Baseball: Week One

No doubt, the death of Nick Adenhart was the biggest news of the first week of baseball.

One might consider the emotional debris of that tragedy will resonate with the Angels all season but yesterday's brawl against the Red Sox was probably more a result of Josh Beckett's inexcusable and confounding attempt to hit Bobby Abreu in the head than any emotional baggage.

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After a full week, the Braves and Marlins are the surprise co-leaders of the NL East with 5-1 records and indeed, the best records in all of baseball at this point but this is merely a mirage which will quickly fade as they face each other next for top billing. Meanwhile the Mets and Phillies, the logical favourites, will face dogs in the Padres and Nats respectively, so expect the NL East race to tighten immediately.

In the American League, Seattle, Toronto and Baltimore are the surprise leaders. Again, consider this a temporary mirage. The Jays travel to Minnesota, Seattle face the Angels and the Orioles begin a series at Texas.

POWER RANKINGS WEEK ONE

1. Chicago Cubs (4-2 on the road to start)
2. Phillies (two pretty impressive comeback victories this week)
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Seattle Mariners
5. Toronto Blue Jays

This is bound to change once the heavyweights take over but early days, Seattle might surprise.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit .520-3-10
Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay .481-5-10

Jay Johnson, Florida, 2-0 0.57 15 strikeouts
Chris Young, San Diego, 2-0 1.38 12 strikeouts