Post by Rangers GM (Mike) on May 21, 2012 18:27:58 GMT -5
| Team | Rank (LW) | Record | Trending | Comments | |
 | Braves | 1 (2) | 5-0-1 |  | The only undefeated team remaining in the league continued to roll as Prado and Pence combined for over 40 TB and an OPS well over 1. The Braves face their first real test of the season this week as they go up against the Cubs, one of the top teams in the league. |
[tr] | Tigers | 2 (4) | 4-2 | | The offense looked good all around as 7 of their hitters hit double digits in TB. Austin Jackson is having a huge bounce back year and is contributing in all categories. If they can get their pitching to be more consistent this will be a dangerous team. |
 | Giants | 3 (6) | 5-1 | | The hottest team in the league won their fifth matchup in a row, taking down one of the top teams in the league. This team is looking unstoppable right now. |
 | Indians | 4 (1) | 5-1 |  | The Indians finally got their first loss of the year. Their pitching was pretty good, but it's very hard to win when you bat only .2188. If was just an off week though and I fully expect them to play well in their next matchup. |
[tr] | Rangers | 5 (5) | 4-1-1 | - | The league's top offense completely fell asleep this week and it almost led to the team's second loss of the year. Lucky for them, Greinke and Lewis pitched gems on the last day to prevent a loss. |
 | Cubs | 6 (3) | 4-2 | | Tough week for the Cubs as they had to face the red-hot Giants and got their second loss of the year (both to the Giants). Unfortunately for the Cubs, things don't get any easier for them as they now have to face the undefeated Braves in the matchup of the week. |
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[/td][td]Rays[/b][/td][td]8 (10)[/td][td]2-4[/td][td][/td][td]The pitching finally looked good and it led to a solid win over the previously undefeated Indians. They didn't hit for much power, but still performed well overall.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Nationals[/td][td]9 (8)[/td][td]3-3[/td][td][/td][td]The Nationals are in a bit of a slide as they've now lost 3 of their past 4. The team continues to struggle as they rank near the bottom of the league in the majority of the categories. However, Pujols, Zim, and Harper are showing signs of life which the Nats will need if they want to make the playoffs.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Phillies[/td][td]10 (12)[/td][td]2-3-1[/td][td][/td][td]Their offense finally was able to match their talented pitching and it led to a great week for the Phillies. They may have faced a weak team, but they put up impressive numbers across the board including the most RBI and SB. If they can keep hitting like this, they should have no problem making the playoffs.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Reds[/td][td]11 (9)[/td][td]1-5[/td][td][/td][td]The Reds may have lost their 5th straight, but they didn't play that bad. Lucroy was on fire with 20 TB and a 1.244 OPS and Gomez continued his solid season on the mound. Maybe they can end the streak against the Phillies this week.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Astros[/td][td]12 (11)[/td][td]2-4[/td][td][/td][td]After killing the Tigers in their first matchup, things didn't go as well this time as they lost for the second week in a row. Ibanez was one of the few bright spots as the offense struggled to put up good numbers. Things got even worse for them today as they got crushing news that Berkman is going to be out for 6-8 weeks.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Mariners[/td][td]13 (15)[/td][td]1-4-1[/td][td][/td][td]Even though getting a tie against a top team in the league is a successful week, it sucks that all they needed was 1 R from Loney in the night game to pull off the upset. Regardless, it was a great week as the Mariners offense showed that they are good enough to carry the team on the few occasions when the pitching doesn't dominate. [/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Rockies[/td][td]14 (16)[/td][td]2-4[/td][td][/td][td]The Rockies were impressive this week easily winning against the struggling Reds. The hitting led by Arencibia and CarGo was great and the pitching got a dominating week from Bass. They'll look to make it two in a row against the struggling Marlins.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Royals[/td][td]15 (13)[/td][td]1-5[/td][td][/td][td]As usual the pitching struggled mightily, but the offense looked great and almost led the team to an upset win in a very close 6-8-0 loss to Boston. If Haren, Upton, and Masterson can regain their form, they might have a shot at the wild card. [/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Marlins[/td][td]16 (14)[/td][td]1-5[/td][td][/td][td]The offense, led by Fielder and Hart, continued to improve and put up great numbers this week. The pitching though let them down again as Nova and Kuroda continue to struggle.[/td][/tr][/table]