MLB Baseball Handicapping

MLB Baseball Power Rankings - Conference Championship

The Detroit Tigers knocked off the mighty New York Yankees, but it's the Oakland Athletics who find themselves atop the MLB Power Rankings this week. The Athletics had no trouble with the Minnesota Twins in their American League Division Series, winning the first three games to earn a sweep of the five-game set. The Tigers needed four games to get past the Bronx Bombers, and they won't have home-field advantage in the ALCS (which is set to begin on Tuesday night). Nevertheless, the Tigers sit at No. 2 in this week's edition of the rankings, right behind Oakland.

That means the two remaining National League clubs populate the bottom half of the Power Rankings this week. New York easily got past Los Angeles in their NLDS, as the Mets outscored the Dodgers 19-11 in the three-game sweep. However, with both Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez now on the sidelines the Mets' title chances have taken a big hit. New York's NLCS opponents in Wednesday's opener will be the St. Louis Cardinals, who avoided a fifth-and-deciding game in their NLDS by beating the San Diego Padres on Sunday night; Chris Carpenter got the win.

Here is the LCS edition of the MLB Power Rankings.

01 - Oakland Athletics (Last Week 03)
If Barry Zito is the key to Oakland's postseason success, he gave Athletics fans much reason for optimism last week. The lefthander pitched eight strong innings in Game 1 against the Twins, allowing just one run on four hits in the outing (and beating Johan Santana to boot). Zito is now expected to start Game 1 of the ALCS versus the Tigers.

02 - Detroit Tigers (Last Week 05)
Won themselves a lot of fans by dispatching the overpaid, unpopular Yankees from the playoffs, and their late-season swoon can now officially be forgotten. Beating Zito in Game 1 would be a huge boost for them, as the rest of their staff compares well with that of Oakland. How long since the Tigers overshadowed the Red Wings in October?

03 - New York Mets (Last Week 04)
Since El Duque is unlikely to return this year the Mets will need Steve Trachsel and John Maine to turn in solid outings in the NLCS - they can't rely on Tom Glavine alone. Maine was fine in his start against the Dodgers, but Trachsel was pulled after just 3 1-3 innings. And a lengthy playoff run would really rub it into the Yankees' faces.

04 - St. Louis Cardinals (Last Week 08)
Carpenter went seven innings in their series-clinching victory versus the Padres on Sunday night, giving up just two runs on seven hits and striking out five batters. Scott Rolen sat out the same with shoulder soreness, and probably wouldn't have played in a Game 5 either; the Cards are hoping he can return and be productive during the NLCS.

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