VSN Power Rankings - Version 12

[Rudi]

NOTE: The standings are based off the result of Sunday's games. Last week rankings in ( )
Rudi and Woy did the rankings, with Rudi and VSN Owner extraordinaire Gabe Leftwich on the blurbs. Leftwich went with a 90’s music theme for his comments. Good shit. Thanks to Lefty for filling in this week, much appreciated!

Last Week's: VSN Power Rankings - Version 11

Biggest Jump: San Francisco Giants +6
Biggest Fall: Tampa Bay Rays -8

1. Texas Rangers - 50-30 (1)

Rudi: The Rangers maintain the top spot in the rankings for a second straight week. Placing Yu Darvish on the AL Final Vote for the All-Star Game is a joke. He will run away with that with all the Japanese internet support.
LEFTWICH: “Nothing Compares 2 U” No team in the MLB is better than the Rangers, by record that is. They are first in pretty much every important stat on offense and the pitching is getting it done. By the way Some old guy named Roy Oswalt is getting it done on the mound too.

2. New York Yankees – 48-30 (2)

Rudi: The Yankees are opening up a commanding lead on the AL East with the Orioles being 6 games back in second place. New York is heading into the break as one of the hottest teams in the majors.
LEFTWICH: “Mama Said Knock You Out” Andy Pettite was “knocked out” last week with an apparent ankle injury which hurts the rotation alongside CC Sabathia being banged up. Even with the injuries the Yankees are still in solid first in the AL East and from the looks of things, they’ll be there for a while.

3. San Francisco Giants – 45-35 (9)

Rudi: If Tim Lincecum can figure things out-which it looks like he is starting to- the Giants have one of the best rotation’s I can think of in recent memory. Good luck matching up against them if they make the playoffs.
LEFTWICH: “Nothing but a G Thang” The Giants are playing very well last week and finally uprooted the Dodgers from first place. The Giants are blowing teams away with their pitching and the selection of Melky Cabrera was one of the most no-brainer moves in baseball this year.

4. Washington Nationals – 45-32 (4)

Rudi: Just like the Giants, the Nationals pitching staff has carried them through the whole first half of the season. The Steven Strasburg vs. Mike Leake battle for best hitting pitcher is something to keep an eye on.
LEFTWICH: “Believe” The Nats are starting to believe this may be their division to win. We’re almost at the All-Star break and the Nats are in first, still! The Ian Desmond pick for the all-star game is leaving a lot of people scratching their heads but who cares, it’s the all star game, no one watches.

5. Los Angeles Angels – 44-35 (4)

Rudi: Baseball fans get a little justice from the All-Star selections with Trout and Trumbo making the game. It will be a great showcase for two of the best young players in the game.
LEFTWICH: “You Outta Know” If you don’t you outta. Mike Trout is pretty much the next big thing in Baseball. As an Orioles fan I got to witness his amazing catch that robbed a homer and now I’m definitely a believer. Not a fan of the last name but oh well. Oh yeah, the Angels are red hot.

6. Cincinnati Reds – 43-35 (8)

Rudi: Jay Bruce misplaying a routine fly ball to send a game to extras is something you may see once every 10 years. It was just plain weird. Joey Votto’s health is the main concern after having to leave the game Saturday and not playing since.
LEFTWICH: “Jump Around” Well it’s not really jumping but I couldn’t find a 90’s song called “Somersault”. If you don’t get the reference then you don’t watch enough baseball highlights. The Reds have a narrow 1 game lead over the Pirates but I honestly believe that won’t last. The Reds have a good squad although the offense seems a little out of sorts.

7. New York Mets – 43-37 (12)

Rudi: One two punch of Dickey and Santana is filthy. If they can weasel their way into the playoffs, they stand a chance against anyone because of those two guys.
LEFTWICH: “Rico Suave” RA Dickey is getting it done on the mound. Hell I thought he wouldn’t last but I’m wrong. IMO and probably many others, Dickey is the clear cut CY Young winner this year. He is giving the Mets something to believe in. It’s not just Dickey either, the rest of the pitching staff has been doing work on the mound and I’m sure the Mets fans are hoping this will last.

