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The Orange County Register is reporting that the Angels have re-signed outfielder Bobby Abreu to a two-year contract with a team option for 2012.

Abreu, 35, signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Angels on the eve of spring training this year. He hit .293 with 96 runs scored, 103 RBI and 30 stolen bases.

“I am very happy to sign this contract,� Abreu said in the team’s press release. “I really enjoyed my first season with the club. The Angels are a solid organization, with an outstanding team and great fans. With the talent we have, I look forward to the opportunity of post-season competition once again.�

Both parities were a fit for each other last year and Abreu proved that he can still be highly productive. He wanted a multi-year deal and he got one, so kudos to the Angels for not undermining his value and getting into a drawn out contract dance.

Remember all the talk before the playoffs started about how CC Sabathia couldn’t hack it in the postseason? Well, apparently Sabathia took it to heart because so far the Yankees’ ace has been dominant.

Sabathia limited the Angels to one run on four hits over eight innings in the Yankees’ 4-1 Game 1 victory in the ALCS Friday night. Sabathia also struck out seven and walked just one as he threw 76 of his 113 pitches for strikes.

Of course, New York was helped dramatically by L.A.’s inability to make routine plays. The Halos played a brutal game, committing three errors and allowing a routine popup fall between Eric Aybar and Chone Figgins between shortstop and third base in the third inning. The play allowed two runners to score and the Yankees never looked back after that.

The only good thing that can come out of this loss for the Angels is that they played so bad that it could re-focus them for the rest of the series. It’s hard to get over a tough loss when you played well and just didn’t execute in the end. It’s a little easier to chalk up a loss and move on when you make a bunch of routine errors and overall just had an off night.

We’ll see how the Halos respond in Game 2.

We are barreling toward the playoffs, which begin next week. But some of the races are not determined officially yet…namely, the Rockies have clinched a playoff berth but still have a shot at the division title. The Twins are hanging tough, having fended off elimination one more day. Other than that, the races are decided. Here are the final power rankings for the regular season…..

1. New York Yankees (102-58)—Absolutely no signs of slowing down, and that’s probably a good thing with the playoffs looming.

2. Los Angeles Angels (95-65)—Will this be the year the Angels finally break their playoff curse against the Red Sox?

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (93-67)—These guys have been playing mediocre ball since Manny came back, and now they are in danger of blowing the division lead.

4. Boston Red Sox (93-67)—The Sox seem to be able to beat up on everyone except the Yankees. And that could prove to be a problem in the next two weeks.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (92-68)—No matter who the closer is, this team has to like its chances with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels going 1-2 in a short series.

6. St. Louis Cardinals (91-69)—Sometimes coasting to the division title makes a team complacent, and winning 4 of 10 games is complacent. Plus, the NL matchups are yet to be determined, so the Cards don’t know who their first opponent will be.

7. Colorado Rockies (92-68)—You don’t get as hot as the Rockies, who are 74-40 since Jim Tracy took over as manager. I mean, are you kidding me? I’d be really worried if I were any other team these guys might face in the postseason.

8. Detroit Tigers (85-75)—They’ve been in first place just about since day one, but the feisty Twins are making live miserable. Still, the Tigers have had to fight and that could give them momentum against the Yankees. Well, if they hang on to win the division.

9. Minnesota Twins (84-76)—They earn a spot here because they are still in the race.

10. San Francisco Giants (87-73)—Lots of promise this season, but couldn’t fend off a white hot Rockies team in the end.

There are only eight days left in the regular season, barring any one-game playoffs, and aside from the AL Central, most races are all but over. The Red Sox have a chance to make up ground on the Yankees, but the Yanks have already clinched a playoff berth. Here are your power rankings this week….

1. New York Yankees (98-56)—If they sweep the Sox this weekend, the AL East race will officially be over. But both teams appear certainly headed to the big dance.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (92-62)—Quietly moving up and close to clinching the NL West while their cross-town pals are struggling.

3. Boston Red Sox (91-62)—This team has got to be making the Yankees and their fans nervous, even if the Yanks have made the playoffs, because they just keep winning. But, see #1.

