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Continuity in these MLB Power Rankings is sometimes a figment of the imagination. Instead of merely mirroring the standings, we choose to take a snapshot approach of what's going on at the current moment. If a team is hot, they shoot up, and vice versa.
The Yankees are hot but there's nowhere to go. They remain in the No. 1 spot this week and are joined by Tampa Bay and Texas at the top.
The American League is relatively static from last week as four of the five teams in the top 10 were there last week. Oakland surprised everyone this week beating both the Red Sox and the White Sox. They've also won nine of their last 11 games to make a huge jump from No. 21 to No. 10.
The National League regulars at the top -- Atlanta and San Diego -- are joined by San Francisco, St. Louis and Florida. St. Louis has been a force for most of the season, but the Giants and Marlins are big surprises. If I were to guess, I'd say the Giants' rise is more real than the Marlins', but there's still a lot of baseball to be played.
- 1. Yankees | Record: 62-35 | Previous Week: 1
The starting rotation and bullpen still had their shaky moments but the Yankees pounded out 45 runs in six games this week to remain atop the baseball world. In a welcome turnaround from the first two months, Mark Teixeira has helped drive the offensive train. He has a 1.284 OPS and seven home runs in July, numbers that have helped the Yankees remain confident in the face of their pitching foibles. - Josh Alper - 2. Rays | Record: 59-38 | Previous Week: 5
It might be time to get Reid Brignac steadier work in the Rays lineup. He has four homers and nine hits since the All-Star break even though he's sitting 1/3rd of the time. That productivity allowed the Rays to go 5-4 on a second-half-opening road trip, good enough to stay within three games of the Yankees and well ahead of the Red Sox. - Josh Alper - 3. Rangers | Record: 58-41 | Previous Week: 6
At this point, manager Ron Washington says that he's not planning on changing the rotation if and or when Rich Harden and Derek Holland return from their trips to the disabled list. He also said that Vladimir Guerrero is more than capable of breaking out of his current slump and that he's not worried. With the Angels acquiring Dan Haren to make a push, isn't there anything Washington should be worried about? - 4. Giants | Record: 56-43 | Previous Week: 11
If the playoffs started today, the Giants would win the NL wild card. They have won 15 of their past 18 games, taking advantage of the Brewers, Nationals, Diamondbacks and slumping Mets. At 56-43, they've still actually played three games below what their run differential says their record should be. That's a good sign that they can keep it up. - Jeff Fletcher - 5. Padres | Record: 58-39 | Previous Week: 3
Try this one on for size. The Padres have a payroll of $37.8 million, yet as the trade deadline looms, the team has no glaring weaknesses. Starting pitching? Better than average. Bullpen? Much better than average. Defense? Well above average. Offense? Actually, it's average or better. In the National League, only three other NL offenses -- those of the Braves, Brewers and Reds -- have a better ballpark-adjusted on-base and slugging percentage than the Padres, reports Baseball-Reference.com. Add it all up, and it's little wonder that the Padres' record is the best in the NL. - Tom Krasovic - 6. Cardinals | Record: 55-44 | Previous Week: 7
Just when an eight-game winning streak seemed to have the Cardinals poised to put some distance between themselves and the Reds, they dropped three in a row and needed a win last night to regain their 1/2-game lead in the NL Central. Now a big question looms: Can they put distance between themselves and the Reds with a rotation that includes Jeff Suppan and Blake Hawksworth, or do they need to go out and get some more help? - Pat Lackey - 7. Braves | Record: 57-41 | Previous Week: 4
When Atlanta lost two of three to Florida over the weekend, it marked the team's first series loss against an NL team since May 7-9 (at Philadelphia). After an off day Monday, the Braves resume with an intriguing matchup: 23-year-old Tommy Hanson against 22-year-old Stephen Strasburg. - Ed Price - 8. White Sox | Record: 53-44 | Previous Week: 2
The White Sox are starting to send signals that pitcher Daniel Hudson can't be relied on. His walk rate is too high and he is pitching in trouble quite a bit. He could be added to a trade package for what manager Ozzie Guillen says has to be a left-handed hitter that can play first base and outfield. Sounds like Adam Dunn to me, but the White Sox have competition. The Tigers have reportedly entered into the bidding war on Dunn. - 9. Marlins | Record: 49-49 | Previous Week: 20
