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Yadier Molina agreed to a five-year, $75 million contract extension with the St. Louis Cardinals. The deal will make him one of the highest-paid catchers of all time and includes a mutual option in 2018.

While the Cardinals lost Albert Pujols to the Angels, it has been an active winter in St. Louis. In December, the Cardinals reached a two-year deal with Carlos Beltran. They also re-signed Rafael Furcal and exercised 2012 and 2013 contract options for Adam Wainwright during the offseason.

Let’s take a look at the man behind the mask in St. Louis.

At the plate
Offensively, 2011 represented a breakout season for Molina. He set career highs in a number of offensive categories. With his contract extension, the Cardinals are banking on it being a legitimate improvement.

One area where Molina improved significantly was his ability to hit offspeed pitches – changeups, sliders and curveballs – thrown in the strike zone. While he failed to drive those pitches in 2010, few players were more successful in 2011.

His .375 average on offspeed pitches in the strike zone ranked fifth in the majors behind Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Gonzalez, Michael Morse and Aramis Ramirez. His miss percentage dropped from 15 percent to 9 percent, contributing to a 142-point jump in his batting average.

Behind the plate
While 2011 was a breakout year offensively, Molina has long been known as one of the best defensive catchers in baseball. He was one of four catchers to block more than 500 pitches last season, leading the majors with 657.

Over the past three seasons, Molina has caught 3,464⅔ innings, 100 more than any other catcher in the majors. During that span, he has allowed 113 stolen bases. Twenty-nine catchers have allowed more steals despite catching fewer innings. Since 2009, Molina has thrown out nearly 40 percent of runners intending to steal, tops among backstops with at least 2,000 innings caught.

New deal
Molina’s new contract will make him the second-highest paid catcher in MLB history by average annual value and third highest by total contract. Joe Mauer is at the top of both lists with his eight-year, $184 million contract. Mike Piazza (seven years, $91 million) is the only other catcher to receive a richer total contract than Molina.

While Molina’s contract pales in comparison to Albert Pujols' new deal in Anaheim, it is the fourth-largest contract by total value in Cardinals history. The only $100 million men in St. Louis history are Pujols and Matt Holliday.

After spending the past seven seasons on the East and West Coast, Carlos Beltran is headed back to the Midwest. Beltran agreed to a two-year deal with the world champion St. Louis Cardinals Thursday, according to sources. The six-time All-Star batted .300 and hit 22 home runs with 84 RBI last season with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.

This will be Beltran's second stint with a team in the state of Missouri. He spent seven seasons with the Kansas City Royals winning Rookie of the Year in 1999.

While he’s no longer a borderline MVP-candidate, Beltran’s track record of productivity can be matched by few in the National League since 2005. Beltran ranks sixth in the NL among position players in Wins Above Replacement over that span.

Besides his offensive and defensive skills, Beltran has a history of excelling in the postseason. No player in MLB history with a minimum 75 plate appearances has a higher OPS in the postseason than Beltran's 1.302.

With Beltran joining the Cardinals, St. Louis now has the two best offensive switch-hitters in the majors from last year. Lance Berkman's OPS was .959 last season while Beltran's was .910.

Meanwhile, the Oakland Athletics traded All-Star pitcher Gio Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for four prospects according to sources. The Nationals receive pitchers Brad Peacock, A.J. Cole, Tom Milone and catcher Derek Norris. Gonzalez had a career best in wins (16), ERA (3.12) and strikeouts (197) last season, but also led the league in walks (91).

Few pitchers have provided a greater value for the dollar than Gonzalez. Over the last two seasons, 13 pitchers have won at least 30 games. Of those, Gonzalez has been the most cost-effective option, earning $26,613 for every win since 2010.

Gonzalez is under team control through 2015, but he's about to get more expensive. MLBtraderumors.com projects a $4.2 million salary in 2012, the first of Gonzalez's four arbitration-eligible years.

With the acquisition of Gonzalez, the Nationals now have three pitchers (Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann) who will all be age 26 or younger in 2012. They join two other franchises (Braves, Diamondbacks) who have at least three starters – all of whom were 25 or younger in 2011 - who posted a cumulative ERA better than 4.00 since the start of the 2010 season.

