McCarroll21
08-11-2008, 04:46 PM
Braves-Nation.com MLB Poll - 8.11.08
The following poll was developed through a panel of 8 Braves-Nation.com members. The points were derived from the following very scientific system. Each first place team on each poll submitted received 30 points, the second place team received 29 points, etc. all the way down to the last place team on each poll receiving one point.
After all polls were submitted, the total points were tallied and the teams were ranked in descending order. In the event of a tie, we used the team's winning percentage as the tie-breaker.
The numbers you see below correspond with the amount of points each team received, not the order in which they were ranked.
The Los Angeles Angels kept the top of the Braves-Nation.com Poll for the third straight week, and again, beating out the Chicago Cubs. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers were the only teams to move three spots in this week's poll, both climbing up in the poll. The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros move up two spots this week, while the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics drop two spots.<table class="tborder" width="650" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr align="center"><td class="tcat" colspan="4">Braves-Nation.com MLB Poll - 8.11.08</td></tr><tr align="center"><td class="thead" width="165">Team</td><td class="thead" width="100">Total Points</td><td class="thead" width="100">Average Points</td><td class="thead" width="285">Comments</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Los Angeles Angels (6)</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">236</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">29.5</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Angels have continued a great regular season and look to coast to a AL West crown (14 game lead). They used a 5-1 week to bump their ML leading victories to 74.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Chicago Cubs (2)</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">231</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">28.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Cubs made it a point to go out and match the Brewers deal for Sabathia by acquiring Harden and Gaudin and it's paid dividends as their two pitchers have combined for 4 wins and Harden is boasting about in the NL with a 2.10 ERA over five starts. The Cubs are the best team in the NL right now and made sure everyone knew it when they went into Milwaukee and took four games from the Brewers to close out July.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Tampa Bay Rays</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">227</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">28.4</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Rays continue to silence the doubters with another strong week (5W, 2L). That puts the Rays at 16-7 since the All Star break. They pushed their AL East lead to 4.5 games over the Red Sox.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Boston Red Sox</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">218</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">27.3</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Red Sox have been very average in the last couple months which is shown by a .500 record (25-25) since the 70 game mark. On the bright side, Bay has been very impressive replacing Ramirez with a .953 OPS.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Milwaukee Brewers</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">206</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">25.8</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Brewers went out and struck the early deal for Sabathia and he hasn't done anything to disappoint Brewer fans. Sabathia has made seven starts for the Brewers, going 6-0 with four complete games and two shutouts. Is it possible that he wins the Cy Young with just a half season in the NL? The Brewers offense has struggled in August as they watch the Cubs pull away. They'll have to improve on their .246/.329/.435 - .763 line offensively this month if they want to close the gap and cement themselves as a playoff team.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Chicago White Sox</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">193</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">24.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Why exactly did the Sox need The Kid anyway? Aren't they already set in the outfield and at first base and designated hitter? Either way, they just keep winning, going 4-2 this week.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Minnesota Twins</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">192</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">24.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Francisco Liriano is back to his dominant self since his return, posting a 2-0 record and a 2.31 ERA in his first two starts back. What took them so long? They'll regret waiting if they lose the division by just a couple games.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Philadelphia Phillies</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">186</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">23.3</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Phillies have been very inconsistent this year and should have pulled away from the rest of the NL East by now. Their dynamic offense has scored just 92 runs since the All-Star Break, ranking next to last in the National League, beating just the San Francisco Giants. Their offense gets all the billing, but their pitching staff has quietly gone out and posted the third best ERA in the National League with Hamels and Moyer leading the way. The Phillies bullpen is one of the best in baseball but may have taken a major blow recently as Tom Gordon may need to undergo Tommy John surgery on his elbow.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">St. Louis Cardinals</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">175</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">21.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">While the Cubs and Brewers were busy making deadline deals, the Cardinals just waited for Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright to rejoin their pitching staff. Wainwright is going to slide back into the closer's role that he performed so well in for their World Championship team in 2006 as they hope to make a push for a Wild Card slot. It's going to be tough to jump the Brewers in their division, but with Albert Pujols still alive, you can't count them out.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">New York Yankees</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">167</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">20.