1. N.Y. Mets (3) – Swept Cardinals, got good news on Tom Glavine, moved to top of rankings… What a good week.
2. Detroit (1) – Once rock-solid rotation is beginning to show some cracks.
3. N.Y. Yankees (4) – The Big Unit still has the name but not the game anymore.
4. Oakland (5) – Could become just the third team in history to win 90 games and be outscored by their opponents.
5. Chicago White Sox (2) – Add Jermaine Dye to the list of MVP candidates.
6. Minnesota (8) – Lineup is mmm mmm good with Joe Mauer and Jason Morneau.
7. Boston (6) – Who’s their daddy? Yankees, of course.
8. Los Angeles Angels (10) – Scouting report on rookie pitcher Jered Weaver: Good slider, funky motion, bad hairdo.
9. Cincinnati (12) – Because of sore arm Eddie Guardado is now Every-other-day Eddie.
10. San Diego (16) – Dodgers get no mercy: Padres improve to 11-3 after sweep.
11. Los Angeles Dodgers (7) – Just when you thought the NL West was all but locked up, the Dodgers slip in San Diego.
12. Texas (13) – Carlos Lee says he wouldn’t mind staying; does he know he can’t hit off his own pitchers?
13. St. Louis (11) – They can’t blame Shea Hillenbrand on their sinking ship.
14. Philadelphia (15) – Pat Gillick, Arthur Rhodes and now Jamie Moyer – Pulling for Phils feels awfully familiar.
15. Toronto (9) – FYI: When they refer to punchouts and Ted Lilly, it’s not just about striking out someone.
16. San Francisco (18) – Team lobbying to call of rest of season so they can watch “Matlock” reruns.
17. Milwaukee (19) – All their late surge is doing is messing up their draft position for next year.
18. Arizona (14) – Yes, it is true. There is no (Shawn) Green in the desert.
19. Florida (21) – With all those hurricanes, it’s no wonder they’ve got this rebuilding thing down.
20. Houston (20) – Roger Clemens is not going to get a fairy tale ending but will get a nice big fat check this season.
21. Cleveland (22) – With seven veterans traded and 10 rookies on the roster, this is the most turnover since the last Browns’ home game.
22. Atlanta (24) – From the he said what? file: Often-injured Brian Jordan, on the DL for 10 weeks, says he’s not ready to retire.
23. Colorado (17) ¬– Remember Kaz Matsui? He’s back in the bigs with the sliding Rockies.
24. Chicago Cubs (23) – New shortstop Cesar Izturis fits right in with this group with his stay on the disabled list.
25. Baltimore (27) – Daniel Cabrera, with 16 scoreless innings, has been sharp since being recalled from minors.
26. Seattle (26) – Since they are experimenting anyway, they might as well give the Mariners Moose a try in the rotation.
27. Pittsburgh (28) – No-name pitching staff has compiled a 3.98 ERA since the All-Star break, fourth-best in baseball.
28. Tampa Bay (29) – They’re going to start getting charged rent because they live in the AL East cellar.
29. Washington (25) – Ryan Zimmerman leads all rookies in RBI (84), doubles (38), extra-base hits (56) and walks (51).
30. Kansas City (30) – They score 10 in an inning and still lose, proving that with that pitching staff, no lead really is safe.