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MLB Power Rankings Roundup for May 26 2006

The Tigers and the White Sox vie for MLB Power Ranking supremecy but not much has changed in a week in the top 10. Except for the Dodgers. The other team from LA have won 7 in a row, most recently sweeping the previous Top 10 team the Rockies. It only takes a hot streak to reach or fall out of the top 10, which is why the White Sox and the Tigers (?!) are so impressive.

Here are your Major League Baseball Power Rankings by top sites this week.

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 White Sox White Sox Tigers White Sox White Sox Tigers
2 Tigers Tigers White Sox Red Sox Cardinals Dodgers
3 Cardinals Cardinals Cardinals Tigers Tigers Yankees
4 Mets Mets Diamondbacks Cardinals Red Sox Red Sox
5 Red Sox Yankees Yankees Dodgers Mets Cardinals
6 Yankees Red Sox Mets Phillies Yankees White Sox
7 Blue Jays Diamondbacks Dodgers Mets Blue Jays Phillies
8 Reds Dodgers Red Sox Yankees Reds Rockies
9 Diamondbacks Blue Jays Blue Jays Blue Jays Phillies Reds
10 Astros Reds Reds Astros Astros Blue Jays
11-30 more more more more more more

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Full Count for Fri May 26 2006: There actually is crying in baseball



…it’s only Nats wasteland

1. This really shouldn’t be that emotional: Frank Robinson was crying after Thursday’s game despite his Nationals’ 8-5 victory over the Astros. This was because he had to use an extremely rare move–benching a catcher in the middle of an inning. It’s not like this move was unjustified either–backup catcher Matthew LeCroy had allowed 7 stolen bases and made two throwing errors. “I feel for him,” Robinson said, “And I hope fans understand. I just appreciate him hanging in there as long as he did.” What is this, a little league? LeCroy didn’t care as much. “Hey, he’s doing his job, just like I would do if I was in his position. Yet Robinson still cried, in the process becoming the Dick Vermeil of baseball. By the way, has anyone noticed that Jose Vidro is leading the NL in hitting? He had a homer and 4 RBIs on the day.

2. Simply unfair: The Tigers-Royals matchup the past few seasons has been a laughable affair between the worst two teams in baseball. Well, it’s laughable as well this year, but in a different way. The Tigers, already up 3-0 in the series, won 13-8 despite being down 6 runs after the first inning. Tigers starter Mike Maroth, who was 3rd in the AL in ERA coming into the game, had possibly the worst game any starter has pitched this season. He recorded one out, allowed 6 earned runs, 6 hits, and 3 homeruns before getting pulled. And the Royals still couldn’t win the ballgame, as Detroit’s offense rocked their weak pitching staff. Ivan Rodriguez homered and drove in 5, Craig Monroe went 4-4 with 4 runs scored, and Marcus Thames hit two balls out of the park. The win increased the Royals losing streak to an unbelievable 13 in a row, and the team has yet to defeat the Tigers this year in 8 tries.

3. Your typical AL West game: The AL West division is kind of like the PAC-10 of baseball. The games always seem to be a little crazier than games from other divisions. Thursday’s Rangers-A’s matchup was no different, as Texas stormed to an 8-7 victory. Despite being down 7-0 after five innings, the Rangers scored all of their runs in the last four innings to win the ballgame. Mark Teixeira hit a homerun (surprisingly only his fifth of the season), and Phil Nevin hit a game-winning, walk-off shot in the 9th. Texas, at 24-23, commands the division lead.

4. Just who they were looking for: The Boston Red Sox signed Josh Beckett in the offseason to be their ace, and so far it has looked like an excellent decision. Beckett beat the Devil Rays last night to improve to 7-1 on the season, allowing no runs in 6 innings. Before last night, Boston was only 3-3 against the D-Rays this year. But last night’s win preserved their one-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. By the way, Tampa Bay is still in last place, but they do have more wins than the LA Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago Cubs, among others.

5. A collection of no-names: Usually the batting average leaderboard is filled with current and rising stars. This year, it’s more about the `rising’ stars. The top two hitters of the year have been Alex Rios and Casey Blake. Shea Hillenbrand, another Blue Jay, is fifth. Florida’s Hanley Ramirez, a rookie, is eighth at .335. Brad Hawpe, a previously unknown catcher from the Rockies, is 11th overall. In fact, only about 8 of the top 20 batters are known by the casual fan. What a season.

