PREMIERSHIP STANDINGS (MLB)
| POSITION | TEAM | GAMES PLAYED | WINS | LOSSES | RUNS SCORED | RUNS ALLOWED | RUN DIFF | Win PCG | Last Time |
| #1 | Tampa Bay Rays | 81 | 48 | 33 | 411 | 312 | 99 | 0.593 | #1 |
| #2 | New York Yankees | 81 | 50 | 31 | 436 | 340 | 96 | 0.617 | #2 |
| #3 | Texas Rangers | 81 | 48 | 33 | 422 | 343 | 79 | 0.593 | #9 |
| #4 | Boston Red Sox | 82 | 49 | 33 | 448 | 379 | 69 | 0.598 | #14 |
| #5 | Atlanta Braves | 82 | 48 | 34 | 384 | 321 | 63 | 0.585 | #12 |
| #6 | St. Louis Cardinals | 82 | 45 | 37 | 360 | 308 | 52 | 0.549 | #6 |
| #7 | Minnesota Twins | 82 | 44 | 38 | 382 | 335 | 47 | 0.537 | #3 |
| #8 | Philadelphia Phillies | 80 | 42 | 38 | 384 | 338 | 46 | 0.525 | #4 |
| #9 | Colorado Rockies | 82 | 44 | 38 | 385 | 348 | 37 | 0.537 | #7 |
| #10 | San Francisco Giants | 81 | 41 | 40 | 338 | 308 | 30 | 0.506 | #5 |
| #11 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 81 | 45 | 36 | 389 | 364 | 25 | 0.556 | #13 |
| #12 | Florida Marlins | 81 | 38 | 43 | 378 | 355 | 23 | 0.469 | #10 |
| #13 | Los Angeles Angels | 84 | 46 | 38 | 398 | 392 | 6 | 0.548 | #15 |
| #14 | Toronto Blue Jays | 83 | 41 | 42 | 370 | 372 | -2 | 0.494 | #8 |
| #15 | Chicago Cubs | 82 | 35 | 47 | 320 | 371 | -51 | 0.427 | #11 |
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (MLB)
| POSITION | TEAM | GAMES PLAYED | WINS | LOSSES | RUNS SCORED | RUNS ALLOWED | RUN DIFF | Win PCG | Last Time |
| #1 | San Diego Padres | 82 | 49 | 33 | 339 | 269 | 70 | 0.598 | #1 |
| #2 | New York Mets | 82 | 46 | 36 | 381 | 328 | 53 | 0.561 | #2 |
| #3 | Cincinnati Reds | 83 | 47 | 36 | 416 | 367 | 49 | 0.566 | #8 |
| #4 | Detroit Tigers | 80 | 43 | 37 | 361 | 361 | 0 | 0.538 | #4 |
| #5 | Oakland Athletics | 83 | 41 | 42 | 340 | 341 | -1 | 0.494 | #5 |
| #6 | Chicago White Sox | 80 | 42 | 38 | 346 | 350 | -4 | 0.525 | #9 |
| #7 | Milwaukee Brewers | 82 | 37 | 45 | 396 | 424 | -28 | 0.451 | #3 |
| #8 | Kansas City Royals | 82 | 36 | 46 | 361 | 400 | -39 | 0.439 | #12 |
| #9 | Washington Nationals | 83 | 36 | 47 | 337 | 383 | -46 | 0.434 | #7 |
| #10 | Seattle Mariners | 81 | 34 | 47 | 281 | 343 | -62 | 0.420 | #10 |
| #11 | Cleveland Indians | 81 | 32 | 49 | 331 | 403 | -72 | 0.395 | #11 |
| #12 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 82 | 32 | 50 | 376 | 468 | -92 | 0.390 | #6 |
| #13 | Houston Astros | 83 | 32 | 51 | 287 | 412 | -125 | 0.386 | #14 |
| #14 | Baltimore Orioles | 81 | 25 | 56 | 285 | 431 | -146 | 0.309 | #13 |
| #15 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 82 | 30 | 52 | 267 | 449 | -182 | 0.366 | #15 |
If the season ended today, then by MLB standings, the Padres, Mets, and Reds would graduate to the Premiership, while the Angels, Jays, and Cubs would suffer relegation. The feast continues for most teams in the upper echelon, and the famine likewise for the have-nots. Not much to see here, so let's turn our gaze to the True standings.
