Brian Bannister might be riding high, but the Royals are not any more.

American League East

Baltimore Orioles

Starting pitcher Daniel Cabrera has turned in four consecutive quality starts, collecting wins in two of them. Those four outings have covered a total of 27 innings, and he has allowed only seven earned runs. On a further encouraging note, he did not walk a batter in his April 23^rd start, the first time in 30 turns he has not issued a free pass. That said, Cabrera is still the model for enormous talent and inconsistency.

Boston Red Sox

Though he took the loss as the Sox were swept in Tampa, starting pitcher Josh Beckett appears to be back to his old self. He struck out 13 batters and allowed just four hits and one earned run over seven innings on Sunday. Though it was a tough loss it seems as though Beckett may have found that groove that he was in for so much of last season. In his three other starts this season he struck out a total of 16 batters. He will get a chance to extract some quick revenge, however, since his next start is likely against the Devil Rays at the end of the week.

New York Yankees

The proposed moving of stud middle reliever Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation may be put on hold even longer until the rest of the bullpen settles itself. Brian Bruney, the reliever who was likely to take over for Chamberlain in the eighth inning role, will be out for the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury (torn ligament) in his right foot. Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins will not have to solidify their roles before Chamberlain makes his way to the rotation.

Tampa Bay Rays

Pitcher James Shields out-dueled Red Sox ace Josh Beckett on Sunday when he tossed his first career shutout. The gem he tossed also completed the three-game sweep for the Rays and vaulted them into first place in the division. Shields only allowed two hits and one walk, and only one runner was allowed to reach second base (Manny Ramirez on a stolen base). He disposed of the potent Boston lineup in just 98 pitches while striking out seven batters as he lowered his earned run average to 2.54.

Toronto Blue Jays

Third baseman Scott Rolen returned from a broken finger this week, and he provided the punch the lineup needed with the departure of designated hitter Frank Thomas. He has collected four hits in 11 at-bats this season, knocking in four runs and swiping a base in the process. He batted No. 3 in the order in his last game after batting lower in the order the first two. Keep an eye on this situation because if he continues to bat near the top of the order he will have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.

American League Central

Chicago White Sox

The Sox are leading the division by three games, and much of the credit for that can be given to the starting pitchers. They have used the same five pitchers for the entire first month of the season, and only staff No. 1 Mark Buehrle has an earned run average over 3.98. Young pitchers John Danks (.196 batting average against) and Gavin Floyd (.163) are the glue that holds this staff together. If they put up numbers like this for an extended period of time there is no reason to think this team will not be a competitor in the division for the long haul.

Cleveland Indians

Yankee pitcher Chien-Ming Wang may be the only pitcher with a 5-0 record in the American League, but Indian pitcher Cliff Lee has been the best pitcher in in the junior circuit so far this year. He is 4-0 in four starts and has allowed just one earned run in 31.2 innings. That calculates to a 0.28 earned run average, easily the best in baseball. This is no fluke – his base runners per inning (0.41) and opponent batting average (.109) also lead the entire major leagues. We may have a Comeback Player of the Year on our hands here.

Detroit Tigers

The middle third of the Detroit batting order is starting to heat up. Over the last week Magglio Ordonez (three home runs, 10 runs batted in, and a .429 batting average), Miguel Cabrera (two home runs, six runs batted in, and a .286 batting average), Carlos Guillen (five runs batted in and a .333 batting average), and Edgar Renteria (.409 batting average) are powering a team that is not fourth in the league in runs scored despite being shut out four times earlier in the month. Expect the runs to keep coming.

Kansas City Royals

The hot start of the Royals was just that – a hot start. After the 9-6 start, they have lost eight of their last 10 games and have slipped down to within one-half game of last place in the division. They are last in the league in runs scored, averaging just 3.28 runs scored per game. There have been only three games this year in which they have scored more than five runs. The offense has clearly struggled all season, and there does not appear to be an end to the slump. They will need pitchers Zack Greinke, Brian Bannister, and Luke Hochevar to continue to pitch extremely well.

Minnesota Twins

Starting pitcher Francisco Liriano was sent back down to the minors on Friday after he was beat around in his last start. Putting it lightly, he was lit up. He allowed six earned runs and eight base runners and never even made it out of the first inning; he only recorded two outs against the Oakland Athletics. It is obviously a long road back, both in health and confidence, for Liriano. Though he was only given three starts with the big league club, the Twins will not give up on him. Patience is the name of the game from here on out.

American League West

Los Angeles Angels

Staff No. 1 John Lackey said everything went well and feels fine after his first rehabilitation start on the 25^th. He threw 40 pitches in two innings for Class A Rancho Cucamonga. The original prognosis on March 21 for his strained right triceps was that he would be out four-to-six weeks; it is looking like the six-week plan seems about right. The most difficult pitch to throw during rehabilitation was his changeup, but he said he experienced no pain in throwing it the other day. He is to have another short outing on Wednesday.

Oakland Athletics

Opening day leadoff hitter Travis Buck needed a rest. As it turns out, shin splints landed him on the 15-Day Disabled List. He is nearing a rehabilitation assignment and is eligible to play in a big league game in five days. He batted just .154 with zero home runs and just six runs batted in over 65 at-bats, so his playing time will likely be cut back when he returns, especially with the recent signing of designated hitter Frank Thomas.

Seattle Mariners

Center fielder Ichiro Suzuki is not hitting yet this year. Though he is among the league leaders with 19 runs scored, he is batting just .257 with two home runs and eight runs batted in. He only has six multi-hit games in 26 contests, and in just two of those does he have three hits. He is clearly in a month-long slump, and it is terrible timing for a team waffling about five games out of first place. The Mariners have a six-game road trip this week in which they travel to play the Indians and the Yankees. This may not be the time for Suzuki to snap out of it.

Texas Rangers

A team that did not have a complete game all of last season now has two so far this season. Kevin Millwood turned one in the first week of the season, and Vicente Padilla threw a shutout against the Twins on the 27^th. It was his first shutout since he pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2003. Now that fellow starting pitcher Kason Gabbard has landed on the Disabled List with lower back spasms it will be up to Millwood and Padilla to try to keep the pitching staff afloat. Do not hold your breath.