After almost 2,500 major-league games and nearly seven months since Opening Day, the 2011 MLB season has come down to one final game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers at 8:05 ET tonight.

Given the twists and turns that this series has taken so far, it’s no surprise that there has been some key late-breaking news this afternoon. Let’s take a look at the hottest storylines as we prepare for the first pitch of the 36th winner-take-all game in World Series history.

Holliday out for Game 7
Matt Holliday will miss Game 7 after he injured his right hand Thursday night.
According to Elias, Holliday is the first player to start the first six games of a seven-game World Series and not start Game 7. Holliday was just 3-for-19 (.158) in this series after hitting .435 with five RBI in the NLCS.

Allen Craig will replace Holliday in the starting lineup. Craig is 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter in this series, but is just 2-for-13 in all other at-bats. During the regular season Craig had a .917 OPS in 47 games as a starter.

Furcal dropped to 7th in lineup
Rafael Furcal, the normal leadoff hitter for the Cardinals, is hitting .176 in 74 postseason at-bats. He hasn’t had a multi-hit game since Game 1 of the NLCS, and has scored only one run in the World Series.

Tonight’s matchup with the southpaw Matt Harrison doesn’t look good for him, either. In the World Series he has just one hit in 13 at-bats against lefties, after hitting .275 against lefties in 42 regular season games with the Cardinals.

Final game for Pujols in Cardinals uniform?
After more than 1,700 games with the team that drafted him, Albert Pujols could be playing his final game as a Cardinal. The only other player to play at least 1,500 games with one team and have their final game for that team be in Game 7 of a World Series is Rogers Hornsby, according to Elias.

This will be Pujols’ third career appearance in a Game 7 (both of the previous ones came in the NLCS). While his team won both games, Pujols went 2-for-4 with an RBI in 2004 but was hitless in two at-bats in 2006.

Bullpens back in spotlight
The dominance of the bullpens was a key storyline heading into the series, but they haven’t lived up to the hype so far. The relievers for both teams have combined for four blown saves and a 6.26 ERA.

The bullpens could be a deciding factor in this game, too, as Chris Carpenter is starting on three days’ rest for the second time in his career and Matt Harrison failed to get out of the fourth inning in his most recent start in Game 3.

Stat To Know
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, of the 35 previous World Series that have gone the distance, teams that scored first are 22-13. The largest deficit overcome in these games was four runs, by the 1925 Pirates, who trailed the Washington Senators 4-0 before winning the game 9-7.

The Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals play the rubber match of their three-game series in St. Louis at 8 ET on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN.

The Rockies probably would prefer the game take place on a different day of the week -- Colorado is 2-16 (.125) on Sundays and 53-48 (1.10) the rest of the week, and has been outscored 99-43 in the 16 losses.

The Rockies have lost 16 straight games on Sunday, tied with the 1960 Phillies for the longest single-season losing streak on Sundays since 1900.

On the mound

The Rockies send Esmil Rogers to the mound on his 26th birthday. Rogers is 5-1 with a 4.91 ERA as a starter this season (six starts).

Rogers has pitched well on the road as a starter in his career. This year he is 4-0 with a 3.33 ERA and .276 opp BA in four road starts (1-1, 9.35 ERA and .351 opp BA in two home starts).

None of the past 11 pitchers to start a game on their birthday have won. These 11 pitchers are a combined 0-8. The last starting pitcher to win on his birthday was Randy Wells -- Aug. 28, 2010, for the Cubs against the Reds.

The Cardinals counter with Edwin Jackson. Since being traded to St. Louis, Jackson is 1-2 and has allowed 11 earned runs and 27 hits.

Jackson has struggled against the Rockies in his career. He has allowed at least five earned runs in each of his five starts against them and has never pitched more than five innings in any of those starts.

His 17.28 ERA against the Rockies is the WORST by any active pitcher against a team (minimum five starts). The next-worst is Jose Contreras, with a 9.79 ERA facing Texas.

Matchups

Matt Holliday was a key part of the Rockies' run to the World Series in 2007, winning the National League Championship Series MVP that year. Since leaving the team, he’s had a lot of success against them.

