MLB Power Poll: Rays, Yankees remain on top

Manny Ramirez(notes) grabbed the headlines on Monday with his move to Chicago, but the most significant roster addition of the day probably belonged to the Texas Rangers.
Nelson Cruz(notes), when healthy, has been fantastic this season—16 homers with a .320 average, 15 stolen bases and .968 OPS in 77 games. Only problem is, he’s landed on the disabled list with hamstring issues on three separate occasions this year.

But Cruz rejoined the Rangers’ lineup on football jerseys
Monday, and second baseman Ian Kinsler(notes) is due back off the DL later this week. For a franchise that hasn’t made the postseason since 1999, there’s no such thing as too much help when trying to close out a division title.
Anyway, on to the poll.
1. Rays (last week: 1). The Rays are one of just two teams with five pitchers who have started at least 22 games on the season (the Padres are the other), and they’re the only team with five pitchers who have won at least 10 games this year.
2. Yankees (2). A.J. Burnett’s(notes) ERA in five August starts is 7.80; his 5.17 ERA for the season is the worst in his career.
3. Braves (4). Omar Infante’s(notes) career batting average entering this year was 264; he’s at .341 through 360 plate appearances this season. With another 142 plate appearances over the final 32 games of the season, he’s eligible for the NL batting crown.
4. Twins (5). Rookie Danny Valencia(notes) is quietly having an outstanding season for the Twins. He took over for the failed third-base combo of Nick Punto(notes) and Brendan Harris(notes) shortly after he was called up in June, and he’s batting .320 through his first 59 major-league games.
5. Reds (6). Since their “devastating” three game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals, the Reds are 11-4 and have claimed complete control of the NL Central. Their current five-game lead is their biggest since 2002, and their biggest this late in the season since 1995.
6. Phillies (8). Philly’s top two starters are on quite a roll. Since the All-Star break, Cole Hamels(notes) has a 2.47 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 62 innings and Roy Halladay(notes) has a 2.29 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 59 innings.
7. Padres (3). The Padres finally suffered their first four-game losing streak of the season last week. And they still own a five-game lead in the NL West.
8. Rangers (7). The Rangers are in command of the AL West despite pathetic production from their first baseman this year, who have a combined .635 OPS, which is 28th in the league. Jorge Cantu(notes), the trade acquisition brought in to solidify the position, has a .211 average and zero RBIs in 18 games with the team.
9. Red Sox (9). Seriously, Terry Francona deserves consideration for the manager of the year award for keeping this team afloat despite all the injuries.
10. Giants (11). Pablo Sandoval(notes) is hitting .481 with a 1.315 OPS, nine RBIs and a pair of Carolina Panthers jersey
homers in his past six games.
11. White Sox (12). Which Manny Ramirez are the White Sox getting? At 4 1/2 games behind the Twins, there’s no harm in taking the risk to find out.
12. Rockies (14). FYI … on the morning of August 31, 2007, the Rockies were six games out of first place in the NL West and five games back in the wild-card race. This morning, they’re eight games back in the West and 4 1/2 back in the wild-card race.
13. Cardinals (10). In August, the Cardinals are 5-11 vs. teams that are at least six games under .500 for the season, and 5-1 vs. teams that are at least 13 games over .500 for the season.
14. Blue Jays (13). The Blue Jays have eight different players with at least 13 home runs on the season. No other team in the majors has more than six.
15. A's (19). The A’s, meanwhile, don’t have any players with at least 13 home runs. Kurt Suzuki(notes) and Kevin Kouzmanoff(notes) are tied for the team lead with 12.
16. Dodgers (15). The Dodgers have only finished under .500 once since 1999. Right now, they’re just three games over.
17. Marlins (17). No doubt, Josh Johnson(notes) is the Marlins’ ace. But Anibal Sanchez(notes) has been outperformed him since the All-Star break—better ERA (2.52 to 3.56) and better opponents’ batting average (.232 to .270).
18. Tigers (20). Ryan Rayburn is hitting .354 with 17 RBIs and a 1.094 OPS in his past 20 games.
19. Mets (16). The Mets haven’t been more than two games on either side of .500 since July 23, when they were 50-47.
20. Angels (18). The Angels were 18-9 in June, but have collapsed since then—they were 9-17 in July and are 10-15 with one game left in August.
21. Brewers (21). The Brewers have five players with at least 19 homers; no other team has more than four.
22. Astros (22). Through his first 19 starts of the season, Wandy Rodriguez(notes) had a 5.11 ERA. In his past seven starts, though, he’s allowed just six earned runs for a tidy 1.12 ERA.
23. Nationals (24). John Lannan(notes) has allowed more than two earned runs just once in his past six starts; he has a 3.25 ERA in that stretch.
24. Cubs (25). Tyler Colvin(notes), the Cubs’ first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2006 draft, has 19 home runs in just 309 at-bats this year. His career high in the minors was just 16.
25. Royals (23). In case you were wondering, Royals teammates Jason Kendall(notes) and Chris Getz(notes) are still the only two players in the majors without either a triple or a home run (with at least 150 at-bats).
26. Indians (27). Chris Perez(notes) has appeared in 17 games since Kerry Wood(notes) landed on the disabled list (and then was traded to the Yankees). In those games, he’s fashioned a 1.00 ERA, converted nine of 10 save opportunities and struck out 22 in 18 innings.
27. Diamondbacks (28). It’s hard not to be encouraged by young starters Barry Enright(notes) and Dan Hudson, who are a combined 9-3 with a 2.21 ERA for the D-backs this season.
28. Orioles (29). Jeremy Guthrie(notes) has allowed zero or one earned run in five of Buffalo Bills jersey
his last nine starts, and has a 2.54 ERA in that stretch.
29. Mariners (26). Felix Hernandez(notes) has allowed just one run in his past 30 innings. He’s struck out 40 and allowed just 19 hits in those innings.
30. Pirates (30). The Pirates have winning records against just two teams this year. They’re 4-2 against their in-state rivals, the playoff-hopeful Phillies, 4-3 against the playoff-hopeful Rockies and a dominating 9-3 vs. the Cubs.