Professional baseball rankings -- week 16

Here are my rankings for this week:

*Number 1: SEATTLE MARINERS-(71-27) -- Mariners sweep Minnesota in Minnesota this weekend. They seem unstoppable. Pitcher Aaron Sele improves to 12-1 with 4-0 victory over Twins Friday. He pitches seven innings and allows four hits and no earn runs. His ERA is 3.11. Pitcher Paul Abbott improves his record to 9-2 with 6-3 win over Twins Sunday. Seems to be no weak link on this team. Seattle is 32-14 at home and 39-13 playing on the road. Manager Lou Pinella earned his 700th career win with Seattle this weekend.

*Number 2: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS-(57-41) -- Pitcher Randy Johnson sets new major league record for strikeouts by a relief pitcher with 16. He broke Walter Johnson's record of 15 strikeouts in relief, that he set on July 25, 1913. Arizona's game had been delayed from the day before. Schilling started game Wednesday, but Johnson finished it off Thursday. Randy Johnson improves his record to 12-5. His ERA is 2.70. Curt Schilling earned his 14th win over San Francisco Saturday 9-2. He had 12 strikeouts in that game. His ERA is 2.97. Man thats some duo. Outfielder Luis Gonzalez hit his 38th homerun in that Schilling victory.

*Number 3: MINNESOTA TWINS-(58-40) -- Twins have lost three in a row. They are 2-8 in their last ten games. Minnesota stumped Oakland Thursday 12-10. Twins had a season high 20 hits in that game. Pitcher Eric Milton improved his record to 9-3 with that win. Closer LaTroy Hawkins earned his 25th save. Second baseman Luis Rivas went 3-6 with two RBI's and two runs scored. Brian Buchanon was 4-5 with four RBI's and two runs scored. He also had a double. Third baseman Corey Koskie was 3-6 with three RBI's and one run scored. He had two doubles to give him 23 on the year.

*Number 4: NEW YORK YANKEES-(57-41) -- Yankees salvage game from Toronto Sunday by winning 7-3. Pitcher Mike Mussina was the winner. His record is 10-8. He had nine strikeouts. Bernie Williams hit his 16th homerun of the year. Paul O'Neill hit his 13th. Tino Martinez hit his 20th and Jorge Posada hit his 17th in that victory.

*Number 5: CLEVELAND INDIANS-(53-38) -- Indians beat Detroit Sunday 6-3. Pitcher Bartolo Colon improves his record to 9-7 with victory. First baseman Jim Thome slams his 31st homerun in win. He had four RBI's in the game. He has 83 on the year now. He is batting .300. Bartolo received a seven game suspension for throwing behind a batter's head this past week. He is appealing. Slugger Ellis Burks is on the DL with broken finger. Pitcher Charles Nagy was honored as one of the top 100 all-time players for Cleveland this past week.

*Number 6: ATLANTA BRAVES-(56-42) -- Pitcher Greg Maddux wins his ninth in a row with a 8-2 win over Montreal Sunday. His record is now 13-5. He allowed only two earned runs and struck out seven. His ERA is 2.43. Outfielder Brian Jordan hit his 14th homerun in that game. Second baseman Mark DeRosa has really been hot, since called up from minors. He hit game winning homerun Saturday in the 10th inning to give Braves 2-1 win over Expos. His first career homerun in the majors.

*Number 7: BOSTON RED SOX-(56-42) -- Boston loses two out of three to White Sox this weekend. Pitcher Hideo Nomo got the win Friday, when he won his 10th game in a 7-2 victory. Manny Ramirez hit two homeruns to give him 30 on the year.

*Number 8: CHICAGO CUBS-(56-41) -- Cubs win one game out of three to Houston this weekend. Chicago won Saturday 5-4. Closer Tom Gordon earned his 19th save. Farnsworth was the winner. He is 1-3. Kevin Tapani started the game. Slugger Sammy Sosa hit two homeruns in that game to give him 33 on the year.

