Power Rankings, as slowly the time
is running down, and the Magic Numbers for teams are dwindling.
1.
Red
Sox: 92-59
Last Week: 1
ESPN Rank: 1
The Red Sox are the first team to
90 wins, and are also the only team above 90 wins. With a sweep against the
Yankees, they are secured as the number one team by far. They are 50-25 at
home, and have a +182 run differential. If you think that there is any better
team than the Red Sox, just try to prove me wrong. With almost the best
offensive stats and a fantastic starting rotation, especially with Clay
Buchholz back, they dominate in the toughest division.
2.
Athletics:
88-61
Last Week: 4
ESPN Rank: 4
Last week, the A’s were only a
half-game ahead from the Rangers. Now, they are six and a half games ahead.
They’ve won five in a row, sweeping the Rangers and finish the season off with
teams under .500. I think they have the AL West in the bag.
3.
Braves:
89-60
Last Week: 3
ESPN Rank: 3
Some late injuries might scare
Atlanta come playoff time, but they still have shown to be the best in the NL.
Craig Kimbrel will try to hit his 50th save by the end of the season
(he has 47 now), and it’s a race between Kris Medlen, Mike Minor, and Julio
Teheran for most wins on the team (they have 14, 13, and 12 wins, respectively).
I like this team because they are really balanced, but don’t ride them too hard
in the playoffs because they’re not too great on the road.
4.
Pirates:
87-62
Last Week: 8
ESPN Rank: 7
Honestly, it’s a toss-up on who
will win the NL Central this year, as the Pirates have shown that they are
still not out of contention. Justin Morneau’s first RBI on the team got the win
last night against the Cubs, as he now bats .279/.380/.326. Marlon Byrd,
another recent acquisition by the Pirates, is batting .333/.371/.530 for the
team.
5.
Cardinals:
87-62
Last Week: 2
ESPN Rank: 6
Although the Pirates have tied it
in the NL Central, the Cardinals have still won seven of their last ten games.
They finish with only one team above .500, the Nationals, as they look to close
out and clinch sometime soon. I have the Cardinals winning this division.
6.
Tigers:
86-63
Last Week: 6
ESPN Rank: 5
Is the guaranteed MVP for Miguel
Cabrera still there? It might be closer than you think. Because of injuries and
struggles, Miggy has been batting only .222 lately. Granted, he’s still batting
.350/.443/.654, but remember, there’s always Mike Trout looming about in the
race.
7.
Dodgers:
86-63
Last Week: 5
ESPN Rank: 2
That absurd record since the
all-star break seems like the past now, as the Dodgers have gone back to play
under .500 ball. They’ve lost three in a row, and have only managed to get
three wins in their last ten. Granted, they still will get into the playoffs,
but now it’s a matter of seeing if they can get hot come playoff time, or stay
cool like right now. After all, they just got swept by the Giants- that’s
pretty low.
8.
Reds:
84-66
Last Week: 7
ESPN Rank: 8
Though the Reds are three and a
half games out of Pittsburgh and St. Louis, they have a chance to change that
this week, as they first play Houston, then go on to challenge Pittsburgh. This
is their chance to make a last-minute run to win the division.
9.
Rays:
81-67
Last Week: 10
ESPN Rank: 9
From what seemed like a semi-close
race, but nothing that the Rays needed to worry about too much, suddenly has
turned into a free for all in the race. Tied with the Rangers, they are only a
half game ahead of Cleveland, and 2.5 games ahead of Baltimore. A tough series
loss against the Red Sox, then some blown games that they should’ve had against
the Twins leads them with a series against the Rangers this week, which might
be the most important series of the year.
10. Indians: 81-68
Last Week: 11
ESPN Rank: 10
Oh man, this race is getting good.
A win today for the Indians would give them one of the spots in the wild card,
as they are only a half-game out, and Texas and Tampa Bay square off tonight. They’ve
won four in a row and have stormed into the top bubble team. But they aren’t facing
the White Sox anymore, they have the Royals to deal with now.
11. Rangers: 81-67
Last Week: 9
ESPN Rank: 11
Talk about the biggest team that’s
choked over the past few years. In 2010, the Rangers were the favorites to win
the World Series, but lost to the Giants. In 2011, they were one strike away
from winning it all, but the Cardinals would power back and win Games 6 and 7.
