The first week of baseball brought surprising results for some (Toronto) and unsettling results for others (the NL Central, Boston). The Cubs picked up where last season left off — regular season dominance — and the pitching in the Sunshine State has been impressive to say the least. Remember though, this is a 162 game season, and even if they have more wins, we don’t think that the Braves are a better team than, say, the Yankees, which is why New York maintains a solid ranking without the benefit of a winning record through six.

The voice of the Phillies, Harry Kalas, passed away today not long before the Phightin’s were slated to play at Washington. He will be missed, and watching the game won’t be the same without his trademark “Outta here”. Kalas also voiced NFL Films for decades, making his voice a familiar one not only in the Delaware valley, but across the United States.

The rankings…

1. Cubs: Leadoff monster Alfonso Soriano has gotten a whole lot of help rounding the bases from Kosuke Fukodome and Ryan Theriot, who leads the NL in batting average. It has been hard for other teams to catch up with these guys on the mound as well. Soto isn’t even playing right now but the Mets are showing their mettle early, and their success (combined with the slow starts of the other top teams) puts them at the top of the Power Rankings this week.
2. Rays: The Rays move up because they proved that their pitching can keep good lineups like the one in Boston from running away early, and David Price is still in Durham. With Longoria off to a great start, the Rays are a good 3-3 team.
3. Yankees: They drop a bit because they are not 6 and 0. Ok, just kidding, but really, with all the expectations on the Yanks, it was a little surprising to see them struggle against the Orioles. Fortunately for the Bombers, Teixeira and Rodriguez were not playing in those opening losses and NY still managed to win half of their first six, signaling trouble for the rest of the AL.
4. Blue Jays: Unlike some of the other hot teams last week, Toronto brought the thunder to games against respectable teams. Adam Lind, who occupies the seat of SportsHuman’s Week 1 AL MVP, leads a surprising lineup and Roy Halladay brings dominance to the mound.
5. Phillies: Slow starts are nothing new to the Phillies, who have turned on the offense after going 0-2 in their first two games. They have to be happy with Chase Utley’s early season performance, quickly quelling fears that his injury will be a major factor this year. In Sunday’s game against the Rockies, Utley scored three runs and knocked in two with a game-tying homer. Utley was on pace to have a year for the ages last year before being nagged by a hip problem, and it looks like he may be picking up where he left off. But the Phillies better come up with some way to stop opposing team from embarrassing the starting pitchers. They have given up way, way too many first and second inning runs, forcing the offense to battle their way back into games. Cole Hamels looked simply awful in his first start, and Chan Ho Park didn’t look like the player whose solid spring training earned him the 5^th spot in the rotation. Philly drops four spots but they could slip farther if the pitching continues to struggle.
6. Braves: Derek Lowe came into the season with a lot of pressure to lead the Braves to greener ERA pastures. He showed off his wicked stuff opening night against the Phils, and the Braves are tied for first in the NL East. Three of their wins game from the Nationals (bleh) but you gotta like the performance of their rookie center fielder, who was shown a little respect in the home opener when the Phils decided to walk him after he rained down a first AB homer. They face fellow ranking-climbers the Marlins this week; expect the winner of that series to keep charging.
7. Dodgers: They stay put, playing nicely through the first week. Not many All-Stars in the lineup yet but James Loney and Matt Kemp are young guys who have impressed so far in their careers should only continue to improve.
8. Marlins: Emilio Bonifacio? Wow. He’s batting .500 in the first few games, and the Marlins have to like having the first week leader in stolen bases at leadoff—oh yeah, and that Hanley Ramirez guy bats third. And any pitcher who can win a duel against Johan Santana (who plays for a team whose mediocre start dropped them just out of the rankings this week) should feel good about himself: a tip of the hat to Josh Johnson, who is enjoying a .57 ERA after two games. We feel for the Nationals, who have looked simply uninspired against their fellow NL East rivals.
9. Cardinals: Albert Pujols makes every pitcher week in the knees. He launched a grand slam a few days ago that reminded everyone watching just how incredible he is. The Cardinals hero plays like a legend when he is under pressure, and it is just fun to watch him toy with All-Stars like Roy Oswalt. St. Louis, by the way, has five wins and respectable ace to boot.
10. Red Sox: They just barely beat out the Mets to stay in this weeks Power Rankings for a few reasons—first of all, it is a long season (which is why the Jays, Marlins, and Braves aren’t 1-2-3) and the Sox are still a great team. Both the Mets and the Sox have questions to answer at the plate but we believe in Boston just a smidge more at this stage of the game. Remember, Dustin Pedroia pulled in an MVP last year and the Sox have All-Star pitching. For whatever reason, Daisuke was jilted by the voters last season, notching 18 wins to only 3 losses and posting a terrific ERA. Kevin Youkilis has been solid in the first several games as well, offering hope to unhappy Bean-townees. We will see what the future holds.