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By Shawn Ramsey
1 Red Sox 95-62
Boston has been one of the league’s best teams all year long, making it hard to believe that it still has no official setup man for closer Koji Uehara. Splitting hairs here, though.
2 Athletics 94-63 +1
The A’s celebrate a second consecutive season as AL West winners, and they are getting hot just in time to make a deep playoff run.
3 Dodgers 90-66 -1
When the biggest controversy in late September is a celebratory pool party, it must be a good year for the Dodgers -- who clinched the NL West after a big turnaround.
4 Cardinals 92-65
St. Louis has wrapped up a playoff berth but still has work to do to clinch the division title.
5 Tigers 91-66 +1
The Tigers look to be the next team to lock up their division -- and a third consecutive AL Central title.
6 Braves 92-64 -1
Atlanta is the NL East champion for the first time since 2005, and now it has a chance to enter the playoffs with the best record in the NL.
7 Reds 90-67 +2
Through Monday, Billy Hamilton is a perfect 13 for 13 in steals in 10 games as a September call-up. The Reds will likely keep the speedy outfielder on the roster for the playoffs.
8 Pirates 90-67 -1
They have the winning season and a playoff berth, but the Pirates still have a chance at stealing the division title from the Cardinals in the last week of the season.
9 Rays 87-69 -1
With the wild-card lead in hand after a successful week against the Rangers and Orioles, the Rays are in a prime position to head to the postseason once again.
10 Indians 86-70
With the Rangers still struggling, the Indians took over the second wild-card spot after a four-game sweep of the Astros. Now all the Indians have to do is win and they make the playoffs.
11 Nationals 84-73
The Nationals' strong finish wasn't enough to overcome their mediocre play over much of the season.
12 Royals 83-73 +2
The Royals are trying to ride the momentum from their series win against Texas to secure an improbable playoff berth.
13 Rangers 85-71
The Rangers are no longer in control of their own destiny in the wild-card race after dropping two in Kansas City. All Texas can do now is win and hope Cleveland and/or Tampa Bay lose a few games.
14 Yankees 82-74 +1
Mariano Rivera’s number was officially retired by the Yankees Sunday, making it the last time No. 42 will be worn by any major leaguer on a daily basis.
15 Orioles 81-75 -3
Having lost five consecutive games through Monday, the Orioles’ postseason hopes have pretty much faded.
16 Angels 76-80
The Angels will miss the playoffs, but with a four-game series in Texas to close out the season, they could play spoilers.
17 Diamondbacks 79-77
Some of the D-backs were upset about the Dodgers celebrating in their pool, but was it really about the pool party and not about losing the division to LA? (It was definitely the pool party.)
18 Padres 73-83 +2
The Padres’ bats went cold over the weekend as they only managed two runs in three games against a dominant Dodgers pitching staff.
19 Giants 72-84 -1
Brian Wilson will be making his first bittersweet appearance for the Dodgers in San Francisco this week as the former Giants closer stops by on his way back to the playoffs with a new team.
20 Phillies 71-85 -1
After being one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, Roy Halladay’s future is uncertain after two shaky seasons and free agency looming.
21 Brewers 70-86
Unlikely star Carlos Gomez continues to prop up the Brewers lineup after collecting his 10th triple of the season against the Cardinals Sunday.
22 Rockies 71-86
Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki went 23 consecutive games without a homer until he hit one Thursday. Then he smacked another on Friday night to bring his season total to 24.
23 Blue Jays 71-85 +1
R.A. Dickey struck out 11 Red Sox players in a complete-game Sunday, but two home runs handed the knuckleballer his 13th loss of the season.
24 Mets 71-85 +2
The Mets have some momentum after a weekend sweep of the Phillies as they hope to play spoiler to the wild-card leading Reds in Cincinnati.
25 Mariners 68-89 -2
Felix Hernandez became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out 10 batters in a game in which he didn’t pitch more than four innings. He was pulled against the Angels due to a high pitch count.
26 Cubs 65-92 -1
Cubs rookie Junior Lake has 67 hits since his debut after the All-Star break, the most among rookies since this season’s halfway point.
27 Twins 66-90
He is only 22, but Oswaldo Arcia’s six-RBI game Sunday against Oakland made the Twins outfielder look as if he has been around for longer than just one season.
28 White Sox 62-94 +1
Chris Sale set the White Sox record for left-handers with 221 strikeouts in a single season during his seven-K performance Saturday night against Detroit.
29 Marlins 58-99 -1
Mike Redmond was a player for the 1998 Marlins team that suffered 108 losses. Now he will likely get to be a part of another 100-loss season in Miami, but this time as the club’s manager.
30 Astros 51-106
The Astros have a chance to top their own worst record of 107 losses -- which was set last year.
