AL Power Rankings (July 10, 2007)

Team/Record/This Week (Last Week) - Comments

Tigers/52-34/1 (3) - Tigers finish strong with a 5-1 week, including 2 of 3 from Cleveland and a 3 game sweep of the BoSox. Tough not to peg Detroit as the team to beat in the AL, especially with the gradual emergence of Andrew Miller (3.31/1.30) who put up a 7 inning one run performance against Boston last Friday (6 K, 3 H, 4 BB). Offense is also 1st in the AL in SLG, OPS, BA and runs, and 3rd in OBP.

Red Sox/53-34/2 (4) - Despite a sweep at the hands of the above team, Boston locks up the number 2 spot through the All Star Break. While the Sox haven't been lighting up the scoreboard (7th in the AL in scoring), they continue to get on base (1st in AL - .358) and knock the ball around (3rd in SLG - .437). The runs will come. Pitching staff continues to cruise (2nd in AL in ERA, OPS and WHIP; 3rd in BAA, 5th in QS), and Lester should be able to fill in for Schilling. There aren't any threats remaining in the East, so Boston can focus on playing solid ball and resting up for October.

Indians/52-36/3 (2) - How impressive has V-Mart been through the first half? How about .324/.382/.553, 16 HR and 68 RBI. Think how good this offense could be in the second half if Grady and Pronk catch fire. Adam Miller looked solid in his first start since returning from the DL, and could be a fine addition to the staff or pen in August if everything goes according to plan.

Angels/53-35/4 (1) - Angels stumble into the break dropping 2 of 3 against both the Rangers and the Yankees (not exactly the cream of the AL crop right now). Still, you can't ignore the impressive three months of baseball the LAAoA have produced, including a staff that is top 5 in the AL in ERA, BAA, OPSA, WHIP and QS (this with Santana, Colon and Weaver under-performing).

Twins/45-43/5 (5) - Here starts "the rest" of the AL. Twins finish the first half seven games back of the current Wild Card Indians. Minnesota has been a good second half team over the last couple of seasons, and they will have to replicate that effort in 2007 if they want to continue play in October. Good to see Garza up and throwing well (at least through his first start). The Twins have stated he'll get at least one more -- if that goes well I expect him to stick, as his stuff is better than any other prospect they have.

Mariners/49-36/6 (7) - Seattle is just a game and a half back of Cleveland for the Wild Card, but it's hard to imagine this team competing throughout the remainder of the season. Again, I cite: 11th in the AL in QS, WHIP, BAA; 10th in ERA; 7th in OPSA. The biggest win for Seattle may be the fact that a strong showing this year could go a long way towards convincing Ichiro to stay put.

Yankees/42-43/7 (9) - The Yanks will make a run, I'm sure, over the next three weeks. Unfortunately, it may be a case of too little too late. A run differential of +70 tells me this team is probably not as flawed as the media would have us believe. More likely, we're looking at the 2006 Indians all over again, with nothing but bad luck (and, okay, a bad bullpen) to blame.

Blue Jays/43-44/8 (8) - Jays took 2 of 3 from each of the A's and Indians to close out their first half. It would be nice to see a little more offense, but it's hard to argue with the staffs ranking of 4th in AL in BAA, OPSA and QS. Riccardi may be expressing frustration at AJ and his contract, but I'd like to know how he feels about BJ's bloated deal.

Athletics/44-44/9 (6) - Like the Twins, the A's have enjoyed great second halfs the last couple of years, and like the Twins, they will need a repeat performance in '07. The improvements are going to have to come from the offense, as I'm not sure how you improve on a staff leading the AL in ERA, OPSA, WHIP and QS and 2nd in BAA.

White Sox/39-47/10 (12) - Congrats to Kenny Williams and the southsiders on signing Buehrle (shown right, celebrating). Let's see how quickly they can unload Dye (and whether they can get anything of substance in return). I'd check Arizona to see if Brett Anderson is available, but my guess is that's aiming high. The supplemental pick may be more valuable than anything they get through trade talks.

