Jim Leyritz is either a criminal or very unlucky. Already awaiting a DUI manslaughter trial, Leyritz was arrested on Thursday for allegedly battering his ex-wife. The incident took place in South Florida near the city of Fort Lauderdale.

Since he was free on bail, the judge removed that bail after this latest charge. Leyritz now remains behind bars.

In the DUI manslaughter case, Leyritz was allegedly under the influence of alcohol when he got in a vehicle incident that resulted in a death. His trail for that charge is more than two months away.

Leyritz last played in the big leagues in 200. He’s likely best known for his time with the New York Yankees. He played for the Yankees from 1999 to 1996 and then again in 1999.

For his career, Leyritz had 90 homers, 387 RBIs, 325 runs and a batting average of .264. He was born in 1963 in the city of Lakewood, Ohio.

Jim Leyritz Arrested (Image: Zuma Press)

There’s no other way to say it: Chien-Ming Wang has been horrible this season. The pitcher for the New York Yankees has stats so bad that it’s difficult to find a historical precedence.

Why is Chien-Ming Wang so horrible? (Image: Zuma Press)

Despite his horrible pitching so far, Wang reportedly still has a job in the Yankees’ rotation. Earlier in the season, he lost his spot in the rotation but his job appears to be safe — for now.

On the season, Wang is 0-4 with a 14.34 ERA, 2.67 WHIP and a .444 batting average against. In 21.1 innings, he has given up 45 hits, 12 walks and 34 runs — all of which were earned.

As a starter, Wang’s numbers are even worse. He has a 21.60 ERA when starting.

In his latest start, Wang lasted only 2.2 innings against the Boston Red Sox. He gave up four earned runs on six hits and three walks.

His best start of the season came earlier in the month against the Texas Rangers when he gave up five earned runs in 4.2 innings.

On Wednesday, Evan Longoria had an MRI on his sore left hamstring. Longoria hurt the hamstring on Tuesday when running out a grounder in the sixth inning. The injury forced him to leave the game.

The MRI results showed good news for Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays. Although he may be out for a couple days, the doctors do not believe that Longoria will need to go on the disabled list. If the MRI would have shown a pull or a strain, the Rays likely would have put their star second baseman on the DL.

At 26-28 in the highly competitive AL East, the Rays couldn’t afford to lose arguably their best player. Already six games behind the division-leading New York Yankees, Tampa Bay needs to start playing at the level that allowed them to represent the American League in the 2008 World Series.

Longoria has definitely been doing his part. He’s hitting .322 with 13 homers and an MLB-leading 55 RBIs. At 23, Longoria already a star who appears like he’s going to end up starting the 2009 All-Star Game for the AL.

Evan Longoria - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

Now that we’re into June, the MLB power rankings are starting to mean something. The meat of the MLB season is where the men are separating from the boys.

Here are our 2009 MLB power rankings as of June 1st:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Even without the suspended Manny Ramirez, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the best team in baseball. They aren’t quite as good without Ramirez but they have a good shot to hold onto their National League leading record.

2. Texas Rangers
Are the Rangers for real? It’s difficult to tell for sure. The fact that their bats are hot isn’t the story. The real story is that their pitching finally appears to be decent, which is bad news for the rest of baseball.

3. New York Yankees
All the millions the Yankees handed out this summer appear to be paying off. Mark Teixeira is hitting well and C.C. Sabathia has become the ace. Once Alex Rodriguez really heats up, the Yankees will be tough to beat.

C.C. Sabathia seems to be worth the money (Image: Newscom)

4. Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies aren’t getting any help from their starting pitchers and their bullpen has been shaky (especially closer Brad Lidge), they have only lost four times in their last 16 games. Once their pitching becomes decent, watch out!

5. Boston Red Sox
Like the Phillies, the Red Sox are winning despite their starting pitching. However, with John Smoltz getting closer and closer to returning and a strong bullpen, Boston appears to be in good shape to make the playoffs.

Even though David Ortiz hit his first home run of the season last Wednesday, that didn’t turn around his season. In fact, Big Papi is struggling more than ever now.

David Ortiz Struggling (Image: Zuma Press)

The hefty designated hitter is batting .195 and has one homer, 18 RBI, 15 runs and 39 strikeouts. Last season, Ortiz was slowed by injury but wasn’t anywhere this bad. Right now, he’s one of the worst hitters in the American League.

There have been whispers of lowering Ortiz in the batting order to get him out of the three spot. Those whispers are now getting louder. The Red Sox have a lot of capable hitters and Ortiz has become a liability in the middle of the lineup.

According to a few sources close to the team, it sounds like Ortiz could see himself hitting in the fifth or sixth spot starting as soon as Monday.

Despite Ortiz’s struggles, the Red Sox have been able to keep their place atop the AL West with a 26-18 record. However, with the rival New York Yankees streaking up the standings, Boston’s time on top of the division could be ending if Ortiz doesn’t start hitting — or if the Red Sox don’t at least move him down the batting order.