8. Los Angeles Dodgers – 44-36 (6)

Rudi: The Dodgers offense has checked out. This team is going through a real struggle to even score runs of late. Matt Kemp can’t return soon enough.
LEFTWICH: “California Love” The Dodgers have come screaming back to earth with an ugly sweep by the Giants but we can attribute this to just your standard slump. The pitching has been great but they can only do so much. The offense has been slumping but hopefully the Dodgers get Matt Kemp back some time this decade.

9a. Baltimore Orioles – 42-36 (3)

Rudi: Orioles Magic is running on empty. They have fallen back from the Yankees and will soon be passed by the surging Red Sox.
LEFTWICH: “Tearin’ Up My Heart” I could have went with a million depressing songs for the Orioles but I chose this one. Why? Because this shit happens every fucking year. The Orioles get my hopes up and then go and lose as many games they think are enough to piss me off. Yeah they traded for Jim Thome but he went 0-4. They have the Mariners for the next three days but they’ll manage to fuck that up somehow.

9b.Chicago White Sox – 42-37 (11)

Rudi: And to think Chris Sale was going to move to closer not long ago. Without Sale in their rotation, I highly doubt Chicago is in first right now.
LEFTWICH: “My Name Is” My name is Kevin Youkilis and the Red Sox didn’t want me anymore. Youk has been average since coming to the White Sox but he is better than what they had before. The Sox are somewhat surprising to me since they’re in first but with great pitching with Chris Sale and the resurgent Adam Dunn, they should be able to take the division with ease unless Detroit gets their shit together.

9c. Boston Red Sox – 42-37 (10)

Rudi: Boston looks to be the second best team in the AL East. The real question is will they be able to keep pace with a really good Yankees ball club.
LEFTWICH: “Mo Money Mo Problems” Maybe this song would be better fit for the Dodgers but hear me out. The Sox spent all that money last year to ultimately lose their shot at the playoffs and this season started like last season ended. But something is happening in Beantown and I don’t like it. The pitching might be horrendous but the offense has found its groove and this could be a team to watch out in the second half.

12. Atlanta Braves – 41-37 (13)

Rudi: The Chipper Jones retirement tour will get another stop in Kansas City at the All-Star Game. Don’t get me wrong-I love Chipper Jones and he is a great player-but I don’t really get every opposing team giving him a ceremony before a game.
LEFTWICH: “Semi-Charmed Life” The Braves have been very average this year. Not that it’s a bad thing because there are a lot of contributing factors that I don’t feel like going into. A couple weeks after losing Brandon Beachy is starting to show and the Braves are getting desperate to fix the rotation. One last thing, The snubbing of Michael Bourn in the all-star game is retarded.

13. Pittsburgh Pirates – 42-36 (14)

Rudi: I’m very close to declaring the Pirates legit. Not quite there…but extremely close. The Pirates anemic offense led the league in runs scored in June. Hmm.
LEFTWICH: “Linger” That’s what is seems like the Pirates are doing. This is an ugly team with a few bright spots. I’m sure the Pirates are causing unwanted pressure on the Reds and Cards but I don’t think they’ll last, just like last year. Andrew McCutcheon dinged his wrist up a bit but should be good to go this week with a day of rest.

14. St. Louis Cardinals – 41-38 (15)

Rudi: I hate Tony La Russa.
LEFTWICH: “Building a Mystery” The Cardinals are a bit of a mystery to me. They are slightly above .500 ball yet are no way out of the NL Central. It’s close but the Cards are not beating teams they should beat such as the Pirates. Carlos Beltran is raking and got a deserving spot in the All Star Lineup.

15. Tampa Bay Rays – 41-38 (7)

Rudi: VSN’s resident Rays expert MVPete moans and groans about this team’s offense every night. I guess they are really bad without Longo in the lineup.
LEFTWICH: “Who Will Save Your Soul” Who will save the Rays is more like it. The Rays have been bitten by the injury bug all year and things are looking grim. Evan Longoria is their final hope. If he comes back and is the spark plug to help this team, I’ll be happy. Cause I called it.

16. Cleveland Indians - 40-38 (16)

Rudi: Shin Soo Choo has found his spot in the lineup. Since being moved to leadoff he has put up some eye popping numbers. Jason Kipnis has that rare blend of speed and power.
LEFTWICH: “You Get What You Give” The Indians pitching is atrocious and when your pitching staff has a 4.57 ERA it’s a sign your team wasn’t as good as originally advertised. Sure they took the Orioles to the woodshed but the series win was coming off a 5 game losing streak. This team wasn’t built for the long haul and its showing now.

