1. Yankees: A week of playing several mediocre teams hasn’t changed our opinion that the Yanks are the best team in the division, league, and sport. However, their success does not come without concerns–injuries threaten to slow their pursuit of a second consecutive World Series.

2. Rays: The Rays finally got their first no hitter in team history. Tampa Bay has won 5 in a row with that well-balanced approach, and they have been hot over the last few weeks. They have come back from the All Star game just as strong, and are looking to take advantage of a close race.

3. Rangers: Several games ahead of their competition in the AL West, the Rangers have relied on the incredible bats of Vlad Guerrero and Josh Hamilton to carry them through the first half. Cliff Lee pitched 3 complete games in his first 4 starts, and he is just as good as ever in his new uniform.

4. Padres San Diego has kept winning after the break, and are the best team in a very strong division right now, no small thanks to their pitching staff, which leads the league in ERA. However, to secure the NL West, they will need to hit much better. Adrian Gonzalez is the ONLY San Diego player in the top 120 NL OPS leaders. It is really, really difficult to put into words just how terrible that is.

5. Braves: The Braves fall a spot simply because they have only played mediocre ball in the last week. They may want to watch their backs, as the Phillies have cut the divisional deficit in half with a sudden charge. With Troy Glaus in a major slump, the Braves will need to step it up to keep the lead.

6. Cardinals: With one of the most complete teams in the league, the Cardinals have been on a tear. It won’t be long before their lights-out play puts them higher on this list, as they came back from the break with a vengeance. Adam Wainwright is undefeated at home, and has more wins and a lower ERA than all but one player in each respective category. Chris Carpenter makes one of the best 1-2s in baseball.

7. Reds: Joey Votto, Scott Rolen, and Brandon Phillips sure can hit–but the Reds will need to pitch considerably better to catch up to St. Louis in the NL Central race. They are holding steady at the lower end of the Power Rankings for now, but don’t be surprised to see them fall a bit in the coming weeks; they just don’t seem to have the talent to continue at this pace.

8. Giants: Winners of 8 of their last 10, the Giants have brought the heat since we chided their poor offense. In the interim, the Giants have jumped from being 10th in NL runs scored to being tied for 7th. Perhaps even more welcome, Matt Cain’s losses no longer outnumber his wins.

9. Red Sox: The middle child of the AL East, the Red Sox keep winning games, but nobody seems to notice. Unfortunately for them, the old standbys in the Bronx and the young upstarts in Tampa have the division in a chokehold. They need to rebound quickly from several post-break losses if they want to be taken seriously as a contender in the AL East.

10. Phillies: After many had left them for dead, the Phillies decided to wake up. The Phightin’s have won 7 straight games, and Ryan Howard is leading the charge. His .300 batting average is a welcome surprise in Philadelphia. A Shane Victorino injury meant an early callup for star prospect Domonic Brown, and he didn’t disappoint in his first start, going 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs. It will be interesting to watch him filling in a for a playing that wasn’t providing the Phillies with much offense anyway, and it will be very interesting to watch the Phillies in their quest to dethrone Atlanta in the NL East.

1. Yankees: In our first Power Rankings after a long hiatus due to site maintenance and the All Star Game, the Yankees are out in front. After doggedly chasing the Rays in the East for several weeks early in the season, Los Yanquis have finally proven themselves to be the best team in the division, league, and sport. However, their success does not come without concerns–injuries threaten to slow their pursuit of a second consecutive World Series.

2. Rays: As well as the Yankees have played, they will have to play a lot harder to put any sort of comfortable distance between themselves and the Rays. Tampa Bay wins with a well-balanced approach, and they have been hot over the last few weeks. They have come back from the All Star game just as strong, and are looking to take advantage of a close race.

3. Rangers: Several games ahead of their competition in the AL West, the Rangers have relied on the incredible bats of Vlad Guerrero and Josh Hamilton to carry them through the first half. Their are several grueling weeks to come, however, and they will need to step up their pitchin–oh wait, they traded for Cliff Lee. Look out for the Rangers in the second half.

