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Monday Apr.22/2013

The Giants have gutted out a 12 – 7 record despite Matt Cain being 0 – 2 with a 7.15 ERA, and Ryan Vogelsong featuring an early season ERA of 5.89. Buster Posey is also off to a slow start. This team has so much depth and talent, I see nothing that will stop this club from taking their 3rd NL West Division crown now that the LAD have had severe injury problems to their Starting Rotation.  The Giants take their rightful spot as #1 in the MLB Reports Weekly Rankings thids week.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

The Major League Baseball Season is roughly 10% over and we are seeing some trends and patterns.  The next time you wonder why games are so long in the game right now, look no further than there are about 150 hitters that are currently on pace to Strikeout 100 plus times this season.

Other Notes:

The Cincinnati Reds won every game this past 7 days, after losing every day the week prior.  This is simply why they shot up the rankings.  I think the NL Central is the weakest Division this year.  It was my prediction that the oldest professional baseball club would run away with this Division by at least 10 games.

Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Votto are on the Basepaths at all times – carrying an OBP of over .500 plus each.  Votto is starting to drive the ball with authority too.  Brandon Phillips, Todd Frazier and Zack Cozart are driving in Runs at an incredible rate.

Look for BP Follow @DatdudeBP to be a dark horse NL MVP candidate.

Brandon Phillips Talks about Winter Workouts:

The Rangers might have made their best decision this past winter in not resigning Josh Hamilton. A.J. Pierzynski has also adequately replaced Mike Napoli for offense and defense so far. The teams pitching has been the strongest part of this team. The club is as steady as they are. With LA’s slow start, the Rangers have to be the new favorite of the AL West now.

The Nationals can’t seem to beat anyone but the Marlins (5 – 1 vs them at 5 – 7 vs the rest of MLB baseball) and The A’s are 6 – 0 versus the Astros and 6 – 6 versus the rest of baseball.

The Rockies won their 1st 8 straight at home before dropping a late Inning decision on Sunday.  I don’t buy their start.  They have played the Padres, Twins, Mets and Brewers (before the big streak).  Lets see them with a heavy does of top 10 teams.  I still vaulted up the standings some.

The Blue Jays impatience at the plate (by anyone not named Adam Lind or Jose Bautista is brutal).  They should consider a different approach at the plate.  They are lucky to be 8 – 11 considering.

The Philadelphia Phillies are not faring much better than the Canadian Franchise for their ineptness to draw Walks.

I think either the Astros or the Marlins will be chasing down the ALL – Time Record for Losses in a season this year.  How quick will it be until they start trading everyone who makes a dollar?

Joe Mauer looks better than he has in years.   He will most likely take over the First Base duties after Justin Morneau departs this club.  The team took a shortened week to put up a 4 – 0 record this past week.  As funny as it sounds, if the Tigers don’t play to their potential, every other team in the AL Central could jump into the fray.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had the pitching this weekend to stop the surging Braves in their tracks.  The offense is coming around.  I think this club will be in contention at least until the late part of the year.  Huntington needs to keep the phones busy about the time the Trade Deadline approaches.  This franchise could use 1 more Starting Pitcher.

The Texas Rangers have found their lunchbucket mentality again with A.J. Pierzynksi providing solid leadership behind the plate.  It has been a group effort from the pitchers.  I like them a  lot more in the AL West with the LAA injury situation.

The Angels need to figure out Hamilton fast, or the team is not going to compete.  It was either Hamilton, Tommy Hanson, Joe Blanton and Ryan Madson, or Jordan Walden and Zack Greinke.  It doesn’t look so great right now.

The Dodgers started the year with 8 Starting Pitchers, and now they are down to 4.  Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp need to hit.

Rick Ankiel has had 8 hits in 35 At-Bats. Almost every single out he had recorded has been by him Striking Out (23 SO in 27 Outs).

The Royals need to address the OF situation – where Jeff Francoeur (.258/.281/.636, 1 HR and 5 RBI this year) Struckout 5 times yesterday.  How much more do you need to see?  He has a .309 Career OBP, and now most of his power has diminished.

These Rankings also factor in whether I think the clubs have a legitimate shot at making the Post Season or not – hence why the Rockies are not in the top 10 like they might be at other websites.

MLB Reports Rankings for week ending Sunday, April.21/2013

The Boston Red Sox are a rallying point around the city now. On the field, the Starting Rotation has been outstanding – and the offense has come up with some clutch hits. David Ortiz is back to help out. In a dog fight Division like the AL East, the Red Sox might have the best all around team right now.  They will be America’s team all year.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

Chuck Booth – Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner and author of the Fastest 30 Ballgames:   To learn more about my  “The Fastest 30 Ballgames Book” and how to purchase it, click here .

You can also follow my Guinness Book of World Record Successful Bid to see all 30 MLB Park in 23 Days – click here.  I am happy to be part of such an awesome Magazine-Style Baseball Website and am looking forward to talking to all of the fans of the MLB.  You can reach me on Twitter here Follow @mlbreports

Ben Fallon (Left) and Chuck booth (Right) at Nats Park (Patriots Day 2012)

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