By Garrett Rudolph, Section MLB
Posted on Wed Mar 14 2007 at 9:34 PM EST 
More on: MLB Power Rankings (all tags)
Spring is here and that means one thing for certain. It's raining cats and dogs in Seattle. But, with only slightly less certainty it also means that the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues are in full swing and baseball season is rapidly approaching.
Most of us have spent the entire weekend scouring over our NCAA tournament brackets, looking for that underdog who will catapult us to the top of our office pool, but with all the attention paid to college basketball, it's easy to forget that as soon as the madness is over, it will be time for baseball. So, now seems like the perfect time to talk preseason Power Rankings, because by the end of this week my vocabulary will be reduced to phrases like bracket buster and buzzer beater; I will devote all the room in my head to memorizing the seedings of all 64 teams and who they'll play next if they win, and the only adjective that will hold any meaning will be, "It's awesome, baby!"
Rank |
Team | '06 Final Rank |
Comments |
| 1 |
 |
(1) |
Every year the Yankees have the best team on paper, but they've shown us time and time again that statistics on paper don't necessarily translate to championships.
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| 2 |
 |
(11) |
The baseball world's eyes will be focused on the $100 million arm of 26-year-old Daisuke Matsuzaka. If he is worthy of all the hype, the Red Sox Nation will breathe a sigh of relief, and so will Theo Epstein, who's been holding his breath since he realized signing JD Drew for $70 million wasn't just a bad dream.
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| 3 |
 |
(5) |
Gary Sheffield is exactly the kind of hitter the Tigers were lacking in 2006. In 19 Major League seasons, Sheffield has never struck out more than 83 times. Last year the Tigers had seven hitters strike out at least 86 times.
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| 4 |
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(12) |
Philadelphia is going to be tough this year. They addressed their needs at pitching, and they've added a couple role-players, like Rod Barajas and Antonio Alfonseca. I can almost hear the theme from Rocky .
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| 5 |
 |
(6) |
When a team is winning, anybody can run their mouth. When they start losing, though, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I'm not saying Ozzie needs to shut up. I'm just saying he needs to win.
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| 6 |
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(4) |
The Mets have an offense that rivals that other team that plays in the Big Apple, but with the age of their pitching staff, they're going to need all the offense they can get.
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| 7 |
 |
(28) |
The Cubs spent more money this off-season than Kevin Federline using Britney's credit card. Unfortunately the Major League Baseball Players Association doesn't recognize the phrase "prenuptial agreement." All jokes aside, this team tripled its offensive production from last year in having a healthy Derek Lee and signing Alfonso Soriano.
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| 8 |
 |
(7) |
I know about "innocent until proven guilty," but its not much of a surprise that Gary Matthews, Jr. was on something. Just look at his career numbers, then look at the season he had last year. Of course, he picked the right year to do it and parlay his success into a monster contract, and remember Angel fans, in baseball contracts are guaranteed.
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| 9 |
 |
(8) |
It will be interesting to see how Jason Schmidt adapts to the hitter-friendly confines of Dodger Stadium. During his first six and a half seasons with Atlanta and Pittsburgh he never had an ERA under 4.00, but in the five and a half years he pitched for the Giants his ERA was only over 4.00 once.
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| 10 |
 |
(9) |
At 43 years old Greg Maddux is going to prove he's still a National League ace. A bit harder to prove is that Maddux is not touring the Poker circuit under his alias Jaime Gold.
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| 11 |
 |
(2) |
With Francisco Liriano out for the season, and Brad Radke retired, somebody is going to have to step up and bolster Santana, otherwise, playing in one of the toughest divisions in baseball, this could be a long season.
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| 12 |
 |
(13) |
The Blue Jays desperately needed pitching. So, what did they do? They signed Vernon Wells to a massive extension and signed Frank Thomas to play DH. With that said, at least give J.P. Ricciardi some credit in avoiding the Gil Meche sweepstakes.
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| 13 |
 |
(3) |
Over the off-season Oakland lost its two biggest weapons in Barry Zito and Frank Thomas, and the fact that Billy Beane made every possible effort to re-sign the Big Hurt should indicate exactly how much pain they'll suffer without his bat.
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| 14 |
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(10) |
Who would have thought that Jeff Suppan, Jason Marquis, and Jeff Weaver would all be high-dollar free agents in the off-season? Even worse is that losing three mediocre pitchers leaves the Cardinals starting rotation in about the same condition as Iraq's government. However, look for Ryan Franklin to be a surprisingly solid pickup for the defending World Series champs.
