1. Arizona Diamondbacks (9-3, LW: #1) – Along with Milwaukee, one of only two teams among preseason postseason contenders that has really distinguished itself thus far.
2. Boston Red Sox (7-6, LW: #5) – Sox took 2 of 3 from Yankees and stay afloat despite Big Papi’s prolonged slump and Lowell’s injury.
3. Milwaukee Brewers (8-4, LW: #7) – Brew Crew battered Johan Santana and Oliver Perez in taking 2 of 3 from the Metropolitans.
4. Anaheim Angels (7-6, LW: #4) – Angels rank 1st in the AL in batting average, slugging, and stolen bases, and 2nd in runs scored.
5. Chicago Cubs (7-5, LW: #10) – Derek Lee is carrying the Cubs offense while Soriano and Ramirez slump.  Ted Lilly has been pounded in each of his three starts this season.
6. Cleveland Indians (5-7, LW: #3) – Offense is struggling and pitching ranks near the bottom in most every major category.  Tribe desperately needs Sabathia to get on track with a tough stretch coming up against Boston, Detroit, Minnesota, Kansas City, and the Yankees.
7. New York Yankees (6-7, LW: #2) – Hit-and-miss starting pitching + a strong bullpen + an anemic offense = a mediocre record. Lefties Cano, Damon, and Giambi are struggling and A-Rod shows signs of slipping into a slump of his own.  
8. Toronto Blue Jays (7-5, LW: #6) – Sweep-or-be-swept.  Last 9 games: 3 wins vs. Boston, 3 losses vs. Oakland, 3 wins vs. Texas.
9. Philadelphia Phillies (6-7, LW: #8) – Pat the Bat’s .359, 4 HR, and 13 RBI start is as good as any in the league.  
10. Chicago White Sox (7-4, LW: #17) – Should they be applauded for being 7-4 and in first place in the Central, or criticized for being one of only two teams to lose to the Tigers?
11. St. Louis Cardinals (9-4, LW: #19) – Cards have the best record in baseball and the pitching staff is #1 in the NL in ERA, but the competition has been wanting.
12. Oakland A’s (8-5, LW: #24) – No Haren, no Harden, no problem.  A’s had impressive week in sweeping Toronto and taking 2 of 3 in Cleveland.  Can they maintain the momentum this week against the White Sox, Mariners, and Royals?
13. Minnesota Twins (6-6, LW: #14) – 2nd in ERA, 2nd in WHIP, 2nd in quality starts.  
14. New York Mets (5-6, LW: #13) – Santana’s susceptibility to the home run ball is the latest addition to the growing list of concerns for baseball’s oldest team.
15. Seattle Mariners (6-7, LW: #11) – Among the season’s early surprises, Raul Ibanez: .327, 5 HR, 13 RBI.
16. Atlanta Braves (5-7, LW: #12) – Braves get John Smoltz back, only to lose Tom Glavine.  With Mike Hampton already on the DL, Atlanta can ill-afford for Glavine to make his first trip to the DL.  Chipper Jones leads the majors with a .408 batting average.
17. San Diego Padres (7-6, LW: #21) – Pitching has been fantastic, but runs have been hard to come by.  This is a team that could use a little Bonds if it wants to contend.
18. Kansas City Royals (7-5, LW: #18) – Royals played good crisp baseball in taking 2 of 3 from the Yanks, only to have the bats go silent in getting shutout twice by the Twins.  Still, Greinke and Bannister have been outstanding, posting miniscule ERAs both, and the Royals as a team rank 1st in the American League in ERA.
19. Colorado Rockies (5-7, LW: #20) – 14th in the NL in batting, 14th in runs scored, 15th in ERA, and 15th in WHIP.  With numbers like that, the Rockies are lucky to be 5-7.  At least Matt Holiday heated up after a slow start (.340, 3 HR, 11 RBI).  The Rockies desperately need Troy Tulowitzki (.159, 0 HR, 0 RBI) and Brad Hawpe (.206, 1 HR, 3 RBI) to snap out of their awful slumps.
20. Los Angeles Dodgers (5-7, LW: #16) – Tough week for the Dodgers.  First they get swept in Arizona, then they drop 2 of 3 at home to San Diego.  Joe Torre is learning what it’s like to manage a team without a $200 million payroll.
21. Tampa Bay Rays (6-6, LW: #15) – Carlos Pena’s average may be in the sewer, but the Rays have to like the league-leading 6 HR.
22. Detroit Tigers (2-10, LW: #9) – Last in the American League in batting, runs scored, slugging, ERA, WHIP, and quality starts.  Justin Verlander has a 6.52 ERA and the Tigers, as a team, have gotten just one quality start in 2008.  Is it any wonder why they’re 2-10?  Still, this is a supremely talented team that has plenty of time to get back into the mix.  Division rival Cleveland’s struggles take some of the sting out of the Tigers’ astoundingly poor start to ’08.
23. Florida Marlins (7-5, LW: #29) – How are the Marlins 7-5?  They’ve gone 5-1 against the Nats and Pirates.  Mike Jacobs’ NL-leading 5 home runs have helped, too.
24. Baltimore Orioles (7-5, LW: #28) – O’s have dropped 3 of their last 4, and with a rough schedule  this week (Blue Jays, White Sox, and Yankees), it’s a good bet their stay in first place will end by next Monday.
25. Cincinnati Reds (6-7, LW: #22) – Reds have been getting solid pitching, but it’ll be difficult for them to keep pace in the Central with Ken Griffey, Jr. and Adam Dunn combining for just 2 HR and 11 RBI.
26. Texas Rangers (6-7, LW: #25) – Rangers are having trouble scoring runs with Michael Young mirred in a slump and Hank Blalock contributing but 1 RBI.  Josh Hamilton (3 HR, 13 RBI) has been the only consistent source of offense.  Kevin Millwood has a 1.29 ERA and deserves better than his 1-2 record.
27. Pittsburgh Pirates (6-6, LW: #27) – Xavier Nady, slugger?  The X-Man is hitting .333 with 4 HR and 13 RBI.  If/when the Pirates fall out of contention, he’ll garner a lot of interest on the trade market from teams looking to rent an inexpensive bat for the stretch drive.
28. Houston Astros (5-8, LW: #23) – Berkman and Tejada are pulling their weight, but no one else is.  Hunter Pence (.180, 1 HR, 1 RBI) has been downright awful.
29. San Francisco Giants (5-8, LW: #30) – T
    he predictions about the Giants being one of the worst teams of all-time this season were overblown.  The lineup stinks, but Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum give them a fighting chance to win every time they pitch.  At the very least, the Giants are better than the lowly Nats.
30. Washington Nationals (4-9, LW: #26) – Lastings Milledge has been solid and Cristian Guzman has been surprisingly productive.  Tim Redding has pitched well, but when he’s your ace, that speaks volumes about your pitching staff.

An interesting first week of the season has left many preseason favorites in unfamiliar territory.  Entering play on Monday, the Red Sox, Mets, and Tigers — all popular preseason picks for the World Series — were each mired in last place in their respective divisions.  Experiencing the other side of fortune, projected doormats like the Orioles, White Sox, and Royals finished the week in the upper-division.  Still other favorites, like the Yankees and Indians, simply muddled through.