Will Fielder succumb to the curse of the Home Run Derby trophy?

The BWB Power Rankings reflects the very opinionated view of it’s authors. Not to be mistake for your traditional Power Rankings, the BWB Power Rankings reflects the very unique views of  BWBs lovely authors . That is not to say that we are not subjective (the Blue Jays, Raptors, and Cowboys won’t be #1 every time) but we may not agree with the popular belief. If you don’t agree or think that someone should be higher or lower let us know in the comments.

Apparently “Roberts Report” is a copyrighted name which we are not allowed to use. Some smart guy with a Phd. named Sean Roberts has a political site that focuses on issues in central Asia called the Roberts Report. It’s actually a really good read if you wanna swing by. However, as a result we are forced to change the name of this article, for now it will be called “The BWB Power Rankings” but if any of you have a better name for this feature feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments because “The BWB Power Rankings” is pretty awful if you ask me.

Moving on, the All Star break is over and we now enter the second half of the season. Already there are a handful of teams that are all but eliminated from the playoffs and several others that have a very small chance. But for the top 2/3 of this list the next few months are crucial. Finally, the exciting part of the MLB season is here.

1) LA Dodgers (Prev 1) (58-34): Nothing has changed with these guys. Still the best run difference, best record, and best manager. Hopefully the playoffs are kind to the Dodgers this year.

2) NY Yankees (Prev 2) (54-37): Maybe angry because of his All Star snub, A-Rod has hit 2 home runs in three games since the All Star break. The Yankees swept the Tigers and won two games 2-1 thanks to A-Rod’s homers.

3) Boston Red Sox (Prev 3) (55-36) : Lost 2 of 3 to the Toronto Blue Jays, not a good way to start up after the All Star break. The Rangers are next up. Will the Sox lose the AL East lead for the first time since Toronto had the lead in May?

4) Philadelphia Phillies (Prev 12) (51-38): Slowly removing my foot from my mouth. After ripping on the Phillies and putting them at 16 they have gone 11-1.

5) LA Angels (Prev 7) (52-38): The Angels may be the most consistent team in baseball, averaging 94 wins over the last 5 years. The Angels took back the lead in the West with a 3 game lead over the Rangers.

6) Tampa Bay Rays (Prev 11) (51-41): Carl Crawford won the All Star MVP, it won’t be the last MVP award he wins this year if the voters get it right. Too bad the Rays play in the East and will miss the playoffs.

7) St. Louis Cardinals: (Prev 6) (51-43) Imagine how good this team could be if they had just one solid batter not named Albert Pujols.

8 ) San Fransisco Giants (Prev 5) (50-41): How many stories have to come out of San Fransisco before we finally admit that the Giants have the best pitching rotation in the game. 2 legit Cy Young hopefuls, a 300 game winner, a no hitter, and Barry Zito… nevermind.

9) Texas Rangers (Prev 4) (49-41): A 2-5 record since our last Power Rankings has them 3 games behind the Angels in the West.

10) Colorado Rockies (Prev 10) (50-42): The Rockies Brad Hawpe was robbed of a home run in the All Star game, so i’m sure he was happy to return to the comfort of Coors Field. The All Star has a home run and is hitting .455 since the break in a 3-1 series win over the Padres.

11) Chicago Cubs (Prev 16) (47-43): Hey, the Cubs are on a 4 game winning streak! Sound familiar? (Read the last two Power Rankings)

12) Seattle Mariners (Prev 17) (49-43): At 23 Felix Hernandez is finally showing why he was so hyped the past few years, winning his 10th game in a 8 inning gem against the Indians during the Mariners 3-1 series win. Hernandez was called the LeBron James of baseball and now he’s looking like it. Imagine what this kid can do once they take off the restrictions let him throw all his pitches!

13) Detroit Tigers (Prev 8 ) (48-42): The Tigers got swept by the Yankees and now only have a 1.5 game lead in the Central. I have a feeling the White Sox win the division not the Tigers which leads me to…

14) Chicago White Sox (Prev 11) (47-44): The Sox have no notable stars on their team, unless of course you include Manager Guillen in the discussion. Regardless, their blue collar style of play and excellent group of pitchers have them poised for a run at the playoffs.

15) Minnesota Twins (Prev 15) (47-45): The Twins have a great young team, their core players Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, and Denard Span all under 28. With a better middle infield and a more mature rotation the Twins could be an elite team.

16) Toronto Blue Jays (Prev 21) (46-47): The Jays beat the Red Sox and have the lowly Indians next. However, there is little hope for the playoffs this year so the Jays are thinking of trading the best pitcher in baseball, Roy Halladay, for a boat load of young talent. If that happens the Jays will take a hit this year and maybe next, but with the emergence of Romero, the return of McGowan and Marcum from the DL, and a number of the Jays rookies looking like MLB regulars the Jays would have a bright future.

17) Milwaukee Brewers (Prev 13) (47-45): The Brewers rotation needs to improve drastically if they ever want to make the playoffs. Fielder is great but only Albert Pujols can single handily carry a team to the playoffs.

18) Atlanta Braves (Prev 20) (46-46): The Phillies may be out of reach but the Braves are just 4.5 games behind the Giants for the NL Wild Card. The Braves have a 3 game series against the Giants starting tonight and can jump up the standings with a sweep.

19) Houston Astros (Prev 19) (46-46): A 2-2 series against the Dodgers should almost be considered a victory with the way the Dodgers have been playing this year. The Wild Card is in range for the Astros but they need to get more quality starts from their pitchers if they are going to move up.

20) Cincinnati Reds (44-47) (Prev 18): Check back in 2-3 years and this team will be in the top 10.

21) Florida Marlins (Prev 14) (46-47): Need to bounce back against the Padres after a sweep at the hands of the Phillies.

22) Baltimore Orioles (Prev 24) (41-50): It’s tough being in the AL East, with the talent on this team they should be within a few games of the playoffs. Instead they are 13 back and have no shot at baseball in the fall.

23) Pittsburgh Pirates (Prev 25) (40-51): After a bad stretch before the All Star break the Pirates bounced back with a series win over the Giants. Their -9 run differencial compared to the teams before and after them on this list (Marlins: -23, Mets: -43) indicate they could be a lot higher if they start winning the close games.

24) NY Mets (Prev 22) (43-48): A totally different team without Jose Reyes. They need to make a number of changes in the offseason if they want to win next year.

25) Arizona Diamondbacks (Prev 23) (39-53): This team just needs time and experience before they start winning.

26) Oakland Athletics (Prev 27) (38-52): I’ve always hated Matt Holiday, so seeing him struggle in a real ball park is great. Anyone who plays at Coors field should have an asterisk beside their names in the record books.

27) KC Royals (Prev 26) (37-54): I repeat my previous feelings, this team would be one of the worst in baseball without Zach Greinke.

28) Cleveland Indians (Prev 28) (36-57): It seems like Cliff Lee is struggling after a Cy Young performance in ‘08. The truth is Lee has 16 quality starts in 20 games this year, it is the lack of offense from his teammates that has him at 5-9.

29) San Diego Padres (Prev 29) (37-55): Their -124 run differential is worse than the Nationals, how they win games is beyond me.

30) Washington Nationals (Prev 30) (26-65): Not only are they an awful team, apparently they’re also terrible at communicating. All World prospect Strausburg apparently hasn’t heard a word from the organization since he was drafted. Not smart but at this point do you expect anything less from the Nationals?

-KC Roberts