Baseball Power Rankings

1. RED SOX: It's up to Manager Terry Francona to keep his team interested during the second half. 2. ANGELS: SS Orlando Cabrera absolutely, positively should've been an All-Star. 3. TIGERS: IF Neifi Perez was batting .172 when he was suspended for using a banned stimulant. He obviously wasn't stimulated enough. 4. INDIANS: Winning a series against the Tigers this past week would've sent a statement. Instead, Detroit looks poised to take over the AL Central. 5. BREWERS: They'll have to tread carefully with 2006 team MVP Bill Hall (high ankle sprain) out for at least a month.

6. METS: What you'd like to see if you're a Mets fan is a tidy, little nine-game win streak to put the NL East away. 7. PADRES: Think the Rangers could use All-Star RHP Chris Young and his 2.00 ERA right about now? They never should've traded him. 8. MARINERS: Longtime bench coach John McLaren finally gets a well-deserved chance to manage in the majors. 9. DODGERS: First Jason Schmidt, now Randy Wolf. The free-agent starters are dropping like flies. 10. DIAMONDBACKS: What they need, like the Dodgers and Padres, is another big bat in the middle of the lineup.

11. BRAVES: Losing John Smoltz for an extended period of time is the worst thing that could have happened. 12. ATHLETICS: By the third week of July (at Angels, at Mariners), we'll know if Oakland has a second-half push in reserve. 13. TWINS: They're just kind of lurking behind the Indians and Tigers, but Minnesota is capable of making it interesting in the AL Central. 14. CUBS: Clearly, Louis Victor Piniella is still a heck of a manager. Now, can his Cubbies finish tracking down the Brewers? 15. PHILLIES: Just a hunch, but it's a good bet Ryan Howard will keep the kayakers busy on McCovey Cove on Monday.

16. BLUE JAYS: History will look back at this year and wonder what the heck Roy Halladay was doing at home during the All-Star break. 17. CARDINALS: Albert Pujols batted .412 in the first five games of July, but hit no homers. 18. YANKEES: Now A-Rod's banged up (hamstring). This team should break it down and start over. 19. ROCKIES: If Colorado played only the Mets and Yankees (swept them both), the NL West title would reside in Denver. 20. MARLINS: It's a lost season for RHP Josh Johnson (DL, forearm), but he'll be only 24 next year.

21. PIRATES: Departing CEO Kevin McClatchy's legacy is that beautiful stadium on the river - and losing baseball on the field. 22. WHITE SOX: Pick a starter, any starter. Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras would fit nicely on a contender. 23. ORIOLES: Aubrey Huff hasn't hit fewer than 21 homers in a season since 2001. He had six coming into the weekend. 24. GIANTS: This team needs to rebuild around its promising pitching. As long as Barry's there, it's false hope. 25. ASTROS: Odd that it took Smoltz's injury to grant Roy Oswalt an All-Star berth.

26. ROYALS: They're winning lately despite a huge injury list that includes just about every veteran on the team. 27. RANGERS: Sammy Sosa (63 RBIs) should've been their All-Star. 28. NATIONALS: And to think, the Rays wanted All-Star Dmitri Young to play for Triple-A Durham if he signed. 29. REDS: Josh Hamilton came into the weekend with 14 home runs. 30. DEVIL RAYS: Looks like yet another high draft pick in 2008 for Tampa Bay. Carter Gaddis

POWER RANKINGS