Fatigue is a reality in sports. Physical fatigue is the reason players are rested, whether we are talking about a whole game or just a few innings. It can make a difference in a game, too, especially if we’re talking about a starting pitcher heading into the late innings — if that’s even allowed anymore outside of the great Sandy Alcantara.
The adjacent world of sports discussion also has fatigue, but it is mental. We are tired of talking about the same thing. That’s why it’s traditionally harder to win a second consecutive MVP than the first, and even harder to pull off a three. After all, we have human voters, and sometimes our minds will lead us in either direction, but not back to the same player.
The same can be true of teams, especially in subjective polls like these power rankings. It’s easy to let the Yankees just sit there on top without much thought. It’s also incredibly boring. Yes, I absolutely agree that it’s boring, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Still, over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a surge of fans who have opposed the Yankees at the top. Someone even tried to explain to me what the “power rankings” were supposed to be, which was hilarious. I would ask hypothetically like “would you walk into someone else’s house and tell them where everything should be”, but I know all too well that many people would certainly have the audacity to do that.
Given that these are subjective power rankings, that they’re mine, and that they’re the only official power rankings on the internet, I’ll be happy to think that the Yankees should no longer be number one. I’ll go in with an open mind. Let’s take a quick, surface-level look at the three elite teams. (Sorry, Mets.)
They are 56-29 and the last remaining NL team with fewer than 30 losses. They are on pace to win 107 games, which seems like it should be the best record in baseball. Their differential of +151 is more than twice as high as anyone else in the NL. In terms of the ‘hot’ factor, they have now won 11 of their last 12 games. They are also 18-13 against teams .500 or better.
The Astros are also 56-29, meaning they are also on pace to win 107 games. The differential of +102 is second best in the AL and third in the majors. They had a rough stretch in April, but since June 13 they are 19-5, the best record in baseball during that time. (The Yankees are 18-8, while the Dodgers are 19-6.) They recently won 13 of 15, with the only two losses being those late-inning Bronx comebacks. Houston is 19-14 against teams .500 or better.
Yankees
The Yankees are 61-25, which means they are still at 115 wins. The differential of +177 is the best in baseball by a decent margin, and that suggests the record is no fluke. They are 23-14 against .500 or better teams and play in the best division in baseball.
The only problem here is the “hot” factor. The Yankees have lost four of seven and are “just” 5-4 in July. If we try to find an exact spot a little further back, we could get to the day before the Astros beat them twice in a row. Since June 23, the Yankees are 9-7.
But is that really what we’re betting on? A 9-7 record in baseball isn’t bad at all. The Yankees are still 4 1/2 games ahead of the other two teams, have a much better run differential and are playing better against strong competition.
Even if it’s close, the Yankees still have the best resume. If you want to say going forward that the Dodgers and/or Astros will be better, that’s a whole different argument.
The biggest movers
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Teams
A change
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1 Yankees I will say this though: I don’t think it will be long before there is a new number one. Heading in that direction. It’s just not there yet. — 61-25 2 Dodgers Man, that’s a quiet seven-game winning streak, isn’t it? 1 56-29 3 Astros As for the Astros winning three of five against the Yankees, that’s great. They made. They also totally dominated that four-game streak in the Bronx, but not being able to shut them out twice mattered. Should I really give that much weight to a 3-2 record against each other when the Astros are 1-2 against the Marlins, 2-4 against the Blue Jays and 6-6 against the Mariners? I’m not going to cherry pick. 1 56-29 4 Braves Youngster William Contreras will start the All-Star Game at DH for the NL due to Bryce Harper’s injury. That makes the Contreras the first brothers to start together in an All-Star game since the Alomars did it in 1992. That’s a lot of fun. I have a question: Will the Braves be in first place when this happens? 1 52-35 5 Mets Well, the lead is down to 1 1/2 games. I guess the good news is they’ll be able to play alone against the Braves to start this week? 1 53-33 6 Red Sox They had lost eight of their last 11 before the two comeback wins over the Yankees on Saturday and Sunday. Considering how bad so many teams competing for sixth place have been over the last few weeks, those two wins were enough. 4 47-39 7 Brewers They just lost series to the Cubs and Pirates in the same week, but still extended their division lead. — 48-39 8 Twins Byron Buxton is finally an All-Star. This is great news for all of us. I guarantee it does something cool in the game. 5 48-40 9 Phillies Buried them after the Bryce Harper injury, but the pitching and Kyle Schwarber really picked them up. Schwarber is all the way to 28 homers, on pace to hit 53 this season. Only one Phillies player has ever hit at least 50 (Ryan Howard hit 58 in 2006). 5 46-40 10 Padres They beat the Diamondbacks in three games on June 20-22. The Padres haven’t won a series since then and are 5-11 with a minus-33 margin overall. 4 49-38 11 Rays They’ve won five of six, traveling to Cincinnati to face the lowly Reds … and getting swept. Baseball! 3 45-40 12 Mariners They have now won 16 of their last 19 games. They are real again. How long will it last this time? I hope it sticks. 5 45-42 13 Blue Jays The Jays have lost nine of their last 10, and that includes two of three in Oakland. The A’s were 8-28 at home before this streak. …
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