Lots of movers due to the trade deadline… and the fact that I haven’t done this in a while.

1. LA Angels- Just picked up Big Tex from Atlanta to fix their only weakness.  This team is scary good, and now they may just be the team to beat in the AL.

2. Chicago Cubs- I hate him, but I do hope Mark Cuban does buy the team… he could be great for baseball.

3. Tampa Bay Rays- If these guys were just a mirage they would have fallen off by now.  Now with the Red Sox out of the picture they have a clear path to their first AL East title.

4. New York Yankees- They have had a good couple of weeks and seem to be finally putting it all together for a strong stretch run, and got some really good news when Manny left the AL… but then Joba left last night’s game with a “stiff shoulder”.  If he is out for any significant ammount of time than the nice little run the Yanks put together will be for naught… he is the lynchpin.

5. Minnesota Twins- Liriano gives them a chance for the wild card

6. Philadelphia Phillies- yuck

7. Chicago White Sox- God I hope Ozzie replaces Fredi one day… if only for the entertainment value

8. Milwaukee Brewers- Well they failed that test against Chicago pretty miserably… hello wild card!

9. Florida Marlins- Big opportunity coming up with series against Philly and NY, the revamped rotation is looking pretty good

10. Boston Red Sox- I think Jason Bay will fit in well on this team, and they still have the pitching… but make no mistake, when they traded Manny they traded away all hope of repeating this year.  Remember, David Ortiz hasn’t exactly been the frontrunner for Cal Ripken’s Ironman Award this year, and he is their only big bat left.

11. LA Dodgers – Manny definately helps their nonexistent offense… but I’m not so sure they make the playoffs

12. New York Mets – They may be playing better now, but they needed to take that series in Florida, and they also didn’t look too hot against Houston.  Sorry, NY, the Willie Randolph Error screwed you guys from the get-go this year.

13. St. Louis Cardinals – Just not good enough to overtake Chicago or Milwaukee at this point.

14. Arizona Diamondbacks – Very quietly they have been playing much better in the second half.  The NL West should be an interesting race if you can forget the fact that it is the weakest division in baseball.

15. Detroit Tigers- Screw them for trading Pudge to the Yanks instead of back to FL.  Seriously.  Dave Dombrowski has officially earned a top slot on my personal shitlist for that move.

16. Texas Rangers- I’m kinda surprised nobody tried to trade for Hamilton before the deadline

17. Kansas City Royals- The AL wild card is pretty wide open since it looks like Boston and NY have bowed out… nah, what the hell am I talking about?

18. Hous… forget it, its not like teams ranked less than 17 mean anything at this point of the season.