MLB Baseball Handicapping

MLB Baseball Power Rankings Post Season

The New York Yankees remain atop the MLB Power Rankings this week, with the postseason beginning on Tuesday. New York will take on the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of their ALDS on Tuesday night, with 19-game winner Chien-Ming Wang facing off against the Tigers' Nate Robertson. Also getting underway that day are series between the Minnesota Twins and the Oakland Athletics, and the San Diego Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals. The first game of the other division series, the New York Mets vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, gets underway on Wednesday afternoon.

The first three spots of the Power Rankings are occupied by American League teams heading into the playoffs, with the Twins and the Athletics following on the heels of the Bronx Bombers. The first National League team on the list, the Mets, sits in spot No. 4 - the loss of Pedro Martinez for the season was a big blow to their championship hopes. The Tigers fall one spot to No. 5 this week after failing to win the AL Central, while the Padres, Dodgers, and Cardinals fill out the rest of the field. All four division series will be completed by next Monday at the very latest.

Here is the postseason edition of the MLB Power Rankings.

01 - New York Yankees (Last Week 01)
Qualified As: AL East Champion | 2006 Record: 97-65 | Last 10 Games: 5-5 | Current Streak: Lost 2 Randy Johnson might not be 100%, but a team with Alex Rodriguez batting sixth has to feel pretty good.

02 - Minnesota Twins (Last Week 05)
Qualified As: AL Central Champion | 2006 Record: 96-66 | Last 10 Games: 6-4 | Current Streak: Won 1 Grabbed the Central title and home-field advantage in the ALDS with their hot streak to end the season.

03 - Oakland Athletics (Last Week 03)
Qualified As: AL West Champion | 2006 Record: 93-69 | Last 10 Games: 4-6 | Current Streak: Won 1 Having Rich Harden back in the rotation helps their chances. Want to shake off their postseason demons.

04 - New York Mets (Last Week 02)
Qualified As: NL East Champion | 2006 Record: 97-65 | Last 10 Games: 5-5 | Current Streak: Won 4 Might still be the class of the National League, but they'd look a lot better with Pedro Martinez on the hill.

05 - Detroit Tigers (Last Week 04)
Qualified As: AL Wild Card Winner | 2006 Record: 95-67 | Last 10 Games: 4-6 | Current Streak: Lost 5 A quick playoff exit for the Tigers and their turnaround season will mean less. Need to outpitch New York.

06 - San Diego Padres (Last Week 06)
Qualified As: NL West Champion | 2006 Record: 88-74 | Last 10 Games: 8-2 | Current Streak: Won 2 Edged the Dodgers for the NL West division title, which gets them one extra home game in the NLDS.

07 - Los Angeles Dodgers (Last Week 08)
Qualified As: NL Wild Card Winner | 2006 Record: 88-74 | Last 10 Games: 9-1 | Current Streak: Won 7 Won't have to face Martinez in the NLDS, but they'll need solid efforts from Derek Lowe and Greg Maddux.

08 - St. Louis Cardinals (Last Week 07)
Qualified As: NL Central Champion | 2006 Record: 83-78 | Last 10 Games: 3-7 | Current Streak: Lost 1 Found a way to hold onto first place in the NL Central, and now have a clean slate to start the playoffs.

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