Spring break brings to mind images of sun, sand, flip-flops, cold drinks (but we keep those margaritas virgin here at the school house), swimming pools, waves, and .... me sitting at my computer with nothing to do.

Not so surprisingly, the company didn't pay for me to accompany Liberty or Stockdale's baseball team to San Diego or Centennial to Las Vegas for their spring-break trips, so I covered a game in the Don Ward Spring Classic here in Bakersfield on Tuesday and have gotten friendly with the old Mac ever since.

Don't get me wrong; I'm all for a breather every once in a while, but I'm still eager to get back out to the action. To that end, I'm going to set up the rest of the baseball and softball season with some Central Section rankings over the next few days.

We'll start with baseball. I haven't listed the "THIS WEEK" and "LAST WEEK" schedules for each team like I've done in other sports' rankings; I'll start that next week. This week's spring break schedule has too many unknown games and unfilled scores to bother, but league play picks up again after Easter.

1. Clovis-Buchanan (13-3-2, 4-1 TRAC, Division I) — Honestly, you could throw any of the top three TRAC teams with Stockdale in a hat (maybe Centennial too) and pick the section winner that way just as easily as if you tried to analyze the teams. They're that close.

2. Clovis (13-4, 3-2 TRAC, Division I) — The Cougars have gone 1-1 against both Buchanana and Clovis West, but their biggest wins might have come before the season officially started. They swept a doubleheader from Stockdale. Last year, the Mustangs swept — and got to spend May at home on their way to a championship.

3. Stockdale (13-4, 3-0 SWYL, Division I) — It's hard to imagine this team not being the favorite, having added some talented JV players and Ridgeview transfer Isaiah Turner to an already loaded team, but recall that the Mustangs won three very close games to win the title last year. They're not totally clear of the field.

4. Clovis West (15-2, 4-1 TRAC, Division I) — Something tells me the section might come down to an initial war — J.D. Salles and the Golden Eagles against K.C. Hobson and the Mustangs. But for now, CW lands here based on head-to-head losses against both Clovis and Buchanan.

5. Centennial (15-3, 3-1 SWYL, Division I) — A surprising loss to Ridgeview aside, the Golden Hawks are still doing what they do best: Mash the ball to the tune of 10 runs a game. Will that carry them to their second championship in three years? They'll need some pitching somewhere along the line.

6. Visalia-El Diamante (14-5, 3-0 WYL, Division II) — The Miners are doing the Central Section some good during spring break. They're the only team I know of from the Valley that has a winning record thus far at the San Diego Lions Club Tournament, having defeated Oceanside and San Diego-Scripps Ranch. Stockdale is 1-2 and Liberty is 0-3.

7. Liberty (12-8, 3-0 SEYL, Division I) — In three games against Bakersfield's other presumed powers, Stockdale and Centennial, Liberty has lost all three by a combined four runs. They'd love to climb that mountain later, but first comes an improved SEYL that has talented landmines Bakersfield and East frothing at the mouth to knock off the perennial champs.

8. Fresno-Central (12-5, 3-2 TRAC, Division I) — It's really nice to have a winning record in the section's toughest league, but the Grizzlies need to avoid too many beatings like the 22-2 one Buchanan put on 'em if they want to keep respect.

9. Fresno-Washington Union (21-1, 0-0 NSeL, Division IV) — Tough to know exactly how good the Panthers are, but they won 19 in a row to start the season, and that's enough to earn some love. Dinuba finally beat Washington, 5-3 at this week's Easter Classic in Fresno.

10. North (14-4, 2-1 SWYL, Division II) — There's a real chance for the improved Stars to contend in Division II, though a 10-1 loss to Centennial last week showed that they still might be a bit behind the leaders in their rugged league.

11. Hanford (11-5, 2-1 WYL, Division III) — Not sure how the demographics work in Hanford, but it sure as heck seems like the Bullpups are good in everything, and crosstown Hanford West — well not so much good at anything.

12. Fresno-Bullard (8-9, 4-1 CMAC, Division I) — Before you laugh at the record, consider that six of those nine losses came to teams  in the top six of these rankings. The Knights have hit their stride in the CMAC and own one-run wins against both Edison and Clovis North.

13. Fresno-Edison (10-9, 4-1 CMAC, Division II) — Another team with a bunch of losses to the top teams. Now comes a three-way dogfight for the CMAC title.

14. Clovis North (16-3, 3-2 CMAC, Division III) — If, like you might expect, it's Clovis North that joins the other Clovis Unified schools in the TRAC in 2010, then that league just got a whole lot better in baseball. Of course, you could say that if the section chooses Bullard to join the power league, too.

15. East (14-3, 3-0 SEYL, Division II) — I'm giving this spot as a nod to what the hard-hitting Blades have accomplished thus far — they've already passed up their win total from a year ago. Whether they can stay here remains to be seen — Liberty is up next week, followed by further tests down the road.

Waiting: Visalia-Redwood, Ridgeview, Porterville-Monache, Visalia-Golden West, Bakersfield Christian, Tulare Western, Visalia-Central Valley Christian, Kingsburg