American League #1 (+4) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (8-2) Manager: LBert12 Previous Rank: #5 High Rank: #1 Low Rank: #5 The Devil Rays take the Top spot in the American League this week with strong showings against defending Champ Bones56, and also knocked off the previous #3 PRanked team the New York Yankees. Combine that with a 6 Game winning streak, and Tampa Bay is the Hottest team in the Majors. They got off to a slow start but are heating up and are in post season form in mid-season. They will be tough to beat down the stretch boasting the leagues 2nd highest batting avg while still thriving in the pitching category with 10th place in ERA. #2 (-) :btor: Toronto Blue Jays (4-1) :btor: Manager: Tris10 Previous Rank: #2 High Rank: #2 Low Rank: #2 The Blue Jays held down their previous rank with a couple more wins this week. They have a solid record, but to this point still really havn't been tested by some of the better teams in the league. The Jays have a bit of a personality disorder at this point as well. They are a good team offensively with the leagues 3rd highest batting average, but on the same token, they are near the bottom of the league in runs per game average, sitting at 25th. But they've been able to get wins because of the stellar pitching staff who is giving up a league best 1.6 runs per game. Time will tell if that can hold up, but if the Jays want to compete for the division and league titles down the road, I think they'd better start getting more of those runners across the plate. #3 (+3):boak: Oakland Athletics (5-3) :boak: Manager: BxGngsta Previous Rank: Team to Watch High Rank: #3 Low Rank: Team to Watch The Oakland A's started off the season 0-2, and 1-3, but their early losses came to one of the NL's top teams, the New York Mets, the #2 Ranked Toronto Blue Jays, and last season's defending Champ, Bones56. Since then, the A's have put it in cruise control by knocking down 4 wins in a row and pushing the Yankees down a notch to number 4. The A's might be the only team in the league that can pretty much assume they've clinched a playoff spot. Their division right now is torrid and filled with losing teams. Their only shot at any competition for the race in the west is if the Mariners can get their act together and start playing the type of ball we're used to seeing from their manager. Until then, give the A's the division in April. #4 (-1) :bnyy: New York Yankees (7-3) :bnyy: Manager: Drake Previous Rank: #3 High Rank: #3 Low Rank: #4 The Yankees drop down a spot this week after a 4-3 showing this week. After a solid 6-0 start and a big win over the Mets in Extra innings, the Yanks have tanked dropping 3 of their last 4 games, before finally getting back on track against the previous rank #1 team, no unranked, the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees find themselves in an awkward position right now as two other teams in their division are currently higher ranked than they are. Only two teams can come out of that division for the playoffs, and its starting to look like the Yankees are going to have to pick up their game if they are going to be one of those teams. One thing is clear at this point, not only will the East be supplying the AL's best record to the playoffs, but also will be supplying the wildcard team, and will probably have the another team left out in the cold with a record that could very well be better than the two other division winners. #5 (+1) :bcle: Cleveland Indians (6-6) :bcle: Manager: AkaBalla2k Previous Rank: NR High Rank: #5 Low Rank: NR New Indians manager jumped right into the league this week, and right into the power rankings. They've had a bit of an up and down time of it so far, but they've taken over the top spot in the Central from what looked to be a very strong team in the Minnesota Twins, which have since fallen off the planet, and out of the power rankings completely after holding down the #1 Spot last week. Makes you wonder if the new #1 will have the same fate. Anyway, back to the Indians, the new owner is probably one of the better power hitters out there this year, so keep your pitches down against this bunch. lol. Teams to watch out for (Can these guys turn it around?) ::bmin: Minnesota Twins (3-4) :bosr: Boston Red Sox (1-4) :bosr: :bchiw: Chicago White Sox (4-6) :bchiw: National League #1 (-) New York Mets (12-2) Manager: tHe Rk Previous Rank: #1 High Rank: #1 Low Rank: #1 The Mets once again hold the top spot after a 5-1 week, with the lone loss coming in an extra inning pitchers duel with the Hated Yankees. The Mets have been solid all around this season with solid hitting and run production combined with very productive starting pitching and bullpen work. The Mets have proven and unshakable in the 9th inning in save situation as Billy Wagner has been 7 for 7 in save opportunities. As the season goes on, the Mets will likely become more and more dependant on their bullpen as players start to figure out their starting pitching more and more. The Mets only have 1 game to play this week, so unless they drop that one, you can expect to see them back in the top slot next week. #2 (-) :chic: Chicago Cubs (10-2) :chic: Manager: Latdogg Previous Rank: #2 High Rank: #2 Low Rank: #2 The Cubs are coming off back to back 5-1 weeks, to end up with a 10-2 record after 12. They have fallen into a solid groove, if they keep this up they will finish somewhere around 26-6 for the regular season, and coast to an easy win in the central division. But they have set the bar pretty high for themselves, it'll be interesting to see if they can keep up this pace. They have loads of offense to deal with, so you better bring your A game when you come to Chicago if you expect to win. #3 (+3) :bcol: Colorado Rockies (6-3) :bcol: Manager: md1424 Previous Rank: NR High Rank: #3 Low Rank: NR The Rockies rock their way on up to number 3 in the Rankings this week. Finally they have started playing ball like we've seen in seasons past from their manager. These boys can belt home runs like there is no tomorrow in that thin air in Denver, the only question is will their pitching hold up all season long to keep them in the mix of things. Right now they have a pretty good battle going on for the Western Division lead with the San Diego Padres. I'm going on record right now as stating the West will be the surprise of the National league this season by fielding two teams in the playoffs. Early on in the discussion people talked a lot about the Central and East being competitive, but right now, it looks like the west might be able to field two teams as I'm expecting one of these two to snag up the wildcard. #4 (+2) :bsd: San Diego Padres (5-3) :bsd: Manager: JMustang1968 Previous Rank: NR High Rank: #4 Low Rank: NR The Padres jumped off to a horrible 1-3 start, but since have been RED HOT, rattling off 4 consecutive victories. The rest of the league better watch out if this manager starts coaching his team to the kind of play we've seen him coach in other leagues because if he can, he may prove unbeatable. The Pads might be jumping in the rankings behind the Rockies, but right now, I look for the Padres to win the division. They'll have a HUGE challenge from Colorado but I think the Pads can motor through and take the division. Time will tell, but The Pads and Rockies are going to be fun to watch down the stretch. #5 (-2) :batl: Atlanta Braves (5-4) :batl: Manager: Boozers Previous Rank: #3 High Rank: #3 Low Rank: #5 #5 in the Power Rankings this week was very difficult. I mean really you've could throw a dart at a standings chart and nearly anyone could be #5 in the National League. The American League has a pretty high dropoff point after the Playoff cutoff, but the National league seems to have a boatload of .500 teams duking it out and trying to stay in contention. The Braves are one of these teams, and they might have to edge the Mets if they want into the playoffs as its looking currently like the NL West might be positioning themselves for 2 spots. If Atlanta has anything to say about, they'll probably tell you the Wildcard is coming out of the East, and it'll be the Mets, because Atlanta is never satisfied with anything less than the Division title. Teams to Watch out for :arad: Arizona Diamondbacks (4-4) :arad: :bhou: Houston Astros (4-4) :bhou: :bstl: St. Louis Cardinals (5-4) :bstl:
No reverse psychology here, just the truth. For gosh sake, its the Devil Rays. About the only thing they are good at is losing on the road. Last year they went 3-33 in their final 36 road games.
Yeah well, its all about how you use the talent you got. That one guy is stealing bases like he's Jose Reyes ...and Hey I won the NBA Title with the Sonics, and everyone knows how bad they are