He’s hitting .378 (17-for-45) and slugging .644 with a 1.106 OPS, including three doubles and three home runs against the Rockies in his career. His .378 BA and 1.106 OPS are both his second best against any team he’s had at least 50 PA against.

Troy Tulowitzki is hitting .388 with 17 HR in wins (54 games), and just .220 with six HRs in losses (60 games). That’s the highest batting average in wins on the team and the second-lowest batting average in losses among the regulars (min. 300 PA).

Stat of the game

In the 63 games without at least one of their core players (Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Albert Pujols), the Cardinals average 4.3 runs per game and hit .257, and are 34-29. In the 55 games where the three players are all in the starting lineup, they average 5.2 runs per game and are hitting .284, and are 29-26.

The 2011 Home Run Derby will take place at Chase Field Monday night. This year the event features simultaneous individual and team contests, as well as a roster of four American League and four National League sluggers selected by captains (and former Derby champions) David Ortiz of the AL and Prince Fielder of the NL.

Let’s take a closer look at the participants and their long-ball credentials heading into the annual slugfest.

American League:

David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
Season max: 54 in 2006
2011 HR: 19
Longest HR since 2006: May 14, 2010 at Comerica Park (459 feet)
450+ foot HR since 2006: 4
Derby experience: 2004 (three HR, eighth place), 2005 (20 HR, third place), 2006 (13 HR, fourth place), 2010 (32 HR, first place)

Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox
Season max: 40 in 2009
2011 HR: 17
Longest HR since 2006: April 26, 2009 at PETCO Park (471 feet)
450+ foot HR since 2006: 5
Derby experience: 2009 (two HR, seventh place)


Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays
Season max: 54 in 2010
2011 HR: 31
Longest HR since 2006: April 1, 2011 at Rogers Centre (456 feet)
450+ foot HR since 2006: 4
Derby experience: none

Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
Season max: 29 in 2010
2011 HR: 15
Longest HR since 2006: June 16, 2010 at Yankee Stadium (451 feet)
450+ foot HR since 2006: 2
Derby experience: none


National League:

Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
Season max: 50 in 2007
2011 HR: 22
Longest HR since 2006: April 29, 2011 at Minute Maid Park (486 feet)
450+ foot HR since 2006: 14
Derby experience: 2007 (three HR, sixth place), 2009 (23 HR, first place)

Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers
Season max: 29 in 2010
2011 HR: 17
Longest HR since 2006: September 20, 2007 at Turner Field (471 feet)
450+ foot HR since 2006: 4
Derby experience: none


Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals
Season max: 36 in 2007
2011 HR: 14
Longest HR since 2006: September 19, 2006 at Coors Field (498 feet)
450+ foot HR since 2006: 24
Derby experience: 2007 (13 HR, third place), 2010 (five HR, fifth place)

Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
Season max: 28 in 2010
2011 HR: 22
Longest HR since 2006: June 10, 2011 at Coors Field (458 feet)
450+ foot HR since 2006: 5
Derby experience: none


Predictions:
The AL and NL are remarkably balanced in terms of recent home run production - the four AL hitters have struck 79 home runs to the NL’s 73. The primary difference between the two leagues is in raw power, where the NL has a clear advantage: the NL’s four sluggers have combined for 47 home runs of more than 450 feet since 2006 (including 38 by Fielder and Holliday), compared to only 15 for the AL’s four representatives. The NL will exploit this advantage to win the team portion of the event this year.

For the individual title, I expect Ortiz, Bautista, Fielder and Kemp to pass on to the second round, with Bautista and Fielder slugging it out in the final. When the last ball has come to rest in the distant reaches of Chase Field, Prince Fielder will hoist the crossed-bats of the Home Run Derby Championship Trophy for the second time.

How the St. Louis Cardinals handle two former Tampa Bay Rays will be one storyline worth watching as the Cardinals and Chicago Cubs play on Wednesday at Wrigley Field (8 ET on ESPN).

Carlos Pena -- who signed a one-year, $10 million contract in December -- is hitting just .213, but is showing signs of life. In his past six games, he's 8-for-19 (.421) with three home runs. And on Wednesday, he'll face Jake Westbrook, a pitcher he's had success against in his career.

