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MLB Power Rankings

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Posted: 2008-05-04 20:38:47

For the first time since we started asking players for their top five teams in baseball, a pitcher gives us his insight. That pitcher is none other than James Shields, who has built upon his breakout campaign last year with an excellent start in 2008. The highlight of Shields' season so far? Holding the Red Sox to two hits and outdueling Josh Beckett in the upstart Rays' first ever sweep of Boston last weekend.

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James Shields'
Top Five Teams

1 of 5

5. Cubs | 18-12 | Previous: 6
"You know what, the Cubs are right up there too," says Shields. "They're playing really well right now."

The Rest

	6. Angels: 20-13 \| \| Previous: 7 April was an excellent month for the Angels, even though John Lackey is yet to make a start and Vladimir Guerrero has been cool, hitting .257.
	7. Athletics: 19-14 \| \| Previous: 9 Wasn't this team supposed to be rebuilding? This looks like a classic Billy Beane-built ballclub. Oakland leads the AL in walks (142) and ERA (3.26).
	8. Cardinals: 19-12 \| \| Previous: 10 What a pickup Kyle Lohse has been for St. Louis. Any team could have had him at the start of Spring Training, and he's gone 3-1 with a 3.79 ERA this year.
	9. Phillies: 18-14 \| \| Previous: 3 Will Chase Utley become the third straight Phillie to win National League MVP? He's well on his way with 13 homers and a 1.227 OPS on the season.
	10. Dodgers: 17-14 \| \| Previous: 18 Here come the Dodgers. Los Angeles has won eight of its last nine and has three starters -- Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and Hiroki Kuroda -- with an ERA below 4.00.
	11. Rays: 16-15 \| \| Previous: 15 Tampa Bay finished its first winning April in franchise history, but there are more winning months ahead. The Rays' run differential is just a tick behind Boston's.
	12. Brewers: 16-15 \| \| Previous: 8 Losing Ben Sheets is one thing, but losing Yovani Gallardo for the season really stings. There's a ton of pressure on Carlos Villanueva, Manny Parra and Jeff Suppan now.
	13. Mets: 16-13 \| \| Previous: 16 Where's the pop? The vaunted Mets lineup has been relatively powerless so far. New York is 13th in the NL in home runs and 15th in doubles.
	14. Marlins: 17-14 \| \| Previous: 12 Dan Uggla continues to have an all-or-nothing approach at the plate. The Florida second baseman has more extra-base hits (15) than singles (13) this season.
	15. Orioles: 16-15 \| \| Previous: 13 The Orioles are a nice story, but they've been extremely lucky so far in 2008. Baltimore has a negative run differential, but is 8-3 in one-run games.
	16. White Sox: 14-15 \| \| Previous: 5 Can Chicago be a factor in the AL Central? If its starting pitching is as good as it has been so far, then yes. All five members of the rotation have an ERA under 4.50.
	17. Twins: 16-14 \| \| Previous: 23 It's May and, like the White Sox, Minnesota is right in the thick of the AL Central, even without Francisco Liriano. That's more an indictment of the Indians and Tigers than anything else.
	18. Indians: 14-17 \| \| Previous: 4 Cliff Lee is due to fall back to earth soon, but so is Fausto Carmona, whose 2.60 ERA belies the fact that he has twice as many walks (26) as strikeouts (13).
	19. Astros: 16-16 \| \| Previous: 20 As expected the offense is terrific and the rotation is lousy. With Wandy Rodriguez on the shelf, Houston has only one starter with an ERA below 4.00.
	20. Braves: 15-15 \| \| Previous: 14 When it's all said and done, the injuries to Atlanta's pitchers might have a big silver lining. Jair Jurrjens (3-2, 3.05 ERA) has staked a permanent claim to a rotation spot.
	21. Blue Jays: 15-17 \| \| Previous: 24 Roy Halladay's run of poor luck is a microcosm of Toronto's team-wide problem. In his stretch of four straight complete games, Doc got no run support and went 1-3.
	22. Giants: 14-18 \| \| Previous: 26 Speaking of a team with good pitching and no offense, meet one-sided San Francisco. The Giants have outstanding young pitching, but are last in the NL in runs scored.
	23. Royals: 14-16 \| \| Previous: 22 Despite a woeful start to his stint with Kansas City, Jose Guillen is still producing runs. The temperamental outfielder leads the Royals in RBI with 15.
	24. Mariners: 13-19 \| \| Previous: 21 Kudos to Seattle for recognizing its biggest problem and taking the steps to fix it. Calling up Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien gives a mediocre offense some upside.
	25. Padres: 12-20 \| NC \| Previous: 25 Woe is the offense. San Diego is last in batting average and on-base percentage and second to last in slugging in the NL. The Padres can't blame all of that on Petco.
	26. Rockies: 12-19 \| \| Previous: 19 Sure Colorado knows how to pull itself out of a big hole in the standings, but it's going to be hard to duplicate 2007 with Troy Tulowitzki out until at least July.
	27. Reds: 12-20 \| NC \| Previous: 27 So much for the Reds being a sleeper in the NL Central. They might already be buried in too big of a hole to capitalize on the wounded Brewers.
	28. Rangers: 13-19 \| \| Previous: 29 The Jason Jennings addition has been disastrous so far for Texas. The pitcher is 0-5 with an 8.56 ERA and he has allowed 18 walks while striking out 12.
	29. Nationals: 14-18 \| \| Previous: 30 How can you tell the Nats' offense is struggling? Cristian Guzman is leading the club in slugging average at a paltry .462.
	30. Pirates: 12-19 \| \| Previous: 28 Pittsburgh might have young pitching, but so far at least, it doesn't have very good pitching. Not a single starter has an ERA below 4.50.

