Eric Karros and the Dodgers leave the Phillies feeling down after a weekend sweep. (AP)

Not that a GM's resignation under such humiliating circumstances can spark a club, but that low point took the pressure off the team on the field. Instead of a patchwork lineup or underachieving millionaires, Dodger haters ganged up on the temperamental 'Sheriff.'

Meanwhile, the Dodgers have gone 8-2 since Malone's resignation, including a five-game winning streak that ended the week. After almost half of the American League takes up the top six spots in this week's power rankings, the boys in blue have the top NL ranking.

"You have two choices when you have adversity," first-year manager Jim Tracy told the Los Angeles Times. "You can either be honest with yourself and say, 'I'm the one who's not getting the job done, it has nothing to do with what's going on upstairs.' Or, you can say, 'I'm looking for a crutch.'

"We're not doing that because we don't have any control over that. The only thing we have control over is catching a ball, throwing a ball, pitching a ball and hitting a ball. Let's just stick to that."

Davey Johnson's personality seemed to bring the front-office conflicts downstairs and leave the club in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. This year, Tracy is the calming buffer zone between the clutter going on upstairs and the buzz in the dugout. He has no superiors predicting a World Series, no sheriff talk and no nicknames.

This year, Los Angeles had no October expectations after Gary Sheffield's spring outburst and Adrian Beltre's medical nightmare. In fact, the Dodgers look downright odd leading the NL West, though not as strange as seeing the Cubs atop the Central or the Phillies heading up the East.

Sheffield hit a paltry 5-for-31 with two runs scored in his nine games following Malone's outburst. Without his offense, Los Angeles has won on the mound.

The Dodgers entered this week tied for the league lead with the Cubs in ERA (3.46) and strikeouts (215), though L.A. had 25 fewer walks. The .215 opponents batting average topped Atlanta's second-ranked mark by 25 points.

Kevin Brown, the ace whom Malone once proclaimed would return the club to the World Series, is threatening to bring a Cy Young award. He has surrendered three earned runs through his four starts this season, posting nearly a 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio despite chronic pain in his lower back.

Chan Ho Park snapped his struggles Sunday with 6 1/3 hitless innings. Luke Prokopec, replacing injured Andy Ashby in the rotation, has no walks against 17 strikeouts through three starts. Even Eric Gagne is justifying his place in the fifth spot with sporadic brilliance.

That's how the Dodgers are winning with a lineup that has included Chris Donnels, Hiram Bocachica, Jeff Reboulet and Angel Pena. Their weekend sweep of the Phillies knocked Philadelphia off of its league-best loft and improved on the Dodgers' best start since their last World Series year of 1988. Beltre is on track at his rehabilitation assignment in Vero Beach, Fla., and Andy Ashby shouldn't be far behind.

As hard as chairman Bob Daly tries to portray stability in management, including an open letter on the team's website, Tracy's results on the field are speaking louder.

The Dodgers and the rest of the National League still have a ways to go, though, to unclog the American League from the top six spots. Here are this week's rankings with last week's in parentheses:

1. Seattle Mariners (2): It took a sweep of the only team ranked above them and the most-ever victories in April to get the Mariners into the top spot. They're not the 1984 Tigers, barring a two-week winning streak, but a strong stretch against Boston and Toronto should leave the M's coasting into summer.

2. Cleveland Indians (4): If only the Twins and Indians could have faced each other in April. The weekend showed the Indians have a Cy Young candidate in Bartolo Colon and a true MVP candidate in Juan Gonzalez. The latter's performance in the field Saturday and at the plate Sunday was phenomenal.

3. Boston Red Sox (3): The Red Sox are forgiven for their weekend collapse against Kansas City, if for no other reason because of the baffling woes of Derek Lowe. Bonus for selling out Fenway Park for an entire series against the Royals.

4. Minnesota Twins (8): Twinkies did not receive their comeuppance against the Red Sox, instead rebounding back at home. Six games in 10 days against the Yankees should reveal their midseason fate.

5. New York Yankees (1): Yes, the Yankees were ranked above the M's on this very same page last week. No, they don't get the same benefit of the doubt this week heading into Minnesota. If you want to see them ranked lower, stare at the AL standings instead.

