It’s August 8, and we’re past 2/3 of the way through the MLB season right now. That means teams have roughly 50 games to get their act together and either make a run or hold on to their place in the playoff picture. Ironically as I say that, the rankings have barely changed at all this week. What you don’t see is that the Phillies are creeping up on the Braves, the Dodgers and Mets are falling way behind, and the Tigers have fallen out of their race about as fast as any team can in August. With that, here are the rankings for this week…..

1. New York Yankees (68-41)—The only reason the Yankees are still first here is because you’re first until someone knocks you off. But believe me, the Rays are going to knock them off any day now, no matter how many Berkmans the Yankees add.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (67-43)—Out to prove that 2008 was no fluke, and doing it with a vengeance. Do you think Fox is terrified of a Tampa Bay/San Diego World Series?

3. Texas Rangers (64-46)—Sale complete, but mission not complete. Tim McCarver said on Dan Patrick this past week that he thinks this is the best team in the American League. And who can really argue with that?

4. San Diego Padres (63-46)—Oh hey, speaking of the Padres, these guys just keep winning. Sure, their lead is now just one game over the Giants, but we didn’t expect them to be there in June, much less August or beyond.

5. Atlanta Braves (63-47)—It’s not smoke and mirrors anymore, and this team has a great mix of crafty vets and hungry youngsters. Just look out for the Phillies, because here they come, just two games back.

6. Boston Red Sox (63-48)—Don’t count them out yet. All those injuries and just 6 games back in that division? That’s all I’m gonna say.

7. San Francisco Giants (63-48)—This team has its eye on the NL West crown and they have the pitching to get there. Do they have enough offense (i.e., power) though?

8. Chicago White Sox (63-47)—Sorry Mr. President, I just don’t see this lasting much longer. The other shoe is going to drop, and the Twins are going to pounce.

9. Cincinnati Reds (63-48)—Two words—Joey and Votto. Dude might win the triple crown and his team might reach the promised land for the first time in 20 years.

10. Minnesota Twins (62-49)—Too much talent to be kept down in the AL Central. Do you ever wonder if Johan Santana regrets leaving Minnesota?

It’s hard to believe July is ending today and the dog days of summer are in full swing. It also means pennant races are heating up, and this year they are more so than ever. You can safely say the Rangers are playoff-bound, but every other division lead is no greater than 3.5 games, and we have three divisions that have the top two teams separated by 1.5 games or less. How awesome is that? I mean, this could be the greatest stretch run as far as the entire league, ever. Here are Mikey’s power rankings (yes, I just referred to myself in the third person, I need to stop that!)……

1. New York Yankees (65-37)—The Rays are inching closer, but the Yanks are still the team to beat. Adding Lance Berkman was a way for them to bully the Rays a little, like “Take that, small market team!” I also keep thinking about how they are going to sign Cliff Lee in the off-season and then they may play .800 ball next year. And really, who wants to see that?

2. Tampa Bay Rays (64-38)—Don’t think the Yankees aren’t sweating, however. Because these Rays just sweat talent.

3. San Diego Padres (60-41)—Seriously, when was the last time the Padres were contemplating trades at the trade deadline to bolster their team for the stretch? It’s such a great story this year.

4. Texas Rangers (60-43)—Speaking of great stories…..the Rangers are up by 8 games in their division and could be the first team to clinch a playoff spot.

5. Atlanta Braves (59-43)—Another great story. I wonder if Greg Maddux could come back and help these guys for a few months.

6. Boston Red Sox (58-45)—Now these guys will definitely be the odd team out, and it almost seems like if they keep winning it won’t matter.

7. San Francisco Giants (59-45)—Don’t look now, but the G-men are 2.5 games back of the Padres. And they have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, so they have the goods to contend down the stretch.

8. Chicago White Sox (58-44)—Another 5-game win streak, but barely hanging on to first place in the AL Central

9. Cincinnati Reds (57-47)—How many great team stories can there be in one year? Forget the year of the pitcher, it’s the year of the Cinderella. Sorry, Cardinals fans, I know you have a half-game lead, but Joey Votto just hit another home run. Wait, there goes another one!

10. Minnesota Twins (57-46)—It’s just a matter of time before the White Sox fade, and the Twins are putting ridiculous pressure on them with their own 6-game winning streak.

In the hunt: St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, LA Dodgers
Fading fast: New York Mets, LA Angels, Colorado Rockies

Not much has changed at the top of this list, but the Rangers are making a statement. Meanwhile, the Mets, Cardinals and Twins have been playing such mediocre baseball that a few upstarts have knocked them off this list. Here are the pre-All Star game power rankings:

1. New York Yankees (55-31)—It’s on. The Rangers out-bid the Yanks for Cliff Lee, but lookie here—the Bombers have won 7 in a row. They don’t need no stinkin’ Cliff Lee.

2. Texas Rangers (50-36)—Yesterday, Nolan Ryan and company vaulted their team from playoff contender to World Series contender by obtaining Mr. Lee. The middle of their lineup with Vlad, Hamilton and Nelson Cruz just might be the most potent heart of the order in baseball.

