Astros in CBS Power Rankings

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/8698473

POWER RANKINGS
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1 Chicago White Sox 2
OK, we have to hand it (back) to them. They play every game like it's Game 7. Though something tells us it will wear them out come October, you have to consider them the class of the league in the beginning of August ... for whatever that's worth.
2 St. Louis Cardinals 1
The injuries have taken their toll, but we say no other team in baseball can stand to lose Scott Rolen, Larry Walker, Reggie Sanders and Yadier Molina -- half of their starting lineup -- and still be cruising along at nine games up on the league's wild-card team. Amazing.
3 Atlanta Braves 4
It's their time of year. Forget the slow starts and slow finishes ... it's the meat of the season where the Braves put everyone in their rear-view mirror. They should be the model of all franchises, continually churning out the Jeff Francoeur(s).
4 Oakland Athletics 5
They went 20-6 in July. Ranking them this low might be an injustice.
5 Houston Astros 6
They went 22-7 in July. Ranking them this low might be an injustice. Andy Pettitte went 5-0 with an 0.90 ERA in the month, and he is their clear No. 3 starter, folks.
6 Boston Red Sox 7
They weather the Manny Ramirez trade deadline and post a five-game winning streak to remain atop the AL East. All in a week's work for this circus act.
7 New York Yankees 8
The AL has made a huge mistake by not leaving this sleeping giant in the dust. Once Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright and perhaps Chien-Ming Wang return to full health in August, the Yankees will have one deep pitching staff -- perhaps the deepest in baseball after all the drama.
8 Los Angeles Angels 3
They have apparently gotten a little too comfy atop the AL West and now they will have to contend with the surging A's.
9 Florida Marlins 14
Mike Lowell hit .322 in July and homered Monday night, and A.J. Burnett can still hit triple digits in the latter innings after 100-plus pitches. They are the biggest winner from the trade deadline by keeping both of those potential postseason studs.
10 Cleveland Indians 17
They went 4-3 on a West Coast swing sans their top bat, Travis Hafner. That's a lesson in survival for a contender. If they could only work on getting well over .500 at home (25-26). The contending rule of thumb is reverse: go .500 on the road and .600-plus at home.
11 Chicago Cubs 10
Nomar Garciaparra and Kerry Wood (as a reliever) expect to return Friday. How about that pair as a few second-half additions? Even in a sellers market that would be a tough haul to top.
12 Philadelphia Phillies 13
They are smack dab in the middle of the wild-card race without the contributions of one Jim Thome. No one could have projected that. If he can return in August, they will be a real tough draw for those on their schedule.
13 New York Mets 12
They really wasted a chance to make up ground in the wild-card race by dropping three of four to the leading Astros. Contending teams should never go to hitter's parks in Colorado and Houston (missing Roger Clemens, by the way) and then go into an offensive funk.
14 Toronto Blue Jays 20
Roy Halladay is anticipating an early return Sunday, and he is surprisingly coming back to an upstart team still in contention. We figured his loss would bury them, but now he could carry them as their one true hope for hanging tough in the wild-card hunt.
15 Minnesota Twins 9
Torii Hunter's loss hits them hard, offensively, defensively and in leadership. He is an irreplaceable piece for them.
16 Arizona Diamondbacks 19
If you're looking at the big picture: They are tops in the sub-.500 NL West and on the cusp of the bottom half of baseball in these rankings. They really could go worst to first in that division. They have the best divisional record and are the only one among them not under .500 on the road.
17 Washington Nationals 16
They are 4-12 since the All-Star break and 9-18 since the start of July. We knew they would fall back to reality -- with the worst offense in baseball and the good fortune of once having the best mark in one-run games -- but off the map altogether?
18 Texas Rangers 18
Let's get this straight: They go into the deadline looking to add starting pitching. Then, they trade their No. 3 starter in Chan Ho Park, the most high-profile pitcher to move. Granted he isn't great, but isn't their ace Kenny Rogers still serving a suspension?
19 Milwaukee Brewers 22
Ben Sheets is back to being a flat-out stud, going 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA in July and quietly putting the upstart Brew Crew in the NL wild-card race -- no foolin'.
20 Baltimore Orioles 11
Rafael Palmeiro's news is salt in the wounds at this point. His recent suspension is even more embarrassing than the O's 4-14 mark since the All-Star break.
21 San Diego Padres 15
One of the worst offenses in baseball traded away its top power threat, Phil Nevin, for a pitcher from a team that had offense but needed pitching, Texas? That one is tough to figure.
22 Detroit Tigers 21
Though they have shown improvement into July, the deadline trade of their closer Kyle Farnsworth looks like a big white flag on their 2005 hopes. With another good offseason, though, this team can compete into future Septembers.
23 Cincinnati Reds 27
The offense has been covering up the awful pitching of late. Under interim manager Jerry Narron, the Reds are 20-15 and they lead the NL in homers and runs scored.
24 Los Angeles Dodgers 23
The NL West is making a huge mistake keeping this team in the race while it has been decimated by injury. Those players are slowly returning to full strength and the best minor-league system in baseball might deliver a few impact players if the Dodgers choose to dip into their talent pool.
25 San Francisco Giants 24
Barry Bonds was prophetic after all: He really might miss the entire season. Without him, the Giants are pretenders -- even if they are within five or six games in the sub-.500 division.
26 Seattle Mariners 25
Quietly Richie Sexson is earning his keep with a pace of 40 homers, 127 RBI and 103 runs -- all for an offense that is only better than the completely starless Royals in the AL.
27 Pittsburgh Pirates 26
Will their collection of young talent improve fast enough to keep 2004 NL ROY Jason Bay and 2005 phenom Zach Duke from becoming future trade deadline fire-sale pieces?
28 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 28
Trivia question: Which AL East team has the best record since the All-Star break at 12-4? Your fifth guess would be the correct one.
29 Colorado Rockies 30
They haven't won a road game this season against the NL West. No wonder they are the only team out of the race in the sub-.500 division.
30 Kansas City Royals 29
Let's recount: They were swept by the Rockies in June and swept by the Devil Rays last week. Yeah, they have earned this ranking.