By Tom Morris OK, baseball fans. We've got about 3 weeks and about 20 games to go until the end of another long, highly satisfying season, and for me at least, the best is yet to come. And while the playoff races have trimmed down considerably since last week, the final roles are still far from being cast. I can tell you one thing: this past month I've gotten every penny's worth of the money I plonked down in April for the MLB Extra Innings subscription. The wild-card chase is in full-sprint in the AL, where the Yankees and Athletics must again dial it up a notch to stay close to the Red Sox, Angels and the indomitable Indians. Meanwhile, in the NL the Nats and Mets revealed their flaws, getting manhandled by far superior teams, and the Marlins, Astros and Phillies all play each other in the next 10 days or so. If one of them doesn't come out of that round-robin a clear winner, well...I just don't know what to say. Here's the Top Teams for the week, shaken up a bit since last Monday: [ Last Week's Rankings in Parentheses. ] 1. St. Louis Cardinals: ( 1 ) The play of the Cardinals was no different from their usual week's work: won more than they lost, pitched well, hit well, played good defense. They handed the Mets their bats over the weekend, but last year's World Series sweep must still be fresh in the players' minds, and Matt Morris must sharpen his game if St. Louis wants to remain the sharpest playoff rotation out there. 2. Atlanta Braves: ( 5 ) Andruw Jones is absolutely golden right now! A class-act on a season-long hot streak. But we all know one great player does not a champion make. Just ask A-Rod or Barry Bonds that question. The Braves may have bullpen issues resurfacing, but everything else is in place (including the timely return of Mike Hampton) for an NLCS showdown with the team right above 'em on this list. 3. Cleveland Indians: ( 6 ) Well, the Tribe are very close to putting the Yankees and A's out of business, especially if they extend their 7-game winning streak hosting Oakland in their series starting tonight. On last night's ESPN Baseball broadcast, Joe Morgan and Jon Miller compared this team's speed, hustle and talent to the Lofton-Alomar-Vizquel squad of the '90s, and I for one don't think it's too far-fetched to say so. This unit is firing on all cylinders at exactly the right time. They're my pick to do the unthinkable: Push the Pin-Stripes from the Postseason! 4. Boston Red Sox: ( 2 ) They dropped a couple of spots, but not due to rotten play, simply because the two teams with Native-American monikers pushed them down. The Sox and Yanks each had a key shut-'em-down performance by a starter this weekend. Schilling on Saturday and The Big Unit yesterday.The Red Sox rotation is looking very sharp right now, and Curt's return to form definitely helps that cause. But both teams looked good, not great --especially on defense --something that could haunt either team later on. 5. LA Angels of Anaheim: ( 7 ) John Lackey is hitting his stride on the mound, Garrett Anderson and Vlad Guerrero are collecting hits (in the same game!), and Bartolo Colon is sending out pre-emptive "Thank You" notes to the post-season Cy Young voters --who should cast him on their ballots if they have any common sense. Nothing's for certain, however, with Oakland only 2 games back and 20 games to play... 6. New York Yankees: ( 4 ) As mentioned, Randy Johnson made a kind of announcement Sunday, with a fearful 1 - 0 shutout of arguably MLB's best-hitting line-up. Maybe those were the last Big Apple cobwebs to be shed by the Big Unit. We'll see. Meanwhile the rest of that rotation makes a tinder box look like a heavily guarded fortress... and could be this team's postseason undoing. 7. Chicago White Sox: ( 3 ) The Southsiders are showing some worrying signs right about now: their big starting pitching one-two punch is fading some, and their recent trend of falling into sudden, and extended, losing streaks is uncharacteristic for a team so consistently dominating all year. Still, despite the Angels sweeping them 4 straight to end the week, they're pieces are all in place for making some playoff noise. But corrections do indeed need to be made... 8. Houston Astros: ( 10 ) Houston, following a lengthy streak of mediocrity, did well to win all 3 against Wild-Card rival Philadelphia this past week, but their grip on the lead is a tenuous one. I agree with the sportswriters: the difference for these guys will be their big boppers Berkman and Ensberg, who along with vet Biggio must be the offensive catalysts to help this outstanding rotation earn the playoff spot they rightly deserve. 9. Oakland Athletics: ( 8 ) Not quite fading, but in danger of that hard truth if they don't ground the skyward Indians starting tonight in Cleveland. Can I say: HUGE SERIES? Oakland's weakness is still inconsistent hitting, which becomes a glaring eyesore when their ace pitchers Zito, Harden and Blanton falter as they have been recently. 10. Florida Marlins: ( 11 ) The Fish are jumping when Dontrelle's on the mound, but flopping on the ship's deck when the rest of the rotation are. They need to come close to matching the lefty's dominance. I sadi "close to" (let's be realistic). The fact that Delgado and Cabrera and Castillo are hitting helps a line-up with weak spots in the bottom half of the order. And Juan Pierre's gonna have to start hitting his way out of the # 7 spot Jack Mckeon exiled him to because of his poor leadoff stats. 11. Philadelphia Phillies: ( 9 ) Philadelphia may be the home of the Eagles, but this professional oufit definitely needs some Red Bull, if it wants to get its wings back. They're not out of it yet, and after those 3 close losses to Houston they took 2 of 3 against Florida over the weekend. Up next 3 more vs. the Fish, sandwiched by 7 against dominating Atlanta. It's make or break time... 12. Washington Nationals: ( 13 ) Nobody wants these bottom spots anymore, but the Nationals get # 12 simply for only being 4 games back of Houston, despite being only 3 games over .500. Their starting pitching is rickety, and still own the worst offense in baseball. What gives? 13. San Diego Padres: ( 15 ) These boys made it to a benchmark of 2 games over .500 before losing Saturday and Sunday. And Jake Peavy's injury spells disaster in the postseason for this club, who may have a winning future ahead of them --but not one that includes October 2005. 14. Chicago Cubs: (NEWCOMER) Look who's back! And deservedly so. Wrigley has enjoyed a winning team for some weeks now, carried by the sharpest starting pitching it has seen all year, and a resurgence by a guy named Nomar, who I'm sure is playing for a furture in a Cub uniform. Maybe this team is winning because it got rid of game-wrecker LaTroy Hawkins, that's what I think. 15. Milwaukee Brewers: (NEWCOMER) The Brew Crew have shown positive signs all year. They have got a handful of nasty pitchers, Carlos Lee at the plate, and are now 71 - 72 for the year. Look for these guys to make some noise next year in an NL Central division whose only reliable occurrence is St. Louis playing great baseball. I'm hoping we all get more of that around the league, too. This is the time of year we expect it, to be sure. The ones who are left standing need to be there not because all the others fell over and gave up. Cleveland, New York, Oakland, Houston, Philly, Florida: time to earn your paychecks. Play ball! As always, keep your mind in the game, and the game on your mind.