MLB Power Rankings: Rays Make a Charge, But Can’t Take Down Rangers
For the week of April 30th:
| RANK | TEAM | NOTE | PREVIOUS |
| 1 |  |
The team from Texas is on top for the third straight week, but a cause for concern has arisen. Their loss to the Rays on Sunday night is the first series they have lost all year, and it also came with a Josh Hamilton back injury. The severity is currently unknown, but the Rangers cannot afford to lose their best hitter. | 1 |
| 2 |  |
The Tigers have slipped in a big way over the past week, leaving this #2 spot wide open. The Dodgers are the team to replace Detroit, rebounding and sweeping Washington after losing a series to the Braves. Matt Kemp continues to be on fire, with 11 HRs in the month of April. The pitching also impressed and was able to overcome the fantastic starters over on the Washington side. | 5 |
| 3 |  |
What a run in the past week for the Rays. They are the first of a number of teams to make significant moves in the rankings, and they did it by only losing one game this week. They took down the mighty Rangers for a series win, and swept the reeling Angels earlier in the week. As always for Tampa Bay, it’s the pitching that is bringing the victories. | 7 |
What Lies Ahead for Michael Pineda
Yankee starter Michael Pineda was shut down this week after being diagnosed with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. The 22-year old Pineda, who has not pitched this season, will have surgery on May 1 and miss the remainder of the year. Instead of being a part of what would have been one of the best rotations in the game, Pineda will spend the summer in a trainer’s room somewhere, doing resistance bands and riding arm bikes. Here’s an account of what’s in store him from a former player who’s been through it twice.
If you’re Michael Pineda, sometime in the past two weeks you felt a little twinge in your right shoulder. Whether you were throwing a bullpen or just playing catch, you felt a sharp, quick shot of pain go through your arm, and then just as quickly, disappear.
You probably looked around for a while, testing out your arm over and over again, looking for the pain to come back. And it probably didn’t. You probably told your coaches, who probably told you to try it out to see if you felt it again, and when you didn’t, they probably said they’d schedule an MRI just to make sure you were fine. You probably went to sleep that night thinking you were.
Bryce Time
Tonight, under the clear Los Angeles sky, the most famous non-Bieberian teenager in the country will make his debut to thousands of flashbulbs and with millions of National owner Ted Lerner’s dollars on the line.
Tonight the one-man band that is Bryce Harper – violent swing, bold eyeblack, fractious swagger and all – finally emerges from the shadows and takes the stage to headline the most hyped sporting tour since Michael ditched the Bulls for the Birmingham Barons in ’93.
Mani’s Weekly Top 5: The Best Starting Rotations
In the short time The Inside Move has been online, we have been consistently looking for different articles and columns that we can bring to the blog on a semi-regular basis. Our Power Rankings is a feature that is released on the site every Monday, and this past weekend was the first installment of Joey Bats’ Sunday Morning Word.
On that note, welcome to Mani’s Weekly Top 5!
At the end of every week, I will post a top five list about any topic in baseball, and it can range from something normal, like the first week’s topic, to something just a bit more ridiculous. Also, in the near future I will occasionally bring the Weekly Top 5 in a video format to bring some interactive features to the website.
So without further ado, let’s get to the best five starting rotations in the game today!
Michael Pineda and Yankee Fans
(Editor’s note – just know that I started this piece with the best of intentions. Really.)
It’s just past dinnertime on January 13, 2012, and I’m sitting on a set of pull-out bleachers in a local church gymnasium in Staten Island, NY, watching my 13-year old sister play basketball. On one side of me sits my other sister. On the other side, my best friend. My parents are scattered around the gym, talking to other parents and doing the scorebook. I’m moving across the country tomorrow, and this is the last time I’ll see these people for months. When I woke up that morning, I really thought that was why I’d remember January 13, 2012.
Then the Yankees traded for Michael Pineda. Then they signed Hiroki Kuroda. In fifteen minutes my quiet, final night home transformed into a maelstrom of calls, tweets and text messages from Evil Empire fans both celebrating and crucifying the deals. It was my night. And then suddenly it was theirs. My final hours in New York would prove to be a microcosm of the twenty years I spent in the city rooting for the wrong team.
Tweet Blender
To be at a standstill on 1-70 when I have to eat n pee this bad is as cruel, unusual as anything that goes on in that prison I just passed.20 hours ago
Oral and John are right. For Miggy to hit that ball where he did, crazy. He is, simply, better than everyone else. Lets leave it at that.1 day ago
They're walking Miggy with a 2-1 and runners on first and second AND Prince Fielder on deck. That is one thing. Fear.1 day ago
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