4. Braves: Now that injuries have hampered their only real competition in the NL East (the Phillies), the Braves have turned it on in the middle of the season. Pitching, which everyone thought would be the Braves’ strength for the last two years, has finally come to Atlanta, and they are quickly putting distance between themselves and the rest of the division.

5. Padres San Diego is the best team in a very strong division right now, no small thanks to their pitching staff, which leads the league in ERA. However, to secure the NL West, they will need to hit much better. Adrian Gonzalez is the ONLY San Diego player in the top 120 NL OPS leaders. It is really, really difficult to put into words just how terrible that is.

6. Cardinals: With one of the most complete teams in the league, the Cardinals have been on a tear. It won’t be long before their lights-out play puts them higher on this list, as they came back from the break with a vengeance. Adam Wainwright is undefeated at home, and has more wins and a lower ERA than all but one player in each respective category. Chris Carpenter makes one of the best 1-2s in baseball.

7. Reds: Joey Votto, Scott Rolen, and Brandon Phillips sure can hit–but the Reds will need to pitch considerably better to catch up to St. Louis in the NL Central race. They are holding steady at the lower end of the Power Rankings for now, but don’t be surprised to see them fall a bit in the coming weeks; they just don’t seem to have the talent to continue at this pace.

8. Red Sox: The middle child of the AL East, the Red Sox keep winning games, but nobody seems to notice. Unfortunately for them, the old standbys in the Bronx and the young upstarts in Tampa have the division in a chokehold. They need to rebound quickly from several post-break losses if they want to be taken seriously as a contender in the AL East.

9. White Sox: The White Sox have the lead in the AL Central and are widening the gap every day. Paul Konerko has provided some surprising help for Chicago, who need only to keep up the good work to stay atop their division. Rumors are circulating of trade talks to pick up a player or two before the deadline, which will bode poorly for the perennially under-appreciated Miguel Cabrera and his second place Tigers.

10. Giants: The Giants supposedly have what San Diego lacks when it comes to players that can provide good hitting–however, Matt Cain’s awesome ERA of 3.3 has been wasted on a 7-8 record, thanks to awful run support (furthering evidence for my opinion that pitching wins are a useless statistic). If San Fran can actually put up more runs than 10th in the NL, they might have a shot at the division.

1. Rays: The Rays continue to lead the AL East and our rankings with the the second best pitching staff and lineup in the major leagues. Keeping up this level of play makes Tampa the team to beat right now. David Price and Matt Garza have been incredible in the early goings, and it must be very encouraging for Rays fans to see these young pitchers enjoying so much success.

2. Yankees: Just behind the Rays in the AL East, and just behind the Rays in our Power Rankings, New York has played up to expectations in the early goings, and will certainly keep things interesting with Tampa in what is currently baseball’s hottest fight for a divisional crown.

3. Phillies: Just when we called them unstoppable, the Phillies hit a bump, looking downright terrible in the last several games. They were almost no-hit by Daisuke Matsuzaka. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard have dipped below the .300 mark after swinging the bat fiercely over the previous few weeks. They need Rollins and his energy back fast.

4. Twins: Minnesota is playing fine ball on all levels–while their offense has slacked off a bit over the last several games, the pitching has picked it up. The Twins will be fighting all season to keep the other AL Central teams at bay, but they way the have been hitting long balls bodes well for them.

5. Tigers: Detroit is nipping at Minnesota’s heels in what may shape up to be a very close divisional race in the AL Central. They keep finding ways to win, but they’ll need consistency to keep up with the very balanced team up the road. A tough season awaits for Miguel Cabrera’s bunch.

6. Dodgers: The NL West seems to be the division of the hot streak this season. Now, it’s the Dodgers who are on fire, although losing Andre Ethier for an indefinite amount of time might be bad for the division leaders. We’ll see if Matt Kemp and James Loney can pick up the offensive slack.

7. Cardinals: You would think that one of these days we’ll be able to mention the Cards’ success without talking about Albert Pujols. While a slump for The Machine looks like a good week for everyone else, he has still dropped off a bit this month, and the Cardinals need him on all year.

