1. Cardinals (20-11) –St. Louis starters have a 2.21 ERA thru 200 innings
2. Texas (20-11) – Texas has yet to lose a series this entire season
3. Red Sox (20-11) – John Farrell’s return as skipper has Red Sox rolling
4. Giants (19-12) – San Fran is 15-6 vs. NL West foes thru first month
5. Braves (18-12) – 2nd in NL in home runs and ERA equals success
6. Tigers (19-11) – Winning 9 of last 10 games erases bad first couple weeks
7. Reds (18-14) – 13-3 vs. teams under .500; 5-11 against teams above .500
8. Rockies (18-13) – Boast NL’s best lineup; rotation a different story
9. Nationals (17-15) – World Series pick yet to live up to the hype
10. Orioles (19-13) – O’s proving last year’s playoff appearance no fluke
11. Yankees (18-12) – They’re not the Bronx Bombers, but retreads are winning
12. Royals (17-10) – KC loaded with young talent and going to hang around
13. Pirates (17-14) – The back end of their bullpen is one of best in baseball
14. A’s (18-14) – Despite early-season injuries, Oakland still trucking along
15. Diamondbacks (16-15) – The Upton trade has backfired to this point

16. Rays (14-16) – 4-8 mark inside division not going to do it in AL East
17. Indians (14-14) – Still major questions about rotation, but bats have been good
18. Brewers (14-16) – Follow up sweep of Pirates by getting swept by St. Louis
19. Dodgers (13-17) – Loaded with talent, but still not translating into wins
20. Mariners (15-18) – Bad hitting plus pitching woes equals trouble
21. Twins (13-14) – Much better than most realize, but still a couple years away
22. Phillies (14-18) – Roy Halladay headed to DL and no run support dooms Philly
23. Mets (12-16) – Matt Harvey gives Mets fans hope of brighter days ahead
24. Padres (13-18) – Young hitters Alonso, Gyorko, and Headley starting to click
25. Angels (11-20) – Hands down most disappointing team thru one month in MLB
26. White Sox (12-17) – Crossing the plate has been a hurdle for White Sox
27. Blue Jays (11-21) – Big offseason trade with Marlins has not worked out so far
28. Cubs (11-20) – Not as bad as last year, but still pretty terrible
29. Marlins (10-22) – With Gincarlo Stanton sidelined this is a minor league lineup
30. Astros (8-24) – Perhaps the worst pitching staff in modern baseball history

MLB mlb power rankings, st. louis cardinals, cincinnati reds

Undervalued - 1B Allen Craig: The 28-year old hit .307/.354/.522 in his first full season in the big leagues. He came out strong, and after his injury and rehab stint in April, hit .373/.424/.765 in May. Craig is stellar against lefties (.354/.381/.630.) and will come at the right price on draft day for solid first base production and should allow owners to save some on their salary cap to put towards other positions. His latest ADP numbers (56.08) are proving that owners are starting to catch up on what this Cardinal offers. He could prove to be a 30-40 fantasy producer in 2013.

Overvalued - C Yadier Molina: Molina has gone from one of fantasy’s best values – a catcher that would produce modest power numbers and not kill your average too much – to one of the best fantasy producers at the position. Along with that has come a stark rise in where he’s being drafted at (current ADP 85.2).  While his .314 BA, 21 HR and 76 RBI posted a year ago were welcome additions to any fantasy lineup, Molina no longer fits the bill as a late-ground grab to fill your catcher spot. If you are going to get him this year, you’ll have to do it earlier than is recommended.

Sleeper - SP Lance Lynn: Lynn was a savior for the Cardinals and an early-season gem for fantasy owners after Chris Carpenter went down with an injury early last season, and did much better than expected. The converted reliever won 18 games with a 3.67 ERA in 29 starts as he struck out 9.3 batters per nine innings. After wearing out down the stretch a year ago Lynn will need to earn his spot, but a hard-throwing 25-year old that possesses three decent pitches translates into high upside, especially if it comes at a cheap price.

Bust - SP Jaime Garcia: The lefty won 13 games in back-to-back seasons in 2010-11. However, shoulder issues derailed his 2012 campaign. Garcia missed time from early June to mid-August with a torn labrum and rotator cuff and had issues flare up during the postseason. He opted against off-season surgery and tried to heal it with rest. His previous success leaves reasons for optimism, but with lingering questions around his durability and the fact he’s never thrown 200 innings suggest there are better late-round options to take a flyer on.

