That all but five teams are less than ten games out of their respective division lead says something about Major League Baseball as a whole this year; none of the teams are great, but there aren’t that many that are really bad, either. It’s inevitable that some teams will see their chances of contending slip away soon, and that the last gasp for some teams are going to come sooner rather than later. However, the fact that, in all likelihood, over half of the league will still feel somewhat confident that they can make a run for the postseason will make for great baseball into the dog days of summer. Not a bad thought, considering the uncertainty of the NFL’s preseason schedule, right?
Here is this week’s Power Rankings. The number in parenthesis after the team name is where the team was ranked in the previous Power Rankings.
1. Philadelphia Phillies (2)- Back on top again, and pulling away from a team that would be leading every other division except the AL East.
2. Boston Red Sox (1)
3. New York Yankees (10)
4. Atlanta Braves (8)
5. Tampa Bay Rays (12)- The Rays have made the AL East a surprising three team race for the division lead. Unfortunately for Boston and New York, Tampa Bay has the pitching to stick around for the remainder of the season.
6. San Francisco Giants (4)
7. Cleveland Indians (9)- Luckily for the Indians, the Power Rankings didn’t come out until after their terrible slide. However, they aren’t in the clear by any stretch; both Detroit and Minnesota have been playing exceptionally well in June.
8. Arizona Diamondbacks (11)
9. Washington Nationals (25)- Apparently winning 11 of their last 12 games was not enough for former manager Tim Riggleman to stick around amidst contract negotiation issues. Who knew that simply winning in Washington wasn’t enough?
10. Detroit Tigers (6)
11. Cincinnati Reds (15)
12. Texas Rangers (7)
13. Minnesota Twins (29)- The hottest team in baseball over the past month should feel good about their chances to rebound after a disastrous first two months, considering that they play in one of the weakest divisions in the MLB. Only eight games out of first place, and that number may continue to get smaller…
14. Milwaukee Brewers (5)
15. St. Louis Cardinals (3)- See? St. Louis is struggling.
16. Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
17. Colorado Rockies (20)- Arizona may not have the pitching to stick around all season, and San Francisco is even more banged up after having Freddy Sanchez end up on the DL with a dislocated right shoulder. The time for Colorado to make up ground is now.
18. Chicago White Sox (21)
19. Los Angeles Angels (22)
20. New York Mets (19)
21. Seattle Mariners (14)- The fact that Seattle is still well within reach of the AL West lead says more about the division than it does about the Mariners…
22. Toronto Blue Jays (13)
23. Los Angeles Dodgers (22)- Not only is the Frank McCourt saga a daily headline in sports news, but the Dodgers aren’t alleviating any of the embarrassment with their play on the field…
24. Chicago Cubs (28)
25. Oakland Athletics (27)
26. Baltimore Orioles (17)
27. Kansas City Royals (26)
28. San Diego Padres (24)
29. Florida Marlins (18)- The only word to describe the Marlins’ current freefall in the NL East standings: ugly. Near impossible to catch the Phillies? How about is impossible…
30. Houston Astros (30)
– K. Becks
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