Here’s the Power Rankings over at ESPN, where they have the Marlins, 11-1, rightfully in the No. 1 spot. They’re followed by the Dodgers, Cubs, Blue Jays and Cards. With four of the five in the NL, is the power shifting? Or does anyone really even give a damn about power rankings, anyway?

Over at Fox Sports, Florida is No. 1, followed by the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Padres and Cubs.

Not that any of their opinions really matter, but it’s always cool to read about how well your team is doing. And when your team is the Braves, it’s always depressing to watch them fall from No. 1 to No. 15 in less than a week. A .190 batting average over the course of five games willl do that to you.

[ESPN]
[Fox Sports]

Here’s the link to the Power Rankings on ESPN. And here’s the link to the rankings on Fox Sports. CBS Sportsline is yet to have theirs out, though I’ll keep a watchful eye and update the post when they’re delivered. A couple of notes:

• The top three in both are comprised of the Marlins, Braves, and Cardinals. ESPN likes the Braves more than the Marlins; Fox Sports is the other way around. Both think St. Louis is the third best team one week in.
• Fox Sports really likes the Mariners at No. 5; ESPN thinks they’re barely inside the top 10, putting them at No. 9.
• Both believe the Astros and Nationals are the two worst teams in baseball, with the Nationals taking the cake for being the lousiest. Fox Sports believes the Indians are the third worst team, while ESPN says they’re better than San Francisco and Milwaukee, who both have one more win.

[ESPN]
[Fox Sports]

In recent weeks, there have been a lot of people — journalists, bloggers, media types — that have said in all of this, Bud Selig should be held responsible. And you know what? They’ve got a point. But you know what? They can all go eff themselves.

“I don’t want to hear the commissioner turned a blind eye to this or he didn’t care about it,” Selig told Newsday in a Monday phone interview. “That annoys the you-know-what out of me. You bet I’m sensitive to the criticism.

“The reason I’m so frustrated is, if you look at our whole body of work, I think we’ve come farther than anyone ever dreamed possible,” he said, adding, “I honestly don’t know how anyone could have done more than we’ve already done.”

So don’t blame this on Bud. He’s done everything he could. And on the bright side, at least these Congressional hearings didn’t end in a tie.

Every year the Yankees overbid on a player they shouldn’t overbid on, and while CC Sabathia is probably the prize of this year’s free agent class, I’m not sure he’s worth $161 million, which is what the Yankees are reportedly signing him for.

How sure are the Yanks that CC will love New York forever? Well, not very. Not even at that price.

Sabathia, the top free agent on this winter’s market, will get a seven-year deal for approximately $160 million, a source familiar with the deal said this morning. That’s a year and $20 million more than the Yankees’ original offer, made last month, and far more than any other team was willing to pay.

If he’s great three years from now, count CC a free agent again. Even if he likes New York, which I can’t imagine he will — the pressure is just too much — chances are three years from now other pitchers will have greater deals, and he’ll want a piece of that action.

And if he isn’t good? Well, then the Yanks are locked into a contract with a 28 year-old power pitcher whose arm is bound to get tired eventually.

In a topic not related to the NFL — don’t look for many of them — the Brewers have decided to part ways with Skipper Ned Yost in the middle of a playoff chase.

It should be noted that the Brewers are currently tied for first place in the Wild Card with the Phillies, which makes the timing a bit strange. And if the Brewers tank even more, Yost will be remembered as the guy that had them in first place, and new interim coach Dale Sveum will be looked at as the guy that blew it.

New York Mets 7, Philadelphia Phillies 8: It’s very, very hard to get up 7-0 on your opponent and then lose, but the Mets found a way. It took 13 innings, but if there’s ever That Game in the middle of a season that separates whether a team makes the playoffs or not, this may very well be it. New York might have this loss lingering for a while.

Chicago Cubs 14, Pittsburgh Pirates 9: The Cubs can hit, they can pitch, and if they can get over this curse thing, they should be in the World Series.

LA Dodgers 1, Washington Nationals 2: The Dodgers better get it together fast. Thankfully for them Arizona lost, but they’re still three games back.

Florida Marlins 9, Atlanta Braves 10: The Marlins are starting to fade as was expected, but you’ve gotta give this club some credit for being in it this long.

Cincinnati Reds 2, Houston Astros 1: Bronson Arroyo is actually starting to look like a real pitcher again. He pitched a complete game in this one and got the win.

