Baseball Analysis

While the big names are on the commercials, the non-mainstream stars are often the ones that tilt championships in the MLB playoffs. Read more »

The last time these two teams met in the postseason, back in 2006, the Tigers took the ALDS in four games. More importantly, Detroit won the season series 4-3 over New York this year. Read more »

Texas won five more games than the Rays during the regular season, but more importantly they took five out of the nine head-to-head contests. Read more »

All eight playoff entrants landed in the Top 10 in our final ranking update of the 2011 season. Read more »

The Angels have jumped to seventh in our rankings as they attempt a late-season surge into the playoffs. Read more »

The success of Justin Verlander has been infectious, as the Tigers have surged to seventh in our rankings thanks to their lengthy winning streak. Read more »

Curtis Granderson and Jacoby Ellsbury are each having career seasons and merit MVP consideration. Here is how they stack up against each other. Read more »

The Tigers have entered the Top 10 after reeling off six straight wins and grabbing hold of the American League Central. Read more »

The biggest week of the year lived up to that billing, though not with the result Giants fans were hoping for. Read more »

The Brewers are close to surpassing the Cardinals in our rankings as they have built a huge lead in the National League Central. Read more »

The Giants continue to fall out of contention despite their dominant pitching staff. Between a lack of power, speed, plate discipline and team defense, the team has fundamental flaws limiting their potential. Read more »

One week of a baseball season rarely makes or breaks a team, but the Giants must turn things around over the next six against the Cubs and D-Backs. Read more »

Between the signings of Cliff Lee and Jayson Werth, the NL East invested heavily in the free agent market last winter. But transactions involving Dan Uggla, Jose Reyes and Javier Vazquez were also important. Read more »

The Red Sox took three of four from the Rangers, allowing them to swap spots with Texas in our rankings this week. Read more »

The Giants are coming off two series losses that were disappointing in different ways. The Giants have made me appreciate how fortunate the 2010 team was. Read more »

The Rangers have taken control of the AL West once again and leapfrogged both the Phillies and Red Sox to take over second place this week. Read more »

The Twins won the AL Central during their inaugural season at Target Field, but 2011 has not been nearly as kind. Read more »

The Diamondbacks have pieced together a team full of former first round picks, cheap veterans, and former top pitching prospects acquired via trade. Read more »

After a series loss to the Pirates, the extended road trip to Miami, Atlanta, and Houston took on additional significance as Arizona continues to surge. Read more »

No matter what the individual numbers look like, the Phillies are a better offensive team with Hunter Pence. The 63 runs they have scored in his 13 games are extraordinary when you consider that they tallied just 62 runs over a 22-game stretch that began on May 1. Read more »