We are barreling toward the playoffs, which begin next week. But some of the races are not determined officially yet…namely, the Rockies have clinched a playoff berth but still have a shot at the division title. The Twins are hanging tough, having fended off elimination one more day. Other than that, the races are decided. Here are the final power rankings for the regular season…..

1. New York Yankees (102-58)—Absolutely no signs of slowing down, and that’s probably a good thing with the playoffs looming.

2. Los Angeles Angels (95-65)—Will this be the year the Angels finally break their playoff curse against the Red Sox?

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (93-67)—These guys have been playing mediocre ball since Manny came back, and now they are in danger of blowing the division lead.

4. Boston Red Sox (93-67)—The Sox seem to be able to beat up on everyone except the Yankees. And that could prove to be a problem in the next two weeks.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (92-68)—No matter who the closer is, this team has to like its chances with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels going 1-2 in a short series.

6. St. Louis Cardinals (91-69)—Sometimes coasting to the division title makes a team complacent, and winning 4 of 10 games is complacent. Plus, the NL matchups are yet to be determined, so the Cards don’t know who their first opponent will be.

7. Colorado Rockies (92-68)—You don’t get as hot as the Rockies, who are 74-40 since Jim Tracy took over as manager. I mean, are you kidding me? I’d be really worried if I were any other team these guys might face in the postseason.

8. Detroit Tigers (85-75)—They’ve been in first place just about since day one, but the feisty Twins are making live miserable. Still, the Tigers have had to fight and that could give them momentum against the Yankees. Well, if they hang on to win the division.

9. Minnesota Twins (84-76)—They earn a spot here because they are still in the race.

10. San Francisco Giants (87-73)—Lots of promise this season, but couldn’t fend off a white hot Rockies team in the end.

With the U.S.-partisan crowd on their feet, Garcia closed out the victory by striking out Yu Chieh Kao, completing a comeback from a 3-0 deficit. The California fans yelled “USA! USA.”

“We knew we could come back,” said the 13-year-old Garcia in between laughs with his teammates. “We always do.”

They’re surely celebrating in the San Diego suburbs after California secured the fifth straight Little League championship for the United States.

After a wild celebration around Garcia, the Californians invited Taiwan to accompany them on the customary victory lap around Lamade Stadium on a sun-splashed afternoon.

It’s a nice display of sportsmanship from the Americans and overall it was a hard-fought tournament and there was some real great plays to see. But here’s my question, does anyone really care?

I’m a big baseball fan, but the only reason I was aware of this was because it was all over ESPN this week. How is it that I can’t escape Little League baseball every year? While it’s understandable that the parents are all completely into this stuff, what about this should I, a busy average joe, find compelling?

It’s getting down to pennant race times and there are some incredibly tight races and a lot of teams that are at least in contention. Here we’ll take a look at who we think the Top 5 teams are right now and who the Bottom 5 are as well.

Top 5

1. New York Yankees (73-43)—Not only did the Yankees sweep the rival Red Sox last weekend and make quite a statement, they’ve won 10 of 11 and are 22-6 (.786) since the all-star break. That is just scorching.

2. Los Angeles Angels (68-45)—You have to feel for the surging Rangers and even the Mariners, because neither one is going to catch this fundamentally sound team. If Mike Scioscia isn’t the best manager in baseball, he’s surely the most underrated.

3. St. Louis Cardinals (65-52)—The Cards grabbed Matt Holliday before anyone else could and he’s batting .493 with a slugging percentage of .813 in his first 75 at-bats with St. Louis. Pujols/Holliday has got to be the most fearsome 3-4 tandem in baseball.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers (69-47)—The Dodgers hung on without Manny for a few months, and then cooled off when he returned. They’ve lost 7 of 11 but still lead their division by 5 games and are 32-14 against NL West opponents.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (65-48)—Suddenly with Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, and Jimmy Rollins finally finding his stroke, the defending champs are poised to make another run deep into October and possibly November.

