Sitting pretty at the top of the rankings, the Sox decided to start shuffling their feet into the break. The Dodgers lost a few, but then won a few close ones to reclaim the top. Manny Roidmirez (hey, it was a nice try right?) is helping them, hitting big flies with authority wherever he goes. Boston then proceeded to lose to some pretty mediocre teams, allowing the Yankees to gain momentum. Elsewhere, the Phillies woke up at home and the Cardinals started putting up big numbers to build a Central lead.

1. Dodgers: The pitching has gotten streaky over the last few games, but the Dodgers have been riding the long ball and the bat of no-longer-suspened Manny Ramirez to the top of the rankings and out of a mini-slump. Chad Billingsley had his first bad start in a while, but they have some firepower to make up for the occasional mulligan game. Matt Kemp is on the up. Orlando Hudson is on the down though, and they still have work to do… but San Francisco is still a mile a away.

2. Yankees: The Yankees won games against good teams and it is hard to argue against them as the second best team in baseball right now. They have come alive with all that talent and, like the Dodgers, have shown the winners' ability to pull of victories with every facet of their game. When the pitching fails, the defense and offense have stepped up, etc. 

3. Red Sox: Ok so they didn't exactly lose all hope or anything. Just a few games. It happens. We did say something about David Ortiz in our last rankings, however, and while it appears that he has gotten a little better, let's make it clear that his batting average is still pathetically low, and Boston may have to live with the new Ortiz. Still, the rest of the squad can handle the burden, and it appears that the Sox will battle hard to hold on to their division lead.

4. Rangers: Any idea who has hit the most homers in the AL? That would be Texas. It's as if every player in the lineup has the ability to go deep on any pitch. The Rangers don't seem to care that none of them hit for average–and the results seem to show success. Between Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, Andruw Jones and Michael Young, there is a pretty good chance that someone is going yard every game. 

5. Rays: The Blue Jays occupied this spot, but Roy Halladay's injury (a good but not great team – a Cy Young pitcher = losses) and the resurgence of the Rays (Evan Longoria + pitching = wins) has Toronto on the outside looking in. They are a really streaky team. Lots of losses, then lots of wins, then lots of losses, and now a bunch of wins in a row (again) for the Rays. 

6. Tigers: Though Cabrera was snubbed for the All-Star game, the Tigers' offense remains a potent force. Now, with Justin Verlander and the rest of a decent rotation, the Tigers are winning games. The Twins and White Sox have the talent to be threatening, but with so many power hitters, Detroit seems to put up big numbers every night, and, while they haven't completely outpaced the rest of their league or division, they are holding on for now.

7. Cardinals: We predicted Chris Carpenter's return would be a major factor in the NL Central. It has been. The Machine has gone into a higher gear (is that even possible) in recent games, and St. Louis has pulled ahead in this race.

8. Phillies: They hit a horrific slump, mostly thanks to awful pitching and a leadoff hitter batting at the Mendoza line. Then, they came home and found their stride against the hated, non-Amazin' Mets. In the article we wrote, Taking the Necessary Steps, we noted that if J-Roll improved just a bit, and more importantly, if the pitching remained relatvely mediocre, the Phillies would be fine. Immediately after our last Power Rankings, J-Roll seemed to wake up, and the pitching suddenly became not just good, but great. The Phillies have won a ton of games, and that includes a sweep-spanking of the division rival Mets. They now have a few games of lead. 

9. Angels: Injuries have really hurt this team. All year really, but especially over the last several games. Torii Hunter and Vlad will be sorely missed as the next few weeks hit Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see how Chone Figgins and Co. respond. The consistency of the pitching has been the biggest surprise so far.

10. Giants: They are still pretty far away from that division lead in the West, but San Francisco has gotten very hot behind the bat of Pablo Sandoval and the Cy Young pitching of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain (UPDATE) and Jonathan Sanchez, who has just thrown a no hitter. They have a pretty solid shot at the Wild Card if things continue as planned. We all know about LA, and Colorado has really started to win, so the inter-division games will be the deciding factor for San Fran. In case you were wondering where Milwaukee went… so are we. They have fallen several games out of the NL Central race and, subsequently, out of these rankings.