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Sunday Aug.04/2013

The Braves have charged out of the ALL – Star Break at a pace like they did to start the year. They have an 11.5 Games Lead in the NL East over Washington, and most of their offense is starting to click –  which have helped contributed to the team hold down the fort now that the pitching has had vast injuries.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

It is time for the MLB Power Rankings.  These are based on my thoughts on whether who has the best chance to win the World Series.

A lot of these positions are based on who has the toughest Strength of Schedule left, who their competition is for the Division, and possibly even the League they are in.

How unfortunate it is for the Indians and the Royals to have the Tigers winning 9 of their last ten – to fend off their those absurdly hot AL Central counterparts?

The good news for the KC and CLE teams is that the AL East are beating up on each other in the last month, while Texas will see a Nelson Cruz suspension dampen their odds of making the Post Season.

Check out the Show we did on AL and NL Rankings Here on the 2 And A Hook Podcast

A 13 game road winning streak, coupled with the rest of the teams having a horrific spell, has translated into the Dodgers beginning to runaway with the NL West. Only Arizona has a chance – and they have played almost 10 games under .500 in the last month – and now sit 4.5 Games behind LA.  Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez have been hitting north of .360 – with lots of power, stellar defense – and NL MVP caliber like numbers.  With Paul Goldschmidt’s Dbacks falling back, and Yadier Molina being on the shelf for a long time, these guys could possibly enter the MVP race – if they dominate in their last 50 games like they have in their most recent 50 contests.

Team Rankings (Last Week in Parenthesis) and Moving of spots up or down.

*Denotes Division Leaders

Standings as of Aug.04/2013

1. Atlanta Braves* 66 – 45 (2) +1:  This team has gone 7 – 0 since last week.  Jason Heyward, Andrelton Simmons, Justin Upton, Chris Johnson and Freddie Freeman all with big weeks.

2. Detroit Tigers* 63 – 45 (1) -1: Brilliant move to pick up Jose Iglesias for the impending suspension of Jhonny Peralta, Max Scherzer is running away with the AL CY Young.

3. LA Dodgers* 60 – 49 (6) +3:  At this point, they may be the best team in the National League, have gone 29 – 6 in their last 35, and have opened up a 4 1/2 Game Lead on the Diamondbacks.

Another few weeks of this – and they may reach #.  Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez will have to be considered for NL MVP if they keep up their incredible paces. 13 Game Road Winning Streak – WOW!!

4.  Oakland Athletics* 64 – 46 (5) +1:  The A’s have gotten fat on the Astros, Angels and Royals all year, going about 20 games over .500 versus those teams – as oppose to .500 against the rest.

The A’s only have to contend with the Rangers.  Texas is looking to be a Wild Card contender, however are losing a vital part of their club when Nelson Cruz is suspended.

Bartolo Colon might avoid the MLB’s wrath – having already done a 50 games suspension already.

5.  Tampa Bay Rays 65 – 45 (3) -2:  Having Matt Moore on the DL will cost the team a little here.

Also, I have harped on this all year, but if the Rays lose the AL East by a game, I have to blame them waiting to callup both Wil Myers and Chris Archer to late!

6.  Boston Red Sox*  67 – 45 (8) +2:  ‘The Beantowners’ are just percentage points behind the Bucs for the best record in the MLB.  They have a massive flair for the dramatic as well.

The Red Sox picking up Jake Peavy might be the difference – especially if Clay Buchholz can come back.

7.  St. Louis Cardinals 64 – 45 (4) -3:  The second straight week, the club has lost 3 rankings spots.  All of the innings for the youngsters is catching up – and now Yadier Molina is out til possibly September.

8.  Pittsburgh Pirates* 66 – 44 (7) -1:  Mark Melancon looks unhittable.  Neil Huntington would still be well advised to pick up a bat in the month of August.

Huntington did an awesome job assembling this team – including all Starters but one being acquired:  Francisco Liriano, Jeff Locke, Wandy Rodriguez, Charlie Morton, A.J. Burnett, while Gerrit Cole is the only homegrown talent.

9.  Cincinnati Reds 61 – 50 (9) Even:  Holding steady.. Tony Cingrani is a total lifesaver..  Need injured bodies to come back.

10.  Texas Rangers 61 – 50 (13) +3:  5 wins in a row heading into play – before losing yesterday.  They still need to replace Nelson Cruz’ bat.  Either that, or have super efforts from the rest of the collective bunch.

11.  Cleveland Indians 61 – 49 (12) +1:  Have won 10 of 11 games – and have gained no virtual ground.  Their schedule may present them a chance to sneak in a 2nd Wild Card Spot – while the AL East dukes it out.

12.  Baltimore Orioles 61 – 50 (11) -1:  I think the O’s are in trouble here.  Great they picked up a #4 (Scott Feldman) and #5 starter (Bud Norris), plus a Bullpen arm.

Even if they hold off all teams for a Wild Card Spot, hate their Starting Pitching in a playoff or even a 5 Game Series.

