More than in any other major professional sport, the baseball season is a marathon, not a track meet.
Finally, after stumbling out of the opening blocks, the Los Angeles Dodgers are hitting their stride in the NL West as the season speeds down the home stretch.
Occupying third place in the division for much of the year behind the surprising Diamondbacks and the upstart Rockies, the Dodgers have gained ground by winning eight of their last 10 games and are currently only 0.5 games out of first.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Rockies, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks are separated by just 1.5 games, so the division will likely come down to the wire. Fortunately for the Dodgers and their stacked roster which is full of names like Kershaw, Jansen, Turner, and Kemp, they should, on paper at least, run away with the NL West
That said, it won’t be easy.
Of the Dodgers’ remaining opponents, only three (Padres, Mets, Reds) are awful. That means Los Angeles has 16 games against quality opponents to close out the season, including nine combined against the Rockies and Diamondbacks.
Should that be too much to overcome and the division is lost, a playoff spot is still very much in play for LA (as it is for a number of other NL teams) as the Dodgers, D-Backs, Brewers, Cardinals, and Phillies are all within 3.5 games of each other for the two NL Wild Card slots.
To see where LA’s recent surge has taken the Dodgers in this week’s edition of RealClearLife‘s Ultimate Power Rankings, which combine ratings from ESPN, CBS and USA Today to get a single rank for all 30 teams in MLB and use segmented tiers to arrange them, read on.
Bring on October.
The Best of the Best (1.00-5.00)
No. 1.00, last 1.00, two weeks ago 1.00: Boston Red Sox – (ESPN, 1), (CBS Sports, 1), (USA Today, 1)
No. 2.00, last 2.33, two weeks ago 3.00: Houston Astros – (ESPN, 2), (CBS Sports, 2), (USA Today, 2, tie)
No. 2.66, last 2.66, two weeks ago 2.66: New York Yankees – (ESPN, 3), (CBS Sports, 3), (USA Today, 2, tie)
No. 4.00, last 5.33, two weeks ago 6.00: Chicago Cubs – (ESPN, 4), (CBS Sports, 4), (USA Today, 4)
The Best of the Rest (5.01-10.00)
No. 5.33, last 4.00, two weeks ago 3.66: Oakland Athletics – (ESPN, 6), (CBS Sports, 5), (USA Today, 5)
No. 6.66, last 6.00, two weeks ago 4.66: Cleveland Indians – (ESPN, 5), (CBS Sports, 9), (USA Today, 6)
No. 7.33, last 11.33, two weeks ago 11.33: Los Angeles Dodgers – (ESPN, 9), (CBS Sports, 6), (USA Today, 7)
No. 7.66, last 7.66, two weeks ago 9.00: St. Louis Cardinals – (ESPN, 7), (CBS Sports, 8), (USA Today, 8)
No. 9.33, last 11.33, two weeks ago 13.66: Milwaukee Brewers – (ESPN, 11), (CBS Sports, 7), (USA Today, 10)
No. 9.66, last 8.00, two weeks ago 8.66: Atlanta Braves – (ESPN, 10), (CBS Sports, 10), (USA Today, 9)
No. 10.00, last 8.66, two weeks ago 9.66: Arizona Diamondbacks – (ESPN, 8), (CBS Sports, 11), (USA Today, 11)
So You’re Saying There’s a Chance (10.01-15.00)
No. 13.00, last 11.00, two weeks ago 9.33: Colorado Rockies – (ESPN, 14), (CBS Sports, 13), (USA Today, 12)
No. 13.00, last 14.33, two weeks ago 15.66: Tampa Bay Rays – (ESPN, 12), (CBS Sports, 12), (USA Today, 15)
No. 13.66, last 13.66, two weeks ago 10.66: Philadelphia Phillies – (ESPN, 13), (CBS Sports, 14), (USA Today, 14)
No. 14.33, last 12.66, two weeks ago 11.66: Seattle Mariners – (ESPN, 15), (CBS Sports, 15), (USA Today, 13)
Stuck in the Middle with You (15.01-20.00)
No. 16.33, last 16.33, two weeks ago 16.66: Washington Nationals – (ESPN, 16), (CBS Sports, 17), (USA Today, 16)
No. 17.33, last 18.33, two weeks ago 19.33: San Francisco Giants – (ESPN, 19), (CBS Sports, 16), (USA Today, 17)
No. 18.00, last 17.33, two weeks ago 17.00: Pittsburgh Pirates – (ESPN, 18), (CBS Sports, 18), (USA Today, 18)
No. 18.33, last 18.33, two weeks ago 16.66: Los Angeles Angels – (ESPN, 17), (CBS Sports, 19), (USA Today, 18)
It’s Probably Not Your Year (20.01-25.00)
No. 20.66, last 20.33, two weeks ago 20.00: Minnesota Twins – (ESPN, 20), (CBS Sports, 20), (USA Today, 22)
No. 21.00, last 21.00, two weeks ago 22.33: New York Mets – (ESPN, 21), (CBS Sports, 21), (USA Today, 21)
No. 22.33, last 21.33, two weeks ago 23.66: Toronto Blue Jays – (ESPN, 23), (CBS Sports, 24), (USA Today, 20)
No. 22.33, last 23.00, two weeks ago 22.00: Texas Rangers – (ESPN, 22), (CBS Sports, 22), (USA Today, 23)
No. 23.66, last 24.00, two weeks ago 21.66: Cincinnati Reds – (ESPN, 24), (CBS Sports, 24), (USA Today, 24)
See You in 2019 (25.01-30.00)
No. 25.66, last 26.33, two weeks ago 27.00: Chicago White Sox – (ESPN, 27), (CBS Sports, 25), (USA Today, 25)
No. 26.33, last 25.66, two weeks ago 25.33: Detroit Tigers – (ESPN, 25), (CBS Sports, 28), (USA Today, 26)
No. 26.66, last 27.66, two weeks ago 26.33: San Diego Padres – (ESPN, 26), (CBS Sports, 27), (USA Today, 27)
No. 27.33, last 26.33, two weeks ago 27.33: Miami Marlins – (ESPN, 28), (CBS Sports, 26), (USA Today, 28)
No. 29.00, last 29.33, two weeks ago 29.33: Kansas City Royals – (ESPN, 30), (CBS Sports, 29), (USA Today, 29)
No. 30,00, last 29.66, two weeks ago 29.66: Baltimore Orioles – (ESPN, 29), (CBS Sports, 30), (USA Today, 30)RCL
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
