MLB Power Rankings: Week 11 -- MLB FanHouse

MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.

So, quick apology on my part: the Power Rankings were supposed to go live Wednesday, but things happened, I'm a jerkstore, excuses, etc., and here we are. It's not Wednesday! So please note that the records reflect Wednesday -- not Thursday, not Friday, not Saturday. Don't freak out in the comments and call me names. Please. I can't take that in my fragile emotional state right now. I might turn into Raul Ibanez, at which point I would yell at you and then strain my groin. And that wouldn't be good for anyone.

1. Dodgers | Record: 43-22 | Previous Week: 4
They quietly made a statement over the weekend, taking two of three from the Rangers in Arlington. They beat a division leader from the superior American League, and did it in their ballpark. Chad Billingsley and Randy Wolf each handled a lineup (with a DH) tougher than what they see on most nights in the NL, especially in the NL West. - Jeff Fletcher
2. Red Sox| Record: 39-25 | Previous Week: 1
When can we officially proclaim that Big Papi is back? David Ortiz homered again Tuesday. He's gone deep four times this month and is hitting .342 with 10 RBI in June. If Boston can get its shortstop situation sorted out as well -- Jed Lowrie is set to go on a rehab assignment this weekend -- it will have most of its early-season question marks answered. - Andrew Johnson
3. Yankees| Record: 37-27 | Previous Week: 2
The day Alex Rodriguez returned to the Yankees lineup, CC Sabathia pitched a complete game shutout in Baltimore. Including that start, the burly left-hander is 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA over his last seven starts and is holding opposing hitters to a .193 average. Now about A.J. Burnett ... - AJ
4. Phillies | Record: 36-26 | Previous Week: 3
The Phillies are good. (Yes, it's shortened as an excuse for a soapbox moment.) Look, if someone -- anyone, blogger, "professional" sports "writer" points out that a player in Major League Baseball is having a great season that is out of line with their previous statistical performance and says "It could possibly be steroids," no more complaining, OK? That's the world we live in. It sucks for the guys who are clean -- and it will for quite some time -- but deal with it people. You're paid millions to play baseball; infinity times the credit your way if you're clean, but it's part of the culture right now. (/trips awkwardly off soapboax)
5. Rangers| Record: 36-27 | Previous Week: 7
Hey-o! What do you know? The Texas Rangers, as previously predicted by some geniuses, are doing quite well. Of course, Chris Davis could probably do some people (can I get an "Amen!" fantasy owners???) some good by learning to hit and generally not be terrible. Seriously, guy. You're killing me.
6. Brewers | Record: 36-29 | Previous Week: 5
Suddenly, their lack of pitching is turning into a crisis. Manny Parra, who they had hoped would provide a solid No. 2 to Yovani Gallardo, has been demoted to Triple-A and the Brewers really have no in-house replacement. Luckily for them, the rest of the division has struggled over the past two weeks as well and they're still in first place. - Pat Lackey
7. Rays | Record: 35-31 | Previous Week: 14
The Rays have quietly slipped a game back of the Blue Jays in the division and won six of their last seven games, including a victory over the red-hot Rockies Tuesday night in which they pounded out a team-record 11 extra-base hits. The time to write Tampa Bay off as one-year wonders is still far off in the distance. - AJ
8. Cardinals | Record: 35-30 | Previous Week: 11
In a complete 180 from last year, their rotation and bullpen have been mostly lights out thanks to Chris Carpenter's strong return and Ryan Franklin's dominance, but their offense (other than Albert Pujols, of course) has been terrible, with just one non-Pujols (that'd be Colby Rasmus) starter hitting an above average OPS. - PL
9. Tigers | Record: 34-30 | Previous Week: 12
Detroit has put itself in a good position as it heads toward the midway point of the season, but there is plenty of room for upgrades. With Jeremy Bonderman out until September and Dontrelle Willis really struggling, the Tigers could use another starting pitcher, and if Carlos Guillen can't return soon, they could probably use a bat as well. - AJ
10. Blue Jays | Record: 35-31 | Previous Week: 6
