According to ESPN.com, Albert Pujols has no interest in signing a contract extension with the Cardinals this offseason.

“I’m not desperate to sign a contract extension. I still have one year remaining in my contract for 2010 and a club option for 2011. I leave the rest in God’s hands,” Pujols told a Dominican radio station (CDN 92.5 FM) Wednesday during an interview on the sports program “Manana Deportiva.”

Pujols signed a seven-year contract for $100 million after the 2003 season, but the two-time MVP said money will not be the central issue in his next contract.

“We have not sat down to talk about contracts yet. Last week, the GM [John Mozeliak] called me and I told them to talk to my lawyer. But I reiterate that money is not everything, it’s better to have a competitive team that can go to the postseason,” he added.

Pujols, 29, hit .327 with 47 home runs and 135 RBIs this season for the Cardinals, and is a heavy favorite to win the NL MVP.

St. Louis would obviously love to make Pujols a Cardinal for life, but it makes sense that he doesn’t want to rush the process when he doesn’t have to. He’s basically under contract for the next two years (the Cardinals will pick him his option in 2011) and therefore doesn’t have to think about his pending free agency for a while.

I don’t read this as Pujols hinting that he doesn’t want to be a Cardinal. I just think he wants to take things one year at a time, especially when he still has at least two more years left in St. Louis.

Nursing a 2-1 lead with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals looked like they had Game 2 of the NLDS wrapped up, especially when Ryan Franklin got Dodgers first baseman James Loney to hit a routine line drive to left field.

Then Matt Holliday forgot which way to turn his glove.

Holliday muffed the line drive, which turned into a double and put the tying run in scoring position. Two walks and a Ronnie Belliard RBI single later and pinch-hitter Mark Loretta became a hero by driving in Casey Blake with a single up the middle.

The Dodgers took Game 2 of the series and the Cardinals’ hopes along with them.

From MLB.com:

What the loss did to the Cardinals’ psyche will be determined later. Manager Tony La Russa tried to put it into words.

“I think it’s about as tough a loss as you can have,” said La Russa, although he noted that at least his club hadn’t been eliminated. “Right now we’re feeling disappointed. But we’re not discouraged. There’s a big difference in the two.”

People are going to pin this loss squarely on Holliday, which is fair given that he should have caught the ball and had he, the game would have been over and the Cards would be going back to St. Louis tied 1-1 in the series.

But Holliday wasn’t the only one to make a mistake for the Cards in this game. The biggest (well, the second biggest after Holliday’s plunder) was probably La Russa not allowing Adam Wainwright to come out in the ninth. Wainwright had thrown more pitches in more outings this year than he did last night and came out for the ninth before. So unless Wainwright told La Russa that he was done, the skipper should have allowed his horse to continue throwing his gem.

Colby Rasmus also made a base running error during the game and was thrown out at third by Loney. Rasmus was hung up in no man’s land on the play and cost his team a runner in scoring position.

But give credit to the Dodgers – they’ve found a way to make Albert Pujols a non factor and the Cardinals haven’t found a way to make them pay. That said, St. Louis should have won this game and it’ll be interesting to see how La Russa’s club bounces back. (If they can, that is.)

As far as the Yankees and Cardinals are concerned, they are on a collision course for the World Series, as they are putting large amounts of distance between themselves and their closest competitors. The Braves, Cubs, Marlins and Giants are losing hope in the NL, while the Rays, Mariners and Twins are losing it in the AL. Time is just running out and is on the side of those out in front. We also had some changes in this week’s rankings, with the Phillies dropping and the Rockies and some other teams climbing.

1. New York Yankees (91-51)—Seriously, does this team have an off-switch lately? Their fans had better hope it doesn’t get flicked on in October. And Derek Jeter now leads a pretty awesome list of company for the team hits lead.

2. St. Louis Cardinals (84-58)—On freaking fire, and Albert Pujols is closing in on 50 homers.

3. Los Angeles Angels (85-55)—With a 5.5-game lead, the Angels are breathing just a bit easier, but they can’t feel good about a likely match up with the Red Sox again.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers (84-58)—Barely hanging on to the NL West lead, but still in front by 2 games. The question is, do they want to face the Phillies or red-hot Cards in the first round?

5. Boston Red Sox (81-58)—They are not able to keep the pesky Rangers away, and Red Sox nation is a few weeks away from breathing easy, if they even hang on at all.

6. Colorado Rockies (82-60)—Nine out of ten wins and the Rockies are no longer thinking just wild card. But would they keep it up in October?

7. Texas Rangers (79-60)—The way they are chasing the Red Sox puts them just a notch above struggling Philly.

8. Philadelphia Phillies (80-59)—A 6-game lead over Florida is fairly comfortable, but the Phils are not playing good baseball. Can they find their stroke in October?

