Baseball Rankings Week 4

[bama4256]

Rankings are based on all games played from Opening Day March 31st through April 28th. New rankings each Monday. See where your favorite team is ranked and why.


1.-NEW YORK YANKEES--(16-10)--Going out on a limb here. Mariners were ranked first last week, but they lost two out of three to New York in Seattle this weekend. Yankees are still the team to beat. In that last game Sunday, rookie Nick Johnson drove in the winning run with a two out double. Pitcher Ted Lilly pitched a one hitter against Seattle Saturday and still lost. Now that is frustrating.

2.-SEATTLE MARINERS--(18-7)--Mariners lead the majors in runs scored with 147. Seattle beat New York Saturday 1-0 with only one hit in the game. Desi Relaford singled with one out in the eighth to drive in pinch runner Luis Ugueto.


3.-BOSTON RED SOX--(15-6)--Red Sox lead the A.L. East over the Yankees, but I really think New York is still the better team. At least for now. Ex-relief pitcher Derek Lowe pitched a no-hitter against Tampa Bay Saturday 10-0. First no-hitter at Fenway Park since David Morehead did it in 1965. Boston's Ricky Henderson hit his 80th career leadoff homerun. He owns that record. This man deserves to go into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. I realize he is not well liked, but he really deserves it.


4.-ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS--(16-9)--Pitcher Randy Johnson won his sixth game of the year without a loss Friday against Florida in a 5-3 win. He pitched seven innings and struck out 10 batters. His ERA is 1.37 and then on Sunday pitcher Curt Schilling improved his record to 5-1 with a 5-4 win over the Marlins. Schilling had 13 K's. Wow is all we can say about this duo. Both have 61 strikeouts each for the season.


5.-LOS ANGELES DODGERS--(12-9)--Dodgers have their own pitching aces. Japanese sensation Kazuhisa Ishii improved his record to 5-0 with a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. He had eight K's in that game. Closer Greg Gagne earned his ninth save. Outfielder Brian Jordan hit his third homerun of the year and drove in three runs. The other ace of this pitching staff is Odalis Perez. He won Friday night 10-0 over Chicago. He pitched a complete game and allowed only one hit. He struck out six batters. Dodgers really needed some strong performances from their starting pitchers. This N.L. West division race is going to be great.


6.-MONTREAL EXPOS--(15-10)--Expos are now tied with the New York Mets for first place in the N.L. East. They are 7-3 in their last ten games and lead the N.L. in runs scored with 139. Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero hit two homeruns Sunday in a 5-2 win over St. Louis. He now has seven on the year and I really think he may hit over 50 this season. I really hope Montreal wins their division this year so Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig will be totally red-faced.


7.-OAKLAND ATHLETICS--(15-10)--Athletics have won four in a row and have scored 26 runs in their last two games against the Chicago White Sox. Pitcher Tim Hudson pitched a gem Sunday in their 10-0 win over Chicago. He is now 3-2 with an ERA of 1.87. Saturday they beat Chicago 16-1. Jeremy Giambi is their leading hitter. He is batting .345. I'm glad he is doing better than his brother right now. Outfielder David Justice really hasn't got cranked up yet. He's batting .306, but has only hit three homeruns, along with nine RBI's.


8.-NEW YORK METS--(15-10)--Mets beat Milwaukee Saturday 2-1, behind the great pitching of Pedro Astacio. He is 4-1. He pitched eight innings in that game and allowed only three hits. In Sunday's win they won 9-6 and outfielder Jeromy Burnitz hit his fifth homerun of the season. Slugger Mo Vaughn went 2-4 with one RBI and one run scored. He also hit his second double of the year. Mets are 10-5 when playing at home and 5-5 on the road.


9.-CINCINNATI REDS-(15-9)-Isn't this a surprise? Reds currently lead the N.L. Central over second place Pittsburgh which is a surprise too. Pitcher Jose Rijo is 2-0 after missing seven years of baseball. I like that. He help beat San Francisco Saturday 8-4. He pitched six innings of effective ball and only allowed five hits and one walk. This was his first Cinergy Field start in seven years. Great comeback story to write.


10.--CHICAGO WHITE SOX--(15-10)-Sox lead the A.L. Central over second place Minnesota. White Sox were swept by Oakland this past weekend. They did win Thursday night over Cleveland 6-3. Pitcher John Garland improved his record to 3-1. Outfielder Kenny Lofton went 2-4 with three RBI's and one run scored. He also hit a double. Good acquisition for Chicago.


