Cubicle GM MLB Power Rankings: July 7

Jacob NitzbergJul 8, 2009

This week’s Cubicle GM Power Rankings saw two new entries into the Top 10, including the Rangers who made the biggest jump, seven spots from No. 12 to No. 5 in the rankings. Other notable positive movements included the Cubs, Braves, and the A’s, who all moved up three spots.

These movements were more of a result of drops in the rankings by other teams around them as opposed to solid play.

There were some major drops this week, as the Brewers dropped to second place in the NL Central and five spots to No. 12 in the rankings. The Rockies have lost three of five after going on a tear, which has dropped them six spots to No. 14.

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Washington Nationals v Los Angeles Angels

Bleacher Report1w

Bleacher Report1w

The Mets’ poor showing in Philadelphia this weekend dropped them four spots to No. 19. The Orioles dropped five spots to No. 29 after losing seven of nine and five of six.

There wasn’t a lot of change at the top, aside from Boston taking the No. 1 spot from the Dodgers. With the Red Sox at No. 1, the Yankees at No. 4, and Tampa at No. 6, the AL East stayed atop the divisional rankings. The Nationals remain unanimous at the bottom, which kept the NL East at the bottom.

Since Joey is on vacation getting married, it was up to Gideon to keep throwing a wrench in the rankings with his system. As with last week, his rankings differed slightly from Mickey’s and mine, including:

San Francisco Giants (15) – Gideon 22, Jacob 7

Philadelphia Phillies (14) – Gideon 20, Jacob 6

Seattle Mariners (13) - Gideon 24, Jacob 11

Pittsburgh Pirates (13) – Gideon 14, Mickey 27

Arizona Diamondbacks (13) - Gideon 15, Mickey 28

Without further ado, here are this week’s rankings (last week’s rankings are in parentheses). Backup data can be found here. As with last week, I’m going into detail about the Top 10 only.

1. Boston Red Sox (2) – The Sox slide into the top spot in the rankings, despite losing a bit of their lead in the AL East. Yesterday was a low point, as they were two-hit by Brett Anderson of the A’s in Nomar’s return to Fenway.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (1) – The Dodgers fall from the top spot, despite remaining 20 games over .500 and seven games ahead of second place. Bill Plaschke thinks the Dodgers look like they can’t wait for the All-Star break.

3. Los Angeles Angels (3) – The Angels just keep winning, including three in a row and seven of their last 10. Kurt Streeter of the LA Times thinks a close division race will be good for Anaheim.

4. New York Yankees (4) – The Yankees have won eight of their last 10 and are now just one game back of Boston in the AL East. After yesterday’s loss, manager Joe Girardi called out a few people, including Captain Derek Jeter.

5. Texas Rangers (12) – The Rangers played their way into the Top Five with a solid week, and are now just one game back of the Angels in the West. They get an additional boost with the return of Josh Hamilton from the DL.

6. Tampa Bay Rays (6) – The Rays haven’t won a game since the last Power Rankings, but three of those were at the hands of a sweep by No. 5 Texas. Utility man Ben Zobrist was named to the All-Star team by his own manger Joe Maddon.

7. Detroit Tigers (5) – The Tigers saw their division lead shrink from four to 1.5 games in the past week, and as such dropped two spots in the rankings. Detroit may have some help after the break in the form of Carlos Guillen, who took BP yesterday for the first time since his injury.

8. Toronto Blue Jays (10) – The Jays lost three of four to the Yankees over the long weekend, remain in fourth place, seven games out of first in their division, yet moved up two spots in the power rankings. Scott Richmond, who was scratched from his start Saturday, then put on the DL, hopes to return immediately following the All-Star Break.

9. Minnesota Twins (9) – The Twins played just four games since last week’s Power Rankings, winning three of them. In the process, they leapfrogged the White Sox into second place in their division. The Twins got good news about Kevin Slowey’s wrist injury.

10. Philadelphia Phillies (11) – One of two new teams in the Top 10, the Phillies have won four in a row going into Tuesday night to extend their division lead to two games over Florida. There is word that the Phillies have sent personnel to the Dominican Republic to look at Pedro Martinez.

11. St. Louis Cardinals (13)

12. Milwaukee Brewers (7)

13. San Francisco Giants (14)

14. Colorado Rockies (8)

15. Chicago Cubs (18)

16. Chicago White Sox (17)

17. Seattle Mariners (16)

18. Florida Marlins (19)

19. New York Mets (15)

20. Atlanta Braves (23)

21. Houston Astros (21)

22. Cincinnati Reds (20)