Bottom 5

1. Washington Nationals (41-75)—They recently won eight in a row but still trail the Phillies by 25.5 games and the fourth place Mets by 13.5. So yeah, they’re still the worst team in baseball.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates (46-69)—The Pirates actually looked half decent early in the season, but they did what they always do in July—made a whole bunch of trades and pretty much surrendered the season as well as the next three seasons, as they’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games.

3. Kansas City Royals (45-70)—Remember the Royals were 14-12 and everyone started talking about this team being decent for the first time in two-plus decades? We remember, but then they remembered that they were the Royals.

4. Baltimore Orioles (48-67)—This team has some great young players like Adam Jones and Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis, but playing in that division is almost unfair.

5. Cleveland Indians (49-66)—Once again, the Indians have disappointed and started selling off players. Cliff Lee, like CC Sabathia last year, is the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and the Tribe also dumped popular catcher Victor Martinez and infielder Ryan Garko. Next year sure has a familiar ring on Lake Erie.

We’re approaching Memorial Day and are already about a quarter of the way through the baseball regular season. Some players historically take a while to get going, and some start off blazing hot and then cool off. Here we take a look at five pleasant surprises, and five busts through the first 40 or so games of the 2009 season.

Top 5 Suprises

1. Zack Greinke, SP, Kansas City Royals—One of the reasons the Royals are off to a great start is that Greinke has found his rhythm, to the tune of 7-1 with a 0.82 ERA, as well as 73 strikeouts and 12 walks in just 66 innings. Greinke has given up a microscopic six earned runs so far. Six! It’s not like the kid wasn’t talented, but his career record before 2009 was 34-45 and his ERA 3.96.

2. Jason Bartlett, SS, Tampa Bay Rays—Before this season, Bartlett was a career .285 hitter with 16 career home runs. So far this season, he’s off to a wicked start–.376 batting average, 6 homers, 23 RBI, 9 doubles, 12 stolen bases and an OPS of 1.004.

3. Raul Ibanez, OF, Philadelphia Phillies—This is looking like the free agent signing of the off-season. Or maybe coming over to the world champs from soggy Seattle was a good move. Ibanez was a respectable .288 hitter and was averaging 22 homers and 95 RBI, but so far in 2009 he’s hit 15 home runs and driven in 40 runs, while hitting .349 with 10 doubles, 4 stolen bases and a .724 slugging percentage. You think the Mets should have made a run at the guy instead of wasting all that money on P Ollie Perez?

4. Aaron Hill, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays—It’s not like Hill didn’t have potential, but an injury de-railed him in 2008. Maybe he’s come back with a bionic bat, because he’s hitting .352 with 11 homers and 35 RBI. Before this season, Hill’s career high in home runs was 17, so at his current pace he will shatter that mark..

5. Shairon Martis, SP, Washington Nationals—Who? I mean, who? But here is this Nats’ pitcher with a blistering 5-0 record on a team that’s 12-28, worst record in the majors. If you’re keeping score at home, that means Martis has 42% of his team’s wins.

Honorable mention: Trevor Hoffman, RP, Milwaukee Brewers—Since coming off the DL to start the season, Hoffman is 11 for 11 in save opportunities in 12 innings pitched with 10 strikeouts for his new team.

Top 5 Busts

1. David Ortiz, DH, Boston Red Sox—Okay, so maybe he’s injured and all, but did anyone expect this? Ortiz is batting .211 with one home run and 18 batted in with a .324 slugging percentage. To put that in perspective, his career averages are 35 homers, 120 RBI, .285 average and .547 slugging percentage. Something is afoot at Fenway, dude.

2. Chien-Ming Wang, SP, New York Yankees—This is almost unfair because Wang is currently rehabbing an injury, but still. Wang had 38 wins in 2006 and 2007 combined, and this season got off to a rocky 0-3 start with an astronomical 34.50 ERA—giving up 23 hits and 23 earned runs in just six innings of work. Yikes.