17. Arizona Diamondbacks – 39-39 (16)

Rudi: Trevor Bauer’s debut didn’t go as well as expected. He had to leave the game after 4 innings with a minor groin injury. His pitch repertoire is impressive.
LEFTWICH: “I’m Too Sexy” That’s what I think of the Diamondbacks pitching, especially Wade Miley. Miley may have been shelled in his last start but he’s been a great Rookie for the team. The call-up of Trevor Bauer shows the D-Backs have their eye on the future. This team could surprise in the second half of the season and make it a three team race between the Giant and Dodgers.

18. Toronto Blue Jays – 40-39 (18)

Rudi: Joey Bats hit 14 HR and had 30 RBI in the month of June. Holy cow.
LEFTWICH: “Jump” The Blue Jays find themselves in last place in the AL East but at 41-39 they shouldn’t be alarmed. The Jays aren’t playing bad baseball although the pitching rotation is held together by Band-aids and chewing gum. The Jays could easily jump up in the division if the Orioles and Rays continue their ways.

19. Detroit Tigers – 39-40 (18)

Rudi: Miguel Cabrera may not be the best defensive third basemen, but I wouldn’t consider him “historically bad” as NAHSTE put it.
LEFTWICH: “Wannabe” The Detroit Tigers “Wannabe” better but for some reason can’t. The pitching is really starting to come around from people not named Justin Verlander. It looks like the pieces might finally be falling into place as the pitching starts to catch up with the offense.

20. Miami Marlins - 38-40 (20)

Rudi: Giancarlo Stanton in the HR Derby will be fun to watch. Thank you based Matt Kemp.
LEFTWICH: “Virtual Insanity” I bet this is driving a lot of Marlins fans crazy. They spend all this money in the offseason and the team is incredibly inconsistent. Sometimes the Marlins look really good and then sometimes they look so undisciplined. I guess it’ll be just one of those seasons for them full of ups and downs and ultimately disappointment by the end.

21a. Milwaukee Brewers – 36-42 (23)

Rudi: Milwaukee should be able to get a nice haul for Zack Greinke.
LEFTWICH: “Ice Ice Baby” They’re cold, Ice Cold. The Brewers are looking less and less likely to turn it around. Not a lot of expectations for this team coming into the year and now that it’s almost half over, any expectations are gone. The one good thing that may come of this is moving Zack Greinke for some great prospects.

21b. Oakland Athletics – 38-42 (20)

Rudi: The A’s are having one of the more surprising first halves in baseball. They aren’t that good, but they sure are a lot better than most expected.
LEFTWICH: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” The Athletics are one of the younger teams in the majors so I feel this fits them well. Josh Reddick has slowed down a bit over the last two weeks and really so has the whole offense. Ryan Cook on the other hand has been incredible out of the bullpen and looks to be locked in as the closer on this team.

23a. Kansas City Royals – 35-42 (24)

Rudi: After that awful start, the Royals are somehow only 6 games back of the first place White Sox. Impressive.
LEFTWICH: “Under the Bridge” That’s what the Royals are to me. I completely forget about them and if it wasn’t for the All-Star Game being hosted in Kansas City, the rest of the league would forget about them too.

23b. Philadelphia Phillies - 36-45 (22)

Rudi: 11 games back, the Phillies are in crisis mode. Even the return of Chase Utley won’t be able to save this team.
LEFTWICH: “Good Riddance” Nothing makes me happier than seeing this team as bad as they are. It looks like this team is getting ready to enter fire sale mode which is unfortunate for those Phillies fans. Still don’t care.

25. Seattle Mariners – 34-47 (25)

Rudi: Not much to be excited about in Seattle these days. The Mariners are bad and boring.
LEFTWICH: “Man in the Box” I’m only using this song because I’ve run out of ideas. Grunge-Seattle… whatever. The Offense in Seattle sucks….bad. To be honest I can’t even name one person who actually deserved to go to an all-star game.

26. Minnesota Twins – 33-45 (27)

Rudi: Joe Mauer hit .397 in June. One of the few bright spots on a dreadful Twins team.
LEFTWICH: “Cannonball” A cannonball is what I think has gone through this pitching staff. Jeez they’re bad. Scott Diamond is the lone star of the staff but with an average offense he can only do so much. Joe Mauer is still Joe Mauer.