11.-PITTSBURGH PIRATES--(14-9)--Pirates are 7-1 on the road. Pirates beat Los Angeles Thursday night 3-2 behind the pitching of Josh Fogg, who is now 3-0. His ERA is 1.47. He had seven K's in that game.


12.-SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS--(14-10)-Slugger Barry Bonds has slowed down since being hampered with a slight tear in his hamstring. They beat Cincinnati Sunday 5-4, behind the pitching of Kirk Rueter. He is 3-1. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four hits. He allowed one earned run, but walked four. Rob Nen earned his sixth save. Outfieler and new Giant Reggie Sanders hit his third homerun of the year. Catcher antiago hit his third also. First baseman J.T. Snow went 2-5 with two RBI's and he hit two doubles to give him six on the year.


13.-MINNESOTA TWINS--(14-11)--They are 8-1 at home so far.Twins beat Tampa Bay Thursday 6-2. Outfielder Jacques Jones hit his fifth homerun of the season in that win. Catcher A.J.Pierzynski went 3-4 with one RBI and one run scored. First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz went 1-1 with two RBI's and one run scored. He hit his ninth double of the year in that contest.


14.-SAN DIEGO PADRES--(13-12)--Padres are only three games out of first place in the N.L. West. In the second game of a double-header Sunday the Padres beat Pittsburgh 7-2. Pitcher Brian Tollberg won his first game of the year. His ERA is still 8.19. Outfielder Ryan Klesko went 1-4 with three RBI's and one run scored. He is batting .348. He sure has done well since coming over from Atlanta a couple of years ago now. He plays an important role on this team.


15.-CLEVELAND INDIANS--(13-12)-After winning 10 in a row this year it has been nothing but a downward spiral since. 2-8 in their last 10 games. Pitcher Bartolo Colon lost Sunday against Texas, but he pitched well. He is now 3-3. He pitched eight innings, allowing just five hits. He had nine K's in that game. He was just out pitched by Ismael Valdes of the Rangers.


16.-BALTIMORE ORIOLES--(11-13)--Orioles blanked Kansas City Sunday 13-0. Pitcher Scott Erickson won that game and improved his record to 3-2. He pitched a complete game shutout. He allowed only four hits. Ex-Cleveland Indian Marty Cordova went 4-5 with two RBI's and three runs scored. He also hit his first triple of the year. He is batting .333 currently. Outfielder Jay Gibbons went 2-3 with three runs scored. He hit his fifth double of the year.


17.-ST. LOUIS CARDINALS--(12-13)-I can't believe this team is struggling like they have been. One reason is that their pitching staff ranks 13th in the N.L., but they are fourth in batting overall. Their pitching was to be their strong point in 2002. Pitcher Matt Morris has done well. He is 4-2. Pitcher Bud Smith is 0-2, pitcher Garrett Stephenson is 0-2 and so is Andy Benes. Not good. But, I expect them to wake from their slumber soon.


18.-HOUSTON ASTROS--(11-13)-Astros beat Atlanta two out of three this past weekend. They won Sunday 7-1. Pitcher Carlos Hernandez won the game. He is 2-0. Outfielder Daryle Ward leads the team in hitting with a .367 average. He went 2-4 in that game and drove in one run, while scoring one. Rookie third baseman Morgan Ensberg went 1-4 with two RBI's and one runs scored. Manager Jimy Williams will make contenders out of this squad soon. Outfielder Lance Berkman has had a good April. He has hit 10 homeruns and driven in 26 runs. He ranks third in the majors in RBI's.


19.-FLORIDA MARLINS--(12-13)-Pitcher Brad Penny help defeat Arizona Saturday in a 6-3 win. Third baseman Mike Lowell went 3-4 with two RBI's. He hit three doubles in that game to give him 14 on the year. Wow!


20.--ATLANTA BRAVES--(12-14)--Braves have hit hard times. Outfielder Gary Sheffield has been injured most of the month. Pitcher Greg Maddux had one of his worst outings in his career by giving up 10 runs in a 11-5 los to Arizona Thursday. He only lasted 4 2/3 innings. He walked five. His control was awful in this game. Outfielder Andruw Jones leads the team in homeruns with eight and outfielder Chipper Jones is batting .333 with 16 RBI's on the season. Braves rank 13th in the N.L. in hitting. Atlanta needs some serious help with their starting pitching. Tom Glavine has done well, but nobody else.


