June 25th MLB Rankings
1
Cubs 1 - 1/13 The
Cubs bounced back from being swept in Tampa to take their weekend series against the South Siders. There was talk last week of Alfonso Soriano returning earlier than expected from his broken hand. The
Cubs have to hope Soriano isn't rushing back just to be a part of the All-Star festivities in New York.
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2
Angels 3 (+1) 2/12 If Ervin Santana keeps this up, he'll pitch his way into the AL Cy Young argument. Santana completely baffled the
Phillies last Friday in a park where not many visiting pitchers can say that. The Halos' schedule lightens up a bit this week with sets against two sub-.500 clubs in the Nats and
Dodgers.
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3
Red Sox 2 (-1) 1/3 Anything Curt Schilling gave the Sox this season would've just been gravy. So officially losing him for the season doesn't really change things. Taking a series in Philly without a healthy lineup was pretty impressive, but it didn't carry over into the weekend against the
Cardinals. Dice-K's back, but he'd better improve off of Saturday's showing.
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4 Rays 4 - 2/24 The Rays are getting downright scary at home. Only Boston and the
Cubs have a better home winning percentage. You can bet the
Marlins will be looking for a little revenge this week after the Rays swept them at the Trop last weekend. Who knew a
Marlins-Rays series could be so interesting?
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5
Cardinals 5 - 4/20 What a fickle game baseball is. The Cards took their weekend series against the
Red Sox, looking very much like a playoff-caliber in the process. But they spent the early part of the week being swept by Kansas City. Albert Pujols is scheduled to return this week in time for a revenge set against the
Royals.
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6
Phillies 6 - 5/16 The Phils haven't won a series since taking a set against the
Braves in early June. Granted, the competition has been stiff as the Phils have played arguably the toughest June schedule of anybody in the league. It only gets tougher this week with road tests at Oakland and Texas. With no clear No. 2 starter, it's obvious what the Phils need to do at the trade deadline.
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7
Brewers 11 (+4) 6/23 Ryan Braun has driven in a run in all but six games this month. But he hasn't been the catalyst to the
Brewers getting over .500. That's been Russell Branyan, who has 10 homers this season. Starting Branyan over Bill Hall may have saved Ned Yost's job.
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8
White Sox 7 (-1) 7/19 The weekend set at Wrigley didn't go according to plan, but it's no fault of Jermaine Dye, who hit five homers last week. Pitching would be a better place to put the blame. Jose Contreras is giving every indication his hot start was an aberration. Perhaps the ChiSox will fare better at home this weekend vs. the
Cubs.
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9
Athletics 8 (-1) 7/25 Friday's win over the
Marlins was a perfect microcosm of the A's season. Just when you think they're done, they come back ... and it's usually from an unexpected source. It gets tougher this week with the
Phillies hitting town before another weekend set against their Bay Area rivals.
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10
Marlins 9 (-1) 6/29 Dan Uggla is getting ridiculous. Raise your hand if you thought he'd cool off three weeks ago? Well, he hasn't. Uggla has quite honestly played his way past Chase Utley, but that doesn't mean he'll start ahead of him at the All-Star game. The
Marlins get their chance at revenge this week when the Rays come to Dolphin Stadium.
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11
Yankees 12 (+1) 3/23 Nobody thought the Yanks' winning streak would last forever, but dropping a series at home to the
Reds? The Yanks are still within striking distance in the East and the hitting is good enough to make it an interesting summer in the Bronx . But unlike the
Red Sox, who seem to just absorb injuries and move on, we don't see the Yanks simply overcoming the loss of Chien-Ming Wang.
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12
Twins 16 (+4) 12/26 The
Twins caught the Nats on a rare winning streak and quickly put that fire out with a sweep. They then took a series against Arizona, which isn't hard to do these days. This interleague stuff has worked out pretty well thus far and a set at punchless San Diego this week should continue the trend.
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13
Diamondbacks 10 (-3) 2/13 Eric Byrnes is nearing a return and that has some people grumbling that Justin Upton may be sent down when it happens. Upton's struggles over the last two months have hurt the D-backs. He was hitting .327 entering May and is now in the mid-.240s. But the D-backs have to take the good with the bad while starting such a young roster.
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14
Orioles 13 (-1) 12/30 The O's swept the
Astros with two one-run wins and a two-run win. Closer George Sherrill, who has bee
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