Power Rankings: Deep relief stokes surprise leaders

We are officially a month into the season and the likes of the Rays, O's, A's, White Sox and Marlins are in first place. Don't these guys know they are supposed to be in rebuilding years?

Dan Haren's Diamondbacks have the makings of a true contender. (Getty Images)

If you -- like us -- are still asking how this can possibly be, look no farther than the success of their bullpens.

The Rays have the best bullpen ERA in baseball at 2.26. The Marlins are third-best at 2.81, while the A's are fourth at 2.82. The O's are tied for a baseball-high seven relief victories with their No. 8 overall bullpen (3.39) and the White Sox are No. 10 in bullpen ERA at 3.60.

Pitching does win championships, but don't count on the Rays, O's, A's, White Sox or Marlins being there in the end.

Starting pitching tends to be twice as important to winning, especially when you consider a starter should be counted on for the first six innings, while the bullpen finishes up the final three on most good nights. Twice as important, a 2-to-1 ratio seems about right.

The steady No. 1 team in our power rankings, Arizona, rounds out the top five bullpens at 2.60 and boasts the best starting ERA in the league at 3.08. Now, that is a true contender.

Granted, the A's do have the second-best starting ERA in baseball to the D-Backs at 3.30, and that is mostly with two of their top starters spending most of the month on the DL -- Rich Harden (shoulder) and Justin Duchscherer (biceps). And the White Sox are also No. 10 in starting pitching ERA (3.85) thanks mostly to the recent emergence of Gavin Floyd and John Danks.

We give the A's and White Sox at least a fighting chance. They occupy first place in their divisions with quality pitching to date and slot No. 10 and 11 spots in our latest rankings.

The starting-pitching-poor Rays, Marlins and O's are Nos. 13, 14 and 18. Little respect there.

The Marlins are a particular case of a team outperforming its suspect starting rotation. Sure, Scott Olsen (3-0, 2.06) is a nice third-year starting pitcher breakout, and Mark Hendrickson (4-1, 3.68) is enjoying a renaissance. But you cannot trust young Andrew Miller (1-2, 7.94), Ricky Nolasco (1-2, 5.13) and Burke Badenhop (0-2, 8.36) to be much more than their erratic selves.

The O's just had Adam Loewen (0-1, 7.85) go on the DL and are relying on the likes of Steve Trachsel (1-3, 6.08) on the back end. Brian Burres (3-1, 2.49) has been a pleasant surprise after Jeremy Guthrie (0-3, 4.34) was unearthed last year, but Daniel Cabrera (2-0, 4.14) has epitomized disappointment thus far in his career.

The Rays do have Scott Kazmir coming off the DL to add to a rotation of James Shields (3-1, 2.54), Matt Garza (0-0, 7.62), Andy Sonnanstine (3-1, 5.28), Edwin Jackson (2-2, 3.86) and Jason Hammel (2-1, 4.32). But, honestly, folks, do you really see them challenging the Red Sox in earnest before 2009?

Nope. Not even in this upside-down start to the season.

Heck, even the Lovable Losers are in first place.

But, no the times aren't a'changin'. Reality just hasn't set in yet.