8. Padres The Friars are still good, but suddenly they have to battle the Los Angeles Dodgers. The pitching staff has been surprising to say the least, carrying a team whose offense has done little to impress. They haven’t started so well in a very long time, and with Adrian Gonzalez leaving some room for improvement, they might even keep it up.

9. Blue Jays: Vernon Wells has been about the only good thing in the Toronto lineup, but he has been solid. Ricky Romero and company, however, have been driving the Blue Jays to new heights, and they are making a good case for third best team in the AL East. Still, it will require a lot to overcome the competition in New York and Florida.

10. Rangers: The Reds and Rangers are vying for this spot, with both teams coming on strong in the past week. But Cincinatti plays against 4 awful divisional opponents, and we respect Texas more and expect them to continue to win, which they have managed to do more often than their stats might suggest.

1. Rays: The Rays continue to lead the AL East and our rankings with the the second best pitching staff and lineup in the major leagues. Keeping up this level of play makes Tampa the team to beat right now. It should be fun to watch them fight it out with the not-too-shabby NL East.

2. Phillies: Leading that not-too-shabby division, the Phillies  look unstoppable right now. The starting pitching settled down a bit and the bullpen has stopped giving up games. More importantly for Philly, the offense has really been in a groove over the last week or so, thanks to timely hitting by Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and Ryan Howard, all of whom are enjoying .300+ batting averages.

3. Yankees: Just behind the Rays in the AL East, and just behind the Rays in our Power Rankings, New York has played up to expectations in the early goings, and will certainly keep things interesting with Tampa in what is currently baseball’s hottest fight for a divisional crown.

4. Cardinals: You would think that one of these days we’ll be able to mention the Cards’ success without talking about Albert Pujols. Not yet. They should contend with the Phillies for National League supremacy all year, but since St. Louis lost the first series, we’ll slot them just below the Phightin’s for now.

5. Twins: Minnesota is playing fine ball on all levels–while their offense has slacked off a bit over the last several games, the pitching has picked it up. The Twins will be fighting all season to keep the other AL Central teams at bay, but they way they have been hitting long balls bodes well for them.

6. Tigers: Detroit is nipping at Minnesota’s heels in what may shape up to be a very close divisional race in the AL Central. They keep finding ways to win, but they’ll need consistency to keep up with the very balanced team up the road. A tough season awaits for Miguel Cabrera’s bunch.

7. Dodgers: The NL West seems to be the division of the hot streak this season. Now, it’s the Dodgers who are on fire, although losing Andre Ethier for an indefinite amount of time might be bad for the division leaders. We’ll see if Matt Kemp and James Loney can pick up the offensive slack.

8. Padres The Friars are still good, but suddenly they have to battle the Los Angeles Dodgers. The pitching staff has been surprising to say the least, carrying a team whose offense has done little to impress. They haven’t started so well in a very long time, and with Adrian Gonzalez leaving some room for improvement, they might even keep it up.

9. Blue Jays: Vernon Wells has been about the only good thing in the Toronto lineup, but he has been solid. Ricky Romero and company, however, have been driving the Blue Jays to new heights, and they are making a good case for third best team in the AL East. Still, it will require a lot to overcome the competition in New York and Florida.

10. Rangers: The Reds and Rangers are vying for this spot, with both teams coming on strong in the past week. But Cincinatti plays against 4 awful divisional opponents, and we respect Texas more and expect them to continue to win, which they have managed to do more often than they stats might suggest.

1. Rays: The Rays continue to lead the AL East and our rankings with the highest-ranked offense in all of baseball. Their pitching isn’t too shabby either (it doesn’t hurt to be third in the league in ERA), and keeping up this level of play makes Tampa the team to beat right now. Fortunately for Rays fans, Tampa Bay also gets to ride out an pretty easy next few series.

2. Yankees: Just behind the Rays in the AL East, and just behind the Rays in our Power Rankings, New York has played up to expectations in the early goings, and will certainly keep things interesting with Tampa in what is currently baseball’s hottest fight for a divisional crown.

3. Cardinals: You would think that one of these days we’ll be able to mention the Cards’ success without talking about Albert Pujols. Not yet. He has been phenomenal to start the season, going back and forth with Philadelphia’s Chase Utley for the NL home run lead, and it looks like another good year is coming up for the Machine and his redbirds. With a stellar pitching staff to back him up, this could be the year.

