Major League Baseball Power Ranking: Week 17 – Part 4

Question

Major League Baseball Power Ranking: Week 17 – Part 4
10. The National League Central Division is probably indulged in the most intense competition for the top spot with the top three teams differentiated by a margin of 0.5 games each. The Milwaukee Brewers are in the core of this swing and are currently at
the third place in the Central division. All three teams have registered six wins in their previous ten outings and the Brewers now need to do something special to take a solid lead at top of the division. Prince Fielder might be the man!
11. The Cleveland Indians have been decent in the season thus far with just two games shy of leaders Detroit Tigers in the American League Central Division. Their previous ten games have been a nightmare with just three wins in that span.
Their major struggle has come against the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. A win-loss record of 4-12 is enough evidence of their performance against both teams. Four of these losses came this week and resulted in the Indians moving out of the top
ten.
12. Tampa Bay Rays could not make it count after the All-Star break and slipped from a formidable position to almost out of contention now. Their eight losses from 12 games after the break have placed them ten games behind the New York Yankees and recovering
from this position is asking a bit too much. The Rays now have only glory to play for and they have a chance to redeem that when they take on the struggling Seattle Mariners from July 29 to July 31 in a three-game series.
13. Arizona Diamondbacks are just three games behind the world champions San Francisco Giants but this deficit is now beginning to magnify as the season goes deep into second half. The Diamondbacks will need a quick replacement for Wily Mo Pena who became
a free agent on Sunday, July 24 after a brisk hitting show with Arizona. J.J. Putz is back from the disabled list and it will be vital for him to hit form immediately for the Diamondbacks to stay in contention for the top spot in their division.
14. Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled in the past week and have thus experienced a fall from the 11th position to the 14th this week. Their batting is ranked 25th out of the total 30 teams in Major League Baseball and Kevin
Correia’s sudden fall from form has inflated problems for the Pirates. Correia has lost all three of his previous starts and will be looking to hit back sooner than later if the Pirates need to make a mark this season.
15. Cincinnati Reds still have the slightest of chances in the intense National League Central Division but a deficit of five games might be a bit hard to eradicate. Their record could have been better if they had regrouped in the All-Star break but they
returned only to lose six out of the 11 games played so far. The Reds managed to win back-to-back games after a month when they defeated the Atlanta Braves on July 23 and 24 but have since lost two consecutive games.
16. Toronto Blue Jays have the leading home-run hitter this season in their side but he has been of little help when it has come to winning games. The Jays are just below the .500 winning percentage but what is more alarming is that they are 13 games back
from the Boston Red Sox and 11 from the Yankees. This means that this season is virtually over for Toronto.
Continued in Part 5