Power Rankings: A Red Sox, Astros World Series
POWER RANKINGS
Current Team Previous
1 Boston Red Sox 5
Additions of Schilling and Foulke have other teams screaming, "Curses!"
2 Houston Astros 12
Astros are ready to blast off after adding Pettitte and Clemens -- assuming they and other aging stars can avoid serious injuries.
3 Anaheim Angels 19
Colon, Vladdy and a solid bullpen should help 2002 World Champs rebound from a forgettable 2003.
4 New York Yankees 1
A new-look Evil Empire -- with Sheffield, Brown, Lofton -- again should be an AL East force.
5 Chicago Cubs 8
Dusty Baker's defending NL Central champs aren't ready to concede anything to Houston yet.
6 Philadelphia Phillies 16
With Billy Wagner one of baseball's best closers, Citizens Bank Park could see a postseason in its first year.
7 Florida Marlins 7
Marlins still have a solid rotation and many key players from last season's World Champions.
8 Seattle Mariners 10
Whether Ichiro bats first, second or third, Mariners should score for a pretty good rotation.
9 Oakland Athletics 4
Athletics' big three of Hudson, Mulder, Zito might be hurting for some run support following the loss of Tejada.
10 Atlanta Braves 2
The Braves' streak of 12 consecutive division titles could continue if newcomers RF Drew and P Thomson perform well.
11 Baltimore Orioles 21
Tejada and Javy Lopez help form a dangerous lineup, but Birds won't have enough pitching to catch the BoSox or Yankees.
12 Toronto Blue Jays 11
Jays will need solid seasons from new starters Batista and Lilly, as well as likely closer Speier, to make a wild-card run.
13 St. Louis Cardinals 14
The Cardinals did little this offseason to counter moves made by division rivals Houston and Chicago.
14 Kansas City Royals 17
Acquisitions of Juan Gone and Santiago made for nice headlines, but the pitching will have to be better than last year's 5.05 ERA.
15 Minnesota Twins 5
Twins will remain respectable but will be hard-pressed to overcome the losses of closer Guardado and catcher Pierzynski.
16 Arizona Diamondbacks 18
The lineup -- especially with addition of Sexson -- should score runs, but ace Schilling will be hard to replace.
17 San Francisco Giants 3
Bonds remains, but loss of others (e.g. Aurilia, Santiago, Cruz) means Giants take a step back.
18 San Diego Padres 23
Padres certainly seem much improved with a healthy Nevin and several offseason moves, but the jury's out on how the pitching staff will come together.
19 Los Angeles Dodgers 13
Ownership change in January was too late to make a strong run at quality free agents who could have helped a weak offense.
20 Chicago White Sox 9
Losses of ace Colon and OF Everett mean new manager Ozzie Guillen has some holes to fill.
21 New York Mets 29
A healthy Cliff Floyd and a healthy Mike Piazza alone should make for significant improvement.
22 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 22
Devil Rays improved themselves with many offseason moves -- but they're in the wrong division to prove it.
23 Montreal Expos 15
No Vladdy. No Vazquez. No chance to compete for a wild-card berth this year.
24 Pittsburgh Pirates 20
The Pirates finished 2003 with a 49-48 mark -- a season-long .500 record would be an accomplishment.
25 Colorado Rockies 25
Castilla and Burnitz might generate runs -- or they could be busts; the pitching, no surprise, will determine how the Rockies fare.
26 Cleveland Indians 27
Last year's 4.21 ERA and talented young players such as Gerut and Bradley are reason for hope.
27 Milwaukee Brewers 24
Trade of Sexson returned several parts -- Counsell, Spivey, Overbay -- but pitchers need to improve last year's 5.02 ERA.
28 Texas Rangers 28
Until there's proof of some quality pitchers, the Rangers will lose a lot of close, high-scoring games.
29 Detroit Tigers 30
Signings of Pudge, Vina and Rondell White mean Tigers are on the way to respectability.
30 Cincinnati Reds 26
A healthy Griffey -- no laughing please -- would help a lot, but there are serious pitching questions.