6. Toronto Blue Jays (7): Took over AL East lead Sunday in spite of a manager who inexplicably batted Jose Cruz Jr. in the leadoff spot and hit Shannon Stewart third. Forget a magic number countdown; try tracking Buck Martinez's lineup count.

7. Los Angeles Dodgers (10): Consider on-field credibility restored.

8. St. Louis Cardinals (9): Finished April fourth in the NL Central, but the last week and a half showed these birds are starting to take flight. They'll gain ground in a week when they start playing the rest of the NL Central outside of Houston. Watch for next weekend's rematch against Atlanta.

9. Chicago Cubs (15): Kerry Wood's return to high-strikeout form adds credibility to a rotation that had a 3-0 April record from Jason Bere. The Dodgers return to Wrigley next weekend.

10. San Francisco Giants (5): The Giants spent an extra week celebrating Barry Bonds' 500th home run and lost all momentum in the NL West. Their early May schedule, however, hints at a resurgence.

11. Houston Astros (6): Only a Dave Berg popout prevented a home sweep to the Marlins. Whether it's at Enron Field or Shea Stadium, Houston's pitching looks shaky after Wade Miller.

12. Philadelphia Phillies (12): A 3-4 trip to the West Coast isn't all that bad. But a shutout to Kevin Jarvis should have cost Larry Bowa some vocal cords.

13. Arizona Diamondbacks (16): A win over Tom Glavine on Saturday could've vaulted this team another couple spots. Yet even with 44 April homers, the snakes couldn't give the Big Unit enough runs. Points off for Airplane Hat Night on Saturday.

14. Cincinnati Reds (22): Their 10-5 road record is the second best in the majors, but they're under .500 at home as well as in their division. Offense fared quite well before Deion Sanders' arrival.

15. Atlanta Braves (13): Sure, they're under .500 after April for the first time in years. But they're also just a few games out of first place. They'll reclaim the lead once they get some offense out of someone not named Jones.

16. Milwaukee Brewers (23): Consider last weekend Geoff Jenkins' start to the season, but lost in that barrage were back-to-back solid outings from Ben Sheets and Jamey Wright. It's as if the kids returned from spring break.

17. Colorado Rockies (20): For $121 million, you'd think ... well, never mind Mike Hampton's pillow. The back end of the rotation gave up 28 runs in a three-game, mid-week skid.

18. Montreal Expos (17): Remember that opening weekend sweep of the Mets, when everything in Quebec seemed to be in harmony? That's the last series the Expos have won. Jamey Wright two-hit them Sunday, and one of the hits came from pitcher Javier Vazquez.

19. New York Mets (9): At some point, 9-15 becomes a bad 9-15 no matter what happened last October. They were outscored 51-21 last week and meet homer-happy Houston and Arizona this week.

20. Oakland A's (14): At some point, 8-17 becomes ... a very hazardous condition in the Oakland bleachers. Who's up for another Raiders minicamp?

21. Florida Marlins (22): Suddenly, the fish have the bats for the big inning, if not big funding for a new stadium. Send Charles Johnson to the Florida legislature.

22. Chicago White Sox (18): The Sox were swept three times in April. That's ugly no matter how many old-timer jerseys they trot out.

23. Texas Rangers (19): And stay there until your ERA comes back below 6.50.

24. San Diego Padres (24): Gave up just five runs in four games after dropping three straight against Philly. Too bad they were shut out three times in a 10-game stretch.

25. Kansas City Royals (28): They lead the league in victories from games made up due to postponements caused by falling debris from retractable domes.

26. Baltimore Orioles (26): They're batting .212 against everyone other than the Devil Rays. Cal's becoming a part-time player for that?

27. Anaheim Angels (29): A Juan Gonzalez homer prevented a sweep of the Indians in Cleveland, then they fell asleep in Toronto. A Mo Vaughn cardboard cutout might have helped against Steve Parris on Sunday.

28. Pittsburgh Pirates (27): They're the only NL Central team under .500 entering the week for a reason. Being outscored 14-2 by the Padres over two games sums it up.

29. Detroit Tigers (25): How bad will the Tigers look if one of their top officials leaves to take over the Devil Rays?

30. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (30): The only out the Rays could make effectively came in the front office.