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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Thursday Night Power Rankings, 5.2.13

Lasorda loves Psy

1) Red Sox (20-8) [Last Week: 2]:

The return of Big Papi and the foreign substances of Clay Buchholz have the BoSox on top.

 

2) Braves (17-11) [Last Week: 1]:

They had a bad week and should maybe even be lower. Maholm returned to form, but still lost 2-0 against a brilliant performance by the Nationals Jordan Zimmerman.  Heyward is still out, though Freddie Freeman is back.

 

3) Rangers (17-11) [Last Week: 5]:

This weekend’s series against Boston should help gauge whether they should be up this high.  The old men are getting it done though.

 

4) Cardinals (17-11) [Last Week: 3]:

If Westbrook and Wainwright keep it up, they are going to be tough to catch in the NL Central.

 

5) Yankees (17-10) [Last Week: 10]:

Kind of unreal, isn’t it?  Brian Cashman deserves some credit for patching this team together. Overbay , Hafner and Wells make him look like a genius.  The injuries keep coming- Chamberlain, Youkilis, Nova, Cervelli all to the DL this week- but they keep winning.  Rivera is perfect in save opportunities. I begrudgingly admire this team.

 

6) Rockies (17-11) [Last Week: 8]:

Tulowitzki got banged up this week and I thought- oh, there it is… but he avoided the DL.  Still, it’s coming.

 

7) Tigers (16-11) [Last Week: 7]:

All that closer shit and they bring back Valverde.  Torii Hunter is cooling, but Prince showed some life this week. Anibal Sanchez is a strikeout machine.

 

8) A’s (16-13) [Last Week: 4]:

They got back Cespedes.  This is huge.  They played, and won, a 19-inning game this week.  I actually couldn’t make it to the end.  It was fun watching some SF writers tease the bleary-eyed A’s writers on Twitter.

 

9) Giants (16-12) [Last Week: 9]:

Cain is lost, but what the hell is it?  What is going on?  Timmy is done. Man, it had to hurt to blow that big contract- he’ll never see that kind of offer again.  Panda has no more hamate bones to break- and the big fella is looking like a legitimate MVP candidate.  Brandon Belt has awoken.

 

10) Orioles (17-12) [Last Week: 12]:

Chris Davis has re-joined the mortal world. Adam Jones continues to make CF look adventurous. Showalter is a good manager.

 

11) Nationals (15-14) [Last Week: 6]:

Adam LaRoche is terrible this season.  Beyond terrible.  Adam Dunn must look at LaRoche’s numbers and not feel too bad about his own. Werth is banged up, Espinosa too.  Ramos is back. Gio Gonzales is in outer space, in a bad way. Strasburg just maybe might be a little over-hyped. Harper is great, but I think he’s an injury waiting to happen.

 

12) Royals (15-10) [Last Week: 14]:

Ervin Santana- what the hell?  He is pitching great. I don’t think too many saw that coming.  Hosmer still hasn’t found power.  They’ve missed games due to, well, snow in May.

 

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

J.J. Putz isn’t getting it done at closer.  Will Heath Bell actually end up with a closers job again?

 

14) Reds (15-14) [Last Week: 11]:

Votto’s doing fine, but I can see why so many people skip over him in fantasy drafts.  He’s really good, but he doesn’t care about power and he should.  Singles don’t mean shit.

 

15) Pirates (16-12) [Last Week: 16]:

They held first place for a spell last week.  That was pretty cool.  Their 2B is injured though and while it is great to see the fan base revived, I’m still not buying it.  I won’t until it is August and they are in a playoff position.

 

16) Dodgers (13-14) [Last Week: 15]:

Hanley Ramirez is back.  Kemp is back. They’ve got a big weekend series with the Giants.  As a Giants fan, I’d like to see the Dodgers lower on this list next week.  I especially dislike Nick Punto, and he has been embraced for his “hustle”, which is really just, to me, mediocre white guy showing off.

 

17) Brewers (14-13) [Last Week: 19]:

I usually just find a way to express my distaste for Ryan Braun, but I’ll take it easy on him this week because he tweeted his support when NBA center Jason Collins came out publicly this week. Carlos Gomez, however, still bugs the crap out of me.  I don’t buy the power.  He’s suspect in my book.

