The Kansas City Royals just completed their first undefeated homestand since June 2-8, 1988. Elsa/Getty Images
By Dan George, SI.com
We all know that the first week of a baseball season is just one of 26, so for the moment we’ll hold off on that Dom Perignon for the 5-0 Kansas City Royals.
For one thing, these Royals aren’t a whole lot different from the bunch that finished 62-100 just six months ago. Still, it’s an impressive start for Tony Pena’s young team, especially after their spring training-best 19-8 record.
It is, in fact, the best start in the history of the Royals, who boast one World Series title, two American League pennants and six division championships since their debut in 1969.
It is also the best start for a team that lost 100 games the previous season. Three other teams started 4-0 after 100-loss seasons -- the 1952 St. Louis Browns, 1906 Boston Bean Eaters and the 1899 St. Louis Perfectos -- but all lost their fifth games.
Two things offer encouragement for long-suffering Royals fans that this start may be something more than a mirage. First, they’re in the AL Central, where only the defending division champion Twins have the talent to run away with things. And, second, Tony Muser is now an assistant coach with the San Diego Padres.
SI.com's Power Rankings
Rank
LW
Team
1
1
Oakland Athletics Yeah, the Miguel Tejada contract situation may end up being a distraction, but it sure didn’t seem to bother them in a weekend sweep of the defending World Series champion Angels.
2
6
San Francisco Giants They’ve already bettered last year’s 6-0 start. But Robb Nen’s strained throwing shoulder, which will sideline him 2-to-3 weeks, has to be cause for concern.
3
3
New York Yankees Enrique Wilson seems to be taking Erick Almonte’s promotion to replace the injured Derek Jeter well enough. Wilson treated the rookie to lunch on his first day, then bought him a new pair of dress shoes.
4
28
Kansas City Royals They’ve allowed just 12 runs in their first five games, despite opening the season with a starting rotation that boasts a combined 18 career major league victories. And they haven’t played the Tigers yet.
5
25
Pittsburgh Pirates Their 5-1 start comes as no surprise to Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer T.R. Sullivan, who, theorizing that something bizarre happens every season, picked the Bucs to win the NL Central.
6
12
Houston Astros It’s early, but they’re already in midseason trash-talking form. “They have that air about them that their doo-doo don't stink,” reliever Billy Wagner said after the Astros beat the Cardinals 6-5 in 12 innings Friday. “They don't respect us. We won some championships, too.”
7
7
Boston Red Sox So far, the much-publicized bullpen by committee has been less than impressive. After a week, Ramiro Mendoza’s ERA is 7.71 and Bob Howry’s is 11.57, while both Alan Embree and Chad Fox are at 13.50. Fox also has both Boston losses.
8
22
Colorado Rockies Is the honeymoon finally over in Denver? Colorado's attendance has dropped each of the past five seasons, falling to 2.7 million last year. Now season-ticket sales are down to about 18,300 -- a 25 percent drop from 2003.
9
4
Anaheim Angels Gotta like the way they do things in Anaheim. The Angels ordered more than 300 World Series rings -- at a cost of $500,000 -- to be handed out not only to players and coaches but also to other full-time employees. Pure class.
10
5
Minnesota Twins Is Joe Mays the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the Twins’ rotation or what? He’s 10-3 against the Tigers … but just 25-47 against everybody else.
11
2
St. Louis Cardinals Injured closer Jason Isringhausen remains a concern, but not the starting rotation. After Matt Morris struggled on Opening Day, the starters allowed just one earned run in the next 27 innings.
12
17
Montreal Expos They didn’t just sweep the Braves last week in Atlanta, they flat-out embarrassed them, outscoring Bobby Cox’s team 17-2 and holding it scoreless for the final 19 innings of the series.
13
15
Chicago Cubs What a relief career home run No. 500 was for Sammy Sosa. "Now I don't have to think about it,” he said after recording the feat last Friday. “I don't have to swing for a home run every at-bat." Way to take one for the team, Sammy.
