





On Amelia’s plane, blowfish, stray sunflower seeds, the Padres’ draft strategies and the cost of flopping.



The rankings (records through Wednesday):

St. Louis More

1. St. Louis Cardinals (38-21; Previous: 1) – New Cards pitcher apparently has become a favorite with young people in St. Louis. In every arcade, all you ever hear is, “Wacha, Wacha, Wacha.”





Atlanta More

2. Atlanta Braves (37-22; Previous: 3) – Beside Amelia Earhart’s plane at bottom of South Pacific, researchers believe they’ve discovered remains of B.J. Upton’s swing.







Texas More

3. Texas Rangers (36-22; Previous: 2) – For great May, Holland credits “taking next step mentally.” Fringe benefit: A lot less wear and tear on shoe soles.







Cincinnati More

4. Cincinnati Reds (36-24; Previous: 5) – Dusty says Garza and Cueto should be put alone in a room to fight it out. Loser gets magnifying glass treatment.







Pittsburgh More

5. Pittsburgh Pirates (35-25; Previous: 6) – Pirates have adopted clubhouse blowfish, which gets red and puffy when angry. Wait, that’s Clint Hurdle.







Boston More

6. Boston Red Sox (36-24; Previous: 9) – Bronx thunderstorm was God’s way of letting Pedroia know who puts on the laser shows around here.







Oakland More

7. Oakland Athletics (36-25; Previous: 15) – Josh Reddick is “deeply sorry” for spraying member of Astros Shooting Stars crew with sunflower seeds, and now we officially have too much time on our hands.







New York More

8. New York Yankees (34-25; Previous: 4) – Players meet only fan who believes Yanks have the youth and energy to become a championship club. Course, he’s 111.







Arizona More

9. Arizona Diamondbacks (34-25; Previous: 11) – Gibson guides D'backs into first place, now driving them to be firster.







Baltimore More

10. Baltimore Orioles (33-26; Previous: 10) – Eutaw Street home run plaque honors Matt “Weiters.” O’s have a catcher named Matt Wieters. Must remember, it’s “I” before “E” except for Wei-Yin Chen.







Detroit More

11. Detroit Tigers (31-26; Previous: 8) – Measuring the greater impact: Miguel Cabrera’s May or Austin Jackson’s may not.







Tampa Bay More

12. Tampa Bay Rays (32-26; Previous: 14) – Rays consider draft bonus pool, wonder if lifeguard is on duty.







Cleveland More

13. Cleveland Indians (30-29; Previous: 7) – Indians announce they will reward fans inconvenienced by long rain delays. They may exchange their tickets for a future game or for large trash bags with three holes torn in them.







San Francisco More

14. San Francisco Giants (31-28; Previous: 12) – Giants fans miss the glorious, feel-good days of torture.







Colorado More

15. Colorado Rockies (32-28; Previous: 13) – Helton's struggles change homemade ballpark signage: “In Todd if we must.”







Washington More

Story continues