Photo courtesy Gene J. Puskar
Happy Memorial Day! Make sure you go out there and thank a veteran for their service today in between your beers and hot dogs!
But, before you pre-game, it’s been another two weeks which means I have updated Power Rankings for you! As we get deeper into the season, the field has started to settle out, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have some movers and shakers.
And then there are enigmas like the Atlanta Braves. You do them a solid with a positive rating, they slump. You drop them down, they get hot again. Finding the pulse of this club is like playing a game of Whack-A-Mole on a level labeled “savant”. For now, we’ll have to temper expectations BOTH ways.
Staying atop the rankings are the Texas Rangers. They’ve cooled off just a hair but you better believe they earned this top spot to finish out May. This front office has instilled a culture of winning, which means this team is consistently competitive no matter what personnel may come and go.
But what about the rest? Well, just take a look for yourself!
POWER RANKINGS – MAY 27TH
1. Texas Rangers | 32-18 (15-7 Home, 17-11 Road) [Change From Last Ranking: ± 0]
Seemingly invincible at home. That’s bad news for other playoff teams if they keep up this pace.
2. Atlanta Braves | 30-19 (15-5 Home, 15-14 Road) [+ 1]
A recent uptick has them keeping up with league leaders, but that means they can’t go cold again.
3. St. Louis Cardinals | 32-17 (14-8 Home, 18-9 Road) [+ 1]
It’s too soon to tell whether gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated will ultimately curse them.
4. New York Yankees | 30-19 (15-9 Home, 15-10 Road) [- 2]
It’s the even-keel teams that tend to do the best. Injuries aside, they remain pretty even-keel.
5. Boston Red Sox | 31-20 (16-11 Home, 15-9 Road) [+ 1]
If they keep playing as well as they have on the road, it may not matter if they can win the East.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates | 31-19 (18-9 Home, 13-10 Road) [+ 4]
Putting them this high is a necessary gesture, but I refuse to take them seriously until August.
7. Cincinnati Reds | 31-19 (18-7 Home, 13-12 Road) [+ 5]
As long as the pennant remains a 3-team race, their play on the road will be cause for concern.
8. Detroit Tigers | 28-20 (16-8 Home, 12-12 Road) [± 0]
Not the sexiest of teams at the moment, but they have a track record of surviving the Central.
9. San Francisco Giants | 28-22 (19-9 Home, 9-13 Road) [- 4]
Inside-the-park walk-off home runs aside, this team has plenty of room to start to impress.
10. Arizona Diamondbacks |28-22 (14-12 Home, 14-10 Road) [- 1]
Moving back right here, right now seems a little unfair. Blame it on hotter teams for now.
11. Baltimore Orioles | 27-23 (11-12 Home, 16-11 Road) [- 4]
Stop me if you heard this one before: a Buck Showalter team is winning road rames.
12. Colorado Rockies | 27-23 (16-9 Home, 11-14 Road) [+ 2]
The longer they hang around, the longer I start to believe they’re this year’s Athletics.
13. Oakland Athletics | 28-23 (13-10 Home, 15-13 Road) [+ 2]
4.5 game behind. Will they hang around just to steal the division from Texas again?
14. Washington Nationals | 26-24 (14-10 Home, 12-14 Road) [- 3]
That West coast road trip was about as bad as it could be for a team this talented.
15. Cleveland Indians | 27-22 (15-10 Home, 12-12 Road) [+ 2]
They had a Top-10-ish resume before getting swept up in Boston this weekend.
16. Tampa Bay Rays | 25-24 (15-10 Home, 10-14 Road) [± 0]
If they were outgunned in the division before, what are they now without James Shields?
17. Philadelphia Phillies | 24-26 (11-12 Home, 13-14 Road) [+ 2]
If this weekend is how they plan on playing when Washington opens the door, they might as well quit.
18. Los Angeles Angels | 23-27 (12-13 Home, 11-14 Road) [+ 7]
Apparently they just got the message that a baseball season started back in April.
19. Chicago White Sox | 24-24 (13-10 Home, 11-14 Road) [+ 4]
If you’re going to celebrate comeback victories over Miami, you’re not an October baseball club.
20. Kansas City Royals | 21-26 (10-12 Home, 11-14 Road) [- 7]
What in the hell happened to the Royals? So much for me thinking they’d finally turned a corner.
21. Seattle Mariners | 21-29 (12-11 Home, 9-18 Road) [- 1]
Nice 13-inning win yesterday. But you could make it easier on yourselves, you know.
22. Toronto Blue Jays | 21-29 (13-15 Home, 8-14 Road) [+ 2]
One super under-performing AL team heated up. Now it’s your turn, Toronto.
23. San Diego Padres | 22-27 (13-12 Home, 9-15 Road) [+ 3]
From a talent perspective, this 22-win team is over-performing by about 21 wins, give or take.
24. Los Angeles Dodgers | 20-28 (12-15 Home, 8-13 Road) [- 3]
I can’t help but to think we’re headed for some firings before the All-Star Break.
25. Minnesota Twins | 19-28 (9-13 Home, 10-15 Road) [- 7]
Ah, now I’m comfortable. This is the Minnesota ball club we know and love so much.
26. Milwaukee Brewers | 19-29 (12-15 Home, 7-14 Road) [- 4]
They’re spending the first half of the season playing their way out of the playoffs again.
27. Chicago Cubs | 19-30 (10-14 Home, 9-16 Road) [+ 2]
Can this be right? Somehow they’re being rewarded for going 4-8 over these two weeks.
28. New York Mets | 18-29 (10-17 Home, 8-12 Road) [- 1]
We knew the Mets would be bad, but not THIS bad. Just imagine if Miami wasn’t in their division.
29. Houston Astros | 14-36 (8-20 Home, 6-16 Road) [± 0]
In all honesty, rookie manager Bo Porter should’ve stayed with his lesser role in Washington.
30. Miami Marlins | 13-37 (7-18 Home, 6-19 Road) [± 0]
Maybe they can fill empty seats with all the golden sombreros they’re racking up.
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NOTE: This story was originally published on SportsHead. To read this article and others click here.
When Bryan isn’t writing he is on Twitter! Make sure to give him a follow @bclienesch for MLB updates and other shenanigans!