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">$200 million just doesn't buy what it used it as the Yankees sit in 3rd place and look like somewhat of a longshot to make the playoffs. They are fresh off getting swept by the Angels and their rotation is in shambles with Wang being out, Joba joining him on the DL, and the Hughes/Kennedy experiments being complete failures.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">New York Mets</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">161</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">20.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Just admit it. You thought Carlos Delgado was finished, too. Then he hit two home runs in a late-June game at Yankee Stadium and hasn't stopped slugging since. His 1.100 OPS since then has helped bring the Mets to within two games of first.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Florida Marlins</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">150</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">18.8</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Marlins fell to third place in the East (2.5GB) after a 3-3 week against the Mets and Phillies. Josh Johnson picked up 2 of their 3 wins with 13 IP and just 2 ER.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Los Angeles Dodgers</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">136</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">17.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Dodgers are lurking and the addition of Manny Ramirez makes them even more dangerous. Brad Penny re-joins the rotation but the closer spot is shaky without Takashi Saito to shut the door.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Arizona Diamondbacks</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">135</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">16.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Arizona is clinging onto the NL West lead by a thread and the loss of their slick-fielding 2B doesn't help their cause but with the stretch run looming Arizona boasts 29-15 against the NL West.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Texas Rangers</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">129</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">16.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Rangers finished a 3-4 week with ex-Brave Matt Harrison picking up 2 of the wins. Their offense continues to mash as proven by his 4-2 record despite an ERA over 7.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Toronto Blue Jays</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">128</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">16.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Blue Jays finished an interesting week where they swept the A's, but then were swept by the Indians. I suppose it's no surprise they sit at 59-59 and in 4th place in the AL East.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Detroit Tigers</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">114</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">14.3</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Tigers have been the Jekyll/Hyde of the league this year. Their last 10 games are the perfect example. They had 6-game losing streak followed by winning 3 out of 4 -- in which they outscored their opponents, 26-10.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Houston Astros</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">104</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">13.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">All that's left of the Astros now is Lance Berkman. Their season is done, their slugging left fielder is done and their pitching staff never started. This surely wasn't what the Astros had in mind when they started the year, but at least they've got the outside shot of an MVP in Lance Berkman to have a little something to play for. Berkman's .334/.436/.602 - 1.038 line is all the Astros have to be happy about at this point. The problem for him is that Albert Pujols plays inside his division and if a non-playoff team will be rewarded the MVP, it'll go to St. Louis before Houston.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Atlanta Braves</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">95</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">11.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Voice on speaker: Dr. Andrews, you have a call on line one. Story of the season, I think Andrews has built his own Atlanta Braves wing in his complex. Maybe he can do something to fix Jeff Francoeur. The only thing the Braves are counting now is how many more plate appearances Chipper Jones needs for the batting title.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Baltimore Orioles</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">88</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">11.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Orioles finished a 3-3 week and continue to bring up the rear in the AL East. This looks like the 11th straight season where Baltimore will fall short of 80 wins.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Oakland Athletics</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">77</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">9.6</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The A's sit 20 GB despite a positive pythagorean record (59-58) after seemingly trading away every pitcher they have in the last 12 months. The A's do a terrific job with their meager payroll, but you have to wonder how long fans can follow a team religiously when every good player is traded away.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Pittsburgh Pirates</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">65</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">8.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Pirates made out like bandits in their deadline deals, turning three players close to free agency into a large building block of the future. The future doesn't help now, however, and the Pirates are looking up as the rest of their division has fun in the heat of a playoff race. I guess they'll set their sights on 2009 to finally get over that .500 mark that they haven't seen since Sid Slid.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Kansas City Royals</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">64</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">8.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">As recently as last week, the Royals looked like they were going to have a shot at just their second .500 season since 1994. Then they lost 4 out of 5 and reminded us all of why they only have one .500 season in that span.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Cleveland Indians</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">58</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">7.3</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Where would this team be without All-Stars Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee? I hear there's talk about making another Major League movie. Take out those two players and you wouldn't even need real actors.