Hopefully the doctors get Doc Halladay healed up soon. The right-hander strained his thigh last Friday, and is now headed to the disabled list. He's leading the league in wins, strikeout-to-walk ratio and innings pitched and is in the top five in strikeouts, WHIP and complete games. He isn't mentioned often enough in the conversation about best pitchers in the game. - AJ
11. Angels | Record: 34-29 | Previous Week: 13
The team made a statement in the past week by demoting two players who figured to play prominent roles: second baseman Howie Kendrick and reliever Jose Arredondo. This is a team that is supposed to win now, so they'll be looking to do whatever it takes. If Kelvim Escobar doesn't solve their bullpen problems, look for them to make a trade (Huston Street?). - JF
12. Mets | Record: 33-29 | Previous Week: 18
Gary Sheffield has been on an absolute tear over the past week -- he's hit 3 taterjacks and slugged .760 over the past seven days, helping the Mets fill an offensive void generated by an abundance of injuries.The Mets are going to need more than that (see: pitching/bullpen help) though if they want to take the division.
13. Giants | Record: 34-30 | Previous Week: 17
The Giants played four consecutive series against teams with losing records, and they won all four. That's a good start. Now they'll face a tougher stretch the rest of the month. Aside from another series agaisnt the A's, they play the Angels, Rangers, Brewers and Cardinals, all contenders. That should give GM Brian Sabean a good indication of whether his team is a legit wild-card contender or not. - JF
14. Twins | Record: 33-33 | Previous Week: 20
So when do we start to wonder if Joe Mauer can actually hit .400 over a full season? The Minnesota catcher has two batting titles to his name already, and, after a 4-for-4 night Tuesday and a 1-for-4 night Wednesday, is hitting .425 on the year. The AL is not short for MVP candidates, but, all apologies to Jason Bay, Torii Hunter, et al., this isn't much of a race right now. - AJ
15. Reds | Record: 32-31 | Previous Week: 15
Still hanging around .500 despite playing without Edinson Volquez, Joey Votto, and Edwin Encarnacion. Without Votto in the lineup, their highest regular OBP belongs to Brandon Phillips at a paltry .342. Dusty Baker might not be a fan of on-base percentage, but someone on this team has to start getting on base. - PL
16. Cubs | Record: 30-30 | Previous Week: 10
As you may have noticed, the .500 Cubbies had their PR value inflated a touch last week. That's because Snyder was filling in, obviously. Although, they did -- at least for a little while -- start making a move for the division. However, Fukudome's .056 OBP over the past seven days is relatively impressive, no? At least that's not supposed to be his strength or anything ...
17. Marlins | Record: 32-34 | Previous Week: 22
Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson both provided above-average quality starts for the Fish this past week, helping them to surge back ahead of the Braves in the "just not quite good enough to win but mediocre enough to be better than some teams" NL East race.
18. Mariners | Record: 31-33 | Previous Week: 19
Brandon Morrow is a starter. No, he's a reliever. No, he's a starter. No, he's a reliever. That's probably not the best way to develop a pitcher talented enough to be the No. 5 pick in the draft. At what point recently were the Mariners so good that they should have been putting the short-term needs of the club ahead of the long-term development of Morrow? - JF
19. Braves | Record: 30-33 | Previous Week: 12
A three-game losing skid heading into Thursday's action (and yes, they lost again) helped to push the Braves nearly seven games behind the division-leading Phils. If this sounds familiar, it should: when Atlanta has struggled over the past few years, it's been in large part because an early-to-midseason swoon helped drop them too far back in the race to catch up.
20. Rockies | Record: 31-33 | Previous Week: 18
Colorado probably deserves a little more credit than 20th overall simply based on a 9-1 record in their last ten games. The only problem is that the Dodgers are so far ahead of everyone else in this division that it didn't do much besides bring them within 10 games of the NL West lead. Also: The Rox just aren't that good.
21. White Sox | Record: 30-34 | Previous Week: 21
