It’s safe to say the Baby-Backs have shed the image of the inexperienced youth. The Arizona Diamondbacks have held the top spot in our rankings for 3 straight weeks, and their young talent coupled with some off-season acquisitions is making Arizona's GM Josh Byrnes look like a genius. The D-Backs offense has been the surprise as they’ve notched more runs than the geriatric ward at your local nursing home. They'll have to continue to play some impressive baseball as the desert isn’t the only local that’s stifling. Winter is receding in the North and the Red Sox and Cubs are hot hot hot! These three teams have played great ball to start the season and show little to no signs of slowing down.
1. 
Arizona Diamondbacks 13-5 (1)
-(4-2) The return of the Big Unit was less than spectacular as the D-Backs went 0-2 in his starts, but they won their other 4 games and Johnson didn't look bad at all, so perhaps you can expect even better things to come. Brandon Webb is the Ace of this team and he's been acting like it going 4-0 on the season, with 3 of those starts coming on the road.
2. 
Chicago Cubs 12-6 (2)
-(5-1) A great week for the Cubbies! Outside of Ted Lilly’s turd sandwich of a start, the Cubbies were running on all cylinders this past week, scoring 9 runs or more in 4 games – not that they needed it as the pitching has been great as well. Every regular hit well over .300 and the team’s ERA was well under 4.00. Too many good contributors to list!
3. 
Boston Red Sox 13-7 (5)
-(6-1) With 2 come from behind wins, who doesn't think the Sox will finish off the 4-game sweep of the Rangers? Jacoby Ellsbury has 6 stolen bases and Manny continues to crush the ball. David Ortiz is hitting .305 with 12 RBIs since his jersey was lifted from the Yankees' new stadium. I think that John Henry should send a thank you note to Hank Steinbrenner.
4. 
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 12-8 (7)
-(5-2)Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders are shutting down opposing batters both at home and away. Chone Figgins is a menace on the base paths. He already has 7 stolen bases making it easy to get into scoring position for the bats in the lineup behind him to drive him in.
5. 
Milwaukee Brewers 11-7 (6)
-(3-3) The week ended with a thud – another Eric Gagne blown save. This team has major problems with their bullpen that will eventually lead to their demise if they don’t fix it. Their offense still hasn’t clicked as well as expected, but with Prince Fielder finally going yard and Mike Cameron due to return from his suspension within a week, the offense might start getting this team what they really need: large 9th-inning leads.
6. 
New York Mets 10-7 (10)
-(5-1)This past week is what Mets’ fans were expecting to see out of their ball club this year. David Wright & Jose Reyes have been absolutely sizzling at the plate. More production will be needed out of Beltran to keep the train rolling. Also, the Mets' pitching was scintillating during this past week; they struck out 53 batters in 57 innings with a team ERA of 2.33.
7. 
St. Louis Cardinals 12-7 (3)
-(3-3) After 4 earned runs against the Brewers and the Giants it makes you wonder if age is finally catching up to Isringhausen? Also, the Cardinals won't stay on top if they can't beat the Giants more consistently.
8. 
Chicago White Sox 11-7 (9)
-(4-3)Bobby Jenks is closing the door and John Danks has been solid. 98 runs scored and only 66 runs against should be good for another win or two, but at 11-7, the White Sox aren't complaining. We'll know a lot more about the makeup of this team after their series against the Yankees this week.
9. 
Toronto Blue Jays 10-10 (4)
-(3-4) Trouble was brewing in the Jays clubhouse, and The Big Hurt flew the coop. This seems to be a common occurrence for the Jays from season to season (remember that random sinking ship comment in the clubhouse last year?). Another similarity to draw from is Vernon Wells' April statistics. He's having a great April thus far, but he did the same last season and tanked the rest of the year. Vernon needs to steady that lineup even more so now that Thomas is gone.
10. 
Atlanta Braves 9-9 (12)
-(4-2) Atlanta’s having some injury problems as it seems they’ve been losing a closer per week, but they pressed on. Granted 3 of their wins were against the struggling Dodgers (they allowed just 3 runs in a 3-game sweep), but alas, wins are wins. Chipper Jones is hitting like someone convinced him it’s already September (when he usually turns it up) – he’s leading the majors in hitting at .453! Are you kidding me, Larry?!?
11. 
Oakland Athletics 12-8 (13)
-(4-3) Is this finally the year Bobby Crosby lives up to his 2004 hype? 15 RBIs this early makes you want to say yes, but just like how predictable Harden is, I will say no on Crosby. The offense is doomed to slow down and falling out of first place for good is inevitable.
12. 
New York Yankees 10-10 (8)
-(4-3) Playing .500 ball in April is not going to help you win the AL East, good thing we're talking about the Yankees and we all know come September they'll be in the hunt. Hank practically demands that Joba Chamberlain go to the starting rotation because lately Wang and Pettitte are the only two who are getting things done for the Yanks.
13. 
Colorado Rockies 9-9 (14)
-(4-2) The Rockies continue to climb their way back up the rankings. It would be a much faster climb if closer Manny Corpas could be more consistent. He's given up 5 earned runs and 5 walks in 10 innings pitched, ouch.
14. 
Philadelphia Phillies 10-10 (11)
-(4-3) The durable Jimmy Rollins has only missed 34 games between 2001 and the start of 2008. His 15-day DL stint is the first of his career. Chase Utley is wreaking havoc to opposing pitching, and is helping the Phillies pitchers by making great plays in the field.
15. 
