How they rank

Previous ranking in parenthesis. Statistics through Friday’s games.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (2): Joey Gallo, a bust over his 140-game Yankees career, homers three times in his first 10 games for the Dodgers. Gallo: “… in New York … something just wasn’t clicking or adding up consistently.” What was adding up in New York were strikeouts — 194 in 501 plate appearances. He has 12 in 30 plate appearances in LA, but a .949 OPS, a .328 point improvement thus far.
2. Houston (4): Astros manager Dusty Baker quarantined with COVID, says he watched a Bob Marley documentary. I’d like to give the Astros Top Rankin’ just for that (it’s a 1979 Marley song for the non-reggae fans reading). Perhaps the World Series, which the Astros lost in six games last year, will be their Redemption Song (a 1980 Marley cut) this fall.
3. N.Y. Mets (5): Mets pitchers are hurt in consecutive starts and neither one is Jacob deGrom or Max Scherzer, who have already missed big parts of 2022. Given their track records, and Mets’, it must be tempting to use an opener when their turn comes.
4. Atlanta (15): Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna is charged with DUI and says, “I disappointed my team.” No doubt. So has his season — Ozuna is batting .214 with a .656 OPS. When the Braves release him — which seems the foregone conclusion — it will be more for the stat sheet than his rap sheet.
5. New York Yankees (1): After starting season 61-23, Yankees are a Nationals-like 12-24 since. That’s .333, which might be a good batting average, but is a lousy winning percentage. After shutout loss to Toronto on Friday, Yankees have lost five of six, eight of 10 and 13 of their last 16. Manager Aron Boone: “I don’t give a crap about the (AL East) lead.” Maybe he should. Fifteen-and-a-half games on July 8, it’s been nearly halved in six weeks, and there’s another six weeks to go.
6. St. Louis (10): Miles Mikolas lasted just 2.2 innings in Colorado, yielding 14 hits and 10 earned runs. Fellow starter Adam Wainwright: “… we do have a little competition on innings pitched and strikeouts and a couple other things. And he walked over to me in the dugout and said: ‘Consider that your early retirement present.’” Has Mikolas considered that perhaps Wainwright has promised manager Oliver Marmol a cut? Why else would a manager leave a pitcher out there to face 22 batters when 14 of them hit safely?
7. Toronto (12): Blue Jays lose eight of 11, including four of five to playoff rival Baltimore and pitcher Alek Manoah said, “We’re a playoff team.” He’s right, if barely. Although playing like that come October, not for long.
8. Philadelphia (13): Mets announcer Keith Hernandez said he asked out of Mets-Phillies games because, “They (the Phillies) never seem to disappoint. “Over the years — and they’re hot right now so I’d like to see them — but as far as fundamentally, defensively, the Phillies have always been just not up to it.” Phillies and their fans reacted as you might expect, and their network even produced a Keith Hernandez approved fundamental play logo. But Hernandez wasn’t wrong. Fieldingbible.com ranks the Phillies 26th in runs saved, and three regulars have negative defensive WARs, according to ESPN. That’s not counting injured Bryce Harper, who will make four when healthy. Unfortunately, rules limit each team to one DH.
9. Tampa Bay (9):.Finally healthy, Luis Patino throws 5.2 shutout innings against Kansas City on Thursday. Rays manager Kevin Cash: “His last September and then in the postseason, he was as powerful as any pitcher in 2021. So if he can do that, get on that run again, he can really help us.” Cash was so impressed, Rays farmed Patino the next day so he could help AAA Durham.
10. San Diego (7): Fernando Tatis suspended 80 games for PED use. Retired major-league reliever Jonathan Papelbon’s reaction: “This whole Tatis stuff, man, it almost enrages me. I worked my a– off so long and so hard and did it the right way. For me, to see something like that, it hurts me so bad. I’ll tell you right now – if I was pitching, every single time I face that dude I’m drilling him. I don’t care if I’m bringing in a run and losing the game.” Logic was never Papelbon’s best attribute. And then he’d say the analytics made him do it. Rich Gossage, you now have competition for nuttiest ex-relief pitcher.
11. Cleveland (14): First three Guardians strike out to start the eighth inning on Wednesday, but they score six runs. How? 1.) Play the Tigers, and 2.) reach base when the third strikeout is a wild pitch. The next five batters hit safely, and a sixth hit followed an intentional walk, turning a 4-2 deficit into an 8-4 win. Cleveland’s Steven Kwan: “We always think that we’re in it, and it just takes one guy to get it going.” Given that Luke Maile, who has a .208 career average, was the third strikeout of the inning, it was about the only way he was going to get it going.
