Week Three
by Asher B. Chancey, BaseballEvolution.com
April 22, 2007

Last week, the Arizona Diamondbacks finished atop the Week Two BaseballEvolution.com Power Rankings. The D'Backs promptly went 1-6 in Week Three and will likely not regain the top spot again this season.

The season continues to provide fans with surprises, however, as the once down and out San Francisco Giants rattled off five straight wins, and Barry Zito has gone two games in a row without giving up a run. In the American League, the second best record in the league belongs to none other than the Baltimore Orioles, who currently rank fifth in the league in runs allowed. Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners finished the week with one win between them after relatively strong starts to the season.

And somehow, after three weeks, the teams of the AL Central have settled into the same positions that they finished 2006 in.

Without further ado, here are the Week Three Power Rankings. Enjoy and, as always, feel free to comment.

Rank	Team	Comments	Prev
1		Los Angeles Dodgers (13-6) Record for the Week - 5-2 vs. D'Backs, Rockies, Pirates Veterans Kent, LuGo showing kids how its done.	3
2		Boston Red Sox (12-5) Record for the Week - 6-1 vs. Angels, Blue Jays, Yankees Sweep of poorly performing Yankees pitchers ugly, unimpressive.	4
3		Atlanta Braves (12-6) Record for the Week - 4-3 vs. Nationals, Cubs, Mets Must play better against bad teams.	2
4		New York Mets (11-6) Record for the Week - 4-2 vs. Phillies, Marlins, Braves Offense may carry pitching to playoffs - but what then?	9
5		Minnesota Twins (11-7) Record for the Week - 4-2 vs. Mariners, Royals Maybe they do have the right mix of hitting, pitching.	12
6		San Diego Padres (11-8) Record for the Week - 4-2 vs. Cubs, D'Backs, Rockies May have to change name to San Diego Hermanos.	11
7		Milwaukee Brewers (11-7) Record for the Week - 5-2 vs. Reds, Pirates, Astros Starting to separate from pack of mediocre NL Central teams.	13
8		Detroit Tigers (10-8) Record for the Week - 3-3 vs. Royals, White Sox Went .500 vs. inferior divisional rivals last week.	8
9		Baltimore Orioles (11-7) Record for the Week - 5-1 vs. Devil Rays, Blue Jays Improved pitching staff making small, subtle statements.	17
10		Chicago White Sox (9-8) Record for the Week - 4-2 vs. Rangers, Tigers "My Buehrle's back and he had a swell vacation . . . "	18
11		Cleveland Indians (8-7) Record for the Week - 2-4 vs. Yankees, Devil Rays Got swept by A-Rod; adequate pitching may have been a mirage.	5
12		Oakland Athletics (9-9) Record for the Week - 3-3 vs. White Sox, Yankees Gaudin making D'Rays, Blue Jays look like idiots.	19
13		Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (9-9) Record for the Week - 3-3 vs. A's, Mariners Stat of the Week - 8-2 at home, 1-7 on road.	16
14		San Francisco Giants (9-8) Record for the Week - 6-1 vs. Rockies, Cardinals, D'Backs Allowed 2 runs/game this week; good enough for aging offense.	28
15		Houston Astros (9-8) Record for the Week - 5-2 vs. Marlins, Reds, Brewers Bullpen settling down after rough start.	21
16		Seattle Mariners (5-9) Record for the Week - 0-6 vs. Twins, Angels Seattle gets benefit of doubt for 1 more week.	14
17		St. Louis Cardinals (8-10) Record for the Week - 2-5 Pirates, Giants, Cubs Marquis success w/Cubs chink in Duncan's armor.	6
18		New York Yankees (8-9) Record for the Week - 3-3 vs. Indians, Red Sox Would be 6-11 at best w/o A-Rod heroics.	20
19		Arizona Diamondbacks (10-10) Record for the Week - 1-6 vs. Dodgers, Padres, Giants Oh.	1
20		Cincinnati Reds (9-10) Record for the Week - 2-5 vs. Brewers, Astros, Phillies Nothing like 7 home games to kill Reds pitchers.	7
21		Toronto Blue Jays (8-10) Record for the Week - 1-5 vs. Red Sox, Orioles Wells rewarding team for big contract - .243/.289/.471	10
22		Florida Marlins (8-10) Record for the Week - 2-5 vs. Astros, Mets, Nationals Ramirez - 19 runs in 15 games.	15
23		Texas Rangers (8-10) Record for the Week - 3-3 vs. White Sox, A's How they won three games is a mystery.	23
24		Colorado Rockies (8-11) Record for the Week - 3-4 vs. Giants, Dodgers, Padres Seemingly strong pitchers faded at home this week.	22
25		Pittsburgh Pirates (7-10) Record for the Week - 3-4 vs. Cardinals, Brewers, Dodgers Solid performance in seven games on the road in a week.	25
26		Tampa Bay Devil Rays (7-11) Record for the Week - 2-4 vs. Orioles, Indians Only 2 of 12 D'Rays pitchers have ERA under 5.00.	24
27		Chicago Cubs (7-11) Record for the Week - 3-3 vs. Padres, Braves, Cardinals Lilly, Marquis, Hill living the dream; Zambrano in a Nightmare.	26
28		Kansas City Royals (6-12) Record for the Week - 3-3 vs. Tigers, Twins Four regulars hitting below Mendoza line.	30
29		Philadelphia Phillies (6-11) Record for the Week - 3-3 vs. Mets, Nationals, Reds Need new closer & Howard in 3-hole, don't seem to know it.	29
30		Washington Nationals (6-13) Record for the Week - 3-4 vs. Braves, Phillies, Marlins Really only seem to win when the other team makes a mistake.	27

Power Rankings for Previous Weeks: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26

Questions? Concerns? Comments? Asher lives in Philadelphia, PA, and can be reached at asher@baseballevolution.com.