Baseball Power Rankings - Rockies climbing up baseball betting ladder

MLB betting players figured Colorado was done after an awful first two months, but the Rockies have chipped away and are now within shouting distance of Los Angeles in the National League West.

(Last week’s rankings in brackets)

1. (1) New York Yankees (78-47): C.C. Sabathia has lit up the second half so far: 7-1 in eight starts with a 3.00 ERA. Now, if A.J. Burnett can stop his sudden slide.

2. (8) Colorado (72-54): The Rockies have cut their nine-game deficit in the NL West at the All-Star to two, and they could be tied by the time they head to San Francisco this weekend.

3. (2) Los Angeles Angels (74-50): Ervin Santana won all four of his starts in August, and any pitching help at all would help the Angels, who have driven in the most runs in the AL.

4. (3) St. Louis (73-54): They didn’t do anything to lose a spot, winning eight of their last 10. The other three teams are just a bit better, though, as of right now.

5. (4) Philadelphia (72-51): The arrivals of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez may have made online betting players forget just how shaky Cole Hamels has been in 2009.

6. (6) Los Angeles Dodgers (74-52): Okay Manny, this is why you haggled over a monster contract: .275, two HR and 10 RBI in August ain’t gonna cut it.

7. (10) Boston (72-53): Josh Beckett has allowed 15 runs and eight homers in his last 13.1 innings, but don’t worry, he’ll pick it up in September.

8. (9) Tampa Bay (69-56): The Rays’ consistency is in their inconsistency, if that makes any sense. One week they’ll lose four of six, and next week, they’ll take five of seven. Offshore sportsbook players have no idea what to do with them.

9. (6) Texas (70-54): If they mixed last year’s hitting with this year’s pitching, the Rangers would be a World Series contender...actually, they’d be the Yankees.

10. (12) Detroit (67-58): The Tigers better not get comfortable, because Minnesota has won five in a row, and are now 4.5 games behind them in the AL Central.

11. (11) San Francisco (68-58): The Giants can pull themselves back into the NL West race when they host the red-hot Rockies for three games this weekend.

12. (13) Atlanta (66-59): A seven-game road trip to Philadelphia and Florida that starts this week could essentially decide their fate.

13. (7) Florida (66-59): The Marlins are essentially the Rays in the NL, but they need to continue their .500 road play, as they spend most of the rest of the season away from home.

14. (15) Seattle (65-61): The Mariners’ -48 run differential will pretty much doom them, but still, it’s amazing they’re still in the wild-card race.

15. (21) Minnesota (63-63): A 5.79 ERA in August should have done in the Twins, but they’re also hitting better than they have in three months.

16. (14) Chicago White Sox (63-63)

17. (16) Chicago Cubs (62-61)

18. (19) Houston (61-64)

19. (17) Milwaukee (61-64)

20. (25) Cleveland (55-70)

21. (24) Oakland (55-70)

22. (28) Cincinnati (53-71)

23. (30) Pittsburgh (52-71)

24. (23) Toronto (57-67)

25. (20) Washington (45-81)

26. (22) Arizona (55-71)

27. (18) New York Mets (57-69)

28. (27) San Diego (53-74)

29. (26) Kansas City (48-77)

30. (29) Baltimore (51-75)

It’s amazing how quickly the Cardinals put that much room between themselves and the rest of the NL Central, which was one of the closest races at the All-Star break. It’s also fitting that the Mets will end the season with Johan Santana on the disabled list. Their ace is gone, but due to other injuries to everyone but the general manager (that we know of), their sports betting hopes were dashed long ago.

Before his arm flamed out, Dale “Skip” Lalonde was famous for his high-90s heat and power at the plate. He retired young but never turned his back on baseball, earning the nickname “Skip” for his high-school coaching prowess. A true student of the game, he loves crunching the numbers when he handicaps baseball. Email Comments@BetOnline.com.