The Yankees, who have been struggling as of late, have come back strong winning two games in a row including this afternoon's 15-6 slaughter over the Kansas City Royals.

After pitcher Mike Mussina surrendered three runs in the top of the first, the Yankees came back strong scoring six runs in the bottom of the first.

This inning was nothing less than a hitting clinic.  Alex Rodriguez started off the scoring with a three-run home run.  Then Xavier Nady and Jose Molina followed with solo shots of their own and recently recalled outfielder Brett Gardner drove in a run with a triple.

The game was then put out of perspective when Jason Giambi hit a Grand Slam in the bottom of the second, making the score 10-3.

The Yankees never looked back and went on to score five more runs on RBI singles by Rodriguez, an RBI double by Bobby Abreu, and a two-run home run by Cody Ransom.

Top to bottom, the entire Yankees lineup came through and had strong games.  Derek Jeter finished the game going 4-4 with three runs scored.  Jeter has been scorching hot as of late.  In his last four games, Jeter is 12-19 and is now batting .295 on the season.

Although all the players had great games, the player of the game goes to Rodriguez.  A-Rod went 3-3 with three runs scored, two walks, and five RBI.

Mussina, who went six innings, surrendered no walks, six hits, three earned runs, and struck out five, has improved his record to 16-7 and is getting closer to potentially having the first 20-win season of his great career.

Mark Hamilton: 1B, St. Louis Cardinals Farm System
MLB Comparison: Connor Jackson
MLB Ready: 70/100
Needs to Improve: Speed, increase SB


Upon request, the player that will be profiled is St. Louis Cardinals minor league first baseman Mark Hamilton.

Mark Hamilton, who is in this third season in the St. Louis Cardinals' farm system, is thriving quickly and becoming a top prospect.

One thing that stands out in particular is Hamilton's strong fielding.  He has a career .991 fielding percentage and has yet to commit more than 11 errors in an entire season.

In 2006, Hamilton's first season, he began with the State College Spikes of A- Class.  With State College, Hamilton drove in 24 runs, hit 8 homers, and had a batting average of .264 in 30 games.

Hamilton then moved up to A ball and finished the 2006 season the Swing of the Quad Cities, now the Quad Cities River Bandits.  With the Swing, he produced very similar numbers as he did in the first half of the season.  In 38 games, Hamilton had 8 home runs, 11 RBI, and a .254 batting average

His 2006 numbers totaled up to 11 home runs, 49 runs driven in, and had a respectable .258 batting average.

Hamilton then started the 2007 season with the Palm Beach Cardinals where his offensive numbers improved greatly.  In just 60 games, Hamilton had a .290 batting average, had 64 hits, 13 long balls, and 49 RBI.

After great production with Palm Beach, Hamilton was quickly moved up to the AA Springfield Cardinals.  Since joining Springfield in the middle of last season, Hamilton's numbers have dropped off a bit.  In 138 games with the team, Hamilton's batting average has dropped to .246.  This season alone he has only 59 hits, 8 home runs, and 29 RBI in 70 games.

Even though Hamilton is struggling, he is in fact a very talented ball player and there is no doubt that he will do well in the Majors.  The only problem is that he plays first base, the same position as Cardinals' slugger Albert Pujols.  Because the Cards won't be parting ways with Pujols anytime soon, Hamilton will either need to change positions or be traded if he expects to see much playing time once he is called up.

30. Washington Nationals (Last week #30, +0): The Nationals continue to stink up the joint.  They have lost four in a row and still hold the worst record in baseball.

29. Seattle Mariners (Last week #29, +0): With a .381 winning percentage, a three game losing streak, and trailing the Angels by 29.5 games, the Mariners are still stuck as one of the worst teams in the Majors.

28. San Diego Padres (Last week #28, +0): What I could write about the Padres would pretty much be on the same lines of what I wrote for the Nationals and the Mariners. The Padres are simply a bad team that isn't improving.

27. San Francisco Giants (Last week #27, +0): The Giants have a modest two game winning streak going and have won 6 of their last 10 games.  However, they are still 16 games under .500 and trail the Diamondbacks by 9 games.

26. Cincinnati Reds (Last week #24, -2): The Reds have lost six in a row, the longest losing streak in baseball and are 1-9 in the last 10 games.  They traded away Ken Griffey Jr. two weeks ago and dealt slugger Adam Dunn today, thus losing essentially all of their offensive production.

25. Cleveland Indians (Last week #26, +1): The Indians are playing well lately.  They have a three game winning streak and are now "only" 13 games back in the division.

24. Colorado Rockies (Last week #25, -1): After showing signs of possibly making another late playoff run, the Rockies have tapered off a bit and have dropped two in a row and six of their last 10.