Milwaukee Brewers 12, St. Louis Cardinals 0: Milwaukee’s pulling away from St. Louis, and the Cardinals Wild Card chances are getting dimmer and dimmer.

Arizona Diamondbacks 2, San Diego Padres 9: It’s a tough loss for the D’Backs, but the Dodgers lost, too, so no ground was lost.

Colorado Rockies 7, San Francisco Giants 2: There will be no late season rally from Colorado this year.

Chicago White Sox 8, Baltimore Orioles 3: The race between the White Sox and Twins is starting to get interesting, but it may simmer down. I don’t know how many, but the Twins have got something like 20 of their next 25 games on the road.

Cleveland Indians 10, Detroit Tigers 4: I know it would’ve been a long shot, but had they kept Sabathia, and with their recent surge, would the Indians be in this thing?

Boston Red Sox 7, New York Yankees 3: If the Yanks don’t take the next two in this series, you can pretty much count them as dead this year.

Toronto Blue Jays 6, Tampa Bay Rays 2: It’s a set back, but they’ve got the best record in baseball, and it’s going ot be hard for the Sox to catch ‘em.

Texas Rangers 2, Kansas City Royals 1: I feel like every year we think the Rangers year may be next year, and then they put together similar success from the previous season. But seriously: Next year this team could be dangerous.

Oakland A’s 1, LA Angels 5: They don’t have the best record in baseball anymore, but it’s hard to stay motivated when you’re up by about 3,000 games out West.

Minnesota Twins 2, Seattle Mariners 3: Maybe the Mariners just have the Twins number. For whatever reason, Minnesota just can’t seem to beat Seattle.

New York Mets 2, Pittsburgh Pirates 5: For as well as the Mets are doing, they won’t do diddly in the postseason if that bullpen doesn’t get under control. Chalk up another loss for hte struggling ‘pen in this one.

SF Giants 5, Atlanta Braves 0: The Braves are rapidly approaching rock bottom. Remember when ESPN picked this team to be in the World Series at the beginning of the year? As a Braves fan, I said it was impossible then, and I’m proving that right, now.

Houston Astros 3, Milwaukee Brewers 9: I know it’s fun jacking up CC Sabathia’s stats, but in October when he has a tired arm, Ned Yost will probably wish he’d sat him down after the sixth when Milwaukee had a 7-2 lead. Just a thought.

Boston Red Sox 6, Baltimore Orioles 3: The Red Sox are 4 1/2 games back of the Rays, who can’t seem to lose no matter what injuries they face.

LA Angels 4, Tampa Bay Rays 6: Does Tampa Bay have the best pitching in baseball? They’re young, they can sling ‘em, and unlike most teams, they’re all healthy.

Detroit Tigers 8, Texas Rangers 7: Edgar Renteria, who hit over .330 last year, is hitting just .268 in the AL this year.

Oakland A’s 3, Minnesota Twins 2: The Twins rallied late, but couldn’t pull this one off.

Seattle Mariners 5, Chicago White Sox 13: Consider this: Carlos Quentin was traded from the D’Backs to the White Sox this off-season for a minor league prospect. Thirty-five home runs later, who do you think got the best of that deal?

St. Louis Cardinals 3, Cincinnati Reds 7: It’s always nice to see Cincinnati actually win a game. I know he’s on an awful team, but Edinson Volquez might well be your Cy Young. He’s the best pitcher, and he’s proving it by winning 15 games for one of the worst teams.

San Francisco Giants 3, Atlanta Braves 1: The Braves are reaching all time lows. They can’t hit, they can’t pitch, they can’t really do anything right now.

Chicago Cubs 9, Florida Marlins 2: The Marlins are sinking further and further back. They had a nice run, but it looks as if it’s ending.

Colorado Rockies 7, Washington Nationals 2: The Rockies have won four of their last five. Can they rattle off 22 straight and make the playoffs? They did last year.

New York Mets 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 0: It looked rash getting rid of Willie not even half way through the season. But whether it’s his management style or not, the move is paying off.

Arizona D’Backs 0, Houston Astros 3: Don’t look now, but here come the Astros.

Milwaukee Brewers 5, LA Dodgers 7: It took a walk off, but it put the Dodgers back in first place.

Philadelphia Phillies 2, San Diego Padres 1: The Phillies are still two back from the Mets.

LA Angels 3, Cleveland Indians 4: It’s rare, but the Angels actually lost a series, and to the Indians, no less.

Baltimore Orioles 16, Detroit Tigers 8: They were an early season favorite, but the Tigers just haven’t played well this season.

