MLB Update

If you want to get a sense of how globalization has tilted the U.S. economy in favor of the East Coast, you could take a look at the current baseball standings. There are 10 teams in the NL East and AL East, and all ten teams are at least two games over .500 -- including perennial also-rans Baltimore and Washington. It should be noted, however, that the two best teams in baseball -- the Rangers and the Dodgers -- are not from the East Coast. Meanwhile, the battle between the Reds and the Cardinals should keep Kentucky fans interested in the NL Central.

Here are the standings by league. The percentage next to each team is its estimated chance of making the playoffs, according to coolstandings.com. Teams with less than a 10 percent chance of making the playoffs are in italics:

NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Los Angeles (83.5%) 32-18 --
2. Washington (57.o%) 29-21 3
3. Miami (34.6%) 29-22 3 1/2
4. Cincinnati (59.6%) 28-22 4
5. New York (18.4 %) 28-23 4 1/2
6. Atlanta (45.0%) 28-24 5
T7. St. Louis (73.2%) 27-24 5 1/2
T7. San Francisco (39.1 %) 27-24 5 1/2
9. Philadelphia (28.6 %) 27-25 6
10. Pittsburgh (10.3 %) 25-25 7
11. Arizona (15.0 %) 23-28 9 1/2
T12. Houston (15.7 %) 22-28 10
T12. Milwaukee (10.9 %) 22-28 10
14. Colorado (7.4 %) 20-29 11 1/2
15. Chicago (1.5 %) 18-32 14
16. San Diego (0.2 %) 17-35 16

AMERICAN LEAGUE
1. Texas (93.9 %) 31-20 --
T2. Chicago (82.1 %) 29-22 2
T2. Tampa Bay (47.5 %) 29-22 2
T2. Baltimore (41.5 %) 29-22 2
T5. New York (40.2 %) 27-23 3 1/2
T5. Cleveland (23.3 %) 27-23 3 1/2
7. Toronto (42.9 %) 27-24 4
8. Boston (43.1 %) 26-24 4 1/2
9. Los Angeles (30.0 %) 26-26 5 1/2
10. Detroit (21.9 %) 23-27 7 1/2
11. Seattle (18.3 %) 23-30 9
12. Oakland (3.2 %) 22-29 9
13. Kansas City (11.2 %) 21-28 9
14. Minnesota (0.8 %) 18-32 12 1/2