Last year, they had the division in the bag, but lost it to the A’s on the very
last game, then lost the wild card play-in game. Now, they have lost six in a
row, and nine of their last ten. If they blow this yet again, talk about a bad
way to start off the decade.
12. Nationals: 79-70
Last Week: 15
ESPN Rank: 13
Washington has stormed back into
the race, winning their last eight of ten, and all of a sudden, the wild card
race in the NL is actually a race. They won’t catch up with the Braves, but
they are four and a half games back from the Reds. If they can somehow squeeze
in to make the playoffs, maybe it wasn’t a disappointing season after all.
There is magic in September, that’s all I know.
13. Orioles: 79-70
Last Week: 12
ESPN Rank: 14
Chris Davis crushed his 50th
last week, and it looks like he’s secured the batting title. Right now,
however, he needs to just hit so that the Orioles can get into the playoffs.
They are 2.5 games back in the wild card, and have a HUGE series at Fenway to
try and maintain that bubble.
14. Royals: 78-71
Last Week: 13
ESPN Rank: 15
The Royals need a big surge in
these last two weeks, as it seems like they are slowly fading away in
contention. Even if they don’t make it, don’t think of it as a disappointing season
for the Royals. The last time they were above .500 at this point in the season
was in 2003. They have lots of talent that can make runs in the next couple of
years, too.
15. Yankees: 79-71
Last Week: 14
ESPN Rank: 12
Boston honored Mariano Rivera
yesterday at Fenway, remembering the amazing work that he has done, and even
said thank you to blowing the most memorable Game Four in the ALCS in 2004.
But, even though seven different pitchers pitched last night for New York,
Rivera was still not one of them, and the Yanks were swept in his last series
against Boston.
16. Diamondbacks: 75-73
Last Week: 16
ESPN Rank: 16
I look at this Arizona team and I
say “Man, what a disappointing season with all of their talent.” Then I think
to myself, “Wait a minute, besides Patrick Corbin and Paul Goldschmidt, they
have nothing!” which is pretty much true. Corbin is the only main starter that
is above .500, and Goldschmidt is the only main starter that is hitting above
.300.
17. Angels: 72-77
Last Week: 17
ESPN Rank: 17
This late surge might put the
Angels at a .500 range by the end of the season, but they have no chance of
getting into the playoffs. But note this: the Angels are 5th in
batting average (.266), 3rd in OBP (.331), and 4th in
slugging (.420). So there’s all this talk about Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols
being big busts, which they were, but much of the blame should be on the pitching.
18. Phillies: 69-80
Last Week: 20
ESPN Rank: 18
The Phillies want to lose because
then they get a secured first-round draft pick for next year. Right now, they
trail the 10th place Blue Jays by a game. Come on, lose Phillies,
lose!
19. Blue Jays: 68-81
Last Week: 18
ESPN Rank: 19
With a disappointing season, where
does the club go from here? They have been mixing up their lineups and giving
starts to random players, but with a farm system that is ranked 23rd,
it’s tough to figure out where they even want to go now.
20. Giants: 69-81
Last Week: 24
ESPN Rank: 20
With a sweep against the Dodgers
(THE DODGERS), the Giants have found themselves in third place all of a sudden.
Though it has been a disappointing season, some of their free agent picks, like
Hunter Pence, have done a pretty good job with the organization. Pence, though
a terrible defender, has 19 RBI’s in his past six games, and now ranks second
in the NL in total bases.
Here are the last 10 that finish
out the league. Nothing much has changed with these rankings.
21. Padres: 68-80
Last Week: 23
ESPN Rank: 22
22. Rockies: 68-82
Last Week: 19
ESPN Rank: 21
23. Mets: 67-82
Last Week: 21
ESPN Rank: 23
24. Mariners: 66-83
Last Week: 22
ESPN Rank: 25
25. Twins: 64-84
Last Week: 26
ESPN Rank: 27
26. Brewers: 65-83
Last Week: 25
ESPN Rank: 24
27. Cubs: 63-86
Last Week: 27
ESPN Rank: 26
28. White Sox: 58-91
Last Week: 28
ESPN Rank: 28
29. Marlins: 55-94
Last Week: 29
ESPN Rank: 29
30. Astros: 51-98
Last Week: 30
ESPN Rank: 30
Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any
questions/comments/concerns.
-Evan Boyd
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