MLB Power Rankings: Who’s the New No. 1 Team After Week 5?
May 2, 2011 by Perry Schwartz
Filed under Fan News
With just over four weeks of baseball in the books, we are beginning to get a sense of how the 2011 season will play out.
But of course, 25-29 games is just a small fraction of the regular season (15.4 to 17.9 percent to be exact). A lot can change in the next five months. As recently as two years ago, the Los Angeles Angels had a record of just 9-13 on May 2nd, but went on to finish the regular season with a record of 97-65. That season also consisted of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer earning MVP honors, despite missing the entire month of April.
Similarly, as excited as I was to look at the newspaper this morning and see Matt Holiday’s batting average at .418, I know in the back of my mind that it is bound to slip under .400 sooner or later.
Either way, last week was as important of a regular season week as any.
The surprising Cleveland Indians continue to play well. They went 6-0 last week, extending their lead to 4.5 games in the A.L. Central. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers went 0-6 last week and suddenly find themselves four games under .500.
The week was another small step in the countdown to 162. Here are the MLB Power Rankings after Week 5.