In the edition of Sports Weekly on sale now (with Santana on the cover), there is a 2008 power poll. Here are the top 10 teams:
1. Boston Red Sox
2 Detroit Tigers
3. Cleveland Indians
4. New York Yankees
5. Los Angeles Angels
6. NEW YORK METS
7. Arizona Diamondbacks
8. Colorado Rockies
9. Seattle Mariners
10. Philadelphia Phillies
(16. Atlanta Braves)
So, according to USA Today, only 4 NL teams are good enough to be in the top 10 of baseball, and they all are ranked 6 or below. I feel that the Mets are better than 6 on paper, but until the NL starts winning All-Star games and World Series Rings, preseason rankings like this one will continue to be published.
Overall though, I think the argument will start to surface that talent is starting to squeeze teams closer together. Outside of teams that should win their division without much trouble (Cubs for example), there is a cluster of teams that are good enough for the Wild Card. This argument originates from just looking at the polls, there are so many teams that you look at and go, “Hmm, I think they should be listed higher than that”, but when you look at the teams above them, they are slightly better, so teams are starting to look better and better on paper.
What we saw at the end of last season, with the possibility of 3 or 4 teams going for a Wild Card playoff game, (where 2 actually made it), could be a trend starting now. Bring it, because that is great for baseball.
(Another way to look at this is that the middle-level teams are starting to grow while horrible teams and excellent teams are starting to shrink)
