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Century club

Winning 100 games wouldn't bode well for Cardinals

Posted: Wednesday September 14, 2005 6:01PM; Updated: Wednesday September 14, 2005 6:01PM
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MLB Power Rankings
Rank LW Team
1 1
St. Louis Cardinals
They're on pace to finish with 103 victories ... which may not bode well for their postseason chances. Since baseball went to a three-division format 10 years ago, 17 teams have won at least 100 games in the regular season, but only the 1998 Yankees (114-48) went on to win the World Series.
2 2
Boston Red Sox
History is on their side as the Red Sox seek their first AL East title since 1995. Boston began the week with a four-game lead over the Yankees and 21 games to play. No Red Sox team has ever blown a four-game division lead in the final three weeks, and the Yanks have never wiped out a four-game deficit in that period.
3 4
Chicago White Sox
What do they have to do to get a little fan love? The team with baseball's second-best record ranks 17th in home attendance, recently drawing fewer than 51,000 fans for a three-game series with the Royals at U.S. Cellular. No respect for the White Sox on the road, either, where they rank 22nd out of 30 teams.
4 6
Cleveland Indians
Suddenly, their starting pitching makes them the team no one wants to face in the playoffs. Cliff Lee, 16-4 on the season and 7-0 with a 3.47 ERA since July 8, is a Cy Young contender. Jake Westbrook is 8-3 since the All-Star break. Kevin Millwood leads the AL with a 3.02 ERA. And C.C. Sabathia had won seven straight until losing 2-0 Monday to the A's.
5 5
New York Yankees
If their 10-year playoff run does end, Joe Torre's team can lay at least part of the blame on the Devil Rays. Yes, the Devil Rays. Even after Tuesday's 17-3 romp, the Yanks are 6-11 with a combined 5.79 ERA against the AL East's last-place team. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have won 12 of 16 against Tampa Bay.
6 7
Atlanta Braves
The Cardinals' Albert Pujols may win the National League MVP, but where would the Braves be without Andruw Jones? At 28, Jones leads the NL in home runs (49) and RBIs (124). And he's become the Braves' team leader. "When Chipper [Jones] went down, he stepped up and said, 'I'm the guy on this team,'" said Johnny Estrada. "He took the initiative to help the young guys. You didn't see that last year."
7 9
Los Angeles Angels
A few weeks back, we said to keep an eye on Scot Shields. Our concerns were well-founded. Leading the AL in innings pitched by a reliever for the second straight year, Shields (8-11) has tied the Angels' record for most losses by a reliever and his 3.38 ERA since the All-Star break is nearly a run higher than his first-half performance.
8 3
Oakland Athletics
A rookie closer usually is a recipe for disaster, but don't tell 22-year-old Huston Street. The 2004 draft pick from Texas has allowed just 45 hits in 72 innings this season while compiling 21 saves, a 5-1 record and a 1.38 ERA. He's a key player in the AL Rookie of the Year competition.
9 8
Florida Marlins
It's getting harder and harder to ignore Dontrelle Willis' Cy Young charge. At 21-8 with five shutouts and seven complete games, Willis not only is the first pitcher to win 20 games before turning 24 since Scott Erickson in 1991, but he's also the first pitcher in 20 years to have at least 21 victories and 21 hits.
10 12
Philadelphia Phillies
That Citizens Bank sweep by the Astros last week -- sealed by Craig Biggio's homer off Philly closer Billy Wagner -- could leave a mark on their playoff hopes. "What's worse is that he just signed a jersey for my son," Wagner said of Biggio, a former teammate. "Here, son -- here's a jersey signed by the guy who just hit a home run off your dad.'"
11 13
Houston Astros
Speaking of Craig Biggio, he's looking more and more like a Hall of Famer. He's on pace to get his 3,000th hit sometime in 2007, which would make him the first player in history to do that while also hitting more than 250 home runs, 600 doubles and 400 stolen bases. And you thought he just got hit by pitches.
12 10
Minnesota Twins
How about Kyle Lohse? Angry about being pulled from a game last week, Lohse took a bat to manager Ron Gardenhire's office door, then complained about a lack of support. Gardenhire told him, in essence, to stick it and just worry about winning. Lohse went out and beat the Tigers 2-1 in his next start. Psychology. Nothin' like it.
13 18
Milwaukee Brewers
Their talented rookie tandem of second baseman Rickie Weeks and shortstop J.J. Hardy is a nice work in progress. Weeks is tied for the NL lead with 15 errors, but he also has 13 homers in 81 games. Hardy struggled mightily at the plate earlier this year, but he's hitting .314 with six homers and 26 RBIs since the All-Star break.
14 14
Washington Nationals
Upset with their erratic play, manager Frank Robinson tried to tighten things up by banning music, cell phones and poker games in the clubhouse. They promptly won three straight games. Then they lost five out of six. Forget the music stuff. Robinson needs to bring back the smoke and mirrors they were using earlier this season.
15 21
Chicago Cubs
Barring a dramatic finish, Greg Maddux's run of 17 consecutive seasons with at least 15 victories is over. Despite actually pitching better in the second half, the 39-year-old Maddux (12-12) is just 4-6 since the All-Star break and probably will get just three more starts this season.

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