Between a sputtering offense and the lackluster performances of John Danks and Gavin Floyd, the South Siders need some good news. Jose Contreras, who returned from a voluntary assignment in the minors on June 8, has provided a little. He's thrown eight shutout innings in each of his two starts since re-taking his spot in the Chicago rotation. - AJ
22. Pirates | Record: 30-34 | Previous Week: 23
Andrew McCutchen is still clicking along nicely in the leadoff spot and in center field, but this is still a team without much power and with a spotty rotation that may be better than last year's, but certainly still isn't great. They may hang around .500, but more trades are coming. - PL
23. Royals | Record: 29-34 | Previous Week: 13
Zack Grenke has gotten all the love a Kansas City pitcher can get over the first 2 1/2 months of the season, but Gil Meche deserves some attention too. Greinke's second banana has thrown a quality start in four of his last five turns in the rotation. - AJ
24. Astros | Record: 29-33 | Previous Week: 24
Letting Pudge Rodriguez set the all-time MLB record for games caught is really the only excuse to have him in the lineup at this point. He's hitting .247/.280/.407. These guys are creeping around .500, but don't let that fool you. Like the Pirates, they're still not very good. - PL
25. Padres | Record: 28-35 | Previous Week: 25
Remember when the Padres won nine in a row? What was going on with that? Since that inexplicable streak, they have not even managed to win two in a row. They are 5-12 (before Tuesday). Oh, and they also lost Jake Peavy. Maybe for the season. Still, can't beat the weather, or the fish tacos, in San Diego. - JF
26. Orioles | Record: 27-37 | Previous Week: 22
If you had Nolan Reimold as the best Orioles rookie this year, raise your hand. The Baltimore left fielder has seven home runs since he was called up to the majors in mid-May, a pace that projects to 38 over a full season of action. - AJ
27. Indians | Record: 29-38 | Previous Week: 29
But for his first two starts of the season, Cliff Lee has picked up in 2009 where he left off in 2008. The reigning AL Cy Young winner had a 9.90 ERA after his second start of the year, but he has a 2.07 ERA in 12 starts since. - AJ
28. Athletics | Record: 27-36 | Previous Week: 16
You can get a pretty spirited discussion going among baseball people if you ask which of the A's young starters has the best future. (I say Trevor Cahill.) While we're waiting to find out who's right, the A's are going to continue going through some big ups and downs with the staff, while mostly going through downs with the lineup. - JF
29. Diamondbacks | Record: 27-38 | Previous Week: 29
Will Brandon Webb ever return? Will it even matter? A D'backs team (hello, National League version of Cleveland) that had high hopes heading into 2009 looks poised to be a tremendous disappointment for the entire season. On the bright side, at least they're stacked with young talent -- always a nice moral victory.
30. Nationals | Record: 16-46 | Previous Week: 30
Which band should we reference this week? Led Zeppelin ("Song Remains the Same")? The Talking Heads ("Same as it ever was")? Aerosmith ("Same Old Song and Dance")? Do you see where I'm going with this? Yes, I'll stop asking questions and start taking requests now.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-18-2009 @ 9:36PM

Heyyou0077 said...

Rockies comments....well they are 9-1 but they are so far behind the dodgers and suck

give me a break...its called "weekly power ratings"

6-18-2009 @ 10:08PM

patricksean12 said...

Wait the Dodgers are #1 because the won 2 of 3 on the road, and the Rockies who were undefeated in the same week drop from 18 to 20. Because they had a bad week? No, because this asshole just doesn't like them and they will never be as great as my Dodgers. Time to quite letting your feelings get in the way of your brain. Like the last post said it is "Weekly Power Rankings". The only thing correct in your post is when you admitted "...I'm a Jerkstore." If that means your an asshole, I agree.

6-19-2009 @ 4:51AM

bdyftns said...

The Yankees are ranked #3? They have gone 0-8 against the Red Sox this year. They just lost 2 out of 3 games to the last ranked team in MLB..the Washington Nats. Go figure how they are #3.

6-19-2009 @ 8:48AM

Mark said...

Ok, you put the Dodgers back ahead of the Red Sox (who just keep winning) on the basis of their
wins over the Rangers. So how do the Rangers move up from 7th to 5th?