Sunday, September 10, 2006

 

Can you say Subway Series??

Power Rankings: Battle of New York looks promising

Week: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24

ESPN.com

The AL Central contenders are mired in mediocrity. Most of the National League is still struggling just to stay above .500. Of the two best MLB teams last week, one is a long shot to make the playoffs, and the other is a wild-card leader ... with the majors' 11th-best record.

In other words, there have been no serious threats to the two New York juggernauts at the top of ESPN.com's Power Rankings. The Mets and the Yankees occupy the top two spots for the third straight week. Perhaps we should start booking our tickets for New York in late October.

Best of the week: The Angels and the Padres were 5-1, rising to No. 4 and No. 7 respectively. Watch out for the Halos: They're 5½ back in the AL West, but they play the No. 3 A's in seven of their last 10 games.

Worst of the week: The Diamondbacks (1-6) have effectively dropped from the NL wild-card picture and down to No. 23 in the rankings.

2006 Power Rankings: September 8
RKLW RANKTEAMRECCOMMENT
11Mets87-52With the way he's pitched since being acquired from the Indians, Guillermo Mota has filled in perfectly for the injured Duaner Sanchez.
22Yankees83-55Johnny Damon has now scored more than 100 runs for nine straight seasons. He also already has a career-high 22 home runs.
33Athletics80-59Incognito ace. Joe Blanton (7-2 in 10 starts since the break) has 27 wins in his first two seasons in the bigs.
48Angels75-65Keep hope alive. The Angels (12-3 in their last 15 home games) have 13 contests remaining in Anaheim.
54Twins80-59The Twins are just 5-11 against the Tigers this season; they've been outscored 100-52.
66Tigers86-55Are the wheels coming off? The Tigers have dropped 19 of 29 games since Aug. 7.
710Padres73-66Kid Dynamite. Rookie Cla Meredith's scoreless innings streak stands at 29, the new franchise record for a reliever.
85White Sox80-60The White Sox have just 23 second-half wins, four fewer than the Tigers and 10 less than the Twins.
99Cardinals75-64Albert Pujols, the reigning NL MVP, has six home runs, eight runs and nine RBI in his last nine games.
107Dodgers74-66How the West was lost? There's growing concern now that the offense (nine runs in last five games) is running cold.
1111Rangers72-69It's easy to understand owner Tom Hicks' frustration, but throwing the team under the bus is not the solution.
1212Phillies71-69Though he's far from a sure thing, the return of Tom Gordon from the DL is a very good thing for the Phillies' bullpen.
1314Marlins70-70We offer a tip of our cap to rookie Anibal Sanchez, who after only 13 big-league starts has a no-hitter to his credit.
1418Indians67-72One more chance to watch Jeremy Sowers pitch before the Indians shut down the young left-hander.
1515Giants70-70Turn back the clock. Mike Stanton (four saves in his last four appearances) still has some nasty stuff.
1619Blue Jays73-67Outfielder Adam Lind should get the chance to prove himself in the next three weeks, in hopes of winning a job in 2007.
1713Red Sox75-65Red Sox Nation just can't like what it's getting from Coco Crisp (.266 batting average along with a .319 OBP).
1817Astros68-71When trailing after six innings, the Astros are 4-54 this season; they are 7-10 when tied after six.
1916Reds69-71Sun-Woo Kim was the 28th different pitcher the Reds have used this season. Up next: Jason Johnson.
2020Braves66-73While John Smoltz has just 12 wins, the Braves' bullpen has let him down to the tune of six blown save chances in his 10 no-decisions.
2123Mariners66-73Kenji Johjima leads all AL rookies in RBI (61) and is tied with Nick Markakis for most home runs (14).
2222Rockies64-76Close, but no cigar. The Rockies are 16-24 in one-run games -- the fourth-lowest winning percentage in the majors.
2321Diamondbacks65-75Falling behind is not the way to get ahead. The Diamondbacks have been outscored 132-65 in the first inning.
2426Pirates57-84Reliever Salomon Torres leads the majors with 84 appearances. He's on pace for 96.
2525Brewers64-76The Brewers have hit 154 homers, but not one single grand slam.
2628Nationals61-79The Nats have a NL-worst 4.99 team ERA, and their starting pitchers have the second fewest wins (39) in the league.
2729Devil Rays56-84Ever since taking over the closer's role for the Rays on Aug. 21, Seth McClung is 5-for-5 in save opportunities.
2824Orioles61-78The O's are trying to finish ahead of the Devil Rays for a ninth straight season, but with a challenging schedule ahead, there's no guarantee.
2930Royals52-89With their last 10 games against the Twins and Tigers, the Royals can play the role of spoiler.
3027Cubs56-84Juan Pierre leads the NL in hits (173) and ranks second in steals (49).

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