2013 MLB Power Rankings Week 9

There is a new king atop this week's ranking. The St. Louis Cardinals have snatched away the crown from the Texas Rangers giving the "best fans in baseball" the best team in baseball. And not just by record. They have the best ERA in all of baseball at a pristine 3.01. The Cards are the model of baseball consistency having had consecutive losing seasons only once since 1960. No matter how you look at it they are an impressive organization. That being said I probably jinxed them and they will now lose six of their next seven. Oops.

*Note ~ As always all stats and records are through Sunday's games.

1. St. Louis Cardinals (37-19) ~ The only team in baseball yet to lose their 20th game. It is good to be a Cardinal. (Last Week's Ranking 2)

2. Texas Rangers (35-21) ~ Yu Darvish hasn't won since May 16th but we all (should) know that wins are not the best stat to rate a pitcher. To me, Darvish is the premier pitcher this year in the American League. (LWR 1)

3. Cincinnati Reds (35-22) ~ Shin-Soo Choo and his .441 OBP is exactly what the Reds lacked atop their lineup last year. Choo is going to command a large payday come free agency. (LWR 5)

4. Boston Red Sox (35-23) ~ Boston fans had to breath a sigh of relief when ace Clay Buchholz took the mound Sunday after being scratched from his two previous starts. The Sox will need baseball's ERA leader if they want to win the AL East. (LWR 4)

5. Atlanta Braves (34-22) ~ Atlanta improved to 7-3 this season against division rival Washington and extended the largest division lead to 6 1/2 games in the process. (LWR 6)

6. Pittsburgh Pirates (35-22) ~ Rumor has it the Buccos are thinking of offering third baseman Pedro Alvarez a long term contract. While he is a legit power threat he is hitting a robust .199 on the season and strikes out in almost a third of his at-bats for his career. That is alarming. (LWR 8)

7. Detroit Tigers (30-25) ~ Last week I gushed about Miguel Cabrera. This week I learned he is on ace to finish with better numbers than last year. When he won the triple crown. It's almost inhuman. (LWR 7)

8. New York Yankees (31-25) ~ They lost the battle of New York by getting swept by the Mets and then lost two of three to Boston. Not a good week for the Yankees. (LWR 3)

9. Oakland A's (34-24) ~ OK, I admit it. I've missed the boat on how well Oakland has been playing. Damn west coast games. (LWR 14)

10. Arizona Diamondbacks (32-24) ~ Stop me if you've heard this one before: Brandon McCarthy is headed to the disabled list. Oh well, maybe that will give him more time to post to Twitter as he is rather entertaining. (LWR 11)

11. Baltimore Orioles (32-25) ~ Manny Machado has a real chance at breaking the major league record of 67 doubles in a season. He leads the league right now with 25. (LWR 13)

12. Tampa Bay Rays (31-25) ~ Tampa may be in fourth place in the AL East but all four of those teams look like they would be a tough out in the playoffs. (LWR 16)

13. San Francisco Giants (30-27) ~ I heard it through the grapevine that Tim Lincecum would be open to working out of the bullpen. What the hell happened to him? (LWR 9)

14. Cleveland Indians (30-26) ~ Grady Sizemore has been cleared to resume baseball activities. If the over/under on games played in the majors this year is one I am taking the under. (LWR 10)

15. Colorado Rockies (30-27) ~ The Rockies are my surprise team of the year. Honestly, did anyone expect them to not only be competing for the division lead but to even be over .500? I didn't. (LWR 15)

16. Washington Nationals (28-29) ~ The Nats placed Bryce Harper on the DL and Stephen Strasburg may not be far behind. Nothing is going right in Washington. (LWR 12)

17. Los Angeles Angels (25-32) ~ Jason Vargas had a very quiet, yet stellar month of May collecting five wins in six starts while giving up only 11 earned runs. (LWR 18)

18. Philadelphia Phillies (27-30) ~ Domonic Brown became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 10 home runs in a month and not draw a single walk. I have no words for that. (LWR 19)

19. San Diego Padres (26-30) ~ If the Padres finish the season with a better record than the Los Angeles Dodgers I will laugh and laugh and laugh. Hard. (LWR 22)

20. Toronto Blue Jays (24-33) ~ One step forward and one step back for the Jays as Brandon Morrow hits the DL just as Josh Johnson returns. Let's just call it a side step shall we? (LWR 20)

21. Chicago White Sox (24-30) ~ Chris Sale has allowed eight earned runs over his last seven starts. Anyone who thought last year was a fluke can begin eating crow about now. (LWR 17)

22. Minnesota Twins (25-29) ~ Don't look now but the Twins are only 4 1/2 games out of first place. Actually, look now. That probably won't last. (LWR 27)

23. Kansas City Royals (23-31) ~ KC brought back a familiar face by hiring George Brett to be the hitting coach. If only they could pencil him into the lineup. (LWR 21)

24. Seattle Mariners (24-33) ~ Jeremy Bonderman returned to the mound over the weekend and was lit up by the Twins. Suffice it to say manager Eric Wedge has already gone on record Bonderman will make his next scheduled start against the Yankees. (LWR 23)

25. Los Angeles Dodgers (23-32) ~ Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford are hurting which paved the way for an intriguing call-up in Yasiel Puig. While he is very raw he has tremendous power potential. (LWR 24)

26. New York Mets (22-32) ~ They swept the Yankees and then were promptly swept by the Miami Marlins. Shouldn't that be the other way around? (LWR 26)

27. Chicago Cubs (23-32) ~ Matt Garza has pitched well in three starts since coming off the DL. The Cubs will hope for that to continue over the next month plus and flip him for prospects at the trade deadline. (LWR 28)

28. Milwaukee Brewers (21-34) ~ The Brewers had six wins in May. Six. (LWR 25)

29. Houston Astros (20-37) ~ Houston is on a five-game winning streak!

30. Miami Marlins (16-41) ~ Miami picked up its first sweep of the season against the Mets this past weekend. That might be the highlight of their season. (LWR 30)