Rangers/38-50/11 (14) - Rangers take 2 of 3 from LA and Baltimore over the last week. With bullpen arms available (Gagne and Otsuka), look for lots of trade rumors -- especially involving Boston and Philly. There's really not a market out there for Teix, so Texas will have to plan on a pipe-dream run at the playoffs next year and a supplemental pick in '09.

Royals/38-50/12 (13) - Like the Rangers, the Royals have an arm to trade in Dotel, and will likely pull the trigger. Gordon is starting to look like the RoY candidate we all expected back in April. It's going to be a lot of fun watching him and Butler in the lineup together.

Orioles/38-49/13 (10) - Despite solid efforts from the pitching staff as of late, Baltimore limps into the break after a disappointing first half. Guthrie, Bedard, Roberts and Markakis give the team a decent core, but they are two or three bats and another starter away from making any noise. Tejada's injury means no big trade in July -- although I'm not sure this year's Tejada would bring back anything worth the removal of his bat from the lineup. Next up for O's fans is the signing of Wieters in August...at least I hope so.

Devil Rays/34-53/14 (12) - Rays have dropped 20 of their last 25. The young bats have been fun to watch this first half -- especially Upton, Young and Harris. It's nice to see Pena living up to his hype; better late than never. Looking forwad to seeing how Longoria fares against MLB pitching -- he's been good for .301/.396/.522, 8 HR and 17 2B for the Biscuits so far this year. Look for a September call-up.

AL MVP - Alex Rodriguez, Yankees (.317/.413/.665, 30 HR, 86 RBI, 21 2B, 9 SB)

AL Cy Young - Dan Haren, Athletics (10-3, 2.30 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .205 BAA, 101 K/32 BB/ 129.1 IP)

AL RoY - Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles (4-2, 2.74 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, .207 BAA, 72 K/ 18 BB/ 102 IP)

AL Power Rankings (July 2, 2007)

Team/Record/This Week (Last Week) - Comments

Angels/51-31/1(3) - Halos taking 2 of 3 from the Orioles is barely news-worthy. The "barely", however, is the fact that this brought them to a franchise best 51-31 after 82. Well balanced team is ranked in the top 5 in the AL in BA, Runs, OBP, OPS, SB, ERA, BAA, OPSA, SV, WHIP and QS. Great to see Kotchman producing, and Kendrick getting back to full strength.

Indians/49-32/2(4) - PnR's pick for the AL Pennant looking strong as we head into the last week of the first half. 5th in BA, 2nd in Runs, 3rd in OBP, 2nd in SLG, 2nd in OPS -- all without the usual Pronk. Cleveland has to start thinking about moving V-Mart to 1st full time. It's getting harder and harder to risk an injury (.323/.384/.583, 14 HR).

Tigers/47-33/3(2) - Herculean effort from Bonderman and a well-timed HR from Thames prevent Twins and Baker (3 H in 8 IP) from securing the sweep. Manny over Sheff for All-Star honors doesn't sit well; nor does Polanco starting over Roberts. Anyone disagree? Detroit gets huge challenge heading into the break with six at home against the Tribe and the Bo-Sox.

Red Sox/49-31/4(1) - Getting swept by the M's and losing two of three to the Rangers is simply unacceptable. Fortunately for Boston, the rest of the AL East has been equally inept, as of late. Sox get a chance to rebound with four against the Rays before a three game trip to Detroit to end the first half.

Twins/42-38/5(7) - Thames's homerun is the difference between a five- and three-game deficit to Detroit. If the Twins want to keep this a three team race through September, they are going to have to figure out a way to drive in some runs (8th in Runs, 12th in OPS). Having Mauer healthy will be a huge step in the right direction. Santana back to Cy-form after a slow start (2.76, 9.47K/IP) -- Johan has allowed three or fewer runs in eleven of his last twelve starts.

Athletics/42-39/6(6) - I almost forgot what a hitting catcher looks like in an Oakland uniform (Suzuki, pictured right). A's are primed for their annual second-half sprint towards the playoffs. This year, however, it doesn't look like the LAAoA are going to be quite so willing to fold. Given the current state of the staff (1st in ERA, BAA, OPS, WHIP and QS), imagine what Oakland could do if Harden could stay healthy for even 15 starts...