21.-ANAHEIM ANGELS--(10-14)--Have won four in a row. Shortstop David Eckstein has hit two grandslams in two consecutive days against Toronto. He now has two homeruns and 16 RBI's on the season. Outfielder Garrett Anderson continues to hit well. He leads the team in hitting with a .327 batting average.


22.-TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS--(9-13)--Devil Rays beat Minnesota 9-1 Wednesday. Pitcher Ryan Rupe improved his record to 3-1. Randy Winn went 2-5 with two RBI's and one run scored. Devil Rays had beat Minnesota nine straight times at Tropicana Field until Thursday loss to Minnesota 6-2.


23.-TEXAS RANGERS--(9-15)--Rangers beat Cleveland Sunday night on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball 2-1. Pitcher Ismael Valdes pitched six effective innings, allowing five hits. Controversial pitcher John Rocker pitched one inning and allowed one hit and struck out one. His ERA is 8.55. Shortstop Alex Rodriquez is batting .309 and leads the team in RBI's with 26. Outfielder Rusty Greer leads the team with a batting average of .330.


24.-COLORADO ROCKIES--(9-16)--Have allowed 138 points to be scored upon them. Manager Buddy Bell is history and replaced by batting coach Clint Hurdle. Rockies swept the Phillies this weekend and they are still perfect under Hurdle. Shortstop Jason Uribe is the Rockies leading hitter at .367. First baseman Todd Helton is off to a slow start.


25.-CHICAGO CUBS--(8-15)--Cubs are hurting for some reason. LA Dodgers swept them in a doubleheader Sunday. This team is demoralized I think. I also think its time for manager Don Baylor to say good-bye. Outfielder Moises Alou who had been injured most of the month finally hit his first homerun of the season this past week. Slugger Sammy Sosa doesn't seem quite himself yet. Sosa is batting .305, and has hit eight homeruns, but he has only driven in 13 runs. Maybe he needs slugger Mark McGwire back in baseball to compete against. Pitcher Jon Lieber has done his best. He is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.73. Cubs rank 15th in the N.L. in hitting. They rank 10th in team pitching with an ERA of 4.08.


26.-TORONTO BLUEJAYS--(8-15)--Have lost five straight. They lead the majors in runs allowed with 162. Outfielder Raul Mondesi leads the team in RBI's with 17, but is only batting .210.


27.-PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES--(8-17)-Phillies are in bad shape. You've heard the old saying, don't kick somone while they are down, well they are being kicked pretty good and have been. They are 1-9 in their last 10 games. I have a feeling the players don't like playing for manager Larry Bowa. I may be completely wrong. The pitching staff ranks 15th in the N.L. and their hitting is ranked 10th. Third baseman Scott Rolen has really been the only bright spot on this team, and he may be gone aftr this season. Things are looking bleak in Philly.


28.-KANSAS CITY ROYALS--(7-15)--Manger Tony Muser should be going soon. Royals beat
Detroit Wednesday 8-2. First baseman Mike Sweeney went 2-4 with one RBI and two runs scored. Third baseman Joe Randa knocked in one run. Shortstop Neifi Perez went 3-4 with thre RBI's and hit his fourth double of the year.


29.-DETROIT TIGERS--(7-16)--2-10 playing on the road so far. I predicted they would win eight games in April. I'm getting close. Rookie pitcher Nate Cornejo defeated Minnesota 5-1 this past Saturday. First complete game of his young major league career.


30.-MILWAUKEE BREWERS--(3-14)--Have lost six in a row. Can't blame ex-manager Davey Lopes anymore. Their record is 2-13 on the road. I was going to make another comment about Bud Selig, but nevermind it wouldn't change a thing.

Written by Keith Thronson Mobile, Alabama

[catman]

The teams that have been the biggest surprises for me this season are the Pirates and Reds in the NL and the Red Sox in the AL. Biggest disappointments have been the Cubs, Phillies and Braves.
All these things can change and I expect many more changes in the standings before the end of the season.

[Bran]

Another Jays loss . . . 5 Straight!