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| 15 |
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(14) |
I can already hear the chanting from Houston: Carlos Lee For MVP! Carlos Lee For MVP!
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| 16 |
 |
(21) |
The closer position will be crucial for Cleveland this year. After trading Bob Wickman last year, and losing Keith Foulke to retirement after he signed a free-agent contract in the offseason, it would appear Joe Borowski has the entire weight on his shoulders. Last year Cleveland's bullpen recorded only 24 saves and 16 wins, good for worst in the majors in both categories.
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| 17 |
 |
(23) |
The Brew Crew could make things interesting in the NL Central this year. The Cardinals and Astros are probably weaker than they were last year, and the Cubs are definitely going to be better. The Brewers might well keep pace with the amount of young talent they have. Think Oakland Athletics without A) a history of success; B) a respected and talented general manager; and C) a closer.
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| 18 |
 |
(15) |
The big question mark for the Rangers is Eric Gagne. If he can return to his old form, he'll plug a leaky hole that's existed ever since John Wetteland retired. Unfortunately, I don't think his fastball will have the same zing as it used to.
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| 19 |
 |
(19) |
I know it's meaningless preseason, but 2-11 is not showing the fans of Seattle much to hope for. They have the worst record in the Cactus League, and only Tampa Bay has a worse record in all of baseball.
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| 20 |
 |
(18) |
Atlanta went bullpen crazy in the offseason, picking up Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez, who will act as setup men for Bob Wickman. Look for this season to be a tryout for next year's spot as closer, or even earlier if Wickman shows his age.
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| 21 |
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(16) |
The Marlins shocked everybody last year by keeping their heads above water for most of the season. They became only the second team in history to make it back to .500 after being 20 games under .500 toward the beginning of the year. It will be interesting to see if rookie skipper Freddy Gonzalez will be able to motivate and encourage his young team with the same effectiveness as his predecessor.
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| 22 |
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(17) |
This offseason was not Griffey's first hand injury that occurred in an odd, household manner. During his rookie season he slipped in the shower and broke his pinkie. The time he missed cost him the Rookie of the Year Award, which went to Baltimore Oriole closer Greg Olson, whose career lasted only a little bit longer than Griffey's pinkie kept him out of the lineup.
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| 23 |
 |
(20) |
Despite all the hubbub that surrounded Barry Zito, I actually think the signing that will have the biggest immediate impact on the Giants will be Benjie Molina. The two-time gold glove winner has increased his hits, doubles, homeruns, slugging percentage, and OPS in each of the last three seasons. 2007 will be his first season in the generally weaker pitching National League.
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| 24 |
 |
(22) |
Chicago Cubs: $298 million. San Francisco Giants: $209 million. Colorado Rockies: $11 million. Arizona Diamondbacks: $0. An off-season spending spree in a desperate attempt to turn pretenders into playoff contenders: Priceless. The effort Arizona put into making its team a playoff contender: Worthless.
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| 25 |
 |
(24) |
I hate to say it, but the Colorado Rockies need to entertain offers for Todd Helton, and they need to get the most they can for him, before it's too late. The window of opportunity has closed for Helton to lead the Rockies to the promised land, and their willingness (or lack thereof) to spend money in the off-season has eliminated any chance of Colorado being successful unless they can do so with young minor league talent that will take a few years to develop.
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| 26 |
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(29) |
I've been saying this for years, but the Devil Rays (unlike some of the other awful teams around the league) actually have some exciting talent to make their games worth watching. Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Kazmir, BJ Upton, and Delmon Young should be enough to draw 20,000 fans to Tropicana every game. St. Petersburg residents obviously disagree.
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| 27 |
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(25) |
Last year, 1,000 fans walked out of a game in the fourth inning as a protest against Peter Angelos' ownership strategies. Angelos' response was to spend $41 million on relief pitching. Perhaps the protesters should gather a stronger contingent this year.
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| 28 |
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(26) |
Somebody needs to tell the Nationals that 2007 is the year of the BOAR, not year of the BORE.
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| 29 |
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(27) |
In 1991, my dad said he would buy a big screen tv for the family room if the Pirates went to the World Series. Needless to say, the Rudolph family is still waiting for that big screen.
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| 30 |
 |
(30) |
It's a sad day in baseball when fans can rightfully complain that the Kansas City Royals are driving the market value of free agents through the roof.
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