13.  Kansas City Royals 55 – 52 (16) +3:  The team has also won 10 out of 11 games.  This is exactly what the management envisioned for the club.

While there is no way they rundown the Tigers, their schedule presents them with a chance for a Wild Card Position.  They receive a heavy dose of the Twins, Indians and White Sox in the last 55 games.

14. Arizona Diamondbacks 56 – 54 (10) -4:  At this point, I think they have a better chance of running down an injury – riddled Reds team for the 2nd Wild Card, rather than try to catch LA.

The Dbacks have 3 other teams in the NL West who have played abysmal like them since June 15th.  They could make a run against the likes of the Padres, Rockies and Giants.

15.  Washington Nationals 54 – 56 (15) Even:  Forget about the Atlanta Braves now (11.5 Games Back) – and concentrate on getting in the back door of the 2nd Wild Card – by passing the Reds (6.5 Games Behind).

16.  New York Yankees 57 – 52 (14) -2:  I speak on behalf of all Yankees fans I believe:  “Cashman, empty the prospects tank – and go get a 3B and Catcher ASAP.)”

Other than Tyler Austin, Gary Sanchez and Mason Williams, trade anybody to go for it this year.

You are about to receive the biggest “Get Out Of Jail Free Card’ ever in the Alex Rodriguez suspension.

17.  Seattle Mariners 51 – 59 (20) +3:  The Mariners had a tough week in Fenway, losing in 15 Innings, and then blowing a 6 run lead on Thursday.  Their schedule is decent in the last month, and they top all teams 17 – 30 – likely to have no chance at all for the playoffs.

18.  Philadelphia Phillies 50 – 60 (19) -1:  This team still has 30 of their last 52 Games at home – and a lot of them against a weak NL East.

19.  Colorado Rockies 52 – 60 (17) -2:  A 2 – 5 week has decimated any last chance they may have had to compete for a playoff spot.  They will need a 21 – 1 streak like in 2007 – in order to get back into the Wild Card race.

20.  LA Angels 51 – 58 (18) -2:  Josh Hamilton can win back some credit – by carrying this club to respectability – with a hot last third of the season.

21.  Toronto 50 – 60 (25) +4:  A 4 – 3 record this week has helped them go up 4 rankings spots.  .500 has to be a goal for them.  A team with Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista does have a chance to win some games down the stretch.

22.  San Francisco Giants 49 – 60 (22) Even:  This is a generous ranking considering they are the 3rd worst team in the NL.  They are still the defending champ for the next 53 games.

23.  San Diego Padres 51 – 60 (23) Even:  The Pod Squad is about to lose their best player in Everth Cabrera.  It is a good thing they have discovered that Andrew Cashner.

24.  New York Mets 49 – 60 (21) -3:  Losing David Wright for almost the rest of the year might be a blessing in disguise.

Innings limit coming for Matt Harvey – and a move for Zack Wheeler to the Pen, likely means they could lose a ton of their remaining 53 games.

25. Chicago Cubs 49 – 61 (26) +1: One of the winners at the Trade Deadline.  Who is Junior Lake?  He is playing great and has re-energized Anthony Rizzo!

26. Minnesota Twins 47 – 60 (24) -2:  The Twinkies may not have been active in July, but look for them to be one of the most active teams in trading players this month.

27. Milwaukee Brewers 46 – 64 (27) Even:  The Brew Crew can’t win without Ryan Braun, and asked too much in Aramis Ramirez to remain healthy this year.

28. Miami Marlins 43 – 66 (29) +1: The emergence of Jose Fernandez bodes well for the future.  Jacob Turner is not too far behind.

29.  Chicago White Sox 40 – 68 (28) -1:  An 0 – 7 run for the week has them being the worst the franchise has been 40 years.  They should trade every breathing Veteran on offense – and keep all of the remaining Pitchers.

30.  Houston Astros 36 – 73 (30):  The ‘Stros are taking full advantage of the MLB not having floor for Salary Cap Spending.  $10 Million is the active Salary for the 25 Man Roster – and that equals the dead money they are paying out.

Guess who will be picking #1 in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft unless the White Sox can unseed them?

Check out the Show we did on AL and NL Rankings Here on the 2 And A Hook Podcast _ hit the play button below

The Cleveland Indians are in second place in the American League Central 3.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers and are the #2 in the Wild Card Standings. They have a favorable schedule, and Ubaldo Jimenez is having a career revival. You add in a dominant Justin Masterson, and the brilliant managing of Terry Francona, and this team might just find the right elixir to make a playoff spot.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

Chuck Booth – Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner and author of the Fastest 30 Ballgames:   To learn more about my  “The Fastest 30 Ballgames Book” and how to purchase it, click here .

You can also follow my Guinness Book of World Record Successful Bid to see all 30 MLB Park in 23 Days – click here. 

I am happy to be part of such an awesome Magazine-Style Baseball Website and am looking forward to talking to all of the fans of the MLB. 

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