at the Boston paper's power rankings...
Number 1, Boston Red Sox (18-7): First Place, A.L. East. Last week, No. 1
Best record in the American League, best record in all of baseball, best run differential in all of baseball. Winners of seven of their last 10 and currently on a five-game winning streak.
Maybe the Red Sox won't end up having a great 2013, but the month of April really could not have gone any better.
The Sox are coming off of a week where they had seven home games, including fout against the lowly Houston Astros. A good team is supposed to win most of those games.
That's what the Red Sox did. They took two of three from the Oakland A's and then easily swept the Astros in four straight.
It is still April, but David Ortiz is as hot as any summer day. Since returning from the disabled list, Big Papi is hitting .516 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. The Red Sox were already hitting the ball well before Ortiz's return to the lineup, but he's provided a huge boost.
This coming week could provide a challenge. Boston plays six road games, three in Toronto and three against the Texas Rangers.
Number 2, Texas Rangers (16-9): First Place, A.L. West. Last week, No. 2
The top two spots remain unchanged. Texas might not be playing quite as well as the Red Sox, but they're still a darn good baseball team.
The Rangers stil are in first place and still own a very good record. The pitching must be a concern after last week.
Texas played seven games and allowed 72 runs.
Yes the Rangers still managed to win four of those seven, but there's no way that they'll continue to win more games than they lose if their pitching staff is allowing opponents to score 10 runs per game.
Yu Darvish is an early Cy Young candidate. He's 4-1 with an E.R.A of 1.65 and his 49 strikeouts is the highest in all of baseball.
Number 3, New York Yankees (15-9): Second Place, A.L. East. Last week, No. 4
Slowly but surely, every week it seems like the Yankees get a little higher in the rankings.
Will the ascent ever stop?
The Yankees are an enigma. They continue to absorb more and more injuries. This week it was Ivan Nova and Kevin Youkilis, both of whom needed MRI's. Francisco Cervelli hit the disabled list after breaking a finger.
Meanwhile, the Yankees completed a four game home sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays. Mariano Rivera has nine saves, Travis Hafner has six home runs and Robinson Cano is hitting .316.
With six home games against the Astros and A's this week, the team's current four-game winning streak could easily be extended.
Number 4, Kansas City Royals (13-9): First Place, A.L. Central. Last week, No. 5
The Red Sox are coming off a bad season, but the Royals are coming off a bad era. It has been over 25 years since the team played a postseason game. Don't tell these Royals, though. They're not listening. They're too busy winning games.
The Royals have won seven of their last 10. The pitching is still strong and the offense is being led by Alex Gordon.
Gordon is off to a great start. He's hitting .352 which is good for fifth in the league. He's got a great glove in left field, and even though he doesn't hit for a ton of power, he still drives in runs.
The Royals will spend the coming week playing at home against weak opponents, the Indians, Rays and White Sox. The team's impressive record seems likely to get even more impressive.