 

18) Twins (12-12) [Last Week: 20]:

Twins fans are rejoicing.  We have a team that is only at .500, but at 24 games into the season?  That’s more than any of us expected.  They managed to beat both the Tigers and Rangers to avoid the losing record.  Kevin Correia is doing great.  Joe Mauer, however, disappeared and saw his average drop nearly 100 points during his current 1 for, oh, about 30 batting slump.  That’s unacceptable.  He isn’t making Adam LaRoche money.

 

19) Mets (11-15) [Last Week: 17]:

John Buck, Matt Harvey and pray for rain.

 

20) Rays (12-15) [Last Week: 21]:

Matt Moore is having a great start (5-0, 1.13 ERA), but the rest of the team still hasn’t quite gotten it going.  Fernando Rodney probably isn’t going to be the same Rodney he was last year- that was an anomaly.  Plus, I’m sure his opponents are sick of his bow-and-arrow routine. John Maddon is awesome, but I kind of want to just hear about him destroying the catering table one of these nights.

 

21) Phillies (13-16) [Last Week: 22]:

Delmon Young is back. I don’t think that’s a great sign. It does give them a chance to bench Revere more often, who isn’t hitting in the National League. Nice to see the old guys hanging in there though- Howard has shown some pop of late.

 

22) White Sox (12-15) [Last Week: 23]:

I could tell you they aren’t doing great without knowing their record.  I haven’t heard that many annoying Hawk Harrelson calls on MLB Tonight of late. Adam Dunn is back to 2011 form. C Flowers has power, but not a very good average.  Worst news, Peavy might be hurt.

 

23) Indians (12-13) [Last Week: 26]:

Ryan Rayburn went 11-12 with four HRs in four games. Santana is on fire, and Michael Bourn will be back soon.  If Cabrera and Swisher can get it going, they’ll be on the rise.

24) Blue Jays (10-19) [Last Week: 18]:

Pretty bad.  Nobody wanted to say that Dickey was a bad signing, because he had just come off an MVP season and he’s so well-liked.  We all knew Josh Johnson was injury prone, and he’s now on the DL.  Ditto for Reyes.  Beuhrle is old.  Melky Cabrera isn’t on PEDs. Not good times for Blue Jays fans.  Remarkably, Edwin Encarnacion, the one player expected to have a decline, is hot.

 

25) Mariners (13-17) [Last Week: 25]:

They’ve got two great pitchers in Hernandez and Iwakuma and two others that have shown flashes.  Kendrys Morales is showing signs of heating up.  Morse seems on his way back to first week’s form following his injury.  Michael Saunders is off the DL.  They haven’t earned any respect yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they move up a few slots in the next few weeks.

 

26) Angels (10-18) [Last Week: 24]:

It is May.  Now it is time to start worrying.  The debate over whether Scioscia should be fired is more prominent. Hamilton, unfortunately, picked up where he left off last year.  Stone cold.  Trout is having just an okay season.  And now Bourjos is on the DL.  The pitching though, wow, it has been bad.  Frieri isn’t a closer.  They may stay bad.

 

27) Cubs (11-17) [Last Week: 27]:

They seem like a decent team if games were only six innings.

 

28) Padres (11-17) [Last Week: 28]:

They swept the Giants.  That sucked.  Gyorko finally got his first HR.  Headley is back.

 

29) Astros (8-21) [Last Week: 29]:

They have improved.  Just not enough.  13 games below .500 one month in isn’t good.  The good news is that at the pace they are on, they won’t lose 120 games.  Just 118.

30) Marlins (8-21) [Last Week: 30]:

They’ve got a lot of enthusiastic fans on Twitter and they have been entertaining.  They just don’t win very often.

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Thursday Night Power Rankings, 4.25.13

1) Braves (15-6) [Last Week: 1]:  They went into Colorado, they’re challenger for best record, and took two out of three.  Jason Heyward is out recovering from an appendectomy, but he wasn’t producing anyway. Kimbrel finallly blew a save.  No matter, this organization is the best in the majors.

2) Red Sox (15-7) [Last week: 4]  They lost 2 of 3 from the Royals early in the week, then took 2 or 3 from the A’s. Big Papi came back this week to give them a further boost, right as the city they represent needed it most. Nava continues to rake.

