ESPN.com Power Rankings (Baseball)

[Mik 0]

1. Angels

 

Vladimir Guerrero (three homers) is off to a fine start, and getting Garret Anderson's contract extension done means one less distraction. Now let's see if they can pitch.

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2. Marlins

 

The Marlins might be the least-respected defending champs in recent history. Sure, they absorbed some offseason losses, but their pitching is young and deep.

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3. Yankees

 

Questions about pitching depth seem well-founded, but they won't need a fifth starter often in the first month. They haven't hit much, but you know they will.

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4. Red Sox

 

Seven players on the DL and two extra-inning games in the span of four days have been a challenge. On the plus side, the starting pitching has been consistently excellent.

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5. Athletics

 

Arthur Rhodes already looks like an adventure as the closer, but there's no denying the strength of the rotation now that the Big Three are back and healthy. Offense remains a long-term question.

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6. Cubs

 

With Mark Prior sidelined and Greg Maddux off to a slow start, the pitching isn't as good as it eventually will be. Offensively, they're in a rut, but chalk that up mostly to cold weather.

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7. Astros

 

Roger Clemens has been dominant in his two starts, though Octavio Dotel has stumbled some in adapting to the closer's role. Loss of Andy Pettitte is significant, but the Astros have pitching depth to cover for a while.

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8. Royals

 

A quick start and a couple of dramatic comeback wins make it seem like last season all over again. But with this rotation, can Pena Magic last all season? No wins from the starting pitchers through the first six games raises a question.

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9. Dodgers

 

GM Paul DePodesta was worried about the rotation, but the pitching has again been a strong point. The pleasant surprise has been the offense, led by Paul Lo Duca and Adrian Beltre.

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10. Tigers

 

There's no telling what winning their first four will mean to a team starving for something positive. If nothing else, the Tigers now resemble a major league team, something that couldn't be said of them a year ago.

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11. Giants

 

Riding Barry Bonds offensively, the pitching injuries haven't hurt them -- yet. In a thin division, they just need to tread water in the early going -- like those kayakers in McCovey Cove waiting for home run keepsakes.

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12. Braves

 

Inconsistent so far, their pitching isn't nearly as strong as it's been in the last decade. They suffered offensive losses in the offseason, too, but runs haven't been an issue.

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13. Mets

 

Off to a good start, which was imperative with all the new faces. Raise your hand if you were surprised by Cliff Floyd going on the DL.

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14. Padres

 

Starters have been better than adverstised, but the bullpen has sprung early-season leaks. If the relievers pitch better, the Padres could contend.

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15. White Sox

 

Magglio Ordonez looks primed for a monstrous season. If nothing else, the attitude under new manager Ozzie Guillen has to count for something.

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16. Twins

 

Injuries have taken their toll in the first 10 days, and the Twins don't have the kind of resources to withstand them in the long-term. Signing 41-year-old Terry Mulholland is a sure sign things aren't off to a good start.

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17. Orioles

 

The young pitching is going through the expected growing pains, though the beefed-up batting order has provided good support. In this division, progress may be hard to measure but the O's will be more competitive.

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18. Cardinals

 

No surprises here to date -- plenty of offense (five runs or more in each of their first seven games) and not enough pitching. The Cards may have one of the best starting nine in either league, but they're doomed for the middle of the NL Central unless they find more arms.

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19. Rangers

 

They've been in nearly every game -- all against AL West opponents -- which should help the confidence of a mostly young team. The most encouraging sign, however, has been the pitching of Chan Ho Park.

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20. Phillies

 

Welcome to Larry Bowa's worst nightmare: huge expectations plus slow start equals early-season whispers. How long before panic sets in at brand new Citizens Bank Park.

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21. Devil Rays

 

They survived their odyssesy to Japan and split four games with the Yankees. That's accomplishment enough. But winning an early-season series with Baltimore -- a team they'll have to leapfrog to finally get out of the AL East basement -- may be just as significant.

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22. Reds

 

Thought to have the worst rotation in the game, the Reds have actually pitched well out of the gate. Just don't expect it to last.

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23. Pirates

 

Offense was the concern here, but they've mashed in the first week and a half. Just don't expect it to last.

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24. Diamondbacks

 

They beefed up the batting order in the offseason, but Randy Johnson's command has them a little nervous. A slow start last year doomed them; they can't afford another one.

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25. Brewers

 

Just biding their time until the late-season callups and the reconstruction really begins.

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ESPN.com Bottom 5

Rank Team McAdam's comments

26. Mariners

 

Injuries and advancing age were concerns here, and the first 10 days have done nothing to allay those fears. Suddenly, Jamie Moyer looks every one of his 40 years.

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27. Blue Jays

 

Getting swept by the Tigers -- at home, no less -- is no way to kick off the season. In the competitive AL East, the Jays can't afford to bury themselves early.

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28. Rockies

 

Knee problems for Preston Wilson is an ominous sign this early in the season. With pitching questions aplenty, the Rockies will need his run production just to be respectable.

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29. Indians

 

Shipping out Milton Bradley was the right thing to do, but they'll feel his absence in the batting order. On the plus side, C.C. Sabathis has looked sharp.

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30. Expos

 

Living out of suitcases for the first month isn't going to help this bunch. What did Frank Robinson do to deserve this?

