Updated 8/17/09

Bang The Book.com presents: MLB Power Rankings 

The great teams are rising to the top and while some are still surprising, the real surprise may be the teams that are fading.  
1. New York Yankees—the Yankees have been one of the hottest teams in baseball and show why they should have been feared all year long. The pitching got up with the explosive offense and now they have the biggest division lead in baseball. That allows them to steal the top spot in the rankings.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers—the Dodgers had to lose the top post eventually. They seem to be playing out the string and have win just four times in the last ten games and if they are not careful they may be vulnerable to the other teams in the west making some noise.

3. LA Angels—the Angels are still winning and are doing it on the road. They notched their 70th win yesterday and they have won seven out of the last ten games. Tori Hunter is now back in the lineup and it looks like the Angles are getting healthy at the right time.

4. St. Louis Cardinals—the Cardinals are catching bad teams at the right time and have won four straight. The current run of 8 wins in the last ten games has given them some space in the Central as the Cubs struggle. The five game lead is starting to look harder and harder to overcome.

5. Philadelphia Phillies—the Phillies had a tough series against the Braves. They lost a game they were up on Saturday and the bullpen may be another question for this team. When Brad Lidge is on he is incredible, but when he is off he could be the downfall of this club. Michael Vick signing with the Eagles took some attention off the Phillies.

6. Texas Rangers—if not for a crazy comeback by the Red Sox, the Rangers would have swept the Red Sox. As is they did enough to take the lead in the wild card spot. Just imagine how could this team could have been if Roy Halladay waived his no trade clause and went to Texas.

7. Detroit Tigers—the Tigers still have solid front line pitching and Verlander looked unreal against the Sox. If not for a weekend series against the pathetic Royals the Tigers may have lost the top spot in the central. The White Sox are getting hot at the right time.

8. Boston Red Sox—the Red Sox keep falling in the standings and now they are out of the lead in either the East or the wildcard spot for the first time since April. Now the go to Canada and need to recover to stay in the wild card race. The under .500 road record has hurt them and Tampa Bay may go past them next.

9. Chicago White Sox—the White Sox grabbing Alex Rios may have been pricey but it’s worth it. The slugger adds some depth to this lineup and it should be enough to get by the Tigers. They are putting some road wins together and making a move in the Central.

 10. Chicago Cubs—the Cubs are down but not out. They are on a current tough streak winning just 3 out of the last ten games and that won’t help. The thing is they still have good pitching and that will keep them in the mix and barley hanging on in the top ten.

8/11/09 The pennant races are heating up with plenty divisions that seemed decided getting closer and closer as we near the end of the season. 


1. Los Angeles Dodgers—the Dodgers can keep this spot for now, but the grip on the #1 overall spot is dwindling. They spent the weekend getting beat up by the Braves and gave the Rockies and the Giants reason to keep fighting.

2. New York Yankees — finally Yankee fans got what they were waiting for, some good pitching.  The sweep over their arch rival and closest competition in dominating fashion gave them a comfortable lead in the East. They are looking like the World Series contenders we thought they would be.

3. LA Angels — the Angels are still one of the hottest team and the Rangers played them tough this weekend but it’s still a long race. The Angels are starting to get healthy and that could be the end of this race in the West.

4. St. Louis Cardinals — the Cardinals are not flashy but they are winning the ballgames they are supposed to be winning against lesser teams. The Cardinals took advantage of the Pirates and were able to maintain a two game lead in the central.

5. Philadelphia Phillies — the Phillies are slipping down the standings and it looked worse over the weekend as they gave new life to the Marlins and the Braves in the East. The Phillies have to hope that Pedro will give them some help with pitching and Moyer may have made his last start.

6. Boston Red Sox — how the mighty have fallen. The Red Sox went into Yankee stadium in a pennant race and leave looking for a Wild Card spot. Jason Bay was hurt but the Red Sox need some runs to help out the pitching. I am not sure if Christian Guzman is the answer.

7. Chicago Cubs — the Cubs are still in the hunt with the Cardinals for the central. Lou blew up at a bad call the other day in Colorado and was promptly ejected. The last time he threw a tantrum like this the Cubs went on a tear, maybe they will again.

8. Detroit Tigers — the Tigers are one of the best teams in baseball that no one is talking about. They are deep in starting pitching and have one of the best coaches in baseball. They keep sneaking under the radar they may surprise in the stretch run.