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Full Count for Thurs May 25 2006: Bonds on Bonds cancelled

1. Bailed on by his best friends: Barry Bonds is probably more widely hated than any other athlete. But even he didn’t know it could get this bad–his best friend, ESPN, cancelled his reality show “Bonds on Bonds.” Producer Mike Tolin said it’s about performance. “If Barry was hitting homeruns at Albert Pujols’ pace, then we would continue. Also, there is some fan fatigue.” The latter has been caused by more Bonds-related material on ESPN than any human being could possibly handle. Every Bonds at-bat is aired live on the network, and on nearly every edition of “Sportscenter” there is talk about Barry. By the way, for the few people out there who actually watch the show, it might come back during the All-Star break or for a regular season wrap-up.

2. Fading in May: Greg Maddux was magnificent in his first five starts, starting out the year 5-0 with 1.35 ERA. But in his last five starts he has looked like the 40-year-old he is, going 0-4 and increasing his ERA to a pedestrian 4.28. One of those poor starts came last night against the Marlins, when Maddux allowed 6 runs in as many innings. Miguel Cabrera did most of the damage, going 2-2 with a 3-run homer and RBI double. The 9-3 victory by the Marlins completed a sweep of the Cubs, who should definitely be embarrassed. By the way, last night’s game drew only 7720 people to Dolphin Stadium. Please move this team or build a new stadium, Marlins owners. This is as bad as the Devil Rays a couple years back.

3. C stands for Complete: CC Sabathia started out the year on the DL, but Indians fans are clearly glad to have him back. Last night the ace won again in complete game fashion over the reeling Twins. It was his second straight complete game, and he is 4-1 with a 1.52 ERA. The Indians offense also excelled against Minnesota, crushing 11 runs off of Brad Radke and others. Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez each drove in 2 runs, and Casey Blake led them all with 4 RBIs. Though the Indians are way out of the AL Central lead, at least they are back to .500 on the year.

4. Back in action: Last year Andruw Jones was the MLB home run champion with 51, though this year he has semi-struggled in that department. In fact, Jones hadn’t homered since May 3 until last night, when he hit two blasts off of Padres starter Chris Young. Edgar Renteria also went yard for Atlanta, who beat the Padres 10-6 to move into a tie for second in the NL East. San Diego, though their record (24-23) is identical to Atlanta’s, is tied for last in the surprisingly tough NL West.

5. The Wright Stuff: David Wright is on a tear for the New York Mets, who beat the struggling Phillies 5-4 last night. Wright homered for his third straight game and drove in two. Carlos Beltran also hit it out, for his 13th time of the season. First time Mets pitcher Alay Soler allowed three first-inning runs but then settled down, shutting out the Phils over the next five innings. The Mets improved to 28-17 on the year, five games ahead of both the Phillies and Braves.

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Full Count for Wed May 24 2006: Marathon

1. Time for extras: It was the longest game of the season when the Mets and the Phillies faced off at Shea Stadium. The game went to extras and then just kept going as it lasted 5:22. While the contest had been high-scoring in regulation as it was tied 8-8, no one could score in extras until the 16th inning. That was when Carlos Beltran hit a solo homer to finally win this game for the Mets. David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Cliff Floyd went yard earlier in the game for New York, who improved to 27-17 on the season. The Phillies, in a hugely disappointing loss, fell to four games back of the Mets. This was the longest major league game since the Houston-Atlanta 18 inning showdown in last year’s playoffs.

2. The Empire Strikes Back: Coming into Tuesday’s game at Fenway, the Yankees had lost four of five to the Red Sox on the season. But they weren’t going to let the Red Sox take a 4 game lead in the division, so the Yankees defeated their hated rival 7-5. New York won off of homers from Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez, as well as five scoreless innings from Jaret Wright. Though the Yanks were up 7-1 in after 7, Manny Ramirez did all he could to bring the Red Sox back, driving in four runs over a two-inning span. But it wasn’t enough, as Mariano Rivera decided not to pitch as terribly as he has been lately. The victory puts New York within two of the Sox as they look to win the division yet another time.

