| Rk |
Team |
|
Week W-
L
|
Trend
|
Comment |
| 1 |
Dodgers |
13-5
|
4-3
|
|
Maintain top spot despite Rocky weekend in Colorado. En
fuego week for Milton Bradley (.433/.469/.800
plus a game-winning HR vs. Milwaukee). Hot start by team will
continue to buy ailing pitchers time; Sunday’s solid outing from
Brad Penny the first happy return. |
| 2 |
Marlins |
11-8
|
5-2
|
|
Staff continues to smother hitters (2.27 ERA, .595 OPS
allowed), with Josh Beckett and
Dontrelle Willis combining for 7-1 record with
1.26 ERA. |
| 3 |
White Sox |
15-4
|
7-0
|
|
Ran the table with seven straight wins. AL’s top defense
(per Defensive Efficiency Ratio of .729) holding up its end
of the deal for Ozzie Guillen. Highest starter ERA: Jose
Contreras with 3.48. |
| 4 |
Twins |
10-7
|
2-3
|
|
Starting rotation putting up off-the-charts 7.4 K/BB ratio,
getting a boost with quick return of Carlos
Silva (7 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K vs. Tigers). New
stadium on the horizon? |
| 5 |
Cardinals |
12-5
|
6-1
|
|
Strong week from Mark Mulder (18 innings, 6 hits, 0 earned runs) should keep vultures at bay.
Albert Pujols (.357/.419/.571 on the week)
starting to hit like Albert Pujols. |
| 6 |
Red Sox |
11-8
|
4-3
|
|
David Wells rounding into form with a
string of 15 shutout innings, but the real love is showered on
Tim Wakefield with “lifetime” club
option. |
| 7 |
Orioles |
12-7
|
4-3
|
|
Not quite so willing to hunker down in third place as the
beasts from the East would prefer. Sammy Sosa
starting to look comfortable, while Brian
Roberts (.364/.456/.727, a career-high 7 HR) might give
Brady Anderson a run for his money. |
| 8 |
Mets |
10-9
|
4-3
|
|
Victor Diaz‘s insane week (.409/.552/.909)
vaults him into VORP top 10. Pedro Martinez
continues to dominate NL hitters: 29 IP, 11 hits allowed, 4
walks, 38 strikeouts, 2.17 ERA, 99.8 pitches per start. These
aren’t Art Howe’s Mets. |
| 9 |
Astros |
8-10
|
3-4
|
|
Maintain high ranking due to ability to prevent runs, though
inability to score, particularly for Roger
Clemens (no runs in 33 innings, only one win despite
0.32 ERA in 28 innings), keeps their record sub-.500. Good news:
Lance Berkman is headed to extended spring training and may begin rehab
assignment by weekend. |
| 10 |
Braves |
11-8
|
5-2
|
|
Pitching staff rounding into shape under Leo Mazzone, with
2nd-best ERA in majors (2.90) and Tim Hudson
looking especially at home (0.96 ERA in 28 innings, 6.1 K/9).
Larry Jones is feeling Chipper with majors’ top
Equivalent Average of .397. |
11 |
Angels |
11-8
|
5-2
|
|
Cold corner: Angel third basemen hitting a combined
.149/.194/.269, with Dallas McPherson (3-for-
19) yet to get on track. Meanwhile, another excellent bullpen is
shaping up (2.30 ERA, 7.6 K/9 in 62.2 innings) with
Francisco Rodriguez yet to walk a batter while
striking out 14. |
| 12 |
Cubs |
9-9
|
3-3
|
|
Oh, Nomar! Garciaparra’s torn groin muscle (eeeuch) exposes team’s
weak bench and folly of catering to Dusty Baker’s whims.
Hello, Neifi, goodbye sunshine. |
| 13 |
Nationals |
10-9
|
2-5
|
|
At current pace of 32,014 fans per home game at RFK, the
Nats will surpass last season’s Expo attendance on June 2, their
24th home game. |
| 14 |
Diamondbacks |
11-8
|
5-2
|
|
Bright spots: Troy Glaus leads NL in HR
with 6, first good outing from Javier Vazquez
(7 innings, 0 runs), who remains only starter with ERA over
4.00. |
| 15 |
Indians |
8-11
|
3-4
|
|
Hard luck: Jake Westbrook and Kevin
Millwood both winless despite combined 3.86 ERA in eight
starts, thanks to offense with fourth-worst EqA in majors
(.241). Hidden no-hitter by reliever Rafael
Betancourt (9.1 hitless innings to start the season)
ended last Monday. |
| 16 |
Tigers |
7-10
|
2-3
|
|
Snowtown: blizzard wipes out weekend pair with Twins.
