POWER RANKINGS
Last week’s rankings in parantheses
1. Philadelphia (1): Fans and media are concerned with Brad Lidge’s inconsistency in his rehab outings.
2. Boston (2): Only an offense as good as the Red Sox’s could withstand sending John Lackey to the mound every fifth day.
3. Atlanta (5): The Braves win their 10,000th game as a franchise. No, Bobby Cox didn’t manage 9,000 of them.
4. N.Y. Yankees (3): Alex Rodriguez goes on the disabled list needing knee surgery. Cameron Diaz will take good care of him.
5. San Francisco (4): The season-long documentary following the Giants aired on Showtime. As expected, Brian Wilson stole the show.
6. Texas (6): Maybe the Rangers won’t need to trade for a starter if Derek Holland keeps pitching up to his vast potential.
7. Tampa Bay (7): The Rays could change the complexion of the AL East with series against the Red Sox and Yankees.
8. L.A. Angels (11): Rookie phenom Mike Trout will head back to the minors when Peter Bourjos is healthy.
9. Milwaukee (8): Really? Their bullpen is so bad that they went out and overpaid for Francisco Rodriguez?
10. Arizona (9): Diamondbacks designate Wily Mo Pena for assignment. BP won’t be the same without his long bombs.
11. St. Louis (13): Colby Rasmus continues to struggle under the micro-managing of Tony La Russa.
12. Cleveland (10): No ordinary Joe is reliever Joe Smith, who has not allowed a run in his past 27 appearances.
13. Pittsburgh (15): Pirates move into first place in the NL Central. It’s the first time they’ve led a division since ’97.
14. Detroit (12): Definition of durable? Justin Verlander has thrown at least 100 pitches in his past 38 starts.
15. N.Y. Mets (14): As inconsistent and overpriced as K-Rod was, they still have no viable option to take his place.
16. Toronto (18): Jose Bautista is day-to-day with a sprained ankle. It’s about the only way you can slow his bat down.
17. Washington (16): Steven Strasburg threw a simulated game on Wednesday and could be in the Nationals’ rotation by season’s end.
18. Colorado (20): Rockies can’t make their traditional second-half surge until Carlos Gonzalez’s heals up.
19. Cincinnati (17): Brandon Phillips hits walk-off homer on Friday, and doesn’t even tweet about it on the bases.
20. Chicago White Sox (19): Jake Peavy is scheduled to come off the disabled list to start today. Any bets on when he returns to the DL?
21. Florida (24): The Marlins have talked about bringing back 80-year old Jack McKeon in 2012. Why not?
22. Seattle (21): Manager Eric Wedge sums it up perfectly: “There’s a lot of positives about this team. Hitting isn’t one of them.”
23. Minnesota (22): No team has lost more games to concussions. Denard Span is hoping to return after being out since June 7.
24. L.A. Dodgers (25): All-Stars Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp say their checks didn’t bounce, unlike those of $9-an-hour Dodgers workers.
25. San Diego (23): Heath Bell sums up his future succinctly, saying he expects to be living in a hotel in August and September.
26. Kansas City (29): Royals’ lone All-Star representative – reliever Aaron Crow – falls ill and doesn’t get to pitch.
27. Oakland (26): Power-hitting prospect Chris Carter couldn’t improve a club that’s batting Coco Crisp third.
28. Chicago Cubs (28): Carlos Marmol went six straight appearances without striking out a batter.
29. Baltimore (27): Nick Markakis notches his 1,000th career hit. Of course, fans wish more were of the extra base variety.
30. Houston (30): Astros were shut out by Pirates pitcher Jeff Karstens on 83 pitches. That’s just ridiculous.
Ryan Divish, staff writer
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