9. Detroit Tigers (75-65)—Only a total collapse would keep the Tigers from a postseason berth now, but just ask the Mets if that can’t happen.

10. San Francisco Giants (76-65)—Mediocre ball in September will not help this team catch the Rockies and Dodgers.

We are now in September, which means pennant races are becoming reality and every game is more meaningful. The Yankees are still red-hot, but at some point we have to wonder if they can keep it up when October rolls around—peaking in August is not necessarily what you hope for, but it has put some distance between the Yanks and Sox.
The rankings have not changed much, but have changed nonetheless:

1. New York Yankees (86-49)—Last night, Roy Halladay put out a fire that saw the Yanks win six straight after our previous rankings were released.

2. St. Louis Cardinals (80-56)—Holliday and Pujols homered again. But just like the Yanks, can those two continue their tear into October? Oh, and the Cards’ pitching staff isn’t too shabby either.

3. Los Angeles Angels (79-54)—A 3.5 game lead over Texas is not what Mike Scioscia was hoping for at this point.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers (80-56)—Can we talk about Manny Ramirez, or can we ask where he’s been since returning from suspension? In fact, Man-Ram has 16 homers in 83 games. Last year, he had 17 in 53 after coming over from Boston. Hmmmm. Oh, but how ‘bout Thome and Ramirez back in the same lineup.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (77-55)—Cliff Lee being rocked again is not a good sign, but the Phils still lead the Braves by 7.5 games.

6. Boston Red Sox (78-56)—Seven-plus behind the Yanks, and only two games ahead of Texas for the wild card. Red Sox nation must keep the Rolaids nearby.

7. Texas Rangers (76-58)—Did anyone else read that article in ESPN the Magazine about how Nolan Ryan is grooming his pitchers to be tougher? Now that’s a concept, as the complete game had become a lost art.

8. Colorado Rockies (75-60)—A sweep last weekend by the Giants put a hurtin’ on the Rockies, but they are hanging tough, leading the wild card race by a game.

9. San Francisco Giants (74-61)—You can’t count the Giants out with their pitching staff, but they have needed a slugger in the lineup ever since they released Barry Bonds.

10. Detroit Tigers (73-61)—There is now some distance between the Tigers and Twins, and even more between the Tigers and White Sox, who appear to have given up hope. The question is, can this team beat the Yankees, their most likely opponent in October, in a short series?

It’s getting down to pennant race times and there are some incredibly tight races and a lot of teams that are at least in contention. Here we’ll take a look at who we think the Top 5 teams are right now and who the Bottom 5 are as well.

Top 5

1. New York Yankees (73-43)—Not only did the Yankees sweep the rival Red Sox last weekend and make quite a statement, they’ve won 10 of 11 and are 22-6 (.786) since the all-star break. That is just scorching.

2. Los Angeles Angels (68-45)—You have to feel for the surging Rangers and even the Mariners, because neither one is going to catch this fundamentally sound team. If Mike Scioscia isn’t the best manager in baseball, he’s surely the most underrated.

3. St. Louis Cardinals (65-52)—The Cards grabbed Matt Holliday before anyone else could and he’s batting .493 with a slugging percentage of .813 in his first 75 at-bats with St. Louis. Pujols/Holliday has got to be the most fearsome 3-4 tandem in baseball.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers (69-47)—The Dodgers hung on without Manny for a few months, and then cooled off when he returned. They’ve lost 7 of 11 but still lead their division by 5 games and are 32-14 against NL West opponents.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (65-48)—Suddenly with Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, and Jimmy Rollins finally finding his stroke, the defending champs are poised to make another run deep into October and possibly November.

Bottom 5

1. Washington Nationals (41-75)—They recently won eight in a row but still trail the Phillies by 25.5 games and the fourth place Mets by 13.5. So yeah, they’re still the worst team in baseball.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates (46-69)—The Pirates actually looked half decent early in the season, but they did what they always do in July—made a whole bunch of trades and pretty much surrendered the season as well as the next three seasons, as they’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games.

3. Kansas City Royals (45-70)—Remember the Royals were 14-12 and everyone started talking about this team being decent for the first time in two-plus decades? We remember, but then they remembered that they were the Royals.

4. Baltimore Orioles (48-67)—This team has some great young players like Adam Jones and Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis, but playing in that division is almost unfair.

5. Cleveland Indians (49-66)—Once again, the Indians have disappointed and started selling off players. Cliff Lee, like CC Sabathia last year, is the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and the Tribe also dumped popular catcher Victor Martinez and infielder Ryan Garko. Next year sure has a familiar ring on Lake Erie.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports recently discovered FanGraphs, a great baseball website which uses complicated algorithms to determine attributes about players. Passan compiled 25 intriguing stats that the common fan would never realize unless they went to this site.

1) The best fastball in baseball is 88.4 mph.