3) Cardinals (13-8) [Last Week: 7]:  Adam Wainwright is back, and in a big way, reclaiming his spot as one of the elite pitchers. Yadier Molina is doing well at the plate, but that less than half of what he contributes to this team– if he was a quarterback, he’d have Super Bowl rings.  They even seem to have found a closer, in Mujica, to replace Motte, whose status is still up in the air, though not expected to be good.

4) A’s (13-10) [Last week: 5]:   They had a bad week, going 1-6- the one game they won was a 13-0 blowout of the Red Sox that ended early- but they remain an elite team until proven otherwise for a few weeks.  Bret Anderson got hurt again, which is par for the course, but Bartolo Colon proves to be as good as ever even after his PED suspension.  They are missing Cespedes.  He’ll be back soon.

5) Rangers  (15-7) [Last week: 10]:  Here they come. They went 6-1 since last Thursday, sweeping the Mariners, taking 2 of 3 from the Angels, and beating the Twins earlier tonight.  So while not the greatest competition (the Angels are legit), they have pretty much all the pieces, despite losing opening day starter Harrison for awhile.  Kinsler is back in form.  I expect to seem them rise by next week.

6) Nationals (11-11) [Last week: 2]:  They had a terrible week, going 1-6, but not all is lost.  Strasburg lost to the phenom Matt Harvey last week, and again yesterday, though after a bad first inning, looked like the starter that he should be.  LaRoche has been shit.  But today, Gio Gonzalez pitched a gem.  The line-up got shook up today, and it looked good.  I’m not worried.  This is still an elite team.

7) Tigers (10-10) [Last week: 3]:  There is a little cause for concern, but not much.  Fielder is in a slump.  Verlander had a blister-like problem today- a “crack” in the skin of his finger. The bullpen is still in turmoil– Phil Coke, in particular, continues to puzzle- but with Leyland naming the newly returned Valverde as closer, hopefully that will help. Like the Nationals, I’m not gonna worry much.  This team could win the World Series.  Torii Hunter has proven so far to be a great inclusion, and V-Mart will, hopefully, come around.

8) Rockies (14-8) [Last week: 18]:  They are in first place, but I still say I’m not a believer. They are a scrappy team for sure, and this is their hottest start, though they often start hot.  They do have a lot of talent.  So why don’t I believe they are for real?  Wait…. do you hear that ticking?  Oh yeah, it is the same thing from last week.  The inevitable Tulowitzki injury.  If I’m proven wrong, I’ll admit it.  Hell, 3/4 of a season with him could put them in the playoffs.

9) Giants (13-9) [Last week: 8]:  Cain hasn’t been right. Other than that, I have no worries about this team.  Like I said in last weeks Power Rankings, the Giants won’t dazzle you, they will just keep plugging away.  They lost three games in extra innings this week.  Ho-hum. They also came back in all three games to get there.  I still pick them to win the World Series this year.  Brandon Crawford seems poised to become an All-Star.

10) Yankees (12-9) [Last week: 9]:  Jeter, let’s face it, is probably done.  Oh, he’ll be back– months from now.  But NOW, the Yankees still continue to compete. Nobody is stellar, but it seems someone is hot just when they need it.  Ichiro shows up, then Wells shows up, and the pitching, especially from Pettitte, has been pretty good.  Hughes had a great game this week. If they make the playoffs, I have to admit, I’ll kind of pull for them given the crap they’ve dealt with…. okay, not really, but you get the sentiment.

11) Reds (13-10) [Last week: 6]:  Hot, cold, hot.  Weird team. I’ll tell you one thing, Shin-Soo Choo is a great addition– I just voted for him on my All-Star ballot- but I seriously think that if I was a starting pitcher, I would plunk him.  He’s been hit by pitches 10 times already just this month.  Chin music for Shin-Soo Choo.  We all know the Reds are going to be around.  Brandon Phillips needs some chin music as well.  That Broxton signing is still retarded though.  Let’s hope the weather is okay this summer, because, and I’m serious here, I think Joey Votto just might end up in Oz.  You know I’m right.

12) Orioles (13-9) [Last week: 12]:   Last week I mentioned Chris Davis cooling off, and then he picks it up again.  Manny Machado is showing that he might be an elite player.  I’m happy for this team.  They seem like a likable bunch of guys, and Buck Showalter took a lot of shit over the years.  Their record 17 games of extra inning wins finally came to an end.  They are for real though.