*Number 9: HOUSTON ASTROS-(54-43) -- Only trails Chicago by two games in the N.L. Central. They are 28-18 when playing on the road. Pitcher Shane Reynolds improved his record to 9-9 with 3-0 win over Cubs Sunday. Jeff Bagwell slammed his 28th homerun of the year in that action. Billy Wagner earned his 22nd save.

*Number 10: LOS ANGELES DODGERS-(56-43) -- Dodgers have been hot lately. They trail Arizona in the N.L. West by only 1.5 games. They obliterated Colorado Saturday 22-7. Eric Gagne got the victory to improve to 3-4. Catcher Paul LoDuca hit his 16th homerun and Gary Sheffield hit two homeruns to give him 22 on the year. Those were his 300th and 301st career homeruns. He went 4-5 with four RBI's in that game. He also had a double and scored four runs. Adrian Beltre went 4-6 with three RBI's and three runs scored. Outfielder McKay Christensen was 3-4 with four RBI's and two runs scored. He also hit a double. Man what a bloodbath! I almost forgot, Shawn Green hit his 24th homerun in that game. Dodgers haven't scored that many runs since they were the Brooklyn Dodgers. They beat Pittsburgh 23-6 on July 10th 1943 at Ebbets Field. Dodgers also win on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball against Rockies 9-8.

*Number 11: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES-(54-44) -- Phillies beat New York Mets Friday 10-1. Pitcher Robert Person improved his record to 8-5. He had six strikeouts and his ERA is 4.65. He hit his first homerun of the year in that game. Bobby Abreu hit his 20th. Pat Burrell hit his 10th. Phillies trail Atlanta by two games in the N.L. East.

*Number 12: OAKLAND ATHLETICS-(52-46) -- Playing great ball, but still trails Seattle by a bunch. Oakland beat Kansas City Friday 14-3 and 10-1 on Saturday. Pitcher Gil Heredia's record went to 6-7 with win Saturday. Eric Chavez was 2-3 with two RBI's and two doubles. He has 28 doubles on the year. Jeremy Giambi hit his 6th homerun in that win. He's batting .319 and his brother Jason is hitting .330.

*NUMBER 13: FLORIDA MARLINS-(51-48) -- Florida is playing some good ball. They beat up on Cincinnati Sunday 11-7. Pitcher A.J. Burnett improved his record to 8-5 in win. He had eight strikeouts in five innings of work. Third baseman Mike Lowell went 3-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. He has 72 RBI's on the year now. Slugger Cliff Floyd is hitting .355. Floyd hit two homeruns Saturday to give him 28 for the year. The Marlins lost that game to the Reds 8-4.

*NUMBER 14: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS-(52-47) -- Giants lose two out of three to Arizona this weekend, but win Friday 1-0. Pitcher Livan Hernandez was the victor. He is 8-11 now. He pitched seven innings and only allowed two hits.

*NUMBER 15: CHICAGO WHITE SOX-(48-48) -- Beat Boston two out of three this weekend. Won Sunday 13-6. Jon Garland got the win to improve to 4-4. Paul Konerko hit his 21st homerun in that contest. Magglio Ordonez went 2-4 with three RBI's. Konerko hit his 20th Saturday, which was a grand slam. Chicago won that game 10-3.

*Number 16: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS-(49-48) -- Pitcher Matt Morris won his 12th game Thursday against Houston 4-1. He had nine strikeouts. His ERA is 3.05. Mark McGwire hit his 12th homerun of the year in that contest. That was his 566th career homerun. It was a 441 foot shot.

*Number 17: ANAHEIM ANGELS-(49-48) -- Had won six in a row before losing last game in a doubleheader Sunday to Baltimore. They beat Orioles Saturday 6-5. Third baseman Troy Glaus hit two homeruns to give him 24 on the year. David Eckstein went 4-5 with three runs scored and a double. Pitcher Jarrod Washburn improved his record to 8-4 with 2-1 win over Tampa Bay Thursday.

