No. 1 Rays have reason to celebrate

Week: 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

ESPN.com

It's a special Fourth of July edition of the MLB Power Rankings. And what better way to honor America, the land of opportunity, than by crowning a perennial cellar-dweller as the new No. 1 team in the land.

So cue the fireworks for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Just over halfway through the season, the Rays have the best record in baseball after sweeping the Red Sox, who slip to No. 5. By the way, check out the American League dominance at the top, which is becoming more and more pronounced. The Twins have made their way into the top five, joining the AL Central rival White Sox, who rise to No. 2.

2008 Power Rankings: July 4
	RK	LW RANK	TEAM	REC	COMMENT
	1	3	Rays	52-32	Dan Wheeler (1.82 ERA) hasn't allowed a home run in his last 18 appearances, spanning 16 1/3 innings pitched.
	2	6	White Sox	49-36	Nick Swisher is starting to pick it up (1.217 OPS in the last week) after a terrible start to the season.
	3	2	Angels	51-34	Joe Saunders is the fastest Angels pitcher to 12 wins since Mark Langston and Chuck Finley in 1991.
	4	8	Twins	47-38	In winning 15 of their last 18, the Twins have averaged 2.9 two-out runs per game, the third-most in the majors.
	5	1	Red Sox	51-37	Jason Varitek batted a miserable .122 in June, collecting only nine hits in 74 at-bats in the month.
	6	11	Phillies	47-39	Jamie Moyer has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his past five starts, but has just one win in that time.
	7	5	Athletics	46-39	Justin Duchscherer, who leads the majors in ERA, has allowed no more than two runs in eight straight games.
	8	4	Cubs	51-35	Welcome back, Big Z: Since Carlos Zambrano's last outing June 18, the Cubs have gone 6-8.
	9	10	Cardinals	49-38	Rick Ankiel is eighth among NL outfielders with a .522 slugging percentage.
	10	7	Yankees	45-41	Joba Chamberlain has averaged just under five innings pitched in six starts since joining the Yankees' rotation.
	11	9	Brewers	46-39	Ryan Braun has gone homerless over his last 12 games and is hitting .234 (11-for-47) during that span.
	12	15	Rangers	44-42	Chris Davis has fit right in with the offensive-minded Rangers, with three homers in his first seven games.
	13	18	Blue Jays	41-45	After hitting a career high 24 homers last season, Alex Rios has only one HR in his last 234 at-bats this year.
	14	16	Tigers	43-42	The Tigers are the fourth team in major league history to go above .500 after starting the season 0-7.
	15	21	Dodgers	41-44	Jeff Kent has 29 career RBIs in extra innings, the most among active players.
	16	12	Orioles	43-41	Daniel Cabrera has more complete games this season (two in 18 starts) than he did all of last year (one in 34 starts).
	17	13	Mets	42-43	Mike Pelfrey is unbeaten in his past seven starts, and during that span he has a 3.02 ERA.
	18	17	Marlins	44-41	The Marlins are one of only two National League teams that are above .500 but have a negative run differential.
	19	20	Diamondbacks	43-43	Only Lance Berkman and Albert Pujols have a better OPS than Conor Jackson among NL first basemen (.884).
	20	24	Giants	38-48	Tim Lincecum is the first Giants pitcher since Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry in 1966 to win 10 of his first 11 decisions.
	21	14	Braves	40-46	On the way to Double-A: Jeff Francoeur has driven in only eight runs since June 1, a span of 30 games and 114 at-bats.
	22	19	Royals	39-47	Mark Grudzielanek has 31 four-hit games in his career, putting him sixth among active players.
	23	23	Astros	40-46	Jose Valverde has successfully converted his last six save opportunities despite a 5.68 ERA and three home runs allowed.
	24	25	Pirates	40-44	He's only played 47 games, but there hasn't been a better hitting catcher than Ryan Doumit (.989 OPS, .341 BA).
	25	27	Reds	40-47	Before hitting two home runs Wednesday, Jay Bruce hadn't hit one since June 13, a span of 16 games.
	26	28	Mariners	33-52	Ichiro must be gearing up for the All-Star Game; he's hitting .516 over his last seven games.
	27	22	Indians	37-48	Grady Sizemore is certainly playing like an All-Star, with an AL-best 21 homers and 20 steals out of the leadoff spot.
	28	29	Nationals	34-53	Tim Redding has gotten a no-decision in each of his past eight starts, but he still leads the Nats with six wins.
	29	26	Rockies	35-51	It's time to recognize the great pitching of Taylor Buchholz, who's fashioned a 1.77 ERA out of the Rockies' bullpen.
	30	30	Padres	33-53	In losing 14 of their last 16 games, the Padres have averaged 3.25 runs per game, and that includes the 15 runs they scored Monday.