13) Diamondbacks (13-9) [Last week: 16]:   They are good.  They took two out of three from the Giants, stopped the Rockies winning streak, and are tied for second in the NL West. They have three guys that can close.  And Paul Goldschmidt has truly arrived.

14) Royals (11-8) [Last week: 19]  The Royals are in first place!  The surprise is their pitching.  Everyone expected Shields to be good, but Ervin Santana has been great so far!  Closer Holland has gotten his shit together.  Hosmer is still struggling, but look out when he gets it going.

15) Dodgers (10-11) [Last week: 11]:  Uh-oh.  I say that as a Giants fan.  Even though they lost another pitcher- Billingsley to Tommy John surgery- Ryu is looking f’real, Kemp is starting to hit, A-Gon and Carl Crawford already were, Mark Ellis is looking ageless.  Ramirez is almost back.  On top of that, they’ve got the whole “nobody believed in us” thing going.  The Giants pitching better get going.

16) Pirates (13-9) [Last week: 21]:  They are hot, even while their best player, McCutchen, is cold. Grilli is kicking ass as closer.  This team needs to have an above .500 year.

17) Mets (10-10) [Last week: 20]:  They are at .500, and though Matt Havey has won 40 percent of their games, John Buck might be for real.  Hell, given his start, cooling off is a given, but this team seems to have a spark to them.

18) Blue Jays (9-14) [Last week: 14]:  There are problems.  Reyes is out, we knew that already.  Now Josh Johnson might miss his next start.  Lawrie has been slow to come back, though he got a few hits Thursday, including his first HR.  Bautista is finally back.  I think they’ll be over .500 and back in the hunt by the end of May, if not sooner.  Morrow needs to step up.

19) Brewers (11-9) [Last week: 22]:   Aw, these fuckers.  Yeah, they went on a nine-game winning streak.  Their drunk-driving pitcher didn’t get suspended.  Their PED-positive testing OF didn’t get suspended yet… and Carlos Gomez, who I would put money on for PED shit, won player of some other or shit.  I loathe this team.  More than the Red Sox.

20) Twins (9-9) [Last week: 25]:  Joe Mauer is having a decent season average-wise.  Kevin Correia continues to impress.  Other than that, it is kudos to the farm system for having this team at .500 eighteen games into their season.  I love the Twins, but I think yesterday was the last time they will see a winning record this year.  As the principal on The Simpsons would say: prove me wrong.

21) Rays (10-12) [Last week: 15]:  They are getting it together.  Slowly.  The best part is watching manager Joe Maddon try to get them to relax.  He brought a couple of penguins into the clubhouse this week.  You must see.

22) Phillies (9-14) [Last week: 17]:   I think they just might be too old.  Halladay has done great though, compared to earlier.  Utley is hanging in there quite well.  Howard shows signs of life now and then.  Still, they don’t seem like the all-star team of yore.

23) White Sox (9-12) [Last week: 24]:  They went 5-5 this week.  Adam Dunn had two hits, I believe.. both HRs and nothing else.  Konerko still has it.  Chris Sale hasn’t been as dominant. Alexei isn’t back to form.  I don’t think they have it.

24) Angels (8-13) [Last week: 13]:  Let’s face it.  The sportswriters were right when they said Trout wasn’t gonna repeat last year.  He’s hitting okay, not great.  Stole a few bases- both in one inning.  Hamilton has shown some life, but then, not much.  The Angels actually led the league in hitting at the start of the day, but that is the most lifeless team I have observed in a long time.  What is the problem?  Time to fire the manager.  It is just time.  Sorry, Mike, but it is time to go.  Get someone else in there.

25) Mariners (9-15) [Last week: 23]:  What a weird team.  They lose like hell to the Astros, then dominate the Angels.  Michael Morse has been utter horseshit since he hurt his finger.  Michael Saunders is sorely missed, and now Gutierrez is on the DL.  Saunders is stinking it up.

26) Indians (8-11) [Last week: 26]:  Mark Reynolds is proving to be the great signing.  He and Giambi.  Swisher still hasn’t gotten into the swing of things really.  When he does, maybe.  Probably not.

