Power Rankings: Chicago a winning kind of town early on

Updated April 22

It is known as the Second City. In baseball terms, save for the White Sox's surprising 2005 title year, you could have considered swapping the C for a "sh" sound.

But Chicago baseball is second fiddle to none right now as the Cubs and White Sox occupy first place through three weeks.

The ChiSox are taking advantage of a weak division. (Getty Images)

Windy City World Series prediction anyone?

"That's tough to do," White Sox lefty Mark Buehrle told MLB.com. "It's two weeks in, and we are both playing good. It's a long season, and you go through slumps and high points. The key thing is to keep it all even."

No, it is not the time to jump on the Chicago bandwagon, but we have moved the sure-fire contender on the North Side up to No. 3 and the upstart South Siders to No. 11 in our latest Power Rankings. We obviously think the Cubs have a better chance of staying in first place over the long haul.

The Cubs entered the week leading the NL in on-base percentage (.366) and batting average (.282). They were second in walks and runs scored. Most important, they have better veteran starting pitching.

But the White Sox have been able to take advantage of the slow-starting Tigers and Indians in the AL Central. Clearly, the White Sox have the best closer among the trio and a rebuilt middle relief corps. The Pale Hose's bullpen is fourth in the AL with a 3.08 ERA entering Tuesday's games. And the starting pitching might be capable of catching up to its already championship-caliber offense.

Gavin Floyd and John Danks have emerged. Entering this week's series with the Yankees, they are a combined 4-1 with a 2.30 ERA.

"Going into the year, we understood why we were the question marks," Danks told the Sports Xchange. "We knew we were capable of getting outs and pitching the way we've been pitching so far, and that's fun to watch. It's nice to see Gavin go out and pitch like he has, and I'm very satisfied with how I'm doing. We still know we have to push ourselves, but I feel like we're on the right track."

Being on the right track three weeks into the season is a far cry from being their through the summer months, but at least baseball in Chicago is more noteworthy than the spring weather this season.

The complete Power Rankings:

RANK	TEAM		MOVE (LW)