The Times’ baseball rankings
Statistics through Friday’s game. Last week’s rankings in parentheses:
OPERATING AT PEAK EFFICIENCY
1. DODGERS Employees of the Month: Greinke, Nolasco 10-0, 1.44 combined in August (1)
2. ATLANTA Workplace safety: First-place Braves have 10 players on the disabled list (7)
3. BOSTON Production line: Regular 1 through 4 hitters averaging .301, 13 HRs, 64 RBIs (8)
4. TEXAS Called — and swinging — strike: Darvish leads MLB with 236 strikeouts (2)
5. DETROIT Look for the union label: Scherzer, team’s union rep, is MLB-best 19-1 (6)
6. PITTSBURGH Seasonal employment: Steeltown about to see first fall playoff game since 1992 (4)
7. ST. LOUIS Swing shift: Cardinals hitting an MLB-best .326 with runners in scoring position (5)
8. OAKLAND Blue-collar guy: Minimum-wage Donaldson tops A’s in 8 offensive categories (10)
9. CINCINNATI Foreign workers: Reds’ top 2 hitters, Votto and Choo, hail from Canada, South Korea (9)
10. TAMPA BAY Proletarian revolution: Rays have MLB’s 28th-best payroll, 10th-best record (3)
A LOT OF WORK FOR LITTLE REWARD
11. BALTIMORE Piecework: Orioles pinch-hitters batting MLB-low .132 (11)
12. N.Y. YANKEES Closing time: With 43 saves in 51 tries, Yanks have MLB’s most efficient bullpen (12)
13. KANSAS CITY Fine craftsmanship: Shields (9-8) leads AL with 22 quality starts (15)
14. CLEVELAND Boycott: Playoff contender averaging less than 21,000 at home (13)
15. ARIZONA Outsourcing: Diamondbacks regular lineup includes 3 Venezuelans (14)
WOULD ANYBODY NOTICE IF THEY WENT ON STRIKE?
16. WASHINGTON Child labor: Harper, at 20, was youngest player on an opening-day roster (16)
17. PHILADELPHIA Workplace efficiencies: MLB’s 3rd-highest payroll nets 3rd place in NL East (17)
18. ANGELS Laboring under false pretenses: Angels on pace for worst record this century (24)
19. COLORADO Working for the weekend: Rockies are 24-18 on Saturdays and Sundays (19)
20. N.Y. METS OSHA violation: Harvey kept pitching despite forearm pain, may now need surgery
21. SEATTLE Grandfather clause: Only 2 men in history hit more HRs at age 41 than Ibanez’s 25 (18)
22. SAN FRANCISCO Toxic stock: Giants won 94 games in 2012, on pace for 72 in 2013 (27)
23. TORONTO Right-to-work state: Blue Jays have used 49 players this season (26)
CLOSED UP SHOP A LONG TIME AGO
25. MILWAUKEE Blacklist: Ryan Braun’s “apology” hasn’t appeased many peers in baseball (25)
26. MINNESOTA Job insecurity: Layoffs likely this winter if Twins lose 90+ for 3rd straight year (20)
27. CHICAGO WHITE SOX Working overtime: Chicago has played MLB-high 21 extra-inning games (23)
28. CHICAGO CUBS Surplus labor: 5 players who were on Cubs in opener now with other teams (28)
29. MIAMI On-the-job training: 13 Marlins have 2 years or less in the majors (29)
30. HOUSTON Minimum wage: Astros payroll an MLB-low $22 million (30)
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