27) Cubs (7-14) [Last week: 28]:  Cubs fans have to wonder what all the hoopla was about GM Theo.  Get rid of Soriano as soon as possible. He has never been an asset.  Is somebody waterboarding Epstein?

28) Padres (6-15) [Last week: 27]:  I like Will Venable.  Chase Headley is back.  Jedd Gyorko isn’t living up to the hype.  Not a good team.

29) Astros (7-15) [Last week: 29]:  I will bet you that they don’t end up with even the third worst record in baseball.  I find this team more exciting than the seven listed above them.  I’m pulling for them.

30) Marlins (5-17) [Last week: 30]:  Hey Jeffrey Loria, FUCK YOU.  There should be a class action suit against you by AMERICA for doing terrible shit to our pasttime.  You suck ass.

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Thursday Night Power Rankings #1

Okay, so give me a long leash here, as this is the first time I’ve ever attempted to do a Power Rankings of my own.

A few things to know:

• I didn’t read any other Power Rankings
• Each week I am attempting to predict how they would look a the end of the season.
• I will add short notes for why a team moves up or down as the season unfolds.
• I will try to be fluid, not holding stubbornly to what I predict.
• This first Power Rankings is based on how the first two and half weeks have unfolded.
• The brackets following each record will reflect how many spots they went up or down from the previous week.

So here they are:

1) Braves (13-2) [–]:    They have the pitching, the bullpen, the outfield, the HR hitters.  They are for real.  I questioned Medlen, but he’s looking good so far. Teheran is off to a tough start, but with that hitting, it doesn’t matter.  Paul Maholm was underrated- and he’s delivering so far. When Andrelton Simmons and Jason Heyward get right, they will win another ten in a row.

2) Nationals (9-6) [–]:    Dan Haren is a concern for sure, but after that, they are one of the elite teams.  Jayson Werth is putting aside any worries about his wrist.  The Ramos/Suzuki catcher platoon is working fine- Ramos went on DL and Suzuki responded with a few HRs. Bryce Harper is making all those pundits look smart.  He’s amazing.

3) Tigers (9-6) [–]:    In their final two games against the Mariners this week, they only scored 2 runs, but their starters struck out 24.  Scherzer is an ace on any other team. Torii Hunter is seeing his career extended and thriving hittting in front of Cabrera and Fielder. Their bullpen is a concern.  Will Valverde be back?  It looks like he might.  They have value to trade if they need to.

4) Red Sox (11-4) [–]:    Yeah, I’m surprised they are this high, but there are reasons they have the record they do. Ellsbury is healthy. Middlebrooks is making every Boston fan forget Youklis. Mike Napoli is paying off and, well, you can go on.  Big Papi is back tomorrow and even though closer Hanrahan is hobbled, they have Andrew Bailey who will keep that role.

5) A’s (12-4) [–]:     You ever listen to some old-time announcers on the MLB Network or elsewhere?  Those old farts- think Hawk Harrelson- loathe Billy Beane.  The A’s won what was supposed to be one of the toughest divisions last year.  And they are in the lead this year. Beane knows what he’s doing. Even some A’s fans scoffed at the signing of Chris Young.  Whatever.  They are going to be there at the end.  Pitching.  Couldn’t believe Tommy Milone was ranked so low in the draft. The A’s just don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks.

6) Reds (9-7) [–]:    They are in second place, but they have everything.  Votto has yet to really come alive, but he’ll get there.  Brandon Phillips is starting to seem ageless.  The addition of Shoo was excellent.  Concerns are the injury to Cueto and the ineffective Broxton, but they brought up Cingrani, and he was great.  Add in Cozart, Bruce, Frazier, etc.  Forget about it.  They are going to win the Central.  That is unless…

7) Cardinals (9-6) [–]:     This stellar organization continues to thrive, anticipating problems, and having a backup worthy of almost any starter. They do it year after year, and it bores the shit out of me, but they deserve so much respect.  Their weakness may be in the closing position.  Motte is down, maybe for the year and more, and nothing they can replace him with can compare to the Reds Chapman.  Still, they’ll find a way into the playoffs, ruining the momentum of some “better” team.

