By Tom Morris So, baseball fanatics, I left town for a beautiful, serene and relaxing four days of R & R at sunny Lake Tahoe. I got the Rest. For me the Relaxation part always requires a little work and a lot of extra hired personnel. But while I was at Tahoe my baseball connection had been snapped. I needed my baseball fix, and the house where I was staying had no ESPN! I think that's a misdemeanor in many states, but apparently not in California. Now I'm back in town, and not a moment too soon. The playoff races have tightened considerably, and all those contenders not coming to the diamond to play some serious ball are being left gasping for air. In the American League we are witnessing the wild-card scenario at its very best. Cleveland and New York not only want the final spot, but they are playing to earn it. In fact they are playing so well, they may just steal their respective divisions from the teams with Sox in their names. In this league being good is not nearly enough. Being great might just get you by. The National League is an example of the Wild-Card scenario at its worst, grist for the mill for diehard anti-wild-card traditionalists. While the Astros and Phillies played the best ball this past week, they both have shown they can stumble as easily as the next team, while fans in Florida and DC hold out for their flawed squads to make a last-minute charge into the waiting, razor-toothed jaws of the carnivorous St. Louis Cardinals. That's right: won't be competitive... at all. This week's Team Rankings List is, though, with some major numbers-shuffling going on toward the top, some indecisive bottlenecking defining the middle, and a group of "maybe next years" rounding out at the bottom. Let's go from the top. And a one...and a two... [ Last Week's Rankings in Parentheses ] 1. St. Louis Cardinals: ( 1 ) While the rest of the baseball world prefers to focus on the 3-pronged NL MVP race involving Albert, Andruw and Derrek, St. Louis itself only wants to talk about the postseason. The World Series, to be precise. This team may be coasting a tad right now. And there are questions surrounding starters Matt Morris and Jason Marquis. But I guarantee the only thing on this team's mind --to a man-- is the Fall Classic, and avenging last year's ugly sweep at the hands of the magical Red Sox. Still the top-throne-holder on my list. 2. Cleveland Indians: ( 3 ) Undeniably the most smoldering team in the bigs, however, are the Tribe --winners of 12 of 13 games, and intent on informing anyone still in the dark that they want to take the Wild-Card spot, hold on to it, and hide it deep beneath Jacob's Field. But wait, they have 6 games remaining against the White Sox! Months ago that would have been a major speed bump. Now it's a crack in the pavement. They are only 3 1/2 games behind Chicago, playing far superior baseball (2.00 ERA last 7 games), and now see these 2 series as an opportunity to steal the AL Central as well. If ( or when ) they nail a playoff spot, there's no telling who can stop Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, and the Best Damn Bullpen Show Period. 3. New York Yankees: ( 6 ) Not to be outdone are the Bombers, who have predictably stolen the largest spotlight to be found on the playoff race stage. The Yankees are enjoying the blessing of two realistic chances to get into the postseason: if they can't catch the Red Sox, their default is the 100-meter dash they're currently sprinting out with the Indians for the wild-card position. They are getting great pitching from Aaron Small and Mariano Rivera, with HUGE blanks in between. But who cares? These guys can hit! And their next 10 games are against the Orioles and Blue Jays before a showdown at Fenway Stadium to end the season. I'm sure George Steinny is patting himself on the back for what his team accomplished on the field without him. 4. Atlanta Braves: ( 2 ) The Braves found themselves in a slump this past week: their starting rotation showed its recurring weaknesses, they narrowly avoided a 4-game sweep by Philly, and lost 2 of 3 to Florida over the weekend. They're remaining schedule sees them pitted against these two playoff-thirsty squads a combined nine more times, with a breather to end the season against the Rockies. They may have won this division, but after these next 2 weeks, they may be a little rough around the edges. 5. Boston Red Sox: ( 4 ) Fever Pitch just got released last week on DVD. I'm having it sent from NetFlix to my house. But I don't need to wait for the US Postal Service to deliver a tense, fan-packed playoff race. Just turn on the TV. Boston has let the Yankees back into the fray, and nothing's for certain for these guys. If New York passes them, the Sox may miss the postseason altogether, the way Cleveland keeps rising up the charts. So with 10 easy opponents coming up, it's time for the champs, who batted only .246 last week, to start swinging their way into the month of October. 