3. Everyone else is doing it: Apparently the homerun leaders in both leagues decided to distance themselves from the rest of the pack on Tuesday night. Almost every significant player homered, including league-leader Albert Pujols. Pujols hit his 23rd big fly of the season and continues to keep a record pace. In the AL, leader Jim Thome of the White Sox went yard for the 18th time this season. The hitting rubbed off on his teammates too, as Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye each hit their 12th homer. In the Nats victory over the Astros, both Alfonso Soriano (16) and Morgan Ensberg (15) hit shots. And Vladimir Guerrero rounded the bases, giving him 12 blasts of his own on the year. The homerun race in both leagues this season will definitely be a fun one.

4. Calling all Angels: Where have the LA Angels been so far this season? If you said last place in the MLB’s weakest division, then you’d be correct! For some unknown reason, the Angels have not been able to duplicate their success from the past few years despite no significant personnel changes. However, last night brought only good news to the Angels, as they defeated division leader Texas while Seattle and Oakland both lost. John Lackey pitched well to lower his ERA to a respectable 3.50, and struggling Felix Rodriguez picked up his 11th save of the season. The Angels are still five back of the Rangers in the West.

5. At least he didn’t get hurt: Kerry Wood has frustrated just about every baseball fan with his incredible talent marred by nearly constant injury problems. Last night, in his second start of the year, he was unable to defeat the pitiful Marlins. Wood allowed 3 runs in only 5 innings pitched, though he left the game with a 4-3 lead. It was Ryan Dempster who denied Wood’s quest for his first win in 10 months, as he blew a save chance in the 9th inning. The Cubs’ record against the Marlins has fallen to 2-3 on the season, which is rather pitiful considering the Fish are 13-31.

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Full Count for Tues May 23 2006: Reds resurgence

1. How bout them Reds?: Has anyone noticed how good the Cincinnati Reds have been this season? After winning last night they improved to 26-19 on the year, one of the best records in the National League. The Reds victory came as it usually does–through excellent hitting. Adam Dunn’s 16th homer and Griffey’s 3-run shot highlighted an 15-run barrage against the Milwaukee Brewers. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo, who leads the NL in ERA, pitched well again. He only allowed one run, decreasing his earned run average to a stellar 2.29. Meanwhile, the Brewers are just one game above .500 after being in second place for a while in the Central.

2. The Other Series: After a series with the Mets that was more exciting than 24’s finale, the Yankees series against the Red Sox just seems like any other rivalry. Obviously it will still be pretty intense, though last night’s 9-5 Red Sox blowout wasn’t the usual battle we expect from these two teams. The Sox won behind Curt Shilling, who picked up his seventh win of the season and no. 199 on his career. Shilling allowed just one run through 8 innings, though reliever Keith Foulke nearly ruined the game. Foulke allowed 4 Yankees runs in the 9th, including back-to-back homeruns by Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. A-Rod’s homer proved once again that he is masterful at going yard in pointless, blowout situations. For the Red Sox offense, it was the usual suspects. Manny Ramirez homered and had 3 RBIs, while David Ortiz drove in three runs of his own. The Red Sox lead in the AL East increased to 2 games after the win.

3. Glory Days: Frank Thomas had an excellent career for the Chicago White Sox before moving on to Oakland for this season. But in his first return to Chicago, he provided fans with a remembrance of the past. Thomas hit two homeruns for the A’s, but they still couldn’t take down the mighty White Sox. While Oakland had a 4-0 lead after Thomas’ second homer, the bullpen couldn’t hold it. The game eventually went to extras, where Pablo Ozuna’s bunt single scored the winning run for Chicago. But this contest was all about Frank Thomas, who now has an impressive 9 homers and 22 RBIs on the year despite an awful .195 batting average. Thomas is actually on pace for 39 and 96 in the power categories, which would be an unprecedented stat line if his average also holds. Meanwhile, the White Sox are still a game back of the Tigers in the Central.

4. Outlasted: Jake Peavy pitched about as good as any pitcher could in a loss. He pitched 7 innings of two-run ball, which seems just average, but he also had 16 strikeouts. Every inning Peavy pitched produced at least two K’s, including two innings in which he struck out the side. He completely dominated Atlanta expect for one pitch, that Ryan Langerhans took out of the park. The Braves ended up winning 3-1, leaving both teams with a 23-22 record.

5. Who is worse?: Which team is the worst in the majors? The question usually is easy enough to answer, though this year is rather tough to decide between the Kansas City Royals and the Florida Marlins. Last week we likely would have said Florida because of their pedestrian payroll, awful attendance, and terrible play on the field. But this week the title goes to Kansas City, who has lost 10 games in a row after suffering an 8-0 blowout to Detroit yesterday. They rank last in the majors in most major categories, including team ERA and runs scored. Also, at 10-32, the Royals have the worst record in the MLB. Even more embarrassing, they have a third the win total of the division-leading Tigers. Now that’s bad.

