First baseball post
2006 AL Power Ranking, Pre-ST version
1. White Sox I was not a believer last year, but the improvements they've made to a WS champ are unbelievable. Major weaknesses include holes in the lineup at 3B and SS, injury risks at the power positions DH and RF. Major strengths include offensive depth (Mackowiak was a huge, and underrated, acquisition, and the Sox easily have the best bench in the AL), the best rotation in baseball, and chemistry (I'm actually serious. This factor gave them a nod over Oakland in this list, that and the fact that they're defending champs).
2. Athletics This team has virtually no weaknesses. Their rotation is right up there with Chicago's (Loaiza should be their fifth starter, and Saarloos and Kennedy are available to fill in), and they have a stronger bullpen. Their lineup lacks the same middle-of-the-order punch, but is much stronger 1 to 9, with similar depth off the bench. The Thomas signing makes this team a potential powerhouse. A bigger-market team could sign the final Molina brother and just cut Kendall altogether, or make him a backup, but Beane will have to get more creative to fix his biggest problem.
3. Indians This team is going to be scary good in 2007 and 2008. As it is, they took a minor, and temporary, step back with the Crisp trade, but as Shapiro said, the Sox needed him more. Cleveland has a superior player in just about every respect in Sizemore, who should grow to superstar status this season along with "Pronk" Hafner, Victor Martinez, and Jhonny Peralta. Throw Andy Marte into the mix (many see him replacing Boone for good sometime mid-seasno) and you have just an unbelievable core of young players. Casey Blake could be upgraded, Michaels is a question mark, and Broussard still can't hit lefties, but that's just about the only negative things that can be said about their offense. There are more question marks on the pitching staff, between the loss of Milwood and the expectation that the bullpen will be taking a step back, but Lee and Westbrook are legit aces. This team has to be considered the WC favorite.
4. Red Sox I've done this team to death, obviously. The lineup is again extraordinary, and despite having more unknown factors than most years, should be the frontrunners to again lead the AL in runs scored. The entire infield has been replaced. The rotation and bullpen should be this team's strength in 2006, as they've put together a front line of starters and finishers that can compete with the top squads in the league, as well as a truly impressive array of depth options and backup plans.
5. Yankees Toe to toe with their hated rivals, the Yankees match up pretty evenly. Much weaker bullpen, and more questions in the rotation (though with 6 guys worthy of a starting spot, they've got the depth to work with this year), but with every offensive starter returning, while upgrading from Ruben Sierra to Johnny Damon, the MFYs know where they'll stand offensively.
6. Tigers. Call me crazy.
7. Blue Jays. Overrated. Big name pickups, but their infield defense is going to kill them, and I don't actually expect the bullpen to improve at all, considering that they had 6 total unknowns all have career years simultaneously in 2005, and only added one player.
8. Angels. Not enough runs to seriously compete, pitching will decline. Bullpen magic is at an end. This team will lead the league in "number of times fans collectively cringe in fear every time a ball is hit to the outfield". Their best outfielder is their DH, and their best middle infielders are in the minors.
9. Rangers. No pitching. Cordero loses his job this season. Is Kinsler really a big-league starting infielder out of ST?
10. Devil Rays. Kids start to gel. This team arrives in 2008.
11. Mariners. Jojima is the one bright spot for a dreary team. If they ever start talking about contraction again, we should just offer Seattle to Japan.
12. Twins. They stink. Terry Ryan appears to have adopted the Pittsburgh Pirates "design a team to finish as close to .500 as possible, without going over" method of roster building. Luis Castillo, WOO! Maybe this year they'll also utilize the second part of that role, trading parts to contenders to build for the future. Except the guy they were supposed to do that with in 2004, 2003, and 2002 has already been traded (Romero). What a conundrum.
13. Orioles. High hopes for Daniel Cabrera, though. But Leo Mazzone has to have warm bodies to work his magic (or so I assume, anyway), and warm bodies in the bullpen is something this team is low on. I guess it's nothing new to O's fans, but their management seems astonishingly directionless. Moves like acquiring Benson and signing Gibbons for three years, while overpaying for no reason to pick up a player in the thinnest FA market (Ramon Hernandez), who plays the position of (and whose acquisition pisses off) your second best hitter... I mean, what?
14. Royals. Naturally. Although, in a vacuum, they look better this year than last. I think the NL must just suck right now, because something like 12 of these 14 teams, when viewed individually, appear to have improved over 2005.