12. Seattle (19): Ty France was hitting .316 when he went on the injured list at the end of June, has lost almost 30 points off his average and 67 points off his OPS in the five weeks since he returned. France to the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish: “… the wrist isn’t the reason I suck at baseball. You can tweet that.” Which Divish did. Why then? France: “Probably chasing hits and swinging at bad pitches. I should stop doing that.” Two things: Divish would never make it on Sunday morning political talk by asking follow-up questions, and France would never make it as a baseball analyst. Too honest.
13. Minnesota (11): Twins lose a game to Blue Jays when New York overrules an out call of Whit Merrifield at the plate, replay officials saying catcher Gary Sanchez didn’t leave path for Merrifield to the plate. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli called it “one of the worst moments I think we’ve seen of umpiring in any game I’ve ever been a part of in baseball.” Somewhere Don Denkinger and Jim Joyce are happy to have the company, even if it’s anonymous.
14. Milwaukee (6): Trade that hurt both teams department: Josh Hader, who went from Brewers to Padres, has a 16.20 and one blown save in five games with his new team. Taylor Rogers, who went from Padres to Brewers, has 7.94 ERA in four games with his new team. I guess that means, so far, the Brewers got the better of the deal.
15. Baltimore (27): Orioles scheduled their 30th anniversary celebration for a weekend in early August when the Pirates were in town. Coincidence? Methinks not. The Pirates are to the rest of MLB what Vanderbilt is to the SEC — a homecoming opponent.
16. San Francisco (8): Trailing, 5-0, to Arizona, Brandon Belt tries to bunt with two on, two out and two strikes. Manager Gabe Kapler: “I trust Brandon completely.” Maybe Kapler should be a little more cynical. Belt’s bunt went foul for a strikeout, and the Giants, on the outside looking in at NL playoffs, lost, 5-0. Belt: “I took the best route that I thought would keep the inning going. I’m not saying I’m right about that, but that was the decision I made. I feel very comfortable bunting.” I’m going to guess opponents are pretty cool with Belt, who had OPSes of 1.016 and .975 the last two seasons, bunting, with two strikes, too.
17. Chicago White Sox (16): A fan, easy to hear since there were only 18,000-plus in attendance, yelled at Tony La Russa on Monday night to use a pinch-runner. Lo and behold, out came the White Sox manager from the dugout to insert a pinch-runner. La Russa denied that the pinch-runner was the fan’s idea, not his, but said, “make his day, tell him I heard him. I like the fans being involved.” Tony might want to be careful. If they held a plebiscite at any random White Sox game, fans might elect to give the pinch-runner proponent a two-year contract and a seat in the dugout, and La Russa a seat in the stands.
18. Boston (23): Former teammate Brock Holt tweeted out, in jest no doubt, a picture with a BooBenny hash tag on the occasion of Andrew Benintendi returning to Fenway Park for the first time as a New York Yankee. Instead Benintendi was greeted with cheers. Why not? Benintendi didn’t trade himself. Perhaps the boos should be directed at Chaim Bloom, who dealt Benintendi for Franchy Cordero, Josh Winckowski and three minor leaguers. Since the trade, Benintendi has been worth 4.7 WAR, Cordero and Winckowski -1.0 (though given Benintendi’s .188 average in his first 21 games with New York, Yankees fans might start booing him).
19. Texas (21): Rangers fire manager Chris Woodward and executive John Daniels in the span of three days, then went out and spanked Oakland, 10-3 on Thursday. New manager Tony Beasley:  “I’ve been in Wonderland for the last three days.” Let’s check back with Beasley in three weeks, see if managing the Rangers isn’t something other than paradise.
20. Arizona (18): Azcentral.com columnist Kent Somers listed many of the little things wrong with Chase Field, the Diamondbacks’ home field, and said, “Chase Field might not be falling apart, but collectively those anecdotes suggest the building isn’t being given tender loving care. Or much care at all.” Given the Diamondbacks’ 55-64 record and third straight losing season, you could say the same about condition of the team that plays there.