4. Phillies: The Phillies really got it together over the course of the last several games. The starting pitching settled down a bit and the bullpen has stopped giving up games. More importantly for Philly, the offense has really been in a groove over the last week or so, thanks to timely hitting by Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and Ryan Howard.

5. Twins: Minnesota is playing fine ball on all levels–while their offense has slacked off a bit over the last several games, the pitching has picked it up. The Twins will be fighting all season to keep the other AL Central teams at bay, but they way they have been hitting long balls bodes well for them.

6. Padres The Friars are holding onto a very close lead over the San Francisco Giants. The pitching staff has been surprising to say the least, carrying a team whose offense has done little to impress. They haven’t started so well in a very long time, and with Adrian Gonzalez leaving some room for improvement, they might even keep it up.

7. Giants: Barry Zito has been incredible so far this year. Pretty good for a guy that many had considered washed up. The rest of the rotation is of course pretty promising for the Giants. Interestingly, the NL West is looking somewhat decent this year, and perhaps San Fran will have to contend with the Padres for divisional supremacy.

8. Tigers: Detroit is nipping at Minnesota’s heels in what may shape up to be a very close divisional race in the AL Central. They keep finding ways to win, but they’ll need consistency to keep up with the very balanced team up the road. A tough season awaits for Miguel Cabrera’s bunch.

9. Mets: New York has kept the heat on (and so have the Nationals) making the NL East a terribly interesting division–the Braves and Marlins look terrible, but the usually hapless Mets and Nats have been sporting potent pitching. If New York continues to play at this level, they will continue to rise up our rankings.

10. Blue Jays: Vernon Wells has been about the only good thing in the Toronto lineup, but he has been solid. Ricky Romero and company, however, have been driving the Blue Jays to new heights, and they are making a good case for third best team in the AL East. Still, it will require a lot to overcome the competition in New York and Florida.

1. Rays: The Rays continue to lead the AL East and our rankings with the highest-ranked offense in all of baseball. Their pitching isn’t too shabby either (it doesn’t hurt to lead the league in ERA), and keeping up this level of play makes Tampa the team to beat right now Fortunately for Rays fans, Tampa Bay also gets to ride out an pretty easy next few series.

2. Yankees: Just behind the Rays in the AL East, and just behind the Rays in our Power Rankings, New York has played up to expectations in the early goings, and will certainly keep things interesting with Tampa in what is currently baseball’s hottest fight for a divisional crown.

3. Cardinals: You would think that one of these days we’ll be able to mention the Cards’ success without talking about Albert Pujols. Not yet. He has been phenomenal to start the season, going back and forth with Philadelphia’s Chase Utley for the NL home run lead, and it looks like another good year is coming up for the Machine and his redbirds. With a stellar pitching staff to back him up, this could be the year.

4. Twins: Minnesota has put up runs in bunches over the last few weeks, and their offense has gotten going at a high level, scoring the 2nd most runs in the American League. Minnesota will be fighting all season to keep the other AL Central teams at bay, but they way they have been slugging bodes well for the Twins.

5. Padres: Seemingly out of nowhere the Friars rattled off 8 straight wins. While it one might usually chalk these sorts of things up to luck, it’s not easy to sweep the San Francisco Giants, whose starting pitching made the Phillies look like fools this week. After their streak was snapped, instead of losing a bunch of games like we thought they might, they kept on going.

6. Giants: Barry Zito has been incredible so far this year, sporting a 1.53 ERA right now. Pretty good for a guy that many had considered washed up. The rest of the rotation is of course pretty promising for the Giants. Interestingly, the NL West is looking somewhat decent this year, and perhaps San Fran will have to contend with the Padres for divisional supremacy.

7. Phillies: “If there is anything to worry about, it is that suspect pitching staff, which, after Roy Halladay, has a lot of questions to answer going into the season”–that was us last week, and it has proven true enough. Beyond the ace, the Phils’ pitching is pretty questionable, especially now with J.A. Happ out. But even more troubling has been the sudden fall-off of the offense after the loss of Jimmy Rollins to a moderate injury. It isn’t as if Philadelphia has dropped that many games over the last few days, but they aren’t dominating the competition as they did in the opening tests.