Florida has crept back up to .500, but the schedule now hits a tough stretch. After a trip to San Francisco and San Diego comes a home-stand against Philadelphia and St. Louis. - Ed Price - 10. Athletics | Record: 50-48 | Previous Week: 21
For most of the season the A's have hung around .500 simply by beating up on the bad teams, but lately they've played well against some of the good ones. The A's have won their last three series against contenders: the Angels, Red Sox and White Sox. In between they swept the hapless Royals. That's how you win nine of 11. They play the first-place Rangers six times in their next 12 games, so now is the time if they want to get back in the race. - Jeff Fletcher - 11. Reds | Record: 55-45 | Previous Week: 8
The Reds just refuse to go away. After falling 1 1/2 games behind the Cardinals for the first time in a month, they salvaged their series with the Astros to get to within a game of the Cards and 1 1/2 games of the Giants in the wild card. They don't play the Cardinals until the second week of August, so their goal has to be to stay close with nine of their 12 games before then on the road. - Pat Lackey - 12. Brewers | Record: 47-53 | Previous Week: 18
The Brewers' pitching woes received an exclamation point this week when they surrendered 26 runs in two games to the normally punchless Pirates, but they've rolled off four straight wins since then. That's the story of the Brewers' season to date -- periods of frustration dotted with nice streaks that keep them on the fringes of contention, but never quite get them fully into the division race. - Pat Lackey - 13. Twins | Record: 53-46 | Previous Week: 14
The Twins have a glaring need as the trade deadline approaches, starting pitching. General manager Bill Smith has been criticized lately for not moving quickly enough on transactions, but the depth at pitcher on the market isn't great -- especially now that Dan Haren has been dealt. Minnesota just took three of four from the Orioles and its baseball operations staff may have a few pitching targets. Let's see if talks begin. - 14. Phillies | Record: 52-46 | Previous Week: 16
Philadelphia took a four-game winning streak into Monday afternoon, attempting to win five straight for the first time since April 9-14. The Phillies' eight-game home winning streak was its longest since 1991 (16 in a row). - Ed Price - 15. Dodgers | Record: 53-46 | Previous Week: 19
The message Joe Torre sent to Matt Kemp by briefly benching him last month apparently worked. Since then, Kemp has hit .297 with an .863 OPS. Prior to that he was at .258 and .771. The Dodgers need Kemp to be at his best, especially with Manny Ramirez out. - Jeff Fletcher - 16. Blue Jays | Record: 50-49 | Previous Week: 17
The Jays can breathe a sigh of relief about Shaun Marcum. The starter was back on the disabled list with elbow soreness, never a good sign for a guy coming off Tommy John surgery, but he's won both his starts since being reactivated. The rest of this year is going to be about establishing a foundation for the future and Marcum is proving that he can play a part. - Josh Alper - 17. Red Sox | Record: 55-44 | Previous Week: 9
The Sox scored the most runs in the American League in the first half so it's a bit surprising to see them so lost at the plate right now. They scored just 22 runs on their seven-game road trip that wrapped up with two bad losses to the Mariners and left them eight games behind the Yankees. It's not too late, but time's getting short for the Sox to get healthy and start firing on all cylinders. - Josh Alper - 18. Tigers | Record: 51-46 | Previous Week: 15
The Tigers have dropped eight of their last 12 games and lost Magglio Ordonez for six-to-eight weeks with a broken ankle. That said, their trade deadline wish list doesn't stop with a replacement in the outfield. Detroit also needs a third baseman or a designated hitter and an arm for the bullpen. GM Dave Dombrowski needs to get his dialing fingers going. He's got a lot of phone calls to make. - 19. Rockies | Record: 51-47 | Previous Week: 10
The Rockies went 2-8 on their recent road trip and manager Jim Tracy called a team meeting to rattle a few cages. He'd done one-on-one sessions with players before going the Lou Brown route -- RIP James Gammon -- and now you have to ask whose cardboard cutout they'll be peeling articles of clothing off of to spark a new winning streak. Good news comes in the form of Troy Tulowitzki returning on Tuesday. - 20. Cubs | Record: 45-54 | Previous Week: 23
