The first half of the MLB season has come to an end and, with it, 10 teams have staked their claims to playoff spots. While that is a good position for those teams to hold, it is hardly a guarantee the landscape will look the same come October. Last year, four of the teams that owned playoff spots at the All-Star break lost them by the end of the regular season, and only two division leaders held on to win their division. So plenty can change.
As for now the N.L. Central’s Cardinals and Pirates have traded the top spot in the Sports Jerks Power Rankings for the last few weeks, and St. Louis has reclaimed it at the mid-way point. The rest of the top few spots in our rankings remain largely the same, however the Rays have managed to break into the top 10, thanks to a solid run to wrap up the first half. The Dodgers and Phillies also climbed up in this week’s rankings, though, in Philadelphia’s case, that had more to do with the struggles of the other teams around them rather than their own performance.
Among this week’s teams that fell, look out west. Aside from Los Angeles, the other four N.L. West teams took a tumble, highlighted by the quickly-tanking Padres. That division is surely up for grabs. As for the bottom of the pack, it’s a familiar cast of characters. That probably won’t change much for the rest of the season, especially after they sell off whatever assets they may have.
[table id=23 /]