8. Tigers: Detroit is nipping at Minnesota’s heels in what may shape up to be a very close divisional race in the AL Central. They keep finding ways to win, but they’ll need consistency to keep up with Joe Mauer and Co.

9. Mets: New York went on a super-hot streak this past week, and it looked like they might continue the beatings against the slumping Phillies. But the Phightin’s found their lost offense this weekend and broke out of their slump while simultaneously stopping the hot Mets, reclaiming the divisional lead in the NL East with a 10 run 4th against Johan Santana. We’ll see if New York can do as San Diego has done and keep the heat on.

10. Marlins: The 10th spot in the Rankings is pretty open. Florida gets it by virtue of their talent and the surprisingly competitive division, in which only one team lacks a winning record.

1. Rays: “Tampa Bay is going to need more than luck and timely hitting”–we noted this last week, in expectation that the Rays’ success might be short-lived if they didn’t find some consistency. They have, storming to the lead in the American League East with the highest-ranked offense in baseball. The second lowest ERA in the AL isn’t too shabby either, and keeping up this level of play puts Tampa at the top of our Power Rankings.

2. Yankees: Just behind the Rays in the AL East, and just behind the Rays in our Power Rankings, New York has played up to expectations in the early goings, and will certainly keep things interesting with Tampa in what is currently baseball’s hottest fight for a divisional crown.

3. Twins: Minnesota has put up runs in bunches over the last few weeks, and their offense has gotten going at a high level, scoring the 2nd most runs in the American League. They are already pretty well ahead in the AL Central, with a 3 game lead after only a few games played.

4. Phillies: “If there is anything to worry about, it is that suspect pitching staff, which, after Roy Halladay, has a lot of questions to answer going into the season”–that was us last week, and it has proven true enough. Beyond the ace, the Phils’ pitching is pretty questionable, especially now with J.A. Happ out. But even more troubling has been the sudden fall-off of the offense after the loss of Jimmy Rollins to a moderate injury. It isn’t as if Philadelphia has dropped that many games over the last few days, but they aren’t dominating the competition as they did in the opening tests.

5. Giants: Barry Zito really showed up in game 1 and got another win the following week. Pretty good for a guy that many had considered washed up. The rest of the rotation is of course pretty promising for the Giants. Interestingly, the NL West is looking somewhat decent this year, and perhaps San Fran will have to contend with the Padres for divisional supremacy.

6. Cardinals: You would think that one of these days we’ll be able to mention the Cards’ success without talking about Albert Pujols. Not yet. He has been phenomenal to start the season, going back and forth with Philadelphia’s Chase Utley for the NL home run lead, and it looks like another good year is coming up for the Machine and his redbirds. With a stellar pitching staff to back him up, this could be the year.

7. Athletics: The As have relinquished the title of best ERA in baseball to the surging Padres but their play hasn’t slackened off too much since last week. It will be interesting to see if Oakland can keep up the pace with the rest of the top teams in the AL but they are looking good so far–Andrew Bailey has yet to give up a run.

8. Jays: Ace Roy Halladay may have headed to Philly to throw his awesome pitches there, but Toronto hasn’t let their starting staff slouch. The Blue Jays can rely on Ricky Romero to continue to impress during his burgeoning Major League career, but the ‘pen has been slightly less effective. Toronto needs to improve the offense as well.

9. Padres: Seemingly out of nowhere the Friars rattled off 8 straight wins. While it one might usually chalk these sorts of things up to luck, it’s not easy to sweep the San Francisco Giants. Somehow, San Diego has pulled into the top spot of the MLB ERA charts, and they’ll look to stay there this week.

10. Marlins: The Marlins helped the case by taking 2 out of 3 from the Philadelphia Phillies, putting up runs when necessary and showing that their hurlers can handle even the best of hitters. Still, Florida is holding at second place in the National League East and will need to string together a few more wins to earn the top spot.

