Hey! It’s my 50th post
on this blog, and I hope you have been enjoying it! If you are reading for the
first time, go ahead and check out some of my other posts on the right side. If
you like this, you’ll love the other ones.
This Saturday, I’ll be looking at
the Power Rankings. It’s a big day for the Power Rankings because it shows how
teams are doing at the start of the second half of baseball. Some teams have
been doing extraordinarily well this month, while others have made decisions
that this isn’t the year. Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez has been signed. But who
signed him? Let’s take a look.
1.
Cardinals: 62-38
Last Week: 1
ESPN Rank: 1
The Cardinals maintain their tight
spot, having the best win percentage (.620) and only 38 losses (the Astros have
34 wins, while the Marlins have 39). They have gotten a great start this second
half, winning 5 of 7. They have one of the toughest two weeks to go through
though, being on the road in Atlanta now, then having a five game series at
Pittsburgh, three with the Reds, then four at home against the Dodgers. If they
can take those series’, then will somebody just let them clinch the division
already? That takes skill!
2.
Rays: 61-42
Last Week: 7
ESPN Rank: 3
The Rays have been the hottest team
in baseball, going on a 14-2 streak going into the all-star break, and now have
won six of seven games in the second half. They swept the Jays and took two of
three from the Red Sox, and won yesterday’s game against the Yankees to take
first place in the AL East. They’ve been hitting very well, now having the 4th best OBP (.331)
and the 5th best Slugging % (.422), all backed by a .236 BAA (2nd
best in the Majors).
3.
Red Sox: 61-43
Last Week: 3
ESPN Rank: 2
The Red Sox might have lost their
first place spot, but they haven’t lost their chance of losing their playoff
spot. The Rays have been hot and that’s what they have to accept. I still have
the Red Sox winning the division, especially if they can get Clay Buchholz
healthy. Having a 1 2 3 combo in the numbers (1st in OBP, 2nd
in SLG, 3rd in BA), I don’t see any problem with their chances.
4.
Pirates: 60-41
Last Week: 2
ESPN Rank: 4
My thoughts with the Red Sox are
the same with the Pirates. Their offense isn’t that good, having a team .242
batting average and a .309 OBP. None of their offensive stats rank even in the
top 20. What they do have is some of the best pitching in the league, pitching
that not only is good this year, but has talent that can take them to all sorts
of places. They have the best ERA in the league (3.09), as well as the best BAA
(.226). If they can get their team ERA under 3, then they would have one of the
best pitching staffs in baseball history. Jeff Locke, A.J. Burnett, and
Francisco Liriano all have ERA’s less than 3, and closer Jason Grilli has a
2.34 ERA. They have some surprising talent in Liriano and Burnett that can be
incredible in the second half.
5.
Athletics: 60-43
Last Week: 4
ESPN Rank: 5
The A’s have pulled a 4 game lead
in first over the Rangers, not really because they are doing really well, but
because the Rangers have played poor ball. They have great pitching, led by
Bartolo Colon, which helps explain their 31-16 record at home (the A’s have a
pitching ballpark), and their mere 29-27 record on the road.
6.
Braves: 58-45
Last Week: 6
ESPN Rank: 6
Speaking of road records, the
Braves have a losing record on the road. No matter, they’ve been playing .500
ball since the break, and frankly they can play .500 the entire season and
still make the playoffs. They have a commanding 8.5 games ahead in first.
7.
Reds: 59-45
Last Week: 8
ESPN Rank: 8
The Reds still have a comfortable
lead in the wildcard, but need more than just Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Votto if
they want to keep up with the Cardinals. They are now 5 games out of first
place.
8.
Tigers: 57-45
Last Week: 10
ESPN Rank: 9
The Tigers have played a little
better, boosting their lead to 3 games instead of a game and a half over the
Indians. If Miguel Cabrera keeps sitting out from injury and Justin Verlander
keeps being human, then they might have some problems. I don’t care if Max
Scherzer is 13-1, without Miggy in that lineup, that record will change.
9.
Orioles: 58-46
Last Week: 9
ESPN Rank: 7
Chris Davis has yet to hit a home
run in the second half, dropping his average from .315 to .307 and having 16 K’s
since his last homer. In that time, the Orioles have been 4-3. Still not bad,
but it would be nice if Davis started to hit.
10.
Dodgers: 54-48
Last Week: 14
ESPN Rank: 11
Matt Kemp goes into the lineup,
then falls to injury. But who cares! The Dodgers have now taken first place in the
NL west, but still have to deal with the D-Backs. The next time they play each
other is September 9th, though.
11.
Rangers: 56-47
Last Week: 5
ESPN Rank: 10
The Rangers have lost seven on
their last 10, and are now four games out of first place. Now with the Rays
striking, they don’t have that comfortable “just take the wild card” spot now. They
really need to step up if they want to make the playoffs.
12.
D-Backs: 54-48
Last Week: 11
ESPN Rank: 14
The D-Backs have now lost their spot
in first place. They have been 18-2 when Patrick Corbin starts, and Paul
Goldschmidt leads every offensive category. However, they need more than just
the two of them. Flip a coin: put D-Backs on heads and Dodgers on tails. That’s
my chance of who wins the division.
13.