14
14
Chicago White Sox Speculation is that Jerry Manuel must win this year or he’ll be canned. But Manuel hinted he could be leaving regardless. "That's fine with me,” he said when reporters asked him about being on the hot seat. “Once I win it, I'm going to get out, anyway."
15
11
Philadelphia Phillies Jim Thome reached base in 60 consecutive games before the streak was snapped Sunday, the second-longest streak in the majors since 1990. Only Mark McGwire's 62 straight games for Oakland in 1995-96 were longer.
16
16
New York Mets Thanks to 40-year-old pitcher David Cone, they have surpassed the Yankees as the oldest team in baseball. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Mets average 31.72 years. The Yankees are at 31.66.
17
8
Arizona Diamondbacks If the first week is any indication, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling will have to be better than ever this season. Or else. The D’backs have been shut out twice already, scoring just 12 runs in their first six games.
18
9
Atlanta Braves Russ Ortiz looks like he’ll fit in just fine, but they have to be concerned about ace Greg Maddux being 0-2 with an 11.00 ERA after two Turner Field starts against the Expos and Marlins.
19
13
Seattle Mariners Bret Boone was introduced as "Bert Boone" during pregame ceremonies last week in Oakland. And he wasn’t too happy about it. "You gotta be kidding me," he said. "Did you see me stop and look up? Their [A's] dugout was all over me."
20
10
Los Angeles Dodgers When Darren Dreifort pitched Friday against the Padres in San Diego, it marked his first appearance since tearing an elbow ligament on June 29, 2001 ... in San Diego. That's 643 days if you're counting. Or even if you’re not.
21
18
Toronto Blue Jays They’re already wondering about the reaction catcher Ken Huckaby will get next week in New York in the wake of his collision with Derek Jeter. "They probably have signs of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Ken Huckaby up in New York right now," said Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi.
22
19
Texas Rangers Alex Rodriguez figured he'd have to pay for his 300th home run ball last week at Anaheim's Edison Field. "We would have started with an autographed ball but then gone to jerseys, bats and whatever it took," A-Rod said. His worries disappeared, however, when a fan threw the ball back onto the field.
23
20
Florida Marlins After running out of hot dogs in last season’s opener, they spent about $100,000 to give away free hot dogs to this year’s Opening Day crowd of 37,137. "I told the [concessionaires], 'I don't care if you run out of ushers,'" said team President David Samson. "'Above all else, make sure we have enough hot dogs.'"
24
21
Cincinnati Reds Architects aren’t the only ones unimpressed by the Great American Ball Park. So far, thanks to swirling winds, it’s playing like San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. "I think it's going to be a fielder's nightmare - especially an outfielder's nightmare," said Reds Hall of Famer Johnny Bench.
25
24
Cleveland Indians How long has it been since a rookie started at first base for the Tribe. How about 32 years? Travis Hafner is the first to do it since Chris Chambliss in 1971.
26
23
Baltimore Orioles The worst moment of last week’s snowstorm game -– for Jeff Conine, anyway -– came when Ellis Burks hit a shot toward right field. "I heard contact and just hoped it wasn't hit at my face, because I couldn't see anything,” he said. The next night, the game-time temperature in Baltimore was 80 degrees.
27
26
San Diego Padres Rookie Xavier Nady is already in the record books. He’s the only player in major league history whose first or last name begins with an "X" who has hit a home run. Of course, there were only two other "X" players -- Xavier Hernandez and Xavier Rescigno.
28
27
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli, both 21, are the first players no older than 21 to start in the same outfield on Opening Day since Greg Luzinski (21) and Mike Anderson (20) did it for the 1972 Phillies.
29
29
Milwaukee Brewers Reliever Curtis Leskanic says he’s all for a decision by new manager Ned Yost to move the team's coaches from a private locker room into the main clubhouse with the players. "I kind of like having them in here,” he said. “It makes me feel a lot better about my body."
30
30
Detroit Tigers The 0-6 start may be a new experience for rookie manager Alan Trammell but not for fans. The Tigers, if you’ll recall, opened last season with 12-game losing streak.
