so far into the month of May, the system plays have been successful.
Looking at Monday's card right now for something to do (and the new PowerRankings are not up yet) the following look to fit within the system plays:
1 series that starts on Monday is a pretty close qualifier--Cardinals at home v. Cubbies
Starting on Tuesday the following would qualify:
Brewers v. Pirates
Looking at Monday's card right now for something to do (and the new PowerRankings are not up yet) the following look to fit within the system plays:
1 series that starts on Monday is a pretty close qualifier--Cardinals at home v. Cubbies
Starting on Tuesday the following would qualify:
Brewers v. Pirates
| 2014 Power Rankings: May 12 | |||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS |
| 1 | Tigers 21-12 | 3 Last Week: 4 | The Tigers boast the highest winning percentage in baseball at .636, even after dropping a home series to the Twins over the weekend. While they dropped off a bit offensively, they continue to pitch remarkably well. The rotation hasn't missed a beat during Anibal Sanchez's DL stint, with rookie Robbie Ray stepping in and making two impressive starts. -- Grey Papke (@spacemnkymafia), Walkoff Woodward |
| 2 | Giants 24-14 | 1 Last Week: 3 | A broken thumb for first baseman Brandon Belt is about to test San Francisco's depth for the next six or more weeks. Michael Morse (two hits in his last 19 at-bats) will take over as the primary first baseman while the Giants now must hope left field doesn't turn into the offensive black hole it was in 2013. -- Connor Grossman (@GiantsBaseball), West Coast Bias |
| 3 | Athletics 23-15 | 1 Last Week: 2 | Drew Pomeranz will take a crack at improving the back end of the A's rotation after Dan Straily's demotion, but Pomeranz's peripherals this year have not matched his sterling ERA. -- Jason Wojciechowski (@jlwoj), Beaneball |
| 4 | Brewers 24-14 | 3 Last Week: 1 | Francisco Rodriguez blew his first save of the year Sunday, but the Brewers still won the game and the series against the Yankees. The team is in survival mode right now offensively, hoping to get Ryan Braun back early this week but with Aramis Ramirez headed to the disabled list in his place. Up next: the Pirates and the Cubs. -- Ryan Topp (@RDTopp), Disciples of Uecker |
| 5 | Rockies 23-17 | 3 Last Week: 8 | The Rockies have as many days off this week (two) as they have had since Opening Day. No matter. The series loss in Cincinnati this past weekend was their first since April 11-13. The Rockies will have to sweep two in Kansas City and beat James Shields, for a winning road trip. It would be a nice boost before returning home to face the Padres and Giants. -- Eric Garcia McKinley (@garcia_mckinley), Rockies Zingers |
| 6 | Orioles 20-15 | 4 Last Week: 10 | Baltimore sits a game and a half up in the AL East and now has Chris Davis back in the lineup. However, the club is scrambling to figure out how to spell Matt Wieters, who is facing the possibility of being shut down for the season due to an elbow injury. -- Jon Shepherd (@CamdenDepot), Camden Depot |
| 7 | Braves 21-15 | 1 Last Week: 6 | The Braves found the cure for a team slump: the Cubs. Atlanta pulled off the right kind of sweep against Chicago. Now the Braves head to San Francisco to try and give back what the Giants gave them two weeks ago. Will Dan Uggla find his way back into the starting lineup, or is he now the most expensive bench bat in baseball? -- Martin Gandy (@gondeee), Gondeee |
| 8 | Dodgers 20-19 | 3 Last Week: 5 | Los Angeles hasn't won two games in a row since sweeping a doubleheader May 1. Now is the time to make hay: hosting the Marlins for three (Miami 3-13 on road), then a winnable road trip against the Diamondbacks, Mets and Phillies. Kenley Jansen and J.P Howell both on pace for 85-plus appearances. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit |
| 9 | Nationals 19-18 | 2 Last Week: 7 | Another starter hits the DL in Adam LaRoche (.319/.421/.504), but the Nats have to make their move now. Over the next two weeks, they play 13 straight games against teams currently under .500. -- Harper Gordek (@harpergordek), Nationals Baseball |
| 10 | Yankees 19-17 | 1 Last Week: 9 | A three-game winning streak for the Yankees was followed by back-to-back losses that were endemic of their issues -- CC Sabathia and David Phelps were hit quite hard, and the fielders behind them gave the Brewers too many extra outs. On the non-pessimist side, Masahiro Tanaka continues to impress, Yangervis Solarte isn't slowing down and Mark Teixeira continues to rake. -- Domenic Lanza (@domeniclanza), It's About the Money |
| 11 | Marlins 20-18 | 4 Last Week: 15 | Had won 10 of 12 before dropping their past three games in San Diego. They're now a woeful 3-13 on the road, with seven more West Coast games on this trip. Jarrod Saltalamacchia in road games: .143/.321/.357 (11 walks and 20 strikeouts in 53 plate appearances). -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit |
| 12 | Angels 19-17 | -- Last Week: 12 | The Angels have wandered into strange territory with three wins in Toronto, pushing to two games over .500 for the first time since September 2012. Stranger still is the club has done so mostly without Mike Trout, who is currently mired in a 5-for-39 slump. -- Nate Aderhold, Halos Daily |
| 13 | Red Sox 19-18 | 1 Last Week: 14 | Despite nearly being no-hit and mashing only two homers last week, the Red Sox are miraculously over .500 for the first time since April 3. Jon Lester and John Lackey are owed quite a few steak dinners; the two have a combined 118/24 K/BB in 108.2 IP. However, the offense is 19th in MLB in slugging (.376) and ISO (.132). The Sox need to power up soon, or that winning record won't last. -- Brett Cowett (@BACowett), Fire Brand of the AL |
