By Tom Morris Now this is the kind of baseball stuff one lives for!! Tight playoff races. More than momentous head-to-head matchups. And Roger Clemens facing Chris Carpenter over the weekend. I'd be lying if I told you I haven't been scoreboard watching. In fact, the board has gotten so big, I've had to hire additional staff to monitor it for my Team Rankings Column. The National League East Division in particular has just finished a week of serious pugilism: The Phillies played the Nats and the Mets, who played the Braves and the Marlins, who played...you get the idea. For the most part things were evenly balanced, which goes to show that maybe these postseason berths will be sealed in all of the games the contenders play against squads with losing records. Or maybe it just means that we are still waiting for a couple of teams to run away with it. It's been whittled down in the American League, but in the NL, separation anxiety is preventing anyone from leaving their home base. We'll see what the next week provides. And for now, here's my take on the one that just passed... [ Last Week's Rankings in Parentheses ] 1. St. Louis Cardinals: ( 1 ) The Cardinals were in danger of losing their top spot to the Red Sox, who have been using their muscle to keep moving up the list. St. Louis continues to get by with arms and defense, and a guy by the name of Albert Pujols. The team found a salve to potential late-season complacency : Jason Marquis, who had been acting like a standout of the wrong nature. 2 straight complete games and a .50 ERA will help him fit back in to this outstanding rotation. 2. Boston Red Sox: ( 2 ) The Sox are on fire alright. And they haven't looked back since taking first place from the long-forgotten Orioles. Wells and Clement give some ballast to a still-questionable bunch of pitchers, but remember: a team that has been scoring between 6 and 7 runs a game has different concerns than do the mere offensive mortals of baseball. 3. Chicago White Sox: ( 4 ) The Southsiders woke up quickly, doing well to try to put that horrendous slump behind them. Plus, John Garland got win # 18 in his 5th attempt. They're beating up on Schilling and Boston right now, which gives me the sense they won't be dropping from the top of the list anytime soon. And outscoring their opponents 50 - 30 since last Sunday doesn't hurt either... 4. New York Yankees: ( 3 ) Slumped a bit offensively, but have managed to hold firm to the AL Wild-Card lead. If the BIG weekend series coming against division leader Boston doesn't go in their favor, however, the Wild-Card may be their only winning ticket the rest of the way. 5. Atlanta Braves: ( 5 ) Atlanta fought out a 4-game split with the dogged Nationals, but still are within reach of Philadelphia and Florida, either of whom could not only get hot and clinch the Wild-Card, but maybe catch the coasting Braves while doing so. They need to reassert themselves during these final weeks if they want to stay in my Top-5. 6. Cleveland Indians: ( 7 ) The Tribe slipped back of the Yanks over the last series, thanks to a Twins team playing with attitude and beating them at their own game. But at 2 games back of the Wild-Card, claustrophobics beware: this race is extra-special cosy right now, with no clear winner in sight. 7. LA Angels of Anaheim: ( 10 ) The Halos were in real danger of drifting away from the scene last week, but popped a couple of "Hey we're playing the A's" pills, and have now taken back the highly combative, combustible AL West Division. They've got the pitching, ( 2.09 ERA since last Sunday), but their bats have proved to be only so reliable to this point --something that must be fixed if this squad wants an extended 2005 playoff future. 8. Oakland Athletics: ( 6 ) It's amazing what a less-than-lights-out Barry Zito will do to a rotation: The lefty got thumped by the opportunistic Yankees yesterday, capping a stretch that saw the A's lose 4 of 5, including the last 2 of a pivotal series against the Angels. That leaves the playoff picture considerably cramped, but it's the Angels who go up against the Sox next --the Red and White ones. 9. Philadelphia Phillies: ( 9 ) The Phils stayed put in the hunt this past week, and in my Rankings too, with a back-and-forth effort. They snatched 2 of 3 from the rapidly failing Mets, then ran into the Not-If-I-Can-Help-It Nats, who won the rubber match on Sunday. Houston and Philadelphia showed the strongest pitching this past week, however, and the two teams go up against each other starting tonight. Should be worth it to tune in, with the Phillies taking 2 of 3... 10. Houston Astros: ( 12 ) Poor Roger got the shaft again his last time out -- in more ways than one. Limped off the field with a minor injury, and literally got some insult added to it, as the losing pitcher of record again. This time you can't fault his batters for not scoring much against Chris Carpenter. I think it's been worked into the Cards pitcher's contract. 11. Florida Marlins: ( 8 ) Just peeked at the MLB scoreboard to see the Marlins lost one to the Nationals, not the start to the week they wanted. AJ Burnett has been scuffling a bit, which hurts a team so dependent on its starting rotation. But before today the Marlins were 1/2 game behind the Phillies for the Wild-Card lead, despite a 5.33 ERA since last Sunday. I wonder how long they can stay in it with those numbers... 12. Minnesota Twins: ( 13 ) Commanding respect they are, these Twins (if I can employ some Yoda-speak). Won 2 straight series this past week, ending with big wins against the Indians over the weekend. And would you believe for the 2nd straight week their bats provided the bang. A .305 BA, to go with more solid pitching from people noone knows, keeps Minnesota within a right-fielder's throw of the Yankees, which is about as close as these guys will get from here on out, I'm sorry to say. 13. Washington Nationals: ( 14 ) The Claus Von Bulow Reversal of Fortune Award of the Month goes to the Nats, who are winning key games against Wild-Card foes, grounding Philly and now Florida after a hard-fought 4-game split against the Braves. They really suffer on offense. But don't tell them that. 2 games back of Philadelphia going into Monday night is no joke for the only Washington-Area team with a winning record. 14. New York Mets: ( 13 ) A short time ago the Mets offense absolutely exploded, and they reinserted themselves into the postseason hunt. But they looked much worse than average this past week, losing 2 of 3 to both Philly and Florida. Maybe it's becasue they stopped facing Diamondbacks pitching. And I've just noticed the Braves just handed 'em another in the L column. In the process they've fallen to last in the Wild-Card Primaries. Gonna need to need a Florida Governor to help them win this vote. 15. San Diego Padres: (NEWCOMER) The Reds held this dubious distinction last week, but boy was that short-lived. The Padres meanwhile should get 8 straight minutes of standing ovation for courageously fighting back such # 15 contending greats as Texas, Milwaukee and the Rockies, who have won 7 of 10, thank you very much. But, c'mon, the Padres are back to .500 again, which has been very hard for them to achieve in the hotbed of talent that is the NL West. I say Job Well Done, Blokes. My job's done, too. The sun is out, I'm not and there's something wrong with that picture. As always, keep you're mind in the game, and the game on your mind.