| MLB Power Rankings |
| 11 |
13 |
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Say Jake Peavy pitches the rest of the season like he did Saturday, a complete-game two-hitter against the Reds. Say newcomer David Wells pitches like he did Sunday, good enough to win. Say Chris Young does what he can do and Woody Williams is good. Oh. Yeah. That scoring thing. |
| 12 |
9 |
 |
Leave it to the Blue Jays -- who had a chance last week to move into second place in the AL East -- to shoot themselves in the foot. While the Red Sox were stumbling to a 2-5 week, the Jays bumbled right along, 2-5. They haven't finished higher than third since '93. It doesn't look good for '06. |
| 13 |
15 |
 |
Is Ryan Howard the NL's MVP? Right now, it's kind of all up to the Phillies. If they can make the postseason, or at least make a good run at it, the mountainous first baseman (52 homers) may be a cinch. If they falter, he has less of a chance. I sure as heck wouldn't want to let the big fella down. |
| 14 |
14 |
 |
On one hand, you have the goofy, pitching-laden A's, the AL West leaders. On the other, you have the intense, all-business, pitching-challenged Rangers, who sit in third place in the AL West. In between are 10 games. I'm not jumping to any conclusions. But you can. |
| 15 |
17 |
 |
They're the first team in more than a century to crawl from 20 games under .500 back to even, so they can't let up now. After a series with the D'backs, the baby Marlins finish with Philly, the Mets, the Braves, the Mets, the Phillies, the Reds and the Phillies. Florida is 3-6 vs. Philly this year with 10 left. |
| 16 |
16 |
 |
Like it or not, Barry Bonds, after a hiccup of homers last week, is now only 26 dingers away from Hank Aaron, and the Giants are just 2 ½ games out of the wild-card lead. What if Bonds catches fire and leads the Giants to the postseason? Would there be any question about him coming back in '07? |
| 17 |
12 |
 |
After an awful 2-8 road trip knocked the Reds out of the wild-card lead, GM Wayne Krivsky has decided to call up the entire Reds' minor league system. The best thing the Reds have going for them as they try to save their season is the schedule: 13 games remain against the Pirates and Cubs. |
| 18 |
19 |
 |
Righty Roy Oswalt cleaned up earlier last week by signing a five-year, $73 million extension. He paid for it Sunday when his lightweight teammates managed only one hit for him. Oswalt still won, though, beating the Mets, 2-1. Which, I guess, is why they pay him the big bucks. |
| 19 |
20 |
 |
I'm going to call this one. The cuts are too deep, the vision too blurred. Yeah, the Braves might claim that they're still in this fight. They want to go down swinging. But they have too far to go and too many contenders in the way. After 14 years on top, it's time for the champs to step down. It's over. |
| 20 |
18 |
 |
Unwritten rule of baseball No. 312: Your team will no longer be considered a viable candidate for postseason play if it is swept by the Nationals in September. There are no exceptions to this rule. "In every facet of the game," manager Bob Melvin said, "we're doing just bad enough to lose." |
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