MLB Power Rankings - Top 10

I caught the ESPN Power Rankings for Major League Baseball again this week (found here) and also those from a few other sites, and regrettably none of them can seem to figure things out. Below is the only legitimate list you'll find on the internet.

1. Arizona Diamondbacks - Arizona is led by its pitching with a combined 15-1 record among its top three pitchers (Webb, Haren & Owings). LA is finally picking things up and they may be the only team capable of preventing Arizona from getting a double-digit lead in the NL West before the All-Star break.

2. Los Angeles Angels - The Angels are getting it done and have had success from all areas of the bullpen. Torii Hunter is looking like one of the best offseason acquisitions at this point and Vladimir Guerrero hasn't even hinted at a hot streak yet. If this team stays healthy all season, they'll be the dark horse for the pennant.

3. Chicago Cubs - Let's face it, Chicago is ready for this season. There is a certain swagger to this year's Cubs and maybe the pressure after 100 years of failing isn't that high anymore. Derrek Lee is looking like an MVP and Kosuke Fukudome makes Ichiro look like "that other Japanese player" with a smooth .348 batting average. Right now the Cubs rank first in the NL in batting average and runs scored, all while Alfonso Soriano has been out or ineffective. Carlos Zambrano is also looking flat out mean at this point, and moving Ryan Dempster to the starting rotation may be the smartest move this club has made since acquiring Aramis Ramierez.

4. St. Louis Cardinals - For everything that Chicago is doing right, St. Louis is right there with them and currently leading the division. While the red birds are leading the Cubbies to this point, the team hasn't had the same level of consistency and run potential each night that Chicago possesses. Albert Puljos is stroking the ball like always and St. Louis is going to be neck and neck with Chicago all season.

5. Philadelphia Phillies - Yes I'm aware that Philly is only 17-14 but is there anyone that wants to face Philadelphia right now? The team leads the NL East on the strength of Chase Utley's bat (.369, 13 HR, 26 RBI) and the middle of the lineup is going to cause problems all season. With just a little more consistency out of the starting pitching, Philadelphia just may hold its division lead and keep New York and Atlanta at bay.

6. Oakland Athletics - The A's have some of that "The Little Engine that Could" mentality. It seems like every year they lose talented free agents and drop money off the roster, only to contend the following year. They're like the Minnesota Twins of NoCal. I really like the addition of Frank Thomas particularly due to his success with the team in 2006 you can't deny a 3.26 ERA that leads the American League. The Angels will have Oakland breathing down their necks all season.

7. Los Angeles Dodgers - I don't know what happened during the first couple weeks of the season, but somehow Joe Torre sorted things out, as he always does, and got this team moving in the right direction. Now at 17-13 Los Angeles is moving things in the right direction and seem unstoppable during the past week. I may have ranked the Dodgers a rung or two higher, but Andruw Jones has been too horrendous (.163, 1 HR, 4 RBI) for me to consider this to be an elite team. Rafael Furcal is really looking strong to this point, however.

8. Boston Red Sox - While Boston isn't exactly blowing people away, the team looks like the Yankees of the late 1990s. Everyone knows they can flip the switch at any time and rattle off 10 of 12 and they're going to be in contention when the post season rolls around. All it's going to take for this team to explode will be one throw-down with the Yankees. I would not want to be the pitcher responsible for throwing at Manny Ramierez and waking this sleeping giant.

9. Detroit Tigers - After an anemic start on offense Detroit has recently found something of a groove. The bats are warming up and balls are flying out of Comerica Park faster than F150s roll off the assembly line. The return of Curtis Granderson has helped to spark the offense, and Placido Polanco is finding his bat. Miguel Cabrera looks very comfortable not being the guy every night and Ordonez isn't far off his form from a year ago. If Detroit's starting pitching figures things out you'll want to take cover.

10. New York Mets - The Mets are underachieving to this point at only 15-13 but Johan Santana looks like he's made the transition from the AL to the NL without much difficulty (3-2, 3.12 ERA) and the bats will be there as the season wears on. On another positive note, Billy Wagner is still yet to give up a run and has 6 saves on the season.

I don't know if the Power Rankings will become a regular part of the Sportsomniac, but with so little on TV tonight and all the news being about the Kentucky Derby, I had to find something to keep me busy all night.

Can someone please inform the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees that they need to pick things up? If the Spurs vs Hornets game wasn't on tonight they would have ended up in the Bottom 10 list.