Power Poll: Angels Rise to the Top

Ryan Fagan - SportingNews.com

Yet another change at the top this week. The Angels, who were as low as No. 26 in the Power Poll at the end of April, have continued their torrid streak into the second half. They're 35-11 -- a blistering .761 winning percentage -- since the middle of June and most of their damage has been done with Torii Hunter and Vlad Guerrero on the disabled list. Both are expected back in the next week or so, which isn't good news for the rest of the American League.

On to the rest of the poll.

1. Angels (last week: 4). The Angels are 14-3 in the second half and absolutely pounded Minnesota pitching this weekend (36 runs in the three-game sweep). Since the break, six Angels regulars are batting .324 or higher and seven have at least 10 RBIs. Kendry Morales, who spent the past three years crushing the ball in Class AAA, is hitting .373 with eight homers and 20 RBIs, and Howie Kendrick is batting .432 in this stretch. And ace John Lackey is 3-0 with a tidy 1.14 ERA.

2. Red Sox (5). The Victor Martinez acquisition has been a hit so far (6-for-11, five RBIs in first two games), and the Sox have an opportunity this week to shape the A.L. East race in their favor. Won't be easy, though. They're on the road for two games in Tampa Bay, then four in Yankee Stadium.

3. Yankees (1). The pitching staff that was so good during the first few weeks of the second half took a bit of a beating in Chicago, as the White Sox took three of four and scored in double digits twice.

4. Dodgers (2). The Dodgers responded to their longest losing streak of the season (four games) by winning three of their next four games. Lefty George Sherrill, the Dodgers' deadline acquisition, has struck out three of the five batters he's faced thus far.

5. Phillies (3). An already rough trip out west ended on a very sour note when Cole Hamels was out-dueled by Barry Zito (who would have bet that Zito would have a better ERA and the same number of wins as Hamels at this point of the season?). Newcomer Cliff Lee provided the Phillies their only win in four tries against the Giants. The Phillies are back at home Tuesday for three against the Rockies, the team that knocked them out of the 2007 playoffs.

6. Rangers (8). The Texas heat hasn't had an adverse affect on these Rangers yet. They've won 11 of their past 14 games, and the pitching staff has allowed more than four runs in only two of those two dozen contests. Losing Ian Kinsler to the disabled list won't help them keep up with the Angels in the West, though.

7. Cardinals (9). Here's how good Matt Holliday has been in a Cardinal uniform: He went 0-for-4 on Sunday and he's still hitting .541 for St. Louis. The Cardinals, fresh off a 5-2 homestand, hit the road for two against the Mets and three against the Pirates this week.

8. Rockies (7). The Rockies ran into a bit of an offensive shortage in New York last week; they were shut out twice as they lost three of four to the Mets. Facing the Reds is a great cure for what ails you, though, and they swept Cincinnati over the weekend.

9. Giants (11). The Giants capped a great 6-1 homestand with three wins in four tries against the Phillies.  

10. Rays (6). There's still time to climb back into the race, though the Rays' margin for error decreases a bit more each day.

11. Cubs (10). Kosuke Fukudome tanked in the second half of 2008, batting just .217 with 22 RBIs. Hasn't been the case in the second of 2009, though. The Cubs' center fielder is hitting a robust .365 since the break.

12. Marlins (16). Florida is 9-3 since getting swept by Philadelphia to open the second half.  

13. Tigers (12). Newcomer Jarrod Washburn is set to make his Detroit debut on Tuesday, and it couldn't come at a better time for the Tigers, who have lost five of seven entering the week.

14. White Sox (15). General manager Kenny Williams, always the dealer, made the most stunning move of the month when he traded for injured Padres ace Jake Peavy. If Peavy is healthy and in the rotation by the end of August, he'll give the White Sox an excellent starting five down the stretch.

15. Braves (14). The Braves are a lot like the Rays at this point. They're both very good teams that have let too many games slip away, and their margin of error entering the final two months is razor-thin.

16. Mariners (13). Ian Snell made a decent debut for the Mariners. He gave up just three hits (though two were homers) in six innings in his first big-league action since June.

17. Brewers (18). Trading for Claudio Vargas and signing Corey Patterson won't have quite the impact that adding CC Sabathia did last year, eh?

18. Astros (17). Rookie Bud Norris made quite the impression in his first start. He had a no-hitter against the Cardinals into the sixth inning and finished with seven shutout frames.

19. Twins (19). If the Twins wind up missing the playoffs by a game or two, the Tigers/White Sox can thank the Angels. Minnesota is just 1-6 against L.A.'s American League squad in the second half.

20. Mets (21). The Mets ran their winning streak to five games before dropping three of four to end the week. At 7 1/2 games out of the wild-card lead, the Mets will need a minor miracle for September games to mean anything.

21. Blue Jays (20). So, Halladay is still a Blue Jay. And he has about half of the trade value that he carried last week.

22. Diamondbacks (22). The D-backs finish their trip east this week with three in Pittsburgh and three in Washington.

23. Indians (23). Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez were shipped out last week, as were the Indians' hopes of contending in 2010.

24. Pirates (25). Andrew McCutchen's three-homer day is a reason for optimism.

25. Padres (28). As bad as the Padres have been at times this year, they have as many winning streaks of at least five games (three) as the Dodgers.

26. Orioles (26). The glimpse of the future starts today when Chris Tillman battles Justin Verlander. Then, on Tuesday, Brian Matusz makes his major league debut for the Orioles.

27. Athletics (27). They could contend in 2011, if things go well.

28. Reds (24). L, L, L, L, L, L, W, L, L, L, L, L, L. That pretty well sums up the past couple of weeks for the Reds.

29. Royals (29). Ace Zack Greinke went 0-3 during July despite posting a 2.53 ERA. Why? The Royals scored a grand total of six runs in his five starts.

30. Nationals (30). Nyjer Morgan continues to single-handedly make baseball exciting in Washington -- he's batting .387 with 14 stolen bases since the trade from Pittsburgh. Well, almost single-handedly; Josh Willingham is batting .328 with eight homers and 24 RBIs in his 26 games since Morgan joined the team.

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