MLB Power Rankings July 13 2005

Here are the power rankings after five of the top six teams in the league lost at least their last two games heading into the All-Star break. Comments and criticisms are appreciated.

Rank(Pv)	Team	Record	Comments
1(2)		56-32	After the White Sox got swept by the Athletics last week, the Cardinals had a chance to catch up a little. Too bad that doesn’t matter at all thanks to Bud Selig’s genius plan of not giving home field advantage to the team with the better record.
2(1)		57-29	The Ken Griffey Jr. to Chicago rumors sound like good news for the White Sox. Griffey would provide them with some depth in the White Sox outfield and his OBP of .355 is better than that of Carl Everett, Jermaine Dye or Aaron Rowand. Chicago doesn’t need him, but it’s a good move if they don’t give up too much.
3(4)		52-36	The Nationals are on the brink of trading for Preston Wilson, which could work out okay and just give Washington some additional depth. I feel pretty bad for Zach Day though, who has to go pitch in Coors.
4(3)		52-36	The Angels went into the All-Star break a little too early and got swept be the Mariners in their last series.
5(6)		50-39	Tim Hudson is slated to return after the All-Star break after having no problems pitching six innings in a simulated game. This would allow the Braves to get rid of Adam Bernero, who has a 6.51 ERA and has shown no signs of improvement.
6(5)		48-38	Minnesota traded for Bret Boone, who’s definitely better than Luis Rivas and maybe better than Nick Punto. Either way it’s a low risk move for the Twins.
7(8)		49-38	Chad Bradford isn’t great, but the Sox really need all the bullpen help they can get. The Jay Payton for Bradford trade will likely improve the team.
8(9)		48-41	San Diego leads the NL West at the All-Star break for the first time since 1998 when they were swept in the World Series by the Yankees.
9(11)		46-40	I really wish the talking heads on ESPN and the like would stop talking about Kenny Rogers. They don’t seem to realize that he’s only a distraction because they are making him one.
10(10)		46-40	I like the move of calling up Melky Cabrera. He won’t be great offensively, but should be an upgrade over Tony Womack defensively.
11(12)		47-40	Erik Bedard’s return will help the Orioles a lot, which they need considering how they’ve lost 12 of their last 17 games.
12(18)		44-43	The Astros have gone 9-2 so far in July and are 18-5 dating back to mid-June.
13(14)		44-43	Looks like Mark Kotsay isn’t going to the Yankees for sure now, as he recently signed a two-year extension.
14(7)		47-41	Rumors are that the Indians are looking to trade with the Reds for one of their right-handed bats like Joe Randa, Willy Mo Pena or Austin Kearns. If they got Pena or Kearns then Casey Blake could move to third and send Aaron Boone to the bench. Whatever they’re going to do, they need to do it soon to keep pace with the Twins for the Wild Card.
15(13)		44-42	Al Leiter will fill in for Josh Beckett during his stint on the DL. Leiter has been pretty bad, turning in a 6.64 ERA.
16(17)		45-44	Bobby Abreu was absolutely ridiculous at the Home Run Derby. Maybe now he’ll get some attention for consistently delivering 20/20 seasons (not to mention 30/30 last year and in 2001).
17(15)		44-44	Without Roy Halladay Toronto will have a tough time keeping pace in the AL East.
18(16)		44-44	The Mets signed Fernando Martinez, a 16-year old outfielder from the Dominican Republic to a $1.4 million dollar contract even though he can’t play until he turns 18 and wants to go to college.
19(20)		43-44	Chicago finally sent down 25-year old Corey Patterson. He needs to learn some serious patience at the plate after striking out 84 times in 83 games.
20(23)		42-44	It’s great the Ivan Rodriguez got to hit in the Home Run Derby, but someone needs to tell Bud Selig that Puerto Rico is not actually a country.
21(19)		42-46	The Brewers are just 17-28 in games decided by two runs or less.
22(21)		43-47	Russ Ortiz could come back soon, which would help the D’Backs a lot. Despite being 4 games under .500, they’re only 5.5 back.
23(26)		39-48	The Mariners swept the Angels last week, but they’re still stuck in the cellar in the AL West.
24(22)		40-48	I really didn’t want to see Hee-Seop Choi in the Home Run Derby. If they were going to pick someone not in the All-Star game for the Asian delegation couldn’t it have been Hideki Matsui?
25(24)		39-48	Since Jason Bay didn’t participate in the All-Star game festivities, let’s move on to Zach Duke, the Pirate’s 22-year old lefty with 17 K’s in 14 innings this year. If Oliver Perez can come back strong, they could be a pretty nasty pair of lefties.
26(25)		37-50	Moises Alou is the only player besides Gary Sheffield to represent five teams in the All-Star game.
27(27)		35-53	Cincinnati has a good opportunity to rebuild their team effectively as they’ve got a few players to use as trade bait.
28(28)		31-56	Last week saw the first 1-0 game in the history of Coors field, and the Rockies actually won it.
29(29)		30-57	The Royals are actually not doing that bad lately, they’re 4-6 in July.
30(30)		28-61	The D-Rays have been miserable in July, posting just one win.