The Tampa Bay Rays sit atop this week’s power rankings, the last before the All-Star break. Only four teams, the Yankees, Cardinals, Phillies and Angels, have winning road records through 80 games, and only the Chicago Cubs have won more games at home than Tampa Bay.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, after brief glimpses of solid play, have retreated to familiar positions looking up at the NL Central and our power rankings while the Minnesota Twins have used interleague dominance to sneak into the top 10. Read more »

Another week, and not much change atop our weekly power rankings. The Cubs and Red Sox continue to roll despite injuries to key players while the Astros have begun to lose ground in a competitive NL Central.

The Phillies and Marlins are riding prolific offenses; the defense of the Tampa Bay Rays has carried an inconsistent, untested lineup; and don’t look now, but the Detroit Tigers have won seven in a row. Read more »

Sixty-seven games into their season and the Chicago Cubs must face a little adversity, at least for the next six weeks. They have won 4 straight games and remain atop our power rankings, but the injury to Alfonso Soriano lessens their offensive punch and flexibility, not to mention the confidence of the Wrigley faithful.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Marlins, despite the expected occasional sputter, remain in the top 10, while the once promising Blue Jays and Indians have slipped. Read more »

Excepting a climb from Tony LaRussa and the consistent Cards, the top of this week’s power rankings remains relatively unaltered. The Rays and Red Sox continue to, literally, battle atop the AL East, while unproven pitching has slowed the Marlins and Astros.

Bottom dwellers like the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds are beginning to show promise while preseason favorites Seattle and Detroit have fizzled. Read more »

Memorial Day has come and gone and as predicted, without surprise, the lovable loser Chicago Cubs share baseball’s best record with, judging by attendance figures, the unlovable Tampa Bay Rays.

The surprises at the top of this week’s power rankings, stunning as they are, are matched by the disappointing teams littering the bottom half. The New York Yankees and New York Mets continue to struggle while the preseason favorite Seattle Mariners became baseball’s last team to 20 wins. Read more »

Nearly 50 games have been played in the Major League Baseball season and the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox again sit atop our power rankings.

Teams such as the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals have flirted with the elusive .500 mark only to fall back, two surprising Florida contenders, the Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Marlins, have become fixtures in the top 10, while the New York Mets and New York Yankees have slipped into the mediocrity mudpit. 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 »