Power Rankings I tend to agree with this for the most part and I really feel we're going all the way...We win the Division and the Cubs have the wild card... The Power Rankings as of Feb. 2: POWER RANKINGS Current Team Previous 1 Boston Red Sox 5 Additions of Schilling and Foulke have other teams screaming, "Curses!" 2 Houston Astros 12 Astros are ready to blast off after adding Pettitte and Clemens -- assuming they and other aging stars can avoid serious injuries. 3 Anaheim Angels 19 Colon, Vladdy and a solid bullpen should help 2002 World Champs rebound from a forgettable 2003. 4 New York Yankees 1 Will the new-look Evil Empire -- with A-Rod, Sheffield, Brown, Lofton -- thrive or self-destruct? 5 Chicago Cubs 8 Dusty Baker's defending NL Central champs aren't ready to concede anything to Houston yet. 6 Philadelphia Phillies 16 With Billy Wagner one of baseball's best closers, Citizens Bank Park could see a postseason in its first year. 7 Florida Marlins 7 Marlins still have a solid rotation and many key players from last season's World Champions. 8 Seattle Mariners 10 Whether Ichiro bats first, second or third, Mariners should score for a pretty good rotation. 9 Oakland Athletics 4 Athletics' big three of Hudson, Mulder, Zito might be hurting for some run support following the loss of Tejada. 10 Atlanta Braves 2 The Braves' streak of 12 consecutive division titles could continue if newcomers RF Drew and P Thomson perform well. 11 Baltimore Orioles 21 Tejada and Javy Lopez help form a dangerous lineup, but Birds won't have enough pitching to catch the BoSox or Yankees. 12 Toronto Blue Jays 11 Jays will need solid seasons from new starters Batista and Lilly, as well as likely closer Speier, to make a wild-card run. 13 St. Louis Cardinals 14 The Cardinals did little this offseason to counter moves made by division rivals Houston and Chicago. 14 Kansas City Royals 17 Acquisitions of Juan Gone and Santiago made for nice headlines, but the pitching will have to be better than last year's 5.05 ERA. 15 Minnesota Twins 5 Twins will remain respectable but will be hard-pressed to overcome the losses of closer Guardado and catcher Pierzynski. 16 Arizona Diamondbacks 18 The lineup -- especially with addition of Sexson -- should score runs, but ace Schilling will be hard to replace. 17 San Francisco Giants 3 Bonds remains, but loss of others (e.g. Aurilia, Santiago, Cruz) means Giants take a step back. 18 San Diego Padres 23 Padres certainly seem much improved with a healthy Nevin and several offseason moves, but the jury's out on how the pitching staff will come together. 19 Los Angeles Dodgers 13 Ownership change in January was too late to make a strong run at quality free agents who could have helped a weak offense. 20 Chicago White Sox 9 Losses of ace Colon and OF Everett mean new manager Ozzie Guillen has some holes to fill. 21 New York Mets 29 A healthy Cliff Floyd and a healthy Mike Piazza alone should make for significant improvement. 22 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 22 Devil Rays improved themselves with many offseason moves -- but they're in the wrong division to prove it. 23 Montreal Expos 15 No Vladdy. No Vazquez. No chance to compete for a wild-card berth this year. 24 Pittsburgh Pirates 20 The Pirates finished 2003 with a 49-48 mark -- a season-long .500 record would be an accomplishment. 25 Colorado Rockies 25 Castilla and Burnitz might generate runs -- or they could be busts; the pitching, no surprise, will determine how the Rockies fare. 26 Cleveland Indians 27 Last year's 4.21 ERA and talented young players such as Gerut and Bradley are reason for hope. 27 Milwaukee Brewers 24 Trade of Sexson returned several parts -- Counsell, Spivey, Overbay -- but pitchers need to improve last year's 5.02 ERA. 28 Texas Rangers 28 Until there's proof of some quality pitchers, the Rangers will lose a lot of close, high-scoring games. 29 Detroit Tigers 30 Signings of Pudge, Vina and Rondell White mean Tigers are on the way to respectability. 30 Cincinnati Reds 26 A healthy Griffey -- no laughing please -- would help a lot, but there are serious pitching questions.
Mark Prior is going to miss the first 2 weeks of the season with an achilles injury. Every little bit helps. I am suprised we are rated #2. Seems a few spots high.
Pettite and Clemens vs. the NL is a huge advantage. Anytime AL pitchers come over they usually dominate like Colon did. I like our chances too. That being Said, the Cubs are gonna be tough. I see it going neck and neck.
The Yankees, defending AL Champs are 4th? FOURTH? That is ludicrous. Sportsline has taken the Yankee hate a little too far.
Brown and Vazquez are at least equal to Pettite and Clemens, not to mention the Yankees went from Sorino to A-Rod. Yet they're somehow ranked below the Astros and the Angels? As a homer, my heart want to believe that the Astros really deserve this ranking. But unless we have a lot of things go right(mainly injuries), it's just not going to happen. Realistically speaking, I give us 50-60% shot at winning the NL central. And if we were in the AL East, I'd give us 10% chance of winning the division.
I love how the 'Stros are at #2, but like previously mentioned, it's insane that the Yanks are at #4. Based on paper, they are #1, then the Astros are top 3.
Yes, Brown and Vazquez are better than Pettitte and Clemens, when healthy. The Yankees rotation has no depth, and if one starter goes down, they are really going to have to start digging with a weak minor league system. I think Soriano and Boone is better than A-Rod and Cairo or Wilson. Remember that A-Rod's numbers have been inflated at the Ballpark in Arlington.
Until Brown proves he can stay healthy for an entire year, and Vasquez pitches well in a pressure packed enviornment he's never been in (see Contreras and Weaver for great arms who wilt under NY pressure), you can't say they're equal to Clemens and Pettite. Of course, I use the same argument that Oswalt is just as good as Prior... but everyone says, "get him to stay healthy for an entire year, then talk." Who really cares about power rankings anways?
First of all, Vazquez is by far the most likely pitcher to be healthy among the 4 pitchers. He's young and doesn't have much of an injury history. Brown is an injury risk, but he also has much more upside than Pettite or Clemens(both of which are also, to a lesser extent, injury risks just based on age). I wouldn't be surprised if Brown put up Cy Young numbers, but I would if Clemens or Pettite can. As for A-Rod's numbers, yes, they're inflated by his ballpark. But what's the point? He's the best player in the game, upgrading from Alfonso "can't take a walk" Sorino. The guy will put up monster stats in NY simply because he's that good. Oh, and the Yankees made the WS last year. Compared to the Astros team that didn't even make the playoffs. So they started from much higher. I know this is a Houston board, but let's not be too much of a homer.
meh -- i think you read more into his post than was there. he simply cited health as a concern. i think that's a pretty strong argument when you consider: 1. brown has had recurring problems; 2. clemens eats up 200IP/year 3. pettitte eats up 200IP/year.
Great to see us that high, ofcourse this was as of Feb2nd and there were moves after that that could shift the rankings a bit. BUT, the article was a good read. So great to hear the Astros are getting some love!
