Angels don’t move Trout back to leadoff, I hope the Astros catch them.  They are the Bad News Bears of the Majors and they seem so much more lively than some of the teams above them. I don’t care about Houston as a city or the Astros as a franchise, but I’m in it for the long haul.  When they are good in a few years, I will be able to say I embraced them this year– well, last year actually.  It is all about Altuve for me.  That guy rules.

 

30) Marlins (10-25) [Last Week: 30]

Until further notice (probably when Stanton comes back), let’s just agree that this is the slot in which I state to the owner of the Marlins: Fuck you, Jeffrey Loria, you swine.

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