The Sun's national baseball writer,Peter Schmuck,ranks the major leagues' 28 teams
Rank, Team, Previous, Comment
1. Montreal Expos -- 1 -- Small market. Small payroll. Still biggest potential victim of work stoppage.
2. New York Yankees -- 2 -- Clinched short-season AL East title on Wednesday.
3. Cincinnati Reds -- 5 -- Running away at just the right time.
4. Chicago White Sox -- 3 -- Thomas just six days from first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski.
5. Atlanta Braves -- 4 -- New playoff tier keeps suspense to a minimum.
6. Houston Astros -- 6 -- Have only indoor stadium without retractable, inflatable or water soluble roof.
7. Kansas City Royals -- 10 -- Sizzling like a fine piece of Midwestern beef.
8. Cleveland Indians -- 8 -- Wild-card berth and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee come Aug. 12.
9. Baltimore Orioles -- 9 -- Next year, Leo gets to play any position he wants.
10. Los Angeles Dodgers -- 14 -- Have experience in strike-interrupted division race.
11. San Francisco Giants -- 7 -- Going to let Lasorda sneak away with another short-season title.
12. Texas Rangers -- 16 -- Still haven't poked their heads over .500, but first division title could be days away.
13. Boston Red Sox -- 13 -- Locked in fierce battle with Blue Jays for third place.
14. Oakland Athletics -- 12 -- Couldn't maintain early July pace, but still could overtake Rangers.
15. Toronto Blue Jays -- 15 -- Picked right year to have wrong kind of season. Who's going to care two weeks from now?
16. Colorado Rockies -- 11 -- Still in NL West race, but the Big Cat is pawless to help them.
17. New York Mets -- 20 -- Some promising signs for the future. Not much fun at the moment.
18. Philadelphia Phillies -- 17 -- Team doctor has inside track for Phillies MVP award.
19. Pittsburgh Pirates -- 18 -- Team for sale: Auction to begin at $85 million and work down.
20. Detroit Tigers -- 26 -- Could still finish on top of AL West.
21. Milwaukee Brewers -- 22 -- Competitive balance just around the corner.
22. Chicago Cubs -- 24 -- Rumor has Himes on way out. If only he would take the club with him.
23. Minnesota Twins -- 21 -- These twins should have been separated at birth.
24. Florida Marlins -- 25 -- Next time in Miami, consider the seaquarium instead. At least the fish are still moving.
25. California Angels -- 23 -- Negotiations under way now to move team back into Pacific Coast League.
26. St. Louis Cardinals -- 19 -- There was a time when Cards actually looked like a pretty good team.
27. Seattle Mariners -- 27 -- Strike deadline couldn't come at a better time.
28. San Diego Padres -- 28 -- If they go any farther south, they'll be in Tijuana.
Through Wednesday's games.