Crazy start to the season, don’t you think?
I spend a lot of time working on my preseason and first-week power rankings. Looks like my two huge misses were the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cleveland Guardians. Adjustments are always a part of the job of producing weekly power rankings. Those adjustments have lifted the Brewers from No. 29 to No. 19 to now No. 7.
Seeing the Brewers in person this weekend and watching the offensive firepower in action helped me see the light.
The Guardians started at No. 28 and have moved up to No. 11. We’ll see if my initial inclinations were closer to the truth, but when you see the reality that games display, it’s sometimes hard to stick to your guns.
Locally, the Orioles are 9-6. Decent, but clearly not what Birdland was hoping for after the first two games of the season, both ass-kicking wins against the Angels.
Part of the giddiness going in was that it looked like the Orioles’ schedule was soft early. With the Orioles starting off with the Angels, Royals, Pirates, Red Sox and Brewers, it seemed like the O’s could jump on lesser teams.
Well, those five teams have combined to post a 47-30 record. What does that mean? It means that while we like to think of the Orioles as improved, other teams worked hard to better themselves too. The other issue at play here is the Yankees’ sizzling start (12-4).
Next, the Orioles have a three-game home series against the Twins before traveling to Kansas City for three and then heading out to Anaheim to play the Angels for three. The Orioles come home late in the month to face the A’s for three and the Yankees for four.
One of the most interesting series of this week has the Yankees heading north of the border to play the seemingly always underperforming Toronto Blue Jays (8-8). If the Yankees win or sweep the series, the seat under Jays manager John Schneider will start to get toasty.
One more series of great interest is the one that sees the 9-5 Atlanta Braves going into Houston to play a 6-11 Astros club. This is Astros manager Joe Espada’s first season at the helm of a major league club. He’s waited a good while for this opportunity, but sometimes first-time managers can let things get out of hand early.
Meanwhile, the Braves are just starting life without ace right-hander Spencer Strider. Both clubs will send out relative unknowns in Game 1, with the Braves throwing Darius Vines against the recently recalled Spencer Arrighetti.
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s power rankings:
1. New York Yankees (12-4, No. 2 last week): Funny, I initially had a sense the Yankees were going to find themselves in 2024, but then Gerrit Cole went down for at least two months. If they can play at this level, how hard are they going to be to beat if they get Cole back as if he were acquired in a blockbuster trade?
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (11-7, No. 1): This team is great, but I’m still wondering how an interpreter gets his hands on $16 million of his boss’s money.
3. Atlanta Braves (9-5, No. 3): Spencer Strider is out for the season. How the Braves replace him will decide how far they can go.
4. Baltimore Orioles (9-6, No. 6): A supposed weak schedule hasn’t netted quite the expected early results.
5. Cincinnati Reds (9-6, No. 8): The Reds’ offseason emphasis was all about adding pitching: Frankie Montas, Nick Martinez, Emilio Pagan and Brent Suter. Oddly, with Nick Lodolo out early, they started Martinez in two games and his ERA sits at 7.20. Now that Lodolo is back, Montas, Lodolo and Andrew Abbott have combined to toss 39.1 quality innings. If the offense picks up, the Reds could be very tough.
6. Philadelphia Phillies (8-8, No. 7): I said before season began that GM Dave Dombrowski should have added a top-flight reliever this offseason. Well, he knew he had 23-year-old power pitcher Orion Kerkering waiting in the wings. He’s up now after two quick rehab stops in Clearwater and Reading.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (10-4, No. 19): My biggest mea culpa in a long, long time. The Brewers resemble the modern version of Harvey’s Wallbangers.
8. Pittsburgh Pirates (11-5, No. 9): A record of 4-3 against the Orioles and Phillies could be a harbinger of good things to come.
9. Texas Rangers (8-8, No. 4): I have no doubts about the offense, but the starting rotation is already a mixed bag. The strategy of counting on injured big names to come back and help is fraught with risk for the defending champions.
10. Arizona Diamondbacks (8-8, No. 10): Not sure it was part of the calculus in their decision to sign Jordan Montgomery, but Eduardo Rodríguez recently had a setback in his recovery from a lat issue. Montgomery probably needs one more start at Triple-A to be ready to debut as a Diamondback.
11. Kansas City Royals (10-6, No. 12)
12. Cleveland Guardians (10-5, No. 11)
13. Detroit Tigers (9-6, No. 13)
14. Boston Red Sox (9-7, No. 5)
15. Tampa Bay Rays (9-7, No. 16)
16. Chicago Cubs (9-6, No. 15)
17. Houston Astros (6-11, No. 14)
18. Minnesota Twins (6-8, No. 20)
19. Seattle Mariners (6-10, No. 17)
20. San Diego Padres (9-9, No. 23)
21. Toronto Blue Jays (8-8, No. 22)
22. St. Louis Cardinals (7-9, No. 18)
23. New York Mets (7-8, No. 25)
24. Los Angeles Angels (7-8, No. 21)
25. San Francisco Giants (6-10, No. 24)
26. Oakland Athletics (7-9, No. 27)
27. Washington Nationals (6-9, No. 26)
28. Miami Marlins (3-13, No. 28)
29. Colorado Rockies (4-12, No. 30)
30. Chicago White Sox (2-13, No. 29)