By Christopher Reina
The Opsera is a statistic I created in order to rank teams by how well they hit (OPS) and pitch (ERA). In order to determine a team's Opsera, I take their OPS, move the decimal point over one place to the right and then subtract the team's ERA from that number.
* Previous week's ranking in parenthesis.
1. Pittsburgh Pirates: 4.84 (6)
With a 2.97 ERA, the Pirates lead the entire MLB in that category, ahead of second ranked Kansas City and their mark of 3.47.
2. St. Louis Cardinals: 4.82 (4)
Ryan Franklin has yet to give up an earned run in eight innings of work, while also recording five saves.
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 4.71 (2)
Aaron Hill hit two homers in 205 at bats last season five in 90 this season.
4. Boston Red Sox: 4.48 (14)
Justin Masterson has a 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings, filling in very well for Daisuke Matsuzaka.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers: 4.26 (1)
The sometimes inconsistent Jonathan Broxton has six saves, a 0.96 ERA and a K/9 rate of 14.46.
6. Kansas City Royals: 3.67 (7)
Alberto Callaspo is hitting .377/.414/.528, finally hitting big league pitching effectively.
7. Detroit Tigers: 3.53 (8)
Brandon Inge hasn't begun to slow down yet, as he has elevated his homer total to seven while posting an OPS of 1.126.
8. Atlanta Braves: 3.44 (13)
The fast start Atlanta got off to in Philadelphia offensively has slown considerably, as they are hitting .237/.343/.379 over the past six games.
9. Chicago Cubs: 3.24 (12)
Doing what he never really could with the Mets, Aaron Heilman has given up one earned run in 11.0 innings with the Cubs.
10. Seattle Mariners: 3.22 (11)
Brandon Morrow hasn't yielded an earned run since his first 2009 appearance when he gave up three. He also leads the AL in saves with five.
11. New York Mets: 3.10 (9)
The Mets haven't hit for a ton of power, but they have a .365 on-base percentage and they have dominated lefties with a 1.013 OPS against.
12. Chicago White Sox: 3.04 (5)
The White Sox have an OPS of .839 on the road and just .683 at home.
13. San Diego Padres: 3.01 (10)
Yet again Adrian Gonzalez remains baseball's most underappreciated slugger, hitting for an OPS of 1.097.
14. Milwaukee Brewers: 2.96 (20)
Even with nine at bats, pitcher Yovani Gallardo has an OPS of 1.000.
15. Florida Marlins: 2.95 (3)
The Marlins have an OPS of just .619 over their past six games.
16. Tampa Bay Rays: 2.86 (15)
B.J. Upton is off to a horrible start with an OPS of .496.
17. San Francisco Giants: 2.85 (25)
For Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, everything is falling into place for the Giants, as they have a 2.96 and 2.08 ERA respectively.
18. Washington Nationals: 2.71 (30)
The Nationals are hitting for an OPS of .884 against lefties, with Elijah Dukes, Alberto Gonzalez, Austin Kearns, Nick Johnson and Jesus Flores hitting especially well.
19. Houston Astros: 2.65 (17)
Wandy Rodriguez has a 1.80 ERA through his first four starts, while Roy Oswalt has a human-like 4.68 mark.
20. Cincinnati Reds: 2.58 (24)
Part time pitcher Micah Owings leads the Reds in OPS with a mark of 1.100.
21. Los Angeles Angels: 2.47 (19)
The Angels are ranked second worst defensively in the MLB thus far in 2009.
22. Texas Rangers: 2.36 (18)
Nelson Cruz has the best UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) in the entire MLB.
23. Arizona Diamondbacks: 2.35 (28)
With Brandon Webb on the shelf, Dan Haren has been anchoring their staff with an ERA of 1.38 and K/9 of 9.00.
24. Oakland Athletics: 2.27 (16)
Dallas Braden has been Oakland's best starter with an ERA of 2.52 despite a modest K/9 rate of 4.32.
25. Philadelphia Phillies: 2.21 (29)
The Phillies' pitching staff has a 3.60 ERA over their past six games.
26. Cleveland Indians: 2.14 (22)
Grady Sizemore is hitting .809 against righties and 1.358 against lefties.
27. Colorado Rockies: 2.08 (21)
Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez and Huston Street have struggled horribly, with an 8.35, 7.58 and 7.88 ERA respectively.
28. New York Yankees: 2.07 (26)
The Yankees have hit very well with an .833 OPS, but their pitchers have given up an .850 OPS, which has offset the bats.
29. Baltimore Orioles: 2.07 (23)
Like the Yankees, the Orioles haven't had any problems hitting and scoring runs, but have pitched horribly.
30. Minnesota Twins: 1.68 (27)
The Twins don't have a single batter with an OPS better than 1.000, but Jason Kubel is right on the cusp, sitting at .999.
RealGM MLB Team Rankings After Week 3