MLB Weekly Power Rankings

1. Boston Red Sox (44-24, 1st Place AL East). Last week it looked like the Red Sox were trying to give away their top spot in the MLB power rankings. But seven days can change things. After seeing their 14 game lead over the Yankees shrink to just 7, the Sox hammered Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, sweeping them in Fenway Park. The Sox still have the best record and the biggest division lead in baseball, and that keeps the former Beaneaters in the top spot.

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (44-26, 1st Place AL West). On the strength of great starting pitching and a well-balanced hitting attack, the Halos have extended their lead to six games in the American League West. More importantly, they have reached the coveted Number Two spot in these MLB power rankings.

3. Cleveland Indians (40-28, 1st Place AL Central). Another well-balanced offensive team that is getting great pitching from the trio of C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona and Paul Byrd, the Indians have held off the Detroit Tigers for another week. This week they will face the tough Philadelphia Phillies while the Tigers play the very weak Washington Nationals. Next week could result in a flip-flop in the AL Central standings and in the rankings.

4. San Diego Padres (40-28, 1st Place NL West). Jake Peavy. Jake Peavy. Oh, and Jake Peavy.

5. Detroit Tigers (39-29, 2nd Place AL Central). The Tigers have four of their best pitchers on the Disabled List, so Justin Verlander had to step it up last week. He did. The second year starter pitched a 12 strikeout no-hitter against Milwaukee on Tuesday night and then beat the streaking Phillies on Sunday, which held the team together and kept them right in the thick of things for yet another week.

6. Milwaukee Brewers (38-31, 1st Place NL Central). The two biggest questions in Milwaukee are: (a) can the brewers win the Central; and can Prince Fielder join his dad and become the first father-son pair to each hit 50 home runs. The answers? Yes, and yes.

7. New York Mets (37-30, 1st Place NL East). As good as this team was in April and May, they have been abysmal in June, winning three games while dropping twelve. The Mets need to get healthy, they need Delgado and Beltran to hit, and most of all, the team could really benefit from the return of a certain surly future Hall of Fame pitcher named Pedro Martinez. .

8. New York Yankees (35-32, 2nd Place AL East). With 11 wins in their last 12 games, it appears that the Yankees have finally righted the ship. Their starting rotation of Wang, Mussina, Pettitte and Clemens is clicking on all cylinders, and their offense has been on fire behind the incomparable hitting of Alex Rodriguez (.315, 27 HR, 73 RBI), Derek Jeter and the recently hot pair of Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu. With their next nine games against Colrado, Baltimore and San Francisco, they may be able to continue this hot streak.

9. Los Angeles Dodgers (39-30, 3rd Place NL West). It's the same story every week with the Dodgers: great pitching atrocious hitting. The team may have the most consistent top 3 starters in baseball in Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf. But without a big bat, they will not make the playoffs. Look for them to be one of the most active buyers once the trade madness begins.

10. Philadelphia Phillies (36-33, 3rd Place NL East). In the opinion of the team's general manager, the Phillies are overachieveing right now. That may be true, having won 10 out of 16 games in June even though Freddy Garcia and Brett Myers are on the Disabled List, and Ryan Howard is hitting a lowly .232.

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