The MLB Rizz Rankings 4.28.08: Week Three

Posted by Randy Isbelle on 04.28.2008

Wow, who knew that wedding plans would be so time consuming.

Okay, I have finally been able to return to my weekly duties this week. I am sure some of you thought I might be offended by some of the harsh words I received after my second power rankings, but that just wasn't the case. In reality, I got married last week, and the preparations took more time then I was expecting, and there was actually a point where I didn't even look a my laptop for four days. I had written up half of the power rankings at least five times in my hiatus, but just could never get them done, and by the time I got back to them, they needed to be changed.

Hopefully with the wedding in the background, I can return to bring you a weekly dose of controversy and annoyance as I continue to downgrade your favorite ball clubs. Now that we are a month into the season, it is finally time to give more of the credit towards what have you done for me lately, and not the talent on the club. Yeah I know I pissed a lot of you off in Week 2 when I didn't put the Blue Jays number 1 after they swept the Red Sox, but come on it was the first week of April. Look at where they are now? Aren't you glad I didn't have them as my number one? That would have been embarrassing. Now their fall down the rankings doesn't look as bad as it would have.

Make sure you go check out my involvement in Ken Schmidt's Fact or Fiction this week, and make sure you wish him a speedy recovery. And also join Geoff Keller, Sean Garmer and myself on Wednesday as we return with the Coast 2 Coast Sports report. We will have all of our NFL draft thoughts as well as a look at the NBA postseason thus far. And hopefully Ken will be able to rejoin us again next week to get you up to date on all of your hockey postseason news. With that, here are my latest Rizz Rankings:



