1. Texas Rangers (Record: 50-30, Last 10: 7-3, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
Matt Cain’s June 13th perfect game isn’t the only thing worth cheering about in San Fran these days (ESPN)
2. New York Yankees (48-30, 7-3, 2)
3. Los Angeles Angels (44-25, 7-3, 3)
4. Washington Nationals (45-32, 5-5, 4)
5. San Francisco Giants (45-35, 7-3, 9)
6. Boston Red Sox (42-37, 6-4, 7)
7. Cincinnati Reds (43-35, 5-5, 6)
8. Los Angeles Dodgers (43-36, 1-9, 5)
9. New York Mets (43-36, 6-4, 15)
10. Chicago White Sox (42-37, 6-4, 11)
With the Giants’ recent six-games-in-11-days surge to take the NL West lead over the Dodgers, San Francisco joins the upper echelon of clubs in the majors. Speaking of their nearby rivals, with a 3-4-5 of Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera, and Adam Kennedy Sunday night, the Dodgers are another bad week from tumbling out of the top ten. The impending return of sluggers Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier keep LA among the league’s ten best for now, but any
of the next dozen teams in the rankings could vault up with a strong showing this week.
11. Baltimore Orioles (42-36, 3-7, 6)
12. St. Louis Cardinals (41-38, 6-4, 12)
13. Tampa Bay Rays (41-38, 3-7, 10)
14. Atlanta Braves (41-37, 5-5, 14)
15. Pittsburgh Pirates (42-36, 6-4, 16)
16. Detroit Tigers (39-40, 5-5, 18)
17. Arizona Diamondbacks (39-39, 6-4, 13)
18. Toronto Blue Jays (40-39, 5-5, 17)
19. Cleveland Indians (40-38, 4-6, 19)
20. Miami Marlins (38-40, 5-5, 21)
Attempting to differentiate between over a dozen teams separated by fewer than three games is a difficult task, especially when teams that appear poised to break through stumble just a week later. I ultimately expect the Cardinals, Rays, Braves, Tigers, and—to a lesser extent—the Marlins to rise in the weeks ahead while the Orioles, Pirates, and Indians drop.
21. Oakland Athletics (38-42, 4-6, 22)
22. Milwaukee Brewers (36-42, 5-5, 23)
23. Philadelphia Phillies (36-45, 3-7, 20)
24. Kansas City Royals (35-42, 4-6, 24)
25. Minnesota Twins (33-45, 6-4, 25)
26. Seattle Mariners (34-47, 4-6, 26)
27. Houston Astros (32-47, 4-6, 27)
28. Colorado Rockies (30-48, 4-6, 28)
29. San Diego Padres (30-50, 6-4, 29)
30. Chicago Cubs (29-49, 5-5, 30)
I’m just about ready to wave the white flag on the Phillies, who are on the verge of doing the same after letting teams know that they’ve placed stars Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino on the trade block.