Today marks the evolution from the weekly Power Rankings format to a monthly
version. Why the change? The weekly format was a pain, for starters.
The minutiae of determining each team's record for the week and who their
opponents were coupled with the necessary formatting to have them appear on each
of our
team pages was tedious indeed.
But beyond that, how much sense does it make to rank a team weighted so heavily
on the last week of play? All great teams will go through a rough stretch
at some point, and many futile teams have found fleeting success here and there.
Why, just on the last day of April, we had scores of 8-1, 19-5, and two
instances of 13-1 blowouts. Are we supposed to bow down to the winners of
those blowouts and write off the losers?
Heck, going by a month of play has its limitations. I'll tell you right
now that between the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals
- each of whom has set or tied a franchise record in April wins this season - at
least one team will go the way of the 2007 Milwaukee Brewers. I can't
quite pinpoint which one it is yet, so for now, I'll hedge and rank them all
high.
One reason its difficult to predict their downfall is that all three teams
have players who will provide a boost in the coming months. The Cubs get
Alfonso Soriano back today. The Diamondbacks just added phenom Max
Scherzer to their rotation, and will see the return of Chad Tracy and Doug Davis
before the All-Star break. Colby "Lincecum" Rasmus has struggled to begin
the year, but may be major league-ready in the second half, when the Cardinals
could also add the likes of Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder, and Matt Clement to
their rotation.
But we see this phenomenon further down the rankings as well. The
Angels figure to be unstoppable once John Lackey replaces Dustin Moseley in
their rotation. The Rays have to feel pretty good about being just one
game out of first with Scott Kazmir due to debut against the team they're
trailing this weekend. Pedro Martinez and Jimmy Rollins could change the
complexion of the NL East - we've already seen what the return of Curtis
Granderson has done for the Detroit Tigers.
So let us review the first month of the season and muse about what lies
ahead. As always,
feel free to comment.
| Rank | Team | Comments | Prev |
| 1 |  | Arizona Diamondbacks
April Record: 20-8 (.714) | Overall Record: 20-8 (.714)
Also an unbelievable 17-5 (.773) in their own divison | 3 |
| 2 |  | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
April Record: 18-11 (.621) | Overall Record: 18-11 (.621)
Jon Garland gunning for his first Josh Towers Award | 11 |
| 3 |  | Chicago Cubs
April Record: 17-10 (.630) | Overall Record: 17-10 (.630)
It's important to remember that they're only 11-10 against non-Pirates | 16 |
| 4 |  | St. Louis Cardinals
April Record: 18-11 (.621) | Overall Record: 18-11 (.621)
Dave Duncan success stories are piling up once again | 2 |
| 5 |  | Boston Red Sox
April Record: 17-12 (.586) | Overall Record: 17-12 (.586)
With Youkilis and Pedroia cooling, it has become the Man-Ram show on offense | 7 |
| 6 |  | Oakland Athletics
April Record: 17-12 (.586) | Overall Record: 17-12 (.586)
A's now lead the league in designated hitters by a wide margin | 17 |
| 7 |  | Tampa Bay Rays
April Record: 15-12 (.556)| Overall Record: 15-12 (.556)
James Shields extention is rivaling Scott Kazmir trade for best ever team move | 19 |
| 8 |  | Chicago White Sox
April Record: 14-12 (.538) | Overall Record: 14-12 (.538)
