| MLB Power Rankings Week Of 05/11/2008 |
| Rk |
Team |
Last Wk |
Rise/Fall |
High/Low |
Comment |
| 1 |
 Red Sox |
1 |
- |
1/2 |
Surprisingly, it's been the AL East that has given the BoSox trouble thus far. The Red Sox are just 8-9 against their division rivals, but have been excellent against the Central and West. Jonathan Papelbon's struggles last week appear to just be a fluke rough stretch that all pitchers go through.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 2 |
 Cubs |
4 |
(+2) |
2/13 |
The way the Cubs took their weekend series against the D-backs is what impressed us most. Strong performances by the pitching staff held the D-backs to just seven runs in the series. Alfonso Soriano looks like he'll be just fine leading off.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 3 |
 Diamondbacks |
2 |
(-1) |
2/4 |
The D-backs have come back to Earth a bit, as their series in Chicago proved. You can exclude Brandon Webb from that statement. At this point, Webb is the odds-on favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 4 |
 Angels |
3 |
(-1) |
3/12 |
The Angels continue to get good pitching from unexpected sources. Because it's hard to bank on Jon Garland and Joe Saunders continuing their impressive starts, the team might actually be overachieving at this point. But how much pitching do you really need with an offense like this?
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 5 |
 Phillies |
6 |
(+1) |
5/16 |
Jimmy Rollins made an immediate impact in his first game back. With Rollins leading things off and Ryan Howard likely to end his slide any day now, the Phils figure to make life miserable on opposing pitching staffs for the entire summer.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 6 |
 Cardinals |
9 |
(+3) |
6/20 |
Consider what the Cards' record would be had Jason Isringhausen been removed from the closer's role earlier. With Izzy taking a respite, the Cards seem to be in good hands with Ryan Franklin getting the saves. The pitching staff continues to amaze.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 7 |
 Dodgers |
7 |
- |
5/15 |
After putting together the best win streak of the season, the Dodgers may be settling into stride. However, blowout losses to Houston and New York last week lend credence to the notion that L.A. could be an all-or-nothing proposition this season. Meaning they get nothing when Rafael Furcal isn't in the lineup.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 8 |
 Athletics |
8 |
- |
8/25 |
The A's were somewhat unlucky to meet the Rangers at the wrong time of season. Just like how we still marvel at the Cardinals' pitching staff, we remain astonished by Oakland's offense. How the A's are near the top of the AL in runs scored, we'll never know.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 9 |
 Marlins |
13 |
(+4) |
9/29 |
After cooling off somewhat in late April, the Marlins have opened May on another hot streak. This time it's happening due to pitching. The Fish held Milwaukee to just four runs in three games last week. What doesn't add up is that Marlins pitchers have struck out the second-least amount of batters in the NL.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 10 |
 Rays |
14 |
(+4) |
10/24 |
There isn't a regular in the lineup hitting over .300 ... unless you count part-time DH/C Dioner Navarro. Nonetheless, the Rays are putting up runs at a decent clip. The strikeouts -- Tampa has the second most in the AL -- continue to pile up and remind us this is still a very young team.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 11 |
 Astros |
17 |
(+6) |
11/23 |
The Astros' won-loss mark finally caught up to Lance Berkman's torrid performance. With Berkman putting up an MVP campaign, the Astros could be a good trade for pitching away from making serious noise in the contentious Central.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 12 |
 Mets |
10 |
(-2) |
5/12 |
What a difference Moises Alou makes. The Mets' lineup suddenly looks like the scary proposition we thought it would be in spring training. Carlos Delgado has seemingly been the biggest beneficiary to Alou's return, even though it's meant a lower place in the order for him.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 13 |
 Yankees |
5 |
(-8) |
3/13 |
Mike Mussina is seemingly carrying the rotation by himself. The news on A-Rod's rehab appears to be good. Statistically, the Yanks remain one of the AL's better offenses, and they should stay that way. But team ERA still ranks in the bottom half of the AL.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 14 |
 Twins |
16 |
(+2) |
14/26 |
Losing Pat Neshek is a big blow as there was arguably no better set-up man in the AL over the past two seasons. The Twins being at or near the top of the Central standings can't really be explained by stats. But it looks like borrowed time considering Minnesota has hit the fewest homers in all of baseball.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 15 |
 Indians |
12 |
(-3) |
1/15 |
