Power Poll: Yanks Take Over Top Spot

Ryan Fagan - SportingNews.com

The Cardinals pushed all-in last week, clearing out their farm system in exchange for Matt Holliday and swapping the much-maligned Chris Duncan to Boston for the much-maligned Julio Lugo. 

The Cards lost two of three in Philadelphia, but you can hardly blame the two newest Cardinals -- Holliday and Lugo combined to go 15 for 25 in the three games. And when you include fellow newbie Mark DeRosa, who has hit .385 with four homers in his past seven games, the Cardinals have a completely revamped lineup. There's optimism in St. Louis now that the front office -- which sat on its thumbs before the 2008 trade deadline -- has shown the proverbial "commitment to winning."

Which team will make the next splash? Will the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox or Angels decide that the king's ransom the Blue Jays are asking in return for Roy Halladay is worth the cost? Will the Twins try to appease stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau by trading for a proven shortstop (Orlando Cabrera?) and relief help? Will the Mariners move Jarrod Washburn? What will the Red Sox do? (They always do something, right?)

We'll find out soon enough. Until then, on to the poll, where we have a new team atop the rankings for the first time since the end of May.

1. Yankees (last week: 2).What do the elite teams do? They feast on the mediocre teams and haunt the dreams of solid clubs. The Yankees have been elite in the second half, giving the Tigers nightmares (a three-game sweep) and feasting on the Orioles and A's (a tidy 6-1 record). All of those games have been at home, though. Their staying power at No. 1 will be tested this week, with three games in Tampa and four in Chicago against the White Sox.

2. Dodgers (1). The 6-4 homestand to open the second half was less than inspiring, especially when you consider three of those wins were against the collapsing Reds. Huge four-game series starts tonight in St. Louis, with great pitching matchups on tap: Randy Wolf vs. Chris Carpenter on Monday, Chad Billingsley vs. Adam Wainwright on Tuesday and Clayton Kershaw vs. Joel Pineiro on Wednesday.

3. Phillies (3). Forget about Jimmy Rollins' overall numbers (which are still pretty poor); the Phillies' leadoff man has been on a tear this month. In his past 21 games, Rollins is batting .344 with 20 runs scored and 18 RBIs. It's not at all a coincidence the Phillies have gone from a tie for first place in the N.L. East to 6 1/2 games up.

4. Angels (5). Remember the Yankees' formula for success? Feast and haunt? The Angels are right there with them, going a combined 6-1 against the A's and Royals and 3-1 against the Twins to start the second half.

5. Red Sox (4). Nobody thinks Adam LaRoche and Chris Duncan are the final answers in Boston (including the front office). What groundbreaking move does Theo Epstein have up his sleeve? Does he have anything?

6. Rays (6). It's pretty simple. If the Rays want to climb back into the A.L. East race, they have to beat the Yankees. The three-game set that opens this evening is a good place to start.

7. Rockies (9). The Rockies took control of the N.L. wild card race by winning two of three from the Giants this weekend. Up next is a 10-game road trip. Not as bad as it could be, though, because seven of those 10 are against the Mets and Reds. The three-gamer in Philly to conclude the trip should be a doozy.

8. Rangers (10). Even with the Angels' eight-game winning streak, the Rangers are still hanging around, only 3 1/2 back in the A.L. West entering the week. The three-game sweep of the Red Sox last week -- in which Rangers pitching allowed only six runs -- was huge.

9. Cardinals (7). After a brutal three-game sweep in Houston, the Cardinals made their didn't-think-you-had-it-in-you move and traded for slugger Matt Holliday in a deal that sent top prospect Brett Wallace to Oakland. Holliday joins the lineup in time for a season-defining homestand, with four games against the Dodgers and three against the Astros.

10. Cubs (15). Impressive 8-2 start to the second half has moved the Cubs into first place in the N.L. Central for the first time since April 21. Helps that they went 7-0 against the Nats and Reds in that stretch. Their schedule this week is a little bit tougher, though, as they host the Astros for four games and then play three at Florida.

11. Giants (8). San Fran has scored more than three runs exactly twice in the second half. If they don't get offensive help in a trade, they won't make the playoffs.

12. Tigers (12). Just when it appeared the wheels were coming off, the Tigers regrouped and took three of four from the White Sox to reestablish control (at least, a bit of control) in the A.L. Central.

13. Mariners (11). Hey, it's been a nice run. The M' have played beyond expectations and new manager Don Wakamatsu was a brilliant hire. But it's time to sell (smartly) because the M's have very tradable chips and very little chance of making the postseason.

14. Braves (18). How is it possible that the Braves might have the two most underappreciated starters (Javy Vazquez and Jair Jurrjens) in baseball?

15. White Sox (13). Mark Buehrle's perfect game overshadows a horrible four-game series in Detroit. The White Sox have to rebound quickly; their next 10 games are against the Twins, Yankees and Angels.

16. Marlins (20). The won't-go-away Marlins went 5-1 on their West Coast swing through San Diego and Los Angeles and sit just 3 1/2 back in the wild card race.

17. Astros (19). Do the Astros have staying power in the N.L. Central race? Doesn't help that Lance Berkman just hit the disabled list.

18. Brewers (16). Do the Brewers have staying power in the N.L. Central race? Doesn't help that they haven't won more than two games in a row since the middle of June.

19. Twins (14). After a strong 2-0 start to their recent road trip, the Twins won just two of their next eight games.

20. Blue Jays (17). It's beginning to look like Roy Halladay will stick around Canada for a little while longer, eh?

21. Mets (22). So far, so good with the trade for Jeff Francoeur. The former Brave is batting .327 with 14 RBIs in 12 games with the Mets. Odd stat: He's scored just twice, on his two home runs. He's yet to be driven in by a teammate.

22. Diamondbacks (26). No question Dan Haren is the ace of this staff, but Max Scherzer has been pretty good lately. He's 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA and a strikeout per inning since the start of June.

23. Indians (28). A four-game winning streak! A four-game winning streak! Bigger issue, though, is whether anyone offers enough to entice the Indians to trade Cliff Lee and/or Victor Martinez.

24. Pirates (24). Will the Pirates finish in last in the N.L. Central for the fourth year in a row …

25. Reds (21). … or will the Reds' current collapse (they've lost six in a row and 14 of 18) take Cincy to the bottom of the division?

26. Orioles (23). The Orioles are making their second much-anticipated promotion this season (catcher Matt Wieters was the first). Potential future ace Chris Tillman will make his major league debut Wednesday in an ideal setting -- at home against the Royals.

27. Athletics (25). The A's ripped the Twins for 14 runs last Monday and 16 on Wednesday. Before that, they had only reached double figures in runs once all year (a 12-3 win against Kansas City on May 12).

28. Padres (27). Adrian Gonzalez, the only legitimate offensive threat the Padres have, is batting .165 with a .275 slugging percentage since June 20.

29. Royals (29). Tony Pena Jr., who might have been the worst hitter in the major leagues (combined .156 batting average the past two seasons), is making the change from shortstop to pitcher. Coincidentally, the Royals' new starting shortstop, Yuniesky Betancourt, has a .156 batting average in his first nine games with K.C.

30. Nationals (30). The Nats already have a pair of winning streaks in the second half. Two-gamers each, but it's something.

 Ryan Fagan is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at rfagan@sportingnews.com.

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