MLB Power Rankings Week Five

While the Mets have won seven straight, no doubt partly due to the help of removing Oliver Perez from the rotation, other teams have fallen back to earth. They just aren't named Toronto or Los Angeles.

30. Cleveland Indians: What's this season like for the Indians? All you have to do is watch Curtis Granderson robbing Grady Sizemore of what would have otherwise been a game-winning walk off home run.

29. Baltimore Orioles: Koji Uehara's actually pretty good. The rest of the pitching staff? Not so much. This team would be ranked higher, but all of the other four teams in the division thus far all have a legitimate shot at the division and the wildcard (even if TAM and NYY need to pick up the pace), which Baltimore doesn't really.

28. Washington Nationals: They beat the Dodgers and stopped their home winning streak. That's enough to bump 'em up to 28. Oh, and they're apparently interested in Steven Strasburg. Maybe you've heard of the kid. Pitched a no-hitter with 17 (yes, 17) strikeouts...

27. Oakland Athletics: Is Ryan Sweeney the only Athletic that's ever heard the term "hitting for power?" Granted, losing to the Blue Jays these days isn't the most horrible thing on the planet, but in a year where Anaheim has been severely weakened, the A's have had a golden opportunity and they have not taken advantage.

26. Pittsburgh Pirates: Thanks to Milwaukee, they have come firmly back to earth. Still, life for Pittsburgh fans must be that much easier knowing that a) life's easier the lower you keep expectations, and b) once hockey season's over, football training camp is only a few weeks away.

25. Colorado Rockies: Even San Francisco, which can win two out of three games while scoring only five runs (no, really), has a better record that these guys. Right now it seems like 2007 was just a fluke.

24. San Diego Padres: It's basically a tie between San Diego and Arizona, but since San Diego has lost three in a row...to the Astros...Arizona gets the nod. Let me rephrase in case you didn't quite get that: the Padres lost three in a row. To the Astros.

23. Arizona Diamondbacks: Those of you that had Arizona in the first manager to get fired pool, CONGRATULATIONS! The new manager's tenure hasn't exactly gotten off to a blazing start, either, which would lead one to believe that the problem here might not actually have to do with the manager.

22. Houston Astros: Hey, they swept the Padres!

21. Tampa Bay Rays: Over the Red Sox, they ride rough shod. Over everyone else, not so much. While they took 2/2 from the Yankees, over all the team is still struggling. It's a little weird since Longoria is our new overlord raking, but BJ Upton is only hitting .168, and when your lead off man can't get on base, things tend to not work out so well.

20. Chicago White Sox: I don't know if they actually belong here, but I do know that they're two games over .500 and the scapegoat appears to be (again) José Contreras.

19. Minnesota Twins: No idea what they're up to, except that they've got Mauer back and Slowey doesn't throw anything that's not a strike.

18. Atlanta Braves: Getting McCann back should help, but should is a funny word. The Yankees should be a good team, etc.

17. New York Yankees: Five game losing streaks help nobody. Getting A-Rod back helps the offense, but it doesn't do much for the starters who have been largely under par, or the bullpen. CC on Friday was what the Yankees paid him to be and Joba has to figure out that first inning. At least he's acknowledged that it's an issue: the first step to solving a problem, they say, is admitting you have one.

16. Seattle Mariners: At 16-16, they've come back to earth. It's still not as awful as last season, but it's much more in line with what could be expected from this team. Is it me or does Griffey hit a HR on Mother's Day every year?

15. Philadelphia Phillies: I don't know what the Phillies did this week, except that I thought Cole Hamels was hurt, except, apparently, he's not.

14. San Francisco Giants: So what if they have no offense? A win is a win is a win, right? The interesting part will be seeing how long San Francisco can keep this up.

13. Anaheim Angels: They're finding ways to win, and should be able to get some of their pitching staff back pretty soon. That that team has been able to tread water despite everything that's gone down says a lot about its character. Other injury plagued teams could take notice.

12. Cincinnati Reds: They have a negative run differential, but only three teams in the NL have fewer runs allowed. Anyway, as the run differential is -6, all it takes is one really good game to change that.

11. Florida Marlins: It seems obvious now that Florida's hot start was the responsibility of the Washington Nationals. They have to get Ricky Nolasco right, even if only for the sake of my fantasy teams.

10. Texas Rangers: They've taken over first place in the AL West, and trail only Toronto and Boston in the AL in runs scored. Imagine if they had kept Volquez...

9. Chicago Cubs: Losing two out of three to Milwaukee hurts, but probably not as much as losing Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano. That just looked painful. The Cubbies are here because of their current record, but the next few weeks may be long ones, indeed.

8. Kansas City Royals: They're riding Greinke's hot streak for all it's worth, and in a division like the AL Central, it can work. Greinke did just lose his first of the year, but with the way he's been pitching those losses will come few and far between.

7. Milwaukee Brewers: I don't know of many teams out there that are more fun to watch right now than Milwaukee. They're putting a slow start behind them, and they took two of three from the Cubs.

6. New York Mets: This is quite a rise, and perhaps the largest ever in the rankings, but dude, it happens when you win seven in a row. Moving Oliver Perez to the bullpen and then the DL has been magic. Now, if only the team could get Johan a little more run support, they'd be golden.

5. Detroit Tigers: I know I'm going to shock some putting the Tigers this high, but let's face it: Verlander, Jackson and Porcello have been on fire. Sabathia's four-hit complete game shut out on Friday was good, but it wasn't the best in the league--that was Verlander's two hit shutout of the Indians. This is the team everyone thought Detroit was getting last year. Only better.

4. Boston Red Sox: Being 5-0 against the Yankees helps here, but that's not to say the wins have been blowouts or anything close to it. The one team Boston seems to have a problem with is Tampa, but they've already played ten times, and after an upcoming west coast trip this month, Boston doesn't go back there the rest of the year. The schedule is on the BoSox side.

3. St. Louis Cardinals: Only 5-5 in their last ten, but still one of the best teams in the league; especially in the NL. Rick Ankiel's date with the wall last week was terrifying--I am sure there are many who are glad to know that he is okay.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers: They're here because a) of the proportion of games they have played against the NL West, and b) they just lost Manny for 50 games. Manny might be an idiot (okay, he is an idiot), but the Dodgers have enough young pitching talent that they should be able to withstand the omission.

1. Toronto Blue Jays: They keep winning, and have shown no signs of slowing down. Playing the Yankees this week for three could be a test, but the Yankees are 5-11 against AL East opponents this year. With the Red Sox and Rays continuing to beat up on each other, and the Yanks stagnating, the Jays could find a way to make this work.