Kansas City Royals 6, New York Yankees 15: They’re only five back in the Wild Card, and this “The Yanks are dead” talk may have been a bit premature.

Toronto Blue Jays 15, Boston Red Sox 4: All that’s ever talked about is Manny-Manny-Manny, but Jason Bay, even going 0-3 in this one, is hitting .328 since coming over to Beantown.

Seattle Mariners 8, Minnesota Twins 11: This year Adrian Beltre makes $13.4 million. He’s been a rip off for a while, and though he’s still not worth $13M, he’s at least got 20 homers this year.

Chicago White Sox 13, Oakland A’s 1: Ouch.

Tampa Bay Rays 7, Texas Rangers 4: With Boston struggling, they’re starting to run off with the AL East. And given that their entire team is injured, it’s something to applaud.

Chicago Cubs 10, Atlanta Braves 2: It was the first of a double header, and things didn’t get better in the second game.

Cincinnati Reds 2, Pittsburgh Pirates 5: I’m too lazy to look it up, but have the Reds won a baseball game in the last month?

New York Mets 12, Washington Nationals 0: The Mets are tied with the Phillies for first place in the NL East.

St. Louis Cardinals 6, Florida Marlins 4: The Marlins are slipping away out East. The Cardinals are three back of Milwaukee in the Wild Card.

Cubs 8, Atlanta Braves 0: Say hello to a decent draft pick, Atlanta.

San Francisco Giants 2, Houston Astros 6: The Astros, who started the season hot and then sucked, are starting to get hot again. At 61-59, it’s a stretch, but it’s still possible.

Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Colorado Rockies 6: I think the D’Backs will be the most dangerous team in the playoffs, but they’ve got to get there first.

Milwaukee Brewers 7, San Diego Padres 1: Does anyone want to play Milwaukee right now? Sabathia improved to a perfect 7-0, and is now gunning for the Cy Young with only a half season under his belt in the NL.

Philadelphia Phillies 6, LA Dodgers 7: Say hello to a tight race in the NL West. Couple that with a very tight race in the NL East, and we’ve got some fun heading into clutch time.

NY Yankees 2, Minnesota Twins 4: The Twins took two of three from the Yanks, who look as if they’re done this year.

Texas Rangers 4, Boston Red Sox 8: No, 36 runs weren’t scored in this one.

Baltimore Orioles 6, Cleveland Indians 1: Whatever.

Toronto Blue Jays 4, Detroit Tigers 3: The door of opportunity is being shut on Detroit. My prediction for AL representative in the World Series isn’t even going to make the playoffs.

Kansas City Royals 0, Chicago White Sox 4: The ChiSox will be a very dangerous team in October.

Seattle Mariners 10, LA Angels 7: They’re about three and a half million games ahead of the second place Rangers out West, so this loss shouldn’t hurt too badly.

Tampa Bay Rays 3, Oakland A’s 2: With Crawford and Longoria out, the Rays need to continue winning these 3-2, 2-1 type of ball games.

Pittsburgh Pirates 7, New York Mets 5: The Mets bullpen blew a four run lead, and gave up three in the ninth to clinch the loss.

Washington Nationals 1, Milwaukee Brewers 7: Does anyone want to play the Brew Crew right now? Two weeks ago, it looked like this team was starting to fall apart. Now they’re white hot and hitting on all cylinders.

St. Louis Cardinals 4, Florida Marlins 2: No ground was lost in the East, given that Philly and New York both also lost.

San Francisco Giants 1, Houston Astos 3: Houston’s back to .500l, but don’t look for any type of playoff run.

Philadelphia Phillies 6, LA Dodgers 8: The Dodgers are closing in on the Diamondbacks, who just acquired Adam Dunn, a strikeout king but a guy who can launch the ball 500 feet.

Baltimore Orioles 8, Cleveland Indians 13: It’s a shame the Indians are just now starting to play ball, because had they made the playoffs with Sabathia and Lee, they would’ve been an awful hard team to beat.

Toronto Blue Jays 7, Detroit Tigers 2: After looking so solid two years ago, Justin Verlander is beginning to look the part of a one year wonder.

New York Yankees 0, Minnesota Twins 4: When the Twins play a good team, they win. When they play a bad one, they lose. I’m starting to feel the Yankees are somewhere in the middle of that.

Boston Red Sox 5, Chicago White Sox 1: Boston is trying to keep pace with the Rays, who don’t seem to be going away.