2008-03-29 19:55:13

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iggles7561 10:11:55 PM May 08 2008

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No way are the Yankess in the top 5. That's ridiculous. This isn't the team from the late '90s. Get over it

mvpplayer91 10:55:57 PM May 07 2008

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the nl east first place FLORIDA MARLINS are ranked 14.
makes sense that HANLEY RAMIREZ this years MVP are behind a bunch of scrubs. lets keep them under the radar they are the youngest team with the lowest payroll. Why would u want a team like that to win right ?

brinkmang 07:59:52 PM May 06 2008

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Shields is an idiot. He should comment on what he knows; like who he pitched against, eh?

larryfhedrick 04:53:26 PM May 06 2008

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The piece on the cheerleaders sucked. I only saw one picture of the Teas Longhorn cheerleaders, while UCLA and Kansas was on ecvery third picture. Who is blowig the photographer? a Jayhawk or a Bruin? Give me a break!

etnie05 02:08:56 PM May 05 2008

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This is the biggest load of bull sh*t i've ever seen. Talk about an east coast bias. Yankees or Tigers do not even deserve to be in the top 5. This sh*t is wack

seasonsports 12:24:43 AM May 05 2008

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Copp1146 is a FRAUD!!! HE's NOT A DODGERS FAN!!!!!! LOOK AT HIS BUDDY ICON!

wilsbr8 09:38:23 PM May 04 2008

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Tampa Bay Rays don,t have the fire in them to be a top team. It takes players with the guts to play tough baseball, i can think of only a handfull of players on Tampas team who has that.

thundermist04167 08:52:24 PM May 04 2008

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Hutch, you can NOT be serious! Terry Francona is the BEST manager the Red Sox ever had!

My only complaint is that he did not do enough "small ball" (bunt, stolen bases, hit-and-run). But that is improving.

hjohnconroe 11:56:39 AM May 04 2008

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Berkman,Tehada,and Lee,that is the best tantum in baseball

cop1146 11:50:53 AM May 04 2008

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I am a Doger fan but if you think the Giants are the worst team in baseball, just check their pitchers against any team you might rethink you position. They are losing but look who they have beaten lately. They also led majors in stolen bases.