And it belongs to Jarrod Washburn. He also throws a slider, cutter, curveball and changeup, but his average-velocity fastball is the dagger of the bunch. At 22.4 runs above average this year, it has been more effective than the fastest (Ubaldo Jimenez) and the slowest (Jamie Moyer). The most amazing part: Washburn’s fastball was actually 8.3 runs below average last year.

6) The best pitch in baseball is a changeup, and you’ll never guess who throws it.

Tim Lincecum came up heralded for his blazing fastball and hammer curveball, and neither is close to his best pitch. Lincecum’s changeup has been 27.5 runs above average this year, the highest total for any pitch and almost double the second-best change, Brian Tallet’s 14-runs-above special. It’s not like Lincecum piles up the runs above average by throwing the changeup egregiously. His 5.62 runs above per 100 changeups thrown is also the best for that pitch.

15) One person has three pitches that are among the five best in runs above average.

More evidence that Dan Haren is the business: He’s got the best splitter in baseball (7.2 runs above average), the fourth-best cutter (13.7 above average) and the fifth-best fastball (19.3 above average).

25) Six players in baseball do not have a weakness on a specific pitch.

As you know, Pujols isn’t one of them. Joe Mauer is an easy guess, and it would be correct. Same with Cabrera, who has the privilege of being the only player above average in all six categories – knuckleball included. Torii Hunter(notes) just makes it, one-one hundredth a run in the black on curveballs, and his center field peer Adam Jones(notes) joins him. The two National League representatives come from the Central Division. Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto(notes) is a monster. The other is not. He hits .292. He slugs .386. He is the epitome of utility. The final player without a weakness: Skip Schumaker(notes).

If I’m a professional baseball player, I’m checking this site everyday, as it reports useable statistics scouts are even missing. The people they have contributing to the site are all very serious and spend days mapping out an athlete’s progression or regression in various areas. Be sure to check out Passan’s entire list as well as the FanGraphs page.

And what about that Dan Haren? These stats show that he has the stuff of a Cy Young-worthy pitcher. It should either be he or Lincecum who ends up with the award in the NL. While the Diamonbacks have no chance of making the playoffs, at least Haren can accomplish this feat on his own. As for Lincecum, his team is looking better by the day.

Joe Posnanski put together a ranking of who he believes are the top 100 current MLB players at this moment (as in right now – not over the past two years, three years, etc).

Here is his top 10:

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals
“Every hitter is human,” says pitcher Zack Greinke (No. 4). “Except Pujols.”

2. Joe Mauer, C, Twins
Could win his third batting title this year … no other American League catcher ever has won even one in history.

3. Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins
Advanced stats suggest he’s better defensively than people think. Offensively, he leads the league in hitting and might have another 30-30 season.

4. Zack Greinke, SP, Royals
Throws four plus pitches, all for strikes, leads the league with a 2.08 ERA, and has won 10 games for a team that has scored the fewest runs in the AL.

5. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies
Crushes the ball, plays outstanding defense and, just as a fun side note, has led the league in hit-by-pitch three years running.

6. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees
Disastrous first half splattered with injuries, rumors and a low batting average … and the guy STILL has a 145 OPS+, good for seventh in the AL.

7. Tim Lincecum, SP, Giants
The Freak is pitching even better this year (10-2, 2.27 ERA, league-leading 159 K’s) than last year, when he won the Cy Young.

8. Dan Haren, SP, Diamondbacks
League is hitting .187 against him and he has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 137-18. Baseball hasn’t seen anything like that since the heyday of Pedro.

9. Johan Santana, SP, Mets
He was 2-4 with a 6.19 ERA in six June starts and people screamed that he was done. But Santana is a demon in the second half … and sure enough he has not allowed a run in his last two starts.

10. Roy Halladay, SP, Blue Jays
Not sure where he will be pitching … but he will dominate. A handful of the people in the world can throw 93-mph fastballs that sink. A handful of people can pitch with pinpoint control. One man can do both.

It’s hard to argue Pujols being in the top spot and with how good Mauer has been this season (especially considering how there were huge concerns about his back in spring training) I’m not going to debate Posanski about his second slot either.

But I guess I’m a little confused about his ranking system overall. He says that he’s doing a top 100 of players RIGHT NOW (to use his exact phrasing of the words “RIGHT NOW”), but what does that mean? Over the past two weeks? Over the past couple days? Over the entire course of the season – what?

Because if it’s over the entire course of the season, he’s got A-Rod way too high and I don’t think Johan Santana should be ranked ahead of Roy Halladay either. Also, and I know I might catch some flack for this, but I think Lincecum is the best pitcher in baseball right now. Greinke has been absolutely phenomenal, but Lincecum just recently went 29 innings without giving up an earned run and could easily have 13 or 14 wins if it weren’t for the Giants’ pathetic use for an offense.

But hey, as with any ranking, you can debate every slot 1 through 100 and I like the feature on a whole.