1 61 52 69.4 65.9 65.3 .579 .598 41.6% 43.5% 85.1% 3.0% 28.6%

They're finally starting to look like the team to beat in the American League, which is only possible under an obscure NAFTA proviso.

2 61 52 65.2 66.6 67.0 .575 .594 57.7% 26.1% 83.8% -1.1% -11.6%

Man, Oliver Perez pitching against the Mets in the World Series is going to be a veritable sight.

3 71 40 70.6 64.4 63.9 .608 .589 86.2% 13.6% 99.8% -0.1% 0.2%

The Cardinals' shutout innings reached 38.

4 61 49 61.3 63.3 62.8 .564 .584 52.5% 36.4% 88.9% -1.2% -4.8%

You're not going to win many series while scoring just one run in three games. Come to think if it, you can't win any.

5 66 44 62.1 58.2 58.6 .556 .576 99.1% 0.5% 99.6% 0.4% 0.8%

We all laughed when they signed Kendrys Morales in the offseason. Now the only one laughing is Kendrys Morales, who just watched "What About Bob" for the first time.

6 62 49 62.0 68.6 66.8 .584 .565 85.3% 4.1% 89.4% -2.9% -4.6%

Alex Wood's mechanics can be best described as "baseball movie extra."

7 59 51 60.0 57.1 57.9 .532 .552 38.1% 30.4% 68.6% 8.6% 2.3%

Yesterday's lineup had Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and David Murphy as 3-4-5 hitters--or as David Murphy calls it, "The Big Three."

8 56 54 60.8 57.1 57.4 .526 .546 3.3% 16.6% 19.9% -4.6% -1.4%

On April 26, the Orioles won 18-7. Six of those 10 starters are not currently on the active 25-man roster.

9 51 62 60.5 61.6 62.4 .521 .541 0.2% 0.9% 1.2% 0.3% -0.1%

Back-to-back one-run wins! I told you all we should have practice drills for this, but y'all said this was so unlikely. Who's unlikely now?!

10 65 44 61.1 58.9 57.5 .556 .536 10.0% 80.5% 90.5% 3.7% 10.2%

There are weird games and then there are games where Francisco Liriano hits a 3-run homer and Joe Blanton gets the win.

11 51 59 52.7 60.8 61.7 .514 .534 0.4% 4.5% 4.9% 2.2% -0.9%

Corey Kluber had a complete-game, 100-pitch victory allowing one run. No, it wasn't a Maddux, but it's also pretty impressive throwing a ... [does Play Index search] Wainwright?

12 56 56 54.9 57.9 58.4 .507 .527 2.6% 17.7% 20.3% 4.3% 4.9%

Grady Sizemore hit two home runs in a series for the first time since 2011 against the Royals, when that Royals team featured--now here are some names from the past--Alex Gordon, Jarrod Dyson, Alcides Escobar, Luke Hochevar, and manager ned Yost.

13 62 48 57.2 60.3 60.0 .544 .524 3.8% 78.5% 82.4% 4.4% 19.8%

There was a bomb threat at Wrigley field, but the "all clear" was given once they found out Edwin Jackson no longer pitches for the team.

14 59 52 61.3 60.9 59.7 .543 .523 13.9% 14.4% 28.4% -2.6% -20.5%

Good: In their most recent four-game series, Hunter Pence had three more stolen bases than the team had wins. Bad: Hunter Pence had three stolen bases.

15 57 53 58.0 59.3 58.0 .528 .508 37.1% 4.6% 41.6% -1.7% -19.9%

If this team doesn't make the playoffs, by rule, Matt Williams will be replaced with the person polling 15th in the GOP presidential reace.

16 59 52 57.2 57.3 57.6 .520 .500 62.9% 3.5% 66.3% -1.1% 17.0%

Bartolo Colon missed exactly one bat in yesterday's start, but it was a DH game so the Mets lineup was also missing a particular bat, pretty much evening out.

17 54 57 51.1 53.5 53.5 .478 .498 0.3% 4.9% 5.2% -2.1% -4.1%

They recalled Tom Gorzelanny before Sunday's game, then he gave up a home run and the team was quickly reminded.

18 55 55 51.7 50.1 51.2 .473 .493 3.5% 11.1% 14.6% -8.4% 4.7%

To recap the season: They got Mike Napoli back. They traded for Josh Hamilton. And Charlie Hough is starting on Thursday.

19 52 60 49.4 53.2 54.7 .467 .487 0.4% 2.2% 2.6% 0.6% 0.3%

Nelson Cruz has more home runs in August than the Reds and Marlins combined.

20 54 56 55.6 55.7 55.6 .502 .482 0.7% 0.7% 1.3% 0.3% -0.2%

Wearing throwback purple pinstriped uniorms, the Diamondbacks won on a walkoff single that the Reds tried to overturn by protest. Shadow umpire Luis Gonzalez wasn't having it.

21 50 62 49.1 50.5 50.8 .447 .467 0.1% 0.3% 0.4% 0.2% -0.5%

Jackie Bradley, Jr in the first 24 games: one extra base hit, 4 RBI. Jackie Bradley, Jr yesterday: two extra base hits, 5 RBI.

22 55 56 51.8 45.3 45.4 .445 .465 0.1% 3.7% 3.8% -1.3% -13.2%

You can count the number of walks Phil Hughes has allowed this season on one hand, as a "15" is pretty easy to draw on it.

23 51 58 46.4 46.5 47.3 .438 .458 0.1% 1.2% 1.3% -1.0% -5.0%

Wouldn't it be nice if Adam Dunn threw out the first pitch at a White Sox game, then he just kept pitching for a few innings? [long sigh]

24 49 60 49.5 53.9 53.3 .472 .452 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% -0.0% -0.1%

Nice job by the Reds to try and turn an August game against the Diamondbacks into Merkle's Boner II: The Re-Bonering, but it's just not going to work.

25 52 60 49.3 47.8 48.4 .441 .421 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% -1.7%

If you haven't watched much Padres baseball this year, you can catch the highlights in the upcoming documentary "So You Just Got Swept By The Phillies: A Cautionary Tale."

26 44 68 49.2 52.1 51.7 .440 .420 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% -0.1%

They're going to end with the worst record in baseball, then Jeffrey Loria will use the No. 1 pick on a stray dog and euthanize it in front of the entire team, saying "that's how the Marlins tank."

27 48 65 50.3 48.8 49.2 .434 .415 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

They lost the series, but their lone win came at the expense of Jonathan Broxton. And that, my friends, is how you win a trade.

28 47 62 47.8 46.4 45.8 .429 .410 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

You learn something new every day, and when Walt Weiss named Tommy Kahnle the team closer, we all had learned two people's positions with the Rockies.

29 51 61 48.3 45.8 45.5 .425 .406 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% -0.1%

Sign up to be a premier Michael Bourn Trade Club For Men member, and the fifth time you trade for Michael Bourn is free!

30 45 67 42.9 40.4 40.3 .376 .358 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%