*Number 18: SAN DIEGO PADRES-(48-51) -- Have won four in a row. They blank Milwaukee Sunday 4-0. Pitcher Bobby Jones improved to 6-12 with win. His ERA is 4.01. Comeback Player of the Year, in my opinion, is Ryan Klesko who hit his 19th homerun in that game. He has 83 RBI's on the year and is batting .300.

*Number 19: TORONTO BLUEJAYS-(47-52) -- BlueJays beat Yankees two out of three this weekend. They win Friday 10-4. Pitcher Esteban Loaiza improved to 6-9 with win. Outfielder Raul Mondesi hit his 18th homerun in that big win. Jose Cruz Jr., hit two homeruns to give him 13 on the year.

*Number 20: NEW YORK METS-(45-55) -- Mets beat Philadelphia Saturday 6-3. Pitcher Steve Trachsel gets his second win in a row. He is now 4-10 with an ERA of 5.90. Rey Ordonez hit his first homerun of the year in that win. Tsuyoshi Shinjo went 4-4 with one run scored and a double.

*Number 21: MONTREAL EXPOS-(43-56) -- Team is playing well, despite losing two in a row to the Braves. They had won four in a row, before losing to Atlanta. Outfielder Valdimir Guerrero hit two homeruns Wednesday to give him 26 on the year. Montreal beat Philadelphia in that game 7-6.

*Number 22: DETROIT TIGERS -- Tigers lose two out three this weekend to Cleveland. Detroit did win Friday night 7-3. Pitcher Chris Holt earned his seventh win in that game against seven losses. Damion Easley went 2-4 with a triple and two runs scored. He also knocked in a run.

*Number 23: BALTIMORE ORIOLES-(42-55) -- Baltimore doesn't play for about three days due to train derailment (toxic waste spill) and fire near stadium. They win second game of doubleheader Sunday against Anaheim 5-1. J. Johnson was the winner. He is 9-6 now.

*Number 24: MILWAUKEE BREWERS-(43-54) -- Have lost nine in a row. Nothing more to say, but good luck.

*Number 25: COLORADO ROCKIES-(41-52) -- The best hitting team in the majors. Also the worse team in the N.L. They have scored a league leading 571 runs, but they have allowed 578 runs to be scored on them. Mike Hampton is 0-5 in his last seven starts. Denny Neagle got bombed by Dodgers Saturday 22-7. Neagle gave up nine earn runs. His ERA is 5.06. Rockies have lost 25 out of their last 30 games.

*Number 26: TEXAS RANGERS-(39-53) -- 30.5 games out of first place in the A.L. West. They lose two out of three to Tampa Bay this weekend. Rangers win Friday 4-1. Pitcher Doug Davis runs his record to 5-7 with win. He tossed eight innings and scattered eleven hits. He had six strikeouts. Ruben Sierra hit his 14th homerun in that contest.

*Number 27: KANSAS CITY ROYALS-(38-60) -- Royals finally beat Oakland this weekend on Sunday 5-4. Mike Sweeney hit his 22nd homerun in that in. Shortstop Rey Sanchez went 4-5 with three RBI's.

*Number 28: PITTSBURGH PIRATES-(38-59) -- They beat St. Louis Sunday 2-0. Pitcher Jimmy Anderson improves to 6-9 in that shutout. He pitched eight innings. Closer Mike Williams got his 20th save.

*Number 29: CINCINNATI REDS -- They beat lowly Detroit last Monday 9-1. Prior to this win by Lance Davis Cincinnati had gone 91 games without a complete game. Lance had seven strikeouts and his ERA is 6.75. Griffey hit two homeruns in that game to give him seven on the year. He had four RBI's.

*Number 30: TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS-(32-67) -- Have allowed 589 runs to be scored on them. They beat Atlanta last Monday 6-5. First baseman Fred McGriff hit his 19th homerun in that win. It's rumored that he might be willing to go back to Atlanta to play. See you at the game.