23. Pittsburgh Pirates (Last week #23, +0): The Pirates are 10 games under .500 and aren't getting better.  They are 4-6 in their last 10 and have no chance of making the playoffs.

22. Oakland Athletics (Last week #19, -3): The A's are sinking in the Power Rankings and the standings very fast.  They have a two game losing streak and are 1-9 in their last 10 games.   

21. Kansas City Royals (Last week #21, +0): Over the last couple of weeks the Royals have played .500 baseball.  They are having one of their strongest seasons in the last few years, but that still isn't good enough as they play in one of the toughest divisions in the MLB.
 
20. Atlanta Braves (Last week #22, +2): The Braves are simply just a bad team.  They cannot hold onto winning streaks nor have they shown any improvement after the Mark Teixeira trade.

19. Baltimore Orioles (Last week #20, +1): The Orioles are playing better baseball as of late and are now 56-60 and trail the Blue Jays by just 2 games.

18. Toronto Blue Jays (Last week #16, -2): The Blue Jays have lost three in a row and are barely avoiding dropping to last place in the American League East. 

17. Detroit Tigers (Last week #17, +0): For about the fifth straight week, the Tigers cannot get away from the .500 mark.  At the end of each week they are either one game over or one game under .500.  Right now they are one game under.

16. Houston Astros (Last week #18, +2): The Astros are very hot right now.  They have won four in a row and eight of the last 10.    

15. Los Angeles Dodgers (Last week #15, +0):  The Dodgers have lost two in a row and still remain in second place in the NL West.

14. Arizona Diamondbacks (Last week #14, +0): The Diamondbacks are in first place by 1.5 games and with the acquisition of Adam Dunn, Arizona received a player they desperately needed, a left-handed power hitter.

13. New York Mets (Last week #12, -1): The Mets, who just a few weeks ago were really showing that they can be a playoff team, have fallen off track and are now 2.5 games back.

12. Texas Rangers (Last week #13, +1): Assuming the Angels don't suffer a collapse that would go into the record books, the Rangers will not be winning the AL West this season  

11. Florida Marlins (Last week #11, +0): The Marlins are still playing pretty well and are tied for second place in the NL East. 

10. New York Yankees (Last week #7, -3): The Yankees have lost three in a row, six of their last 10, and 10 of their last 15 and are yet again falling back in their playoff hunt.

9. St. Louis Cardinals (Last week  #10, +1): The Cardinals are sinking fast and are now seven games behind the Cubs and 3.5 behind the Brewers.

8. Philadelphia Phillies (Last week #9, +1): The Phillies have won two in a row, remain in first place in the division, and continue to play well on both the road and home.  When you add that all up, you have a playoff team.  

7. Minnesota Twins (Last week #5, -2): Although the Twins have lost their short run as division leaders, they remain hot and are just 1.5 games behind the Red Sox for the Wild Card.

6. Chicago White Sox (Last week #6, +0): The White Sox have retaken the lead in the Central and are looking strong as the season winds down.

5. Boston Red Sox (Last week #4, -1): The Red Sox have hit some minor bumps in the road lately but are just 4.5 games behind the Rays and have the lead in the Wild Card race.

4. Milwaukee Brewers (Last week #8, +4): The Brewers are the hottest team in baseball right now.  They have won six in a row and eight of their last 10.  They are running smoothly and have a 3.5 game lead ahead of the Cardinals in the Wild Card hunt. 

3. Chicago Cubs (Last week #3, +0): The Cubs have the third best record in baseball and are 7-3 in their last 10.  If they can keep up their great play they will be the NL Central champs and will be a scary presence in October.  

2. Tampa Bay Rays (Last week #2, +0): The Rays have won three straight games, eight of their last 10, and have a strong 4.5 game lead in their division.

1. Los Angeles Angels (Last week #1, +0): The Angels continue to plow over their opponents with ease.  They are 7-3 in their last 10, have won four in a row, and for the fourth straight week remain in the number one spot in the Power Rankings

A close friend of Manny Ramirez told the New York Post that the right-handed slugger really wants to play for the New York Yankees.

"He wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox," the friend to the Post.

Although Yankees General Manager has yet to speak about this situation, there is no doubt that at least some of the team's interest is sparked.

Ramirez, who up until he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers a couple of weeks ago, had been with the Boston Red Sox for the previous 8 season and had been a Yankee killer in each of those years.

It is, however, interestng to think whether or not the Yankees would be interested in signing Ramirez.  His lack of hustle is most definitely a turn-off but there is no getting around the fact that he is one of the best hitters in baseball.

