Right now, as I type this final 2006 MLB Team Rankings column, the Twins just lost to Chicago, pushing the Tigers a 1/2-game into the lead; the Phillies lead by a run in the 5th, clinging to slim hopes of playing in October, and the Cardinals, that number dazzlingly magical at 1, are tied at zero in the 7th. That?s baseball, at its best. And with this season less than 36 hours from its end, the next season, of the post-variety, is about to begin. Most spots have been filled. But as of two days ago, so many were so achingly close. It still hurts so good. This last week that was saw the Twins finally share first place with Detroit, the latest in a season in a long, long while that a team has managed to get there for the first time. The Angels tempted everybody by getting oh-so-close to Oakland as their final four-game series approached. The Dodgers, Padres, and Phillies established themselves as the three remaining contenders in the NL West/Wild-Card campaigns ?then remarkably, per the National league, continued to play as if they belonged there! And, of course, the Yankees and Mets were the only teams who already knew their exact place in playoff play, spending the last week biting their nails over their postseason rotations, and fretting over torturous one-hour commutes across town in the coming Subway Series II. But nothing came as close to selfishly stealing the baseball-stage spotlight as did the Houston Astros. I can tell you I fell asleep on them some time ago, as evidenced by their rapid disappearance from my Team Rankings two weeks ago. But if I graded teams on this past week alone, they?d be right up in the top 5. With the Cardinals determined to act up stage in the shadows the past month, it all became real, and real fast. Houston: 9 ? 0. St. Louis: 1 ? 8. And all of a sudden, even after the ordinary NL West Was Won, we once again had ourselves a race in the Central. That was before last night, when the roof caved in in Houston. Slim hopes they may have. But it?s not over `till the Slimfast-challenged lady sings. Most of my weekly team breakdowns look at how squads splayed over the past week or so (BA, ERA, winning and losing streaks, team schedules, and so on), but with an implicit eye to the future. What will they need to do to stay in the race, or keep their lead? Will the return of Liriano make a difference? When will John Gibbons hit another pitcher? Why won't they let Rick Sutcliffe curse on live TV, damnit!? But the 2006 baseball future is right now, and the rest is all in the past. Almost all the stats have been compiled, and as of Sunday evening the standings will completely stand still. For 22 teams, that?s that. Wash your hands of it, and start talking about the elusive ?next year?. But for eight lucky clubs, the fun starts right now. All these numbers, stats, streaks, records, HRs, ERAs, mean squat. And it all starts in 5, 4, 3, 2? This Week?s Rankings: [ Last Week?s Rankings, and W ? L Records, in Parentheses ] 1. New York Yankees (1) (5 ? 3) You might think the Yankees look out of place. No, not in the playoffs! You could set your watch by that irksome feat. I mean, among the Tigers, Twins, and A?s, whose miniscule ERAs make the Yanks stand out like an October Oriole. After a long stretch that saw Wang, Mussina and Johnson at their best, The Unit is looking shaky, and Mussina has started to slack a bit. But, of course, their best has to be only so good. Take a look at their line-up, as of yesterday: Posada and Cano at #8 ? 9. Above that, it?s just plain lights out. As long as Rivera and the rest of the bullpen aren?t ailing, the Yanks will be very, very tough to beat. Not impossible, just tough. 2. Minnesota Twins (4) (5 ? 4) And it?s this impressive squad from up north who may be asked to do it come next week. But the way they have played all year, making the repeated losses of Francisco Liriano seem almost negligible --and bringing grit and fire to each and every series they play?there?s no reason they can?t come into Yankee Stadium and start making noise. They do it old-school style: hit-and-run, top-notch defense, and pitching everywhere you turn. The only question is what to expect from rookies Bonser, Garza, and Co. in their first time in the hot glare of postseason play. 3. New York Mets (2) (3 ? 