The case for adding another baseball wild-card team should be stronger than ever this year.
With three weeks left in the season, there is exactly one interesting pennant race left, and that’s in the AL West with the Rangers leading the Angels by 2 ½ games. The next closest race is the AL Wild Card where the Red Sox lead the Rays by seven games, the same distance also separates the surprising Diambondbacks from the defending champion Giants in the NL West.
Despite all those certainties, the Yankees don’t have a single clue who they will be playing in the postseason. The Tigers have closed to within ½ game of the Rangers, so the argument you may be better off losing the division to avoid Justin Verlander may become moot.
A thanks to colleague Anthony Sulla-Heffinger for doing the rankings last week when my return from the Catskills was delayed by Hurricane Irene. And a heads up that Thursday will be the debut of the NFL Power Rankings.
1. Phillies (89-48) (Previous ranking: 2) – Cliff Lee has given up two runs total in his past six starts.
2. Yankees (86-53) (3) – Now that Ivan Nova has pulled miles ahead in the race to be the No. 2 starter, let’s begin the who-should-be-the-No. 3-starter controversy.
3. Red Sox (84-56) (1) – Didn’t handle their ascendancy to the top spot well: Lost two of three to the Yankees and Rangers at home and opener to Blue Jays on the road. But the worst news could be Josh Beckett leaving Toronto start with ankle injury.
4. Brewers (85-57) (4) – Pat yourself on the back if you bet Milwaukee over 85.5 this year (nodding head with satisfaction).
5. Braves (82-58) (5) – Playoff problem will be that lineup doesn’t come close to matching up with Brewers or Phillies, the two teams they will likely have to go through to reach World Series.
6. Tigers (79-62) (7) – Weekend sweep of White Sox finally put hammerlock on AL Central.
7. Diamondbacks (81-60) (8) – Have won 12 of 13 including taking two of three from Giants in crucial NL West series. Manager of the Year favorite Kirk Gibson has seven-game cushion to play with.
8. Rangers (80-62) (6) – Let’s hope this race comes down to the final three games of season when Texas heads to Anaheim.
9. Angels (77-64) (11) – The combination of Jered Weaver and Dan Haren should frighten Yankees more than Verlander.
10. Rays (77-63) (9) – Joe Maddon deserves kudos for keeping team in race even if will take miracle to run down Red Sox.
11. Giants (74-67) (10) – Hey Mets, is it too late to get Zack Wheeler back?
12. Indians (70-68) (14) — Ubaldo Jimenez has a 5.27 ERA in seven starts since Cleveland paid a hefty price to acquire him.
13. White Sox (70-69) (12) – Would have paid $100 to be a fly on the wall after Chicago blew an 8-0 lead to Detroit on Saturday just to see Ozzie Guillen addressing team.
14. Cardinals (74-67) (13) – Needed three-game sweep of Brewers to make race somewhat interesting and promptly got shut down by Randy Wolf in Monday’s opener.
15. Blue Jays (70-71) (17) – Jose Bautista the first in the majors to 40 home runs again.
16. Mets (68-71) (18) – In this year of uncertainty and change, a .500 record would be considered a positive step.
17. Dodgers (68-72) (19) – Don Mattingly has this team pointed in right direction after ownership distractions put him in an impossible spot.
18. Rockies (66-75) (15) – The Yankees and Red Sox had Kevin Milwood in their minor-league system at some point this year, and now the veteran righty is pitching surprisingly well for Colorado.
19. Reds (69-72) (16) – The Reds have a solid No. 1 in Johnny Cueto and a decent No. 3 in Mike Leake. After that, it’s time to rebuild rotation for next season to support dangerous lineup.
20. Pirates (65-76) (20) – Getting swept by Astros puts exclamation point on second-half decline.
21. Athletics (64-77) (21) – Hideki Matsui’s clutch postseason bat stays stuck in Oakland.
22. Marlins (63-77) (23) — One of the few positives from Florida’s season is that Mike Stanton looks like a legitimate power hitter.
23. Cubs (61-80) (24) – Despite some after-the-fact griping, it’s clear Lou Pineilla was not the problem in Chicago.
24. Nationals (65-74) (28) – Stephen Strasburg makes 2011 debut Monday night.
25. Orioles (55-84) (22) – Tough to develop young arms in the AL East.
26. Padres (61-80) (25) – Ending season on sour note with 10 losses in past 11 games.
27. Royals (59-83) (27) – You would think being ahead of the Twins would have meant big things for Kansas City in 2011.
28. Mariners (58-82) (26) – Some good young pieces in Seattle with Dustin Ackley, Michael Pineda and Blake Beavan.
29. Astros (47-94) (29) – Have fans ever been more excited for the start of a Texans season?
30. Twins (58-83) (30) – Slap yourself in the face if you bet the Twins over 85.5 games this year (shaking my fist in agony).
