The Sun's national baseball writer, Peter Schumuck, ranks the major leagues' 28 teams.
RANK, TEAM, PREVIOUS RANK, COMMENT
1. Atlanta Braves , 1 , Starting to pull away from persistent Expos.
2. Cleveland Indians , 4 , New home very comfortable for emerging AL Central powerhouse.
3. New York Yankees , 3 , Still have firm grip on AL's second-toughest division.
4. Montreal Expos , 2 , Finally cooling off after furious AL East challenge.
5. Cincinnati Reds , 5 , Trying to assemble pennant-winning outfield...from 1992.
6. Minnesota Twins , 6 , Could be in catbird seat if Cleveland cools off.
7. Houston Astros , 8 , Rockets will be tough act to follow, but two 1994 World Championship teams are not out of the question.
8. Baltimore Orioles , 7 , Just escaped from Camden Yards. Could be dangerous.
9. Los Angeles Dodgers , 9 , Could win NL West by default.
10. Kansas City Royals , 11 , Need more punch to keep from getting knocked out of tough AL Central.
11. Chicago White Sox , 10 , On the bright side, if this keeps up, we might get a look at Michael in September.
12. St. Louis Cardinals , 13 , Decent club still doesn't know which way to turn.
13. Philadelphia Phillies , 15 , Still viable, but already have to come in strike-shortened season.
14. Detroit Tigers , 17 , Have come out of nowhere to join AL East race.
15. Toronto Blue Jays , 16 , Next thing you know, Barry Manilow will be headlining at Soft Rock Cafe.
16. Florida Marlins , 19 , Surprisingly respectable club would be competitive in three other divisions.
17. Texas Rangers , 12 , Okay, okay, so they weren't ready to take control of AL Mess.
18. San Francisco Giants , 14 , Nothing shaking in Bay Area, which used to be good news.
19. Seattle Mariners , 20 , Even Ruthian performance by Griffey can't get Mariners above sea level.
20. Colorado Rockies , 21 , Don't laugh. Second place would rate tickertape in Denver.
21. Milwaukee Brewers , 23 , Garner doing decent job despite poor standing in Central.
22. Boston Red Sox , 18 , The vultures are circling over Fenway Park.
23. Pittsburgh Pirates , 25 , Steel City fans still have All-Star Game to look forward to.
24. Oakland Athletics , 26 , Tony La Russa may yet find a way to win wobegone West, crazy as that might sound.
25. New York Mets , 22 , Back to being regular part of David Letterman monologue.
26. California Angels , 24 , Eleven games under. Four games out. Is this really happening?
27. Chicago Cubs , 27 , Confidential to Ryne Sandberg: Come back. All is forgiven.
28. San Diego Padres , 28 , Do I hear $68 million?