MLB Power Rankings: Week 16
Posted July 24, 2012 03:41 PM EDTThe Rangers re-take the top position as the Athletics and Tigers also make significant moves.
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FOX SPORTS MLB POWER RANKINGS
| RK | Team | RECORD | CHANGE | HIGH/LOW | COMMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Rangers |
56-38 | 1 | 1/5 |
Mike Napoli continued to wreak havoc against his former team, the Angels, hitting .455 with two home runs over the weekend. That, however, translated to only one win for the Rangers.
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| 2 |
Yankees |
57-38 | 1 | 1/11 |
A four-game sweep at the hands of the Athletics dampened the excitement from a sweep of the Blue Jays earlier in the week.
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| 3 |
Reds |
55-40 | 3 | 1/22 |
The Reds polished off an 8-2 homestand with a sweep of the Brewers but snapped a streak of 74 consecutive games with a home run at Great American Ballpark.
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| 4 |
Nationals |
55-39 | 1 | 1/18 |
An oblique tear will send Ian Desmond, the Nationals’ leader in batting average and home runs, to the disabled list and create a hole in the lineup.
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| 5 |
Pirates |
54-40 | 2 | 5/27 |
For only the second time in the Pirates’ 126-year history, the Bucs have two players, Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez, with 20-plus home runs through the first 100 games of a season.
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| 6 |
Giants |
53-42 | 3 | 4/16 |
Quality pitching, including back-to-back quality starts from Barry Zito, has been the catalyst behind a hot start to the second half for the Giants.
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| 7 |
Tigers |
52-44 | 4 | 1/21 |
The Tigers are firing on all cylinders as they finished the week 6-1 against the Angels and White Sox and regained first in the Central.
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| 8 |
Angels |
52-44 | 3 | 2/25 |
The return of Dan Haren, a quality-start victory over the Rangers, offers promise to a rotation that is still searching for answers after Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson.
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| 9 |
Athletics |
51-44 | 3 | 4/28 |
There isn’t a hotter team in baseball, as seen by their four-game sweep of the Yankees to close out the week.
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| 10 |
Braves |
52-43 | 2 | 3/18 |
Congratulations to Chipper Jones, who now has the most career RBI of any player whose primary position was third base.
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| 11 |
Orioles |
51-44 | 2 | 1/29 |
Just when it looked as though the Orioles might be fading, they reel off five straight wins and remain in the American League wild-card hunt.
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| 12 |
Dodgers |
52-44 | 2 | 1/19 |
A sweep of the Mets certainly helped the Dodgers after a rough patch. But they could use some production from James Loney and Juan Uribe, who continue to struggle.
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| 13 |
White Sox |
50-45 | 9 | 3/25 |
The White Sox, typically aggressive near the trade deadline, added veteran Brett Myers in attempt to strengthen their bullpen for the pennant race.
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| 14 |
Cardinals |
50-45 | 3 | 2/19 |
They are up; they are down. They get good pitching; the offense disappears. They hit; bullpen issues emerge. Will the real St. Louis Cardinals please stand up?
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| 15 |
Rays |
49-47 | - | 1/15 |
It was another rough week for the struggling Rays offense. The Rays mustered only a .238 batting average and 24 runs in seven games.
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| 16 |
Blue Jays |
48-47 | 2 | 7/25 |
Since he was moved to the rotation in late June, Carlos Villanueva (3-0, 2.31 ERA in four starts) has been a breath of fresh air for the injury-riddled pitching staff.
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| 17 |
Diamondbacks |
47-48 | 4 | 4/22 |
The Diamondbacks scored 33 runs in a three-game sweep of the Astros over the weekend, three short of the franchise record.
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| 18 |
Mets |
47-48 | 4 | 5/27 |
Johan Santana takes a spot on the disabled list, and the Mets fall below .500 for the first time this season. Feel-good team of the first half is having a rough time after the All-Star break.
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| 19 |
Indians |
47-48 | 3 | 6/29 |
The Indians failed miserably last week against their wild-card competition, losing five of seven to the Rays and Orioles and falling below .500 for the first time since April 14.
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| 20 |
Red Sox |
48-48 | 1 | 10/26 |
The Red Sox are trending in the wrong direction, having won only three games last week.
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| 21 |
Brewers |
44-50 | 1 | 12/25 |
Aramis Ramirez continues to churn out doubles, but the Brew Crew can’t seem to find a way to pick up games on the division leaders.
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| 22 |
Marlins |
44-51 | - | 6/26 |
One of the team’s best players, Hanley Ramirez, punches a fan (mechanical), misses games. Then player ‘forgets’ to take medication to help heal said hand and misses more games.
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| 23 |
Mariners |
42-55 | 3 | 18/26 |
Jason Vargas' trade value continues to soar as he putting together quite the July (3-0, 1.55 ERA). That includes wins against the Royals and Rays last week.
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| 24 |
Padres |
41-56 | 4 | 19/30 |
The Friars signed outfielder Carlos Quentin to a contract that will keep him in San Diego through at least the 2015 season, and general manager Josh Byrnes insists they will not be sellers at the trade deadline.
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| 25 |
Phillies |
42-54 | 2 | 5/27 |
Joe Blanton continues to put up impressive innings despite being plugged right in the middle of trade rumors.
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| 26 |
Twins |
40-55 | 1 | 22/30 |
The Twins just shut down closer and potential trade chip Matt Capps because of rotator cuff irritation, yet another blow in a disappointing season.
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| 27 |
Royals |
40-54 | 2 | 13/29 |
The Royals finally cut ties with Jonathan Sanchez and tried to salvage the Melky Cabrera trade by swapping the maligned lefty for Colorado’s Jeremy Guthrie.
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| 28 |
Cubs |
38-56 | 4 | 24/30 |
It just had to be the Cardinals who brought the North Siders back down to earth following a stretch of good fortune following the arrival of Anthony Rizzo.
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| 29 |
Rockies |
36-58 | - | 16/29 |
The Rockies traded away Jeremy Guthrie for an equally bad, if not worse, Jonathan Sanchez. Maybe a change of scenery will help?
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| 30 |
Astros |
34-62 | - | 22/30 |
The Astros have lost their closer, starting first baseman and one of their best setup men in the past few weeks.
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