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MLB Baseball Rankings

Final 2008: Phillies Claim First Title Since '80

It took a few days to complete the rain-soaked Game Five, but when it was over the Phillies had a 4-3 victory and their first world championship since 1980.  The win was the culmination of a hot streak that saw Philadelphia win 24 of its last 30 games -- including all seven of its home postseason games.  Cole Hamels was the ace of the staff with four wins in his five postseason starts and closer Brad Lidge stayed perfect with seven saves in seven opportunities to finish the year 48 for 48.   Here are the final baseball ratings for the 2008 season.

* Updated through games played on October 27

Week 26: Bosox Finish Regular Season No. 1

The Red Sox had to settle for the wild card to make the postseason, but Boston looks primed to defend its title after finishing the regular season with the top ranking in the Index.  The Red Sox edged out the Angels, who finished with the best record in baseball, and led a pack of seven AL teams at the top of the Index.  The top NL team, Chicago, finished at No. 8.   Here are the complete regular season baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on September 30

Week 25: Yankee Stadium Farewell

The Yankees bid farewell to Yankee Stadium, their home since 1923, with a 7-3 win over the Orioles on Sunday.  Jose Molina hit the last HR in the stadium and Mariano Rivera threw the last pitch in a win that prevented the No. 6 Yankees -- perhaps for just a day -- from being eliminated from playoff contention.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on September 21

Week 24: A No-No For Zambrano

Cubs fans looking for some good karma before the playoffs start may have found it in Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter on Sunday -- the first by a Cubs pitcher since Milt Pappas in 1972.  A few weeks ago it was questionable whether Zambrano would even pitch again after hurting his rotator cuff, but the veteran showed no signs of discomfort as he no-hit the Astros (5-0).  The Cubs stand at No. 5 in this week's Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on September 14

Week 23: Astros Taking Off

Back in early August, the Astros were an under-.500 team that showed few signs of turning it around.  But Houston has caught fire, winning 10 of its last 11, to move back into the wild card chase and up to No. 11 in this week's Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on September 7

Week 22: CC & Company Rolling Along

CC Sabathia -- last year's AL Cy Young winner -- is positioning himself to win the award in the NL this season after running his record to 9-0 since being acquired by the Brewers midway through the season.  Sabathia's latest effort was a one-hitter over Pittsburgh on Sunday that kept the No. 8 Brewers within striking distance of the Cubs in the Central Division and the front runner for the wild card.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on August 31

Week 21: Easy For Harden, Cubs

The transition for Rich Harden from the American League to National has been as smooth as can be, much to the delight of the Cubs.  Harden has gone 4-1 with a 1.47 ERA since the July 8 trade with Oakland -- including an 11-K performance in a 6-1 win over the Nationals on Sunday -- and has helped Chicago win eight straight series to solidify their hold as the No. 1 NL team (No. 5 overall) in the Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on August 24

Week 20: Bay Watch

The Red Sox were hoping that the acquisition of Jason Bay would spark a team that had become tired of the antics of Manny Ramirez.  So far, so good as Boston has gone 10-5 with Bay in leftfield and continues to hang onto the top spot in this week's Index just ahead of the Angels and Tampa Bay.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on August 17

Week 19: Dunn In Arizona

The Diamondbacks have struggled with their offense all season and got some bad news last week when Orlando Hudson went on the DL for the rest of the season with an injured wrist.  The result had the D-backs dropping four of their last five for the week and coming in at No. 18 in the Index.   A little good news for Arizona fans, though, was the acquisition of slugger Adam Dunn in time for the start of a six-game road trip on Tuesday.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on August 10

Week 18: Manny Heads West

The biggest move at the trade deadline came from the Dodgers, who acquired Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox in a three-team deal that also included the Pirates.  The blockbuster trade paid immediate dividends for the men in blue as Ramirez went 8-for-13 in his first three games in LA, including a pair of HRs.  The Dodgers took two out of three from the Diamondbacks over the weekend to close Arizona's lead to one game in the West and move up to No. 14 in this week's Index.   Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on August 3

Week 17: New York, New York

Playing their last seasons in each of their stadiums, the Mets and Yankees look to be making runs to the postseason as the second half is underway.  The Mets got just their second win from Johan Santana on Sunday, but it was enough to give them a 6-4 record since the All-Star break and a No. 5 rating in this week's Index.  The Yankees have been even better, going 8-1 to move up to No. 3.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on July 27

Week 15: Bosox Finish First Half No. 1

Boston looks half way to its goal of winning its third world championship in five years as the Red Sox finished the first half of the season with the best Index rating.  The Red Sox lead a pack of four other AL teams before finally getting to the top-ranked NL team, Philadelphia, at No. 6.   Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on July 13

