By Douglas Benton Major League Baseball is quickly separating into the top eight teams and the rest of baseball as the top eight teams remained in the top eight this week. Read on to see about Boston?s early dominance and the struggles of two of baseball?s greatest franchises. 1. (1) Boston Red Sox (30-13): Third baseman Mike Lowell is having a rebirth this season with a .333 average, eight home runs and 35 RBI. 2. (2) Detroit Tigers (27-16): Outfielder Gary Sheffield is starting to come on for Detroit with a .290 average, six home runs and 13 RBI. 3. (4) New York Mets (28-15): They have won nine out of 12 and have opened up a 2.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves with a big series against the Braves this week. 4. (8) Los Angeles Angels (27-18): Closer Francisco Rodriguez is nasty on the mound and has 13 saves and is averaging 12.81 strikeouts per nine innings. 5. (7) Cleveland Indians (26-15): Starter Fausto Carmona has been a great surprise for the Indians with a 5-1 record and giving the Indians the desired problem of having too many good starters. 6. (3) Atlanta Braves (26-18): They just finished a 4-6 road trip that was capped off by a 0-5 with five strikeouts day by outfielder Andruw Jones. 7. (5) Milwaukee Brewers (27-17): They struggled with a harder schedule, but closer Francisco Cordero has 17 saves and is averaging over 13 strikeouts per nine innings. 8. (6) Los Angeles Dodgers (25-19): They were swept by their cross-town rival, the Los Angeles Angels, but they are still in control of the NL West. 9. (9) San Diego Padres (24-20): They have won five out of seven games and just keep on winning without great bats anywhere in the line-up. 10. (16) Arizona Diamondbacks (24-21): Starter Randy Johnson has looked much better in his last two starts as the Diamondbacks need him to be a consistent force at the top of the rotation. 11. (15) Chicago Cubs (20-22): Problems at the back end of the bullpen should be cause for concern in Chicago as they will be playing in many tight games this year. Can anybody say Chad Cordero? 12. (13) Chicago White Sox (21-19): General Manager Kenny Williams went off on his team and they produced a victory on Sunday. Maybe they were motivated or maybe it was just the law of averages. 13. (14) Houston Astros (21-22): Outfielder Hunter Pence has come up and swung a very hot bat early with a .364 batting average. Could he be the man to solidify Houston?s line-up? 14. (11) Oakland A?s (22-21): Oakland is getting killed by injuries, but if they keep getting production from Jack Cust and Travis Buck, they can stay in this race. 15. (19) Philadelphia Phillies (22-22): Closer Brett Myers is starting to get comfortable with his new role as the Phillies start to climb their way out of another early season slump. 16. (10) San Francisco Giants (21-22): Starter Barry Zito had a terrible homecoming on Friday as the Giants are settling into being a very hot and cold team in 2007. 17. (12) Minnesota Twins (20-23): Starter Johan Santana is just 4-4 with a 3.26 ERA this season. Is his dominance over? Don?t count on it American League foes. 18. (27) Toronto Blue Jays (19-24): Even with a 4-3 record and a 3.99 ERA, starter A.J. Burnett is finally staying healthy and delivering on some of his potential. 19. (18) New York Yankees (19-23): Outfielder Bobby Abreu is batting just .243 this season as he looks more like the Philadelphia version in the early going. 20. (24) Florida Marlins (21-23): They have won five out of six games as they try to find their identity and stride under new manager Fredi Gonzalez. 21. (20) Baltimore Orioles (20-24): Shortstop Miguel Tejada has a terrible .374 slugging percentage and just 18 RBI this season. He could be on the downside of his career. 22. (17) Seattle Mariners (19-20): The Mariners put a lot of money into the rotation this winter and the new additions of Miguel Batista, Horacio Ramirez and Jeff Weaver have struggled this season. 23. (22) Pittsburgh Pirates (19-24): First baseman Adam LaRoche is under the Mendoza Line at .199 and isn?t showing any signs of finding his Atlanta form. 24. (27) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (18-25): Second baseman B.J. Upton is batting over .300, but has 54 strikeouts, showing he still needs work to become a complete hitter. 25. (25) Colorado Rockies (18-26): The Colorado Rockies four main starters have been durable this season, but none of them have an ERA under 4.00, hence the last place spot in the NL West. 26. (29) Washington Nationals (16-28): They have won seven out of ten games as the younger players are starting to find out how to win at this level. 27. (30) Kansas City Royals (17-28): They went 6-4 on a recently completed road trip, which included taking three of four at Oakland. 28. (21) Texas Rangers (17-27): With Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka create a great backend of the Rangers if they can get a lead late in the game. 29. (23) St. Louis Cardinals (16-25): At 143 runs, the Cardinals 29th in baseball in runs scored. They are only ahead of the Washington Nationals at 142 runs. 30. (28) Cincinnati Reds (17-27): They have lost 14 of 18 games and have plummeted in the team rankings after a hot start in April. Douglas Benton can be reached at Douglas.Benton@RealGM.com