6. Houston Astros: ( 8 ) Blink and ya missed it in the feast-or-famine NL Wild-Card race. The Astros, who swept a key series vs. Philly a week ago, went on to lose 4 of 5 before rounding out this week with a more-than-convincing 5-game winning streak -- which is like 15 games in this see-sawed wild-card hunt. Houston's remaining schedule is kind to them too: only a 2 game set against St. Louis breaks up 11 against teams with losing records. And with that rotation still strong, they are set to muscle through to the postseason. But don't put money on it. 7. LA Angels of Anaheim: ( 5 ) Dropping down the list are the Angels, who nonetheless get extra-credit points for allowing the slumping Athletics to stay in the playoff picture. The Halos righted their ship this past week, winning the last 3 after dropping the first 4. But from game to game, either their pitching (team ERA of 5.06 since last Monday) or their line-up tend to fail them. So the AL West has become the weakest division in the League, and a tough season-ending schedule against Oakland and a hot Texas ballclub means this squad is gonna have to earn the postseason berth. The A's will only lay down for so long. 8. Philadelphia Phillies: ( 11 ) The Phillies pulled out one heck of a come-from-behind victory the other night against the Marlins. Though the Fish practically gave it to them with their sorry ninth-inning play, the 10-run frame was a huge boost for a team that just over a week ago was reeling from being swept by Houston and by a painful 5-game losing skid that put them in Washington Nationals playoff territory. They have come back nicely, going 7 - 3 against the Braves and Marlins, hitting .326 since last Monday, and perched right behind the Astros for the final postseaon spot. Their pitching will be their downfall 1 week from now, though, sorry to say. 9. Chicago White Sox: ( 7 ) Folks, this is more than a passing slump. On all sides, this team finds itself getting outplayed. The White Sox need to do something different, and quick. Maybe Ozzie Guillen can start a fight, or smash something, that might help. 20 - 23 over their last 43 games is an extended lay-over in Mediocrity, USA. And there's nothing to see in that town. They really do have a good chance of being usurped by the Indians, and missing October completely. Hey, this is baseball, and much, much weirder things have happened. 10. Florida Marlins: ( 10 ) The Marlins almost blew it this week. Uncaharacterictic poor pitching ( 5.90 ERA ) in 7 games put them almost out of reach of reaching the postseason. But, as we all know, who's hot and who's not in the NL is very much a transient thing, so don't count Florida out in their remaining 12 games. One thing that must happen: AJ Burnett. The pitcher ha sseriously fallen off recently, and his last 3 starts need to be great if the Marlins want to be playing instead of watching in October. 11. Oakland Athletics: ( 9 ) remember how hot these guys were? Could do no wrong during their mid-season extended fairy tale in the win column. They still can pitch with the best of them, but the thorn in their side --hitting -- has become and infected splinter of late. but the fact of the matter is: Oakland is only 2 games back of scuffling Anaheim, with the Yankees and Indians far, far away in the distance. So let's see what kind of fireworks these two AL West rivals can provide over the last 12 games, shall we. 12. Washington Nationals: ( 12 ) They are giving it their all to remain in the chase, those 2 losses to ened the week somewhat dampening a mini-hot run that saw the Nats get to within 2 1/2 games of the wild-card lead. Frank Robinson has special charms, indeed. This class act is the difference for a ballclub that for all intents and purposes should be 15 games below .500. But they aren't, and big division games to end the season could go anybody's way, as we have seen every week of late. 13. San Diego Padres: ( 13 ) San Diego has a football team that wants to see if it can win the division without winning a game, a feat that would far outdo the Padres' season-long stint in the Land of Average, CA. They almost let the red-hot SF Giants back into this one, before squeaking out a series-ending victory against them this past week. Still, I think they'll do it: a losing record and in the playoffs! Unbelievable. They should just start waving the white flag right now, and save themselves some airfare, because either St. Louis or Atlanta will make it a very short trip if they don't. 14. San Francisco Giants: ( NEWCOMER ) Barry's back, swinging for the fences, and also back to spraying to all fields his usual variety of media-defensive Don't Bug Me Dingers & Walk-Off Whines. Hey, the team is on fire, and has a last-gasp chance of winning the NL West, though they would have to lose no more than 2 games over their last 12, one would think. 15. Texas Rangers: ( NEWCOMER ) Yeah, thought I'd let these guys inhabit the list for the first time since, like, June. Five in a row is not bad, but this team is going to need to build itself a pitching staff that is somehwat reliable if it wants to give this Home-Run happy squad a chance at slugging it out next year and beyond. Otherwise this little stint on the list may just be another swan song for these perennial also-rans. I gotta also run. My Washington Redskins are about to play tonight in Dallas, and I need a couple of hours to prepare myself emotionally for another inevitable loss against a team we may never beat again in my lifetime. Oh well. Let's hope we injure some of their players. As always, keep your mind in the game, and the game on your mind...