If you read any of the Big Three mainstream media sports websites, you’re probably familiar with the so-called Power Rankings, in which each team in baseball is put through some extremely non-scientific analysis and ranked relative to one another. And if you read this site, you probably know I’m as big a supporter (and perpetrator) of pretty much any nonsensical assessment of the state of baseball.

BUT. . .

A week into the season, shouldn’t things like potential and possibility go by the wayside? As an example, Fox Sports currently ranks the winless Tigers as the sixth-best team in baseball. The Royals and White Sox, who each swept said alleged sixth-best team, sit at 15 and 23 respectively. Over at Sports Illustrated, the Tigers, Royals and Good Guys go 10th, 27th and 24th. All this while the Tigers rank last in pretty much everything and the Sox and Royals sit atop the AL Central.

Yes, the Tigers COULD score a ton of runs. And yes, they COULD win the division by a long shot. But trading possibility for reality, 5-2 is still superior to 0-6 and potential is worthless when you’re losing 13-2 to the so-called 15th best team in the game.