I don't think Eric Mack gets it...

I regret to inform you that we, as baseball fans across the country, do not necessarily care about your opinion. There are millions of baseball fans throughout this great nation of ours, and we all have opinions. Yours is nothing particularly special.

I write this because your latest "Power Rankings" seem to indicate that you think differently. You seem to think the point of Power Rankings is to tell us, regardless of actual records, regardless of actual hot streaks, regardless of actual "on-the-field play" (crazy, I know), how good you personally think each team in baseball will be come September. This is an admirable opinion Eric, and no one faults you for it. However, that makes it no less wrong.

The point of Power Rankings, Eric, and remember this, as it is something you will need to know, is to provide a little insight to us baseball fans who, like yourself, don't have the time to keep up with every single team in the league week-to-week. So that once every Monday or Tuesday rolls around, if I've only had enough time to follow my favorite team, I can log on to Sportsline.com and read a wonderful, well-written column by Eric Mack that gives me a nice, fair summary of how all 30 teams are playing, hot streaks and overall win-loss records considered.

It doesn't matter that you think the Marlins and Orioles won't hold their current pace. You can't ignore their current success (6th and 9th in all of baseball in winning percentage, respectively), as that is something that opposing teams in the NL and AL East might like to know. This is the point of Power Rankings. If not for you, Eric, how will the hard-working, Phillies fan who doesn't have time to follow other teams know that the Marlins are 12-5 in their division and playing solid baseball? How will a Yankees fan, going into a 3-game series with the Orioles, know that the Orioles are 8-2 in the last 10 games, the best record in baseball, if they're ranked #19 in your rankings, Eric? This, you see, is the point of Power Rankings.

In closing, I hope this article hasn't discouraged you. You, like everyone else with a copy of the standings, a basic knowledge of the game of baseball and a computer, are entirely capable of producing a decent Power Rankings column. I forgive you for blowing it for so many weeks previous, and wish you the best of luck in the future.

Regards,

VC6301

I regret to inform you that we, as baseball fans across the country, do not necessarily care about your opinion.

Then why did you read his article? Eric Mack is a paid sports writer so obviously people would have to care about his opinion in order for him to have a job. I never knew VC6301 was the voice of baseball nation so therfore I am the minority here. It was a great article and power rankings, might just make you made b/c it doesn't please you boo hoo. He made excellent points and as he stated in his opening a power ranking is made of an accumulation of things, not just listing the standings, how boring. You have to appreciate him being objective.

It doesn't matter that you think the Marlins and Orioles won't hold their current pace. You can't ignore their current success (6th and 9th in all of baseball in winning percentage, respectively), as that is something that opposing teams in the NL and AL East might like to know.

Obviously you are the one who defines the crieterior that is judged upon how a power ranking is composed. Watch out for webster dictionary might call you up and ask you to be their new author for the definition of power ranking. Look he obviously knows a whole lot more about baseball than you and I,  as its his life. You and I watch our favorite team don't really watch the others. To make it simple hes doing the power rankings basead upon some sort of ranking system regardless of record. Even though your record is an indication of how good you are doesn't necessarily dictate that the orioles are better than the Yankees.

In all I thought your reply was a pathetic attempt to put a baseball writer down as you really just made yourself to be a snotty know it all. Please learn how to formulate better arguments

Just one more

I forgive you for blowing it for so many weeks previous, and wish you the best of luck in the future.

Wow you are really full of yourself, I'm sure he was begging for your forgiveness.  Why dont you make your own power ranking so we can call it stupid when we disagree on a placement.

As a