The Yankees are also no stranger to acquiring former players of the Red Sox.  Babe Ruth, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, and most recently Johnny Damon just to name a few, all hopped onto the Boston to New York train.

Ramirez is a free agent after this season and he will definitely be wanting a hefty contract.  The Yankees are just one of few teams that can afford to pay what Ramirez is looking for and are one of even fewer teams who can afford to throw away that kind of cash if for some reason things don't work out.

Adam Dunn is parting ways with the Cincinnati Reds as the long-ball slugger was dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Minor League pitcher Dallas Buck and two more players to be named later.

Dunn has spent his entire career with the Reds so he is definitely upset to be leaving after Cincinnati is where he's called home for the last 10 years.  However, Dunn should keep his chin up as he goes from one of the worst teams in baseball to the Diamondbacks who are the NL West division leader with a 1.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers and are making a serious playoff run.

The Reds have not been good in about a decade.  The last time they had a winning record was 2000.  Dunn, who is earning $13 million this year, will be a free agent after this season.  Because the Reds have been so bad, it is likely that Dunn would have signed elsewhere after the conclusion of this season and the Reds would have been left out to dry.  Thus, trading Dunn was essentially their only option.

Dunn is tied for the National League lead with 32 home runs and is easily on pace to reach 40 home runs.  If Dunn stays healthy and avoids falling into a horrific slump, he will have his 5th straight 40 home run season.

Although Dunn has received a lot of criticism over the years because of his very low batting average and high number of strikeouts, he is still a very valuable hitter.  He does have the most strikeouts since his Major League debut on July 20, 2001 with 1,212, but he is also 3rd in the Majors with 270 home runs and 2nd with 755 walks in that time.

The Dodgers, who are battling the D-Backs for the division lead, recently acquired Manny Ramirez.  The Diamondbacks were desperately in need of a left-handed hitter with pop.  With the acquisition of Dunn they have filled that hole and have countered the Dodgers move. 

The Reds are 19.5 games back and in last place in the very tough NL Central.  By trading Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. only 11 days ago, the Reds have dealt away two key components in their line-up and appear to be giving up on this season and preparing for the future.

King of the Hill is a point system to determine the best hitters in the game today.  Points will be awarded for each statistic the player puts up.  The point distribution will look like this:

Hit = 1 pt
Run = 1 pt
Home Run = 3 pts
Run Batted In = 2 pts
Stolen Base = .5 pts

The standings will be updated every Monday.  The results of the standings will be determined based on how each player performs in the previous week.


1. Carlos Lee* - 80 points (+5): (11/20, 7 R, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB = 49 points)
2. Ryan Ludwick - 79 points (-1): (8/25, 4 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB = 30 points)
3. Matt Holliday - 72.5 points (-1): (9/25, 10 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB = 29 points)
4. Albert Pujols - 70 points (+4): (10/22, 6 R, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB = 41.5 points)
5. Carlos Quentin - 64 points (+4): (9/23, 5 R, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB = 38 points)
6. Josh Hamilton - 57 points (+1): (6/27, 5 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB = 27 points)
7. Alex Rodriguez - 55.5 points (-3): (4/23, 4 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB = 20.5 points)
8. Chase Utley - 50 points (-5): (4/22, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB = 14 points)
9. Grady Sizemore - 43 points (-4): (3/21, 1 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB = 8 points)
10. David Wright - 40.5 points (+5): (10/26, 3 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB = 31.5 points)
11. Ian Kinsler - 33.5 points (+2): (9/27, 4 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB = 22.5 points)
12. Nate McLouth - 31 points (-2): (7/21, 3 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB = 14 points)
13. Lance Berkman - 30 points (+1): (7/24, 5 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB = 21 points)
14. Hanley Ramirez - 27.5 points (-2): (6/23, 3 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB = 14 points)
15. Jose Reyes - 24.5 points (-4): (5/25, 2 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB = 9.5 points)

* = on DL

Studs
Marlon Byrd: Byrd was the hottest hitter in baseball this week.  He had 16 hits in 28 at bats for a .571 average.  2 of those hits were home runs and also had 8 RBI and 2 stolen bases.



Carlos Lee: Lee improved his already impressive season by getting 11 hits in 30 at bats with 3 long balls and 11 RBI.  Unfortunately, Lee was recently placed on the DL with a fractured finger and will miss the next 6-8 weeks.



Brandon Webb: Webb continued his dominance by going 2-0; one of the wins was a complete game.  He had 9 strike outs with a 1.20 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.




