1. ATLANTA (1) - Seven All-Stars and the best record in baseball... not bad - if you’re into that sort of thing.
2. SEATTLE (2) - Impressive vs. the A’s, depressing vs. the Rangers.
3. NY YANKEES (3) - They’re baaaack. What a shock.
4. SAN FRANCISCO (4) - Jason Schmidt throws 3 consecutive complete games against major league teams then loses to the Padres - what’s this world coming to?
5. BOSTON (5) - Enjoy it now Sox fans, something weird always seems to happen to your team.
6. ARIZONA (9) - Kata, Cintron, and Overbay leading them back into the playoff race - we all knew it would come to this.
7. OAKLAND (7) - Still hanging around despite going just 5-8 in their last 13.
8. PHILADELPHIA (6) - Randy Wolf has quietly stepped up (9-4 3.40 ERA) to lead pitching staff.
9. KANSAS CITY (13a) - Lima feels like he could win 20 again... hmmm... that alone should be enough to win this division.
10. TORONTO (8) - Carlos Delgado has more RBI’s (92) than the top 2 players combined on 5 of MLB’s teams.
11. ST. LOUIS (12) - Kiko Calero! I just had to say it. It's fun, try it.
12. MONTREAL (11) - Series loss to Braves has them now 9 back in NL East.
13. LOS ANGELES (10) - Odalis criticizes the offense. How can he do that? There’s no offense to criticize (15 runs in last 11 games - all by accident).
14. FLORIDA (20) - Oooohhh - you guys ran up the score on Atlanta! Wait till Jack McKeon finds out - he’s gonna be mad.
15. ANAHEIM (16) - Cleverly positioning themselves to defend their World Series Title from third place in the AL West.
16. COLORADO (18) - Second-highest run output in the NL (489) - and look where it’s got them.
17. CHICAGO WHITE SOX (19) - Hey remember Frank Thomas? He’s good again!
18. CHICAGO CUBS (15) - It’s been a tough few weeks, but at least Sosa can enjoy himself at the All-Star game. It's just a short hop and a skip across town on the train. Hope he's got binoculars.
19. HOUSTON (17) - Still just 2 back in the Comedy Central. Wait, it’s the “NL” Central. No, never mind, I was right the first time.
20. MINNESOTA (13b) - 1-6 this week including a sweep at the hands of the White Sox - this is why they were "13b" last week instead of "13a."
21. PITTSBURGH (22) - All right, better sit down for this one: the Pirates own the longest current winning streak in baseball (4 games)... Yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates.
22. BALTIMORE (23) - Uh... Melvin Mora.
23. NY METS (25) - Trading Alomar? You guys aren’t giving up are you?
24. CINCINNATI (21) - Going to the 4-man rotation - only problem is that you need 4 starting pitchers to do that.
25. CLEVELAND (26) - They’re just in a season long slump.
26. TEXAS (27) - Trading Everett? You guys aren’t giving up too are you? What about that Rangers-Mets World Series we’re all waiting for?
27. MILWAUKEE (24) - ...and then the Brewers were good...Whoa! There’s that weird dream again.
28. SAN DIEGO (29) - They had a winning record this week (4-2)! What’s going on?
29. TAMPA BAY (28) - Lou dyed his hair blonde? Okay, here’s a good one: How many Piniellas does it take to coach the Devil Rays?
30. DETROIT (30) - If only all the Tigers could be All-Stars...
Luke Lapinski lives in Tempe, AZ and attends the Arizona State University, where he hosts the radio show, "The Mad UnderGrads." He once ate a hot dog from the Kingdome and survived to tell about it. Luke enjoys reading feedback, and can be reached at thebigll@hotmail.com.