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Colorado Rockies</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">51</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">6.4</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Colorado still believes they are in it and they are standing pat with Matt Holliday in LF and closer Brian Fuentes and the return of SS Troy Tulowitzki back in the lineup in hopes for another historic run to October. Clint Hurdle finds his team 8 games back with little time remaining.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">San Francisco Giants</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">45</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">5.6</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Fred Lewis has overcome adversity and is becoming a household name in the bay area sporting a .279/.348/.453 line. Tim Lincecum should garner some serious Cy Young votes and couple him with Matt Cain and the G-Men won't go down without a fight.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Cincinnati Reds</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">39</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">4.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Reds have had six different shortstops this season -- though Alex Gonzalez never played a game -- and five different centerfielders. They've traded Griffey and Dunn and put all the weight on the young shoulders of Votto and Bruce. Had Harang been healthy this year, things may have turned out differently for the Reds. The future is all that looks bright for this bunch of young players, you just wonder how many years like this they'll have to endure before the light turns on.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">San Diego Padres</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">22</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">2.8</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez are the lone bright spots for the under-achieving Friars. Chase Headley, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Khalil Greene provide hope for 2009 and beyond.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Seattle Mariners</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">17</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">2.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Mariners have to be the biggest disappointments in the Majors this season after a strong 88 win season last year and the addition Erik Bedard. Unfortunately that marriage has been almost as bad as Andruw Jones in L.A. The Mariners, a team picked by many to win the West, sit 30 back in the loss column.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Washington Nationals</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">11</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">1.4</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Nats have decided to get the young guys into the game after releasing Felipe Lopez, Paul LoDuca, and Johnny Estrada. The Nats anchored by 3B Ryan Zimmerman have got a bright future with Emilio Bonifacio, Joel Hanrahan, Lastings Milledge and company.</td></tr></tbody></table>Congratulations to timmy for having submitted the poll with the closest correlation to the poll you see above!
Thank you to the following members for participating in this poll: bravesfan91, gobravez, GrandMasterB, JCStone7, josephw000, McCarroll21, timmy, vnodnarb
If you would like to join our panel for next week's poll, send me a PM and we will get you set up to be included in next Monday's poll.
The following poll was developed through a panel of 8 Braves-Nation.com members. The points were derived from the following very scientific system. Each first place team on each poll submitted received 30 points, the second place team received 29 points, etc. all the way down to the last place team on each poll receiving one point.
After all polls were submitted, the total points were tallied and the teams were ranked in descending order. In the event of a tie, we used the team's winning percentage as the tie-breaker.
The numbers you see below correspond with the amount of points each team received, not the order in which they were ranked.
The Los Angeles Angels kept the top of the Braves-Nation.com Poll for the third straight week, and again, beating out the Chicago Cubs. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers were the only teams to move three spots in this week's poll, both climbing up in the poll. The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros move up two spots this week, while the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics drop two spots.<table class="tborder" width="650" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr align="center"><td class="tcat" colspan="4">Braves-Nation.com MLB Poll - 8.11.08</td></tr><tr align="center"><td class="thead" width="165">Team</td><td class="thead" width="100">Total Points</td><td class="thead" width="100">Average Points</td><td class="thead" width="285">Comments</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Los Angeles Angels (6)</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">236</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">29.5</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Angels have continued a great regular season and look to coast to a AL West crown (14 game lead). They used a 5-1 week to bump their ML leading victories to 74.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Chicago Cubs (2)</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">231</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">28.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Cubs made it a point to go out and match the Brewers deal for Sabathia by acquiring Harden and Gaudin and it's paid dividends as their two pitchers have combined for 4 wins and Harden is boasting about in the NL with a 2.10 ERA over five starts. The Cubs are the best team in the NL right now and made sure everyone knew it when they went into Milwaukee and took four games from the Brewers to close out July.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Tampa Bay Rays</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">227</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">28.4</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Rays continue to silence the doubters with another strong week (5W, 2L). That puts the Rays at 16-7 since the All Star break. They pushed their AL East lead to 4.5 games over the Red Sox.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Boston Red Sox</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">218</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">27.3</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Red Sox have been very average in the last couple months which is shown by a .500 record (25-25) since the 70 game mark. On the bright side, Bay has been very impressive replacing Ramirez with a .953 OPS.