Going into this weekend, the Red Sox were going to reassume their spot atop the poll, the Mets were trying to right the ship after being crushed in three straight games by Colorado, and the Yankees were still under .500. Now, the Tigers have asserted themselves as the top team in the Majors, with a sweep of the Red Sox, the Mets are still not alright, and the Yankees are still under .500 (laughing at that one still). The upcoming All-Star Game will probably be a disappointment for many, but a welcome rest for a lot of teams trying to get back on track. After completing the Homerun Derby field today, Major League Baseball has also ensured us one of the least compelling contests in recent memory.
Here's to hoping baseball proves me wrong, as it always seems to. I hope the National League can pull out a win for the first time in 11 years, and Prince Fielder takes home the Home Run crown over the likes of Ryan Howard, who wasn't even elected to be an All-Star.
The "Fanatic" Power Poll (records as of 7/8)
1. Detroit Tigers (52-34, LW 4)
2. Boston Red Sox (53-34, LW 2)
3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (53-35, LW 1)
4. Cleveland Indians (52-36, LW 3)
5. Seattle Mariners (49-36, LW 7)
6. San Diego Padres (49-38, LW 8)
7. New York Mets (48-39, LW 5)
8. Milwaukee Brewers (49-39, LW 6)
9. Los Angeles Dodgers (49-40, LW 9)
10. Chicago Cubs (44-43, LW 11)
11. Atlanta Braves (47-42, LW 13)
12. Colorado Rockies (44-44, LW 18)
13. Minnesota Twins (45-43, LW 12)
14. Arizona Diamondbacks (47-43, LW 10)
15. Oakland Athletics (44-44, LW 14)
16. New York Yankees (42-43, LW 19)
17. Philadelphia Phillies (44-44, LW 16)
18. Toronto Blue Jays (43-44, LW 15)
19. Pittsburgh Pirates (40-48, LW 25)
20. Florida Marlins (42-47, LW 17)
21. St. Louis Cardinals (40-45, LW 20)
22. Chicago White Sox (39-47, LW 21)
23. Houston Astors (39-50, LW 26)
24. Kansas City Royals (38-50, LW 27)
25. Baltimore Orioles (38-49, LW 22)
26. San Francisco Giants (38-48, LW 23)
27. Texas Rangers (38-50, LW 24)
28. Cincinnati Reds (36-52, LW 30)
29. Washington Nationals (36-52, LW 28)
30. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (34-53, LW 29)
The new "Power Poll" is out, and not much has changed, besides the Angels just reassuming their spot at the top after a one week "drop" to the 2 spot behind Boston. My Mets are "rolling" for lack of a better word, and after two 3-1 series victories in the past 8 days, I think some gloating is appropriate. But, I digress. There's a long season ahead, and as they proved 2 weeks ago, anything can happen. In the Bronx...well, I'm laughing to myself as I type this, but the Yankees are hopeless, hapless, and a complete joke. With that; this week's "Power Poll":
The "Fanatic" Power Poll (records as of 7/1)
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (51-31, LW 2)
2. Boston Red Sox (49-31, LW 1)
3. Cleveland Indians (49-32, LW 6)
4. Detroit Tigers (47-33, LW 3)
5. New York Mets (46-34, LW 7)
6. Milwaukee Brewers (47-34, LW 4)
7. Seattle Mariners (45-33, LW 11)
8. San Diego Padres (46-34, LW 8)
9. Los Angeles Dodgers (46-36, LW 9)
10. Arizona Diamondbacks (46-37, LW 5)
11. Chicago Cubs (40-40, LW 17)
12. Minnesota Twins (42-38, LW 10)
13. Atlanta Braves (43-39, LW 18)
14. Oakland Athletics (43-39, LW 12)
15. Toronto Blue Jays (39-42, LW 15)
16. Philadelphia Phillies (42-40, LW 14)
17. Florida Marlins (38-44, LW 19)
18. Colorado Rockies (39-43, LW 13)
19. New York Yankees (37-41, LW 16)
20. St. Louis Cardinals (36-42, LW 21)
21. Chicago White Sox (35-43, LW 30)
22. Baltimore Orioles (35-45, LW 27)
23. San Francisco Giants (35-45, LW 22)
24. Texas Rangers (34-47, LW 25)
25. Pittsburgh Pirates (35-46. LW 28)
26. Houston Astros (35-47, LW 23)
27. Kansas City Royals (34-48, LW 26)
28. Washington Nationals (33-48, LW 24)
29. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (33-47, LW 20)
30. Cincinnati Reds (31-51, LW 29)
Interesting week in baseball. Following being no-hit by Justin Verlander last week, the Brewers go on a complete tear. Interleague play is still about as one-sided as a pickup game between me and Tim Duncan, in ANY sport. My Mets have resurrected my sanity with a respectable 4-2 week, including the semi-impressive sweep of Oakland. Sunday almost saw ANOTHER no-hitter, this time in Toronto. For a rare feat, we are seeing quite a few players almost go the distance on no-hitters this season, with two actually doing it. I guess that's why it's so rare though. So very few actually complete that game with no hits, even if they take one into the 8th or 9th. In the Fanatic Power Poll, the positions have changed slightly. Boston, who was barely trailing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last week, takes over the top spot due to strength of schedule. Sorry, that's just the college sports enthusiast showing itself a little early.