Indians: 54-48
Last Week: 13
ESPN Rank: 12
The Indians open up the second half
with great potential with pitchers Scott Kazmir, Corey Kluber, and Justin
Masterson. They are 3 games back from the Tigers, and need to have some better
offensive spurts, but they can make a run for it.
14.
Yankees: 54-49
Last Week: 12
ESPN Rank: 13
Alfonso Soriano returns to the
Yankees after seven years with the Cubs. Soriano has been hitting pretty
average, but has been hot this month. Why did the Yanks pick him up? Soriano
has hit eight homers this month, and the Yanks have only hit seven. Seven has
been their lucky number; they are now seven games out of first place.
15.
Royals: 49-51
Last Week: 20
ESPN Rank: 18
The Royals have been hot, as they’ve
now won four in a row, and have moved to just two games under .500. They are
still seven games back, but hey, they still have some potential to move towards
a spot. It’s a much different Royals team compared to others.
16.
Mariners: 49-54
Last Week: 23
ESPN Rank: 22
Why such the large jump? Seattle
has won eight of their last 10 games, and have moved to five games under. They
are now tied with the Angels, and have been showing not only a good infield but
a great pitching duo. Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma could just be the 1-2
combo in AL Cy Young voting.
17.
Nationals: 50-54
Last Week: 15
ESPN Rank: 15
The Nationals have once again played
only .500 ball, but are now four games under. They had a brief outburst when
players started to come back, and fans hoped that the bats had finally started
to awake. However, they have only won three of ten now, and have gone back into
their hitting coma.
18.
Rockies: 50-54
Last Week: 19
ESPN Rank: 19
The Rockies had an easy schedule to
start off with, having a home stand with the Cubs, Marlins, and Brewers. They
play two more games with the Brewers, but have only played .500 ball. Things
aren’t going to get any better, they have to play the Braves and the Pirates
next week.
19.
Phillies: 49-54
Last Week: 16
ESPN Rank: 16
The Phillies have signed Miguel
Alfredo Gonzalez. A deal that reportedly is worth 6 years and $60 million. The
hard-throwing 26 years old could be the next Cuban sensation that helps rebuild
Philly.
20.
Angels: 48-53
Last Week: 18
ESPN Rank: 17
The Angels are now in fourth place
as Seattle just squeaks pass them. Why the gap in Power Rankings? Because
Seattle has been red hot in the 2nd half, and the Angels are now
under .500 both at home and away.
21.
Blue Jays: 47-55
Last Week: 17
ESPN Rank: 21
Remember when the entire AL East
was over .500? Too bad for the Jays, they’ve had a tough schedule to start the
2nd half, like getting swept by the Rays, and are now 7 games under.
22.
Cubs: 46-55
Last Week: 22
ESPN Rank: 23
Move over Puig, it’s time for
Junior Lake to have fan sensation. Since coming to the big leagues at the start
of the half, Lake is batting .417/.432/.667 with 15 hits, and has been
comfortable in left field. Time for Lakenation!!
23.
Mets: 46-54
Last Week: 24
ESPN Rank: 24
Besides Matt Harvey, the Mets have
been really poor. Ryan Zimmerman just hit a walk-off against them, and moved
them 10.5 games out of first place. They’ve been playing better ball lately
though, and are just two games out of second place.
24.
Giants: 46-56
Last Week: 21
ESPN Rank: 20
A depressing loss to the Cubs last
night put the Giants 10 games under .500. The World Champions look like they
might be dealing players, and will not be in the playoffs this year.
25.
Padres: 46-58
Last Week: 25
ESPN Rank: 25
The Padres have not won two games
in a row since June 20-21. They were actually over .500 at one point, if you
believe me. Rookie potential star Jedd Gyorko has been struggling big since the
2nd half, but hey, so has everyone else on the team.
26.
Twins: 44-56
Last Week: 26
ESPN Rank: 26
All-star closer has not allowed a
run, and has held opponents to a .140 batting average since the start of June.
Best stat? In that time, he’s had a 18-to-1 K/BB ratio. He now has 25 saves,
and a 2.03 ERA.
27.
Brewers: 42-60
Last Week: 28
ESPN Rank: 27
Well, Ryan Braun is gone. Brewer
fans have already turned their “Braun” jerseys into “Fraud” jerseys. It looks
like their season is done, with one thing left to do: trade Francisco Rodriguez.
His stock has really been improving, and, although not as good as he once was,
can still be a pretty good closer.
28.
White Sox: 40-60
Last Week: 27
ESPN Rank: 28
They have four days to trade Alex
Rios and Jake Peavy. If not, there won’t be anything else but Chris Sale to
talk on this team.
29.
Marlins: 39-62
Last Week: 29
ESPN Rank: 29
The Marlins are still last in every
offensive category, but have been showing some signs of young pitching stars.
They have a team 3.72 ERA (8th best), led by Jose Fernandez, and
have had some great relief work in Steve Cishek. Hope is not lost in this
future for the team.
30.
Astros: 34-68
Last Week: 30
ESPN Rank: 30
The Astros couldn’t wait until their
prospects come into the Major Leagues. They are now out of contention from the
playoffs, and could lose 110 games. They are 25.5 games out of first, and have
a -166 run differential. I’ll be honest, this is one of the worst teams I’ve
ever seen.
Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com with any
questions/comments/concerns.
-Evan Boyd
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