POWER RANKINGS
Current Team Previous
1 Boston Red Sox 5
Additions of Schilling and Foulke have other teams screaming, "Curses!"
2 Houston Astros 12
Astros are ready to blast off after adding Pettitte and Clemens -- assuming they and other aging stars can avoid serious injuries.
3 Anaheim Angels 19
Colon, Vladdy and a solid bullpen should help 2002 World Champs rebound from a forgettable 2003.
4 New York Yankees 1
A new-look Evil Empire -- with Sheffield, Brown, Lofton -- again should be an AL East force.
5 Chicago Cubs 8
Dusty Baker's defending NL Central champs aren't ready to concede anything to Houston yet.
6 Philadelphia Phillies 16
With Billy Wagner one of baseball's best closers, Citizens Bank Park could see a postseason in its first year.
7 Florida Marlins 7
Marlins still have a solid rotation and many key players from last season's World Champions.
8 Seattle Mariners 10
Whether Ichiro bats first, second or third, Mariners should score for a pretty good rotation.
9 Oakland Athletics 4
Athletics' big three of Hudson, Mulder, Zito might be hurting for some run support following the loss of Tejada.
10 Atlanta Braves 2
The Braves' streak of 12 consecutive division titles could continue if newcomers RF Drew and P Thomson perform well.
11 Baltimore Orioles 21
Tejada and Javy Lopez help form a dangerous lineup, but Birds won't have enough pitching to catch the BoSox or Yankees.
12 Toronto Blue Jays 11
Jays will need solid seasons from new starters Batista and Lilly, as well as likely closer Speier, to make a wild-card run.
13 St. Louis Cardinals 14
The Cardinals did little this offseason to counter moves made by division rivals Houston and Chicago.
14 Kansas City Royals 17
Acquisitions of Juan Gone and Santiago made for nice headlines, but the pitching will have to be better than last year's 5.05 ERA.
15 Minnesota Twins 5
Twins will remain respectable but will be hard-pressed to overcome the losses of closer Guardado and catcher Pierzynski.
16 Arizona Diamondbacks 18
The lineup -- especially with addition of Sexson -- should score runs, but ace Schilling will be hard to replace.
17 San Francisco Giants 3
Bonds remains, but loss of others (e.g. Aurilia, Santiago, Cruz) means Giants take a step back.
18 San Diego Padres 23
Padres certainly seem much improved with a healthy Nevin and several offseason moves, but the jury's out on how the pitching staff will come together.
19 Los Angeles Dodgers 13
Ownership change in January was too late to make a strong run at quality free agents who could have helped a weak offense.
20 Chicago White Sox 9
Losses of ace Colon and OF Everett mean new manager Ozzie Guillen has some holes to fill.
21 New York Mets 29
A healthy Cliff Floyd and a healthy Mike Piazza alone should make for significant improvement.
22 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 22
Devil Rays improved themselves with many offseason moves -- but they're in the wrong division to prove it.
23 Montreal Expos 15
No Vladdy. No Vazquez. No chance to compete for a wild-card berth this year.
24 Pittsburgh Pirates 20
The Pirates finished 2003 with a 49-48 mark -- a season-long .500 record would be an accomplishment.
25 Colorado Rockies 25
Castilla and Burnitz might generate runs -- or they could be busts; the pitching, no surprise, will determine how the Rockies fare.
26 Cleveland Indians 27
Last year's 4.21 ERA and talented young players such as Gerut and Bradley are reason for hope.
27 Milwaukee Brewers 24
Trade of Sexson returned several parts -- Counsell, Spivey, Overbay -- but pitchers need to improve last year's 5.02 ERA.
28 Texas Rangers 28
Until there's proof of some quality pitchers, the Rangers will lose a lot of close, high-scoring games.
29 Detroit Tigers 30
Signings of Pudge, Vina and Rondell White mean Tigers are on the way to respectability.
30 Cincinnati Reds 26
A healthy Griffey -- no laughing please -- would help a lot, but there are serious pitching questions.
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