Griff's Power Rankings, Week 11

(Last week’s ranking in parentheses)

1-Dodgers (1)

Joe Torre has plethora of young power arms. Manny who?

2-Red Sox (2)

Dice-K back on the DL. They’re deep in starters though

3-Cardinals (8)

Pujols 26 HR-68 RBIs with more than half a season to go

4-Tigers (10)

Give them an Inge and they’ll take a mile

5-Phillies (3)

Slowly taking control of division; now can think about title defence

6-Yankees (4)

A.J. suspended, C.C. strained biceps, Joey G. S.O.S.

7-Rangers (5)

Andruw Jones trying hard to rehab his career

8-Giants (9)

Most intriguing five-man rotation in the majors with trio of Cys

9-Angels (11)

Have not played well; have not pitched well; compete because of talent

10-Rockies (16)

Critics said manager Tracy overmatched in Pitt; not saying much now

11-Rays (6)

Upton and Crawford most dangerous 1-2 combo in baseball

12-Brewers (7)

Brew Crew status very tenuous as Fielder and Braun shoulder the load

13-Cubs (13)

Former Jays Rule 5 guy Randy Wells now joins rotation

14-Blue Jays (12)

Accardo dehydrated in D.C. demands Obama stimulus package

15-Mariners (22)

King Felix becoming the consistent ace they dreamed of

16-Marlins (17)

Fighting Fish have a chance in swamp that is the NL East

17-Mets (14)

Bullpen supposed to be a strength; now a roll of the dice

18-Astros (18)

Bourn becoming the threat at leadoff Astros traded for

19-Reds (15)

Part of Micah Owings arsenal is his hitting; value muted in in AL parks

20-Twins (20)

Larry Walker enshrined at St. Mary HoF; Morneau has chance to eclipse

21-White Sox (21)

Ozzie Guillen might be even better manager in NL; loves inter-league

22-Braves (19)

Have struggled since classless dismissal of Glavine; baseball karma?

23-Orioles (27)

I would pay to watch the O’s play; not always good but make it exciting

24-A’s (29)

Re-sign Giambi to bring back glory days; how’s that workin’ out?

25-Pirates (23)

City of Champions with Steelers and Penguins; Bucs not so much

26-Diamondbacks (25)

Worst baseball decision of ’09 –no-experience A.J. Hinch as manager

27-Royals (24)

If Zach Greinke is mortal then Royals are in trouble

28-Padres (26)

Tony Gwynn at top of order is only similarity to ’98 WS Padres

29-Indians (28)

Tribe’s Wedge comes up short; should have gone to 7-iron

30-Nationals (30)

Nats could sweep ’27 Yankees twice and still rank 30th overall

Comments

[Jiggs]

I'd put the Blue Jays at no 10. They're 1 game back of the wild card even with all of their injuries to their starting rotation. They just finished a 4-2 road trip including a sweep of the defending champs - so I don't know how they drop 2 spots in your rankings Richard.

[LOCKSTOCK93]

I love the variety of competition in Major League Baseball. I love how some divisions are strong and others get so trampled by the rest of baseball that they have division leaders who wouldn't win the wild card(if they needed to). The American League East is a prime example, with two perennial favorites occupying space. On the other end of the spectrum there is the...well I'm not going to rag on anyone here, that's not what this is about.
The Blue Jays play in the hotly contested AL East, and the tendency is to point to this as the main issue in their playoff hunt. They are facing teams that spend hundreds of millions of dollars and attract the best free agents. While this certainly adds heat to the division the disparity is, sadly, not the only factor in Blue Jays lack of success.
As the Jays illustrated in their weekend series with the Nationals, their failure to take flight(pun) against weak opposition is their Achilles heel. Maybe the Jays shouldn't be likened to Achilles. How about their glass jaw? The Nationals are almost certainly going to draft first overall in a year(look at the kid they might get, Holy Flying Baseballs Batman) and the Jays should have won the weekend series with the pitching they received.

They did not.

And who expected that they would, could, win against an opponent so lowly as this edition of the Nationals? Some confused the issue recently, suggesting that the Jays play poorly against NL opponents, but they swept the Phillies in Philly, so...? No, the Jays aren't stifled by the National League teams, it's Nationals-like teams that give the Jays trouble. The weaker they are, the harder the Jays fall.

Now, what the reason for this is, I can't say with any degree of certainty. Perhaps it is the players in clutch positions who can't get up for some games and less than stellar opposition get the disinterested, Blue Jays Lite. Maybe it's a microcosm of the Ned Flanders image/style of Canadiana, and the Jays don't like taking advantage of the weaklings. Joke.

Whatever it is that makes the Blue Jays play so poorly against crappy teams(I owe allegiance to no baseball friends), the Jays are lucky that they play the powerful Yankees and Red Sox so often each season.

Otherwise they might be drafting with the Nationals.

Hey rich, can you get this printed in the star? we could share the byline!

[Mark]

yeah, way to go Griff.

the jays are tied with the 7th best record in baseball, with the 4th best run differential in baseabll, playing in the toughest division in baseball, coming off a 4-2 week (all on the road), and you rank them 14th.

makes a ton of sense.

[Mark]

as for Upton and his .240avg being part of your "most dangerous 1-2 punch in baseball", I think you're letting your obsession with the stolen base go a wee bit too far.

Consider:

Scutaro/Hill: .301avg, .371obp, 94r
Upton/Crawford: .275avg, .345obp, 94r

even with the two mashers Longoria and Pena behind them driving them in, all those stolen bases by Upton and Crawford don't make up for the OBP advantage that Scoots and Hill have, which allows them to score just as many runs, even with the scuffling Rios/Wells duo behind them all year.

[other mark]

Griff, if you're goal in 'power ranking' is to get people 'power rankled' ....congrats. Putting the Jays in 14 is kinda odd. I'm guessing this is based on your belief that the Jays spiralling out of contention isn't an 'if' but a 'when' given their starting rotation. Personally, I prefer to think the glass is half full. This recent infusion of young arms is growing the depth they need to contend. Your ranking is a glass half empty view of the world.

[Joe]

Other Mark: The majority of Griffin's articles are glass-half-empty views. He's very knowledgeable, but takes pride in the fact that when the Jays scuffle, he saw it coming all along.

[Joe]

...and I'd take Upton and Crawford over Scutaro and Hill any day, as far as skills and potential go.

That being said, go Marco and Hill! You guys should be All Stars this year (with Lind and Doc).