Early team MVP choice: Pitching coach Don Cooper | 8 |
| 9 |  | New York Mets
April Record: 14-12 (.538) | Overall Record: 14-12 (.538)
Can we just give David Wright his MVP Award now? | 13 |
| 10 |  | Los Angeles Dodgers
April Record: 14-13 (.519) | Overall Record: 14-13 (.519)
End month with 5 straight wins and empty promises of Jason Schmidt in near future | 10 |
| 11 |  | Philadelphia Phillies
April Record: 15-13 (.536) | Overall Record: 15-13 (.536)
Departed Lieber, not good enough for Cubs' rotation, would be #2 on Phils' staff | 25 |
| 12 |  | Baltimore Orioles
April Record: 15-12 (.556) | Overall Record: 15-12 (.556)
Markakis will approach the plate without a bat to dupe teams into pitching to him | 6 |
| 13 |  | Florida Marlins
April Record: 15-12 (.556) | Overall Record: 15-12 (.556)
S. Olsen's 2.70 ERA even more precarious than team's > .500 record | 24 |
| 14 |  | Milwaukee Brewers
April Record: 15-12 (.556) | Overall Record: 15-12 (.556)
Sheets and Gallardo are both healthy now, so Brewers should heat up | 1 |
| 15 |  | Seattle Mariners
April Record: 13-15 (.464) | Overall Record: 13-15 (.464)
Jose Lopez quietly transfoming into Joe Sewell: 6 K in 108 AB | 26 |
| 16 |  | Cleveland Indians
April Record: 13-15 (.464) | Overall Record: 13-15 (.464)
Survived Sabathia/Carmona scare; set for a fab May | 14 |
| 17 |  | Atlanta Braves
April Record: 12-15 (.444) | Overall Record: 12-15 (.444)
Smoltz is needed in the ramshackle rotation more than the threadbare bullpen. | 12 |
| 18 |  | Detroit Tigers
April Record: 13-15 (.464) | Overall Record: 13-15 (.464)
5-2 when Curtis Granderson plays | 29 |
| 19 |  | Minnesota Twins
April Record: 13-14 (.481) | Overall Record: 13-14 (.481)
Why can't someone with Joe Mauer's size and hitting ability hit home runs? | 18 |
| 20 |  | New York Yankees
April Record: 14-15 (.483) | Overall Record: 14-15 (.483)
If Joba moves to the rotation, will he start pitching like Hughes and Kennedy? | 20 |
| 21 |  | Houston Astros
Record for the Week - 2-5 vs. Padres, Cubs
Doesn't add up: Oswalt has 5.75 ERA; Astros don't have worst record in baseball | 27 |
| 22 |  | Cincinnati Reds
Record for the Week - 4-2 vs. D'Backs, Phillies
How is this team not winnning more ga--- oh, right, the manager | 5 |
| 23 |  | Kansas City Royals
April Record: 12-15 (.444) | Overall Record: 12-15 (.444)
Team of empty-average hitters has .257 team batting average | 15 |
| 24 |  | San Francisco Giants
April Record: 13-16 (.448) | Overall Record: 13-16 (.448)
See, Sabean? F. Lewis, J. Sanchez, and B. Wilson prove that youth has its upside | 30 |
| 25 |  | San Diego Padres
April Record: 11-17 (.393) | Overall Record: 11-17 (.393)
Practically the same run differential as SF, but with none of the luck | 9 |
| 26 |  | Colorado Rockies
April Record: 11-17 (.393) | Overall Record: 11-17 (.393)
Chris Ianetta's 1.012 OPS comes almost exclusively from road games | 28 |
| 27 |  | Washington Nationals
April Record: 11-17 (.393) | Overall Record: 11-17 (.393)
Would someone please explain J. Lannan, O. Perez, and T. Redding to me? | 22 |
| 28 |  | Pittsburgh Pirates
April Record: 11-16 (.407) | Overall Record: 11-16 (.407)
Releasing Matt Morris? Smart. Replacing him with Phil Dumatrait? Dumb. | 23 |
| 29 |  | Toronto Blue Jays
April Record: 11-17 (.393)| Overall Record: 11-17 (.393)
Blue Jays are 2-8 since big Big Hurt gaffe | 4 |
| 30 |  | Texas Rangers
April Record: 10-18 (.357) | Overall Record: 10-18 (.357)
Rangers have allowed 20% more runs than the next worst AL team (Det) | 21 |