Week 14: Cleveland Hits Rock Bottom

After missing the World Series by one game last season, the Indians were expected to challenge for the title this year.  Instead the Indians dropped their eighth straight in Minnesota on Sunday to fall 14 games below .500 (37-51) and No. 17 in this week's Index.  Cleveland looks to be throwing in the towel with the announcement that ace C.C. Sabathia will be shipped to Milwaukee.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on July 6

Week 13: Falling D-Back

At the end of Week 4, the Diamondbacks had an 18-7 record and sat atop the Index, threatening to run away with the National League.  But since that time, Arizon has struggled with a 23-34 record to fall all the way back to No. 19 in this week's Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on June 29

Week 12: Sub-Mariners

The Mariners were expected to challenge for the A.L. West title this year, but a disastrous start (25-47) led to the firing of manager John McLaren on Friday.  His replacement, Jim Riggelman, didn't fare much better as the M's dropped two of three against Atlanta over the weekend and are ranked No. 29 in this week's Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on June 22

Week 11: Met Loss

The Mets were looking to wipe away the memory of last year's collapse with a strong start to the season.  But that hasn't happened as New York's record stands two games under .500 (33-35) with rumors swirling about the uncertain future of manager Willie Randolph.  Ranked as high as No. 3 in late April, the Mets have fallen all the way to No. 18 in this week's Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on June 15

Week 10: Ozzie's Way

Ozzie Guillen's motivation methods are sometimes questionable, but there is no questioning the roll his White Sox are on.  Chicago has won six straight on its current homestand, including the last three over the Twins in which the Chisox have scored 33 runs with at least 15 hits in each contest.  The offensive surge has the White Sox a comfortable 5 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota in the Central and No. 5 in this week's Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on June 8

Week 9: A Century In The Making

For the first time since 1908, the Cubs entered June with the best record in baseball (36-21).  Chicago ended a perfect seven-game homestand with a four-game sweep against the Rockies over the weekend to move up to No. 3 in this week's Index.   Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on June 1

Week 8: Rocky Road

It's been a rough start for the defending NL champ Colorado Rockies.  MVP runner-up Matt Holliday was added to the DL list on Saturday, putting five of the top six players on the injured list and leaving Colorado with a disappointing 20-30 record and No. 26 ranking in this week's Index.   Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on May 25

Week 7: Red-Hot Cincinnati

The Reds started off slowly, but have picked it up of late as they extended their winning streak to six straight with a three-game sweep over interleague rival Cleveland this weekend.   Off-season acquisition Edinson Volquez completed the sweep with a 6-4 win on Sunday that ran his record to 7-1 with a 1.33 ERA.  The surge moved the Reds up five spots this week to No. 21 in the Index.   Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on May 18

Week 6: Rays Of Hope

Tampa Bay dropped Devil from its name this year in an effort to change the fortunes of the team and the move looks to have paid off as the Rays finished the week with a four-game winning streak and a No. 8 ranking in this week's Index.   Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on May 11

Week 5: Maddux, Padres Struggling For Ws

Greg Maddux failed in his fourth attempt at win No. 350 on Sunday, typifying the Padres struggles of late as San Diego is tied for the worst record in MLB (12-20) and No. 29 in this week's Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on May 4

Week 4: Angels In The Hunt

The Angels signed Torii Hunter in the off-season in the hopes that the veteran outfielder would shore up the defense and provide a steady bat in the lineup.  Thus far Hunter has done exactly that helping the Halos win 10 of their last 14 and moving LA up to No. 2 in this week's Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on April 27

Week 3: Rising Arizona

Despite a loss on Sunday to the Padres, Arizona continues to be the hottest team around as the D-Backs have won four of their last five to post the best record in MLB after the third week of the season and the No. 1 ranking in the Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on April 20

Week 2: Toothless Tigers

Picked by many to win the Central Division and possibly the AL as well, the Tigers have looked like anything but contenders the first two weeks of the season.  Detroit's 11-0 loss to the White Sox on Sunday dropped Jim Leyland's club to 2-10 on the season and last place in this week's Index.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on April 13

Week 1: Foreign Territory For Bosox

Canadian soil didn't prove to be much kinder to the Red Sox than Japan as Toronto swept the defending champs in a three-game set over the weekend.  The losses left the Bosox in last place in the AL East, the first time they had occupied that position since April of 2005, and No. 7 in this year's first Index.   Toronto, meanwhile, moved all the way up to No. 1.  Here are all of this week's* baseball ratings.

* Updated through games played on April 6

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