By Douglas Benton What a crazy first week of baseball we just wrapped up. Teams with great expectations skidded out of the gate, while new up and comers stole the show all over the country. In this week?s edition of the team rankings, we have a new top team and saw many other clubs take double digit drops of their own. Records are through Sunday, April 8th action: 1. (2) New York Mets (4-2): The Mets won their first four games by a margin of 31-3 before dropping their last two games to the Atlanta Braves. 2. (9) Los Angeles Angels (5-2): Conspiracy follows this team with the investigation of closer Francisco Rodriguez, but they just keep on winning. 3. (10) Atlanta Braves (5-1): A revamped bullpen was nails the first week as timely hitting propelled the Braves into the division lead. 4. (1) Boston Red Sox (3-3): An up and down first week for Boston, but Matsuzaka?s debut was their clear highlight of week one. 5. (15) Minnesota Twins (4-1): The Twins are rolling again by ace Johan Santana, who ended the week with a one-hit gem against the Chicago White Sox. 6. (4) Detroit Tigers (3-2): Two nail-biting wins against the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals gives Detroit confidence going forward. 7. (5) Cleveland Indians (2-1): Snow halted their week after three games, but early returns look promising for the Tribe. 8. (30) Cincinnati Reds (4-2): A team ERA of 3.00 through six games is a great sign for the poor pitching Reds. 9. (22) Seattle Mariners: Seattle also only played three games, but eight innings of three-hit, shutout ball by ace Felix Hernandez makes this a great week. 10. (23) Pittsburgh Pirates (4-2): Four wins and the return of reigning batting champ Freddy Sanchez to the line-up means a big rise for the Pirates. 11. (18) Arizona Diamondbacks (5-2): Second baseman Orlando Hernandez and outfielder Eric Byrnes are both hitting over .350 thus far. 12. (7) Chicago White Sox (2-3): Pitching problems have led to inconsistent start on south side. 13. (12) Oakland A?s (3-4): A .393 batting average and a slugging percentage over .600 makes Mike Pizza just another great signing by Beane. 14. (13) Toronto Blue Jays (3-2): A rocky start for Roy Halladay, giving up 13 hits in 13 innings, shouldn?t be cause for concern in Toronto. 15. (24) Florida Marlins (4-2): 11-22 start for third baseman Miguel Cabrera could be a sign he is starting to realizing his vast potential. 16. (14) Chicago Cubs (3-3): A .214 average and no attempted steals for outfielder Alfonso Soriano is not the start he or the Cubs wanted. 17. (17) Milwaukee Brewers (3-3): 16 combined innings and only two earned runs from Ben Sheets and Jeff Suppan against the Los Angeles Dodgers is the kind of pitching the Brewers will continue to need. 18. (11) Los Angeles Dodgers (4-2): One old-timer is hitting in Luis Gonzalez (.364) and one is not in Juan Pierre (.154). 19. (21) San Diego Padres (4-2): A 0.92 WHIP and a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings for starter Jake Peavy is music to San Diego?s ears. 20. (3) New York Yankees (2-3): Their starters have an ERA of over 9.00 and they had to use Andy Pettitte out of the bullpen on Sunday. 21. (29) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2-3): They had a tough schedule with the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, but were competitive in every game thus far. 22. (8) St. Louis Cardinals (2-4): They were blasted at home against the New York Mets, but Albert Pujols? first homer on Sunday is a good sign going forward. 23. (25) Colorado Rockies (3-3): Outfielder Matt Holliday (9-27) is quietly becoming a bona fide star out in Denver. 24. (28) Kansas City Royals (2-4): Starter Gil Meche stole the show on opening day, but shortstop Tony Pena Jr. was the biggest surprise of week one. 25. (19) Texas Rangers (2-4): The impact of designated hitter Sammy Sosa has been minimal, but still more than they expected when the signed him. 26. (26) Baltimore Orioles (2-4): Their pitching is a mess, which was shown on Saturday when closer Chris Ray gave up a walk-off grand slam to Alex Rodriguez. 27. (6) San Francisco Giants (1-5): Barry Bonds is looking strong, but an 0-2 start by Barry Zito should have some worried in San Francisco. 28. (16) Philadelphia Phillies (1-5): Their top two relievers, Tom Gordon and Ryan Madson, are a combined 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA. 29. (20) Houston Astros (1-5): They looked really bad with a team batting average of .224 and closer Brad Lidge has a 16.20 ERA. 30. (27) Washington Nationals (1-6): The Nationals have led for exactly one plate appearance. Enough said. Douglas Benton can be reached at [email protected]