MLB Baseball Power Rankings
It's that time of the baseball season where each team decides whether they're in the race to the postseason or if it's time to rebuild for next year. With more questions than answers when it comes to the MLB Baseball Power Rankings, let's examine a few hot topics to see what's in store for the rest of 2010. A lot can change in the span of a month or two.
The Three-Headed Beast In The AL East
You have to feel sorry for the Orioles and Blue Jays. Every season, they fight to stay out of last place in the AL East while the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays fight for the division lead. Even if the AL Wild Card comes from the AL East, one of those three teams will be sitting at home in October. The Yankees and Rays are currently fighting it out for the division lead, but you can't count out the Red Sox, who are still within striking distance and have recovered nicely in 2010. No matter what happens, one team's fans will be disappointed this fall.
Tight Races and Surprise Contenders
Outside of the AL West, where the Rangers hold a sizable lead over the Angels and Athletics, every other division leader in baseball holds a lead of 3.5 games or less over the second place team.
- In addition to the previously mentioned Yankees and Rays, the White Sox are battling the Twins in the AL Central.
- Over in the NL Central, the surprising Reds are right behind the Cardinals.
- In Bobby Cox's final season managing the Braves, they hold slim leads over the Phillies, Mets and Marlins.
- In what is probably the biggest surprise of the 2010 season, the Padres are holding onto the lead in the NL West. Thought to be a safe bet for last place, their excellent starting pitching has kept them in first place.
Enough to Win it All?
Eight teams will be left standing at the end of the 2010 season, but just because they've made it to the postseason doesn't mean that they're built to win it all. If the season ended today, the Yankees, Rays, White Sox and Rangers would advance to the ALDS. In the National League, the Braves, Cardinals, Padres and Giants would be in.
Some teams are built to advance deeper into the postseason. The old adage goes that pitching and defense wins games, and it tends to hold true in the postseason where winning three or four games advances a team to the next series. Looking at the pitching staffs for each contender, a deep pitching staff like the Yankees' foursome of Sabathia, Burnett, Vazquez and Pettitte (once he returns from injury) would match up nicely with the Braves' rotation of Lowe, Hanson, Hudson and Jurrjens.
At the same time, baseball isn't played on paper and in a short series, any
team can get lucky. A Yogi Berra quote comes to mind to illustrate this
principle.
"It ain't over 'til it's over."