-Digger's Daily-
Baseball has its' movers and shakers. San Francisco beefed up by adding Jose Guillen. Yanks went after Austin Kearns but not sure why they took a shot on struggling Lance Berkman. Texas added Lee a couple of weeks back and then Cantu & Guzman (injured). Atlanta wasted no time filling the run producing void of Chipper Jones season ending injury. The Braves bolstered their chances trading for gold glove 1B Derrek Lee. Lee's struggled most of the year but seemed to be snapping out of it recently until a nagging back injury shelved him for a few games. Keep an eye on player movement. Anything from trades to Carlos Delgado returning to AL action (Boston).
Tampa Bay has rebounded from a mini losing streak and swept out visiting AL West leading Texas to climb into a first place tie with the Yanks. Minnesota's sizzling with 6 in a row to take the AL Central's top slot over struggling Chicago (4 game losing streak). Braves doing their best to keep hold of the NL East against a charging Phillies squad. Cincinnati and St. Louis keep trading places. San Diego is beginning to pull away in the NL West. Division races are hot.
Things are heating up. Time for another quick power rank....
1- New York Yankees (74-46)... could have done better than getting a struggling Berkman. Wood and Kearns will be key contributors down the stretch.
2- Tampa Bay Rays (74-46)... expected them to land a big time bat for playoff baseball.
3- Minnesota Twins (70-50)... these guys just know how to win even when injured. They could have used an ace for playoff baseball vs top NY & TB staffs.
4- San Diego Padres (72-47)... pitching rich all season and added a few deadline deal bats (Ryan Ludwig, Miguel Tejada). They're pulling away in the West.
5- Texas Rangers (67-52)... stumbled in Tampa and losers in 7 of last 10. Powerhouse lineup. History tells us August Texas heat wilts Rangers pitching staffs. Will it happen again?
6- Atlanta Braves (71-49)... Adding Lee was huge. Glaus shifts to 3B and Braves are back in business.
7- Philadelphia Phillies (68-51)... coming on strong. Added SP Oswalt and 1B Sweeney. Rollins and Utley both back from extended injuries. Tremendous rotation. Bullpen troubles continue.
8- St. Louis Cardinals (65-53)... LaRussa's squad stuck in 4 game downturn to drop 3 games behind Cincy. Cards starting staff is tough. Lineup struggling to score from game to game.
9- Chicago White Sox (65-55)... lost their grip on 1st to Minnesota. Talented lineup struggling all year to live up to expectations. Rotation has been solid.
10- Cincinnati Reds (69-51)... they keep winning. Lineup has been getting the job done. Pitchers stats aren't pretty to view but they're getting results. Everyone keeps asking how they'll be able to hang on?
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