21. Los Angeles Angels (3): Shohei Ohtani hit his 25th home run last week to pass an idle Mike Trout, and might lead team in home runs and wins for the second straight season. When Babe Ruth led the 1916 Red Sox in both categories he had more wins (23) than homers (three). Ohtani assuredly will have more homers (26) than wins (10).
22. Miami (17): Speaking of Marcell Ozuna (see No. 4) has there been a more lopsided recent trade than the one the Cardinals made to get him from the Marlins? All Miami has to show for it is Cy Young favorite Sandy Alcantara and All-Star infielder Jazz Chisolm, who was acquired for Cy Young vote-getter Zac Gallen (9-2, 2.78 ERA, .582 OPS against). All the Cardinals got was two years of Ozuna hitting 52 homers and being swept by the Nationals in the 2019 NLCS. Think St. Louis wouldn’t want to have Alcantara and Gallen this October?
23. Chicago Cubs (22): David Ross pulled Marcus Stroman in the middle of a four-run fifth inning at Washington, then apologized to Stroman after reliever Mark Leiter was greeted by a Nelson Cruz double. Ross: “I probably took him out, honestly, probably one batter too soon.” Maybe. And maybe, given the three hits Stroman had already allowed in the inning, six in the game and his 3.96 ERA, he took him out a batter or two too late.
24. Colorado (20): Rockies lose a game at St. Louis in the bottom of the ninth when recently acquired Dinelson Lamet walked two batters, gave up a bunt single to the third and hit the fourth. Rockies manager Bud Black: “He just couldn’t seem to find his release point.” The Padres, from whom the Rockies claimed Lamet, found his release point when his ERA hit 9.49.
25. Kansas City (29): Brady Singer’s ERA was 4.02 at the All-Star break, is down to 3.27 after allowing just eight earned runs in 38.1 innings since. Stretch includes seven one-hit shutout innings of Yankees and six one-hit shutout innings of Dodgers, teams that are 1-2 in MLB in offense. Royals manager Mike Matheny: “We’re watching a guy just take a step in his career.” Matheny, who stubbornly, persisted in playing the old guys for the first three months of the season, isn’t wrong on this one. He’s got a whole team full of young players doing that.
26. Cincinnati (30): Not surprisingly, TV ratings for the Field of Dreams game between the Reds and Cubs were the highest for any MLB game this seasons. Surprisingly, no one was watching more than the good citizens of Cincinnati, which led the country. Having lost 66 games, apparently Reds fans couldn’t wait to watch their team lose No. 67.
27. Detroit (28): Tigers fire GM Al Avila and owner Chris Illitch hit Avila with a left hook after the fired GM was already on the canvas. Illitch on the veterans, like Justin Verlander, Avila traded away: “I would say to you, I didn’t trade those players away. Right? Our general manager did. Al did.” Illitch isn’t wrong, but who wouldn’t want to work for a boss who fires you and then points out all your missteps?
28. Pittsburgh (24): Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley gets his first look at yet another Pirates rebuild and calls it “a hodgepodge of nothingness. It’s ridiculous, really is. Pathetic.” Pirates respond to Eck as they don’t respond on the field — combatively. Brian Reynolds: “I couldn’t give any less of a crap what that guy has to say.” Will Crowe: “What he said was kinda crappy and kinda shitty.” Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown: “I’d ask him, what’s more ridiculous? A team with the lowest payroll finishing in last place OR a team (like Boston) with the (fifth)- or (sixth)-highest payroll being under .500?” What no one said: That Eckerseley was wrong. He’s not, though Brown raises a fair point.
29. Oakland (25): Elvis Andrus tells the San Francisco Chronicle playing for the struggling A’s is “not fun for me.” A’s could have told Andrus, who hit .237 for them in 2022 and put up a .638 OPS in two years with Oakland, having him play shortstop was no fun either. In the interview that prompted his release, Andrus also said, “Everybody knows I’m an everyday player.” Signed by the White Sox, he’s in for a rude comeuppance when Tim Anderson returns from injury.
30. Washington (26): Nats manager Davey Martinez skipped Patrick Corbin’s rotation turn and explained it by saying, “I want to leave this year with a positive moving forward to next year because, regardless of what anyone thinks, he’s gonna be one of our starters next year and the year after that.” Given Corbin’s 4-16 record and 6.96 ERA, that’s not going to do much for season ticket sales in the offseason. Unless it’s some variation of come see the first 20-game loser since Mike Maroth. Doubtful Maroth, who went 9-21 for 2003 Tigers, sold many tickets either.