The Sun's national baseball writer, Peter Schmuck, ranks the major leagues' 28 teams.
Rank, Team, Previous rank, Comment.
1. Cleveland Indians -- 1 -- Two so-so weeks notwithstanding, it's still an Indian summer.
2. Philadelphia Phillies -- 2 -- Early-season explosion no fluke, as recent 8-2 run clearly illustrates.
3. Atlanta Braves -- 3 -- Keeping pressure on streaking Phillies.
4. Boston Red Sox -- 5 -- May have rejuvenated Yankees to deal with soon.
5. Cincinnati Reds -- 4 -- Threatening to let Astros back into NL Central race.
6. Los Angeles Dodgers -- 13 -- Rampaging running mates -- Karros and Piazza -- have carried Dodgers to top of standings.
7. Houston Astros -- 15 -- Padre deal pays off: Derek Bell has become major offensive force.
8. California Angels -- 8 -- Showing surprising character in absence of Chili Davis.
9. Texas Rangers -- 7 -- In a great spot if Angels unravel.
10. Kansas City Royals -- 9 -- Solidly in second place, and likely to stay there for some time.
11. New York Yankees -- 20 -- Finally appear to be turning the corner.
12. Oakland Athletics -- 10 -- Stottlemyre (6-1) is having a major impact on suspect pitching staff.
13. Detroit Tigers -- 18 -- Go figure. Second-place Tigers just won't go away.
14. Colorado Rockies -- 11 -- Denver still a mile high, but Rockies have gotten much closer to sea level.
15. San Diego Padres -- 12 -- Palm trees in the outfield are nice touch.
16. Seattle Mariners -- 17 -- E. Martinez (52 RBIs) filling offensive void left by Griffey.
17. Chicago Cubs -- 16 -- The dream appears to be over.
18. Montreal Expos -- 6 -- Free-falling, for no apparent reason.
19. San Francisco Giants -- 14 -- Not playing well at all, but it wouldn't take much to turn things around in weak NL West.
20. Chicago White Sox -- 24 -- Coming around, but the damage already is done.
21. Toronto Blue Jays -- 19 -- Falling apart faster than SkyDome.
22. Orioles -- 22 -- If they hold on long enough to get healthy, there's still hope.
23. Milwaukee Brewers -- 21-- Still playing well on road (15-13), but ready to drop another notch in AL Central.
24. Pittsburgh Pirates -- 25 -- Escaped from NL Central cellar, but only because Cardinals wanted so badly to get in.
25. St. Louis Cardinals -- 23 -- New manager. Same old song and dance.
26. Florida Marlins -- 27 -- Swam upstream long enough to get out of NL East basement, if only momentarily.
27. Minnesota Twins -- 28 -- Equally feeble at home or on the road.
28. New York Mets -- 25 -- Worse than ever, if that's possible.