Brian Moehler: Moehler came out of nowhere this week and really turned some heads.  He went 2-0 with 7 k's and a ridiculous 0.75 ERA and .a 0.75 WHIP.  Moehler has now won his last 3 starts and his last 4 decisions.



Duds
Jose Guillen: Guillen, who had previously been playing well, has really cooled off this week.  He had a low .208 (5/24) batting average with only 1 run scored and only 1 run batted in.



Chase Utley: Utley has been scorching hot all season.  However, his numbers did sink a bit this week as he batted .182, with 1 run, 1 homer, and 3 RBI.  His home run didn't come until Sunday.



Clay Buchholz: Buchholz has really struggled in the past week.  He lost both of his starts, had a miserable 9.00 ERA and gave up, on average, 2.11 walks and hits per inning.



Aaron Cook: Cook has also struggled very badly this week.  He went 0-2 in both games he pitched, had an 8.74 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP.

Jhonny Nunez: RHP New York Yankees
MLB Comparison: Fernando Rodney
MLB Ready: 35/100
Needs to Improve: On the field dominance, lower BB an H

Upon request, the player that will be profiled here is New York Yankees minor league pitcher Jhonny Nunez, the man the Yankees received in return for Alberto Gonzalez.

Before Nunez was dealt to the Yankees and was still with Washington, he pitched very poorly with the team's High Class A affiliate Potomac Nationals.  With Potomac, Nunez started 17 games going 2-8 with a 5.22 ERA, surrendered 11 HR, and 88 hits in 81 innings.

The team then decided to try Nunez out in the bullpen and found himself with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators.  With Harrisburg, Nunez pitched very well in the bullpen.  He pitched 8 innings, had a low 1.13 ERA, and 8 strike outs.

It appears that these numbers were good enough for the the Yankees as they then traded for him.  With the Double-A Trenton Thunder, Nunez has appeared in 6 games for 10.2 innings, lowering his already low bullpen ERA to 0.84, and 10 strike outs.

As a starter, Nunez walked only 2.33 batters per 9, but since becoming a reliever, his total walks have increased to 5.9 BB per 9.

One thing that has stayed consistent throughout Nunez's entire career is that he's been a strike out machine.  With the three teams he's played for this season, he averages 9.03 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Alberto Gonzalez: SS/2B Washington Nationals
MLB Comparison: David Eckstein
MLB Ready: 65/100
Needs to Improve: Power, base running, hitting with runners on base

Today's player to watch is 25-year-old shortstop Alberto Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals. After struggling severely as a back up in the first four months of the season, Gonzalez stepped up while starting shortstop Christian Guzman was sidelined with a thumb injury.

In the four games Gonzalez played from August 1-4, he had 6 hits in 13 at bats, 3 doubles, 2 walks, and 3 runs.  Also, the Nationals won all four of those games, tying their longest winning streak of the season.

Guzman is now back in the Nationals' starting lineup and Gonzalez is back on the bench.  Unfortunately for Gonzalez, Guzman signed a 2-year extension with the Nats on July 23, so it seems the team will stick with him.

However, Gonzalez is listed as the backup second baseman behind Pete Orr on the team's depth chart.  With Orr playing really poorly this season, there is a good chance that Gonzalez will see more playing time there and, hopefully for him, eventually become an everyday player in this lineup.

Phil Hughes, who was placed on the disabled list in late April with a stress fracture in his right rib cage, is set to start tonight for Scranton, the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate.

According to Pro Sports Daily, Hughes is scheduled to throw approximately 60 pitches tonight, 80 pitches in his next game, and finally about 95 pitches in the next.

With Yankee star Joba Chamberlain recently placed on the 15-day DL and ace Chien-Ming Wang's return a big question mark, it is very likely that Hughes will be called up to the bigs yet again to fill the gaping hole in the Bombers' rotation.

Hughes is 0-4 this season with a 9.00 ERA, numbers that he, Yankees fans, and the front office didn't expect to see.

Right now the Yankees are more upset than ever that they weren't able to acquire Jarrod Washburn from the Seattle Mariners this trade deadline.  The Yankees desperately need help in their starting rotation and Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Dan Giese, at least based on their previous performances, aren't exactly the names fans wanted to hear as possible replacements.

It's even being said that the Yankees are tossing around the name Carl Pavano.  Yeah, remember him?  The guy who has a grand total of 5 wins in only 19 appearances since joining the Yankees in 2005.  What a great choice.  The Yankees are in the hunt to play in October and these are their best options? That's just not going to cut it.

One can only hope that Pavano will not wear pinstripes again and the return of Hughes will prove to be a success.  Let's just see if Hughes can make Brian Cashman look somewhat smart for refusing to trade him for Johan Santana.