Mariners/45-33/7(9) - Come on, this can't continue for long can it (bottom third in AL in ERA, BAA, OPS, WHIP and QS)? I'm thinking Hargrove has the right idea by bailing while the team is twelve over .500. I'll second that notion; anyone else want off this ill-conceived bandwagon?

Blue Jays/39-42/8(11) - Mired in a four game losing streak, the Jays have missed a good opportunity to gain some ground on the Sox. While neither has been awful, you have to wonder if this is what JP had in mind when he signed Wells and Thomas to their respective contracts this offseason.

Yankees/37-41/9(5) - Yankees have one shot left to make a run at the playoffs. That chance comes with 28 games against Tampa, Toronto, Baltimore, Kansas City and Chicago to start the second half. Looking at the offense (top 5 in AL in BA, OBP, SLG, OPS and Runs) it's tough to figure how this team is four under .500 -- then you look at the pitching (bottom 5 in AL in ERA, OPSA, WHIP and QS).

Orioles/35-45/10(9) - Starting pitching has been a bright spot (2nd in AL in BAA and 3rd in AL in OPSA), including staff ace Bedard (3.36/1.18 and AL leading 125 K's) and rookie Guthrie (1.74 ERA in 11 GS). Unfortunately, there's not much to look forward to in '07 -- only the Royals have scored fewer runs and hit fewer homeruns in the AL. McPhail and the rest of the front office will be praying that some pop emerges from the farm system between Rowell, Reimold and Wieters (provided he signs).

Devil Rays/33-47/11(12) - Rays have dropped seven in a row and thirteen of seventeen. If Baldelli could only stay healthy, Tampa could have shipped him this May for some pitching. Even with the dearth of young hitters, the Rays will need at least one more arm to add to Shields/Kazmir/Price/Niemann if they want to compete by 2010.

White Sox/35-43/12(8) - Who'd-a-thunk a line-up full of aging stars, OBP dumpsters and a strategy of bunting and stealing would eventually lead to disaster? Certainly not the south-side proponents of Ozzie-ball. "What can I do? All this worked back in 2005," exclaimed a befuddled Guillen.

Royals/34-48/13(13) - Bottom third in BA, Runs, OBP, SLG, OPS, ERA, BAA, OPSA, WHIP and QS. Not much to work with, here. Pre-season RoY hopefully Alex Gordon seems to have found his stroke, going .327/.383/.500 in June. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Wright-esque second half, with 12-15 HR/SB.

Rangers/34-47/14(14) - Usual struggles from the staff (13th or lower in ERA, BAA, OPSA, WHIP and QS) and a surprising first half from the Mariners have left the Rangers as the only AL West team with nothing to look forward to for the rest of the season. Given his contract, it was going to be tough to move Teixeira even before his injury. It's going to be tough watching him walk at the end of '08 and getting nothing but a pick to show for it.

AL MVP: Magglio Ordonez, Tigers (.369/.444/.617, 13 HR, 68 RBI, 34 2B)

AL Cy Young: Dan Haren, Athletics (10-2, 2.20 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, .202 BAA, 98 K/31 BB/123 IP)

AL RoY: Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles (4-1, 1.74 ERA, 0.79 WHIP in 11 GS; 2 runs or fewer in 10 of 11 GS)

AL Power Rankings

AL Power Rankings (May 24, 2007)

Team Name / Record / This Week (Last Week) / Comments

Red Sox / 31-15 / 1 (1) / Went 3-3 against the Braves and Yanks but still scored 31 runs in 6 games.

Tigers / 28-17 / 2 (2) / Leading the majors in RS and right on Boston’s tail for best overall record in the AL.

Angels / 28-19 /3 (5) / Escobar pitched lights out this week and Vlad’s been a man on a mission.

Indians / 27-17 / 4 (3) / Sizemore and Hafner still don’t seem themselves but Fausto Carmona’s making people forget about offense and focus on dominant pitching instead.