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Milwaukee Brewers</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">206</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">25.8</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Brewers went out and struck the early deal for Sabathia and he hasn't done anything to disappoint Brewer fans. Sabathia has made seven starts for the Brewers, going 6-0 with four complete games and two shutouts. Is it possible that he wins the Cy Young with just a half season in the NL? The Brewers offense has struggled in August as they watch the Cubs pull away. They'll have to improve on their .246/.329/.435 - .763 line offensively this month if they want to close the gap and cement themselves as a playoff team.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Chicago White Sox</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">193</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">24.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Why exactly did the Sox need The Kid anyway? Aren't they already set in the outfield and at first base and designated hitter? Either way, they just keep winning, going 4-2 this week.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Minnesota Twins</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">192</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">24.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Francisco Liriano is back to his dominant self since his return, posting a 2-0 record and a 2.31 ERA in his first two starts back. What took them so long? They'll regret waiting if they lose the division by just a couple games.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Philadelphia Phillies</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">186</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">23.3</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Phillies have been very inconsistent this year and should have pulled away from the rest of the NL East by now. Their dynamic offense has scored just 92 runs since the All-Star Break, ranking next to last in the National League, beating just the San Francisco Giants. Their offense gets all the billing, but their pitching staff has quietly gone out and posted the third best ERA in the National League with Hamels and Moyer leading the way. The Phillies bullpen is one of the best in baseball but may have taken a major blow recently as Tom Gordon may need to undergo Tommy John surgery on his elbow.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">St. Louis Cardinals</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">175</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">21.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">While the Cubs and Brewers were busy making deadline deals, the Cardinals just waited for Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright to rejoin their pitching staff. Wainwright is going to slide back into the closer's role that he performed so well in for their World Championship team in 2006 as they hope to make a push for a Wild Card slot. It's going to be tough to jump the Brewers in their division, but with Albert Pujols still alive, you can't count them out.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">New York Yankees</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">167</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">20.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">$200 million just doesn't buy what it used it as the Yankees sit in 3rd place and look like somewhat of a longshot to make the playoffs. They are fresh off getting swept by the Angels and their rotation is in shambles with Wang being out, Joba joining him on the DL, and the Hughes/Kennedy experiments being complete failures.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">New York Mets</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">161</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">20.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Just admit it. You thought Carlos Delgado was finished, too. Then he hit two home runs in a late-June game at Yankee Stadium and hasn't stopped slugging since. His 1.100 OPS since then has helped bring the Mets to within two games of first.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Florida Marlins</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">150</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">18.8</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Marlins fell to third place in the East (2.5GB) after a 3-3 week against the Mets and Phillies. Josh Johnson picked up 2 of their 3 wins with 13 IP and just 2 ER.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Los Angeles Dodgers</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">136</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">17.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Dodgers are lurking and the addition of Manny Ramirez makes them even more dangerous. Brad Penny re-joins the rotation but the closer spot is shaky without Takashi Saito to shut the door.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Arizona Diamondbacks</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">135</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">16.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Arizona is clinging onto the NL West lead by a thread and the loss of their slick-fielding 2B doesn't help their cause but with the stretch run looming Arizona boasts 29-15 against the NL West.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Texas Rangers</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">129</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">16.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Rangers finished a 3-4 week with ex-Brave Matt Harrison picking up 2 of the wins. Their offense continues to mash as proven by his 4-2 record despite an ERA over 7.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Toronto Blue Jays</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">128</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">16.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Blue Jays finished an interesting week where they swept the A's, but then were swept by the Indians. I suppose it's no surprise they sit at 59-59 and in 4th place in the AL East.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Detroit Tigers</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">114</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">14.3</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Tigers have been the Jekyll/Hyde of the league this year. Their last 10 games are the perfect example. They had 6-game losing streak followed by winning 3 out of 4 -- in which they outscored their opponents, 26-10.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Houston Astros</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">104</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">13.