The 2008 Power Rankings

1. Philadelphia Phillies – 2008 was finally the year that their players turned MVP-caliber individual performances into a cohesive team effort.
2. Tampa Bay Rays  – I think we’ve pretty much covered this one.
3. Anaheim Angels  – This team would have been absolutely Filthy McNasty if they had Ervin Santana in their rotation all season.
4. Boston Red Sox  – This isn’t the same Sox team of the past few years but they are close. When veterans break down they always seem to a have a fresh engine in their garage.
5. Chicago Cubs  – And the suffering continues.
6. Milwaukee Brewers  – Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun might be the best offensive 1-2 punch in baseball. Now all they need to do is replace that other 1-2 punch of Sabathia and Sheets.
7. Los Angeles Dodgers  – The veterans stood by and guided the youngsters with class and humility, which made this a complete team effort. A late season cameo by Manny Ramirez didn’t hurt much either. Would’ve finished in 5th place had they been playing in the NL Central.
8. Chicago White Sox  – The 2008 lineup would have been the most awe-inspiring lineup in baseball…in 2001.
9. Minnesota Twins  – How do they keep doing it?
10. Florida Marlins  – No organization seems to do a better job of scouting and developing Hispanic players and power-tossing righties.
11. New York Mets  – What a disappointing way to send off Shea.
12. New York Yankees  – They put a little too much stock in their young trio of Hughes Kennedy and Chamberlain. Look for Hank to do something foolish with his checkbook again this Fall.
13. Houston Astros  – Will Roy Oswalt’s shoulder hold up after all these years of carrying that staff?
14. Toronto Blue Jays  – The pitching staff was phenomenal last year. The offense was abysmal. The offense should return intact.  The pitching staff is going to get pulled apart.
15. St. Louis Cardinals  – If they can patch together a pitching staff and Ludwick can again prove that the lineup is more than Pujols, they might attain mildy successful status in 2009.
16. Arizona Diamondbacks  – It was a battle all year between the pitching staff and the lineup for who could accumulate the most strikeouts.
17. Cleveland Indians  – Reports are that the tribe has sent out scout parties to find Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner’s offensive production. No word yet.
18. Texas Rangers  – Another year of following the Lone Star method of baseball operation. Accumulate a dugout full of offensive threats and hope the pitchers keep the game in single digits. See also, the Astros (minus Oswalt)
19. Kansas City Royals  – Will Alex Gordon continue on his path to becoming the next George Brett? Will Billy Butler continue on his path to becoming the next Bob Hamelin?
20. Oakland Athletics  – The organization continues to churn out successful major league pitchers on a yearly basis although they haven’t developed a decent bat since Eric Chavez.
21. Colorado Rockies  –  It is safe to say that it wasn’t the altitude after all; the pitching staff was just that bad.
22. Detroit Tigers  – Not as bad of a team as they often looked. The only difference between them and the White Sox was a competent bullpen.
23. Cincinnati Reds  – The good news is that they have a rotation full of young stud arms. The bad news is that Dusty Baker will have burnt them out by next All Star break.
24. Atlanta Braves  – This team needs to rebuild, but, with what?
25. San Francisco  – Did about as well as a team that was forced to use Benji Molina in the cleanup spot can be expected to do.
26. Baltimore Orioles  – A good young core of hitters can’t offset the loss of their good young core of pitchers that it sold off in order to acquire that good young core of hitters.
27. Pittsburgh Pirates  – This team is out of excuses.
28. San Diego Padres  – Constantly leaving your pitchers to pitch from behind was a surefire way to burn them out, break them down and force them to test the free agent waters at the end of the year.
29. Washington Nationals  - They have the most athletic outfield that the Gulf Coast of Florida has to offer…and that’s about it.
30. Seattle Mariners  – Just thinking about how to sum up their season made me ask my doctor about Paxil.