Power Rankings June 26

            Its that time of the month when we look at the Power Rankings.  There are going to be some shake ups this week but some are coming way late, some of the changes in the list may have applied to the rankings last time just as much as this weeks rankings.  So here we go.

1)   St. Louis Cardinals- With the best record in baseball they still are my (new) pick to win the WS in the end.  The pitching has been great for them so far with a team ERA of 3.23 and a strong stat line in the last 2 weeks shows that the team is not giving up many runs but can sure still score them.

2)   Boston Red Sox- With the lose of Buchholz I worry how long that rotation can stand but so far so good.  The bullpen needs to improve with Bailey failing to live up to the contract and losing his closer role, most likely for good.  But with Ellsbury running the way he is and the offense still going strong I can see them winning a lot of games with need of a closer.

3)   Atlanta Braves- They still scare me with the K% and K/BB% being on the bad side but they survive.  The pitching is keeping them afloat right now but 1 injury could mean bad times in Atlanta.

4)   Baltimore Orioles- Still staying in there and still making it close for Boston.  I expect them to be in the hunt till the end and as long as Chris Davis doesn’t suddenly revert back to the .250 hitter they should be good.

5)   Texas Rangers- I’ve mentioned this on the Podcast but I can understand what’s happening here.  No stat seems to explain what’s wrong with this team in the last month.  They can take BB’s but can’t hit but when they do its for good power?  Then again the pitching is so bad right now that could be the leading cause of headache for the team.

6)   Cincinnati Reds- Still believe that they’re better than what we’re seeing at the moment.  If any team is going to take down the Cardinals it’s this team, just ignore the fact that there in 3^rd.

7)   Detroit Tigers- That bullpen still scares me and with it still struggling they could very well pitch themselves out of a lot of wins.  Hitting wise I can’t see them getting much better, but I’m sure they’d love to prove me wrong.

8)   Arizona Diamondbacks- They’re good, very good and could take the division easily.  They have a lot of things going for them right now but they have a good team under them that can jump on their every mistake.  They need to play well the rest of the way to make the Giants disappear.

9)   Oakland A’s- The pitching is legit and once again that when the numbers game is played Billy Beane knows what he’s doing.  If only I could say that about the offense as well; they are the streakiest of the streaky and that could end up biting them.  It doesn’t help that the Rangers are still around and if they start hitting again the A’s could be in for a battle.  I should note that just because I have them listed here doesn’t mean that I don’t think they can beat the Rangers.  They did it once they can do it again.

10)          Toronto Blue Jays- Yes they finally made it here into the top 10, I can hear the joyful yells of many fans.  Well the resent stretch makes me think that they could find their way into a Wild Card hunt but I don’t know if they could win the division. It’s very possible but at the moment Baltimore and Boston are just better all around teams.  Don’t lose hope Toronto fans you only can go up!

So there’s the top 10 and here comes everyone’s favorite argument (apparently) the Bottom 5 teams.

26) Los Angeles Dodgers- I will admit there is some joy in putting them here.  As hard as I try to stay un-bias (other than my Astros) I’ve never been a Dodger fan.  But more to the point; no hitting, no pitching and they rely on a rookie for any sort of offense.  Bad team that should be doing way better, probably the biggest disappointment this year.

27) New York Mets- Still doing bad, not sure what else there is to say.  Though the pitching does seem to be turning a new leaf but the bullpen will murder their ERA every time.

28) Milwaukee Brewers- How many times can I say their doing bad before I get repetitive?  Well with no Ryan Braun this team gets worse, have decent players but man just…wow.

29) Houston Astros- Its funny how the Astros work, one week the offense is great but the pitching is bad.  The next week it’s the opposite, but the pitching is starting to get things down.  They aren’t the team people where beating up on in the beginning of the season anymore.

30) Miami Marlins- Mike Stanton’s return is interesting and makes me fully confident in my prediction that he is traded by the deadline.  With the rumor spreading that the Giants are looking at Ricky Nolasco look for the Marlins to find new ways to be bad.  At this point they’re making it an art form how bad they are.