3. Tampa Bay Rays (52-34)—Sorry, Boston. Sorry, New York. These pesky Rays are not going away.

4. Atlanta Braves (51-35)—This pains me as a Mets fan, but the Braves made a series-opening statement last night at Citi Field. They are for real and they are trying to pull away from the Mets and Phils.

5. San Diego Padres (50-36)—You think the Mets wish they still had Heath Bell?

6. Boston Red Sox (50-36)—They aren’t giving in either. The next two and a half months are going to be very exciting in the AL East.

7. Cincinnati Reds (45-35)—That team dressed in red leading the NL Central is not the Cardinals. By the way, if Joey Votto didn’t win that online voting, it would have been one of the worst all-star snubs in baseball history.

8. Detroit Tigers (47-37)—Don’t look now, the Tigers have won four in a row and the White Sox six in a row, and they are 1-2 in the AL Central while the Twins are suddenly floundering.

9. Los Angeles Dodgers (48-38)—Will the NL West be like a stock market correction and have the Dodgers and Rockies take over the Padres’ lofty spot? The Dodgers are winning again and making their move.

10. Colorado Rockies (48-38)—Always a late bloomer, the Rockies are also making a move, and their stud ace Ubaldo Jimenez is a positively sick 15-1 at the all-star break.

We’re about 40% through the current major league baseball season. That means we’re about to enter the warmest part of the season both on the field and in the standings. Contenders will begin to emerge and pretenders will begin to fade if they haven’t faded already. So we thought it was a good time to have our first installment of MLB power rankings…..

1. Tampa Bay Rays (41-26)—Amazingly, the Rays have a better road record (23-11) than a home record (18-15). Also amazingly is how they jumped out of the gate and have stayed in front—with their usual formula of strong pitching (3.55 ERA leads the AL), speed (major league best 76 steals) and defense.

2. New York Yankees (41-26)—Don’t look now, but the Yankees have caught up to Tampa. They just have too much talent for the Rays to keep them down all season.

3. Boston Red Sox (41-28)—Struggling to keep pace with the Rays and Yanks, but now just one game back and right in the thick of it. Does anyone else feel bad for the Orioles and Blue Jays?

4. Atlanta Braves (40-28)—A huge surprise to be leading the NL East on June 19, but not as big a surprise as the Phillies sitting in third place.

5. Minnesota Twins (38-29)—Ignited by a new ball park and a fat new contract for their superstar catcher Joe Mauer, the Twins are going to run away with the AL Central because no one else wants to.

6. San Diego Padres (39-28)—Definitely the surprise of the first two months, Bud Black has this Padres team over-achieving. They recently relinquished first place, but took it right back, and the Padres may stay in the hunt because of how well they fare in those close, low-scoring games.

7. New York Mets (39-28)—Here’s another shocker. The Mets were picked by most pundits to be a fourth or fifth place team. And here they are battling the Braves for NL East supremacy. But the biggest surprise has been the starting rotation, where guys like Mike Pelfrey, RA Dickey and Jon Niese are reminding Mets fans of the Seaver/Koosman/Matlack days. And we haven’t even mentioned Johan Santana.

8. Los Angeles Dodgers (38-29)—They’ve quietly made their move from bottom feeders to frontrunners, and they have the talent to stay there. But seriously, Manny Ramirez has SEVEN home runs on June 19? Hmmmm.

9. Texas Rangers (39-28)—Everyone thought the Mariners would be the team to beat in the AL West this year, but they have one of the worst records in baseball at 26-41. Meanwhile, the Rangers are riding a frightening middle of the lineup (Guerrero/Hamilton/Cruz) to the division lead

10. San Francisco Giants (37-29)—With Barry Zito looking like his old self, this team is extremely dangerous with him, all-world Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez.

Tie 10. Detroit Tigers (37-29)--A 7-game winning streak has them right here and only a half-game back of the Twins.

The Chicago White Sox just made things incredibly interesting in the American League. With their 8-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday, the White Sox have forced a one-game playoff with the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central crown. Alexei Ramirez hit a gram slam during the sixth inning to propel the Sox over the Tigers.

Beginning with Sunday’s series finale against Cleveland, the White Sox knew they had to win three games in order to reach the AL Division Series against the Rays. That magic number has been reduced to one for both the White Sox and the Twins, who enter Tuesday with identical 88-74 records.

“I don’t think you ever expect a one-game playoff,” said White Sox first baseman and team captain Paul Konerko, who has been talking about this race going down to the final days since mid-August. “It’s an oddity. We are just scrapping, fighting and trying to get to where we want to go.”

“You get passed feeling tired and forget about all those aches and pains,” added White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink, who struck out the side during an impressive eighth inning. “Adrenaline gets you going. Our situation is great — we fought for this and earned it. One hundred and sixty-two [games weren’t] enough so we need one extra, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Isn’t it amazing how teams can go through a 162-game season and still wind up tied at the end? It’s doubtful that either of these clubs can hang with the Angels, Rays or Red Sox for an entire series, but then again, you never know. Momentum is a scary thing – look at the 2007 Colorado Rockies who rode a 10-game winning streak all the way to the World Series last year.

Nick Blackburn (11-10, 4.14 ERA) of the Twins will take the rubber against Chicago’s John Danks (11-9, 3.47) on Tuesday. First pitch is 7:30 PM ET.