6) The only reason I?m dropping these guys down to #3 this week is on spec. Pedro Martinez may have missed about half of the season this year, a fact that made apparently little to no impact on the Mets? National League dominance. But without him in October, you?re looking at a squad of guys who have to rely on John Maine, Steve Trachsel, and ?El Duque? to stand behind Tom Glavine. Might work in the first round, but will be a stretch from there on out. 4. Oakland Athletics (3) (4 ? 5) The A?s got a little scare for about a week or so. The folks from LA/Anaheim made a more than noticeable run at the AL West title, and for a fleeting moment it seemed this 4-game series to end the season might actually mean something. But the A?s decided not to act like the Cardinals, managing to win just enough games this past week to send the Angels back to heaven, and back to the offseason drawing board. Another amazing achievement by Gene Macha and his scrappy group of young pitchers and position players. And let?s not forget Frank Thomas. The rest of the team hasn?t. Still, to compete at a higher level, they will need Rich Harden to make an impact. And fast. He could be the key to this team?s postseason. 5. Detroit Tigers (5) (4 ? 4) There has been talk, and talk, and then some more talk about the Tigers. Prognosticators across every branch of the sports media offer their expert outlook for this impressive group of players, who followed a sizzling first half with a noticeably simmering second. Which team will we get to see come Tuesday? Tough call. Lots of talent, sound defense and deep pitching always helps. But even though they say everyone?s 0 ? 0 come playoff time, momentum means a lot. The Yanks have it. Twins and A?s too. These guys, not so much. First round losers. Sorry. 6. Los Angeles Angels (6) (6 ? 2) You really have to hand it to the Halos. I haven?t checked my stats (copy editor, please), but I?m pretty sure the Angels have the best overall record since the beginning of July. That doesn?t reveal how good they are since then, but rather it highlights just how awful they must have been before then not to be able to land a playoff spot. Of course, we?re talking about the American League, where the bar has been raised considerably higher. Losing streaks, team slumps, and intermittent hitting can expose, and burn, a team like a bug under a magnifying glass. I know. I picked them to win the AL West. But? I didn?t mention in which year, did I? 7. San Diego Padres (9) (7 ? 2) The Padres spent three-quarters of a season dangling the carrot. Would they be able to win the division for a second straight year. And do so with less than 83 wins again! Or would they struggle shamefully to another mediocre finish. Hey, the way the National League was acting, it was quite possible. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. As soon as the Giants, Dodgers, Phillies, Marlins, Astros, etc started making desperate posteseason pushes, the Padres woke up, did the same, and in the process took the division back from LA. Like the Dodgers they have had great pitching all year, and as of Saturday morning are tied atop the West. I see the Pads edging them out the last 2 games, though. 8. Los Angeles Dodgers (10) (7 ? 1) You could call the Dodgers a streaky team. After lingering in obscurity for so much of the season, they turned up the thermostat in August with a 20 ? 2 run. That was enough to launch them to the top of the West. After a semi-scuffle, they?re finishing the season with the same top-notch starting pitching, despite losing MVP Greg Gagne early in the year. Great trade additions Maddux and Lugo, plus rejuvenated Drew, Nomar and Kent, put these guys in a good position to make it tough on Mets hitters. Yeah, Padres will win the division, which means Dodgers go out in the first round, Pedro or no Pedro. 9. Philadelphia Phillies (7) (5 ? 3) These two next teams have been putting it to everybody they play recently. Lets start with the Phils, who despite a steady surge starting back in early August, are one W/L from watching at home with the family. The weak link on this team, regardless of their immediate future, has been pitching, highlighted by a no-name rotation and an unsteady bullpen. But they sure can hit, and score in bunches. They need a whole lot of luck to keep this little dream alive, though. Ryan Howard for MVP is as clear as day, folks, I don?t even need to hear rebuttals. 10. Houston Astros (NR) (8 ? 