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">All that's left of the Astros now is Lance Berkman. Their season is done, their slugging left fielder is done and their pitching staff never started. This surely wasn't what the Astros had in mind when they started the year, but at least they've got the outside shot of an MVP in Lance Berkman to have a little something to play for. Berkman's .334/.436/.602 - 1.038 line is all the Astros have to be happy about at this point. The problem for him is that Albert Pujols plays inside his division and if a non-playoff team will be rewarded the MVP, it'll go to St. Louis before Houston.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Atlanta Braves</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">95</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">11.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Voice on speaker: Dr. Andrews, you have a call on line one. Story of the season, I think Andrews has built his own Atlanta Braves wing in his complex. Maybe he can do something to fix Jeff Francoeur. The only thing the Braves are counting now is how many more plate appearances Chipper Jones needs for the batting title.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Baltimore Orioles</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">88</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">11.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Orioles finished a 3-3 week and continue to bring up the rear in the AL East. This looks like the 11th straight season where Baltimore will fall short of 80 wins.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Oakland Athletics</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">77</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">9.6</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The A's sit 20 GB despite a positive pythagorean record (59-58) after seemingly trading away every pitcher they have in the last 12 months. The A's do a terrific job with their meager payroll, but you have to wonder how long fans can follow a team religiously when every good player is traded away.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Pittsburgh Pirates</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">65</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">8.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Pirates made out like bandits in their deadline deals, turning three players close to free agency into a large building block of the future. The future doesn't help now, however, and the Pirates are looking up as the rest of their division has fun in the heat of a playoff race. I guess they'll set their sights on 2009 to finally get over that .500 mark that they haven't seen since Sid Slid.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Kansas City Royals</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">64</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">8.0</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">As recently as last week, the Royals looked like they were going to have a shot at just their second .500 season since 1994. Then they lost 4 out of 5 and reminded us all of why they only have one .500 season in that span.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Cleveland Indians</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">58</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">7.3</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Where would this team be without All-Stars Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee? I hear there's talk about making another Major League movie. Take out those two players and you wouldn't even need real actors.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Colorado Rockies</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">51</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">6.4</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Colorado still believes they are in it and they are standing pat with Matt Holliday in LF and closer Brian Fuentes and the return of SS Troy Tulowitzki back in the lineup in hopes for another historic run to October. Clint Hurdle finds his team 8 games back with little time remaining.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">San Francisco Giants</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">45</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">5.6</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Fred Lewis has overcome adversity and is becoming a household name in the bay area sporting a .279/.348/.453 line. Tim Lincecum should garner some serious Cy Young votes and couple him with Matt Cain and the G-Men won't go down without a fight.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Cincinnati Reds</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">39</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">4.9</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Reds have had six different shortstops this season -- though Alex Gonzalez never played a game -- and five different centerfielders. They've traded Griffey and Dunn and put all the weight on the young shoulders of Votto and Bruce. Had Harang been healthy this year, things may have turned out differently for the Reds. The future is all that looks bright for this bunch of young players, you just wonder how many years like this they'll have to endure before the light turns on.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">San Diego Padres</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">22</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">2.8</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez are the lone bright spots for the under-achieving Friars. Chase Headley, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Khalil Greene provide hope for 2009 and beyond.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Seattle Mariners</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">17</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">2.1</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Mariners have to be the biggest disappointments in the Majors this season after a strong 88 win season last year and the addition Erik Bedard. Unfortunately that marriage has been almost as bad as Andruw Jones in L.A. The Mariners, a team picked by many to win the West, sit 30 back in the loss column.</td></tr><tr><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">Washington Nationals</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">11</td><td class="smallfont" align="center" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">1.4</td><td class="smallfont" bgcolor="#d8d8d8">The Nats have decided to get the young guys into the game after releasing Felipe Lopez, Paul LoDuca, and Johnny Estrada. The Nats anchored by 3B Ryan Zimmerman have got a bright future with Emilio Bonifacio, Joel Hanrahan, Lastings Milledge and company.</td></tr></tbody></table>Congratulations to timmy for having submitted the poll with the closest correlation to the poll you see above!
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