Carlos Guillen picks up where he left off
(.400/.458/.554) after MVP-caliber season. |
| 17 |
Rangers |
10-10
|
4-3
|
|
Winner of the Golden Spacebar Fixed-Width Table Award for
being first team to double digit wins AND losses. Closer
Francisco Cordero (1.93 ERA) aside, rest of
bullpen has been a nightmare (7.14 ERA) thus far. |
| 18 |
Mariners |
9-10
|
3-4
|
|
Adrian Beltre hitting a chilly
.247/.282/.315, Richie Sexson a frigid
.213/.294/.475. With ineffectiveness (Gil Meche
and Joel Pineiro both above 6.00 ERA) and
injury (Bobby Madritsch and likely Meche) at
the back of the rotation, how long before BP’s #3 Top Prospect Felix
Hernandez gets the call? |
| 19 |
Giants |
8-10
|
2-5
|
|
Return of Moises Alou should boost sagging
production of outfield. No such remedies are apparent for
pitching staff (5.01 ERA). |
| 20 |
Padres |
8-11
|
3-4
|
|
Jeckyl and Hyde rotation: 2.01 combined ERA from
Jake Peavy and Adam Eaton,
6.43 from Tim Redding, Brian
Lawrence and Woody Williams. Second-
worst Defensive Efficiency Ratio in NL (.680) isn’t
helping. |
| 21 |
Athletics |
9-10
|
3-4
|
|
Rich Harden continues to impress with
microscopic ERA (0.44) and good K/9 (9.3), but so long as
Barry Zito (6.94 ERA) and hitters (AL-worst EqA
of .233) lag, they’ll struggle. |
| 22 |
Yankees |
8-11
|
4-3
|
|
Free Wang! Already-hemorrhaging starting rotation (5.32 ERA)
“loses” Jaret Wright to DL (torn scar tissue in shoulder), while offense
“loses” Ruben Sierra (partially torn biceps) as well. Yankees will dip into farm system to give prospects–utilityman Andy Phillips (who homered on
Sunday), reliever Colter Bean, and starter
Chien-Ming Wang–their long-awaited shots. |
| 23 |
Blue Jays |
9-11
|
1-6
|
|
Plummeted a whopping 19 rungs down the ladder in one week.
Five-game skid might have been anticipated when Gregg
Zaun–central casting’s busiest backup catcher–emerged
as the team’s top hitter (.333/.437/.561) . |
| 24 |
Brewers |
7-11
|
2-5
|
|
Rough week: blew six-run lead over Dodgers, lost Ben
Sheets to an inner ear infection. Shortstop
J.J. Hardy struggling at .130/.259/.174. |
| 25 |
Reds |
9-9
|
3-4
|
|
Split decision in crowded outfield: Adam
Dunn and Wily Mo Pena hitting a
combined .312/.390/.763 with 9 homers, while Austin
Kearns and Ken Griffey, Jr. are a
combined .212/305/.289 with 1 homer. Ouch. |
| 26 |
Devil Rays |
8-11
|
4-3
|
|
Eduardo Perez had the week of his life,
with two homers off of Randy Johnson and game-
winning pinch-HR vs. Red Sox. Meanwhile, Up
ton: top prospect has 12 errors in 18 games at shortstop in
Triple-A. |
| 27 |
Phillies |
8-11
|
2-5
|
|
Jon Lieber 4-0, 2.73 ERA. Rest of staff: 4
-11, 5.76 ERA. Gavin Floyd (14.14 ERA, 12 BB, 4
K) demoted to minors. |
| 28 |
Rockies |
6-12
|
4-3
|
|
Like the long-running
midnight movie staple, the Rocky Horror Bullpen Show
continues: relievers a combined 1-7, 9.12 ERA, and nearly three
Reliever Expected Wins Added (WXRL) worse than next
team (-3.715 to -0.788 for Philadelphia). Byung-Hyun
Kim (0-3, 9.64) fitting in all too well. |
| 29 |
Royals |
5-14
|
1-6
|
|
Demoted Calvin Pickering to Omaha after
only 31 plate appearances (.148/.226/.259). Welcome to the no-plan plan. |
| 30 |
Pirates |
6-12
|
2-4
|
|
Like your mother telling you to zip up that jacket in the
cold for the umpteenth time, we’re prone to reminding you that
April is too early to judge the true quality of a ballclub. This
is not one of those times. |