Pena is 10-for-32 with five doubles and four home runs against Westbrook, but he's also struck out 10 times.

While Westbrook has struck out Pena once every 3.2 at-bats, he has not had similar strikeout success against the free-swinging Alfonso Soriano. Although he's just 3-for-21 (.143) against Westbrook, Soriano has struck out only twice. That means Soriano's batting average on balls in play against Westbrook is just .158 (3-for-19). A typical batting average on balls in play usually is around .295 to .300.

Opposing Westbrook will be Matt Garza, who's winless at Wrigley Field this season (0-2 in four starts) despite a 3.25 ERA. Garza has struck out 58 batters in his seven starts this season, and he's allowed only one home run. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two other National League pitchers in the past 25 years had at least that many strikeouts while giving up no more than one home run in their first seven starts of a season: David Cone in 1992 with the Mets and Tim Lincecum in 2009 with the San Francisco Giants.

Garza, who came to Chicago in January in trade and is 1-4 overall, has not fared well against No. 4 and 5 hitters in his seven starts. He's allowed 18 hits in 43 at-bats (.419 BA), although the four-five hitters have yet to hit a home run off him.

And it would be somewhat of a surprise if the Cardinals' No. 4 hitter, Matt Holliday, took Garza deep. Holliday has three extra-base hits and just one home run -- which came in 2006 -- in 91 at-bats at Wrigley Field.

Lance Berkman, who hits behind Holliday, will be playing in his 162nd career game against the Cubs -- the equivalent of a full season. He's a .249 hitter against them with 30 HRs, 88 RBIs and 147 strikeouts. However, Berkman does have eight home runs on the road this season, after hitting just four in 57 road games in 2010.

As for Albert Pujols, who hits in front of Holliday, he's coming off his first four-hit game of the season on Tuesday. And although he hasn't hit a home run since April 23, Pujols has hit 47 home runs against the Cubs (25 at Wrigley), the most he's hit against any team.

Pujols, however, has had some struggles early this season.

He's accounted for almost 25 percent of the double plays that St. Louis has hit into this season. The Cardinals have hit into a major league-leading 45 double plays, including 11 by Pujols. (Only Torii Hunter has hit into more, with 12.)

He's also drawing fewer walks per at-bats (one every 9.8 plate appearances) compared to recent seasons, and is hitting just .238 on outside pitches. In 2009 and 2010, he hit .320 on those pitches.

-- Jon Kramer and Mark Simon contributed to this report.

With a 2-for-4 day at the plate Thursday, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday continued his torrid start to the season, upping his batting average to an MLB-leading .417.

It’s almost hard to believe that this is the same Holliday who underwent an appendectomy at the beginning of the season, which forced him to miss seven games.

But he’s been locked in ever since his return on April 10. His current average is 25 points higher than the next closest player -- teammate Lance Berkman.

And while his hot start may be absent power (just four home runs in 25 games), it’s been ground balls that have helped him bat at such a high clip.

So far this season, Holliday is hitting 44.7 percent of batted balls on the ground –- not far off his career percentage of 45 percent.

But it’s his average in those instances that have been the difference. Holliday is batting a whopping .441 on ground balls, compared to a .279 BA on ground balls last season.

Another area where Holliday has improved, from this season to last, has been against left-handed pitchers.

Entering 2011, Holliday had a career .307 BA with a .509 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers. To begin this season he is batting .429 and slugging .857 against lefties.

Overall, he’s continued to be a model of consistency. The lowest Holliday’s average has dipped this season was .333 on April 13.

But 12 multi-hit games in the 20 games since helped him keep his batting average above .400 through April into early May.

While it’s difficult to imagine Holliday continuing at such a rate, his career averages from May through July might suggest he’s just getting started.

His averages progress upward from May (.315 BA) to July, with a .327 BA in June and a .331 BA in July (his best of any month).

Chicago Cubs
From August 14 until the end of the season, Carlos Zambrano went 8-0 with a 1.24 ERA and allowed just one home run. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only pitcher (minimum 50 innings) who had a lower ERA than Zambrano over that span was the American League Cy Young winner, Felix Hernandez (1.07 ERA).