9. Texas Rangers — the biggest story out of Texas was pictures of Josh Hamilton falling off the wagon in Arizona. The biggest story should have been the Rangers play on the field. They are tied for the wild card spot and not showing any signs of fading.

10. Chicago White Sox — Ozzie has done it again and he opened his yap and said that he would not deal with players getting hit so much. Sure it’s Ozzie, being Ozzie, but that maybe just what the White Sox need to finish strong.

8/03/09 -The trading deadline is over and the dust is starting to settle and some of the teams that made some big trades are seeing it pay off as the season starts to wind down.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers — the Dodgers still hold the top spot but it seems as the season and the big lead is starting wear on them. The road trip has not been kind to them and it looks like they have one eye on the playoffs all ready. Another week of this and they can lose the top spot.

2. LA Angels — the Angels are all of a sudden one of the hottest and most consistent teams in baseball. They have won 5 in a row and 8 out of the last ten and are widening the gap in the race for the West.

3. Philadelphia Phillies — the Phillies are in the midst of a tough road trip but still hold a decent lead in the East. They acquired Cliff Lee from the Indians and he automatically paid dividends as he almost through a no hitter in his first game and even hit well.

4. New York Yankees — the Yankees keep this spot only because they are clinging to a .5 game lead over the Red Sox in the East. Cabrera hit for the cycle to keep them winning, but they can’t expect that kind of offense every game.

5 Boston Red Sox — the Red Sox rebounded after a tough stretch and won seven out of the last ten games. Victor Martinez (V-Mart) has been a great pickup at the trade deadline. He gives the Red Sox depth and a bat they needed in the lineup. He has been red hot at the plate to include five hits in the win at Baltimore.

6. St. Louis Cardinals — the Cardinals are in a dogfight with the Cubbies as they fight for the lead in the Central. Holliday has been one of the best pickups and his hitting about .600 since he joined the team and gives them a great compliment to Pujols.

7. Chicago Cubs — the Cubs have won seven out of the last ten and it looks like they will battle the Cardinals for the central. They made some lower key moves at the deadline to shore up pitching ad that could make the difference down the road.

8. Detroit Tigers — the Tigers don’t get enough credit for picking up Washburn at the deadline. He is looking great and could fit right in and give them the edge they need in the central.

9. Chicago White Sox — the Sox had a decent series against the Yankees but the big news was that they finally landed Peavy. The question is will he be healthy enough to have an effect in this year’s race or will they be able to keep him long term.

10. San Francisco Giants — the Giants are in tough battle with the Rockies for the Wild Card. They may not have been big names but the Giants got some hitting in some trades and that with pitching could be enough to get them to the post-season.

7/28/09 The power rankings get a shake up this week as the teams start to bear down for the stretch run. The trade deadline may shake this up even more.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers — the Dodgers still prove they are worthy of the top spot with solid pitching and timely hitting. The only fear now is that they can get caught looking forward to the post season and get someone hurt.

2. New York Yankees — the Yankees are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now (with the Angels) and they are starting to get some solid pitching. They keep this up and they will run away with the East.

3. LA Angels — the Angels have been red hot and losing to the Twins broke the winning streak but they have proven they are the best team in the West. They may be on the outside looking in but they are still in the running for Roy Halladay.

4. Philadelphia Phillies — the Phillies are the favorites to get Roy Halladay but they are playing like they don’t need him lately. Jimmy Rollins is starting to hit again and when he hits this offense is deadly from top to bottom.

5. Boston Red Sox — the Red Sox are in a tailspin and they lost the control they had on the East. Now Tampa Bay is gaining ground and they may lose the wildcard. The John Smoltz experiment looks like a failure.

6. Chicago Cubs — the Cubs turned it on at the right time and took advantage of the schedule. Now that they have righted the ship they have to keep pace with several other teams close behind.

7. St. Louis Cardinals — the Cardinals made a move in the trade market and grabbed Holliday. It is yet to be seen if that will be enough since they hit the skids right after getting him.

8. Detroit Tigers — the White Sox made it close but the Tigers shut that down with a huge series win against the division rival. It didn’t hurt that the Twins were losing on the road at the same time.

9. Houston Astros — the Astros came out of nowhere and are in the thick of the playoff chase. At just two games back the oldest team in baseball has the experience and the pitching to make this interesting.

10. Tampa Bay Rays — the Red Sox are opening the door for this young team to make some noise. The trade deadline will tell a lot about this team and how they will finish up the season.