in MLB Free Picks

Interleague play heats up again and so we release another edition of the BetUS rankings to get you fired up. Now we’ll really get a feel for how teams compare to one another.

What a shocker- the Royals remain last! Can we just rank the other 29 teams and stop including what is basically a glorified minor league team?

In any event, Atlanta loses the most ground on the rankings this week, while the A’s moved forward the most spots. Meanwhile, we have a new number one, as there was quite a bit of shuffling in the top 10.

Rank    (PV Rank)     Team & Reason

30              30              Kansas City- Hey, at least they reached double digits in wins at home.

29              29              Pittsburgh- Someone blow it up and start over. Maybe fold them and award Pitt an expansion team; the Pittsburgh Swash Bucklers

28              27              Chicago (NL)- The words “Fire Sale” come to mind. Look for it in July.

27              28              Florida- The promise is slowly starting to materialize. Too bad they’ll be in San Antonio when they are a contender. Have you seen the home attendance figures for the Marlins lately? Not pretty.  

26              26              Tampa Bay- Ah, that’s better. Back to familiar territory for one of the worst MLB franchises of all-time. We believe they will be here to stay. Not even the return of Rocco Baldelli can save them.

25              24              Washington- Forget what we said last week. The surge was an aberration. We should know better than to give a team that lists Tony Armas Jr. as their number 2 starter a fighting chance.

24              23              Baltimore- Aspiring to be mediocre is what the Orioles are reduced to. Sooner or later their fans are going to be fed up. Although, it is hard to resist Camden Yards.  

23              22              Los Angeles (AL)- I am so angry that this franchise is going to demote the hottest pitcher in baseball in Jered Weaver, all because of a numbers game. What does it tell your fans that you are going to send a guy down who is 4-0 with an ERA under 1.5? What more does he have to do? Where there’s talent, there’s a way and GM Bill Stoneman better come up with one.

22              25              Minnesota- Hmm, if the Twins can get to .500 over the next couple of weeks, then maybe they can put something together. Liriano and Santana are ridiculous, and some of the bats are awakening. But 10-24 on the road? You have to play better than that.

21              15              Atlanta- Ding Dong, the witch is dead! Who would have thought that Leo Mazzoni was the glue that held everything together in Atlanta (although, it’s not like he’s doing a lot in Baltimore). It’s been a nice run, but it’s time to start selling off the assets.

20              21              Seattle- Hmm, they had a golden chance against the A’s to make a statement and to really serve notice that they are for real. Alas, it did not work out and now we have to wonder what, if anything, can turn them around in 2006. On the plus side, Ichiro is just amazing to watch.

19              16              Cleveland- Ok, if you are not getting pitching or hitting, you won’t win very many games. So what can turn their season around? Well, a fellow by the name of Peralta playing well would be a start.

18              20              Milwaukee- Decent starting pitching, a good bullpen and timely hitting have the Brewers sniffing at .500. However, it’ll take a heck of a lot to get them over that mark to stay.

17              19              Colorado- It’s nice to see this scrappy team fight back and climb over .500 again. People had begun to write them off, but any team with that amount of young talent has to be taken seriously. Clint Hurdle could become legendary if they can make a run at the Dodgers.

16              13              San Francisco- This aging team is feisty, and they are getting better pitching performances, but that starting rotation is just not deep enough to contend. We also don’t like the odds of Barry Bonds and Moises Alou staying healthy from here on in- which is their only chance.

15              12              Philadelphia- Philly proved against the Mets that they are not in the same weight class right now. It’s a team that just doesn’t know how to win and the Mets exploited it. I’m thinking a managerial change is needed to fix the psyche of this fragile team.

14              18              Houston- Roy Oswalt’s return has restored a lot of confidence to a team getting Roger Clemens back shortly as well. We just don’t know if they have enough hitting to compete with the heavy lumber in St. Louis and Cincinnati.

13              14              San Diego- The Padres keep chugging along, doing just enough to stay in the divisional hunt. Keep an eye on San Diego in the second half of the season, as Bruce Bochy knows how to manage.

12              17              Oakland- Wow, are the A’s starting their second half surge early? With the AL West up for grabs, Oakland is wide-eyed and pumped right now. If they can eventually get production out of Milton Bradley and not trade Barry Zito, things could be exciting come September in the bay area.

11              11              Texas- The Rangers are doing alright. No one expected them to be doing any better, so it was unrealistic to expect them to hang on to the division lead all season. Our question: can the pitching hold up?

10              7                Arizona- What a difference a week makes. The D-backs are trying to re-focus and move on after Sh#*t Storm Grimsley hit their clubhouse. A slide was inevitable, but is the rebound as well? We’ll see.

9                9                Los Angeles (NL)- Eric Gagne lands back on the DL, but LA has not depended on him much this season anyway. They are in a dogfight with Arizona, but seem to have the bigger bark.

8                10              Toronto- Who needs pitching anyway? Toronto has a lineup stocked with bats lead by Vernon Wells, and the Jays are hanging in with the big boys in the AL East. We like John Gibbons and apparently so do the players.  

7                8                Cincinnati- I am wondering if the Reds are going to unload Griffey or not. My guess is no, as the fans would revolt. However, we’re thinking they are one pitcher away from contending and Griffey could land them such a starter.

6                6                Boston- Other than Schilling, pitching is not a strong suit right now for Boston and the bats are not exactly tearing it up either. Still, they are staying near or at the top of the division on sheer guts and guile. A bright spot? Coco Crisp is doing just fine.

5                3                New York (AL)- Oakland recently exposed New York as a team in need of some help via the trade route. Another bat to replace Sheffield and Matsui is a must. A starting pitcher wouldn’t hurt either. However, keep in mind that they have all of these so-called problems and they’re still number five on the rankings. Hats off to Joe Torre. 

4                5                St. Louis- Cris Carpenter looks great and that’s a big positive. Albert Pujols is closer to returning and that is an even bigger one. The Cards got to see what their roster was made of in his absence and it’s been impressive.

3                1                Chicago (AL)- That bullpen worries us. It just doesn’t seem to be as reliable as last season. John Garland’s ERA is a concern as well. Still, the ChiSox are a team that will be good all season long.

2                2                Detroit- Shelton cools off, Maroth is lost to injury, Verlander hits a rough patch, etc… it doesn’t seem like much fazes the Tigers. Looks like we have a viable contender here folks.  

1                4                New York (NL)- Recently distancing themselves from the competition has put the Mets in another stratosphere. New York is a complete ball club and they deserve this spot on the rankings.