Statistics through Sunday; (last week’s rank)
1. Yankees (1): Whatever stuff Ivan Nova is taking, the White Sox believe it works. He’s a great addition to a staff that is “iffy,” although Andy Pettitte may be around the corner.
2. Rays (2): Weekend series kept Red Sox at bay, appearing to make the AL East (and thus AL wild card) a two-team race. James Shields has won six of last eight starts.
3. Rangers (4): Players know management wants to win despite the turmoil after it claimed Manny Ramirez on waivers (albeit too late). Nelson Cruz brings his .320 average back to lineup this week
4. Padres (3): Sweep by Phillies in San Diego leaves bad implications for playoffs, especially without an offense.
5. Reds (5): Yes, the Cardinals are making them look good (except when they play each other) by losing, but that Magic Dusty seems to still be working.
6. Braves (7): Is something happening here? Braves won ML-high 23rd game in final at-bat with Brian McCann’s video replay homer. “If this continues we’ll all either have heart attacks or make the playoffs, one or the other,” Matt Diaz said.
7. Phillies (6): Remember Cole Hamels from 2008? He’s back, and at the right time.
8. Twins (9): Addition of Brian Fuentes to bullpen was genius move, but how do you explain Nick Blackburn returning with a shutout? Injuries and ineffectiveness don’t seem to matter.
9. Cardinals (8): How can a team with two great starters (Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter) and potential triple crown winner (Albert Pujols) possibly be this bad?
10. Red Sox (10): It may be too late for Carlos Delgado and Dustin Pedroia to help.
11. Giants (11): Three-game losing streaks are not the way to stay in wild-card race. Has fat lady sung?
12. White Sox (13): The big question: Will Manny Ramirez help or hurt? No one knows, but return of Matt Thornton, perhaps late this week, should help.
13. Rockies (16): Homestand finished 5-1, but Rocks 15 under on the road and Troy Tulowitzki is hurting again.
14. Blue Jays (12): Bright young star Brandon Morrow (10.93 Ks per nine innings, one-hitter vs. Rays) has been shut down. So has the season at the Rogers Centre.
15. Athletics (17): Four-game series in Yankee Stadium is do-or-die for pitching-rich A’s.
16. Marlins (15): And on Sunday, for the seventh time this season, Josh Johnson left a game with a lead but didn’t get the victory. He can thank Will Ohman and the bad bullpen for that.
17. Dodgers (14): Team Turmoil likes Scott Podsednik more than Manny, making last month of lame-duck manager Joe Torre easier.
18. Angels (19): Has Mike Scioscia lost control, or are they just this bad?
19. Tigers (20): Bad news for the White Sox from manager Jim Leyland: “I think our club has a chance to get real good real quick. It appears we have some money to spend.”
20. Brewers (18): Officials looking at ways to correct shadows at Miller Park in afternoon games. They should be looking at ways to correct that shadowy starting rotation.
21. Mets (21): Playing out the string before manager Jerry Manuel and GM Omar Minaya are replaced.
22. Orioles (22): Felix Pie? Corey Patterson? They sure play good against the White Sox.
23. Astros (23): Carlos Lee just had 28 RBIs in 29 games. Gee, thanks for showing up. Where were you when things really counted, like in April when he produced five RBIs in his first 21 games?
24. Royals (24): Even Zack Greinke must be tiring of the constant rebuilding (witness the trade of Podsednik).
25. Cubs (29): The new “Q” factor seems to be working, so far, at keeping players from snoozing. Even Randy Wells pitches like he wants to win.
26. Indians (27): Manny’s return Tuesday could be biggest event of season.
27. Diamondbacks (25): That great young talent has mostly dissolved into has-beens. Maybe bringing back Bob Brenly would help.
28. Mariners (26): Even Ichiro is having a bad season (.307 average). Wouldn’t David Aardsma (1.13 ERA since All-Star break) look good with one of his old Chicago teams?
29. Nationals (28): Not even Stephen Strasburg around to keep fans interested. Even the Cubs might look good to free agent Adam Dunn.
30. Pirates (30): Ho-hum.
