Inside The Standings – June 1

Inside the Standings – June 1st

Arrows with numbers indicate the amount of spots moved up or down (NC = no change). Biggest movers this week = Blue Jays ↓ 5, Giants ↑ 8.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (35-17) NC : Swept the Rockies fairly easily this week, but then had some trouble getting the offence going against the Cubs. They scored just 3 runs in the first 3 games of the series. Some good news for the Dodgers, opening day starter Hireki Kuroda is back from the DL.

2. New York Yankees (29-21) ↑ 4 : The Bronx Bombers are definitely back. Their big money offseason acquisitions appear to be getting on track, Teixeira hit .330 with a league leading 13 HR in May. Sabathia also had a hot May, posting a 4-1 record with a 2.56 ERA and 0.96 WHIP.

3. Milwaukee Brewers (30-20) NC : Only scored 4 runs in a series against the Cardinals but got back on track with a sweep of the Reds on the weekend. The only win against the series with the Cardinals came against Chris Carpenter, where the Brewers managed only 2 hits and no runs over the first 8 innings. Also, Doug Melvin is looking like a genius for signing Trevor Hoffman, who has yet to blow a save or allow a run.

4. Texas Rangers (30-20) NC : They continue to play well, but the next 2 weeks will be a test. They play the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and then the Dodgers. We’ll find out what the Rangers are really made of.

Ortiz: The good old days.

5. Boston Red Sox (29-22) ↓ 3 : Ortiz was dropped to 6th in the batting order but it doesn’t seem to have helped – his average has dropped below the Mendoza line to .185. John Smoltz had a successful start in Class A and will make two more starts at AAA before moving to the Majors. This might ease the load on Boston starters, who have a 5.24 ERA, good for 12th in the AL.

6. St Louis Cardinals (29-21) ↑ 1: A big reason why they have won 8 of their last 12 is starting pitching. Their starter’s 3.66 ERA is the best in the Majors. Chris Carpenter is back, so it should only improve. After being ruled out as a contender in the pre-season by many pundits, the Cardinals are turning a lot of heads.

7. Philadelphia Phillies (28-20) ↑ 2: Phillies fans can’t be happy about the loss of Brett Myers, possibly for the season. However, this will give them the chance to look at Antonio Bastardo, who posted a 1.89 ERA between AA and AAA so far this year.

8. New York Mets (28-21) ↑ 5: The Met’s array of injuries didn’t appear to cause any problems this week as they swept the Nationals and took 2 of 3 from the Marlins. Granted, those are not the best teams, but it is still encouraging the replacements are playing well.

9. Detroit Tigers (28-21) ↓ 1: Talk about starters who are on fire. Justin Verlander is 5-0 with a 1.52 ERA and 56 K’s in May. Rick Porcello was also 5-0 with a 1.50 ERA last month. With Edwin Jackson still pitching well, the Tigers are in good position to take a commanding lead in the AL Central.

10. Toronto Blue Jays (29-24) ↓ 5: Wow, the Blue Jays endured a 9 game losing streak and managed to take two of three from the Red Sox on the weekend. The problem throughout the losing streak was pretty simple: hitting. In the first 8 games of the losing streak, the Jays only scored 13 runs. Cleanup hitter Vernon Wells went 17 games without an RBI, prompting some Blue Jays fans to start wondering if a David Ortiz-like demotion is in the cards.

11. Cincinnati Reds (26-23) ↑ 1: The Reds lost another star player to the DL while getting one back. Joey Votto is on the DL for “personal issues” after previously missing 12 starts in 17 games because of dizziness due to an ear infection. However, Edinson Volquez returns and hopes to regain his All-Star form of 2008.

12. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (25-24) ↓ 2: The Angels struggled this week against the White Sox and the Mariners. Their offence was almost non-existent until a 7 run comeback against the Mariners on Sunday to avoid the sweep. However, Vladdy’s back, and once everything starts clicking, the Angels could be the team to beat in the AL West.

13. Atlanta Braves (25-25) ↓ 2: The pitching is strong, the hitting is not. Tommy Hanson has been on fire in AAA, with a 1.50 ERA in 11 starts. Francoeur’s struggles have also led to rumors surrounding his future with the Braves. If the Braves have any playoff aspirations this year, they should be dealing for some pop at the deadline.

14. Chicago Cubs (25-24) NC: The Cubs are trying not to let their poor performance in the first two months of the season bother them. After all is said and done, they are only 4.5 games behind the Brewers. For a club that is struggling to score runs, having Aramis Ramirez out until July is not a good sign. Derek Lee (.248), Milton Bradley (.224) and Geovany Soto (.216) need to turn it around.