Fantasy Baseball, MLB fantasy advice, st. louis cardinals, allen craig, yadier molina, lance lynn, jaime garcia

The race is on in the NL Central with the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals vying for the divisional title. All three teams were active leading up to the MLB non-waiver trading deadline. Here’s how I rate each team’s moves:

CINCINNATI REDS
Acquired RP Jonathan Broxton for pitchers Donnie Joseph and J.C. Sulbaran.

--With one of baseball’s best records, the Reds were content with what got them there. The addition of the hard-throwing right hander will strengthen one of MLB’s best bullpens. The return of Joey Votto momentarily will provide a nice lift to the lineup. Don’t rule out more additions before the waiver deadline either…FINAL GRADE: B+

PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Acquired Wandy Rodriguez from Houston for three prospects; Got Travis Snider in trade for Brad Lincoln; Gaby Sanchez and  Kyle Kaminska were picked up for Gorkys Hernandez and the team’s 2013 Competitive Balance Pick;  Casey McGehee was then sent to the Yankees for struggling reliever Chad Qualls.

--It may have lacked splash, but the Pirates’ moved from position of strengths to fill many holes and improved their team overall. They didn’t steal the headlines, but Pittsburgh didn’t mortgage their system either. It remains to be seen if the moves are enough to shift the balance of power in the division, but the improvement is there for this season and beyond…FINAL GRADE: A-

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Acquired middle reliever Edward Mujica from the Miami Marlins for prospect IF Zack Cox.

--Mujica will no doubt help the Cardinals’ bullpen, but it won’t help them where they need it most – the rotation. St. Louis is still going to be a factor, yet the deadline deals did little to help their chances…FINAL GRADE: C

Fantasy Baseball, MLB nl central, 2012 mlb trade deadline, cincinnati reds, pittsburgh pirates, st. louis cardinals

For the first time since 1992 Pittsburgh is sitting 10 games above .500 and they enter the final series of baseball’s first half two games atop the NL Central.

On the 20th anniversary of the franchise’s last winning season, the Pirates have established themselves as a contender.

The same thing happened a year ago as the Bucs were tied for first place with a 53-47 mark. After a devastating 19-inning loss to the Braves the team went into a terrible skid posting a 19-43 mark the rest of the way.

There are plenty of reasons to suggest that this year will be different.

The offense is heating up with the summer led by outfielder Andrew McCutchen (.356 BA, 16 HR, 48 RBI) and the recent surge of third basemen Pedro Alvarez, who has hit 15 HR of his own. The team ranks 13th in the National League in both hitting and runs scored. However, over their last nine games the team has put 68 runs on the scoreboard. It’s no surprise they went 8-1 during the stretch.

James McDonald has emerged with ace-type stuff and veterans AJ Burnett and Erik Bedard have provided some good innings. Closer Joel Hanrahan has been a solid as anybody in the league, sporting a 2.45 ERA and 22 saves.

The team has managed to stay relatively healthy and could very easily make a move at the deadline to add a bat or upgrade things on the backend of the rotation. The experience of last year’s collapse is helping keep this young team focused and playing with confidence.

Expect the NL Central to remain a three-horse race much of the way with both the Reds and Cardinals battling for the spot as well. 

Let’s take a look at the way the division shapes up heading into the break and what lies ahead for each team:

1. PITTSBURGH (46-36)
at Mil – 3
at Col – 3
MIA – 3
CHC – 3
at Hou – 4
at ChC – 3

2. CINCINNATI (44-28, 2 GB)
STL – 3
ARZ – 4
MIL – 3
at Hou – 3
at Col – 3
SD – 4

3. ST. LOUIS (44-39, 2.5 GB)
at Cin – 3
at Mil – 3
CHC – 3
LAD – 4
@ChC – 3
@Col – 3

*The Cardinals have the toughest slate over the next month without the benefit of playing the Astros, but they do get the Cubs six times. All three teams make a trip to Colorado during the stretch. The Pirates don’t have a game on tap with a team with a winning record in the month ahead and the only team the Reds face on the plus side of .500 is a three-game set with the Cardinals at home.

MLB nl central, pittsburgh pirates, cincinnati reds, st. louis cardinals, andrew mccutchen, pedro alvarez, james mcdonald

The war of worlds is going on big time between Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker and former St. Louis Cardinals skipper Tony LaRussa.

The two have never been fond of each other, but after Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips were both left off of the NL All-Star roster Baker had some choice words for his former rival, who is managing the National League team despite retiring prior to this season.

A strong case could be made for both Cueto and Phillips. Both were key figures in a ugly bench-clearing brawl between the bitter division rivals in 2012, a year the Reds knocked off the Cardinals to win the division.

