http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/8698473 POWER RANKINGS Current Team Previous 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.
Umm, he pretty much said the same thing for the A'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. Crazy to see our team respected again.
What's really crazy is how similar our seasons have gone (Oakland and us), we started out horribly and made our run and took over the wild card at around the same time.
That was the first thing i notcied. But then again, they are mirroring eachother pretty good, putting winning streaks on at the same time.
I think he might have meant to do that. You usually see these guys playing off other comments they've already made in the power rankings.