Play Now <br> <a href="https://picks.cbssports.com/college-basketball/ncaa-tournament/bracket" class="">Men's Brackets</a> <br> Play Now <br> <a href="https://picks.cbssports.com/college-basketball/ncaaw-tournament/bracket" class="">Women's Brackets</a> <br> <a href="/podcasts/the-early-edge-a-daily-sportsline-betting-podcast/" class="">A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast</a> <br> <a href="/podcasts/fantasy-football-today-podcast/" class="">NFL Draft is coming up!</a> <br>As we sit here in an interesting point in the season -- still a small sample, but not tiny enough to totally dismiss -- I think we could stand to take a quick trip back in the past. One year ago, to be specific. The same number of days into the 2023 season as we've banked so far puts us on April 23, 2023. <br>Here were some interesting records at this point last season along with where the team ended up once the 162-game slate was finished. <br>Examples like this along with many, many other reasons are why I can't help but chuckle when people bust me up on social media for not believing in certain teams simply because they are off to a great start. <br>The biggest complaints right now are coming from the shores of Lake Erie. The <a class="Annotation-link" href="https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/CLE/cleveland-guardians/">Cleveland Guardians</a> are 16-6 and that's the best record in the majors. And yet, I haven't been ranking them in the top three or even top five (until now). Why not? <br>Well, I just don't think they are that good and there are four teams I've very confident are better right now. <br>It know it sounds simplistic and surface-level, so I'll go a bit deeper. <br>First off, they are 6-1 against the A's. I know the A's aren't as atrocious as last year, but they aren't a good baseball team, either. The Guardians are also 2-1 against the hapless <a class="Annotation-link" href="https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/CHW/chicago-white-sox/">White Sox</a>, meaning half of their wins are against two of the worst teams in baseball. They have some impressive series wins, such as in Seattle (well, maybe not too impressive with the way the <a class="Annotation-link" href="https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/SEA/seattle-mariners/">Mariners</a> have been playing), in Minnesota (well, maybe not too impressive with the way the <a class="Annotation-link" href="https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/MIN/minnesota-twins/">Twins</a> are playing) and in Boston. <br>In terms of personnel, I don't see much reason to change my tune. The rotation isn't going to hold up much longer. <a class="Annotation-link" href="/mlb/players/2507333/shane-bieber/">Shane Bieber</a> is hurt, <a class="Annotation-link" href="/mlb/players/2431359/triston-mckenzie/">Triston McKenzie</a> has more walks than strikeouts and his velocity is down. <a class="Annotation-link" href="/mlb/players/1231629/carlos-carrasco/">Carlos Carrasco</a> is 37. <a class="Annotation-link" href="/mlb/players/28926327/tanner-bibee/">Tanner Bibee</a> hasn't been overly good and <a class="Annotation-link" href="/mlb/players/2211756/logan-allen/">Logan Allen</a> isn't good. Offensively, yeah, José Ramírez is better than he's been playing and he'll get hot soon enough, but <a class="Annotation-link" href="/mlb/players/2184448/josh-naylor/">Josh Naylor</a> and <a class="Annotation-link" href="/mlb/players/2932861/steven-kwan/">Steven Kwan</a> are due to regress, and I still find the group as a whole uninspiring. <br>So, sure, I'll reward the Guardians by moving them up based on body of work, but I'm not buying them long-term this season. If you look up to the 2023 records I posted above, the Guardians are my vote to be this year's Pirates. And while it seems like we've been watching a lot of baseball, the Guardians have still only played 13.5% of their season (roughly the equivalent of being early in the second quarter in the third game of an NFL season). <br>I do have some advice for Guardians fans who might be strenuously objecting right now: Ignore people like me and enjoy your team. I could totally be wrong about them, anyway. It wouldn't be the first time and it won't be the last. <br>© 2004-2024 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved.<br>CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.<br>Images by Getty Images and US Presswire<br><br><a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMihAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jYnNzcG9ydHMuY29tL21sYi9uZXdzL21sYi1wb3dlci1yYW5raW5ncy1icmF2ZXMtYmFjay1hdC1uby0xLWFzLW9yaW9sZXMtcGhpbGxpZXMtc3VyZ2UtcGx1cy1hcmUtdGhlLWd1YXJkaWFucy1mb3ItcmVhbC_SAQA?oc=5">source</a>