“A snub like that looks bad. Johnny and Brandon were at the center of a skirmish between us and the Cardinals,” Baker told reporters on Sunday. “Some of the Cardinals who aren’t there anymore are making some of the selections.”

LaRussa promptly responded with equally volitale words to Baker.

"Which of these guys would he like me to kick off? I'd like to know that. There's a second baseman over in Arizona (Aaron Hill) who has credentials to be on the team,” LaRussa told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I don't take that kind of (bleep). That's typical ... (from Baker) and that's unacceptable. There's no question I did the right thing. I haven't been this ticked off since ... well, nothing."

MLB cincinnati reds, st. louis cardinals, dusty baker, tony larussa, johnny cueto, brandon phillips, 2012 mlb all star game

Two years ago when the Reds won the NL Central they drew criticism from ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd for being soft. They racked up wins against the lesser teams of the NL, but struggled with in matchup against playoff contenders. As it turned out Cowherd was right. The formula worked to get the Reds into the postseason, but there stay there was brief as they overmatched badly on the way to being swept by Philadelphia.

This season the Reds are 16-14 (entering Friday’s series with Nationals) and sit 3.5 games back of the Cardinals, a team they are 2-4 against this season.

Lance McAlister of ESPN 1530 broke the numbers down on his blog:

Record vs. teams with losing record: 11-6
Cubs 3-2
Astros 2-1
Pirates 2-1
Giants 2-1
Brewers 2-1
Combined records: 69-86 .445

Record vs. teams with winning record: 5-8
Marlins 2-1
Cardinals 2-4
Nationals 1-3
Combined records: 55-38 .591

Starting with this weekend’s series with the Nationals, the Reds have a 14-game run of playing teams with winning records:

3 - Nationals (19-12)
2 - @Braves (19-13)
2 - @Mets (18-13)
3 - @Yankees (17-14)
4 - Braves (19-13)
Combined records: 92-65 .586

MLB cincinnati reds, st. louis cardinals, colin cowherd, lance mcalister

2011 Rewind: The Cardinals rallied from a 10.5 game deficit in the NL Wildcard race on August 24. However after finishing with a 23-9 record down the stretch St. Louis was able to overcome a struggling Braves team that went 9-18 in September to squeak into the playoffs. Once there, the Cardinals made the most of their post-season opportunity by winning series against the Phillies, Brewers and Rangers to lay claim to a World Championship.

The Good:  St. Louis got sensational production of Jaime Garica, Kyle Lohse, and Kyle McClellan in the middle of the rotation. The trio combined to win 39 games and were three of the team’s six starting to pitchers to post double-digit win totals.  One of the better acquisitions of last offseason proved to be the Cardinals free agent signing of Lance Berkman. During his first season in St. Louis Berkman batted with .301 with 31 HR and 94 RBI as he provided the team great production in the middle of the order. Catcher Yadier Molina hit a career-best .305 while posting career highs in HR (14), RBI (65), and runs (55) while being an invaluable leader for the team’s young pitching staff.

The Bad: Injuries hampered the Cardinals all season and none was bigger than the loss of Adam Wainwright, who was a 20-game winner in 2010, to Tommy John surgery for the entire season.  Third basemen David Freese (97 GP) and Matt Holliday (124 GP) also lost significant time to the injury bug. Early in the season the bullpen was atrocious, eventually causing the team to cut ties with closer Ryan Franklin. Eventually Jason Motte and Fernando Salas solidified the position, but the duo did combine to blow 10 saves.

Biggest Loss: No loss will be harder felt than Albert Pujols departure from St. Louis via free agency.  While a slow start and an injury of his own produced one of his worst offensive seasons, the impact of his loss from the middle of the order is significant. The retirement of manager Tony LaRussa along with the absence of pitching coach Dave Duncan is also going to have an impact, especially with the team’s rotation.

Best Addition: To help make up for the loss of Pujols in the order the team signed free agent Carlos Beltran. He will move into right field in St. Louis with Berkman sliding into first base.  Beltran showed late in 2011 that he was finally getting back to 100 percent following a major knee surgery a year earlier. He’s slated to hit ahead of Holliday and Berkman in the Cardinals’ order at the No. 2 spot. That should lead to him getting so good pitches to hit and solid numbers. A .270-20-65 batting line is a fair projection.

Fantasy Slant: Veterans Chris Carpenter and Rafael Furcal could both provide some great mid-round value. Carpenter’s regular-season performance was mediocre, but he was up to his old tricks during his post-season dominance.  His 273-inning workload a year ago is a concern, but for the money he’s a solid fantasy option. Injuries have hampered Furcal over the years and he’s one the tail-end of his career. Still, hitting atop of a lineup with the potency the Cardinals’ possess makes him an intriguing low-end starting option at shortstop.