8) Giants (9-7) [–]:   Yeah, they just got swept by the Brewers and Matt Cain doesn’t look right.  But think about this: Did they look all that great in 2010 or 2012?  Nope. And Posey hasn’t even started hitting yet. They don’t have my pick for the best team in baseball, but they are still- until/if eliminated from contention- my pick to win the World Series.

9) Yankees (8-6) [–]:   They are doing just fine without Jeter, A-Roid, Granderson and Teixeira. Two of those four are going to be back soon, and if you haven’t seen the stats on Granderson and Teixeira, then let me tell you, this team isn’t going to leave the top 12 all year.  Sabatthia is fine. Kuroda’s got life in him yet.  And then there’s Cano.

10) Rangers (9-6) [–]:    Can they live without Josh Hamilton?  Shit yeah.  Hamilton is overrated.  This is a team that put nearly 40 years of not quite getting there to rest.  Kinsler is off to a good start, Berkman is delivering more than expected… they aren’t the sure thing they were, and that is their strength. They don’t have that pressure this year.  The A’s seem for real and the Angels will come back, but the Rangers are gonna be fine.  Still one of the elites.

…

11) Dodgers (7-8) [–]:     Yes, I am a Giants fan, but I never bought this Dodgers shit in the first place.  I hate Nick Punto. He represents in one player the undeserved arrogance of this team- and by team- I mean the organization and the fans.  Greinke is down.  Kershaw keeps pitching great, but loses to lesser teams.  Crawford is great, but Kemp is stinking it up.  Oh, they might get it together and win the west, but fuck ’em.  The Marlins of ’97 could beat the crap out of this “bought” team.  Um, sorry– I did mention I’m a Giants fan.  In all seriousness, there are problems.  Pitching- even with 7 starters at the beginning- are dropping. Adrian Gonzalez might be over the hump.  Kemp isn’t right.  And then, like I said, if you have Nick Punto starting, there are problems.  Hope is on the horizon though, because Hanley Ramirez is almost back.  I say it pretty much hinges on him.  His diva days seem behind him, and he seems really stoked to get started.  If he works out, the Dodgers work out.

12) Orioles (8-7) [–]:   I don’t think last year was a fluke.  Success changes teams, and this is a team of players that had underachieved but that now believe in themselves.  Showalter deserves credit.  Adam Jones is now a star.  Chris Davis, though cooling off, is gonna hit out at least 30.  If Markakis stays healthy and the pitching, their iffiest, can keep their team in the game, shit, why not.

13) Angels (4-10) [–]:     A 4-10 team over some of the others that come behind them leaves me open to criticism, but really, do you honestly think this team won’t get it together?  Even if their pitching sucks, there is just too much hitting, and the hitters have underperformed. That said, if Tommy Hanson doesn’t get it together, they need to Lincecum him to the bullpen. They need to move Trout back to leadoff and let the poor fucker steal some bases.  And finally, Pujols needs to bat behind Hamilton, Trout, and Trumbo.  His wheels are done.  He’s an albatross in the middle of that lineup, slowing momentum.

14) Blue Jays (7-9) [–]:    Forget Reyes being injured, and the disappearance act of “Joey Bats”- a HORRIBLE nickname- the Blue Jays aren’t performing.  Josh Johnson has a better season in him than has been displayed so far.  Lawrie is back and will do better– how do I know?  He has to get a hit eventually. Reyes will be back earlier than the projected three months.  I honestly think they should trade Bautista.  He’s arrogant, gets hurt a LOT- and might not be the MVP so many pundits claimed he would be.  Trade him as an MVP for a couple of potential all-stars.

15) Rays (5-10) [–]:     They didn’t want to bring up Wil Myers yet, even though they are struggling, and now he’s banged up in the minors.  Longoria is showing some life, but the rest of the lineup has been hitting like shit.  Still, it isn’t a lineup that will continue to perform at that level.

16) Diamondbacks (9-6) [–]:    This is a team that I admit should probably be higher. They are so delicate though.  McCarthy, Kubel, Miley, Ross, Hill, Cahill, and so forth… I don’t trust them to stay healthy.  Martin Prado is good, but not as good as the Upton they just gave away. If they manage to glue themselves together though by the midway point, they could be the surprise in the NL West.