Carlos Pena was one of four players last season (along with Mark Reynolds, Jim Thome and Russell Branyan) with at least 25 home runs despite having fewer than 100 hits.

Cincinnati Reds
There are only three pitchers who have thrown at least 200 innings in each of the last six seasons: Mark Buehrle, Dan Haren and the Reds' Bronson Arroyo. He's made 169 starts since coming to the Reds in 2006, tied with Haren for the most starts over the last five seasons.

In 2010, Joey Votto became just the fourth player in franchise history to hit .300 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI and the first since George Foster in 1977.

Houston Astros
Three pitchers tied for the major-league lead in starts of at least six innings pitched; Cy Young winners Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez and Houston's Brett Myers each made 32 such starts.

The Astros actually had a better record after the trades involving Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman (34-27) than when both were on the roster (42-59).

Milwaukee Brewers
Much has been made about their offseason additions of starting pitchers Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum. But with Greinke came Yuniesky Betancourt, whose -21 Defensive Runs Saved ranked last among shortstops in 2010. Betancourt's an addition to an infield that already wasn't the best defensively: Rickie Weeks was -11 (tied for worst among second basemen) and Prince Fielder was -13 (third worst among first basemen).

One reason the Brewers offense -- which ranked in the top four of the National League in batting average, OBP, slugging percentage, runs and home runs – could improve is that Ryan Braun posted career lows in OPS, slugging percentage, home runs and stolen bases.

Pittsburgh Pirates
They have finished with a losing record every year since 1993. The 18 consecutive losing seasons is the longest streak ever among the four major sports.

Andrew McCutchen is widely considered to be one of the best young centerfielders in the game. However, he cannot escape the fact he was one of the worst "leading men" in baseball last year. Among position players who led their teams in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), McCutchen’s mark (3.3) was the fourth-lowest in the league.

St. Louis Cardinals
Not only was the combined 14.2 WAR of Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday the best in baseball last season, but they were the only duo with a combined WAR above 12.5.

Pujols finished second in the 2010 National League MVP voting, the eighth time in his career that he's finished in the top three. The only player who has had more top-three finishes in MVP voting (since BBWAA voting began in 1931) is Barry Bonds with nine.

-- Justin Havens contributed to this report

It’s no exaggeration to call the Washington Nationals’ signing of Jayson Werth an unprecedented splash in the free agent market for that franchise. In the previous 20 offseasons, the combined contracts signed by free agents with the Nationals/Expos was $122.1 million. Werth received $126 million.

Few outfielders have rivaled Werth’s impact in recent years. Over the past three seasons combined, he’s offered a WAR (wins above replacement) of 15.0, according to FanGraphs.com. Among outfielders, that’s equal to Carl Crawford and topped only by Matt Holliday (18.2). Similarly, Werth’s 87 home runs in that span are third among outfielders. In both cases, he’s the top right fielder.

Of course, all of that was done in the heart of one of most potent offenses in the National League. How will he fare moving from the top of the division to the bottom?

The Elias Sports Bureau offers the limited precedent for such a transition. In the divisional era, Werth is the third player with at least 25 home runs to switch from a first-place team to a last-place team in the same division during the offseason. The most recent example was Shawn Green, who went from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Arizona Diamondbacks following the 2004 season. Despite a rise in OPS, Green saw a decrease in RBIs. Before that, the Oakland A’s dealt Mike Epstein to the Texas Rangers following a 26-HR season in 1972. He lasted only 27 games in Texas before another trade.

Werth will certainly be counted on as a run producer in Washington, but he struggled in that role with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2009, he became just the second player in franchise history with over 35 home runs but fewer than 100 RBI. Last season, he underperformed in RBI situations, hitting just .186 with runners in scoring position, fourth lowest in the majors.

All this came with lots of opportunities given his plum spot in the lineup. In fact, among those with 175 plate appearances with RISP, only three players posted a lower batting average in the past 35 seasons.

Along with his obvious power, Werth’s true offensive value is his ability to get on base. Despite that poor average, he had a .353 OBP with RISP. His 38 walks with RISP were fourth in the NL.