Also included under the poll is my updated All-Star picks. Enjoy.
The "Fanatic" Power Poll (records as of 6/24)
1. Boston Red Sox (48-26, LW 2)
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (49-27, LW 1)
3. Detroit Tigers (45-29, LW 5)
4. Milwaukee Brewers (43-32, LW 9)
5. Arizona Diamondbacks (44-32, LW 6)
6. Cleveland Indians (43-31, LW 4)
7. New York Mets (41-32, LW 10)
8. San Diego Padres (42-32, LW 3)
9. Los Angeles Dodgers (42-33, LW 7)
10. Minnesota Twins (38-35, LW 15)
11. Seattle Mariners (39-33, LW 16)
12. Oakland Athletics (39.35, LW 8)
13. Colorado Rockies (38-37, LW 12)
14. Philadelphia Phillies (39-36, LW 13)
15. Toronto Blue Jays (37-37, LW 17)
16. New York Yankees (36-37, LW 11)
17. Chicago Cubs (35-39, LW 20)
18. Atlanta Braves (38-38, LW 14)
19. Florida Marlins (36-40, LW 18)
20. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (33-40, LW 19)
21. St. Louis Cardinals (33-39, LW 21)
22. San Francisco Giants (32-42, LW 26)
23. Houston Astros (32-43, LW 23)
24. Washington Nationals (32-43, LW 22)
25. Texas Rangers (30-45, LW 30)
26. Kansas City Royals (30-46, LW 25)
27. Baltimore Orioles (32-43, LW 29)
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (31-44, LW 24)
29. Cincinnati Reds (29-47, LW 27)
30. Chicago White Sox (29-42, LW 28)
ALL-STAR PICKS
AL-C-Posada (NYY), 1B-Morneau (MIN), 2B-Polanco (DET), 3B-Rodriguez (NYY), SS-Jeter (NYY), OF-Ordonez (DET), OF- Guerrero (LAA), OF-Hunter (MIN)
NL-C-Martin (LAD), 1B-Fielder (MIL), 2B-Utley (PHI), 3B-Cabrera (FLA), SS-Reyes (NYM), OF-Holliday (COL), OF-Griffey (CIN), OF-Lee (HOU)
LEADING VOTE-GETTER, BOTH LEAGUES:ALEX RODRIGUEZ, NYY
As I stated in my post yesterday, the All-Star picks and Power Poll will become a weekly staple of the "Fanatic" blog. Following this week, the picks and poll (yes, I know I promised that I woud think of something better than "Power Poll", but well, I didn't, so sorry) will be posted on Mondays in the same post.
Just to add a brief note about the last week in baseball, my Mets are starting to scare me a little. The team has won 3 of their last 15 games, and has played miserably overall, save the 3-0 gem in the first game against the Yankees on Friday. The scari-ER part of the whole thing- they're still in first place. I'd like to thank the Braves, Marlins, Phillies, and Nationals for that. We couldn't have done it without you. That being said, the Number 1 team this week is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Congratulations.
The "Fanatic" Power Poll (records as of 6/18)
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (44-26, 6-4 L10)
2. Boston Red Sox (44-24, 7-3)
3. San Diego Padres (40-28, 5-5)
4. Cleveland Indians (40-28, 4-6)
5. Detroit Tigers (39-29, 6-4)
6. Arizona Diamondbacks (40-30, 4-6)
7. Los Angeles Dodgers (39-30, 5-5)
8. Oakland Athletics (37-31, 6-4)
9. Milwaukee Brewers (38-31, 5-5)
10. New York Mets (37-30, 2-8)
11. New York Yankees (35-32, 9-1)
12. Colorado Rockies (35-34, 7-3)
13. Philadelphia Phillies (36-33, 6-4)
14. Atlanta Braves (37-33, 4-6)
15. Minnesota Twins (34-33, 6-4)
16. Seattle Mariners (35-31, 5-5)
17. Toronto Blue Jays (33-35, 5-5)
18. Florida Marlins (33-37, 4-6)
19. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (30-37, 5-5)
20. Chicago Cubs (31-37, 5-5)
21. St. Louis Cardinals (30-36, 4-6)
22. Washington Nationals (30-39, 6-4)
23. Houston Astros (30-39, 6-4)
24. Pittsburgh Pirates (30-39, 5-5)
25. Kansas City Royals (28-42, 6-4)
26. San Francisco Giants (30-38, 3-7)
27. Cincinnati Reds (27-43, 5-5)
28. Chicago White Sox (28-37, 2-8)
29. Baltimore Orioles (29-40, 2-8)
30. Texas Rangers (26-43, 5-5)
