The St. Louis Cardinals' hold atop Box-Toppers team rankings seemed to be slipping a little more than a week ago—but they've regrouped and reaffirmed their top spot for the 10th straight time.
On July 5, their dominant lead had narrowed to 2.7 Box-Toppers points, they fell to second place in their division and no longer had the best record in baseball.
But nine days later, July 14, at the All-Star break, the Cardinals again have the best record in baseball (.613), have regained the National League Central division lead from the Pittsburgh Pirates (leading by a game) and have increased their overall lead in Box-Toppers points—they now lead the second-place Boston Red Sox by 5.2 points.
Cardinals players have accumulated the most Box-Toppers points this season with 74.2. The Red Sox maintain their spot as the top American League team with 69.0 and also have the best overall record in the AL (.598).
The Los Angeles Dodgers were team of the week (or rather, the extended week from Friday, July 5 through the All-Star break's final games on Sunday, July 14). The Dodgers (Box-Toppers preseason pick to win the World Series), picked up 11.7 Box-Toppers points over the period, moving from 14th to 11th place overall, giving them 62.8 points for the season.
The Dodgers picked up 3.7 of those points by acquiring starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins on July 6. Nolasco has since picked up another Box-Toppers point when he was Player of the Game for the Dodgers on July 9.
The Tampa Bay Rays also made a big climb this week, from 11th to fourth in the standings, picking up 10.7 Box-Toppers points, giving them 67.2 for the season.
| 714 | Top 10 Teams | BTP | BTP/wk | Last week rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardinals | 74.2 | 7.5 | 1 |
| 2 | Red Sox | 69.0 | 5.0 | 2 |
| 3 | Tigers | 67.4 | 6.5 | 4 |
| 4 | Rays | 67.2 | 10.7 | 11 |
| 5 | Indians | 66.2 | 8.9 | 9 |
| 6 | Athletics | 65.7 | 7.5 | 7 |
| 7 | Reds | 65.6 | 4.5 | 3 |
| 8 | Rangers | 64.3 | 5.7 | 5 |
| 9 | Orioles | 64.1 | 6.0 | 8 |
| 10 | Pirates | 63.3 | 5 | 6 |
BTP: Box-Toppers points total. Accumulated points of all players on team in 2013 season.
BTP/wk: Box-Toppers points for the team for the past week—or in this case, from Friday, July 5 through Sunday, July 14.