Friday, April 22, 2005

Struggling Powerhouses in MLB

According to Sports Illustrated's Power Rankings (April 20), 6 of the 8 playoff teams in 2004 are ranked 7th or lower in the league. The only positive improvement has been the Dodgers, who are 1st in the rankings, whereas last year they were eliminated in the first round. Even the Cardinals, the 2nd-place team for '04, moved down to 3 (still entirely respectable). The defending champs (the *sigh* Red Sox...) are 7th and the Twins, 8th. From there, it's a plummet straight down to the Astros (13), Angels (16), Braves (17), & Yankees (21). The biggest surprises in the standings so far? Baltimore & Toronto are 4th and 5th, respectively, ahead of both Boston and New York...and the Washington Nationals are 9th at 9-7 overall (these were the Expos last year people...the MONTREAL EXPOS). Interesting to note is that the NL East-leading Nats are tied with the Marlins, while the Braves, Phillies, and Mets are all 1 game back at 8-8 each. Should be a crazy year for baseball...then again, what else do you expect after the Red Sox win it all? A cataclysmic tsunami?

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