1. Montreal Expos, 11-3: With an offense this good, who needs pitching? Unfortunately for the NL, they have some pitching, too.
2. Anaheim Angels, 11-3: Their pitching has been dominant, while their offense has been average. They’ll be very scary when Travis Murphy starts hitting.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-5: Excellent pitching, despite the usual slow start from Tejada, and likely player of the week performance from Pascual Martin have this team on top in likely the toughest division.
4. New York Yankees, 10-4: Spectacular offense and solid pitching have helped the Yankees burst out of the gate, but the jury is still out until they play a winning team.
5. Florida Marlins, 9-5: The offseason was good to this team and the new additions have been performing well, especially on the mound.
6. Kansas City Royals, 8-6: The defending AL champs offense has returned. Unfortunately, Season 4 Cy Young Stephen Fischer doesn’t seem to realize that these games count now.
7. Philadelphia Phillies, 8-6: Jorgensen doesn’t look the same after last season’s injury and the pitching has not been performing as well as expected. But never count this team out.
8. Minnesota Twins, 9-5: The young hitters are tearing it up. If the pitching can find some consistency, the Twins will be tough.
9. Atlanta Braves, 8-6: The Big Three haven’t quite gotten their homer swings in groove yet and the pitching has been hit and miss. Sophomore slump for Dee Dee?
10. Portland Beavers, 7-7: Last season’s AL #1 seed has been slow to get going at the plate. However, their biggest woes have been in the bullpen where they have already blown 5 saves.
11. Cincinnati Reds, 7-7: Jeffries DL stint got the offense off to a slow start, but the pitching is one of the league’s best staffs.
12. Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-6: Sasser and Kubinski have looked like Koufax and Drysdale, but unfortunately the rest of the team has been rather ordinary despite the league’s highest payroll.
13. Texas Rangers, 8-6: The big spenders in free agency have gotten solid contributions from the new arrivals and have the look of a contender.
14. San Francisco Giants, 8-6: Clapp seems to have bounced back from last season and O’Donnell has been pounding the ball. Unfortunately, the pitching has been all over the place.
15. New York Mets, 8-6: Hernandez and Stankiewicz look like the best 1-2 starting combo in baseball and this team appears ready to compete.
16. Detroit Tigers, 8-6: Another team with good young hitting and inconsistent pitching. Danny Diaz has looked like a batting practice pitcher.
17. Seattle Mariners, 7-7: Without base stealing monster Butch Hampton, one of the better pitching staffs would have almost no run support.
18. Charlotte Knights, 6-8: The Knights need Javier and Jorgensen to start hitting or Mordecai’s brilliance will continue to be wasted.
19. Toronto Blue Jays, 7-7: Their offense has provided adequate contributions. Their biggest problem is that Martin Kielty is unable to start every game.
20. Chicago Cubs, 7-7: With very little offense, it’s taken some monumental pitching efforts to get this team to .500.
21. Washington DC Nationals, 6-8: If only this team could score some runs, then these great pitchers would be able to win some games.
22. Boston Red Sox, 6-8: A decent offense combined with a pitching staff with a lot of AAA quality parts will make for a long season in Fenway.
23. Oakland Athletics, 7-7: The A’s have had an anemic offense and a mediocre pitching staff. The .500 start is an anomaly.
24. Baltimore Orioles, 5-9: Last season’s trading central has calmed down this season, but so far all we’ve seen is mediocre offense and pitching, except from Lombardi and McMartin who have been good.
25. Chicago White Sox, 6-8: The stripped down White Sox still have a little pop in their bats, but the starters all look like a collection of bad Rule 5 pick-ups.
26. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-9: Unfortunately cloning has not been approved for human use and the Pirates will have to settle with having only one Clyde Redmond and Orlando Guerrero.
27. St. Louis Cardinals, 4-10: Losing Padilla to injury didn’t help, but the bats are under performing just as much as the arms.
28. San Diego Padres, 5-9: The Padres look like a team in flux as the new management begins the process of bringing in their type of ballplayers. Wait until next year.
29. Milwaukee Brewers, 5-9: Combine a below average offense with a below average pitching staff and you get the Brewers.
30. Houston Astros, 4-10: The league’s 2nd highest payroll and 4 wins does not look like a sound investment strategy. Sell!
31. Tampa Bay Rays, 4-10: With the trade of Julio, the fire sale is complete. The Rays are prime candidates in the #1 pick derby.
32. Cleveland Indians, 3-11: The offense has fallen flat and the pitching has gotten rocked. Hey Rays! Game on!
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