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Cubs Still Atop RealGM's Team Rankings
At RealGM, we use the Field Impact Counter (FIC) to objectively measure how effectively teams are performing. We combine the position players and pitchers' FIC scores to measure which teams have played the best so far in 2008. Click here for more information about the Field Impact Counter and the Reina Value. *Through Mondays's games Team: FIC Per Game Total (FIC Position Players/FIC Pitchers) 1. Chicago Cubs: 19.5 (9.0, 10.4) The Cubs are leading the MLB in batting with a .284 clip. 2. Boston Red Sox: 19.5 (9.1, 10.4) Dustin Pedroia, Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis are all heating up, as they each have an OPS above 1.000 over the past six games. 3. Philadelphia Phillies: 18.3 (8.6, 9.7) Thie Phillies are 3-13 over their past 16 games. 4. Chicago White Sox: 18.2 (8.0, 10.2) With 50 quality starts, the White Sox lead the majors in that category. 5. Tampa Bay Rays: 17.8 (7.0, 10.8) Evan Longoria is hitting .216 at home and .328 on the road. 6. New York Yankees: 17.7 (8.0, 9.7) Somewhat quietly, Alex Rodriguez is now hitting .322 with 15 homers on the season. 7. St. Louis Cardinals: 17.5 (8.0. 9.5) Rick Ankiel is batting .320 with three homers in his past six games. 8. Texas Rangers: 17.3 (8.9, 8.5) The Rangers lead the MLB in OPS (.807) and total bases (1,344). 9. New York Mets: 16.6 (7.2, 9.3) The Mets are 6-6 since the firing of Willie Larry Randolph. 10. Toronto Blue Jays: 16.3 (6.0, 10.3) The Jays are 5-3 since Cito Gaston?s return as skipper. 11. Atlanta Braves: 16.1 (6.9, 9.2) The Braves have hit just .741 in June, the second consecutive month in which their production at the plate has dropped. 12. Milwaukee Brewers: 16.1 (6.2, 9.9) The Brewers hit just 24 homers in April, but 44 in June. 13. Detroit Tigers: 16.1 (7.6, 8.4) Continuing the monthly trend, the Tigers OPS in June was .827, which was a sharp climb from the .712 they had in May. 14. Minnesota Twins: 15.9 (6.5, 9.5) The Twins lead the AL in triples with 24 thanks to at least two from six different guys. 15. Baltimore Orioles: 15.7 (6.5, 9.3) Jeremy Guthrie has a 3.50 ERA this season. 16. Houston Astros: 15.4 (6.5, 8.9) Wandy Rodriguez has been the staff?s ace with a 2.58 ERA and 7.74 K/9 ratio. 17. Los Angeles Angels: 15.1 (4.5, 10.7) A team that is 16 games over .500 really shouldn?t be 17th on a rankings list, but this formula clearly does not close games into account and a club that has only scored 12 more runs than their opponents is difficult to know what to do with. 18. Pittsburgh Pirates: 14.9 (6.7, 8.2) Pirates? pitchers are yielding an MLB-worst .813 OPS. 19. Oakland Athletics: 14.6 (4.6, 10.0) Rich Harden has a dominant 2.15 ERA and has been extremely durable since May 11th. 20. Arizona Diamondbacks: 14.4 (4.7, 9.7) The first of five NL West teams in the twenties. 21. Cincinnati Reds: 14.4 (5.4, 8.9) The Reds lead the MLB in strikeouts with 636, but have given up 107 homers. 22. Los Angeles Dodgers: 14.2 (4.8, 9.4) Russell Martin and Jeff Kent are leading the Dodgers with eight homers each. 23. Cleveland Indians: 14.2 (5.3, 8.9) Cleveland has logged nine shutouts on the season, which is the best in baseball. 24. San Francisco Giants: 14.1 (4.8, 9.3) The Giants hit a homer in every 53.2 at bats, which is last in the MLB. 25. Florida Marlins: 13.9 (5.1, 8.8) Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, Jorge Cantu, Cody Ross and the Marlins lead the MLB in homers with 116. 26. Seattle Mariners: 13.4 (5.3, 8.1) Carlos Silva has a 5.69 ERA and just 3.52 K/9. 27. Kansas City Royals: 13.3 (4.4, 8.9) David DeJesus is batting .316 with eight homers. 28. Colorado Rockies: 13.3 (5.3, 8.0) The Rockies have scored just 104 runs in June. 29. San Diego Padres: 11.0 (2.4, 8.6) Adrian Gonzalez has 21 homers (12 on the road) in what is one of the better wasted seasons. 30. Washington Nationals: 10.9 (2.7, 8.2) Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes have OPS totals of .679 and .738 respectively. General, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Fukudome, Braun Battle For NL Outfield SpotChicago Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, who has been among the National League?s leaders at the position since the start of balloting, is in a tight race with the surging Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers in the final weekly balloting update for the 79th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 15th at Yankee Stadium. Fukudome has drawn 1,783,983 votes, trailing his teammate, Alfonso Soriano (2,120,635), and the most popular player in the history of Major League Baseball All-Star Game balloting, Ken Griffey, Jr. (1,917,739) of the Cincinnati Reds, among N.L. outfielders. Braun, who was as low as 10th place among outfielders on June 3rd, has collected 1,751,058 votes, leaving him only 32,925 votes behind Fukudome. Fukudome, a longtime member of the Chunichi Dragons and the Most Valuable Player of Japan?s Central League in 2006, is batting .299 with six home runs, 33 RBI, 55 runs scored, 51 walks and a .407 on-base percentage on the season. Braun, the 2007 N.L. Rookie of the Year, is batting .287 with 20 home runs, 58 RBI, 45 runs scored and a .552 slugging percentage. Another tight race is at shortstop, where the topsy-turvy contest between Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins and Miguel Tejada of the Houston Astros will go down to the wire. Ramirez led the race for the first two weeks before Tejada took the top spot for the ensuing pair of updates. Ramirez, the 2006 N.L. Rookie of the Year, regained the mantle last week. Ramirez, seeking his Midsummer Classic debut, has accumulated 1,483,875 votes. Tejada, a four-time A.L. All-Star, has drawn 1,315,240 votes. Ramirez is batting .294 with 18 home runs, 35 RBI, 69 runs scored and 20 stolen bases, while Tejada is hitting .287 with 10 home runs, 43 RBI and 56 runs scored. Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley continues to be Major League Baseball?s leading overall vote-getter with 2,645,027 votes. Other position leaders are first baseman Lance Berkman (2,132,663) of the Astros; Major League Baseball?s leading hitter, third baseman Chipper Jones (2,433,753) of the Atlanta Braves; and Cubs rookie catcher Geovany Soto (1,827,279). Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Zambrano Says He's Ready To Return
"I feel great today. I guess 'Z' is back," Zambrano said. "I'm ready to go out there and do my job." He is still expected to throw one more session on Tuesday in San Francisco to ensure he's ready. Zambrano, 8-3 with a 3.13 ERA, went on the 15-day disabled list earlier this month after leaving a start against Tampa Bay with shoulder discomfort. Chicago Cubs Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Cubs Jun 2008 Archive
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By Christopher Reina
Cubs' starter Carlos Zambrano claims that he's ready to return to the mound for the team after throwing a pain-free bullpen session on Sunday, according to ESPN.com.