3. Jimmy Rollins, SS, Philadelphia Phillies—It’s a good thing the Phils picked up Ibanez, because their perennial MVP candidate is batting just .234 with 2 homers and 15 batted in with only 5 stolen bases and 1 triple. Rollins has never been a huge power guy, but he’s averaged .276 with 38 steals per season over the course of his career.

4. Cliff Lee, SP, Cleveland Indians—The reigning AL Cy Young was 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 2008. This year he’s off to a 2-5 start but his ERA is still a very respectable 2.90. You can blame this one on the Tribe’s inability to score runs like they normally do.

5. Brian Giles, OF, San Diego Padres—Sure, he’s getting long in the tooth, but Brian Giles is a lifetime .291 hitter who averages 25 homers and 95 batted in. In 2009, he’s off to a .161 start, with 2 homers and 15 RBI, and a paltry .235 slugging percentage.

Honorable mention: Jason Giambi, DH, Oakland Athletics—You’d think the change of scenery would energize Giambi, but he’s hitting just .208 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI so far.

Source: Baseball Reference

SPORTSbyBROOKS has a great piece up about Nick Yohanek and his adventures with the Florida Marlins’ Chris Coghlan. Apparently, there’s a great start-up business here: Selling home run balls back to the guys who hit them out. After Coghlan hit his first in the majors, he was approached by Yohanek (who had caught the ball) after the game. Upon giving the fan a signed game bat and photo-op, Coghlan was surprised to learn that that just wouldn’t be enough to get Yohanek to fork over his ball (the identity of the preceding pronoun is anybody’s guess). Let’s hear from Yohanek and Brooks now:

Yohanek, not surprisingly, has a different view of things. We’re a little more suspicious of his version of the facts, mainly because he’s got far more reason to lie and even in his quotes, he comes off as an unholy prick:

“I explained that ballhawking is my hobby and that what I was asking in return was fair,” Yohanek said Thursday, in an e-mail to the Associated Press. “I told him I make $50,000 a year working in law enforcement and that I didn’t feel like I was asking for too much. He responded, ‘Good for you.’ Real classy. Way to respect law enforcement. Way to respect a fan.”

Yes, exactly. Clearly his tone was indicative of a disrespect for law enforcement and fans, and in no way affected by annoyance when a grown man makes demands for what should be a treasured keepsake. Real classy, Yohanek.

I can’t help but agree with my esteemed colleague on this one. While it is true that modern athletes make an exorbitant amount of money, it’s simply a matter of capitalism: if someone’s willing to pay that amount, then make them pay it, right? Supply and demand and such…Wait a sec, I may have just agreed with Yohanek here.

Oh no wait, I remember. My comparison is valid in that both pro athletes and Yohanek are expecting too much money. I’m not about to write a diatribe about salaries, that’s old hat. How about we discuss this idea of forcing guys with money to pay for things that anybody else would be expected to just receive?

It’s hard to bring myself to say it, but I gotta side with the rich on this one. Just because you found Bill Gates’ baby doesn’t mean he should have to give you a third of his income, or the secret Windows he keeps for himself. Technically, he shouldn’t have to give you a thing. It’s up to him to decide the reward.

Returning memorable things isn’t a business like sports. Rather than asking for a series of barters or a monetary amount akin to a ransom, Yohanek needs to cough up what he caught and be happy in the knowledge that despite his being a jerk, he is irrevocably linked to a moment in baseball history.

P.S. You’ll notice I haven’t said anything disparaging about the fine boys in blue. Considering I live in Los Angeles, I thought it a wise decision.

Sports Illustrated’s Norman Chad has a new column up about New York’s new ballparks:

New York, the most sophisticated sports town in Sports Nation, brings us two spectacularly expensive new stadiums this month — rent-free and property tax-free for the Mets and the Yankees — largely subsidized by public money on city-owned land.

The Mets’ new Citi Field, a.k.a. Belly-Up Ballpark, cost $850 million.

The new Yankee Stadium — boy, that old Yankee Stadium was a real stinker, eh? — cost $1.5 billion.