Though performance with runners on base has been shown to fluctuate from season to season, those numbers underscore a change in expectation. In a lineup filled with stars, Werth’s discerning eye had enormous value. The Nationals will be counting on him to take advantage of these situations and anchor an offense that scored the third-fewest runs in the NL last season.

-- Jeremy Lundblad and Mackenzie Kraemer contributed to this report

Someday, it might be one year or 12 years from now, St. Louis Cardinals fans will look back at this season and try to pinpoint where it all went wrong.

They had the rare trifecta of an MVP contender (Albert Pujols), a Cy Young contender (Adam Wainwright) and a Rookie of the Year contender (Jaime Garcia). The payroll was competitive, there was young and cheap talent blossoming and the headlining offseason move (Matt Holliday) had one of the best seasons of his career.

But David Freese -- or more appropriately, David Freese’s injury -- is one big reason why the Cardinals won't be in the postseason.

Freese didn’t play after June 27 because of various foot injuries (mostly ankle-related), and was hobbled for a few weeks before then. All told, Freese will miss 92 games.

The Cardinals were 10 games above .500 in games Freese started (37-27) and four games under .500 when he didn’t (entering Thursday, as are all the below numbers).

How much can losing a rookie third baseman really hurt? Take a look at the ramifications:

Freese was having a high-end offensive season at his position.

His OPS of .765 wasn't elite (think Evan Longoria) but solid (think Casey McGehee). And before the injury started hobbling him, Freese’s OPS was .832. That’s between a Chipper Jones and Alex Rodriguez level of production.

Freese’s absence forced Yadier Molina to bat one spot higher.

The No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the order, of course, go to Pujols and Holliday. The No. 5 spot went mostly to Colby Rasmus, though Freese batted there as well. But it’s the No. 6 spot that’s crucial. That’s where Yadier Molina took the majority of his plate appearances -- especially after Freese went out. With Freese in the lineup, Molina’s bat was free to be moved lower in the lineup. While Molina had a typical year by his standards at the plate, downgrading from Freese to Molina is a drop in OPS from .765 to .671. When you have Pujols, Holliday and Rasmus hitting in front of you, that difference can mean a lot of runners left on base.

The other third basemen fielded below Freese’s level.

From Fangraphs, Freese provided a 0.1 UZR at third base. Lopez was a -0.4 and Pedro Feliz was a -0.2. Freese was 0.2 runs above replacement, Lopez was -6.6 and Feliz -0.2.

Freese’s absence forced lesser offensive players into more plate appearances.

Lopez covering for Freese meant he couldn’t take the spot of Brendan Ryan at shortstop. Ryan, while a fine defender, was no match for Lopez’s production at the plate, even in a down year for Lopez. Ryan was one of the worst batters in MLB (.567 OPS), while Feliz, a midseason acquisition who received plenty of playing time, was even worse (.492 OPS with the Cardinals). Neither of those players figured to see nearly as much playing time with a healthy Freese in the lineup.

Freese’s injury raises questions about the future at the position for the Cardinals.

Freese hasn’t been injured just once. He now has an injury history that brings his durability into question. And, as a young and cost-controlled player this season, Freese was one of the team’s most valuable assets. After the injury, he’s now one year older and one year closer to not being cost-controlled. The Cardinals will head into next spring with Freese as the incumbent starter, while trying to develop third base replacements behind him. But if another injury strikes and the replacements aren’t ready, they could find themselves in the same predicament.

PITCHER OF THE NIGHT
New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia can count to 20 after all. On Saturday, he allowed three runs over seven innings to win his 20th game of the season in the Yankees 11-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. It's the first time in his career he's reached the 20-win plateau and he's the first in MLB this season to reach the mark.

The historical significance is high for a Yankees pitcher to be the first to 20 wins. History says he will win the Cy Young award. Since the award was first given out in 1956, Yankees pitchers have been the first in MLB to 20 wins in a season now four times (Sabathia being the fourth). The previous three times, those Yankees pitchers went on to win the Cy Young that same year and the Yankees went on to win the World Series.



The lefty has now won 156 games in his career. Since 1900, that total is tied with Vida Blue for the 2nd-most wins by a lefty who began the season at age 29 or younger. Blue and Sabathia are well behind the leader in that department, which belongs to Baseball Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser with 185.

