Inside The Standings – August 10

Biggest movers : St Louis Cardinals ↑ 4, Pittsburgh Pirates ↓ 4

1. New York Yankees (69-42) ↑ 1 : The Yankees take over the top spot for the first time this season (at least in these rankings) on the heels on an impressive 4-game series sweep against Boston. They had previously been 0-8 on the year against the Red Sox.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (67-45) ↓ 1 : The Dodgers have been a mediocre 11-13 since the All Star break, and Chad Billingsley strained his hamstring in Friday night’s loss to the Braves. It’s by no means time to panic, but the Rockies and Giants only trail the Dodgers by 5.5 games.
3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (65-44) ↑ 1 : Apparently Joe Saunders has been pitching with stiffness in his shoulder all season, which could explain his regression. The Angels whole staff has been shaky this season, but should they make the playoffs I think they will compete with best.
4. Boston Red Sox (62-48) ↓ 1 : Big news in Boston is the report that Big Papi tested positive for steroids during the MLB’s survey tests in 2003. What type of steroid he was using was not disclosed and Ortiz declined the allegations. Looking at his stats, the allegations don’t seem too hard to believe.
5. Philadelphia Phillies (61-48) NC : The Phillies are 3-7 in their last 10 and were swept over the weekend by the division rival Marlins. It will be interesting to see which starters Charlie Manuel goes with if they make the playoffs. The reining World Series MVP Cole Hamels has been a pillar of inconsistence this year, posting a 4.77 ERA.
6. Texas Rangers (62-48) NC : Derek Holland may be catching fire at the right time. July 30^th against Seattle he went 8  2/3 allowing only 2 hits and 1 run with 10 strikeouts. August 9^th against the Angels he went the distance and allowed 3 hits and no runs. Gems.
7. St Louis Cardinals (62-51) ↑ 4 : How’s this for a stat? Albert Pujols is slugging 2.44 with the bases loaded this year. No, not .244, it’s really 2.44. Although it might be more incredible if Pujols was slugging .244 in any scenario.
8. San Francisco Giants (61-50) ↓ 1 : Since throwing a no hitter on July 10^th, Jonathan Sanchez is 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA. In the 32 2/3 innings, he has only allowed 16 hits. The Giants may have a nasty staff, but they’ll have to improve on their 23-32 road record if they want to go somewhere in the playoffs.
9. Colorado Rockies (61-50) NC : This year, the Rockies go as Troy Tulowitzki goes. On June 3, when the Rockies were only 20-32, Tulowizki was hitting .218 with 5 home runs. In the 59 games since, he has hit .313 with 15 HR.
10. Tampa Bay Rays (61-50) NC : The Rays are going to need more consistency from Scott Kazmir and to an extent David Price if they are going to contend with the Red Sox and Yankees. Luckily for them, Jeff Niemann has been pitching well since the start of June.
11. Detroit Tigers (59-51) ↓ 2 : The Jarrod Washburn experiment hasn’t played out like expected so far. In his two starts for the Tigers, Washburn has allowed 11 runs in 11 1/3 innings pitched.
12. Chicago Cubs (58-51) NC : After missing the first month of the season, Randy Wells has quietly put together an excellent season for the Cubs. His 3.01 ERA is the best among Cubs starters. Quite impressive when you consider that rotation includes Victor Zombrano, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden and Ted Lilly.
13. Florida Marlins (58-53) NC : Were swept by the Nationals earlier in the week, but responded by sweeping the Phillies. I still feel the addition of Nick Johnson at the top of the order will make a big impact.
14. Atlanta Braves (58-53) ↑ 2 : Completed an impressive sweep of the Dodgers in LA this weekend. With Tim Hudson aiming for a September return, the Braves pitching could easily lead them to the post season and beyond.
15. Seattle Mariners (58-54) NC : According to reports, an MRI revealed “something” in Eric Bedard’s left shoulder that is causing him discomfort. Uh oh.
16. Chicago White Sox (57-55) ↓ 2 : Manager Ozzie Guillen has issued a warning to opposing teams that if his players get hit, and he thinks its on purpose, two opposing players are going down. Their should be some suspensions in Chicago pretty soon.
17. Houston Astros (55-56) ↑ 1 : Well, it looks like Wandy Rodriguez is fine. The NL pitcher of the month threw 7 scoreless innings against the Brewers Sunday.
18. Milwaukee Brewers (55-56) ↑ 1 : The once division leading Brewers now seem all but forgotten in the race for the top spot. The rotation is hurting, with Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan expected to miss a couple starts.
19. Minnesota Twins (54-57) ↓ 2 : The Twins have been nothing but mediocre all year, yet find themselves 5.5 games out of a playoff spot. They may be losing two members of their rotation, with Glen Perkins undergoing an MRI and talk of moving Francisco Liriano to the bullpen.
20. Toronto Blue Jays (53-57) NC : Although Vernon Wells and Alex Rios have been major disappointments for the Jays this season, they have to an extent been negated by the break out seasons of Adam Lind and Aaron Hill and a career year from Marco Scutaro. After missing most of last year, Hill has bounced back to hit 26 homers, only 2 shy of the AL lead. Lind has shown off his power stroke as well, with a league leading 59 extra base hits.
21. New York Mets (52-59) NC : One bright spot for the Mets could be the fact that Jeff Francoeur has been playing relatively well since joining the team. In 100 at bats, he is hitting .300 with 4 HR and 19 RBI.
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (50-62) NC : Suffered an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Nationals this week. Not a great sign that their ace, Dan Haren, was roughed up by the Nats and has allowed 16 runs in his last 23 innings.
23. Oakland Athletics (59-62) ↑ 3 : The rest of the season will be tough without Orlando Cabrera and Matt Holliday.
24. Cincinnati Reds (48-62) ↓ 1 : The Reds need Joey Votto to turn things around if they are going to do any damage at all. He is hitting .152 in his last 13 games.
25. Cleveland Indians (48-63) ↑ 2 : The Indians need to get their top prospect, Matt LaPorta, up for some at bats.
26. Baltimore Orioles (46-65) ↓ 1 : Matt Wieters hasn’t really broken into the bigs like most people expected. He is only hitting .263 with 3 HR and 15 RBI in 175 at bats.
27. San Diego Padres (47-66) ↑ 1 : No more Peavy? No problem. Mat Latos (4-1, 2.43 ERA) should be getting Padres fans excited.
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (45-66) ↓ 4 : The Pirates have lost 8 in a row and still may have not hit the bottom.
29. Kansas City Royals (43-68) NC : Have been seemingly on a constant slide since April, and haven’t won a series since June. At least Billy Butler was the AL player of the week.
30. Washington Nationals (40-72) NC : The hottest team in the MLB right now? Your Washington Nationals, who have won 8 straight.