1. White Sox I was not a believer last year, but the improvements they've made to a WS champ are unbelievable. Major weaknesses include holes in the lineup at 3B and SS, injury risks at the power positions DH and RF. Major strengths include offensive depth (Mackowiak was a huge, and underrated, acquisition, and the Sox easily have the best bench in the AL), the best rotation in baseball, and chemistry (I'm actually serious. This factor gave them a nod over Oakland in this list, that and the fact that they're defending champs).
2. Athletics This team has virtually no weaknesses. Their rotation is right up there with Chicago's (Loaiza should be their fifth starter, and Saarloos and Kennedy are available to fill in), and they have a stronger bullpen. Their lineup lacks the same middle-of-the-order punch, but is much stronger 1 to 9, with similar depth off the bench. The Thomas signing makes this team a potential powerhouse. A bigger-market team could sign the final Molina brother and just cut Kendall altogether, or make him a backup, but Beane will have to get more creative to fix his biggest problem.
3. Indians This team is going to be scary good in 2007 and 2008. As it is, they took a minor, and temporary, step back with the Crisp trade, but as Shapiro said, the Sox needed him more. Cleveland has a superior player in just about every respect in Sizemore, who should grow to superstar status this season along with "Pronk" Hafner, Victor Martinez, and Jhonny Peralta. Throw Andy Marte into the mix (many see him replacing Boone for good sometime mid-seasno) and you have just an unbelievable core of young players. Casey Blake could be upgraded, Michaels is a question mark, and Broussard still can't hit lefties, but that's just about the only negative things that can be said about their offense. There are more question marks on the pitching staff, between the loss of Milwood and the expectation that the bullpen will be taking a step back, but Lee and Westbrook are legit aces. This team has to be considered the WC favorite.
4. Red Sox I've done this team to death, obviously. The lineup is again extraordinary, and despite having more unknown factors than most years, should be the frontrunners to again lead the AL in runs scored. The entire infield has been replaced. The rotation and bullpen should be this team's strength in 2006, as they've put together a front line of starters and finishers that can compete with the top squads in the league, as well as a truly impressive array of depth options and backup plans.
5. Yankees Toe to toe with their hated rivals, the Yankees match up pretty evenly. Much weaker bullpen, and more questions in the rotation (though with 6 guys worthy of a starting spot, they've got the depth to work with this year), but with every offensive starter returning, while upgrading from Ruben Sierra to Johnny Damon, the MFYs know where they'll stand offensively.
6. Tigers. Call me crazy.
7. Blue Jays. Overrated. Big name pickups, but their infield defense is going to kill them, and I don't actually expect the bullpen to improve at all, considering that they had 6 total unknowns all have career years simultaneously in 2005, and only added one player.
8. Angels. Not enough runs to seriously compete, pitching will decline. Bullpen magic is at an end. This team will lead the league in "number of times fans collectively cringe in fear every time a ball is hit to the outfield". Their best outfielder is their DH, and their best middle infielders are in the minors.
9. Rangers. No pitching. Cordero loses his job this season. Is Kinsler really a big-league starting infielder out of ST?
10. Devil Rays. Kids start to gel. This team arrives in 2008.
11. Mariners. Jojima is the one bright spot for a dreary team. If they ever start talking about contraction again, we should just offer Seattle to Japan.
12. Twins. They stink. Terry Ryan appears to have adopted the Pittsburgh Pirates "design a team to finish as close to .500 as possible, without going over" method of roster building. Luis Castillo, WOO! Maybe this year they'll also utilize the second part of that role, trading parts to contenders to build for the future. Except the guy they were supposed to do that with in 2004, 2003, and 2002 has already been traded (Romero). What a conundrum.
13. Orioles. High hopes for Daniel Cabrera, though. But Leo Mazzone has to have warm bodies to work his magic (or so I assume, anyway), and warm bodies in the bullpen is something this team is low on. I guess it's nothing new to O's fans, but their management seems astonishingly directionless. Moves like acquiring Benson and signing Gibbons for three years, while overpaying for no reason to pick up a player in the thinnest FA market (Ramon Hernandez), who plays the position of (and whose acquisition pisses off) your second best hitter... I mean, what?
14. Royals. Naturally. Although, in a vacuum, they look better this year than last. I think the NL must just suck right now, because something like 12 of these 14 teams, when viewed individually, appear to have improved over 2005.