"Race To The Top" is a look at the top 5 teams in MLB, updated frequently throughout the season...

By Jim Kelly Jr.

Late July is the time of the baseball season when sports tickers are flying by with lines about guys changing teams, blog postings are scoured for any rumors of blockbuster deals, and websites are refreshed at a seizure-ly rate. It's the time to find out who's buying and who's selling. If your team is buying you might find your baseball alert level raised to red- ready to strike at any news of adding a bat or a quality reliever. If your team is a selling then you're reading daily reports from NFL training camps. Since the trade deadline is inching closer and closer I decided to take a look at who's leading in the Race To The Top- a look at the Top 5 teams in baseball, and who's right on their heels. So in the meantime instead of trying to get Peter Gammons' cell number, let's dive right in...

1. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Is there anyone more excited about playing baseball than Francisco Rodriguez? K-Rod is saving games at an alarming and record breaking rate, making sure the Halos are winning every close game they find themselves in- as of right now saving 41 of 61 wins. The next best closers are Papelboner and trade-bait-flat-brimmer George Sherril with 30 and 29 respectively. I wrote last week (20 Predictions For the Second Half.. ) about how the Angels will fall off with surges from the Oakland High School Athletics and Josh Hamilton AAU Baseball, but with the way the Angels have held even the Red Sox Nation at bay it's tough to count them out of at least the ALCS right now.

The Halos are a fun team to watch too, with so many close games coming down to the 9th and old school hacker Vladdy still making opposition pay for pitching to him. The Angels might have a bumpy road down the stretch though, as their most productive run producers minus Casey Kotchman have an average age of about 34 and with so many close games a few of them are bound to go the other way (K-Rod has to be tired from screaming). Still the team with the long name fights on, summoning the rally monkey for a run in October.

2. Chicago Cubs

So this is the Rich Harden Billy Beane used to dream about. Although Harden took the loss a few nights ago to the light hitting D'backs and getting zero in the runs support column his stat line read 7.0IP 1H 1ER 2BB 10K: filthy. Chicago looks pretty smart for now, but if history proves itself Harden will be wounded eventually, most likely trading disabled list frequent flyer miles with Kerry Wood. The Cubs lineup is productive from top to bottom, with even the pride of Passaic New Jersey infielder Mark Derosa clocking in with 50 RBI in mid-July and with the ageless wonder Alfonso Soriano coming back from injury the Cubs are the NL favorite for the World Series. After 100 years of waiting 2008 might be the best shot the Cubbie faithful have had in a long time.
With Carlos Zambrano keeping his ERA under 3, and Ryan Dempster on pace to flirt with 18 wins or so, Rich Harden could solidify a powerful postseason staff. The Cubs should not only make the playoffs but find themselves deep into October., lighting up a Wrigley field that is desperate for postseason wins. If they do make the World Series and somehow blow it, by goat, black cat, or perhaps a giraffe this time, the suicide rate in Chicago will most definitely rise. Seriously it would be very uncomfortable for everyone.

3. Boston Red Sox

Check the standings and you'll find the Sox tightly wedged into second place in AL East. So why not the Rays here at the 3 spot? It's because as great a story the Rays are they are still learning as they go, wondering what the pressure will be like in the fall when the only comparable thing they have is past years in Tampa Bay when most players just started spacing out around June. The Sox still have Big Game Josh Beckett, Dice K with 11 wins and an ERA under 3, and Outside-The-Lines-feel-good-story Jon Lester to head a solid rotation. Big Papi is preparing a triumphant return that Red Sox Nation hopes will be so majestic it will only rival hearing Jon Miller say "Big Papi".

If recently history proves right, and it should because it's the only thing we have to go on, the Sox will be there late in October and most likely locked in a long series with the Angels. Papelboner will be screaming and dancing, saying anything for a quote and firing up Boston while simultaneously igniting a hatred for him throughout the rest of baseball. It's the Players You Love To Hate that win championships though, because if they weren't winners then you'd have no reason to hate them.

4. Tampa Bay Rays
Who would've thunk it.
The Rays make the Top 5 by out performing the AL East so far this year, fending off the Sox and the now surging Yankees. Tampa has young talent finally firing on all cylinders with the likes of Crawford, Upton and Longoria leading the way, meshing with experienced veterans like Eric Hinske, Cliff Floyd and Troy 'Turn Back the Clock' Percival. This year shouldn't be a fluke either as Longoria has proven to be the real deal and Garza, Kazmir, Shields and even Andy Sonnanstine are giving the Rays a chance to win every time they take the mound. One of the most promising long term features of the Rays is B.J. Upton though, who is second in the AL in walks; as most 23 year old males don't have the patience for a facebook page load let alone a four pitch walk Upton's upside should be through the roof over the years.

The Rays don't crack the top 3 though, as the October experience on the Rays roster is few and far between. Still the Floridians will watch with Tums in hand as every win puts the team closer to making franchise history.

5. Chicago White Sox
It shows you the strength of the American League when 4 of the Top 5 reside in the land of the DH. Chicago as a city is having itself a baseball year that mirrors New York in 2000, as the White Sox have been fending off the pesky Twins and the underachieving Tigers all season. With the Twins now hitting a stride and Detroit possibly finding their way, the Sox will be tested down the stretch to keep a hold of the top spot in the AL Central. I brought up the Sox age earlier (20 Predictions For the Second Half..) and that should always come into play when factoring in injuries and prolonged slumps, so don't be surprised if Minnesota sneaks past the Chi-towners by the end of the year (luckily I predicted the Sox to win the division, so luckily I covered all bases here baring the Royals selling their souls to satan).

Still the Sox fight on, allowing the 4th fewest runs in baseball and riding performances from Gavin Floyd and John Danks down the stretch to the postseason. The White Sox over the Cubs in the World Series would be the work of the devil.

On their heels...

Milwaukee Brewers
C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets might be the biggest 1-2 punch in October if the Brew Crew make the playoffs (seriously Sabathia is huge). Clutch hitting has powered Milwaukee to just a game back of the Cubs but still not close enough to capture Top 5 status. They would though instantly be propelled to at least the 2 spot if there was a Sportscenter game break for every Sausage Race.

St. Louis Cardinals
The NL Central is so congested it makes you wonder why the Astros are making deals when the only people who believe they have a shot are the Astros. The Cardinals were supposed to be horrible- a team bad enough to make the wax mannequin of Tony La Russa to hang it up for good. Still the Cards remain not only in the race, but in a prime position for the division lead and breaking up both the Cubs and Brewers Cinderella stories.

New York Yankees
Could they do this again? Statistically baseball's best second half team, the Yankees are creeping up to make the AL East race go down to the wire. It would be remarkable accomlishment as injuries have killed this team all year, but as they've proven in the past you can never count out Jeter, Rivera, and Madonna's boyfriend.

Philadelphia Phillies
I'd love to put the Mets up here somewhere but until the Phightin' Phils aren't atop the NL East New York has no business being on the list. The Phillies barely make it too as any of the aforementioned NL teams would have no problem running away with the weak division.


The Bottom 3
San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners
How are the Chargers, Redskins, and Seahawks training camps going?