This week's BTB Power 30 has one major change: the Greenfield rankings have been dropped from the formula because of what I considered to be a bias in that system - for some reason, all 16 NL teams were ranked ahead of the AL teams. I didn't want to subject some of the better AL teams to that much devaluing, so I dropped it, for the time being. I will probably add a 6th power rankings source for next week's poll, but, without further ado:
(last week's ranking in parentheses)
- Orioles (3) - Consistency and consensus are rewarded in this system; the lowest rank in any system for the O's was a 5 from the Prospectus hit list. They scored an 8.
- Braves (10) - The Braves shot up in a lot of power rankings this week, averaging second in the polls. They're also scoring more runs these days, which is helping, and their Scotto score of 4 is a big jump.
- Cardinals (5) - Rolen's injury could cost them a win or two, but no one in that division looks like much of a challenge.
- White Sox (2) - Pythagenport doesn't like 'em. At some point, they're going to stop winning. It just has to happen... right?
- Marlins (1) - As good as their staff has been, they're not in first place. Looks like a dogfight is developing in the East.
- Nationals (6) - Holding steady at #6, the Nats are a pesky bunch. Sledge and Vidro are hurt, but they don't care.
- Twins (7) - Also holding steady. Johan Santana got hit a bit yesterday!
- Red Sox (12) - Jumping up 4 spots, the Red Sox look like they're settling into midseason form. Two straight walk-off wins from the A's making it seem like 2004 all over again.
- Dodgers (4) - Plummeted 5 spots. No one in baseball is hotter than Hee-Seop Choi, who now boasts a .307/.396/.580 line. Their pitching has been just average, at least in terms of OPS-allowed.
- Mets (8) - Dropped two spots after a 3-3 road trip. One of Dejean, Aybar, and Bell is looking at judgement day this weekend.
- Tigers (11) - Holding steady. Carlos Pena's on the DL, but Bonderman has looked fantastic. Keep an eye on them... if it weren't for the White Sox explosive start, they'd be turning more heads. RotoTimes is very pessimistic and ranks them #20.
- Blue Jays (9) - Tough division for these guys. You've gotta feel sorry for Ricciardi, although he hasn't held up his end of the stathead bargain.
- Padres (18) - Soaring 5 spots, the media's starting to jump on their bandwagon. Will pose the Dodgers' toughest challenge down the stretch.
- Brewers (15) - Rattled off 7 straight before losing a series to the Mets. A healthy Sheets can make these guys tough. The imminent Lyle Overbay/Prince Fielder situation remains one of the most interesting in the game.
- Giants (13) - One thing about the Giants: they had two players that they could not afford to lose. Schmidt and Bonds are both down. Expect their record to follow suit.
- D'Backs (17) - Trying their best to prove me wrong and playing well. Nice run from Javy Vazquez, too. The Scotto score and Pythagenport score aren't computing to a winning club. Something's gotta give.
- Yankees (23) - Surging Yankees pick up 6 spots. They can overcome the slow start, but they can't afford another prolonged cold streak. And they're still 7 back of first place.
- Rangers (21) - The AL West's highest entry. How the mighty have fallen.
- Angels (16) - On-basing .294 and in first. That's worse than the Royals, who on-base .295.
- Phillies (24) - As a friend of mine said, this bad start is better than their typical bad start. So maybe they're in it. The unbalanced schedule benefits this team, because if they put the talent together down the stretch, they can pick up games in bunches.
- Cubs (22) - First month's MVP: Derrek Lee.
- Indians (19) - Victor Martinez slowly breaking out of his slump, but it's not going to be enough this year.
- A's (14) - The biggest mover of the week. The bats wake up for a brief inning, and then Dotel collapses. Hang in there. It can't get any worse.
- Devil Rays (26) - Taking 3 out of 4 from the Yankees is a big confidence booster. And hell, if the Yanks miss the playoffs by a game, they can take credit.
- Astros (20) - Dropping like a rock, even with Berkman's return. Proof that pitching can't win on its own.
- Pirates (30) - The Hardball Times ran a feature on a new system called PrOPS, a predicted OPS based on batted-ball types. Tike Redman's slow start can be attributed to some real bad luck, according to their system. And, guess what? The Pirates are only 3 under .500. Maybe they're due for a nice season.
- Mariners (25) - Adrian Beltre's slow start is pretty devastating. They're a bit better than what they've shown, but not by much.
- Rockies (29) - The tradewinds continue their eternal spin around Preston Wilson.
- Royals (28) - Baird's gotta be fired after this debacle. Right?
- Reds (27) - "...signing Eric Milton to a big contract shows no vision and no ability to look at a goddamned stat sheet..." Blyleven or bust!