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	6. Angels: 20-13 \| \| Previous: 7 April was an excellent month for the Angels, even though John Lackey is yet to make a start and Vladimir Guerrero has been cool, hitting .257.
	7. Athletics: 19-14 \| \| Previous: 9 Wasn't this team supposed to be rebuilding? This looks like a classic Billy Beane-built ballclub. Oakland leads the AL in walks (142) and ERA (3.26).
	8. Cardinals: 19-12 \| \| Previous: 10 What a pickup Kyle Lohse has been for St. Louis. Any team could have had him at the start of Spring Training, and he's gone 3-1 with a 3.79 ERA this year.
	9. Phillies: 18-14 \| \| Previous: 3 Will Chase Utley become the third straight Phillie to win National League MVP? He's well on his way with 13 homers and a 1.227 OPS on the season.
	10. Dodgers: 17-14 \| \| Previous: 18 Here come the Dodgers. Los Angeles has won eight of its last nine and has three starters -- Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and Hiroki Kuroda -- with an ERA below 4.00.
	11. Rays: 16-15 \| \| Previous: 15 Tampa Bay finished its first winning April in franchise history, but there are more winning months ahead. The Rays' run differential is just a tick behind Boston's.
	12. Brewers: 16-15 \| \| Previous: 8 Losing Ben Sheets is one thing, but losing Yovani Gallardo for the season really stings. There's a ton of pressure on Carlos Villanueva, Manny Parra and Jeff Suppan now.
	13. Mets: 16-13 \| \| Previous: 16 Where's the pop? The vaunted Mets lineup has been relatively powerless so far. New York is 13th in the NL in home runs and 15th in doubles.
	14. Marlins: 17-14 \| \| Previous: 12 Dan Uggla continues to have an all-or-nothing approach at the plate. The Florida second baseman has more extra-base hits (15) than singles (13) this season.
	15. Orioles: 16-15 \| \| Previous: 13 The Orioles are a nice story, but they've been extremely lucky so far in 2008. Baltimore has a negative run differential, but is 8-3 in one-run games.
	16. White Sox: 14-15 \| \| Previous: 5 Can Chicago be a factor in the AL Central? If its starting pitching is as good as it has been so far, then yes. All five members of the rotation have an ERA under 4.50.
	17. Twins: 16-14 \| \| Previous: 23 It's May and, like the White Sox, Minnesota is right in the thick of the AL Central, even without Francisco Liriano. That's more an indictment of the Indians and Tigers than anything else.
	18. Indians: 14-17 \| \| Previous: 4 Cliff Lee is due to fall back to earth soon, but so is Fausto Carmona, whose 2.60 ERA belies the fact that he has twice as many walks (26) as strikeouts (13).
	19. Astros: 16-16 \| \| Previous: 20 As expected the offense is terrific and the rotation is lousy. With Wandy Rodriguez on the shelf, Houston has only one starter with an ERA below 4.00.
	20. Braves: 15-15 \| \| Previous: 14 When it's all said and done, the injuries to Atlanta's pitchers might have a big silver lining. Jair Jurrjens (3-2, 3.05 ERA) has staked a permanent claim to a rotation spot.
	21. Blue Jays: 15-17 \| \| Previous: 24 Roy Halladay's run of poor luck is a microcosm of Toronto's team-wide problem. In his stretch of four straight complete games, Doc got no run support and went 1-3.
	22. Giants: 14-18 \| \| Previous: 26 Speaking of a team with good pitching and no offense, meet one-sided San Francisco. The Giants have outstanding young pitching, but are last in the NL in runs scored.
	23. Royals: 14-16 \| \| Previous: 22 Despite a woeful start to his stint with Kansas City, Jose Guillen is still producing runs. The temperamental outfielder leads the Royals in RBI with 15.
	24. Mariners: 13-19 \| \| Previous: 21 Kudos to Seattle for recognizing its biggest problem and taking the steps to fix it. Calling up Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien gives a mediocre offense some upside.
	25. Padres: 12-20 \| NC \| Previous: 25 Woe is the offense. San Diego is last in batting average and on-base percentage and second to last in slugging in the NL. The Padres can't blame all of that on Petco.
	26. Rockies: 12-19 \| \| Previous: 19 Sure Colorado knows how to pull itself out of a big hole in the standings, but it's going to be hard to duplicate 2007 with Troy Tulowitzki out until at least July.
	27. Reds: 12-20 \| NC \| Previous: 27 So much for the Reds being a sleeper in the NL Central. They might already be buried in too big of a hole to capitalize on the wounded Brewers.
	28. Rangers: 13-19 \| \| Previous: 29 The Jason Jennings addition has been disastrous so far for Texas. The pitcher is 0-5 with an 8.56 ERA and he has allowed 18 walks while striking out 12.
	29. Nationals: 14-18 \| \| Previous: 30 How can you tell the Nats' offense is struggling? Cristian Guzman is leading the club in slugging average at a paltry .462.
	30. Pirates: 12-19 \| \| Previous: 28 Pittsburgh might have young pitching, but so far at least, it doesn't have very good pitching. Not a single starter has an ERA below 4.50.

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James Shields'Top Five Teams

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James Shields'
Top Five Teams