MLB Power Rankings
| 21 |  |
Last Week: 20 |
The
self-imposed July 28 deadline to deal Roy Halladay came and went and Doc was still a Blue Jay, and the constant speculation about whether the ace was
going to be dealt has worn thin for his teammates. "I'm definitely ready to get this over with," Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas told MLB.com. "I don't
want to be checking my phone or turning on my computer and checking to see if he's still my teammate. I'm sure he's over it now. He's ready to move on,
whether he's going to be here or he's not going to be here. Enough is enough for us, for me at least." The rumors haven't affected Halladay's performance at
all. In his four starts since Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said he'd consider dealing his ace, Halladay has posted a 2.25 ERA and 31 strikeouts against just
three walks (though bad run support has given him a 1-2 record in that time). |
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| 22 |  |
Last Week: 21 |
Hall of Fame
weekend meant another round of questions about whether Pete Rose should be in inducted into baseball's shrine, but this year Rose started getting
support from some unexpected sources. "I would certainly like to see him in," Hank Aaron said. "He belongs in, really. His
career is one that he needs to be right here in the middle of all this." Given that so many Hall of Famers have said that those who used PEDs should not be
allowed in the Hall, it was interesting to hear Aaron make an exception for a different kind of cheater. The real injustice isn't whether or not Rose should
be in the Hall but that it keeps haunting the Hall of Fame weekends of those new inductees who shouldn't have to see the most important accomplishment of
their professional lives overshadowed by this recurring nightmare for baseball. |
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| 23 |  |
Last Week: 25 |
All told, a
fairly predictable week in Oakland. Matt Holliday was traded, Rickey Henderson left 'em laughing in Cooperstown (insisting "I never talk in the
third party" -- you're the best, Rickey) and the A's dropped three of four to the Yankees. But then they went and took two straight at Fenway Park, a nice
boost in what should be a fairly uninteresting march to the finish line. It's hard to see how their already anemic offense can provide much pop the rest of
the way. Jack Cust and Jason Giambi are now the lone power sources in that lineup, and they're batting a combined .216. |
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| 24 |  |
Last Week: 24 |
There were
only two potential highlights this week for the Orioles. One was the debut of top pitching prospect Chris Tillman, who had a mixed performance --
allowing three home runs in 4 2/3 innings -- against the Royals on Wednesday. The second was the news that backup catcher Gregg Zaun is one heck of a
cook. Zaun cooked the winning dish (chicken enchiladas) in the first-ever Oriole Cook-off, edging out teammate
Jeremy Guthrie's omelette and Brian Roberts' fish tacos. (How did no one make crab cakes? That would have been a sure winner.) Perhaps Zaun can
one day challenge Boog Powell for culinary supremacy at Camden Yards. When
you're further out of first place than any team in the American League, these are the things you have to get excited about. |
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| 25 |  |
Last Week: 26 |
The trades of
Cliff Lee and, perhaps, Victor Martinez may be necessary, but it's nonetheless a stunning reminder that this team won 97 games just two years
ago and was within one victory of going to the World Series. Before Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco could head to Philadelphia, though, they were
forced to endure one more Indians loss on Wednesday. Lee at least knew a trade was likely; Francisco said he was "shocked" that he was sent packing. He
should also be thankful, because he'll be having a lot more fun in Philadelphia than he would have in Cleveland. |
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| 26 |  |
Last Week: 28 |
No
player in the National League swings and misses more often than Mark Reynolds, who has whiffed on 38.6 percent of his swings so far this season. But
when he connects, it can be an awful lot of fun to watch. Reynolds took over the unofficial lead this year for longest home run of the year when he launched a moonshot off Brad Lidge of the Phillies on
Tuesday that was measured at 481 feet, four feet farther than Raul Ibanez hit one at Yankee Stadium back in May. |
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| 27 |  |
Last Week: 23 |
The
stripping down of the Pirates is -- probably -- complete and only because there's no one else with decent big league experience left to send packing, unless
Pirate Parrot is about to go as well. Now that
they've dealt Nate McLouth, Adam LaRoche, Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, they barely resemble a big league club anymore. There
are two players older than 30 (pitcher John Grabow and infielder Ramon Vazquez), and among position players alone, two rookies (Jason
Jaramillo and Andrew McCutchen), two others who have yet to play as many as 60 games in the majors (Luis Cruz and Garrett Jones) and
only one player (Ryan Doumit) who has batted as high as .300 in a full season. This is going to be an ugly two months in Pittsburgh. |
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| 28 |  |
Last Week: 27 |
For the first
time in franchise history, the Royals did not record an assist in a game when they lost to the Orioles on Wednesday. Naturally it came with Zack
Greinke on the mound. The All-Star righty hasn't been getting any assists from his teammates all year, especially of late. He's 0-3 in his last five
starts despite a 2.53 ERA and 39 strikeouts against just 10 walks. |
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| 29 |  |
Last Week: 29 |
The last-place
Padres may be tough to watch, but at least they're not hard to look at. Check out this
gallery of the team's uniforms through the years and be grateful that the chocolate-and-mustard combo is not showing up in HD nowadays. Their current
unis are decent, but I actually think the 1985-90 duds are the best shown. Their best ever, of course, are the camo unis they break out every now and again. They make David
Eckstein look even grittier. |
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| 30 |  |
Last Week: 30 |
Your
weekly Stephen Strasburg update: There is now an online petition
set up by Nationals fans. I'm not exactly sure what the purpose is, since it's not like the team doesn't want to sign Strasburg and every Nationals fan in
the country -- all 143 of them, at least -- wants them to sign Strasburg. I guess if they're trying to demonstrate the rabid passion of Nats fans then,
sadly, this has been as much an epic failure as the team's play. So far only 80 people have signed the petition -- out of a target of 50,000. Good luck. |
Ted Keith's Mailbag
Ted Keith will answer select questions from SI.com users in his Baseball Mailbag.
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