I'd like to tell you that, here at the Power Rankings, we have three computers churning away every week, using all sort of Pythagorean formulas and Monte Carlo simulations devised by some of the brightest young baseball analysts on the planet. Instead, we're going old school. We're winging it.
Oh, I'll take into account a lot of variables every week in ranking these teams. Snowstorms. Injuries. Strength of schedule. Overall weakness of the Nationals. I'll look at how a team has played recently, and how it should be playing. I'll look at its overall body of work. Sometimes I'll penalize a team for an especially egregious series, or reward a team with a bump up the ladder for a really good one.
But the truth is, the Power Rankings, much like the season, will settle into a rhythm after, say, a couple of months. That's the beauty of a long regular season. The best always rise to the top. At least during the regular season.
For Week 1 of the 2007 Power Rankings, though? What do you expect in an opening week that featured freak snowstorms in Cleveland, a freak walkoff by A-Rod and a Bay Area power outage?
| MLB Power Rankings |
| 1 |
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The Angels are making the geniuses at Sports Illustrated look ... well, pretty smart. The Halos made a statement with an opening-series sweep of the Rangers, then held their own in a tight Oakland series. John Lackey has been money in his first two starts (0.75 ERA) and Vlad already has three homers and 10 RBIs. Watch out, AL West. |
| 2 |
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The rejiggered bullpen has done its job, helping the afterthought Braves (hey, didn't they used to win a lot?) take two of three from the very tough Mets in Atlanta over the weekend. Catcher Brian McCann is being mentioned in the same breath as Joe Mauer these days. And did they shut up those mouthy Phils, or what? |
| 3 |
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This is, in most ways, the same team that came within a game of making it to the World Series last season. Jose Reyes already has three triples. The rotation -- John Maine and Oliver Perez, especially -- is not as bad as you might think. The bullpen didn't allow its first runs until Sunday. The Mets will be there again. Not good for the mouthy Phils. |
| 4 |
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Johan Santana looked in midseason form on Sunday, which should scare the sanitaries off the rest of the AL Central. We'll find out more about the Twins when they meet the Yanks this week, but for now, they seem to fit well in the scrum of teams batting for a title in the toughest division in baseball. Joe Mauer looks as if he won't let that batting title go without a fight. |
| 5 |
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Everything you saw last year in the NL West champs -- good rotation, very good bullpen, a lineup lacking in a lot -- you see now. The Giants and Rockies hit a combined .205 off San Diego pitchers. But the Padres weren't much better. They scored 12 runs in their first two games and just 11 since. Kevin Kouzmanoff already has been benched once. Hit, somebody! |
| 6 |
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An early season sweep of the Giants in San Francisco was nice and all. But, c'mon. They're the Giants. Let's see what happens next weekend against the Padres before we get all apoplectic. The knock against the Dodgers is their age, with Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez on board. Gonzo hit a pair of homers on Sunday, though. Old guys rock. |
| 7 |
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They've lost more than they've won, their rotation has a near-10.00 ERA (and an aversion to getting into the sixth) and now left fielder Hideki Matsui is on the disabled list with a bad hamstring. That said, have you seen that lineup? If A-Rod stays anywhere close to this hot, the Yankees will be fine. |
| 8 |
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See, you might think that the D'backs are getting a raw deal here, based on their record (5-2). Fact is, they're probably a little high on the PRs. I'm no doubt giving them too much credit for that four-game sweep of the Nationals. But it's early, we're all feeling nice and giving and, heck, somebody has to be set up for a fall in the weeks ahead. So enjoy. |
| 9 |
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An incomplete isn't possible for the PRs -- the computer isn't set up for it -- or the Tribe would be holding one of those, thanks to that weekend snowstorm that blew out the series with the Mariners. The Indians were a pitch away from an actual win in the first game when the umps stopped play. It was the right call. But, man, you know the Indians will want that later on. |
| 10 |
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Closer B.J. Ryan blew only four saves last year, a big reason that the Jays were able to slip into second place in the AL East. He coughed up his first of the year last Friday to the up-and-coming (aren't they always?) Devil Rays. But no worries. Ryan saved one the next day. Plus, the Jays rely on a slugging lineup more than anything. So far, they're slugging just fine. |
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