Week Six
by Asher B. Chancey, BaseballEvolution.com
May 14, 2007

I think we have learned a lot about how the 2007 season will ultimately shake out this week. Here is a quick division-by-division look as I see it before we get to the Power Rankings.

AL East - With Manny Ramirez starting to hit and Matsuzaka starting to pitch, the Red Sox are already 8.5 games ahead of the second place Yankees and appear to be in cruise control. A more interesting race may be in the bottom of the division, where the D'Rays may end up moving past the injury-riddled Blue Jays if they can just win some games.

Sidebar - Why do we always feel comfortable refering to the team from Tampa as the "D'Rays" when we never ever called the team from the Toronto the "B'Jays"? Actually, I just said that name out loud to myself and now I think I know why.

AL Central - This division will be decided on the basis of "who can do what." At this point, the Indians can hit but can't pitch; the White Sox can pitch but can't hit; the Tigers can do both, and the Twins can do neither.

AL West - The acquisition of Jack Cust and the resurgence of Dan Johnson appears to have shaken this divisional race, but if the Angels can get a rotation of Colon-Weaver-Lackey-Escobar-Moseley healthy and functioning, and demote Ervin Santana to the bullpen (in Salt Lake City), the Angels will not be stopped.

NL East - It is going to be August before the Phillies can get Ryan Howard going, by which point they will have dealt some indespensible part of their team for 2010 help. That said, this division looks to be a two-horse race between Atlanta and New York, and New York seems to be the older, weaker team at this point.

NL Central - The Brewers got handled 2-out-of-3 by the Mets this week, so they may not be indestructable. That said, they are off and running with Dave Bush and Ben Sheets not even full speed yet. All of the NL Central teams have major issues, though, and no one has stepped up to challenge Milwaukee as of yet.

NL West - This division is turning out to be quite tough, isn't it? Of the four teams that look to be players right now, the Giants appear to have untapped upside while the D'Backs have untapped downside. The Padres and Dodgers, meanwhile, look ready to duel their pitchers all the way until the end of the season.

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

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