| 14 | Cardinals 19-19 | 1 Last Week: 13 | The Cardinals narrowly avoided getting swept by the Pirates to return to .500 (19-19), which belies the fifth-best Pythagorean record in the NL (21-17). The club hasn't lost more than two games in a row this season, but also hasn't won more than four straight. -- Matt Philip (@fungoes), Fungoes |
| 15 | Rangers 19-19 | 4 Last Week: 11 | Yu Darvish's flirt with perfection on Friday evening notwithstanding, the Rangers' rotation has been mostly abysmal of late. The organization will now hold its breath in hopes that Martin Perez is merely dealing with elbow inflammation, and not something worse. -- Brandon Land (@one_strike_away), One Strike Away |
| 16 | Mariners 19-18 | 8 Last Week: 24 | Went 7-2 on a road trip to New York, Houston and Oakland, but momentum was stalled with a 2-2 series at home against the Royals. Next 12 games are against the Rays (three home), Twins (three road), Rangers (two road) and Astros (four home). That's a stretch where the Mariners need to hit and pick up some wins. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot |
| 17 | Blue Jays 18-20 | 6 Last Week: 23 | Mark Buehrle has allowed only one home run in seven starts (47 innings pitched) so far this season. He also leads the American League with a 1.91 ERA. -- ESPN.com |
| 18 | White Sox 19-20 | 4 Last Week: 22 | The White Sox's offense -- ninth in the AL in runs scored in May -- has fallen back to the pack. So what was real and fake in April? Well, Avisail Garcia really tore his labrum. Adam Eaton, currently on the DL for his hamstring, is really important. Jose Abreu strikes out a lot (.293 OBP in May), but hits balls really far when he doesn't (.590 slugging percentage in May). -- James Fegan (@TheCatbird_Seat), The Catbird Seat |
| 19 | Reds 17-19 | 2 Last Week: 17 | Another week of .500 baseball for the Reds. One shudders to think where Cincinnati's offense would be without third baseman Todd Frazier, who leads the club in home runs (seven) and RBIs (21), while hitting .266/.340/.508. -- Chad Dotson (@dotsonc), Redleg Nation |
| 20 | Royals 18-19 | 1 Last Week: 19 | Alcides Escobar, who hit a big grand slam on Sunday, is tied for second on the team in wOBA. I think that means some other guys need to start hitting better. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot |
| 21 | Indians 18-20 | 4 Last Week: 25 | When Jason Kipnis was placed on the DL on May 2, it was another blow to an offense that has already struggled for much of this season. However, Mike Aviles has done everything in his power to make up for the absence of Kipnis -- so far in May, he's hitting .458. -- Stephanie Liscio (@stephanieliscio), It's Pronounced "Lajaway" |
| 22 | Pirates 16-21 | 4 Last Week: 26 | We said last week was going to be a big one for the Pirates and they met the test, taking two of three from both the Giants and Cardinals. Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Cardinals hurts, however, as they had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth, but grounded into a 1-2-3 double play to end the game. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot |
| 23 | Mets 17-19 | 7 Last Week: 16 | The Mets have scored a run in the first inning in seven of their past nine games and are second in the NL with 28 first-inning runs. However, they're only 11-12 when they score first. -- Joe Janish (@metstoday), Mets Today |
| 24 | Rays 16-22 | 6 Last Week: 18 | The Rays dropped five of six at home, giving them a nice cushion at the bottom of the American League East. The good news is they are still a good week away from jumping up to the middle of the pack. Meanwhile, Alex Cobb and Jeremy Hellickson continue to make progress in their comebacks from injury. -- Tommy Rancel (@TRancel), The Process Report |
| 25 | Phillies 17-19 | 5 Last Week: 20 | Who needs velocity? Except for one rough outing the first week of the season, Jonathan Papelbon has been absolutely dominant -- 15 IP, 0.60 WHIP, 0.00 ERA and 11-for-11 in save opportunities -- despite losing three mph on his fastball over the past three seasons. -- Corinne Landrey (@Ut26), Crashburn Alley |
| 26 | Twins 17-19 | 5 Last Week: 21 | In April, the Minnesota offense averaged 5.6 runs per game. In May, that number has dropped to 3.1. The Twins need to keep showing improvement in the rotation if they want to stay afloat in the AL Central. -- Nick Nelson (@nnelson9), Twins Daily |
| 27 | Padres 18-21 | -- Last Week: 27 | As bad as the offense has been (last in the majors in runs per game), they're a not-awful 18-21 after winning three in a row over the Marlins. Maybe the guys can improve their stats on this week's road trip to Cincy and Colorado. -- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot |
| 28 | Diamondbacks 15-25 | 1 Last Week: 29 | After pulling out series wins against the Brewers and White Sox, the D-backs are now 6-3 in May after a 9-22 start. The turnaround may have come just after Mark Trumbo's most recent game on April 21, as they were 5-17 to that point, and are 10-8 since. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@InsidetheZona), Inside the 'Zona |
| 29 | Cubs 12-24 | 1 Last Week: 28 | Sunday's loss to the Braves represented the 10,000th loss in franchise history. On a positive note, the Cubs do have 10,450 wins to go with it, which means an above .500 record. -- Joe Aiello (@VFTB), View from the Bleachers |
| 30 | Astros 12-26 | -- Last Week: 30 | Jarred Cosart's past four starts: 25.2 IP, six earned runs, 21 hits, 16 strikeouts, 10 walks. Team still dead-last in batting average (.222) while opponents are hitting .265 (tied for fifth highest). They're 6-13 at home and 6-13 on the road. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit |
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