Yankees / 21-24 / 5 (6) / Still under .500 but won an important series with Boston by getting quality starts from their aces (Wang/Pettitte).

A’s / 23-23 / 6 (4) / I can’t quite put my finger on why I don’t like this team. They’re scoring more than they used to but their lineup still seems like a house of cards…

Twins / 22-24 / 7 (7) / That’s more like it! Johan’s last two starts: 14 IP, 24 K, 1.92 ERA, 0.78 WHIP.

White Sox / 23-20 / 8 (8) / Unbelievably, they’ve scored the fewest runs in the AL. This was a World Champion two years ago?

Mariners / 21-21 / 9 (10) / Ichiro got hot and King Felix returned. Maybe Richie Sexson will get his average over .200 next?

Orioles / 21-25 /10 (9) / Blaming Perlozzo for the GM’s bad buys in the bullpen seems unfair.

Blue Jays / 20-25 / 11 (11) / With Halladay and BJ Ryan on the DL, this team seems snake-bitten. How much longer before AJ Burnett joins them?

Devil Rays / 18-27 / 12 (12) / Has anyone seen Rocco Baldelli recently? Hopefully Elijah Dukes hasn’t killed him...

Royals / 19-28 / 13 (14) / Mark Teahan and Odalis Perez led the team to a winning week.

Rangers / 18-29 / 14 (13) / Teixeira’s heating up and Sosa’s been surprisingly productive but the team still can’t get any quality pitching.

AL MVP: Magglio Ordonez, Tigers (.345/.429/.691, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 21 2B)
AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett, Red Sox (7-0, 2.66 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 8.34 K/9)
AL RoY: BJ Upton, Devil Rays (.308/.384/.555, 8 HR, 26 RBI, 9 SB)

AL Power Rankings

Stotle’s added a new feature which he’s asked me to help out with. Going forward, I will publish a weekly power ranking for all 14 AL teams, including my year-to-date favorites for the AL MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year awards. Without further ado, here are the power rankings for the week ended May 16, 2007.

AL Power Rankings (May 16, 2007)

Team Name/Record/This Week/Last Week/Comments

Red Sox/26-12/1/-/Steamrolling everyone in their sight with the best overall pitching in the AL (T1 BAA, 2nd in WHIP, 4th in QS).

Tigers/24-14/2/-/Pitching not as good as in ‘06, but offense is better with early 2007 MVP candidate Magglio raking.

Indians/22-14/3/-/CC Sabathia’s on fire and the team is hot, even though Sizemore and Hafner aren’t.

A’s/20-18/4/-/Dan Haren is now in the conversation for league’s best pitcher and A’s have given up fewest runs in the bigs.

Angels/22-18/5/-/Winning with smoke and mirrors. The young kids are helping…Ervin Santana isn’t.

Yankees/17-19/6/-/Can’t catch a break, but still leading the AL in RS and have one of the best RS-RA differentials in the league.

Twins/18-20/7/-/Haven’t played their best ball; seriously, did anyone think Carlos Silva would have a lower ERA than Johan?

White Sox/18-16/8/-/The offense has aged considerably since 2006: Konerko and Dye are both hitting .200 for the year.

Orioles/18-22/9/-/Chris Ray has blown saves in spectacular fashion but Bedard and Cabrera are definitely coming around in ‘07.

Mariners/18-16/10/-/More smoke and mirrors. How does this team score any runs?

Blue Jays/17-22/11/-/Troy Glaus and Jeremy Accardo are the only bright spots in a disappointing season thus far.

Devil Rays/16-22/12/-/BJ Upton’s looking like he wants the RoY award and James Shields is pitching like Kazmir was supposed to.

Rangers/15-24/13/-/No one expected the pitching to be good, but the offense hasn’t been anything to write home about either.

Royals/13-27/14/-/At least Gil Meche has been worth the money…

AL MVP: Magglio Ordonez, Tigers (.343/.431/.657, 8 HR, 37 RBI, 19 2B)
AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett, Red Sox (7-0, 2.66 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 8.34 K/9)
AL RoY: BJ Upton, Devil Rays (.331/.401/.583, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 7 SB)