PREMIERSHIP STANDINGS (TRUE)
| POSITION | TEAM | GAMES PLAYED | WINS | LOSSES | RUNS SCORED | RUNS ALLOWED | RUN DIFF | LAST TIME |
| #1 | Tampa Bay Rays | 42 | 23 | 19 | 224 | 175 | 49 | #4 |
| #2 | Boston Red Sox | 50 | 31 | 19 | 274 | 231 | 43 | #15 |
| #3 | New York Yankees | 37 | 21 | 16 | 212 | 180 | 32 | #1 |
| #4 | Minnesota Twins | 33 | 17 | 16 | 146 | 135 | 11 | #2 |
| #5 | Colorado Rockies | 38 | 19 | 19 | 167 | 156 | 11 | #9 |
| #6 | Atlanta Braves | 38 | 20 | 18 | 156 | 147 | 9 | #5 |
| #7 | San Francisco Giants | 34 | 16 | 18 | 134 | 130 | 4 | #3 |
| #8 | St. Louis Cardinals | 25 | 13 | 12 | 97 | 93 | 4 | #10 |
| #9 | Florida Marlins | 36 | 16 | 20 | 151 | 155 | -4 | #6 |
| #10 | Philadelphia Phillies | 43 | 21 | 22 | 174 | 181 | -7 | #7 |
| #11 | Chicago Cubs | 22 | 11 | 11 | 80 | 93 | -13 | #12 |
| #12 | Los Angeles Angels | 43 | 22 | 21 | 208 | 222 | -14 | #13 |
| #13 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 35 | 16 | 19 | 155 | 173 | -18 | #8 |
| #14 | Texas Rangers | 29 | 11 | 18 | 120 | 147 | -27 | #14 |
| #15 | Toronto Blue Jays | 47 | 18 | 29 | 187 | 235 | -48 | #11 |
Don't panic. I plan to normalize the number of games played eventually. It seems what we all suspected about the AL East is true. The Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays really are the class of baseball -- the Man Utd, Chelsea, and Arsenal of MLB. For all their problems in MLB standings, the Cubs are safe from relegation, though precariously situated. They have floundered against weaker teams, while the Jays have clearly done their best work against underperformers.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (TRUE)
| POSITION | TEAM | GAMES PLAYED | WINS | LOSSES | RUNS SCORED | RUNS ALLOWED | RUN DIFF | LAST TIME |
| #1 | San Diego Padres | 38 | 25 | 13 | 177 | 107 | 70 | #2 |
| #2 | Cincinnati Reds | 42 | 26 | 16 | 188 | 143 | 45 | #14 |
| #3 | Oakland Athletics | 37 | 23 | 14 | 166 | 122 | 44 | #4 |
| #4 | Milwaukee Brewers | 32 | 17 | 15 | 170 | 136 | 34 | #1 |
| #5 | New York Mets | 33 | 18 | 15 | 169 | 142 | 27 | #8 |
| #6 | Kansas City Royals | 37 | 20 | 17 | 173 | 154 | 19 | #9 |
| #7 | Chicago White Sox | 34 | 20 | 14 | 149 | 135 | 14 | #11 |
| #8 | Seattle Mariners | 34 | 20 | 14 | 162 | 155 | 7 | #3 |
| #9 | Detroit Tigers | 47 | 26 | 21 | 216 | 217 | -1 | #10 |
| #10 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 19 | 8 | 11 | 83 | 87 | -4 | #5 |
| #11 | Washington Nationals | 46 | 20 | 26 | 194 | 214 | -20 | #6 |
| #12 | Cleveland Indians | 49 | 21 | 28 | 207 | 240 | -33 | #12 |
| #13 | Houston Astros | 33 | 14 | 19 | 122 | 162 | -40 | #7 |
| #14 | Baltimore Orioles | 33 | 12 | 21 | 120 | 160 | -40 | #13 |
| #15 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 33 | 11 | 22 | 116 | 242 | -126 | #15 |
I continue to be amazed at the bell curve the two divisions produce -- both split positive and negative run differential after the 8th place team. Are you listening, Selig? Parity is unattainable! Unlike the Premiership, the worst three Championship teams in the MLB are also the three worst teams in the CBL. By comparison, the Orioles are clearly a better team than the Astros. Houston play in a weak NL Central, where the only PB teams are St. Louis and Chicago. Baltimore are the sole AL East member in the Championship, facing tough competition on a regular basis.
And what can you say about the Pirates? Well, you can say they play better against tough teams, for starters. They're not good against tough teams, mind you, but they at least seem to play up to the level of the competition. Let's track their progress against the worst team ever, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, and the worst team in recent memory, the 2003 Detroit Tigers:
PIRATES WATCH 2010
| Runs thru 82 games | Runs allowed thru 82 games | RD thru 82 games | Record thru 82 games | Season Record | Season RD | |
| 1899 Cleveland Spiders | 306 | 632 | -326 | 15-67 | 20-134 | -719 |
| 2003 Detroit Tigers | 260 | 429 | -169 | 20-62 | 43-119 | -337 |
| 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates | 267 | 449 | -182 | 30-52 | ? | ? |
While the comparison to the Spiders is at this point unjust, check out this year's Bucs against the '03 Tigers. 7 more runs scored and 20 more runs allowed than that abysmal Detroit pitching staff, which included a 20-game loser in Mike Maroth. So why aren't we hearing more sports pundits discuss the 2010 Pirates as the worst team this generation? That's right -- because of win/loss record. Pittsburgh has 10 more wins through 82 games than the old Tigers, so they must be better! According to old Pythagoras, the Buccos have caught a streak of luck to the tune of 7 wins thus far. If their luck runs out, watch for the baseball talking heads to take notice.
The new management have put a lot of good things in place, so the future isn't all bleak in the Steel City. Maybe Pirates fans can take solace in the fact that they may finally have hit rock bottom of Sub-.500 Canyon. It can only get better in 2011, right?