1) Just one loss. That?s all it took to send this high-flying, 9-game win streak Astros team back through the baseball planet?s thin atmosphere. An astounding run --which caught all but the keenest Houston resident utterly by surprise?got halted, fast, when yesterday?s loss and St. Louis? win puts them 1 1/2 games back, with 2 to play. Effectively 2 GB, since St. Louis would only need to play their 162nd game if trailing by 1/2 a game. OK, so Houston did this past 10 days what they failed to most of 2006: pitch well, and come up with lots of runs. But, come on, what a weird, wacky finish to the season. And who knows, if they can make up 8 games in 8 days (!!), they can gain 2 in the last 2. Imagine the payout on that side bet. 11. Chicago White Sox (8) (4 ? 4) Well, the fall from grace wasn?t nearly as embarrassing for the Southsiders as it was for the boys from Boston, but it was pretty conspicuous all the same. Baseball can be brutal that way. It waits until the right moment, when it becomes impossible for a team to conceal its blemishes any longer, then sends them through a stinging slump of no uncertain terms. That?s what went on in Chicago these past several weeks. Their itching was less than a shadow of its 2006 self, and there was no getting around it in the end. So the bottom gave in. Still a good team, and a little polishing to the exterior will make this vehicle shine nicely for 2007. I think we need to see more of the old Ozzie, too. I miss him, don?t you? Like clipping an eagle?s wings, it is. 12. Toronto Blue Jays (14) (5 ? 3) Quietly, while so many eyes watched the supposed AL East?s supposed #2 Boston fall to its death, the Blue Jays rebounded to finish strong. That means little overall, I suppose, but means a lot, I?m sure, to this team generally perceived as having not lived up to its lofty 2006 aspirations. They may have a manager who resides in the same volatile head space as Tony Soprano, plus a pitching rotation tattered on all sides save Roy Halladay. But they will finish with about 86 or 87 wins, which is not easy to do in the uber-competitive AL. 13. St. Louis Cardinals (11) (2 ? 7) The Cardinals are likely to get that magic number of 1. It was three before Friday night, when they finally managed to eke out another victory while Houston?s win streak stopped at nine. But this backing into the playoffs act will be booed even more heartily than was the one performed by San Diego in 2005. This team does have rotation problems, sure. And a questionable closer-by-committee. Plus, a defense more penetrable than before. And, an old/slumping line-up suddenly incapable of doing anything but make Pujols look better by comparison. But other than that they?re just fine! 14. Boston Red Sox (12) (4 ? 4) Boston?s front office has some work to do. Theo Epstein, like all other GMs with huge, bulging team payrolls, must decide who stays and who gets bought. Will Trot Nixon stick around? Should they finally cut ties with Manny and trade him? What the hell to do about the lousy pitching he had to watch all year from the suite? Schilling and Wakefield represent the old. Who?s the young and new? Profit sharing may have (boo-hoo) put a dent in their powers of persuasion, but they still have the means to re-shape this squad into a contender. Many teams don?t have that kind of cash. So sorry, but the curse is over. Fans should remember that financial reality before lamenting another winning season by the Sox. 15. Cincinnati Reds (NR) (6 ? 2) Well, they may have made fools of themselves by single-handedly taking themselves out of contention for both the uncompetitive NL Central and Wild-Card races. And boy, did they do it convincingly. I think even Kansas City outplayed them for a good stretch there. But before last night they had a shot of catching St. Louis, thanks to a strong finish. This team has too, too many weaknesses on the mound, however, to be taken seriously, despite a shopping lists? worth of July 31 trade acquisitions. And with that, I am signing off. There really is no point in continuing a Team Ranking List when by next week there will be only eight teams left. That doesn?t mean there will be nothing to write about. If you are grief-stricken by the notion of losing my scintillating prose, illuminating baseball knowledge, and charming good looks (OK, you?ll have to trust me on that one), take comfort. I?ll be putting up some columns on the year that was, and on the one that will be. The former was like it always is: too much to even handle, but never enough. Like any addictive drug. The latter, the October one, hasn?t even started yet. But it?s in the pits, revving its engine, and it starts in three days. Gonna be great. As always, keep your mind in the game, and the game on your mind.