Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Prompted by a post comparing core WAR of the five AL East teams at the start of the season, I conducted a poll of some AL East blogger colleagues in the FanSided network to compiled power rankings for Week 1 of the regular season.
Power rankings are fun, especially when developing them with rivals, because they are based mainly on subjective opinion, and tainted with bias. Basically, power rankings express which team is the toughest to best at that point in time. They are a little jaundiced, to be sure, but are also summaries of guys who follow baseball with a passion and have keen and up-to-date knowledge of their teams as well as their division rivals.
Expect the power rankings to vary throughout the season. They are not necessarily reflections of the current standings but of which teams are playing closest to their peak levels each week. So, steaks, injuries and schedules all play a factor.
Thanks to my colleagues Billy Brost of Yanks Go Yard, Kyle Fragnoli of Jays Journal, Robbie Knopf of Rays Colored Glasses and Domenic Valdata of Birds Watcher.
Here’s how I computed the power rankings: assigning values of five points to one point from top to bottom of their votes, along with my own (five ballots, 75 total points).
So, the Week 1 rankings are as follows:
Boston Red Sox (22)
Tampa Bay Rays (19)
New York Yankees (15)
Baltimore Orioles (13)
Toronto Blue Jays (6)
Most feel that the Red Sox, with key roster changes at catcher, shortstop and center field, have regressed slightly but have the benefit of the doubt as reigning World Series champions. The Rays have a very balanced club with strong pitching and a lot of upside. The Yankees have added quality free agent players during the off-season but questions remain with the infield, pitching staff and the oldest roster in the division. The Orioles’ and Jays have potent offenses that will need to rely regularly on their bottom of the rotation starters and bullpen to notch victories.
Post your own power rankings in the comments section below, or let us know what you think of ours.