Baseball Power Rankings...Stros' #8

Not only are the Stros' #8, but Hidalgo is Tied for 10th for the NL MVP...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/bbw/rankings.htm

Braves still No. 1, Giants edge Yankees for 2nd

Despite not making any moves at the trading deadline, the Atlanta Braves remain the top team in baseball, according to the USA TODAY Sports Weekly Power Rankings. The Braves still own the best record in the game and a comfortable lead on the San Francisco Giants, who broke last week's tie with the New York Yankees to claim the second spot for themselves. Interestingly, teams four through six all received a first-place vote while keeping their spots from last week's rankings. The biggest move of the week came from No. 9 Florida, which jumped up from 12th place and continued to put pressure on No. 7 Philadelphia in the NL wild-card race.

Voting by a panel of writers and editors from Sports Weekly, USA TODAY and USATODAY.com, on a 30-29-28-etc. basis:

Team rankings (as of August 3)

Team (first-place votes) Points Last
week
1 Atlanta Braves (9) 348 1
2 San Francisco Giants 338 T2
3 New York Yankees 337 T2
4 Seattle Mariners (1) 323 4
5 Boston Red Sox (1) 318 5
6 Oakland A's (1) 306 6
7 Philadelphia Phillies 288 7
8 Houston Astros 271 8
9 Florida Marlins 250 12
10 St. Louis Cardinals 238 11
11 Arizona Diamondbacks 231 10
12 Kansas City Royals 224 9
13 Chicago White Sox 222 T13
14 Chicago Cubs 203 17
15 Montreal Expos 186 15
16 Minnesota Twins 175 19
17 Los Angeles Dodgers 174 T13
18 Toronto Blue Jays 167 16
19 Anaheim Angels 156 18
20 Colorado Rockies 156 20
21 Baltimore Orioles 124 21
22 Pittsburgh Pirates 95 22
23 Cincinnati Reds 87 23
24 Cleveland Indians 78 24
25 Texas Rangers 76 26
26 New York Mets 64 25
27 Milwaukee Brewers 57 27
28 San Diego Padres 46 28
29 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 30 29
30 Detroit Tigers 12 30

Player rankings (as of July 27)

AL MVP

Voting on a 14-9-8-7-etc. basis

Player, team (1st-place votes) Points
1. Carlos Delgado, Toronto (9) 147
2. Bret Boone, Seattle (1) 86
3. Manny Ramirez, Boston (1) 81
4. Nomar Garciaparra, Boston 52
5. Garret Anderson, Anaheim 50
6. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle 47
T7. Jason Giambi, New York 46
T7. Vernon Wells, Toronto 46
9. Frank Thomas, Chicago 23
10. Milton Bradley, Cleveland 20

Also receiving votes: Carlos Beltran, Kansas City (1), 19; Melvin Mora, Baltimore, 17; Alfonso Soriano, New York, 17; Alex Rodriguez, Texas, 16; Magglio Ordonez, Chicago, 9; Edgar Martinez, Seattle, 7; Bill Mueller, Boston, 7; Trot Nixon, Boston, 7; Roy Halladay, Toronto, 4; David Wells, New York, 3; Jason Varitek, Boston, 2; Jeff Conine, Baltimore, 1; Jorge Posada, New York, 1.

Last month: 1. Delgado; 2. Boone; 3. Garciaparra; 4. Wells; 5. Soriano; 6. Suzuki; 7. Rodriguez; 8. Mora; 9. Anderson; 10. Mike Sweeney, Kansas City.

NL MVP

Voting on a 14-9-8-7-etc. basis

Player, team (1st-place votes) Points
1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis (6) 138
2. Barry Bonds, San Francisco (5) 131
3. Gary Sheffield, Atlanta (1) 91
4. Mike Lowell, Florida 57
5. Todd Helton, Colorado 51
6. Jim Edmonds, St. Louis 49
7. Preston Wilson, Colorado 23
8. Edgar Renteria, St. Louis 20
9. Luis Gonzalez, Arizona 17
T10. Richard Hidalgo, Houston 15
T10. Jim Thome, Philadelphia 15

Also receiving votes: Javy Lopez, Atlanta, 14; John Smoltz, Atlanta, 13; Sammy Sosa, Chicago, 11; Jose Guillen, Cincinnati, 9; Richie Sexson, Milwaukee, 9; Andruw Jones, Atlanta, 8; Jeff Bagwell, Houston, 7; Lance Berkman, Houston, 7; Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia, 5; Eric Gagne, Los Angeles, 4; Jeff Kent, Houston, 3; Scott Rolen, St. Louis, 3; Orlando Cabrera, Montreal, 2; Jason Schmidt, San Francisco, 2; Steve Finley, Arizona, 1; Shea Hillenbrand, Arizona, 1; Ivan Rodriguez, Florida, 1; Jose Vidro, Montreal, 1.

Last month: 1. Pujols; 2. Sheffield; 3. Bonds; 4. Lowell; 5. Edmonds; 6. Helton; 7. Renteria; 8 (tie) Gonzalez, Vidro; 10. Jones.

AL Pitcher of the Year

Voting on a 5-3-1 basis

Player, team (1st-place votes) Points
1. Roy Halladay, Toronto (6) 44
2. Esteban Loaiza, Chicago (5) 43
3. Pedro Martinez, Boston (1) 7

Also receiving votes: Tim Hudson, Oakland, 6; Mark Mulder, Oakland, 3; Sidney Ponson, Baltimore, 3; Jamie Moyer, Seattle, 1; David Wells, New York, 1.

Last month: 1. Loaiza; 2. Halladay; 3. Mike Mussina, New York.

NL Pitcher of the Year

Voting on a 5-3-1 basis

Player, team (1st-place votes) Points
1. Jason Schmidt, San Francisco (3) 34
2. Woody Williams, St. Louis (3) 21
3. John Smoltz, Atlanta (3) 17

Also receiving votes: Kevin Brown, Los Angeles (2), 13; Russ Ortiz, San Francisco (1), 7; Eric Gagne, Los Angeles, 6; Hideo Nomo, Los Angeles, 4; Randy Wolf, Philadelphia, 2; Mark Prior, Chicago, 1; Dontrelle Willis, Florida, 1.

Last month: 1. Brown; 2. Williams; 3. Prior.

AL Rookie of the Year

Voting on a 5-3-1 basis

Player, team (1st-place votes) Points
1. Rocco Baldelli, Tampa Bay (5) 44
2. Hideki Matsui, New York (4) 29
3. Angel Berroa, Kansas City (3) 23

Also receiving votes: Mark Teixeira, Texas, 9; Jason Davis, Cleveland, 1; Jody Gerut, Cleveland, 1; Mike MacDougal, Kansas City, 1.

Last month: 1. Baldelli; 2. Matsui; 3. Lance Carter, Tampa Bay.


NL Rookie of the Year

Voting on a 5-3-1 basis

Player, team (1st-place votes) Points
1. Dontrelle Willis, Florida (6) 43
2. Brandon Webb, Arizona (3) 31
3. Scott Podsednik, Milwaukee (2) 21

Also receiving votes: Jeriome Robertson, Houston (1), 8; Horacio Ramirez, Atlanta, 2; Brad Lidge, Houston, 1; Xavier Nady, San Diego, 1; Ty Wigginton, New York, 1.

Last month: 1. Willis; 2. Lidge; 3. Webb.