By Tom Morris You know, not too many games have been played in the Majors since last week's column. That, of course, is because of that Extra-Strength bottle of nighttime, sniffling...help-you-rest medicine we were all forced to chug down on Tuesday in Detroit. So every team has played just one series since that point, and what could happen in a weekend, right? Well, plenty, it seems. In the American League, almost every leading wild-card contender decided to extend their All-Star Snoozes --or at least daydreams--, with only Oakland and the Yanks deciding to take advantage of the situation. In the National League, the only major change was St. Louis humbling the Astros in three straight, the Nationals continuing their downward slide, and a couple of new teams elbowing their way into my elite, much-admired Team Rankings Page. Buy some souvenirs and take some snapshots, guys, 'cause the way the Major League see-saw has been jumping up and down this season, your visit may end up being just a week's paid vacation. So here it is (drumroll please). Last week's rankings, as always, are listed in parentheses ( ). 1. Chicago White Sox: (1) Some see the Cardinals as the # 1 spot by now, what with all that excellent pitching, and that Pujols chap. Well the Sox still have pitching too, if you hadn't noticed, and after putting the hot-hitting Indians' bats on ice with the chablis for a four-game sweep, I see no cause to bump them off their throne just yet. Oh, and by the way, the White Sox are 30 - 5 in their division this year! 2. St. Louis Cardinals: (2) As mentioned, the Cards handed it to the streaking 'Stros this weekend. Wait, I take that back. Every game was close, and two of the three wins were of the come-from-behind variety. But that's what great teams do --win the nailbiters. Chris Carpenter has fully emerged from the shadows, everyone, him and Jon Garland becoming the majors' first 14-game winners Sunday. If the Cardinals weren't so competitive, they could easily turn on cruise control for the rest of the season, still winning the division as they coast into the driveway. 3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: (4) After their shameful sweep at the hands of the Mariners last weekend, the Angels played a tough series against the tough Twins, all four of the games being decided by one run. But...they won three of them, so they've claimed the #3 slot this week, bumping the increasingly mortal Nationals down a couple of notches. By the way, regarding their name, thought I'd mention that in English/Spanish, this team is now calling itself The Angels Angels of Anaheim. FYI..... 4. Atlanta Braves: (5) The Braves are one of many teams getting key injured players back, or already have. Tim Hudson returned this weekend, something I'm sure did not go unnoticed, and nailed the Mets with a goose egg. Mike Hampton wasn't so lucky, but he is back, and Chipper Jones is a couple of series away from joining the roster. The young bucks the Braves have been throwing out their in desperation all year have somehow gotten it done. Atlanta has won 19 of 29, and can only get better. The NL East belongs to Cox and Co. once again. 5. Washington Nationals: (3) The Nats managed one win of four against Milwaukee, and despite that they still have a strong, gritty team that knows it belongs in the win column. They may get some kind of a boost from recent additions Preston Wilson and RHP Mike Stanton, who apparently didn't pitch well enough for the Yankees. I don't know who that makes look worse... 6. New York Yankees: (6) Somehow, the Bombers stole 3 of 4 from the just-barely-division-leader Red Sox. The Yankees pitching situation looks even shoddier than just a week ago, with one of their leading starters Chien-Ming Wang going on the DL. They picked up major disappointment Al Leiter (3 - 7),who became a savior of sorts for them Sunday. Now the Yankees, who of course still have pyrotechnics for an offense, have leapfrogged the Orioles for second place in the dreary AL East. 7. Oakland Athletics: (9) Wow, these guys are amazing. Nonexistent payroll, hardly a home run hit, and only one big arm (Zito) leftover from their exciting playoff shows earlier this decade. But look! They are exactly 2 1/2 games back of the wild-card leader, after taking 3 of 4 against Texas. And check this out: Since starting 27 - 39, the A's have won 20 of 25 games. Not bad, fellas, with an almost-complete game to boot. 8. Minnesota Twins: (8) The Twins struggled to get the big hit over the weekend against the Angels, losing 3 of 4 to them. But don't blame it on their pitching staff, who kept each one close, and who will continue to do so all the way to the end. Not much else to say here. 9. Houston Astros: (7) The Rocket suffered another L, despite allowing one earned run on Saturday. Then again, he was up against Chris Carpenter, probably the hottest starter in the bigs right now. Houston lost a heart-breaker in extra innings, blew another lead, and were all in all grounded by the indefatigable St. Louis Sweep Squad. 10. Boston Red Sox: (10) Well, the Sox lost 3 of 4 back-to-back, to both the Orioles and the Yankees, making the AL EAST look more and more like a rest stop than a race. One of the reasons for the slide against New York may have been Boston's decision to lump all their runs into their 17 - 1 pasting on Friday. Who knows, but all three of these teams have the same issues right now: pitching. Somebody's got to get their motor started, 'cause pretty soon the peppy Devil Rays make a run at the division. 11. Balimore Palmeiros (Orioles): (13) Yes, Rafael got the attention he never asked for, but has never deserved more. Hats off to an unsung talent of the Major Leagues. As concerns the other guys: well, the O's jumped up a couple spots, despite only splitting their 4 games at Seattle. Why? Well, their Achilles' heel, starting pitching has started a resurrection. The only two poor starts the last 8 games or so were by one guy: Sir Sidney Ponson, who frankly does not belong in a uniform --at least not one with an orange bird on the front. They now get Erik Bedard and his 2.06 ERA back from two months on the DL. AJ Burnett looms on the horizon almost definitely as I write this, but Tejada and the offense are scuffling right now. Don't know how long this (MY) team can hold its spot. 12. San Diego Padres: (13) The Who-Diego Whos, you ask? Well they are this team, right, that through courage, determination and unshakable moxie have fought through the highly competitive NL WEST, valiantly holding off all the other talented teams nipping at their heels, while getting stronger and stronger with each passing day.......Yeah, right. No disrespect, lads, but absolutely the only thing worth talking about in the NL WEST these days is whether or not Barry Bonds will stop talking about himself. Padres should improve, however, with their injuries starting to dissipate. 13. Cleveland Indians: (12) Alright, so you can't blame a team for losing to the White Sox, it's almost worked into most team's schedules by now. But 4 straight has got to take a feather or two out of the tribe's caps, and now Travis Hafner is on the DL for a short stint due to a facial injury. Probably pulled ten or twenty little muscles squinting at his massive homers as they flew into the sunset. 14. Chicago Cubs: (NEWCOMER) Hello, Cubs. Nice to see you again. How long will you be here this time? Their winning and losing streaks this year have been a sweaty sumo wrestle that still has no clear heavyweight. But Prior and , yes, Kerry Wood are both back and fairly sharp, along with Carlos "The Cannon" Zambrano. With yesterday's HR # 28, Derek Lee is now back to double-crown status, with only brethren Carlos Lee's RBI remaining in his sights. I think the Cubs first baseman should hold a spot on this list, to be sure... 15. Philadelphia Phillies: (NEWCOMER) Yeah, these last two spots are the land of flip-floppers, I know. But the Phillies have won six of seven now, which is almost against the rules in their division, and the Marlins and Rangers literally bumped themselves off this list with poor play over the weekend. The Phils may be here for a while, with six straight games against NL West teams coming right up.