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GO MARLINS...should be number 1. 7-1.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

This list is such bullshit. The Yankees in the top 10 despite struggling to stay above .500? The Reds don't even get above 20th for having a good record and messing up the Cubs pretty good for their first series.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Typical ESPN bullshit.

[geniusMoment 0]

How the fuck are the Tigers 10 and the Reds 22. I guarantee the reds will win more games than the Tigers. They actually have the Tigers ahead of the Giants. If there is anybody out there that thinks the Tigers will have a better year than the Giants you might as well take a gun and redecorate your walls with your brain, as you are obvisiously not using it to think with.

[Guest Brian]

Indians are looking better than bottom-five.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

NOTHING CAN STOP THE POWER OF VLAD!!!

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

If there is anybody out there that thinks the Tigers will have a better year than the Giants you might as well take a gun and redecorate your walls with your brain, as you are obvisiously not using it to think with.

 

If Bonds were to get injured, they would.

 

Obviously, this list is based ONLY on games already played and is NOT a prediction of future performance. I think its kind of silly to base a list off of one week though.

[geniusMoment 0]

Are you kidding me. The Tigers already lost their best pure hitter, Dmitri Young for 8 weeks. This is the same pitching staff that lost almost 120 games. The Giants have one of the best pitchers in baseball, Schmidt, leading their staff. Kirk Reuter is a solid number 2, AJ is a nice pick up as catcher and if Nenn comes back they will have a very good bullpen, with Nenn and the Intimadator on the back end. Even if Bonds gets hurt the Giants will be much better than the Tigers.

[treble 0]

They're not predicting where these teams will end up, they're ranking them based on how well they've played so far this season. Calm down.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

If there is anybody out there that thinks the Tigers will have a better year than the Giants you might as well take a gun and redecorate your walls with your brain, as you are obvisiously not using it to think with.

 

If Bonds were to get injured, they would.

 

Obviously, this list is based ONLY on games already played and is NOT a prediction of future performance. I think its kind of silly to base a list off of one week though.

Exactly why it's BS. But, again, ESPN is worthless nowadays, so it doesn't matter really.

[Fökai 0]

Phillies at 20?

 

Wow, I'd like to see their ranking if they had 2 wins.

[geniusMoment 0]

It is not based on games played, unless ESPN is full on total idiots. The Reds are 5-2, in first place in their division, beat the supposed champion cubs in the opening series and are ranked 22. So it is obvisiously not just who played the best in the first week.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

I'm pretty sure it is GM. They update these weekly, therefore - it's based on what happened during the first week. Declaring whoever wrote this a complete and utter moron.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

It's got ot be done just like college football.

 

These rankings are based on the first week...with heavy influence on preseason rankings.

 

You can bitch all you want to...but it's far worse when college football does it...becuase those polls actually matter.

 

As for the Tigers...they're the feel good story of the week. So they crack the top ten.

[Bored 0]

Now why I'm supposed to care about "power rankings" in any other sport but college football? Everyone else settles it on the field so who gives a shit what espn.com's thinks or any other site? Really people getting worked up about nothing.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Now why I'm supposed to care about "power rankings" in any other sport but college football? Everyone else settles it on the field so who gives a shit what espn.com's thinks or any other site? Really people getting worked up about nothing.

Because it's just the usual ESPN bullshit. The fact that they completely overlook 5-2 teams while overrating a 1-6 team.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Are you kidding me. The Tigers already lost their best pure hitter, Dmitri Young for 8 weeks. This is the same pitching staff that lost almost 120 games. The Giants have one of the best pitchers in baseball, Schmidt, leading their staff. Kirk Reuter is a solid number 2, AJ is a nice pick up as catcher and if Nenn comes back they will have a very good bullpen, with Nenn and the Intimadator on the back end. Even if Bonds gets hurt the Giants will be much better than the Tigers.

 

First off, the Tigers lost 119 games because their offense was 100 runs lower than anyone in the league. For the pitching staff, they've gained Jason Johnson and Ugueth Urbina. I'll do a full comparison between the Tigers and Bonds-less Giants after work. As for the Giants, Schmidt is injured, as is Nen. Kirk Rueter walked more batters than he struck out last year. He's a few starts away from falling off a cliff. They have BRETT TOMKO and DUSTIN HERMANSON in their rotation, and Neifi Perez is a STARTER. That team is all Bonds right now.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Ok. I've had some time to look at the issue. I'm taking BPro's VORP projections, because they're a good, round number to use, and they are calculated objectively.

 

Tigers vs. Bonds-less Giants

 

LINEUP

 

No question, Detroit smokes the Giants here. Edges at catcher, first base, shortstop, left field, and right field. Only Durham is appreciably better at his position. And none of this is including Dmitri Young.

 

BENCH

 

Key bench players are seen as Craig Monroe and Yolvit Torrealba. However, none of the other Giants' reserves are very good. Tigers win out again.

 

ROTATION

 

This is where the Giants beat the Tigers. Jason Schmidt is eons better than any of the Tigers' starters. Remove Schmidt however, and it is closer. But the Giants would still edge the Tigers.

 

BULLPEN

 

A slight edge to the Giants. I included Nen in the equation. Remove him and it is nearly even.

 

Looking at the totals, the Tigers edge the Giants when you include Dmitri Young, but the Giants win when you don't. Bringing the DH to the table, I would think that either team would have the edge depending on whether the DH is in use. I would say that the Tigers are certainly in the Giants league if the Giants were without Bonds.