After getting a feel for the 2009 baseball season, a few teams are starting to make a run up the standings. Here is a list of the hottest teams in baseball at the moment.

5) Los Angeles Dodgers
Even without Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers have the best record in baseball at 28-13. A big reason for their success is that Juan Pierre has been able to fill in for Ramirez and the Dodgers haven’t skipped a beat.

4) Detroit Tigers
The Tigers started slowly but they are now turning it around. They have won four straight games and are 12-5 at home on the season. Dontrelle Willis recently had a very good game and if he can return to form, Detroit would be dangerous.

3) Philadelphia Phillies
The reigning World Series champions are starting to get back into a groove. They’ve won five straight games and are now 21-16. Oddly enough, they are 8-12 at home and 13-4 on the road.

2) New York Yankees
The Yankees had three straight games with a walk-off and now with Alex Rodriguez hitting homers once again, New York is looking very good. They’ve won seven straight games and are sitting at 22-17.

1) Milwaukee Brewers
Winners of seven in a row and nine of their last ten, the Brewers are the surprise team in the NL at the moment. That said, it’ll be tough for the Brewers to hold on after they learned that Rickie Weeks is out for the season.

Can the Brewers Stay Hot without Rickie Weeks? (Image: Zuma Press)

In his first at-bat this season after returning from hip surgery, Alex Rodriguez hit a homer. However, his batting average had dipped all the way to .136 entering Saturday’s game. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Rodriguez’s struggles were the last thing on his mind as he hit a two-run walk-off homer to beat the Minnesota Twins by a final count of 6-4.

That homer upped Rodriguez’s batting average to .154 and it was his first homer since his first at-bat. The win took the New York Yankees to 19-17 on the season. With the loss, the Twins dropped to 18-19.

Prior to the big hit by A-Rod, Mark Teixeira was the star for New York. He finished the ballgame 4-for-4 with one walk, two runs and four RBIs. His big hit was a three-run blast in the third inning.

The Twins got solo homers from their two big bats in the lineup - Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Mauer is now hitting .423 on the season, while Morneau is at .324.

These two teams will play again on Sunday afternoon and Monday night.

Alex Rodriguez Walk Off Homer (Image: Newscom)

Jorge Posada, the starting catcher for the New York Yankees, has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. The move by the Yankees came on Tuesday after Posada suffered a right hamstring strain. The injury is expected to keep him out of the lineup for up to three weeks.

Jorge Posada (Image: Flickr)

This injury comes at a bad time for both Posada and the Yankees. The catcher was hitting the ball very well. He has five homers and 20 RBIs on the season with a batting average of .312. With the Yankees sporting a 13-13 record and sitting 4.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL West, New York can’t afford to be without Posada for too long.

The bad news for the Yankees is that it appears as if Posada’s body might be breaking down. He’s been catching for the Yankees for more than a decade and last season he missed more than 100 games due to a shoulder injury. At 37, Posada could be reaching the end of his rope.

With Posada out, Jose Molina will start at catcher for the Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez is under scrutiny once again. According the forthcoming book by Selena Roberts on A-Rod, Rodriguez hasn’t been truthful about his comments over the offseason regarding his steroids usage.

According to New York Daily News, in the book former teammates and other people around the game of baseball believe that Rodriguez began using steroids as early as high school. Additionally, the book hints that Rodriguez continued to use steroids after he was acquired by the New York Yankees. Rodriguez has maintained that he only used steroids while with the Texas Rangers over a two-year period.

There are a number of other allegations reportedly in the book, including that Rodriguez was “pitch tipping” in blowouts in hopes of getting favors from other players. When contacted, Rodriguez reportedly said that he didn’t want to get into specifics and denied to discuss the accusations in length.

The Yankees’ third baseman hasn’t played yet in the 2009 baseball season. He’s currently rehabbing from offseason hip surgery. Though he was originally scheduled to return on May 15th, he may be able to return sooner than expected.

Alex Rodriguez Pitch Tipping? (Image: Newscom)

Chien-Ming Wang has had a horrible start to the 2009 baseball season and now he’s headed to the disabled list. The New York Yankees have decided that Wang’s slow start is due to lingering side effects from the foot injury he suffered last season.

Chien-Ming Wang, New York Yankees (Image: Newscom)

While running the bases last season when going against a National League opponent, Wang hurt his foot and missed more than three months. Although his foot has probably healed, insiders close to the Yankees believe that Wang hasn’t regained all the strength in the lower half of his body. The result? Massive, massive struggles.

In three starts this season, Wang is 0-3 with a 34.50 ERA and a WHIP of 4.83. He’s given up 23 earned runs while only striking out two batters in six innings so far this season. His latest outing resulted in the 29-year-old righty from Taiwan giving up eight earned runs in 1.1 innings of work.

It’s unknown how long Wang will be sidelined but expect the Yankees to take their time in building up his strength and his confidence. Without Wang at least at a serviceable level, it’s difficult to imagine New York making the playoffs this season.