[pete_b]

OK fellas the time has come. We are only one short month away from the All Star break so it's time to decide who is gonna be left standing there in October. Which team is the Best team in Baseball right now? Is it?

the Mets with the power and the pitching?
the Cards with Pujols?
the White Sox with an all around awesome team?
the Tigers who are in front of the White Sox?

These are not the only choices you have of course. Some of you may be willing to just take a stab at the author of this thread and pick the Padres. Some of you may be on some serious cough medicine and pick the Cubs. Whoever your pick is tell us who it is and why. I really wanna know.

[MJHMarc]

On paper, it would be the Detroit Tigers. They have the most wins in the MLB, which has shocked plenty of MLB fans. Rookie, Justin Verlander has led them so far with the help of veteran, Kenny Rogers. Chris Shelton had a surprising start for the 2006 season and Magglio Ordonez has taken over to lead the team in HRs and RBIs. They have a few key injuries, but they seem to be doing fine without them.

But overall, I would have to go with the St. Louis Cardinals. There is one reason for my answer. It is "Pujols". Albert Pujols has an incredible 24 HRs and 61 RBIs to lead his team and the whole MLB. He has MVP written all over him and he will definitely bring his Cardinals into the post-season. Is there a chance for the World Series? Of course, there is a chance (but how large?).

[legend]

Chris Carpenter is going on the DL for the cardinals. They always look like the class of baseball and then choke it away in the playoffs. Detroit is a paper Tiger, and the Mets starting pitching is very suspect, as is Billy Wagner. The Yankees, Red Sox, and White Sox are the class of baseball, even with all of their flaws.

[EmpireWF]

My Power Rankings would go a bit like this for MLB...

1. Detroit Tigers
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Chicago White Sox
4. New York Mets
5. Boston Red Sox
6. New York Yankees
7. Los Angeles Dodgers
8. Arizona Diamondbacks
9. Cincinnati Reds
10. Toronto Blue Jays
11. Texas Rangers

[Lefty Noob]

This is a good question. As MJHMarc points out, the Tigers technically have the best record in baseball right now, although we're all pretty much agreed that won't hold up. I think you need to look at teams that has proven talent both at the plate and on the hill. The top two clubs have to be, in my opinion, the Cards and the White Sox. I'd probably give the slight edge to Chicago because I'm a little higher on their pitching.

[legend]

Watching Toronto last night, I realize that they have a great hitting club and a very good closer in B j Ryan, but the rest of their pitching staff leads me to believe they will be hard pressed to hang with Boston and NY.

[MVB]

The Tigers won't hold up past the all-star break. They're offense is up and down (like the Shelton surge). The Detroit batters have been completely shut out over their last 18 innings of play. The pitching is also surprising but won't hold up.

Best Teams in Baseball:

1. Cardinals - or as they should be known, Albert Pujols' team
2. White Sox- just look at the pitching + Jim Thome.
3. Yankees- 9 games above .500, If they play this well without most of their superstars, imagine how well they'll play when those guys return.

[EmpireWF]

Originally Posted by MVB

3. Yankees- 9 games above .500, If they play this well without most of their superstars, imagine how well they'll play when those guys return.

How about that team in your division who happens to be 11 games over .500?

Boston has better pitching, better defense and enough hitting to win. Yanks will be lucky to stay close and above Toronto the way their pitching has been flopping around as of late.

[MVB]

Yeah, Toronto doesn't have a chance... Boston and the Yanks will be close, both are great teams. BUT, the Yankees offense is much better ( especially when some of their key players come back), and their pitching isn't any worse then Boston.

Runs Scored:

Boston: 271
New York: 290 (that's without a couple big bats)

Runs Allowed:

Boston: 236
New York: 226 (4th fewest in the AL)

[legend]

If Wells cannot return, Boston is in trouble pitching wise. Schilling won't keep it up, beckett will but still can give up home runs in bunches, and Wakefield is what he is, an innings eater. Clement is bad and will only get worse once he starts to hear the boobirds. Timlin is hurt as well in the bullpen, he was having a good year. Papelbon has been great as well.
Mario Mendoza could put on a Red Sox uniform and hit .300 though. No matter who they pick up, they almost always hit. Mark Loretta looks like Paul Molitor and Kevin Youkalis looks like he will hit .300 with a .400 on base percentage. Ortiz has had some big hits, but does not look quite himself so far. Manny has killed the Yankees, but hasn't done a lot of great things with the bat other than that. Nixon is about due to get hurt, their shortstops are good fielders that do not hit, and Coco Crisp is kind of an unknown quantity under the pressure he will face. They have a great fielding infield, which can hide a multitude of sins.

[MJHMarc]

It looks like we have some controversy in the AL East between the Yankees, Red Sox and now, the Toronto Blue Jays. As legend pointed out, the Blue Jays have a great team and has a chance of reaching the Playoffs this year. But the most there can be is two teams (Division Winner, and Wild Card) from the AL East that will advance to the Post-Season. Who will be left behind?

[Lefty Noob]

I think there's a real chance only one team will make it out of the East, with the other coming from the Central if the Tigers somehow stay hot or the Indians finally get there stuff together. But they Jays certainly are the weakest of the three clubs down the road, especially their staff. No real, proven playoff guys there.

[MJHMarc]

But they Jays certainly are the weakest of the three clubs down the road, especially their staff. No real, proven playoff guys there

In my opinion, the Toronto Blue Jays have a decent pitching staff. They are good enough to make the post-season, but not good enough to win any championships. They really have nothing exclusive on the mound.

I can see where their starting rotation lacks strength, but Roy Halladay has a 6-1 record and a brilliant ERA of 2.88. Ted Lilly, AJ Burnett Josh Towers and Casey Janssen have their problems, but hopefully they will be able to deal with them before the post-season.

BJ Ryan is an incredible closer with an ERA and WHIP both under 1. The top reliever, Francisco Rosario, seems to be doing a fine job in the pen and Justin Spier is helping around the corners.

In conclusion, the Toronto Blue Jays are a raw baseball team. They need to adjust a few problems and work around the edges before they consider themselves a championship team. They have the potential at this point to win a championship in the future, but this year won't be their year.

[pete_b]

After reading these marvelous posts and analyses, I have come to a couple conclusions. One: There hasn't been a season with this much great baseball in a long time. Two: Everything is in the air, The BoSox, Yanks, Cards, WhiteSox, Mets....are all high caliber teams...who is gonna be the creme de la creme? Heck it could be the Dodgers for all we know. This is why Baseball is the best game on earth. Thanks guys for all your great opinions.

[ThePundit]

1) White Sox
2) Cardinals
3) Mets
4) BoSox
5) Yankees