HITTER OF THE NIGHT
Nobody in baseball is as hot as Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. As mentioned earlier in this very spot, this month has the potential to be a historic month for Tulowitzki.

On Saturday, he tied some history when he homered twice in a 12-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. With 14 HR, he tied the modern-day record (since 1900) for the most HR in a 15-game span previously held by Albert Belle in 1995 and tied by Barry Bonds during his record-breaking 2001 season.

The two HR Tulowitzki hit on Saturday sets a Rockies record for a single month. The previous high was set at 12 done five previous times, first by Dante Bichette in 1995 and tied lastly by Tulowitzki's former teammate, Matt Holliday in September 2007.



Tulowitzki has the possibility of reaching other records over the final month of the regular season. One record in his grasp: the most HR in regular-season games played in September and October. The current record-holder belongs to Belle when he hit 17 in 1995. Tulowitzki is also averaging a HR every five at-bats. That rate would only be bested by Bonds' 2001 season at 4.81. His current OPS of 1.478 this month is 4th-best in MLB history for games played in September/October.

The Colorado Rockies run is beginning to look a lot like the 2007 version when the team eventually advanced to the World Series.

In 2007, the Rockies were 69-65 through August 31st and five games out of a playoff position. They proceeded to go 21-8 in September and October including winning 14 of their final 15 regular season games. This included a win in their 163rd game (a 9-8 win over the San Diego Padres in 13 innings). They were led by a red-hot Matt Holliday who went .365 with 12 HR and 32 RBI in September/October.

This year, the Rockies were 69-62 through August 31st and four and a half games out of a playoff spot. Entering their game Friday at the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Rockies are 11-4 in September. This year’s team is being led by two superstars. Carlos Gonzalez is hitting a ridiculous .474 with three HR and 15 RBI in September. Teammate Troy Tulowitzki has been even better hitting .361 with 11 HR and 27 RBI in the month.

Keep an eye on the Rockies as they try to repeat their September to remember from 2007.

Troy Tulowitzki knocked in seven of the Colorado Rockies nine runs Wednesday in their 9-6 win over the San Diego Padres. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Tulowitzki is the second player in MLB history with more than 10 home runs and more than 25 RBI in any 14 games of September/October (Hank Greenberg did it in 1940 with 12 HR and 31 RBI). He also tied Ralph Kiner (1949) for the most home runs through the first 15 games of September with 11 (hit two on Wednesday). The Rockies’ club record for homers in a month is 12, accomplished most recently by Matt Holliday in 2007.

• The Tampa Bay Rays moved back into first place in the American League East after posting a 4-3 win over the New York Yankees Wednesday. This was the fifth time in the last six meetings the game was decided by one run, including all three games in this series in Tampa (they play a four-game set in New York beginning Monday, September 20). Dan Johnson’s go-ahead HR in the bottom of the seventh inning – his second HR of the game – was the game-winner. Four of his five HR this season have come against the Yankees and Red Sox.
  
  

  Yankees and Rays
  Head-to-Head This Season

  	NYY	TB
  Wins	6	8
  Runs	69	71
  Hits	121	121
  HR	19	19
  >> Start four-game series in NY on Monday

  While the Rays own the edge in victories in their season series against the Yankees this season these two teams have battled each other extremely close. The Rays have outscored the Yankees by just two runs, while both teams have 19 home runs, and 121 hits in the 14 games they have played against each other.

In the Los Angeles Angels 7-0 win over the Cleveland Indians, Bobby Abreu stole his 20th base of the season. Abreu now has 20 SB in 12 consecutive seasons, the longest active streak in the majors.

• Justin Maxwell of the hit his third career grand slam in the Nationals’ 4-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Maxwell has nine career home runs, three of them are slams. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last player to hit three slams in his first 9 career homers was David Eckstein (2001-02).

Tyler Colvin hit his 20th HR for the Chicago Cubs against the St. Louis Cardinals. Colvin is just the 4th Cubs rookie all-time to hit 20+ home runs.

Some notes from around baseball Friday night
• Jose Bautista continued his ridiculous 2010 season. Bautista cracked two more home runs and now has 46 on the season, which is one shy of matching George Bell's single-season franchise record set in 1987.