17) Phillies (6-10) [–]:    They SHOULD be higher.  What the hell?  Halladay beat up the Marlins, but other than that, has been horseshit.  Strikeouts don’t matter when you let everybody else on.  Utley looks okay, Howard some signs of life… so what is the problem? You know how at the end of Polanski’s Chinatown Nicholson’s partner says “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown”.  They won in ’08… forget about it.

18) Rockies (11-4) [–]:     You wonder why I pick an 11-4 team to be 18th in my first Power Rankings?   Tick tick tick…. that’s Tulowitzki heading to the DL.  Plus, it will stop snowing in Denver eventually.

19) Royals (8-6) [–]:     A fun team.  A lot of talent.  Stars in the making.  I just described the last dozen Royals seasons.  So why do I think they will fail?  Well, playing the better part of 81 games in what is a locker room humidifier can wear on a team. I don’t believe Billy Butler is as good as everyone claims.  Nor the catcher.  Nor Cain. Nor Hosmer.  Sue me.  I’ll admit it if I’m proven wrong.

20) Mets (7-7) [–]:    If they manage to get Giancarlo Stanton, this ranking changes.  Until then, enjoy every fifth day watching the phenom Matt Harvey.

21) Pirates  (7-8) [—]:    This team could move up, but there are so many ifs to them.  First, James McDonald is inconsistent.  Add Francisco Liriano to that mix, and yikes, that is a big ERA waiting to happen.  One of their power hitters can’t hit lefties- or is it rigthies– whatever, but Garrett Jones is half-great/half-liability.  Their ace is old.  Trade McCutchen to the team with the best farm system.  I like the Pirates, but I don’t think there is a winning record this year either.

22) Brewers (6-8) [–]:     I hate the Brewers.  I hate Ryan Braun.  He is guilty and I hope MLB nails him.  Let the crying sportswriters cry- he deserves to be nailed.  And nail Gomez while at it– not that he’s guilty of PEDs- but he’s guilty of being an unlikable showboat. Their ace just got to walk away from a DUI even though his blood alcohol level was three times over the legal limit.  Plus, they are in Wisconsin, a gun-toting Republican cesspool.  Fuck them.

23) Mariners  (7-10) [–]:   I currently live in Portland, and this is Mariners territory (I am moving back to SF next month).  Anyway, I’ve grown fond of this team.  They’ve got Morse and Kendrys Morales, and Michael Saunders on the DL, but they’ve got some pitching too.  They matched up against the Tigers well with King Felix and Ikamura.  Plus, did you see the play Endy Chavez made in CF today? A likable team.  I hope they move up.

24) White Sox (7-9) [–]:    Old, an injury waiting to happen (Sale), the worst announcer in the history of baseball (Hawk Harrelson) and well, I don’t even care enough to say more.

25) Twins (6-7) [–]:     GM Terry Ryan retired a few years ago and handed the team over to a shitstain that fucked up a decade of great Twins baseball.  They have lost nearly 200 games the past few years.  They might again this year lose close to 100, but Mauer and Morneau are healthy, and the rest of the glue they have put together in the lineup are talented.  If Worley can improve just a little, and Correia continues to perform above expectations, they might stay as high as 25.

26) Indians (5-9) [–]:    I don’t think Masterson, Kipnis, and Swisher have the answer.  Chris Perez is probably not going to finish the season as the closer– then again, he might not have too many chances.

27) Padres (5-10) [–]:     Gyorko is probably overrated.  Headley probably peaked.  Their starting pitching is very suspect. Will Venable is off to a great start!

28) Cubs (5-9) [–]:       Who cares?  Until the Cubs and their fans make a concerted effort to make amends to Steve Bartman, I don’t give a shit if they never win another game.  Lame ass organization.  Theo, step up.  Lance Berkman’s quotes were great.

29) Astros (4-11) [–]:    Now that they are in the AL west and I’ve seen/listened to enough of their games, and given the disrespect they’ve gotten from so many writers/commentators (I don’t ever want to hear “the lowly Astros” again), I have declared that I am a fan!  Not as lovable losers, but as an organization that has Jose Altuve and some other up and comers and who I suspect in a few years will be shutting a lot of people up.  I’m pulling for them.  I love every win.

30) Marlins (3-13) [–]:  A sham of an organization.  I feel for the players.  I like the manager, I like Stanton, etc.   But the bad karma this organization has is well-deserved.  They should contract this organization— or better yet– move them to Montreal.

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