No matter how you’re looking at it, from a fantasy or reality perspective, Lance Berkman has been the runaway choice for Most Valuable Player honors.

The 32-year old slugger hit his league-leading 15th home run against the Giants on Thursday night, lifting the Astros to their 11th win in 13 games and continuing a remarkable May hot streak. Berkman leads the majors in doubles, homers, RBIs and OPS, and he is hitting .587 with a .648 on-base percentage this month. Read more »

The Baby ‘Backs sit atop our baseball team power rankings, as we make a belated debut to the 2008 season. Across the country, the upstart Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Marlins have climbed to the top of the mighty AL and NL East divisions and into our ever-important top 10.

Underachievers are sprinkled throughout the bottom half of the rankings, with the 17th-ranked Milwaukee Brewers and 22nd-ranked Seattle Mariners heading the class. Kansas City and Pittsburgh again reside near the cellar, but are both showing signs of hope and improvement. The same can’t be said in Washington, where there is too little talent to dream of a sudden turnaround. Read more »