May's Power Alley

First we rank the teams.

• No. 1: Los Angeles Dodgers - Many people expected Joe Torre's team to collapse without Manny Ramirez. Instead, it got better. Juan Pierre stepped up. So has Casey Blake. And the entire pitching staff. They could essentially wrap up the west by July 31.


• No. 2: New York Yankees - The Yankees were a house of fire in May, including a 17-game errorless streak. Johnny Damon has been nothing short of fantastic. And Melky Cabrera has come up big. So has Mark Teixeira of late. The question is whether the entire squad can keep this up.


• No. 3: Texas Rangers - Speaking of question marks, how in the name of Doug Strange did this team get here? Thirty wins is how. It will be interesting to see if this team can hold up in the heat of summer. And they have a 5.5-game lead. Insane.


• No. 4: Milwaukee Brewers - Injuries are starting to creep up on the Brew Crew. But, as of right now, they're pretty hot. They recently dispatched the Cubs with ease.


• No. 5: Boston Red Sox - The pitching hasn't come around yet, but the offense surely has. Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis have been killing the ball. Dustin Pedroia is coming around. And Paps is Paps.


• No. 6: St. Louis Cardinals - Thanks to Big Albert, the Cardinals are this high on the list. Tony LaRussa has also played a big part, his crazy lineups have the Cards battling the Brewers for first place.


• No. 7: Detroit Tigers - Justin Verlander and Co. have the Tigers looking like the team they should have been last year. That is a tough lineup. Arguably, tougher than the vaunted Yankees and Phillies.


• No. 8: Philadelphia Phillies - Speaking of the World Champs, they clock in here a bit lower than they could be. But pitching and injuries have hurt the squad. With the loss of Brett Myers for the season, there's no guarantee they'll stay here.


• No. 9: New York Mets - If one team is going to overtake the Phils, it will be the Mets. However, they have their own injury concerns.


• No. 10: Toronto Blue Jays - The American League East is stacked, what with three teams in the Power Alley Top 10. The Jays have a good offense but if it wasn't just Roy Halladay and a bunch of stiffs the team would be much better.

• No. 1: Washington Nationals - These poor nitwits have five fewer wins than the next worst team in the Big Leagues. And they've accomplished that while having two of the top hitters in the National League - Christian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman.
• No. 2: Oakland Athletics - Every season has a team with promise that completely underperforms. This season it's the Athletics.
• No. 3: Houston Astros - With Roy Oswalt, Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman, you'd think this team would be a contender. Instead, it's earning a shot at a high draft pick.
• No. 4: Colorado Rockies - This organization has become a laughingstock. They've gone so far as to unjustly fire their manager, a man who led them to the World Series just two short years ago.
• No. 5: Cleveland Indians - Like the Athletics, this team was expected by many to be a contender. There were even some who picked this team to reach the World Series. doesn't look like that's going to happen.
• No. 6: Arizona Diamondbacks - This is another team that has disappointed. Having just 22 wins in the weak American League West is not impressive.
• No. 7: Pittsburgh Pirates - Their drop was quicker than John Edward's presidential aspirations. The Pirates have solid pitching, but their defense is bad.
• No. 8: Florida Marlins - Another team that had a hot start and has dropped precipitously.
• No. 9: Chicago Cubs - This team technically has more wins than several teams that aren't on this list. But they've been favored by most to win the pennant and the World Series.
• No. 10: The Seattle Mariners - Another team with a hot start that hasn't played well of late. However, this team is no where near a lock to miss out on the playoffs.

Now, we look at the position players.

• No. 1: Albert Pujols - He might be known as another name - Zeus. The mighty righty is pummeling the ball. And might never stop. He has just 17 whifs, but has 16 home runs. That's all you need to know about the .329 hitter.
• No. 2: Evan Longoria - The third baseman cannot be blamed for the Tampa Bays rough start. He's batting .332, with 13 homers and an incredible 55 runs batted in.
• No. 3: Raul Ibanez - The new Phillie continues to shine. He's batting .333 while bashing 17 home runs and 46 runs driven in.
• No. 4: Justin Morneau - The Twins first baseman is batting .342 with 14 home runs. The sweet-swinger could earn a second MVP if he continues this campaign.
• No. 5: Adrian Gonzalez - He has 20 homers and just 40 runs batted in. But in the Padres offense, that's impressive.
• No. 6: Michael Young - For eight years, he's been underrated, batting .300 with an average of 34 doubles, 92 runs and 184 hits a season. He's on pace for a career-year, batting .332 with 19 doubles and 29 runs scored.
• No. 7: Carl Crawford - The Rays do-it-all star has an amazing 30 stolen bases - he's on pace for 93 steals. He's also on his way to a 30-plus double, 120-plus run season.
• No. 8: Carlos Beltran - With Carlos Delgado hurt, David Wright's strikeout problems and Jose Reyes' inconsistencies, the center fielder is having a pretty big season. His importance to the Mets grows by the day.
• No. 9: Prince Fielder is making another run at the MVP award. He's got 42 runs driven in and 12 home runs. His batting average is just .278, but he's the spark pushing the Brewers right now.
• No. 10: Orlando Hudson - All those teams that watched him sit on the sidelines in the offseason must be blushing now. The gold-glove caliber second sacker is hitting .335 with 16 doubles and three home runs. Despite not having the reputation of a run producer, he has driven in just two fewer runs than Chase Utley.

