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They're amazin'
Mets rise, Red Sox fall as White Sox reclaim No. 1 spot
Posted: Monday June 12, 2006 2:13PM; Updated: Monday June 12, 2006 2:54PM
MLB Power Rankings Rank LW Team 1 2 
With series wins against the Tigers and the Indians last week, the Sox are an impressive 24-10 at The Cell, the best home mark in the bigs. They're also 11-8 in one-run games and 8-0 in games decided by two runs. "That means you're pitching well and doing the little things," manager Ozzie Guillen said. Little things, like an AL-leading 89 homers. 2 6 
Carlos Beltran is playing like it's '04 all over again (.529, three homers, three doubles, 10 RBIs in a four-game sweep of Arizona), and the strutting Mets have opened up a 6½ game lead in the NL East. They begin a three-game set at second-place Philly on Tuesday. It all raises one question for GM Omar Minaya: Why didn't you dump Kaz Matsui sooner? 3 5 
After losing consecutive series to the Yanks and both colors of Sox (which knocked the Tigers out of their brief perch atop the PRs), taking two of three against the legit Blue Jays was big. What's even better? The Tigers' next three series are against teams with losing records (Devil Rays, Cubs and Brewers). They're not going away, folks. 4 1 
Albert Pujols' side is hurting, but Tony La Russa's paranoia is healthy and kicking. A FOX TV crew in Milwaukee had a robotic camera tracking La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan in the dugout Friday, so in the third inning La Russa had someone tape over the camera lens. Really, a good roll of tape has a thousand and one uses. 5 3 
It finally happened. No, not Manny rescinding his trade demands. On Friday night rookie Jonathan Papelbon gave up a two-out, eighth-inning RBI single to the Rangers' Hank Blalock (the first batter he faced), thus blowing a save for the first time in his career. Papelbon had converted his first 20 tries. The good news: He got the win anyway. 6 4 
Anybody feel sorry for the beat-up and suddenly vulnerable Yankees? Anyone? I didn't think so. Granted, the injuries are getting bad -- Jason Giambi had to sit out Sunday with a bruised hand -- but getting swept by the uninspired A's, in the Bronx? Hey, you'd think a team with 20 million pennants (and bucks) would know how to handle. 7 8 
Closer Eric Gagne very probably is headed back to the DL -- I swear, he and Kerry Wood have to be related somehow -- but the Dodgers, in large part because of Arizona's meltdown, have taken over first place in the NL West. Leading the way is big right-hander Brad Penny (7-1, 2.34 ERA), who is 5-0 with a 1.56 ERA in his last six starts. 8 9 
I'd feel a lot better about the surprising, fun-to-watch Reds if they hadn't followed a recent eight-game winning streak -- one that included sweeps in Houston and in St. Louis -- with three losses to the Cubs. The Reds are 6-2 against the Cards, 5-1 against the Astros and a miserable 5-7 against the Cubs. Really, there's just no excuse for that. 9 10 
The Jays have real possibilities. They could challenge for the AL East title. Or, given the state of their pitching, they could find themselves battling with the Orioles and the Rays. With starter Gustavo Chacin on the DL, the Jays have reason to be worried. Roy Halladay and Ted Lilly are their only non-rookies in the rotation. 10 12 
Kevin Millwood continues to tear it up on the road. He's 5-0 with a 2.44 ERA away from home, though he should have been 6-0. On Sunday, Boston's walkoff king, David Ortiz, blasted a ninth-inning 0-2 pitch from Texas' Akinori Otsuka into the Sox' bullpen, stealing a win from Millwood and the Rangers. Millwood's up again on Friday in Arlington -- where he's 2-3 with a 7.23 ERA. 
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