Although not much of a hitter, Wilson is great with his glove. The 31-year-old is also known for getting clutch hits and coming ready to play each and every game.

Last season, Wilson struggled mightily at the plate. He hit .255 with five homers, 39 RBIs and 37 runs. In 31 games with the Mariners, he hit only .224 with one homer, eight RBIs and 11 runs. However, Wilson and the Mariners point to injuries as the main reason why Wilson struggled.

The contract Wilson signed with the Mariners is reportedly worth $10 over the two seasons. There are also incentives built into the deal that could push the value up another $500,000.

Jack Wilson - Seattle Mariners (Image: Zuma Press)

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Andrew McCutchen, a player the Pirates drafted in the first round back in 2005, hit three homers to ower the Pirates to an 11-6 win over the Washington Nationals. In one day, he doubled his homers on the season from three to six.

“It’s just a day I know I won’t forget,” said McCutchen. “A day I know I’ll remember.”

After his big day, the 22-year-old McCutchen is hitting .293 with 31 RBIs to go with his six homers. He also has nine stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .349. In the new-look Pirates lineup, McCutchen will likely bat leadoff most games.

McCutchen joins Andruw Jones, Paul Konerko, Andre Ethier and Torii Hunter as players with three homers in one game during the 2009 baseball season.

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With the Cubs beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1, Nyjer Morgan was trying to score when Zambrano placed a tag on him. The replays show that Morgan might have been out but the ump called him safe. Then Zambrano exploded. He bumped the ump, which got him ejected. Then he tried to toss the umpire and threw the baseball into the outfield. Zambrano finished off his rampage by beating up the Gatorade machine with a baseball bat.

Morgan’s run tied the game at two. But the Cubs then scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth and held on for a 5-2 victory.

Before getting tossed, Zambrano had given up one earned run in 6.1 innings.

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5) Baltimore Orioles
Although the Orioles have a handful of very good players on their squad, the team as a whole is heading to another season without a postseason appearance.

4) Cleveland Indians
Before the season started, the Indians were an American League sleeper pick. Now? They just appear as if they are asleep.

3) Pittsburgh Pirates
Not long ago, the Pirates seemed to be on the right track. But with eight straight losses, the Pirates are headed back down to the cellar.

2) San Diego Padres
Although their record of 13-19 isn’t horrible, they have been outscored by 38 runs — the worst in all of Major League Baseball.

1) Washington Nationals
Who else? Everyone knew the Nationals were a bad team heading into the season and they currently have the worst record in baseball at 10-20.

The Washington Nationals are the Worst of the Worst (Image: Newscom)

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Pujols went 2-3 with two walks, three runs and two RBI. His big hit was a two-run shot in the bottom of the third inning off of Pirates starter Ian Snell. The Cardinals also got homers from Chris Duncan and Yadier Molina.

On the mound, the Cardinals got a good performance from starter Kyle Lohse. Over seven innings, Lohse gave up only five hits and two earned runs striking out four batters. Snell, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as impressive. In four innings, he allowed six earned runs, nine hits and three walks.

Pittsburgh actually got off to a good start when a Ryan Doumit RBI gave the team a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. But Pujols and company made that a short-lived lead.

On the season, Pujols is 5-7 with three walks.

Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

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Why would the people in Erie boo Sarah Palin for talking about the Phillies? Erie isn’t Phillies country. Even though both cities are in the state of Pennsylvania, Erie is almost an eight hour drive away from Philadelphia.

Those Erie residents who booed are most likely either fans of the Cleveland Indians or the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both of those teams are under two hours away. I guess Sarah Palin will know better next time.

Here is the Sarah Palin video of her getting booed in Erie, Pennsylvania:

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In the video, you will see Moyer lay down a picture perfect bunt. As he’s running to first base, the Pittsburgh Pirates end up throwing the ball away. As Moyer rounds first to head to second, an umpire gets in his way. Instead of going around the ump, he pushes the ump to the ground. The Pirates then throw the ball away again, allowing Moyer to get to third. A few pitches later, Moyer scored on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Watch the Jamie Moyer video here where he pushes the ump:

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Outfielder Xavier Nady is a player who can step in and provide a stick in the middle of the Yankee’s lineup. He’s batting .330 and he has good power. He started off the year red hot and has the ability to come up big in clutch situations.

Damaso Marte arguably is an even bigger part of this trade for New York. Marte is a left handed relief pitcher with very good stuff. The Yankees will add him to their bullpen and their bullpen will get a lot better instantly.

The four minor leaguers the Yankees gave up were Ross Ohlendorf, George Kontos, Phil Coke and Jose Tabata.

Here is a video talking more about the Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte trade:

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1. Tampa Bay Rays Tim Beckham SS
2. Pittsburgh Pirates Pedro Alvarez 3B
3. Kansas City Royals Eric Hosmer 1B
4. Baltimore Orioles Brian Matusz LHP
5. San Francisco Giants Buster Posey C
6. Florida Marlins Kyle Skipworth C
7. Cincinnati Reds Yonder Alonso 1B
8. Chicago White Sox Gordon Beckham SS
9. Washington Nationals Aaron Crow RHP
10. Houston Astros Jason Castro C
11. Texas Rangers Justin Smoak 1B
12. Oakland Athletics Jemile Weeks 2B
13. St. Louis Cardinals Brett Wallace 3B
14. Minnesota Twins Aaron Hicks OF
15. Los Angeles Dodgers Ethan Martin 3B
16. Milwaukee Brewers Brett Lawrie C/INF
17. Toronto Blue Jays David Cooper 1B
18. New York Mets Ike Davis 1B
19. Chicago Cubs Andrew Cashner RHP
20. Seattle Mariners Josh Fields RHP
21. Detroit Tigers Ryan Perry RHP
22. New York Mets Reese Havens SS
23. San Diego Padres Allan Dykstra 1B
24. Philadelphia Phillies Anthony Hewitt SS
25. Colorado Rockies Christian Friedrich LHP
26. Arizona Diamondbacks Daniel Schlereth LHP
27. Minnesota Twins Carlos Gutierrez RHP
28. New York Yankees Gerrit Cole RHP
29. Cleveland Indians Lonnie Chisenhall 3B
30. Boston Red Sox Casey Kelly SS

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Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies
Pat Burrell has always had a lot of potential. This season, he might be finally figuring everything out. He has a career-high batting average of .305, a career-high on-base percentage of .432 and has nine homeruns and 30 RBIs.

Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh Pirates
This 26-year-old player has been a bit player for most of his big league career. The Pirates gave McLouth a chance to be an everyday player this season and he has responded fantastically. He’s hitting .324 with nine homers and 29 RBIs.

Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox
At 25, Carlos Quentin is taking advantage of his opportunity to be the everyday left fielder for the White Sox. He’s hitting .278 with eight dingers and 25 RBIs.

Photo: Newscom

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