The Cubs did take a series from the Cardinals this weekend and Aramis Ramirez is finally heating up, but it's too little too late in Chicago to give Lou Piniella a triumphant send-off in what we now know is his final season. Now the best the Cubs can do is to keep playing hard for their fiery field boss over the last 60-plus games of his managerial career. - Pat Lackey - 21. Indians | Record: 41-57 | Previous Week: 24
Believe it or not, the Indians have won seven of their last 10 games, and that's after dropping their last two to Tampa Bay last weekend. But these figures may be a smoke-screen, and Cleveland has only won two series this month while losing four. Over the next two weeks the Tribe will play the Yankees, the Blue Jays and the Red Sox, meaning a dose of reality could be in the offing. - 22. Angels | Record: 52-49 | Previous Week: 12
Dan Haren, acquired from the Diamondbacks on Monday, joins a rotation that should welcome some good news. In the same year that the Angels lost promising pitcher Nick Adenhart to a tragic car accident, they would lose ace John Lackey, who signed with the Red Sox, after the 2009 season. Haren gives the Angels a frontline starter to assist Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana over the next few years. Haren's fastball-splitter contrast has grown fuzzier this year, scouts say. The good news for Haren is that he went to the AL West rather than the AL East. He still has plenty of material to deal with the A's and the Mariners. - Tom Krasovic - 23. Mets | Record: 50-49 | Previous Week: 13
The Mets began the second half with an 11-game road trip, and got shut out FOUR times. They went 10-for-65 with runners in scoring position, a .154 average. David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Jason Bay combined to go 22-for-119 on the trip: .185. - Ed Price - 24. Royals | Record: 42-56 | Previous Week: 22
When David DeJesus was diagnosed with a complete ligament tear in his right thumb, it wasn't just his season that went down the drain. Any trade talks involving the outfielder, who was having a career year, have been put on hold and it looks like DeJesus may be back in Kansas City next season. - 25. Astros | Record: 40-58 | Previous Week: 27
It's hard to imagine an Astros club without Roy Oswalt, but that should be a reality by this time next week. The only real question left is whether or not Ed Wade can extract more for him than the Diamondbacks got for Dan Haren on Sunday. Well, that and whether the 'Stros deal their other franchise fixture, Lance Berkman, before Saturday's trade deadline. - Pat Lackey - 26. Diamondbacks | Record: 37-62 | Previous Week: 29
Even after they sent Dan Haren to Los Angeles, CEO Derrick Hall told the media that the Diamondbacks were going to cut more salary. If they keep shipping out talent and not getting proper value in return, this franchise could be in trouble for a long time coming. Whether they send these guys packing this year or wait until the offseason doesn't matter. Arizona will continue to be a cellar-dweller for some time to come. - 27. Nationals | Record: 42-57 | Previous Week: 25
Ivan Rodriguez's march to 3,000 hits has slowed to a crawl. He has 2,777 for his career but just two since the All-Star break, dropping his average from .296 to .267. - Ed Price - 28. Mariners | Record: 39-60 | Previous Week: 28
Chone Figgins and Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu have a history of not getting along. Wakamatsu dropped Figgins in the batting order earlier this season, much to Figgins' chagrin. When he benched Figgins on Friday for not hustling, tempers flared later in the dugout. Details are sketchy, but Figgins did watch the rest of the game from the clubhouse instead of the dugout. Peace needs to be restored, and quickly. - 29. Pirates | Record: 34-64 | Previous Week: 30
For a brief second there, it looked like the Pirates had broken out of their season-long slump at the plate. With a line of 12, nine, 11, and 15 runs scored in a five-game span that also saw rookie Pedro Alvarez bashing home runs like crazy, the young Pirates looked more promising than they have in some time. And then, just as quickly, it went away with a four-game losing streak in which they've only scored 10 total runs. - Pat Lackey - 30. Orioles | Record: 31-67 | Previous Week: 26
Luke Scott was a one-man wrecking crew this week for the Orioles. He was activated from the DL on Monday and went 13-for-25 with four homers and eight RBI over the week. That only included two wins for the O's, but there's only so much one man can do when the rest of the team continues their long slumber. - Josh Alper
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