This weeks big gainers were, of course, the Oakland A's. They've won 6 straight games, including a 4 game sweep of the Yankees on the weekend, and have joined even with the Angels for 2nd in the West (and for the lead in the Wild Card race). They moved up 6 spots from 16th.
Conversely the Angels fell from grace a little bit this week and dropped 3 spots, out of the Top 5, and into 8th. They're still a good team but after a 3-4 week and so many other teams playing better than them at the moment a drop was necessary.
The other big gainers of the week were the Detroit Tigers (who also jumped 6 spots) and are now tied with the White Sox for 1st in the Central. The Orioles also regained some of the ground they lost last week and moved back up 4 spots. Injuries haven't hurt that team as much as they should have as they posted a 5-2 week.
The other big losers of the week were the White Sox (-7) and the Mets (-5). They turned in 2-5 and 1-6 week's respectively and have each fallen out of the Top 10 in recent weeks. The White Sox biggest problem was the sweep they suffered at the hands of their division rival Tigers over the weekend. It showed many baseball fans what we've been expected all season, a team that will dominate the Central. The White Sox did pull back into a tie for the lead though so such a drastic drop was also forced by teams in the Top 10 playing better baseball than the White Sox and likely having more staying power in the rankings.
Let's get on with them.
1. New York Yankees (58-39) Last week: 1 - They acquired Ichiro from the Mariners to replace Brett Gardner who is lost for the season but they just lost A-Rod to a broken hand. How long can they stay on top?
2. Texas Rangers (57-39) Last week: 2 - Josh Hamilton has knocked in only 24 runs in his last 42 games. He's still managed to hold onto the MLB lead (now tied with Miguel Cabrera at 81).
3. Washington Nationals (57-39) Last week: 3 - Just lost team HR leader, SS Ian Desmond, to a left oblique injury. It's bad timing for an offense that's already struggling.
4. Cincinnati Reds (57-40) Last week: 6 - Despite being without MVP Candidate Joey Votto the Reds have won six straight and opened up a 2.5 game lead over the Pirates in the Central.
5. Detroit Tigers (52-45) Last week: 11 - It took almost 4 months but it appears that the team everyone expected in Spring Training has finally arrived. A weekend sweep of the White Sox has vaulted them into 1st.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (54-42) Last week: 8 - The Pirates are playing good, the Reds are playing better. In an effort to keep up in the division the Pirates acquired lefty starter Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros.
7. San Francisco Giants (55-42) Last week: 9 - Will the Giants find it necessary to answer the Dodgers acquisition of Hanley Ramirez or will they stand pat with what they have hoping it's enough to win the division?
8. Los Angeles Angels (53-45) Last week: 5 - Had to face the Yankees, Tigers and Rangers in their first 10 games coming out of the All-Star Break. They didn't fair well (3-7).
9. Atlanta Braves (53-44) Last week: 7 - Are rumored to have a deal in place for the Cubs Ryan Dempster. Dempster says there's nothing going on. Who's telling the truth and are the Braves going all in for Chipper's last season?
10. Oakland A's (52-44) Last week: 16 - Have been the big story in baseball the last week and are coming off their first four game sweep of the Yankees in 40 years. Have won 6 straight and are now tied a top the Wild Card.
11. Chicago White Sox (52-45) Last week: 4 - Did acquire bullpen help in the form of Brett Myers but fell into a tie for the Central lead mainly because of a weekend sweep at the hands of the Tigers.
12. Los Angeles Dodgers (53-45) Last week: 10 - Acquired another Ramirez with attitude problems. Hoping Hanley turns out a better investment than Manny. Anything is an upgrade for this offense so it was a necessary risk.
13. St. Louis Cardinals (51-46) Last week: 12 - The Cardinals need a spark to get them going. Could they be looking to make a big trade like they did at the 2011 Trade Deadline. It propelled them to a World Series title, afterall.
14. Baltimore Orioles (51-46) Last week: 18 - Have been an impossible team to get a read on and will not go away in the AL Playoff race. They continue to steadfastly hold onto 2nd in the AL East.
15. Tampa Bay Rays (50-47) Last week: 13 - How much did James Shields value just shoot up with the announcement that Cole Hamels had re-signed with the Phillies?
16. Toronto Blue Jays (48-48) Last week: 17 - Acquired J.A. Happ and Brandon Lyon to help out the pitching staff. If only the rest of the team could stay healthy. Jason Frasor is the latest pitcher to go down with an injury.
17. Boston Red Sox (49-49) Last week: 14 - The so-called "aces", Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, have a combined 18-19 record with a 4.95 ERA. That's just not cutting it.
18. Cleveland Indians (49-48) Last week: 19 - The Indians remain within striking distance in both the Central and Wild Card races. But are they talented enough to remain there for the rest of the season?
19. Arizona Diamondbacks (49-48) Last week: 22 - The DBacks have won 5 straight and find themselves above .500 for the first time in almost a month.
20. New York Mets (47-50) Last week: 15 - Their true colors are starting to show as the Mets have fallen from 9 to 15 to, now, 20 in the Power Rankings in a matter of two weeks. They've lost 5 straight and 9 of 10.
21. Miami Marlins (45-52) Last week: 20 - Traded Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to the Tigers on Monday. Traded Hanley Ramirez and Randy Choate to the Dodgers on Tuesday. Unhappy times for the Fish.
22. Milwaukee Brewers (44-52) Last week: 21 - A 1-5 week has seen the Brew Crew fall to 8.5 back in the Wild Card and 12.5 back in the Central. How long before Greinke is traded? Seems like a matter of days.
23. Philadelphia Phillies (44-54) Last week: 23 - Just re-signed Cole Hamels to a 6-year/$144 million deal. They have an awful lot of money tied up in a few players. Between Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Utley and Howard there's approximately $104 million in payroll for 2013.
24. Seattle Mariners (43-56) Last week: 25 - Fans had to say good-bye to Ichiro this week. It was a smart move for both player and team as the Yankees give Ichiro a chance to win a World Series.
25. Chicago Cubs (40-56) Last week: 24 - SP Matt Garza's value nearly plummeted when he was pulled from a start because of injury; he's okay.
26. Kansas City Royals (41-55) Last week: 26 - The never ending misery continues in KC. 4-8 out of the All-Star Break.
27. Minnesota Twins (40-57) Last week: 27 - Teams appear interested in Justin Morneau, however he's due $14 million next season. Tough contract to move without eating some salary.
28. San Diego Padres (41-58) Last week: 28 - Surprisingly re-signed Carlos Quentin to a 3-year/$27 mil deal.
29. Colorado Rockies (36-60) Last week: 29 - Would they trade CarGo? Probably not, but there's nothing else of much value on this roster.
30. Houston Astros (34-64) Last week: 30 - The fire sale is in full swing. 5 players traded in the last 4 days.
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