The complete Power Rankings:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Red Sox · Trends	1
	Clay Buchholz's hot-and-cold nature is something they can put up with. Young pitching is erratic -- even Jonathan Papelbon proved human over the weekend -- but it can be oh-so good from time to time. No-no good, in fact. Buchholz will be fine, as will the recently vulnerable Red Sox.
	2	Cubs · Trends	6
	They have busted out of their mini-slump and steamrolled our former No. 1 D-Backs in a weekend sweep. This club is strong and deep.
	3	Angels · Trends	3
	They have hung in without their two best veteran arms and with Vladimir Guerrero off to a pedestrian start. Vlad showed signs Monday night and John Lackey (triceps) returns Wednesday. Even better times are ahead.
	4	Diamondbacks · Trends	2
	We said we would get a better idea of where they stand during their non-division stretch. It hasn't been all that impressive -- just 3-7 against expected contenders Mets, Phillies and Cubs.
	5	Phillies · Trends	5
	They have played a division-low nine games against the NL East, so their future will be determined when they get into the thick of their division schedule. That will happen more in the coming weeks, starting with the Braves this week.
	6	Cardinals · Trends	4
	A great start has cooled some, but think of where they would be if Jason Isringhausen hadn't blown a league-high five save opportunities (tied with Eric Gagne). Ryan Franklin looks like a serviceable fill-in closer right now.
	7	Mets · Trends	7
	They have yet to win back-to-back games in May. This team just looks like a .500 club right now, as it has since June 1 of last year. Very disappointing if you are a Mets fan.
	8	Braves · Trends	9
	It is remarkable how well they have held together amid injury and a suspect bullpen. It will be an interesting litmus test to see if they can take a series in Philadelphia with the bottom three of their rotation going against a pair of Philly aces. The Braves are the best home team in baseball (14-4) and the worst on the road (5-14).
	9	Athletics · Trends	11
	They have cracked the top 10 thanks to a surprisingly impressive pitching staff -- league-low 3.29 ERA. It gives them a chance to sustain, but they really lack punch. They have scored the eighth-most runs in baseball through Monday with the sixth-worst slugging percentage. That won't last.
	10	Rays · Trends	14
	This is a talented, young team -- especially in the rotation and defense up the middle. We might be ready to predict this will be their first .500 season in franchise history. They have only reached 70 wins once (2004).
	11	Twins · Trends	15
	Like the A's and Rays, another surprising team built on pitching and defense. Unlike their counterparts, they have MVP-caliber bats in Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. The AL Central doesn't want to let this team hang around while Francisco Liriano regains his command in Triple-A.
	12	Astros · Trends	17
	We love their offensive potential, but their suspect starting pitching is backed by a bullpen that is tied for the league lead with 11 victories. We are not sure their suddenly solid pitching can last, but we're still sure that offense can help them rip off some winning streaks like they have. They are 16-5 since being a season-low six games under .500 (6-12) on April 19.
	13	Marlins · Trends	16
	We keep harping on the lack of consistency with their starting pitching, but the fact remains they have lost just three series all season. That is either a sign their pitching isn't as bad as the numbers suggest, or they have just been on a six-week offensive tear. They have the best slugging percentage in baseball at .459.
	14	Indians · Trends	18
	We always have to give the benefit of the doubt to teams with starting pitching. The Indians, while struggling offensively, have the best rotation ERA in baseball at 3.16. Cliff Lee has been the comeback player of the year and added even more depth to an already deep staff. If they only had a trustworthy bullpen and Travis Hafner wasn't so very average at best.
	15	Yankees · Trends	10
	Injuries and disappointing young pitching have plagued them, but we have learned in recent years a suspect first half usually leads to a second half of payback. They will be right where they need to be in the end.
	16	Dodgers · Trends	8
	OK, so we got a little too giddy over their hot streak and they came crashing back to mediocrity. Remember, though, their skid coincides with Rafael Furcal's back injury. L.A. will be a top-10 candidate once he gets healthy again.
	17	Brewers · Trends	12
	They have finally made a move with the closer spot and Ryan Braun has gotten scorching hot. It took them a bit too long -- especially since the Cubs, Cardinals and Astros just look like better teams right now.
	18	Blue Jays · Trends	13
	The fourth-best rotation ERA in baseball hasn't gotten them far and the loss of Vernon Wells seriously damages their hope to change their fortunes. Regardless, they won't finish the year in the AL East cellar.
	19	White Sox · Trends	19
	We expected offense wouldn't be the problem and inconsistent starting pitching would be. It has been the exact opposite. Only the Indians (.237) have a worse team batting average in the AL than the White Sox (.243). That shouldn't last.
	20	Tigers · Trends	20
	Their rotation could get a much-needed boost this weekend with the return of Dontrelle Willis (knee), but they expect to replace their best starter to date (Armando Galarraga). The Tigers are dead last in baseball in overall ERA (5.09), mostly due to the worst rotation ERA (5.55). Who could have forecasted this?
	21	Rangers · Trends	27
	They have gotten surprising pitching from unlikely sources of late, so they deserve to move up right now. If not for a putrid relief ERA of 5.72, the worst in the league by almost a full run, their overall pitching numbers wouldn't be so bad. Baby steps.
	22	Orioles · Trends	22
	They have been a much better team at home (10-6) and 12 of their next 18 come at Camden Yards -- albeit against some good competition. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top in the Battle of the Beltway.
	23	Pirates · Trends	30
	We had them in the cellar but warned to stay patient with their young pitching. They turned it around quickly for us, er, themselves. They have won six of seven thanks to some solid starting pitching.
	24	Royals · Trends	24
	Some readers got bent out of shape when we mentioned "bust" in the same sentence with Alex Gordon and Billy Butler. We never actually called them busts, because they are indeed the best the Royals have. But, at some point, all that hype on the duo has to make the Royals offense a little more than average. It hasn't yet. They have, arguably, the worst offense in baseball.
	25	Mariners · Trends	21
	They sure don't belong here and we expect they won't finish this low, but we are becoming more convinced it was way too optimistic to expect them to truly compete this year.
	26	Reds · Trends	23
	They are worse under the new GM, so how long will it take to enact changes? Batting out of order Sunday was just embarrassing, even if it didn't hurt when David Ross wound up singling in his second-chance at-bat.
	27	Nationals · Trends	26
	As if they needed motivation to beat the Mets this week, New York journeyman Nelson Figueroa slung some mud: "They were cheering in the dugout like a bunch of softball girls. I am a professional; I take great offense to that. ... They won tonight, but in the long run, look who they are, a last-place team." Dem's fightin' words.
	28	Giants · Trends	25
	Don't look now, but Barry Zito returns from his demotion with a pair of decent starts. He is not as bad as he looked, but it won't change how much of a waste of money he was.
	29	Rockies · Trends	28
	Their offense will heat up with the temperatures in the mile-high air, but we don't see that helping the suspect pitching much. Boy did things look a lot better in that month from mid-September to mid-October.
	30	Padres · Trends	29
	They have starting pitching, so they aren't true cellar-dwellers over the long haul. It just has been a terrible year offensively and in the bullpen. It should come around, but not in time to contend this year. They are a league-worst 9½ games back, with little hope to improve that position.