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MLB Cost Index for Mon May 22 2006

Not much change in the MLB Cost Index this week as the Angels and Cubs remain the most hopeless teams in the league with bloated payrolls and lack of wins. Say what you want about the Yankees and their $200M payroll but they will most likely be right in the thick of things in Sept. We’re not so sure we can say the same about the Cubs.

** all $ are in millions.

Rank (Pv) Team 2006 Payroll GP Wins YTD Payroll Cost/Win
1 (1) Marlins $15.0 42 11 $3.89 $0.35
2 (2) Rockies $41.1 44 25 $11.17 $0.45
3 (3) Devil Rays $35.4 44 20 $9.62 $0.48
4 (4) Reds $59.5 44 25 $16.16 $0.65
5 (5) D’backs $59.2 43 24 $15.72 $0.65
6 (6) Brewers $56.8 44 23 $15.42 $0.67
7 (11) Indians $56.8 44 22 $15.43 $0.70
8 (12) A’s $62.3 43 22 $16.54 $0.75
9 (10) Tigers $82.3 43 29 $21.85 $0.75
10 (14) Pirates $40.2 44 14 $10.93 $0.78
11 (8) Rangers $65.5 43 22 $17.38 $0.79
12 (7) Padres $69.7 44 23 $18.94 $0.82
13 (15) Cardinals $88.4 44 29 $24.02 $0.83
14 (9) Blue Jays $71.9 43 23 $19.09 $0.83
15 (13) Twins $63.8 44 19 $17.33 $0.91
16 (18) White Sox $102.9 43 28 $27.31 $0.98
17 (17) Orioles $72.6 44 20 $19.71 $0.99
18 (16) Phillies $88.3 43 23 $23.43 $1.02
19 (20) Mets $100.9 43 26 $26.78 $1.03
20 (19) Astros $92.6 44 24 $25.14 $1.05
21 (23) Giants $90.9 44 23 $24.68 $1.07
22 (22) Nationals $63.3 44 16 $17.18 $1.07
23 (24) Dodgers $99.2 44 24 $26.94 $1.12
24 (26) Braves $92.5 44 22 $25.11 $1.14
25 (21) Royals $47.3 41 10 $11.97 $1.20
26 (25) Red Sox $120.1 41 25 $30.40 $1.22
27 (27) Mariners $88.3 45 20 $24.53 $1.23
28 (28) Cubs $94.8 43 18 $25.17 $1.40
29 (29) Angels $103.6 44 17 $28.15 $1.66
30 (30) Yankees $198.7 42 24 $51.51 $2.15

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Full Count for Mon May 22 2006: Recapping the Subway series

1. Playoff intensity in June: The Mets-Yankees was likely the most interesting series in this weekend of interleague play. While there were two other intercity rivalries, this was by far the most intense. The teams split the first two games of the series with two huge comebacks, but the third game was slightly less exciting. The Mets beat the Yankees to win the series, 4-3. The Yankees offense dominated during the first few innings, yet they were only able to put 2 runs up. The Mets quickly answered with 4th inning homeruns from Carlos Delgado and David Wright, both complete shots off Aaron Small. They produced 4 runs, which was all of the Mets needed to win this series. Tom Glavine, pitching in his 48th MLB season, went 6 innings and picked up his seventh win of the year. The Mets are up 3 in the East now, while the Yanks have fallen 1.5 back of the Red Sox. That could be resolved when the two teams square off each of the next 3 days.

2. King Albert: The Cardinals-Royals “rivalry” turned out to be just as one-sided as everyone thought. St. Louis disposed of the weakling Royals in a 3-game sweep, and Albert Pujols took advantage of KC’s weak pitching. Pujols homered in all three games to bring his season total to 22, which is on pace for 84. His 54 runs batted in also lead the majors. Why aren’t teams starting to give him the Bonds treatment? It’s beyond us. The Cardinals have now won 8 out of 10 to take a 4 game lead in the NL Central. Expect them to sweep through this division with ease unless the Astros can sign Roger Clemens.
 

