Latest Baseball Power Rankings

1. Boston Red Sox (37-20). Yes, the Sox have lost five of their last seven. That includes a series loss to the Yankees, of which they are surely ashamed. None of that matters, though. The Sox still have baseball's best record and baseball's biggest division lead. That makes them the best. End of story.

2. New York Mets (35-21). The Mets are the best team in the National League and the odds-on favorite to stay there. They rank second simply because the Red Sox are that good, for now at least. With Carlos Delgado and Daivd Wright finding their swings, and Pedro Martinez waiting in the wings, the Mets will only be getting better this summer.

3. Cleveland Indians (35-21). A young but seasoned group that everyone thought would break through next year is making its move right now. It's working. They've gotten solid pitching in the absence of Jake Westbrook and Cliff Lee, which was a surprise to most. The hitting is right on the border of becoming awesome. If it crosses that border, everyone had better look out.

4. Detroit Tigers (32-25). The Tigers just took 2 out of 3 from the Indians, in Cleveland. Their two wins were bombardments, a total of 18 to 7 in the weekend games. But they are still 2 1/2 games behind the Tribe. With upcoming series against Texas, the Mets and Milwaukee, the Tigers should be expected to gain much ground on Cleveland.

5. Los Angeles Angels (38-22). The Angels got hot and the deserve to jump up a couple of spots. Over the last ten games, the team is 8-2, largely because of the pitching of John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, and Jered Weaver, and the hitting Vlad Guerrero, Orlando Cabrera and (surprise) Gary Matthews, Jr. Is this just a hot streak or are the Angels that good?

6. Los Angeles Dodgers (34-23). Critics of the Dodgers say they can't hit, so they can't win in October. But they can hit. They just can't hit for power. The team has the fourth best batting average and fifth best On-Base Percentage in the National League. But they're ninth in runs because they slug like Jerry Quarry in the fifteenth round of an Ali fight, and they hit less home runs than the 1985 Cardinals. But, if they add a slugger (Giambi? Thome?), they would be as tough to beat as any team in baseball.

7. Milwaukee Brewers (33-26). The Brewers have only won 9 of their last 25 games, but they still lead the National League Central by a full six games. Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy are the third best young tandem in the NL behind Reyes & Wright in New York, and Howard & Utley in Philly.

8. Atlanta Braves (33-26). Are the mighty falling? After a brilliant start to the their season, the Braves have been very mediocre in May. They need to pick it up quick or they wil find themselves behind the Phillies, as well as the Mets, in the National League East.

9. San Diego Padres (34-23). The Padres are ahead of the Dodgers in the standings, but it's hard to believe that they are really better than Big Blue. Their pitching has been splendid, with two early season Cy Young candidates, Jake Peavy and Chris Young, leading the way. On the offensive side, however, only Adrian Gonzalez (.297, 12 HR, 39 RBI) is getting it done. Everyone else is hitting like they have the name "Meacham" scrawled across the back.

10. Arizona Diamondbacks (35-24). Winning 9 out of 10 is nothing to sneeze at. They've done it with great balance on offense and inspired performances among the pitchers. Hard to beleive they can really get it done.

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