April 8th MLB Power Rankings

After one week of baseball, Gengler is back for knee jerk power rankings. We tried to loosely base them on our preseason ranks, and there was no set way teams were rewarded/penalized for opening week performances.

1. Anaheim Angels- The Angels shot out of the gate on the backs of the pitching staff and very early MVP-frontrunner Vlad Guerrero.
2. Boston Red Sox- Dice-K dazzled, and Big Papi finally fired up his bat to avoid a near sweep to Texas.
3. Minnesota Twins- Despite having a makeshift rotation, the pitching staff took care of business early on.
4. New York Yankees- We gave them an inordinate amount of respect, but they’re better than they’ve played so far.
5. Atlanta Braves- The Braves are back in charge early on, sprinting to a 5-1 record against their two biggest competitors.
6. New York Mets- They got off to a hot start against the Cardinals, but their longtime foe tripped them up a little bit. Open at home tomorrow.
7. Los Angeles Dodgers- After getting dominated by Ben Sheets, the Dodgers woke up and beat up on their rivals.
8. Toronto Blue Jays- They held their own against the AL Champs and then mostly took care of business against Tampa.
9. San Diego Padres- The offense is lagging a bit thus far, but their bullpen will be their forte regardless.
10. Cleveland Indians- Grady Sizemore got off to a hot start, but he couldn’t warm up mother nature.
11. Cincinnati Reds- The bullpen has been strong early, and they’re definitely beating expectations so far. Josh Hamilton is a great story.
12. Detroit Tigers- Gary Sheffield hasn’t done anything yet, but he should come around and add some major power to the lineup.
13. Chicago White Sox- Kenny Williams was confident in what he had in terms of pitching in the offseason, but they haven’t pitched like they can yet.
14. Chicago Cubs- They went on a big spending spree this offseason, and it got them to .500 after week one. The rotation could hurt them.
15. St. Louis Cardinals- After three duds against the Mets, they come back to beat another struggling central team.
16. Milwaukee Brewers- This team can contend for the division, but Ben Sheets must stay healthy.
17. Arizona Diamondbacks- They have a young core, but I don’t think they’re all there yet.
18. Florida Marlins- The Marlins are off to a literally running start, but they played a couple of struggling teams so far.
19. Pittsburgh Pirates- I felt the Pirates were actually a bit underrated coming into the year, but I don’t think they’ll keep up the pace they’re on now.
20. Oakland A's- The A’s once again have a few new faces to get accustomed too. They need to score more runs.
21. Philadelphia Phillies- They’re off to another slow start, and Charlie Manuel has to be on the hottest seat of all managers at this point.
22. Houston Astros- They made some moves to get better in the offseason, but nothing’s working so far. They’re usually great after the break, but think of how easy it would be if they won more than 3 games the first few months.
23. Seattle Mariners- They should try playing some games so they can be evaluated.
24. Texas Rangers- Gagne is unsurprisingly on the DL, and Sammy Sosa has to take a urine test before every at bat.
25. Colorado Rockies- Clint Hurdle and Dan O’Dowd were extended, and O’Dowd’s extension is really questionable.
26. Tampa Devil Rays- The young guys are showing some ability, and they’re being brought down by only a few specific players.
27. San Francisco Giants- It seems that every 30+ year old free agent lands here. Barry Zito hasn’t exactly worked out the way they hoped.
28. Baltimore Orioles- They hung with the Yankees pretty well, but overall they’re just not very good.
29. Kansas City Royals- After beating the Sox on Opening Day, they’re the Royals again.
30. Washington Nationals- They were expected to be very bad and they’re doing a nice job of meeting expectations.

Later today, expect an update about Segovia's start yesterday, and what might hold back the Phillies this season.