Seattle Mariners 10-10 (16)
-(4-3) The M’s continue to stay afloat without Bedard and Putz, getting some great pitching from this year’s Gil Meche Award winner, Carlos Silva (for the receiving the most outrageous free agent contract given to a pitcher that doesn’t deserve it, yet then shocks everyone and pitches quite well). King Felix has also been excellent and the offense has been serviceable despite minimal contributions from Ichiro; a big help has come from Richie Sexson, who is actually above the Mendoza line and hitting home runs again.
16. 
Florida Marlins 11-7 (21)
-(4-2) Who knew giving Dan Uggla a new bat would suddenly make him hit. I'm guessing it's all in his head. I know Florida has had an easy schedule to start but at 12-7 things are looking good in Miami.
17. 
Baltimore Orioles 11-8 (23)
-(4-2) I'll admit it, the Orioles are not in 3rd place and taking 2 out of 3 from the Yankees is impressive. With all that said the Orioles will be in 3rd by this week's end. Baltimore starters are sporting a shaky 4.80 ERA and will have to step it up if they expect to compete in the AL East, for at least the rest of April.
18. 
San Diego Padres 9-10 (15)
-(2-4) The lowlight of the week was the 22-inning marathon against the Rockies ending in defeat. Their Achilles’ heel, their shitty offense, reared its ugly head in that game, as they were only able to plate 1 freaking run, thus wasting phenomenal pitching performances from the whole staff. Unless they make a move for some more sticks, the Padres will see another season wasted because they cannot do one of the fundamentals of baseball – hit the ball!
19. 
Tampa Bay Rays 8-11 (17)
-(2-5) It did not take that long for Evan Longoria to make a trip to the bank. Signing a 9-year deal is certainly a gamble for the Rays (see: Rocco Baldelli), but he has all the tools to be a key contributor of a young team for many years down the line.
20. 
Minnesota Twins 9-10 (25)
-(3-4) The Twinkies aren’t playing well but have pulled out some wins while the offense continues to struggle. Not a bad week for them, except they lost two to the Tigers; it’s not good to let the sleeping giants in your division get a confidence boost. Their bullpen has been excellent as usual and if Liriano comes back to form, they could get back in hunt and be there all season.
21. 
Kansas City Royals 9-10 (18)
-(2-5) Lights Out. Zack Greinke and Brian Bannister pitched back-to-back complete games, allowing only 1 earned run. The Royals will certainly fade before summer hits, and hopefully it won't be because these two pitchers need Tommy John surgeries for being overworked.
22. 
Cincinnati Reds 8-12 (19)
-(2-4) Well they followed their sweep at the hands of Pittsburgh by dropping two series to the Brewers and Cubs. Losing early and often to division rivals usually isn't the best way to go about winning the division. I'll expect this team to be rebuilding by July… they should start by unloading the much overrated Brandon Phillips. He can't hit righties (2007 .262, 2008 .222), but everyone seems to think he's a great hitter because he fell on 30-30 last year.
23. 
Cleveland Indians 7-12 (22)
-(2-5) Ouch! Way to continue the success of last year. This team must take every other year off. 2005 = 93 wins, 2006 = 78 wins, 2007 = 96 wins. 2008 is shaping up to be a big time bust. At least Borowski may be done as the closer, who didn't see Manny's bomb coming to win that game?
24. 
Detroit Tigers 6-13 (30)
-(4-2) The Tigers are finally showing some life. Verlander (0-3 7.40 ERA) needs to step up, but I guess his early struggles mean there is plenty of room for improvement on that side of the ball. Miguel Cabrera is showing the AL his talents first hand (11 RBI last week) if he continues to anchor that offense things will start looking up in Detroit.
25. 
San Francisco Giants 8-12 (28)
-(3-3) Well the Giants finished the weekend with two wins, and Lincecum continues to impress. Other than that there isn't much of anything nice to say… I mean when your best hitter is a Molina brother shouldn't fans be forced to wear paper bags over their heads to every home game? Well it should be mandatory for every Zito start, but we'll make it optional every other game.
26. 
Los Angeles Dodgers 9-10 (20)
-(3-3) What a disappointment Andruw Jones has been. With 63 at bats under his belt, Jones is batting .169, with 1HR, 3 RBI, and has struck out 21 times. Andruw and his $36.2 million contract needs a day or two off to think.
27. 
Pittsburgh Pirates 7-11 (24)
-(1-5) The Pirates are finally back where they belong, in the cellar. I honestly feel bad for Pirates fans because this franchise has one of the worst ownerships in the league. The pirates rank 27th in the league in payroll. Do the owners know that Pittsburgh is a sports city?
28. 
Houston Astros 8-12 (27)
-(2-4) Tejada may be their hottest hitter right now, but he's also in trouble of being deported. At least Astros fans can attend all the opening ceremonies I'm sure Bagwell and Biggio will be doing this year. "Come on down to the Texas River Front Mall it's the finest dang Mall in all of Texas." "I'm Craig Biggio." "And I'm Jeff Bagwell." "Together we're the Killer B's, but we have nothing on these Killer Deals!!!
29. 
Texas Rangers 7-14 (26)
-(2-4) The Texas bullpen looked very shaky against the defending World Champions. After allowing 0 home runs in their first 12 games, that statistic was erased very quickly by the bats of Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez. Ron Washington could be the first manager to get the ax in 2008.
30. 
Washington Nationals 5-14 (29).
-(1-5) It's the Bottom of the barrel for the Nationals. Remember when they were 3-0? When Chad Cordero is healthy the Nationals really need to trade him for prospects. They have a new ballpark, but they really need a revamped team to fill the empty seats.
MLB Power Rankings
MLB Power Rankings - Week 3
MLB Power Rankings - Week 2
MLB Power Rankings - Preseason
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