Final Take: Don’t write off the Cardinals just yet. The off-season departures are well noted, but the rotation is still rock solid and the lineup is still in the upper echelon within the National League. The Reds have improved, but the Brewers have suffered their fair share of losses this off-season too. Expect St. Louis to approach the 85-to-90 win range be a contender in the NL Central.  The addition of a second Wild Card spot would only enhance the team’s post-season outlook...2012 PREDICTION: 87-75 (2nd place NL Central; NL Wild Card team)

Fantasy Baseball, MLB 2012 mlb team previews, st. louis cardinals, nl central, fantasy outlook

After days of speculation free-agent Albert Pujols made up his mind on Thursday morning, agreeing to a 10-year deal worth over $250 million to sign with Angels.

MY TAKE: As a Reds' fan I was hoping St. Louis would resign him.  The reason - in three or four years it would screw the team.  Pujols was worth every penny, this past decade. The Angels are paying for the production the Cardinals received. At least in the AL Pujols could move to DH down the road. It does make me wonder if he got this at 32 (next week) what will Joey Votto get at 29 in two years?

Reaction from Twitter...

Pujols to the Angels? This morning's previously scheduled meeting to talk about possibly upgrading our season tickets just got interesting. - @jimrome

10 yrs $250M for a 32-yr old (next month) 1B with declining OBP/BA 3 straight years....good luck. - @LanceMcAlister

Arte Moreno has changed his ways and gets the big fish. pujols deal with #angels changes al west landscape - @Jon_Heyman

Money don't buy Happiness but with 250m you can rent a smile for a long time - @shawnemerriman

Pujols to the Angels. Boom. - @heykayadams

MLB st. louis cardinals, albert pujols, los angeles angels

The St. Louis Cardinals shocked many around the baseball world when they named Mike Matheny as their manager, but it is more of a move of confidence rather than most realize.

Matheny, a former catcher, spent 13 years in the big leagues, including playing for the Cardinals from 200-04. He won four gold gloves and was known for his ability to handle a staff. However, he has never managed or coached at any level.  Matheny spent this past season as a special assistant to Cardinals’ General Manager John Mozeliak and has also worked as a catching instructor for the organization.

Matheny was one of six candidates interviewed to replace La Russa, who retired Oct. 31 with the third-most wins as a major-league manager.

So how do you go from a guy who had managed 5,097 regular-season games and reached six World Series to someone whose managerial resume is blank?

Mozeliak, who helped build a World Series champion in just his fourth season as GM, opted for youth over experience. The 42-year old now has a 41-year old manager. It is a trend that younger GM’s prefer to go with younger managers who are less resistant to front office interference.

"I think a lot of people would have said the simpler choice would have been to go with someone with experience," said Mozeliak, aware of an initial groundswell for Francona, who guided the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. "We looked at this as someone who could have short-term success with this current club but also someone we believe in for long-term success. When we tried to balance that we really felt comfortable with Mike taking over."

Another trend is that of a former backstop filling out the lineup card. Matheny becomes the 10th active manager that played catcher at either the Major League or minor league level.  Many former catchers over the past decade plus have hoisted the Commissioner’s Trophy, including Joe Torre, Bruce Bochy, Mike Sciosscia, Jim Leyland, and Jack McKeon.

It will be interesting to see how this all works out for St. Louis, particularly in their bid to resign free agent Albert Pujols.  When you are the defending World Champions you do get the benefit of the doubt.

MLB st. louis cardinals, mike matheny, john mozeliak

Check out the great workout program with GSP's fitness DVD.

After leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series title in historic fashion, manager Tony LaRussa has decided to retire from baseball after spending the last 33 years as a manager.

"I think this just feels like it's time to end it," the 67-year-old La Russa said at a news conference at Busch Stadium.

The World Series win over Texas was the third of La Russa's career. He guided the Cardinals to the championship despite being 10½ games behind Atlanta on Aug. 25 for the final playoff spot in the National League.

La Russa retires third on the all-time wins list, 35 behind second-place John McGraw. In addition to this season, he won championships in Oakland in 1989 and St. Louis in 2006.

MY TAKE: I was never a fan of LaRussa and won't really miss him. However, he was a hard worker and most often had the respect of his players. Going out on top like he did this season and in the fashion the Cards did it is pretty sweet though. The Cardinals will take a big step back in his absence, especially if Albert Pujols signs elsewhere.

MLB st. louis cardinals, tony larussa, larussa retires