Moving on up: Oakland A's +20
Moving down: Washington Nationals -11

2008 Power Rankings: Week 2
Rank (LW)		Team	Record	L10	Comment
	1 (6)	Arizona Diamondbacks	18-7	7-3	Best record in the majors, a six game lead over the entire division and the NL Cy Young leader in Webb makes Arizona a clear number 1. Games This Week: April 28-30: vs. Houston; May 2-4: vs. NY Mets
	2 (3)	Chicago Cubs	16-9	7-3	Chicago is playing solid ball and they are doing it with out Alfonso Soriano, the NL Central may be tougher then many experts predicted at the beginning of the year, but Chicago continues to look like the favorite. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: vs. Milwaukee; May 2-4: at St. Louis
	3 (5)	Los Angeles Angels	15-10	6-4	The best record in the American League gives the Angels the three spot. The upcoming series against the Oakland A's will be one to watch. Games This Week: April 28-May 1: vs. Oakland; May 2-4: vs. Baltimore
	4 (24)	Oakland Athletics	16-10	7-3	Oakland has really surprised me in the first month of the season, and if they take three of four from the Angels (and don't mess it up against Texas), I might just have to put them up to the 2nd spot. Games This Week: April 28-May 1: at LA Angels; May 2-4: vs. Texas
	5 (15)	St. Louis Cardinals	16-10	5-5	Many experts had them in the lower tier of the league, I didn't have them that low, but they are still surprising me. It will be interesting to see if they can keep it up. They showed signs of slipping, but bounced back with two in a row to maintain a top five spot. Games This Week: April 28-30: vs. Cincinnati; May 2-4: vs. Chicago Cubs
	6 (2)	Boston Red Sox	15-12	15-12	Boston looked like a clear number 2 team, and maybe even a one, but a five game losing streak that included a sweep against the Rays drops them down and out of the top five. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: vs. Toronto; May 2-4: vs. Tampa Bay
	7 (1)	Milwaukee Brewers	14-11	5-5	The brew crew are hanging in there, but just hanging in there will not allow you to keep your top spot. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: at Chicago Cubs; May 2-4: at Houston
	8 (16)	Tampa Bay Rays	14-11	8-2	I'm sure I will here grief over this one, but the Rays have really impressed me this season. And on top of that a six game winning streak, including a sweep of the World Series Champs, and a never say die attitude and the Rays actually make the top 10. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: at Baltimore; May 2-4: at Boston
	9 (9)	Philadelphia Phillies	14-12	6-4	I would be curious to see how far down the Phillies would be down if Chase Utley hadn't jumped into the phone booth and turned into Superman this month. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: vs. San Diego; May 2-4: vs. San Francisco
	10 (4)	New York Mets	13-11	5-5	The Mets are just a confusing team to me, one week they look like a World Series contender, the next they look horrible. They need to find consistency if they want to win the East…luckily they still have 138 games left to play. Games This Week: April 28-30: vs. Pittsburgh; May 2-4: at Arizona
	11 (14)	Chicago White Sox	14-10	5-5	The White Sox lead the central but not for long. Cleveland and Detroit both have finally decided to begin their season and will soon over take the White Sox. At least Chicago looks like the solid three team in that division. Games This Week: April 28: vs. Baltimore; April 29-30: at Minnesota; May 2-4: at Toronto
	12 (23)	Florida Marlins	15-10	6-4	I know the Marlins have a 1 ½ game lead in the NL East, but I just can't seem to be able to push them over the hump and into the top ten, maybe another solid week by this young club will change my mind. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: vs. LA Dodgers; May 2-4: vs. San Diego
	13 (8)	New York Yankees	13-13	5-5	The Yankees lost ARod for a little bit, and the moment they get him back they lose Posada, maybe I was looking at the wrong New York team when I talked about having to worry about injury issues. Wang looks like a solid Cy Young candidate and continues to be one of the least respected aces in the league. Games This Week: April 28: at Cleveland; April 39-May 1: vs. Detroit; May 2-4: vs. Seattle
	14 (17)	Baltimore Orioles	14-11	6-4	Baltimore was in the top ten in both of the weeks I did these rankings, but couldn't find the time to finish them. Finally the Orioles are starting to drop back down to their rightful place to the bottom of the rankings, and seven games against three different AL division leaders will help do the job. Games This Week: April 28: at Chicago White Sox; April 29-May 1: vs. Tampa Bay; May 2-4: at LA Angels
	15 (11)	Cleveland Indians	12-13	7-3	After starting 5-10, and not capitalizing on the Tigers slow start, the Indians are red hot, minus a solid performance from Wang on Sunday. I know I have them down from my last rankings, but you have to remember that three weeks have past, and the Indians are only now starting to climb back up from the hole they created. Games This Week: April 28: vs. NY Yankees; April 29-May 1: vs. Seattle; May 2-4: vs. Kansas City
	16 (21)	Detroit Tigers	11-14	6-4	The Tigers, like the Indians, are finally climbing out of the hole they started in. And people thought that the Tigers didn't have a shot to make the playoffs, it just shows that April really doesn't mean as much as September. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: at NY Yankees; May 2-4: at Minnesota
	17 (7)	Los Angeles Dodgers	12-13	5-5	The Dodgers have won three in a row and have climbed out of the cellar of the NL West and are now in 2nd place, only problem is they are in the same division as the D'backs. It has to be disheartening to climb up to the 2nd spot in your division and still find yourself six games out at the end of April. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: at Florida; May 2-4: at Colorado
	18 (10)	Toronto Blue Jays	11-15	3-7	So, people got pissed at me for not making the Blue Jays the top team in the rankings after they swept the Red Sox. So, what do you have to say about your Jays now? Games This Week: April 29-May 1: at Boston; May 2-4: vs. Chicago White Sox
	19 (12)	Atlanta Braves	12-13	6-4	Injuries continue to haunt the older members of the ball club, hopefully the young guns can use this as experience and build towards a run around the All-Star break. Games This Week: April 29-30: at Washington; May 2-4: vs. Cincinnati
	20 (16)	Seattle Seahawks	12-14	4-6	Seattle finally gets Bedard back in the rotation, and it is now time for him to prove me wrong. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: at Cleveland; May 2-4: at NY Yankees
	21 (23)	Houston Astros	12-14	6-4	At least the Houston fans can root for the Rockets while they are in the NBA playoffs…oh wait…sorry. Games This Week: April 28-30: at Arizona; May 2-4: vs. Milwaukee
	22 (22)	Colorado Rockies	10-15	3-7	I said it last time, and I will say it again, I just don't see the Rockies making that major run they did last season. Games This Week: April 28-30: at San Francisco; May 2-4: vs. LA Dodgers
	23 (13)	San Diego Padres	10-16	2-8	San Diego has really surprised me with their slow start, it doesn't help when your pitchers go out there and throw up solid starts, and your bats just can't help out. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: at Philadelphia; May 2-4: at Florida
	24 (20)	Cincinnati Reds	11-15	4-6	The only thing exciting happening with the Reds is Griffey Jr.'chase of the 600 homer mark Games This Week: April 28-30: at St. Louis; May 2-4: at Atlanta
	25 (30)	San Francisco Giants	11-15	5-5	Barry Zito loses again, and the Giants continue to look for answers, they move up this week only because I feel sorry for them. Games This Week: April 28-30: vs. Colorado; May 2-4: at Philadelphia
	26 (29)	Pittsburgh Pirates	10-15	3-7	Pittsburgh, like many teams, got off to an unexpectedly nice start, but are once again dropping back to their rightful spot. Games This Week: April 28-30: at NY Mets; May 1-4: at Washington
	27 (28)	Minnesota Twins	11-14	4-6	Minnesota actually has a better record then I expected in the month of April, but there just isn't much there to be excited about. Games This Week: April 29-30: vs. Chicago White Sox; May 2-4: vs. Detroit
	28 (25)	Kansas City Royals	11-14	2-8	Whoops, so much for a surprising season for the Royals. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: at Texas; May 2-4: at Cleveland
	29 (26)	Texas Rangers	9-17	2-8	Texas is lucky that I don't put them at number 30, but if they continue on this slide, I will have no choice. Games This Week: April 29-May 1: vs. Kansas City; May 2-4: at Oakland
	30 (19)	Washington Nationals	9-17	5-5	After starting the year 4-12, Washington might finally be getting out of the basement. Games This Week: April 29-30: vs. Atlanta; May 1-4: vs. Pittsburgh