1. Phillies: The offense has been pretty impressive so far, averaging more than 7 runs per game. Of course, this output has come against some rather lame teams, and it is difficult to judge how well they will do against anyone else, but the early going is pretty encouraging for Phillies’ fans. If there is anything to worry about, it is that suspect pitching staff, which, after Roy Halladay, has a lot of questions to answer going into the season. Brad Lidge isn’t even playing yet, and his arrival will bring a whole new load of uncertainty to Philly.

2. Yankees: The Yanks opened with a close series win over the Boston Red Sox. They are here in this spot somewhat by virtue of their talent, as they haven’t really opened up the can on anyone yet. A series win against the Angels would help promote their case here.

3. Giants: Barry Zito really showed up in game 1 and got another win the following week. Pretty good for a guy that many had considered washed up. The rest of the rotation is of course pretty promising for the Giants. Interestingly, the NL West is looking somewhat decent this year.

4. Cardinals: You would think that one of these days we’ll be able to mention the Cards’ success without talking about Albert Pujols. Not yet. He has been phenomenal to start the season, currently tied with Philadelphia’s Chase Utley for the NL home run lead, and it looks like another good year is coming up for the Machine and his redbirds. With a stellar pitching staff to back him up, this could be the year.

5. Twins: Minnesota sports the second lowest ERA in the majors, which bodes well for a team that also fields Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. They put a beating on the Red Sox yesterday with a mean 15 hits on the aging Tim Wakefield–but they also hit the ball pretty well against Jon Lester.

6. Jays: Ace Roy Halladay may have headed to Philly to throw his awesome pitches there, but Toronto hasn’t let their staff slouch. The Blue Jays can rely on Ricky Romero to continue to impress during his burgeoning Major League career, as he rang up 12 batters Wednesday on strikes.

7. Athletics: As we said earlier, the As have the best ERA in baseball and they’ll get the pleasure of facing the lowly Orioles this weekend. Who knows if it will last, but Oakland fans have to be happy about the early goings. Ben Sheets looked good last night, and the As have yet to put Andrew Bailey in a save situation, where he will likely continue to shine.

8. Tigers: At 6-3, Detroit will likely be fighting for recognition in a pretty clogged division for the rest of this season. Hopefully Miguel Cabrera will get his All-Star due this year, and he is certainly making his case early on with a .412 average in the early going. Detroit will need pitchers 2-5 to perform if they want to move up.

9. Rays: The Rays have kept finding ways to win so far this year, which is a good sign for the young team with a lot of talent. They would like to see BJ Upton continue to hit homers, as their position in this top 10 is pretty tenuous, and in that division Tampa Bay is going to need more than luck and timely hitting.

10. Diamondbacks: Much like the Rays, the DBacks have a lot of young talent and they have proven that they know how to win games. Mark Reynolds has not done anything yet, and it will be pretty important for him to turn it on if Arizona wants to pull off a playoff appearance this year.

Both teams are built on terrific offense and decent defense. For the Colts, the passing game is almost everything. The Saints are a bit more balanced, less reliant on the air-game to score. Furthermore, their dynamic running game will be better off than usual against a possibly Freeney-less Indianapolis team. The injury to the Colts’ star defensive end will be huge in this game.

But it won’t stop Peyton Manning from making plays at every opportunity, threading needles and throwing rockets. While the Saints will probably score a whole lot, they won’t be able to stop the coldly efficient Colts’ offense. The Saints don’t have a very fine secondary, and nobody but Darren Sharper will be able to cover Dallas Clark–but if the New Orleans’s safety decides to come up close for the short routes, Reggie Wayne will hit home runs every play. The Colts, on the other hand, have shown an ability to overcome a mediocre secondary and occasionally stop opposing offenses. Robert Mathis is no slouch at defensive end, and while the rest of the defense is rather no-named, they do enough to put Peyton back in the drivers’ seat every so often.

With Freeney hurt, these teams are VERY evenly matched, almost eerily so: Excellent quarterbacks, excellent offensive lines, strong receivers, passing defenses. But because Indianapolis runs a more effective stopping unit, they might just eke one out.

Indianapolis 28 - New Orleans 24

The offensive and defensive firepower on the Vikings appears to be too much for the one-sided Saints to beat–but it should be close.