Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
In the postseason, Alex Rodriguez usually fizzles. Not this year. Against the Minnesota Twins, Rodriguez hit .455 with two homers and six RBIs.

Alex Rodriguez - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
Manny Ramirez gets the headlines but Andre Ethier was the team’s most important hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. Ethier hit .500 with two homers and three RBIs.

Bobby Abreu, Los Angeles Angels
In the offseason, Bobby Abreu didn’t garner much interest. However, he’s been huge for the Angels all season. To begin the 2009 baseball postseason, he’s been just as big — as he hit .556 against the Boston Red Sox.

Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
Although he hasn’t hit a homer yet this postseason, Ryan Howard provided many timely hits against the Colorado Rockies. He’s hitting .375 with six RBIs in the playoffs.

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Hottest Hitters in the 2009 Postseason

Heading into the top of the ninth inning, the Phillies trailed 4-2. But with two runners on base, Ryan Howard delivered a two-run double to tie the game. Jayson Werth then singled to score Howard and give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Scott Eyre gave up two hits but Brad Lidge came into the game and picked up his second consecutive save.

In the series, the Phillies had a lot of big performances. Chase Utley hit .429 for the series, while Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Werth all hit better than .350.

The Phillies and Dodgers begin their series on Thursday in Los Angeles. Cole Hamels will start for the Phillies, while the Dodgers will go with Randy Wolf.

Ryan Howard lights up a cigar as the Phillies celebrate (Image: Zuma Press)

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Phillies Rally to Beat Rockies and Advance

In five starts with the Phillies, Lee is now 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA. In his latest start, he helped the Phillies beat the New York Mets by a final score of 6-2 on Monday. In seven innings, Lee gave up six hits and no earned runs while he struck out five batters.

Offensively, Ryan Howard carried the Phillies. In the first inning, he hit a three-run homer. In the third inning, he blasted a two-run dinger. Howard is now hitting .268 with 34 homers and 104 RBIs.

The win was the third in the row for Philadelphia. In their attempt to win back-to-back World Series championships, the Phillies have a 7-game lead in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves. At 72-50, the Phillies have the least number of losses in the National League.

Cliff Lee - Philadelphia Phillies (Image: Zuma Press)

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Cliff Lee Once Again Fantastic for Phillies

In five innings of work, Martinez gave up three earned runs, seven hits and one walk. He also struck out five batters while throwing 99 pitches.

After the game, Martinez talks about how happy he was with his performance.

Said Martinez: “It was really fun to actually get back to the game. Last year was a horrible year. It was a very tough year. I actually feel good and it shows.”

To give Martinez run support, the Phillies used the long ball. Ryan Howard hit a homer in the first inning. Shane Victorino added a two-run homer in the third inning, while Jimmy Rollins had a three-run homer in the fourth inning.

With the win, Philadelphia moved 4.5 games ahead of the Florida Marlins and the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. The loss pushed the Cubs 4 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.

Pedro Martinez - Philadelphia Phillies (Image: Zuma Press)

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Pedro Martinez Victorious in his Return

Guess again.

The king on of the Home Run Derby turned out to be a prince — Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers. In the final round of the competition, Fielder was able to out-slug Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers. Both Pujols and Howard were eliminated in earlier rounds.

Fielder hitting the ball hard is nothing new. On the season, he is hitting .315 with 22 homers and 78 RBIs. In 2007, he hit a career-high 50 home runs. At 25, Fielder is considered one of the best power hitters in all of Major League Baseball.

The longest blast of the night was a 503-foot bomb Fielder hit deep into the bleachers. After hitting 11 homers in the first round, Fielder beat Cruz 6-5 in the Home Run Derby Finals.

Prince Fielder Home Run Derby King (Image: Newscom)

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Prince Fielder Home Run Derby King

1. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
The production the Yankees have got recently from Teixeira makes the franchise look smart for sign him to that mega contract in the offseason. In the last month, he has 25 RBIs, 20 runs and nine homers.

2. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Even though he’s dealt a few nagging injuries as of alte, Pujols remains a monster. There’s no other hitter that pitchers more.

3. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
Fielder’s 27 RBIs and on-base percentage of .427 in the last month is extremely impressive. On the season, he’s batting a career-high .302.

4. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
Over the last month, Howard has struggled a bit in terms of his batting average and getting on base. But when he connects, he connects. He has ten homers in the last 30 days.

5. Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays
After getting off to a fast start, Pena started to cool off a little bit. But he’s not heating back up. His 21 homers lead the American League.

Carlos Pena - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

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Hot Fantasy Baseball First Basemen

Everyone stand up and thank Torii Hunter for stating the obvious. After learning that home runs were down around Major League Baseball in the biggest drop in 15 years, the Los Angeles Angels center fielder said the following:

“I think the steroid testing has something to do with it,” he said. “If there were any guys who were taking it, they’re not taking it anymore. I’d say it’s a small percentage, but of course it’s going to have an impact.”