15. San Francisco Giants (25-24) ↑ 8: Randy Johnson is on the verge of 300 wins and the Giants are surging. They’ve won 6 of their last 8, but who knows how long it will last. They have an opportunity to move up in the next couple weeks, their opponents have a combined record of 77-122 (.386).

16. San Diego Padres (25-25)  ↑ 2: The Padres may be the streakiest team in the Majors. They opened May by losing 13 of 15 and then went on a 10 game winning streak. Either way, it looks like they will still be selling, and likely won’t contend in the NL West.

17. Chicago White Sox (24-25) ↑ 3: The White Sox swept the Royals this week and roughed Zack Greinke up more than any other team this season. Just to demonstrate how dominant Greinke has been, he only allowed 3 earned runs over 7 innings with 7 K’s and 0 BB.

18. Minnesota Twins (25-27) ↓ 2: The Twins are a bit banged up after a span of 20 straight games. Cuddyer, Mauer and Crede are all considered day-to-day. Francisco Liriano is still trying to figure out his problems, but the Twins say they are going to let him keep pitching, for now.

19. Tampa Bay Rays (25-28) ↓ 4: Two of the top prospects in baseball were called up this week, and the Rays’ David Price was one of them. After just lasting 3.1 innings in his first start, Price picked up his first regular season win on the 30th. He lasted 5.2 innings and struck out an amazing 11 batters. Could he turn Tampa’s poor pitching around?

20. Florida Marlins (23-28)  ↓ 1: The pitching struggles have been the most obvious for the Marlins. Ricky Nolasco, after starting the season with a 9.07 ERA in 11 starts, was demoted to class AAA. Florida’s team batting average is also 4th lowest in the Majors at .244.

Greinke has been pretty good.

21. Philadelphia Phillies (28-20)↓ 4: The Royals have lost 5 of 6 and appear to be the most one dimensional team in baseball. When Zack Greinke takes the mound, they’re 8-3. When he doesn’t, they’re 15-24.

22. Seattle Mariners (24-27) ↓ 1: The Mariners looked strong against the division rival Angels on the weekend. They missed the opportunity to sweep the series after blowing a 3-run 9th inning lead. Ichiro is on a 24-game hit streak and the Mariners don’t face a team with a record better then .500 for three and a half weeks.

23. Baltimore Orioles (23-28) ↑ 5: The other top prospect called up was Baltimore’s Matt Wieters. However, Baltimore fans should not get too excited. While Wieters may put up some decent numbers and boost the offence, it’s really the pitching that needs help before the Orioles go anywhere.

24. Pittsburgh Pirates (22-28) ↓ 2: The good news for the Bucs: Zach Duke (2.75 ERA, 2.47 K/BB ratio) and Paul Maholm (3-2, 3.82 ERA) are pitching well. The bad news: the lineup is struggling, they are second last in the Majors in HR.

25. Arizona Diamondbacks (22-29) NC: With the second lowest batting average in the NL and the 5th highest ERA, things aren’t looking up. Chris Young would consider the Mendoza line a success, while a few other regulars are flirting with it. However, Dan Haren and Justin Upton have been playing at All-Star levels.

26. Cleveland Indians (22-30) ↑ 2: Rafael Betancourt, one of the Tribe’s best relievers now joins Grady Sizemore on the DL. Victor Martinez is hurting. In all likelihood, it won’t be long before the phones start ringing in Cleveland.

27. Houston Astros (20-28) ↓ 3: The Astros have been struggling to score runs recently, and Lance Berkman was dropped to the fifth spot. The Astros have lost 9 of 12 and look like another team that could be dealing at the deadline.

28. Colorado Rockies (20-29) ↓ 1: Clint Hurdle was fired, and the Rockies proceeded to take 2 of 3 from the Pirates. Don’t expect things to stay that way, as Jason Marquis is the only starter with a sub-4 ERA. Also, the team leader in home runs, Chris Iannetta, is on the DL.

29. Oakland Athletics (19-29) ↓ 3: Oakland’s uncharacteristic offseason experiment has largely been a failure. They went out and acquired sluggers Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi. The result: an AL worst 37 HR and a Major league worst .355 SLG %. Do not be surprised if Matt Holliday doesn’t play a full season in Oakland.

30 Washington Nationals (13-36) NC : Not much to say here. Nationals fans who spend most nights hoping not to lose will have a special reason this week, as they face Randy Johnson who goes for his 300th win. The draft on June 9th should be exciting for Nationals fans, who have two picks in the top 10, one of them certainly being 100-mph flamethrower Steven Strasburg.