27. Houston Astros – 32-47 (25)

Rudi: The crazy home/road split for this team stays the same as they are 9-28 on the road but above .500 at 23-19 at home.
LEFTWICH:“I Don’t Want to Wait” for the Astros to go to the American League. But for real, like I said in my last power rankings, the Stros aren’t as bad as they should be and this team is still younger than most and will only get better as time goes on. The pitching is very good lately and maybe by the end of the season they can play upsets to teams vying for the playoffs.

28. San Diego Padres – 30-50 (28)

Rudi: Huston Street was the Padres lone All-Star rep. He’s pitched a whopping 21 innings.
LEFTWICH: “It Was a Good Day” For Andrew Cashner at least. Cashner had a no-no going into the 7th but gave up a few hits including a home run. His pitch count was rather high which probably got him pulled. That is the alone bright spot of this team.

29. Colorado Rockies – 30-48 (29)

Rudi: Colorado is terrible. The 4-man rotation is the laughing stock of the league. Come on Rockies you’re better than that.
LEFTWICH: “Mama Said Knock You Out” That’s pretty much what has happened to this team. They’ve been knocked around by every team they’ve faced. Why is that? They have the worst pitching in the majors and probably the worst I’ve seen in quite some time. Sure the offense is doing well but anyone can hit a ball in Colorado.

30. Chicago Cubs – 29-49 (30)

Rudi: Amazingly the Cubs had 2 All-Stars. Bryan LaHair becomes the first platoon player to make the All-Star game ever.
LEFTWICH: “Alone” The Cubs are alone. Worst team in baseball. But somehow this team managed to get some players in the All-Star game. Sure one gets in because he has to represent the team but another, LaHair and Castro?! Come on.

[Guest]

Lefty, O's could easily pull off 7-3 and reverse their fortunes. They are still a streaky team to say the least. We'll have to wait and see, but we definitely need some starting pitching help.

Marlins problem is an atrocious bullpen. Yeah, the hitting is inconsistent but they've gotten good performances from their starters.

In addition to the O's, it's also weird to see the Pirates that high still.

[Berowsk]

God, this power outage is really getting to me...

[Golden Taters]

Mariners staying alive in the Top 25. This team is terrible.

[NAHSTE]

Fuck the shitbum Braves. Should be 31st.

[Villain]

Rudi: The Dodgers offense has checked out. This team is going through a real struggle to even score runs of late. Matt Kemp can’t return soon enough.

At this point it's more like they checked in - to the Physical Therapy Dept. Everyone is hurt. It's essentially a Four-A line-up coming to bat every night. Truly pathetic.

[Woy]

Gabe is the best blurber.

[Golden Taters]

LEFTWICH: “Man in the Box” I’m only using this song because I’ve run out of ideas. Grunge-Seattle… whatever. The Offense in Seattle sucks….bad. To be honest I can’t even name one person who actually deserved to go to an all-star game.

If our offense "sucks....bad," what does that make your's now?

[Glenbino]

Angels outscore Giants 21-10 and take two of three from them last week = Angels fall one spot and are behind the Giants who rise 6 spots.....


Ok.

[Villain]

[Woy]

Angels outscore Giants 21-10 and take two of three from them last week = Angels fall one spot and are behind the Giants who rise 6 spots.....


Ok.

I've been ranking them top 3 for the past few weeks. Blame the others.

[Guest]

[Glenbino]

LOL so Rudi just groans me for pointing out a fact now?

The Giants had a great couple of series' against a team team batting Juan Rivera at cleanup and the Oakland A's. The Angels mopped the floor with them in games not started by Jerome Williams.

The Angels on the other hand now have a series record of 12-3-4 including series wins over the Yankees, Rangers, Dodgers and Giants since May despite not having Jared Weaver for close to a month.

In that same span the Giants have a series record of 10-5-4... Which doesn't look all that differnt until you look at the teams they've beaten.

Oakland - 3 series wins

Milwaukee - 2 series wins

Arizona - 1 series win

Cubs - 1 series win

Padres - 1 series win

Houston - 1 series win

Dodgers - 1 series win

The only team listed there with a record over .500 is the Dodgers and that just happened, meaning there was no Kemp OR Ethier in the lineup and the Dodgers scored a grand total of 0 runs in the entire series which makes it tough for any team to win.

Go ahead and groan away.