Taking two from the Yankees and the first two against Toronto could be a sign the Tribe is starting to snap out of it. The Tribe allowed two runs per game last week, which is exactly the kind of confidence boost the pitching staff can use.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 16 |
 Braves |
15 |
(-1) |
9/16 |
Sputtering against the Pirates is never a good sign. But Mark Texiera is showing signs that he might be heating up. The Braves have the best home record in baseball, but they’ve been downright putrid on the road.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 17 |
 White Sox |
19 |
(+2) |
7/19 |
The ChiSox have done pretty well since Ozzie went Lee Elia on the Chicago media. Perhaps playing the M’s had something to do with that. Next week won’t be so easy, but it will be fun with road dates at the Angels and Giants.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 18 |
 Brewers |
11 |
(-7) |
6/18 |
So much for the Eric Gagne experiment. Funny how one bad offseason move can totally a derail a team’s season. OK, it’s not all Gagne’s fault, but he’s been more debilitating than the slow starts by Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 19 |
 Orioles |
20 |
(+1) |
19/30 |
Just as things appeared to be unraveling after getting swept by the A’s, the O’s caught a gift from the scheduling gods and met punchless KC. Now that’s a slump buster. There isn’t a regular in the Orioles’ lineup hitting over .280.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 20 |
 Rangers |
30 |
(+10) |
20/30 |
Somehow the Rangers’ pitching staff came to life this month. Before Sunday’s fiasco, the Rangers were allowing 2.2 runs per game this month. They strung together three shutouts, too. No, they’re not this good. But yes, they’re back in contention for now.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 21 |
 Pirates |
29 |
(+8) |
21/29 |
The Bucs took advantage of the Braves, who look hopeless on the road so far. How weird is this: Nate McLouth is leading the team in homers with nine while Jason Bay is tops in stolen bases with four. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 22 |
 Blue Jays |
21 |
(-1) |
6/22 |
Losing Vernon Wells is a major blow for a team already strapped for power. Wells and Frank Thomas were the team’s top two power threats on Opening Day, but now both are gone (Wells for 6-8 weeks and Thomas for good). The pitching staff better be on its best behavior.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 23 |
 Tigers |
18 |
(-5) |
3/23 |
This is getting hard to watch and even harder to explain. What are you going to do, fire Jim Leyland? That’s hardly an option even though something is clearly broken. You can’t blame the hitting, which ranks right behind the BoSox in the AL in runs scored.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 24 |
 Giants |
24 |
- |
24/30 |
The Giants are a classic case of a team making up for a lack of power by utilizing their speed … something the Padres wish they could do. The Giants may be second to last in the majors in homers, but they’re battling for the league lead in stolen bases.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 25 |
 Royals |
22 |
(-3) |
22/26 |
Brian Bannister snapped out of his funk and helped KC avoid being swept by Baltimore on Sunday. Things were looking pretty bleak before the bleeding was stopped. The gap between the Royals and the rest of the AL in runs scored is growing.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 26 |
 Reds |
28 |
(+2) |
18/28 |
It’s becoming obvious that Johnny Cueto could use some time in the minors. Until Dusty Baker settles on one lineup, we don’t expect to see the Reds’ inconsistencies on offense get better.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 27 |
 Mariners |
23 |
(-4) |
7/27 |
The M’s certainly have their claim in the “biggest disappointment” argument. Sunday’s win marked only the second time the team has won in May. What’s stunning is that Seattle’s offense actually has the second-fewest strikeouts in the majors.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 28 |
 Rockies |
27 |
(-1) |
10/28 |
Things were looking up in the middle of last week, but then the offense stalled out over the weekend in San Diego. The offense is too good, and the home-field advantage too strong for the Rockies to only have 27 homers at this point.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 29 |
 Nationals |
25 |
(-4) |
25/30 |
The Nats’ struggles at home against the Marlins reached a boiling point with last weekend’s sweep. Even though the Marlins are technically in first, there’s just not a big enough talent gap between the two teams to be outscored 23-7.
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
| 30 |
 Padres |
26 |
(-4) |
17/30 |
In the Pads’ three wins this month, they’ve scored 16 runs. In their seven losses, they haven’t scored more than four runs. Batting Brian Giles third and cutting Jim Edmonds account for the two smartest moves the team has made all season. What took so long?
Team: Home | Stats | Fantasy |
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