• 30 of his home runs this season have come at home. That ties Carlos Delgado's franchise record for HR at home in a single season.

• Bautista had never hit more than 16 home runs in a season coming into this year and had just 13 last season. He is the fourth player in MLB history to hit at least 45 HR one season after hitting fewer than 15. The others are Carlos Pena, Cecil Fielder and Mark McGwire.

• Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the New York Mets in Queens. Halladay picked up his 18th win of the season, becoming the first Phillies pitcher with 18 wins in a season since John Denny in 1983. Denny won the NL Cy Young Award that season and the Phillies advanced to the World Series.

• Four of Halladay's 18 wins this season have come against the Mets. He's the first Phillies pitcher with four wins in a season against the Metropolitans since Vicente Padilla in 2003.

• Halladay also reached 200 strikeouts for the third consecutive season. He's the first Phillies pitcher with 200 K in a season since Brett Myers in 2005.

• Chase Utley and Ryan Howard each went deep for the Phillies, which should come as no surprise. They each have five career home runs at Citi Field. That is tied for the most among visiting players at the stadium.

• Howard has now homered in three straight games for the first time this season and for the ninth time in his career. Five of these nine streaks have started in September or later. Howard has 57 home runs in September or later since joining the league in 2004, easily the most in baseball over that span.

• Howard's blast was his 251st career home run, all of them coming with the Phillies. That ties him with former teammate Pat Burrell for the third-most home runs in franchise history.

• In the Pittsburgh Pirates loss to the Cincinnati Reds, Andrew McCutchen swiped his 30th base of the season. He's the first Pirate with 30 SB in a season since Tony Womack back in 1998. Even better, he's the third Pirate 23 or younger with 30 steals in a season. Barry Bonds did it twice, in 1986 and 1987 (age 21 and 22), and Hall of Famer Max Carey also did it twice, in 1912 and 1913 (age 22 and 23).

• The Atlanta Braves picked up their first win of the season over the St. Louis Cardinals after St. Louis won the first five meetings. Chris Carpenter hit his second career home run, but allowed a season-high eight runs. Matt Holliday hit his 26th home run for the Cardinals, his most home runs since 2007.

• The Cleveland Indians defeated the Minnesota Twins, 2-0. Fausto Carmona snapped his six-start losing streak with a shutout. He's the first pitcher to snap a losing streak of at least six starts with a shutout since the Oakland Athletics' Rick Langford in 1980.

• The game lasted just one hour and 57 minutes, which makes it the quickest nine-inning game in Cleveland since 2004.

• Logan Morrison picked up a hit in the Florida Marlins victory over the Washington Nationals and has now reached base in 30 straight games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last rookie with a longer streak was his teammate Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez reached in 36 straight games as a rookie in 2006.

The infamous collapse of the 2007 New York Mets is one that very nearly every baseball fan knows about – the team blew a seven-game lead over the season's final 17 games, ceding the National League East to the Philadelphia Phillies and becoming the butt of jokes nationwide.

Fast forward three years, and here we are in 2010. While the St. Louis Cardinals’ collapse has occurred at a different time and in a different division, the net result is almost certainly the same – the loss of the division and any shot at the playoffs. The similarities between the two collapses are striking.

While both collapses are similar in magnitude, the reason behind the slump could not be more different. The Cardinals’ bats have gone silent during the collapse, this despite the presence of Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. On the flip side, the 2007 Mets couldn’t have done much more on offense during their collapse – they averaged nearly six runs per game – but their pitching staff's 5.96 ERA down the stretch proved to be their undoing.

Another interesting angle to look at is the play of the team’s superstars during the respective collapses. In baseball, one player cannot carry a team (even if that player is Albert Pujols or David Wright).

What's even more puzzling about the Cardinals slump is that the team presumably sacrificed offense for pitching at the trade deadline, swapping out OF Ryan Ludwick and swapping in SP Jake Westbrook. Matt Holliday, St. Louis' big offseason signing, is batting just .268 with a paltry .303 OBP during these 18 games.

Mercifully, the Cardinals have Thursday off to try and collect themselves before opening a 3-game set against the division-leading Reds Friday in St. Louis.