3. Last place dominance: The Devil Rays may suck, but they can sure beat the other bad teams in the league. They swept the Royals earlier this season, and Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Marlins gave them another sweep. The pitching matchup was excellent for this highly unanticipated game. Dontrelle Willis and Scott Kazmir faced off, and Kazmir was able to add another win to his total. Kazmir struck out 11 and shutout the Marlins to improve to 7-2. Compare that to last year, when in 32 starts he went 10-9. He is quickly becoming the first ace the Devil Rays have ever had. Meanwhile, Willis’ struggles continued as he is now 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA. The Devil Rays now have a surprising 20 wins on the year.
 

4. Return of the King?: The White Sox’s Jose Contreras had been the king among major league pitchers this season until he was put on the DL. Yesterday he returned to pitch against the Cubs, but the results were only so-so. Contreras pitched 7+ innings and allowed 4 runs, and he got a no-decision on the day. It was the White Sox’s bullpen that blew the game, as they allowed 3 runs to the lowly Cubs. The Sox lost 7-4 to end chances of a sweep against the other Chicago team.
 

5. When will 715 come?: It took Barry Bonds over a week to hit no. 714, which he did on Saturday against the A’s in case you were in a coma. So how long will it take him to hit 715? The Giants play at home against St. Louis the next three days, then they play Colorado for three in San Fran. We are just guessing here, but it would more likely come against the Rockies based on their crappy pitching. Either then or the Giants’ June 27-29 series against the Rangers, if Bonds waits it out like last time.

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Full Count for Fri May 19 2006: What’s the best division?



No longer doormats

1. Divisional Wars: If you go solely by record, the NL West has been the best division in baseball so far this year. Every team in the West is over .500, and they are packed within 2 games of each other. However, this is by no means the most talented division, as the teams have won games beating up on each other. The best division in the NL would likely be the Central, as four teams have at least 22 wins. In the AL, the East once again looks super-competitive. The Red Sox and Yankees, as always, are battling for the division lead, while the Blue Jays have nearly caught up to both of them (they’re a game out). Honorable mention goes to the Central division, which houses the AL’s best two teams–Detroit and Chicago.

2. End of their run?: The Los Angeles Angels, who have dominated this division the past few years and made the ALCS last year, have looked abominable so far this season. With a 17-24 record, they are battling for 3rd place with the Mariners while the A’s and Rangers dominate the division. Last night, their struggles continued, as they lost to Toronto 8-4. Toronto’s Roy Halladay, who pitched two complete games last week, had a mediocre game in which he allowed 4 runs in 7 innings. The game was tied after 9 innings, but the Blue Jays put up 4 runs in the tenth to effectively end the game. Toronto is in third place in the East at 23-17.

3. Beginning of their run?: The Detroit Tigers, once the laughingstock of baseball, are now rolling through the AL. They have the best record in the entire majors at 27-13, and their pitching staff’s ERA leads the league. Last night, they defeated Minnesota 5-3 to extend a 7-game winning streak. It is the team’s longest winning streak since 1993. Kenny Rogers allowed no runs in almost six innings last night, improving his record to 7-2. Rogers is the first pitcher this year to record seven wins, and he has made the Rangers’ decision to dump him look stupid. If they can continue this at all, the Tigers have a great chance of making the playoffs. Who knows what will happen then…

4. Class of the NL: We knew that the Cardinals-Mets series this week would likely prove which is the best team in the National League this season. The Cardinals won last night 6-3, and they also won the series 2-1. Not even a day off for Albert Pujols could stop St. Louis, as they knocked out Mets starter Jose Lima in the 5th inning. Jason Marquis pitched decently, allowing 3 runs in 7-plus innings. The Cardinals, at 26-15, will likely stomp over the rest of the league again this year. They won the pennant in 2004 and fell just short last year. The Mets still lead the division at 24-16, though the Braves are starting to get on track.

5. DL time is over: Kerry Wood is quite used to being on the DL, as he is injured more often than he plays. Now that he is back off the DL, how many more starts can he give? It’s at least one, because he was uninjured in the Cubs’ game against the Nationals. Unfortunately, he performed poorly. Wood pitched only five innings and gave up four runs, all off of homers. Wood’s usual control problems were not present, however, as he didn’t issue a walk and threw 52 strikes in 71 pitches. Alfonso Soriano was among the many who homered for the Nationals, giving him a surprising 13 on the year. Both teams are still next-to-last in their divisions.

