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Same old, same old

Plot complications and all, Yanks still the team to beat

Mike Mussina joins the Yankees' rotation this season after signing a six-year, $88.5 million deal. M. David Leeds/Allsport

By Dan George, CNNSI.com

The questions abound.

Are some chinks finally showing in the almighty Yankees' armor? Can A-Rod, Mike Mussina, Juan Gonzalez, Manny Ramirez, David Wells, Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle, among others, find happiness in their new homes? Will the Orioles finish the season in Rochester?

Heck, we don't know.

What we do know is that the real games are under way. And so are CNNSI.com's Power Rankings. Every Monday we'll rank 'em from No. 1 to No. 30 - or, if you prefer, from first to worst. Our formula? Hey, do Coke or Kentucky Fried Chicken give away their recipes? Let's just say there are fresh batteries in the calculator and the Ouija board is used only in case of emergency.

And without further ado, here they are for Week No. 1:

CNNSI.com's Power Rankings
Rank	LW		Team
1	--		New York Yankees Derek Jeter will start the season on the DL. El Duque is gimpy. Scatter-armed Chuck Knoblauch has been banished to left field. They had the worst spring training record in baseball. But until further notice, the Yanks still are the team to beat.
2	--		Oakland Athletics They can hit with anyone. And how about a rotation with Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder? If they can just resolve this Jason Giambi contract thing, life by the bay will be just about perfect.
3	--		St. Louis Cardinals If Mark McGwire stays healthy, put 'em down for the N.L. Central title. If Rick Ankiel ever rediscovers home plate on a consistent basis, make it the World Series.
4	--		Cleveland Indians Look for a monster year from Bartolo Colon. Look for Juan Gonzalez to more than adequately fill Manny Ramirez's shoes. And look for the Tribe to restore order in the A.L. Central.
5	--		Atlanta Braves Neither Greg Maddux nor John Smoltz will be available Opening Day, and Kevin Millwood was absolutely horrid this spring. But it seems awfully premature to count out Bobby Cox's team.
6	--		New York Mets Kevin Appier and Steve Trachsel should ease the pain of losing Mike Hampton, but batting Benny Agbayani in the leadoff spot is hardly the cure for their offensive shortcomings.
7	--		Chicago White Sox It's unrealistic to expect the stars to align perfectly again this season. Still, if David Wells still has anything left, young studs like Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Lee could help him make things interesting.
8	--		Arizona Diamondbacks Age and health seem like perennial concerns, but a rotation that begins with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling can cure a lot of ills.
9	--		San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent haven't missed a beat this spring, but can Benito Santiago make up for the loss of Ellis Burks?
10	--		Boston Red Sox What a circus. Between Nomar's injury and Carl Everett and Manny Ramirez's attitudes, the load that Pedro Martinez is carrying just got a whole lot heavier.
11	--		Seattle Mariners A-Rod's departure leaves a huge hole, but the pitching's just fine and Ichiro Suzuki looks like the real deal.
12	--		Florida Marlins They're still probably a year away from being a serious contender, but everyone admits John Boles' team is getting scary. Adding Matt Clement and Eric Owens doesn't change that.
13	--		Colorado Rockies Can Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle succeed where Darryl Kile could not?
14	--		Texas Rangers With any pitching at all, they could be monsters. Which, with apologies to A-Rod, may make untested closer Tim Crabtree the team's pivotal player.
15	--		Los Angeles Dodgers Thirty-four-year-old Chris Donnels the Opening Day starter at third? Maybe we're being optimistic
16	--		Houston Astros If Brad Ausmus helps the pitching staff as much as Larry Dierker believes he will, they could give the Cards something to think about.
17	--		Toronto Blue Jays Will Esteban Loiaza make 'em forget all about David Wells?
18	--		Kansas City Royals If Carlos Beltran, batting No. 2 behind Carlos Febles, takes his hot spring into the regular season, K.C. won't miss Johnny Damon nearly as much as many people believe.
19	--		Montreal Expos Is Carl Pavano's balky elbow ever going to allow the big right-hander to fulfill his potential?
20	--		Cincinnati Reds The scare they got when Junior sprained his left hamstring shows how fragile this team's outlook is.
21	--		Detroit Tigers Brandon Inge has been called their catcher of the future. With starting catcher Mitch Meluskey out for the season, the future may be now.
22	--		Chicago Cubs Well, Julian Tavarez apparently is already in fighting trim.
23	--		Anaheim Angels No Mo. And for now, no Adam Kennedy either. On the other hand, they no longer have to worry about Jose Canseco's inevitable breakdown.
24	--		Philadelphia Phillies Last season, Omar Daal lost 19 games. This season, he's the Phils' Opening Day starter.
25	--		Milwaukee Brewers Thirty-eight-year-old leadoff Tony Fernandez has come back more times than Freddy Krueger.
26	--		Pittsburgh Pirates If there was one team that really, really didn't need to lose its top three starters before Opening Day - in this case, Kris Benson, Jason Schmidt and Francisco Cordova - it was the Bucs.
27	--		San Diego Padres When is Ben Davis going to step up? Or will we soon see the start of the Wiki Gonzalez Era?
28	--		Minnesota Twins The youth movement is under way, but you have to wonder if crotchety Tom Kelly is the right guy to lead it.
29	--		Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Josh Hamilton wait continues.
30	--		Baltimore Orioles Their slogan: "Come see the kids." What -- Cal Ripken Jr.'s on Father-Son Day?

Dan George is a senior producer at CNNSI.com.

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