Amazingly, in a city faced with myriad budget problems, the Mets and the Yankees not only successfully solicited public financing, both clubs came back with their hand out a second time — and got more money.

Schools? No money.

Subway? No money.

Stadiums? How much do you need? Thank you sir, may I have another.

Sports fans have been faced with a lot of stadium changes in recent years. I for one never got a chance to see a game in Tigers Stadium, but rather enjoyed the spacious Comerica Park (I even rode the carousel once!). It’s great to be able to go into some of the nation’s new sports arenas and let yourself be distracted by all the glitzy new opportunities to forget that the reason you came there was to watch sports.

The onus of blame too, is not even on the owners of teams like the Yankees, Mets, and anybody else looking to cash in on public money. They’re greedy. Surprise, surprise. Why wouldn’t they be? They’re running a business. The politicians with the power to stop or confound their attempts to exploit the public are the people that it is necessary to get angry at.

There’s another problem within this too, and that is the corporate sponsorship that has become part and parcel with the games we love. Even the names of the venues reflect the loss of our ability to give something a name that tells us even a little about what happens within the building. Who knows what incredible chairs, pens, and whiteboards we can see inside the Staples Center? I’ve just never been able to accept the white-washing that has been happening. Even as a kid in Tennessee, I couldn’t understand what was wrong with Fulton County Stadium, and how anyone would let Ted Turner name the new field after himself.

OK, Yankee Stadium was old, it didn’t work well as a modern baseball field and didn’t lend itself to the needs of modern baseball. So what? It’s f-ing Yankee Stadium! The house that Ruth built and where numerous other important baseball and even important historical events occurred. We are in danger of taking all traces of character out of our ball games. I still can’t call Comiskey Park U.S. Cellular Field, and I doubt I ever will. There’s even been talk about tearing down Wrigley (admittedly a brand name too) Field and Dodgers Stadium. Next time I visit New York maybe I can go see the Citibank Statue of Liberty brought to you by Citibank.

It’s important not to flip out over change I suppose. Corporate sponsorship and manipulation of public funds aren’t exactly new things to baseball. The sponsorship brings revenue to the team, thereby allowing them to spend money on players, and hopefully win championships. A successful team also brings in revenue from ticket and merchandise sales, and the public interest itself creates profits for related businesses within the city and the surrounding area. In a matter of looking at it, it helps everyone involved. But I can’t realistically believe that it’s better.

Again maybe I’m seeing a domino effect where there isn’t one, but I worry about all the brand names my kids will have to remember just to talk about sports.

Today we got more proof of the beauty behind an athlete’s battle against time. Last week, I wrote about Tom Glavine and a shoulder injury which may end his 22 year career. On the other side of the coin, there’s news today about an even older pitcher still getting the job done. As reported on Yahoo! Sports:

Johnson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against his former team, and the San Francisco Giants held on to beat the Diamondbacks 2-0 on Sunday.

“Sometimes you have to put blinders on when it comes to certain teams,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to pitch well. It’s nice to go out there and feel like I’m contributing after the last two starts.”

Johnson, who allowed one hit in seven innings, was perfect through four. He faced the minimum through six and stranded Augie Ojeda at third base after the shortstop doubled to open the seventh.

A no-hitter through seven is nothing to scoff at, even if it did happen against a team not especially known for their hitting. It’ll be interesting to see how the now 1-2 record of Johnson grows, and how soon it’ll be before he reaches his 300th win (his win today puts him at 296). Again, from Yahoo! Sports and Brian Wilson, one of Johnson’s Giants teammates:

“It was beautiful,” Wilson said. “It was a nice day and Randy was out there dominating. He proved he can still do it.

“You watch him working the hitters, working the count and you realize not all of us can go out there and do that.”

I’ve never been much of a Randy Johnson fan, but regardless of what team he’s on now I think it’s worth our while to keep an eye on a future hall-of-famer before he’s finished actively playing ball.