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MLB Power Rankings Roundup for May 19 2006

The various sites in our rankings survey publish their lists at different times throughout the week. That should be noted because Sportsline put the Phillies at #2 three days ago. That’s exactly when the Phils went on a 3 game slide. So Sportsline gets a pass this week.

Meanwhile, the A’s and Padres are the odd ducks in the top 10 this week, making only one list each. It’s hard to argue against the Padres who are playing tremendous ball but the As are only 5-5 in their last ten. Maybe ESPN is letting Stephen A Smith do the baseball power rankings now.

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 White Sox White Sox Tigers White Sox White Sox Tigers
2 Cardinals Tigers White Sox Phillies Cardinals Yankees
3 Mets Red Sox Cardinals Red Sox Mets Red Sox
4 Tigers Cardinals Yankees Tigers Yankees Phillies
5 Red Sox Yankees Mets Cardinals Red Sox Dodgers
6 Yankees Mets Red Sox Yankees Tigers Cardinals
7 Reds Blue Jays Diamondbacks Mets Blue Jays Mets
8 Blue Jays Diamondbacks Padres Blue Jays Reds Blue Jays
9 Astros As Blue Jays Reds Astros Rockies
10 Rockies Phillies Phillies Astros Phillies Reds
11-30 more more more more more more

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Full Count for Thurs May 18 2006: Pitching Duels

1. Special K vs. Frosted Flakes: One of the best pitching battles so far this season took place when Minnesota’s Johan Santana and Detroit’s Justin Verlander dueled Wednesday night. The game was scoreless through seven innings, until Santana made his only mistake of the game, allowing a homerun to the Tigers’ Vance Wilson. Santana was marvelous up until then, with 12 K’s and only four hits allowed on the night. But Verlander, with 8 innings pitched, 6 hits and no runs allowed, and no walks or strikeouts. If Verlander had gone the distance, it would have been the second time this month that a pitcher had no K’s or walks in a complete game. On May 1, Joel Pineiro of Seattle became the first to do this since 1992. Santana fell to 4-4, though he leads the majors in strikeouts with 70 and innings pitched with 61.1. Verlander has contributed to Detroit’s pitching success with a 5-3 record and a 3.18 ERA. The Tigers (26-13) share the best record in the majors with the White Sox.

2. Pitcher’s duel no. 2: In an unexpectedly low-scoring game, the Mets fell to St. Louis, 1-0. Mark Mulder and Steve Trachsel both pitched excellently, but Mulder (5-1) picked up the win. Trachsel allowed the lone run of the game in the sixth when Scott Rolen drove in Albert Pujols. Mulder allowed 4 hits in 8.1 innings and K’d five Mets. St. Louis closer Jason Isringhausen relieved Mulder with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, but he quickly recorded two outs to earn his 12th save. Both teams have two-game leads in their respective divisions.

3.Victory at last: As we said earlier this week, the Baltimore Orioles have struggled mightily against the Boston Red Sox this season. Coming into yesterday’s game, the O’s had a 13 game losing streak against the team. Yesterday, in Baltimore’s last game against Boston until August, they ended the streak with a narrow 4-3 victory. Erik Bedard pitched seven innings and only allowed two hits to the powerful Boston lineup. David Ortiz was their only offensive success, driving in all 3 Red Sox runs. Baltimore’s Kevin Millar homered and drove in two, and Miguel Tejada scored a key run on a wild pitch in the seventh. Once again, the Red Sox are tied with the Yankees for the division lead.

4. They’re still the Royals: The Kansas City Royals may have fooled us last week by sweeping the Indians, but in this week’s series, they have reminded us that they are still the Royals. Last night was one of those games where Kansas City’s weak hitting and poor pitching were completely exploited. Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook owned their lineup, allowing no runs and six hits in a complete game effort. Four of Cleveland’s five runs came on Travis Hafner’s grand slam in the third. At least the Royals were smart enough to walk Hafner in his next three plate appearances. They still lost, 5-0.

5. Coming back yet?: As we all know by now, Roger Clemens has a pretty nice life. He is extremely rich, currently retired, being pursued by four major league teams, and each want to pay him $4 million a month. But is he coming back or not? This decision is getting more annoying than Brett Favre’s. Well, according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, Roger is “accelerating his workout program” and “could be back within three weeks.” Of course exactly when he will come back and which team he will play for are still mysteries. The Rangers, Yankees, Red Sox, and Astros are the biggest suitors. We’ll just have to wait and see…