Inside The Standings – July 13th

By
Peter Houston
Published: 13 July 2009 11:48 PM MDTPosted in: Inside The StandingsTags:
Inside The Standings – July 13th

Inside the Standings – July 13th

Biggest movers : Colorado Rockies ↑ 5, Toronto Blue Jays ↓ 4

  1. Los Angeles Dodgers (56-32) NC : The Dodgers pitching is starting to get scary, if it wasn’t already. Between May 12th and July 12th, Clayton Kershaw has dropped his ERA from 5.21 to 3.16.
  2. Boston Red Sox (54-34) NC : Pitching prospect Clay Buchholz is going to be called up to start Boston’s first game after the break. In Triple-A Pawtucket, Buzhholz is 7-2 with a 2.36 ERA and opponents are hitting just .188 off him. Uh oh.
  3. New York Yankees (51-37) NC : Being swept in Anaheim showed some weakness in the starting pitching. I’m sure they’re inquiring about Roy Halladay.
  4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (49-37) NC : As much as the sweep showed some weak Yankee pitching, it was also a very good confidence booster for the Angels. Jered Weaver and John Lackey had solid outings.
  5. Philadelphia Phillies (48-38) ↑ 3 : The Phillies are 9-1 in their last 10 games and are sending a league high 5 players to the All-Star game. However, if they have dreams of going anywhere in the playoffs, they need another starter. Pedro Martinez will be joining the team pending a physical, but will he be good enough?
  6. Detroit Tigers (48-39) ↑ 1 : Raise your hand if you thought Brandon Inge was going to lead the Tigers in HR and make the Home Run Derby. Now put it down because I don’t believe you.
  7. Texas Rangers (48-39) ↓ 2 : Still don’t think there’s enough pitching to overtake the Angels.
  8. St Louis Cardinals (49-42) ↓ 2 : If the Cards can take the division, the Carpenter-Wainwright-Pineiro combination would be deadly in the playoffs.
  9. San Francisco Giants (49-39) ↑ 1 : Whoever bet on Jonathan Sanchez throwing the first no hitter this year can immediately retire.
  10.  Tampa Bay Rays (48-41) ↓ 1 : Ben Zobrist is a beast. If you haven’t heard of him, you’re not the only one.
  11.  Milwaukee Brewers (45-43) NC : Ryan Braun’s comments about needing a starter may have been out of line, but he was right.
  12.  Colorado Rockies (47-41) ↑ 5 : I hesitated to raise the Rockies even this high because I think they’re just a streaky team that’s going to fall back down in the NL cellar soon enough. 
  13.  Seattle Mariners (46-44) ↑ 2 : Still are unsure if they are going to be buyers or sellers at the deadline.
  14.  Florida Marlins (46-44) ↓ 2 : Maybe the Marlins will finally buy at the deadline, they are only 4 games behind in the wild card and NL East races.
  15.  Chicago Cubs (43-43) ↑ 1 : Arguably baseball’s biggest disappointment in the first half, but fans shouldn’t abandon ship. When a team underperforms this badly and is still only 3.5 games out of the division lead, there is hope.
  16.  Minnesota Twins (45-44) ↓ 3 : If their young pitchers can get going in the second half, the Twins could be a presence in the AL Central.
  17.  Chicago White Sox (45-43) ↑ 1 : Have been gradually making up ground as the break approached, is a second half run in the making?
  18.  Toronto Blue Jays (44-46) ↓ 4 : GM J.P. Riccardi has said he will listen to offers for ace Roy Halladay, which is widely believed to mean he is looking to trade him. Because Halladay’s value almost couldn’t be higher right now, dealing him could prove to be a very good move for the franchise.
  19.  Houston Astros (44-44) ↑ 2 : Should be selling if they know what’s good for them.
  20.  New York Mets (42-45) ↓ 1 : The Mets have hung in their relatively well, and should be poised for a run when their stars return from injury.
  21.  Atlanta Braves (43-45) ↑ 1 : Unloading Francoeur was good for the Braves, but with his potential and a new setting, it could be a very good deal for the Mets as well.
  22.  Cincinnati Reds (42-45) ↓ 2 : Are in serious need of a bat after learning that slugger Jay Bruce will be out for 6-8 weeks.
  23.  Baltimore Orioles (40-48) ↑ 1 : For a franchise rebuilding in the toughest division in baseball, the Orioles’ record is very impressive.
  24.  Oakland Athletics (37-49) ↑ 2 : Dallas Braden has been one of few bright spots for the Athletics, eating up 112.1 innings with a 3.12 ERA.
  25.  Kansas City Royals (37-51) NC : Royals’ fans will likely be upset Zack Greinke was not chosen as the AL’s starter for the All-Star game.
  26.  Pittsburgh Pirates (38-50) ↓ 3 : It shouldn’t come as a surprise, to fans or Pirates’ players, if Freddy Sanchez is dealt.
  27.  Arizona Diamondbacks (38-51) ↑ 1 : If Brandon Webb was healthy, I would argue the Diamondbacks have the best staff in the league.
  28.  San Diego Padres (35-54) ↓ 1 : Did the Padres really win 10 straight games at one point this year? They’ve also gone through streaks of losing 17 out of 21 and have lost 9 of their last 11 going into the break.
  29.  Cleveland Indians (36-52) NC : Their team ERA is worse than the Nationals. That might be the only impressive thing about the Indians this year.
  30.  Washington Nationals (26-61) NC : I don’t think that anyone will be able to do much better than Manny Acta.
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About the Author

Peter is a journalism student at Carleton University and is writing for ITM instead of studying.