We appreciate Hunter bringing this to our attention, but everyone, even non-baseball fans, knew that home run production would drop drastically after MLB instituted this drug testing policy.

According to an ESPN.com story, 2.01 home runs were hit this season, with Detroit Tigers infielder Miguel Cabrera leading the American League (37) and Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard topping the National League (48). Hunter went on to say the NL has advantage in long balls with more smaller parks.

Everyone likes the home run. It’s sexy, flashy and downright beastly, at times. But, what’s wrong with a few stolen bases, hit-and-runs, sacrifice bunts and putting the strategy back into the game. I certainly don’t mind it. But then again, chicks dig the long ball, as Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine remind us.

Image: Newscom

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Torii Hunter states the obvious

Top 10 Most Disappointing Major League Baseball Players of 2008

10. Roy Oswalt – Houston Astros – Oswalt has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the past few years, yet this season he has hit more speed bumps than anyone could have imagined. The Astros were counting on Oswalt’s consistency to help lead a pieced-together pitching staff, yet the Weir, Mississippi native is just 5-7 on the year with a 5.04 earned run average. Oswalt has also allowed 17 home runs this year.

9. Freddy Sanchez – Pittsburgh Pirates – Just two years ago, this former NAIA All-American won the National League batting crown with a .344 average. Now, however, Sanchez is hitting only .229 and has struck out 35 times. In 2006, when he won the batting title, Sanchez struck out only 52 times.

Sorry Ryan Howard, but you have to be on this list with that horrible batting average. Photo: Newscom

8. Ryan Howard – Philadelphia Phillies – I’m sure some of you are surprised that Howard’s name is on this list. Well, you shouldn’t be. How can I leave a guy that is hitting just .221 off this list? Yes, Howard has 19 home runs and 62 runs batted it, but he’s hitting only .221! Also, the former NL MVP has racked up 101 strikeouts in 272 at bats. In case you were wondering, that means Howard strikes out once every 2.7 at bats. UNBELIEVABLE!

7. Barry Zito – San Francisco Giants – Ah, yes. Barry Zito. I have no idea what has happened to Zito since he left Oakland, but he’s not the same. He’s not earning his $126 million contract. The former Cy Young winner is 2-10 with a 5.88 ERA this season for the Giants. He also has walked more hitters (44) than he has struck out (38).

6. Paul Konerko – Chicago White Sox – It’s hard to believe that Konerko could already be nearing the end of his career. But, that could be what is happening with his stats. Konerko is hitting just .215 for the White Sox. It’s not just the power that has dropped off for Konerko, it’s also the power numbers. He has only eight home runs and 30 RBI this season. His inability to help the White Sox, along with the slumping numbers of Jim Thome could mean Chicago misses the playoffs for the third straight season.

5. Carlos Delgado – New York Mets – Delgado, like Konerko, is showing signs of slowing down. Delgado hasn’t hit .300 in a season since he joined the Mets. This season, he is hitting only .238 and has power numbers similar to that of Konerko’s with nine homers and 32 RBI. Delgado didn’t have a stellar season in 2007 either, but his 2008 season has been especially disappointing.

4. Andruw Jones – Los Angeles Dodgers – To be fair, Jones had a horrible season with the Atlanta Braves last year. However, he is doing even worse in L.A. this year. Jones is batting well below the Mendoza Line at .165 in 133 at bats. He’s not hitting with power this year, since he has only two home runs and not driving in runs either (seven total RBI). I doubt Joe Torre ever thought before the year began that Jones shouldn’t be in the lineup instead of mulling over the whole Juan Pierre controversy. Either way, Jones’ stats are pathetic and he could easily be the biggest free agent signing bust of the year.

3. Khalil Greene – San Diego Padres – A couple of things Greene needs to finally figure out; he’s not at Clemson University anymore and he’s not using an aluminum bat. Greene flat out tore it up at the plate in college. But, he hasn’t figured it out at the professional level. This season, he’s hitting just . 226 and has a .271 on base percentage. Greene has also struck out 69 times and drawn only 16 bases on balls.

2. Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks – Milwaukee Brewers – I have to put both of these guys together at the number two slot. Both have had absolutely horrible starts to the 2008 season. Hall is hitting only .216 in 213 at bats this season. He owns a .285 OBP and has whiffed 60 times, while earning only 18 walks. Weeks is just as bad, batting just .210 this season.

1. Justin Verlander – Detroit Tigers – Coming into the 2008 season the Tigers were one of the top favorites to contend for the AL title. There’s no secret that Verlander was going to be the ace of the pitching staff and again be dominant. Except, he hasn’t been. Verlander is just 3-9 this season with a 4.55 ERA. He has scouts wondering why his arm slot has dropped causing his velocity to fall and his breaking ball to flatten out. He’s won at least 17 games in his last two seasons, yet this year, he could lose that many.

Just missing the list are Robinson Cano, Jason Isringhausen, Ian Snell, Brett Myers, Gary Matthews Jr., and Jim Thome.

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Thursday 10 – Most disappointing players of 2008