Now that a few series have been played, the Back Page blog will unveil our baseball power rankings.
The one possible difference between this one and other ones you may see is that there will be no preconceived notions going in — sorry Red Sox fans — and these rankings will be based solely on how a team has performed thus far in 2011.
1. Rangers (8-1) — Who needs Cliff Lee? Texas has scored 58 runs so far this season.
2. Phillies (7-2) — Bullpen is a weakness, but won’t matter on most nights with this rotation.
3. White Sox (6-3) — They won’t need Jake Peavy to be their ace when he comes back; Edwin Jackson has that covered (2-0, 1.93 ERA, 20 Ks in 14 innings). He’s been a new pitcher since coming to Chicago in a late-season trade last year. Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Mark Buehrle and Peavy are a dangerous starting five that should make the White Sox AL Central favorites.
4. Rockies (6-2) — Even Jason Giambi is contributing in Denver. When Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki get going, Colorado will put the rest of NL West behind it.
5. Indians (7-2) — The Indians are following former reliever Rick Vaughn’s strategy by “Winning” in the first week of the season. But like Charlie Sheen’s career, we don’t expect it to last.
6. Reds (6-3) — May be best of tightly packed NL Central.
7. Orioles (6-3) — Young pitching and impressive lineup are getting overlooked by all the Buck Showalter headlines.
8. Royals (6-3) — Would be one game better if not for Joakim Soria imploding in Wednesday night’s loss to the White Sox. Alex Gordon is finally starting to back up the hype.
9. Yankees (5-4) — Phil Hughes’ start to 2011 is the Yankees’ worst nightmare. He was supposed to be one of two reliable starters on the staff.
10. Brewers (5-5) — Rebounded nicely from an 0-4 start. The lineup is as dangerous as advertised and will be better when Nyjer Morgan officially replaces Carlos Gomez as the No. 2 hitter.
11. Blue Jays (5-4) — Above .500 and their offense has yet to take off.
12. Giants (4-5) — Slow start for the defending champs, but Pablo Sandoval’s emergence makes the lineup dangerous.
13. Angels (5-4) — Jered Weaver has three of those five wins.
14. Dodgers (5-4) — Good start for Don Mattingly.
15. Marlins (5-4) — Their two big bats — Hanley Ramirez and Mike Stanton — have not been in the lineup together since Opening Day.
16. Braves (4-6) — Ugly start for Dan Uggla in Atlanta.
17. Cubs (4-5) — Two starters — Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner — are already on the DL.
18. Padres (4-4) — May have enough pitching in cavernous Petco Park to stay in the race through summer.
19. Pirates (5-5) — As long as Kevin Correia maintains his Cy Young pace the Pirates will be just fine.
20. Red Sox (2-7) — Carl Crawford must be dreaming of 65-degree days in media-light Tampa. Red Sox can get healthy with Rays in Fenway for three games.
21. Mets (4-5) — Bullpen shakeup was much needed but not sure if it will make any difference. Chris Young could be a top-20 pitcher IF! IF! IF! he stays healthy with Citi Field behind him.
22. Diamondbacks (4-4) — Name four Diamondbacks pitchers. Hint: Three pitched in New York: Ian Kennedy, Aaron Heilman and J.J. Putz.
23. Nationals (4-5) — Jayson Werth already has that “I wonder what Ryan Howard is up to?” look in his eyes.
24. Cardinals (3-6) — Bad vibes from Albert Pujols’ contract and Adam Wainwright’s injury carried into the regular season that started with losing series at home to the Padres and Pirates.
25. Tigers (3-6) — Miguel Cabrera (four home runs) has not let offseason problems affect him on field.
26. Twins (3-6) — They can’t score runs right now.
27. Athletics (4-5) — If you like 2-1 games, you should follow Oakland closely this year.
28. Astros (2-7) — Poor starts have become the norm in Houston: 0-8 in 2010, 1-6 in 2009, 3-6 in 2008, and 0-4 in 2007.
29. Mariners (2-7) — Brian Cashman won’t have to wait long for Mariners to fall out of it so he can offer the Yankees’ farm system for Felix Hernandez.
30. Rays (1-8) — Unfortunate attempt to sell seats by signing Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez has failed miserably.