• No. 1: Lastings Milledge - This was supposed to be his breakout season. Instead, he got sent to the minors. Then he got hurt. The Mets were smart to get rid of this mess.
• No. 2: David Ortiz - Big Papi has one home run. One. But it's not just that. At .185, he isn't even hitting for average.
• No. 3: Alex Gordon - He was supposed to be the Royals best third baseman since George Brett. Instead, he batted .095. before being injured.
• No. 4: Jordan Schafer - It is hard to put this guy on the list, but his 63 whiffs, .204 average and 18 runs scored are pathetic. He's much more talented than that.
• No. 5: BJ Upton - Who expected to see him here? But a .204 batting average doesn't help. Sure, he's stolen 15 bases, but he's also hit just two home runs.
• No. 6: Orlando Cabrera - The shortstop has been nothing but solid his entire career, so it has been shocking to see him with just a .236 average and a scant eight extra-base hits.
• No. 7: Jason Giambi - Matt Holliday is starting to come around. Aside from the rare home run, Giambi is not. He slugging just .371, that's more than 130 points lower than last year.
• No. 8: Pat Burrell - He was supposed to help solidify the Rays offense. Instead he's spent time on the disabled list, batted .250 and hit one lonely home run.
• No. 9: Greg Dobbs - The Phillies have come to rely on this potent pinch hitter. But he's batting .135. That's neither potent, nor reliable.
• No. 10: Chris Young - He has played in more games than any other Diamondback, but he's played ineffectually. Batting .176 and having 45 whiffs and just 28 hits is ridiculous.

Lastly, we look at the pitchers

• No. 1: Zack Greinke - He didn't live up to his April numbers, but, other than Orel Hershiser in 1988, no one could have. Right now, he's 8-1 with an insane 1.10 ERA. he's struckout 81 in 75 innings.
• No. 2: Johan Santana - He might be the best left-handed pitcher since Steve Carlton. We'd take him over Randy Johnson, which is saying something. Santana is 7-2 with a 1.77 ERA.
• No. 3: Roy Halladay - The Blue Jay ace is having quite the ho-hum season. He's only 8-1 with a 2.63 ERA. He's even becoming more efficient, passing out just 11 walks in 82 innings.
• No. 4: Justin Verlander - He's simply overpowering. The right-hander is now 6-2 with 90 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings pitched. And he's walked just 20.
• No. 5: Heath Bell - The San Diego Padres' closer is having an insane season. He's got a filthy 1.27 ERA and 15 saves. He has 26 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched.
• No. 6: Jonathan Broxton - the Dodgers pitcher has been a revelation. He's got a 1.50 ERA and 11 saves. His 5-0 record is just as impressive as his ERA.
• No. 7: Frank Francisco - This guy is having an insane year. He's racked up 11 saves and 18 strikeouts in just 172/3 innings pitched. And did we mention he has yet to give up an earned run? This fella better make the All-Star squad.
• No. 8: Francisco Rodriguez - K-Rod is having a very positive impact on the Mets. His .73 ERA is fantastic.
• No. 9: Tim Lincecum - The reigning National League Cy Young winner hasn't gotten much run support. But he's 4-1 with a 3.03 ERA.
• No. 10: Mark Buehrle - The White Sox lefty is up to his usual tricks. He's 6-1 with a 2.71 ERA and has given up just 12 walks in 66 innings.

• No. 1: Chien-Ming Wang. - Although he's been better of late, he's still 0-3 with a 16.07 ERA.
• No. 2: Francisco Liriano - It's been a nightmare season for the pitcher expected to be the Twins' ace. He's 2-7 with a 6.60 ERA.
• No. 3: Adam Eaton - It's safe now, O's fans, he's gone.
• No. 4: Daniel Cabrera - This guy's horrible. He pitched his way out of Baltimore and Washington, that takes a major lack of talent. How he got to the Big Leagues in the first place is beyond anyone's imagination.
• No. 5: Any Phillies starting pitcher - The World Champs made it to the post season with a strong run down the stretch and an even better performance in the post season. Now, however, the only one with an ERA under 5.00 is Brett Myers. And he's done for the year.
• No. 6: Jose Contreras - An 8.19 ERA and no wins. Need we say more?
• No. 7: Brad Lidge - He's collected 11 saves, but his 7.71 ERA shows how inconsistent he's been.
• No. 8: Scott Kasmir - He was supposed to be the ace of the defending American League champions. Instead, he has a 7.69 ERA.
• No. 9: Ricky Nolasco - The Marlins have put a lot into this young prospect. But his 9.07 ERA and 2-5 record are not a strong return.
• No. 10: Sidney Ponson - Not much was expected from the portly pitcher, but a 7.27 ERA and a 1-5 record are a letdown.