By Tom Morris This is the time of year when the better teams start distinguishing themselves from the lesser ones, right? Well, sort of. Thanks to the scorchingly hot Oakland A's and the Boston Red Sox, many squads are falling back of the pack in the AL; in the NL teams are springing forward into it. Houston scuffled just enough this past week to allow Florida and the rest of the NL also-rans to keep dreaming of a 2005 postseason existence. In both leagues they should all just stop slapping the snooze button, 'cause come mid-September dreams are all they are going to have left. Also this week, while the San Diego Padres managed to achieve greatness in the form of an over-.500 record, the rest of the Majors saw big starting pitchers give big starting wins, a sign of what will define the playoff greats eight weeks from now --which is good since across the board bats have been developing frostbite for some time now... And finally, just when it seemed that Major League Baseball was going to be able to exercise its maturity by governing its own unimpeded drug-testing program, the fallen hero Palmeiro went and caused Congress to take hold of the reins again. Looks like we're all going to have to slog through another protrated legal process. But keep your eyes on the prize, everyone: baseball, home runs, and September and October, the greatest months of the year. Yes, I am a baseball nerd and I love it... [ Last Week's Rankings in Parentheses ] 1. Chicago White Sox: ( 1 ) Yes, the Sox and the Cards hold their thrones again, despite putting out some less than outstanding product the last seven days. But just when Chicago looked to be acting like --oh, I don't know, almost every other American League team-- Garland and Buehrle stepped in and popped the cork back in with back-to-back wins. Frank Thomas is out, and I think almost noone even noticed with the way this team plays to win. 2. St. Louis Cardinals: ( 2 ) My prediction: St. Louis and Houston dismantle their first-round playoff opponents, setting up a rematch of last year's NLCS series. Both teams have dominant top-3 starters, solid bullpens, and deep line-ups that know how to come up with the big hits. But the Cardinals have La Russa, as well as the determination that comes from being one of two teams to lose four straight to the magical Red Sox last year. 3. Oakland Athletics: ( 4 ) Many of you may wonder just why I still haven't given this team ( 37 - 8 of late!! ) a spot up on the top thrones. You're absolutely right...almost. While we have definitely gone waaay past the point of looking at the A's simply as red-hot upstarts on some kind of an amazing run --and every team in the American League should be peeing in their pinstripes at the prospect of playing them at all -- something would have to happen to St. Louis or Chicago, 'cos they still are the best two teams in the majors --all year long. Sorry. 4. Houston Astros: ( 3 ) The Astros got turfed for a few days, most of it by the Giants. And Oswalt and Pettitte were involved, who I guess had to lose a game some day. But not the Rocket. Clemens stepped in big yesterday to end the 3-game slide. Of course, he just gave what he has been giving all year. It was the offense, who scored big in the bottom of the seventh to give Roger and the team the W. These guys took a long time to start hitting, but right now --pitchers beware-- they are not messing around. 5. Atlanta Braves: ( 5 ) Atlanta left no doubt they are the best team in the division, holding firm despite a rare loss by ace John Smoltz. Their bullpen looks much better, and the Joneses continue to thump the baseball. I'm sure Ted Turner and Jane are hopping in their seats because they know only Florida has a shot at nipping at their heels. And nipping, folks, is all that's going to happen. 6. Boston Red Sox: ( 7 ) The Sox are truly amazing! The starting pitching, though still overall at a B-minus, are stepping up big, even with Clement's unfortunate setback. Schilling and Timlin are doing pretty well as the most unexpected tandem you can find in bullpen. And that team's front-office should be thatnking their lucky stars they didn't send Manny shipping. This guy is an offensive force, and by the way, suits-and-ties, he leads the Majors in RBI's...again! 7. Los Angeles Angels (from another nearby SoCal city worth mentioning ...) ( 6 ) In the AL, the Best of the West go head-to-head this week, starting Tuesday, and it should be killer. The Angels continue to show weaknesses at the plate, however, while Bartolo Colon is proving why he is one of the best, pounding and sweating away each inning, late into the game, over and over. But he and their bullpen won't be enough to win this series or the division... 8. New York Yankees: ( 8 ) The Yanks starting pitching is like a pick-up basketball game at the local Rec. Center: some old, some young, some good, some not so good, some you have no idea what they'll do, even after you play against them. What separates this team from the others is that offense, which is a threat, regardless of who Sheffield thinks is leading it. My money is always on Jeter, but Giambi is a big swing vote right now. And Sheff should listen to his soundbites before reacting...or at least apply some GoldBond in his mouth to counteract the Athlete's Foot he keeps getting in there. 9. Florida Marlins: ( 12 ) Moving up the ranks are the fish, earning gritty victories against tough opponents last week. I like their chances at making the wild-card race, photo-finish style. Houston edges them by a nose hair in the last weekend of the season. You heard it here first. OK, so the team lacks power. But they've been showing improvements in almost all categories of late, and that's how you win games. ( 12 - 6 recently...) 10. Cleveland Indians: ( 13 ) Also diminishing their number in my Rankings are the Tribe. But they have got a lot more ground to cover in the AL, where an off-day is a guaranteed extra 1/2 game back if Oakland is playing. But these guys have ...(think of a synonym for spunk, would ya). That's what they've got. Oh, and a GREAT pitching staff. Most of us don't know who they are, but who says that matters. Tough luck they will all be retsing their arms on ice-cold beers this October. Good team. Not good enough. 11. Philadelphia Phillies: ( 11 ) I don't know what to say here, except that the Phillies belong here because they have Houston in sight. But all the teams from here and below are in the top-15 because the lesser teams literally are stinking right now. Plus, Philadelphia's gonna need a telescope to catch a glimpse of the Astros when it's all said and done, my friends. 12. New York Mets: (NEWCOMER) Mets fans are getting excited... Mike Piazza is hitting, but the rest of team is again fraught with disappointments all around. To think all that Carlos Beltran money could have been spent rounding out a more impressive starting rotation --one that at least doesn't have to look across town in jealousy at the Yankees this year. 13. Texas Rangers: ( 15 ) You're probably asking me: why the Rangers? Well, they can slam the ball. three years ago, nobody knew who Mark Texeira or hank Blalock were, but they're leading the charge on a team where even the mascot has three walk-off HRs this year. While Kenny Rogers is off getting headshots done for his resume, the Rangers are somehow technically still in this one...wait, not any more. 14. Minnesota Twins: ( 10 ) Well, they showed some signs of life after losing 6 straight and 10 of 12, but are a shadow of their teams of recent years. The starting pitching just doesn't have the fullness it needs to have, nor the consistent run support any team needs to have. Now Torri Hunter and his defense/energy are gone, which is the straw that broke the coffin's back, as they say. 15. San Diego Padres: (NEWCOMER) As stated before --I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP-- the Padres are above .500!! And a four-game winning streak to boot. I'd like to see them start playing the kind of ball they were earlier in the season, but I'm afraid it will be few and far between. Still gonna win the division, though...Unbelieveable what's going on in that wasteland. But I can't dwell on it. You guys are taking up all my spare time, and I've gotta go make some coffee. Keep the game on you're mind and you're mind in the game...