We enjoyed an All-Star break of our own and took last Tuesday off from our weekly power rankings. Besides, we figured an update after 9 or 10 games would be better than 3 or 4.

And we shook things up. We just couldn’t help ourselves, even if it makes our job harder next week.

First 4

1. (6/7/11/19/18/14/13/17) Rays: The All-Star break didn’t slow them down, winning seven of 8 in Toronto, Boston and New York to start the second half. The knock going into the break was that they weren’t beating anyone during their hot streak. Now they’re beating everyone, capped by a delayed win in Boston for 1st place.

2. (1/1/3/9/2/3/5/15) A’s: In control of the AL West now thanks to a heavy dose of Angels (4-3) with an Astros series win sandwiched in between.

3. (12/13/24/24/23/20/27/25) Dodgers: Give us 10 days and we’ll change a lot. L.A. blew right past the Diamondbacks. Winning 9 of 10 to start the half is impressive, but going 26-6 since 6/22 is insane. They are for real.

4. (2/2/4/3/1/1/1/1) Cardinals: Swept the Phillies, won a series against the Padres, then got swept by the Braves. The 5-game showdown in Pittsburgh could have a huge impact on the NL Central the rest of the way.

Middle of the majors 

5. (5/6/9/7/9/10/11/5) Tigers: After stumbling out of the gate against the Royals, handled their business against inferior competition.

6. (¾/1/¼/6/6/9) Pirates: Treading water since the break, but the last win was a big one – the first in a 5-game series against the Cardinals.

7. (9/11/6/13/17/27/12/7) Indians: They aren’t going away in the AL Central, and thanks to a sweep of the Rangers are suddenly in the thick of the wild card chase.

8. (11/12/10/11/5/2/4/4) Braves: It seems no one is going to threaten them in the NL East. A sweep of St. Louis at least proves that they can hang with the good teams.

9. (4/5/5/8/7/7/7/12) Red Sox: Controlled their own destiny against the Rays, and now Tampa Bay is in 1st.

10. (8/10/7/6/6/11/8/13) Orioles: Took it to Texas to start the half, but were no match for the Royals or Red Sox in the series since.

11. (10/9/8/2/3/5/3/2) Reds: Quietly marching to a playoff berth. Nothing spectacular, but maybe they’re saving that for the postseason.

12. (7/3/2/4/8/4/2/3) Rangers: Ten games ago they were in good shape, but a 2-8 run to start the second half has them buried in the AL West and losing their grip on the wild card. Getting swept by Cleveland didn’t help. 

13. (14/8/13/12/13/9/14/6) Yankees: Soriano. Jeter. Rodriguez. Addition by acquistion. Addition by reactivation. Addition by subtraction. 

14. (21/17/18/17/12/19/26/23) Royals: Taking 2 out of 3 from Detroit and Baltimore and sweeping the White Sox is an excellent way to salvage the season. Finishing over .500 would be even better.

15. (20/21/22/18/22/22/22/22) Mariners: An 8-game winning streak and a lot of slumping teams lift Seattle into the top half of our rankings.

16. (13/16/14/10/11/8/9/10) Diamondbacks: Their hold on first place kept their ranking stay artificially inflated. 

17. (19/22/25/25/25/23/24/27) Cubs: Capped a challenging post-break road trip through the NL West with a sweep of the defending champion Giants. And all three were tight, 1-run wins. Maybe the Cubs are coming around.

18. (15/15/15/21/19/17/19/14) Nationals: They just aren’t that interesting of a team this year. Too bad.

19. (17/18/12/5/10/13/16/20) Blue Jays: Nothing to see here. Move along.

20. (27/25/23/22/21/21/20/30) Twins: Really struggled at the end of the 1st half, but they’re doing better so far in the 2nd. Then again, it’s hard not to do better than 1-12.

21. (23/23/26/28/29/29/25/24) Mets: The All-Star Game momentum resulted in… a 5-5 start to the 2nd half.

22. (26/27/27/30/30/30/30/29) Marlins: We keep moving them up, but we know how this story ends.

23. (18/19/16/15/14/15/10/8) Rockies: And it’s teams like Colorado who keep making us move up Miami by default. Lost 3 of 4 to the Marlins… at home.

24. (22/14/19/23/24/24/23/21) Angels: A 4-7 start to the 2nd half shows it’s not going to be any better than the 1st half. An 2 ex-Chicago catchers really added some 9th inning salt to the wound Monday night.

25. (25/26/28/27/26/25/28/26) Brewers: No Braun, no problem. They’ll just wait right here where he left them.

26. (30/30/17/16/15/18/17/18) Padres: They figured out how to get out of the cellar … let the World champs tumble past them.

Final 4

27. (16/20/21/20/20/16/18/19) Phillies: When you lose eight in a row, you bottom out in our weekly power rankings. 

28. (24/24/20/14/16/12/15/11) Giants: Last place? Swept by the Cubs? Worse yet, the only game they’ve won in their last 8 was a “road” game conveniently played at AT&T Park.

29. (28/29/30/29/28/26/21/16) White Sox: There is no fire in this team.

30. (29/28/29/26/27/28/29/28) Astros: They were overdue to land here. They should get comfortable.