Ryne's rankings
This week's top 10 shows the dominance of the American League. I played my entire career in the National League, and I always have paid more attention to NL play. But this year, six of the top-10 teams in the majors are in the American League. And that's leaving off a team like Minnesota that I still believe can compete with anyone.I think this is a direct result of more AL clubs having to compete with the Red Sox and Yankees. Those two teams have set the bar very high and made the other AL teams do whatever they can to compete. In the National League, the East is so competitive that those five teams are going to beat up one another over the next few weeks, leaving one pure winner.
THE TOP 10(Statistics and records are through Sept. 5)
1. St. Louis Cardinals (88-50) – The Cardinals have the best record in the majors and are showing no signs of slowing down. I've said in the past few weeks that the Cardinals might not have enough offense to get to the World Series – but I think I'll retract that statement. St. Louis has timely hitting in big situations. The Cardinals have the type of offense that can belt four home runs per game with sluggers like Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and Larry Walker or they can create runs the small way with smart hitters like David Eckstein and Mark Grudzielanek.
2. Chicago White Sox (85-51) – The White Sox still have the best record in the AL, and they just have to stay healthy. Ozzie Guillen will have to find a happy medium between getting his starters enough rest to be strong going into the playoffs but also keeping them fresh. Facing Jon Garland and Mark Buehrle back-to-back in a seven-game series could create many problems for opponents.
3. Boston Red Sox (80-56) – Who's your MVP candidate? Alex Rodriguez is great, but the Red Sox have a pair of sluggers who are driving in runs seemingly whenever they want. Davi Ortiz's 119 RBIs lead the majors, and Manny Ramirez (116) is right behind him. The Red Sox still need to figure out how to get the most out of Curt Schilling in the postseason.
4. Atlanta Braves (79-59) – This Braves team has more athleticism and youth than any other squad in their string of consecutive division titles, which goes back to 1991. Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur are sparking the club like a couple of veterans. Francoeur has contributed with his bat as well as glove (and certainly his arm). Base runners are starting to understand they can't run on him.
5. Los Angeles Angels (77-59) – They're just 1½ games ahead of the A's, and I still would say that the Angels have underachieved in the second half. They haven't hit the ball as well as I expected. Bartolo Colon and John Lackey have anchored their pitching staff, and rookie Ervin Santana has pitched better than his 8-6 record shows.
6. New York Yankees (77-59) – Everyone knew this team would hit with sluggers like Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield, but the Yankees haven't pitched well. If they can get some solid innings from Randy Johnson and Shawn Chacon and Mike Mussina can come back from his tendonitis problem, the Yanks could be in business.
7. Houston Astros (73-64) – The Astros regained the NL wild-card lead by beating the Phillies on Monday. Houston has the starting pitching to go a long way, and with strong right-handed batters the Astros play very well at home. Morgan Ensberg and Lance Berkman can turn around any game from the right side of the plate.
8. Oakland Athletics (76-61) – The A's are just 1½ games behind the Angels, but Oakland hasn't played as well as I thought it would down the stretch. Injuries have hurt, but I thought the A's would compete to the end with the Angels for the division title. They still might, but I'm not so sure.
9. Florida Marlins (72-65) – Florida still is my pick to win the NL wild card, but the Marlins need Juan Pierre to get hot. When he's on base, the Florida is tough to beat. Pierre forces opponents to give Carlos Delgado and Miguel Cabrera better pitches because he's such a stolen-base threat.
10. Cleveland Indians (76-61) – I love seeing my good friend Jose Hernandez playing well in the pennant race. My combinación partner in Chicago hit a big home run Monday night. The Indians have a tough stretch coming up, with three games against Oakland and six against the White Sox.
ON THE RISE
San Francisco Giants (63-73) – I haven't talked about the Giants much, but they've moved five games behind the Padres in the NL West. If Barry Bonds comes back, they could get very hot.
ON THE DECLINE
New York Mets (70-67) – The Mets have struggled, going 3-7 in their last 10 games to fall three games out of the NL wild-card lead.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
26. Seattle Mariners (59-78) – The Mariners have a horrible offense, batting just .255 on the season (worst in the AL).
27. Colorado Rockies (55-81) – They currently are on a three-game win streak, but the Rocks have too many questions to answer in the offseason.
28. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (57-81) – Interleague play killed this team, which went 3-15 vs. the NL. The Devil Rays are 54-66 against the AL – which isn't great – but it beats 57-81.
29. Pittsburgh Pirates (55-81) – They just were swept by the Cubs. That's tough to do.
30. Kansas City Royals (44-91) – Time to make some front-office changes.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/
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