4. Los Angeles Angels (90-63)—It’s a good thing the Rangers are playing like crap, otherwise the Angels would be looking in the rear view mirror.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (89-64)—Getting hot as the weather cools down.

6. St. Louis Cardinals (89-65)—The magic number still at one.

7. Colorado Rockies (87-67)—Some days the Rockies look like they might catch the Dodgers, but lately they are trying to fend off the Braves and Giants for that wild card.

8. Detroit Tigers (82-71)—The Twins remain 2 games back, and the Tigers have not exactly set the world on fire the past month.

9. Atlanta Braves (83-70)—Bobby Cox’s teams never quit and they are hanging tough in the wild card race.

10. San Francisco Giants (82-72)—Now the clock is really ticking. The Cubs, of all teams, hurt the Giants’ chances badly again last night.

Wow, there are just two weeks left in the regular season, and the races have mostly been decided. The Twins might catch the Tigers, and the Giants or Marlins might catch the Rockies…and if you want to get a laugh, consider that the Nationals might catch the Mets. That’s a long shot, but it’s mathematically possible, which proves what a horrid season the Mets have had. Here are the power rankings for this week:

1. New York Yankees (94-54)—There should be no question who the first team to 100 wins will be. CC goes for win #18 today, and at this point there is probably no doubt who the best free agent signing was this season.

2. Los Angeles Angels (88-59)—Still coasting, and though the Angels moved up to #2 this week, they can’t feel good with Brian Fuentes struggling this time of year.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers (88-60)—Who is the better team in L.A.? Ask me again in a month.

4. Boston Red Sox (87-59)—Still only six games back of the Yanks, but a playoff berth is all but guaranteed with a 7-game wild card lead. A first round match up with the Angels looms, something Red Sox nation does not and should not fear.

5. St. Louis Cardinals (86-62)—It’s okay to get a few losses out of the way now, what with a ridiculous 10-game lead over the Cubs. But along with the Angels and Phillies, this team has a big question mark at the back end of the bullpen.

6. Philadelphia Phillies (86-60)—Playing good ball again, and Cliff Lee has returned to form at the right time. Magic number is 8, and with a close record to the Cards, it’s unclear which team will face the wild card winner.

7. Colorado Rockies (83-65)—This is not the time to play mediocre ball, but the Rocks were so hot that cooling off was inevitable. Still have a 2.5-game lead in the wild card standings.

8. Texas Rangers (80-66)—Fading fast.

9. San Francisco Giants (80-67)—Still hanging on, but the clock is ticking. Big win over Dodgers last night.

10. Detroit Tigers (78-69)—Not only are the Marlins threatening to take their spot in the power rankings, but the Twins are now just 3 games back after shutting the Tigers out last night.

We are now in September, which means pennant races are becoming reality and every game is more meaningful.

The Los Angeles Angels gave their starting rotation a boost on Friday night, acquiring Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Scott Kazmir for third baseman Matt Sweeney, left-hander Alex Torres and a player to be named later.

While Kazmir has been solid in his last three starts, his velocity is down and he’s always an injury risk. Still, this move gives the Halos much-needed depth in their starting rotation and they also net a pitcher who has plenty of experience against the Yankees and Red Sox. (Two teams the Angels could face in the postseason.)

For the Rays, Kazmir never panned out to be the ace the club thought he would become when they acquired him from the Mets earlier this decade. Injuries have limited his effectiveness, although he still owns a career ERA of 3.92. He’s also the club’s career leader in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched.

Overall, Tampa gets significant salary reliever in the trade by shedding most of the three-year, $28.5 million extension Kazmir signed in May of last year.

They also get a solid strikeout prospect in Torres, who can pitch for the groundout and has been largely overlooked in the Halos’ organization. Sweeney has 25-30 home run potential, but an ankle injury cost him virtually his entire ’08 season and he’ll have to work his way up from High-A ball.

Pennant races this season are not quite as exciting as last season, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have a few good races in September. The power rankings this week have not changed much, but the Rockies and Rangers swapped places. The Rays, who were on the cusp of cracking the Top 10, traded Scott Kazmir to the Angels yesterday, making us all scratch our heads and wonder if they are conceding the race.

1. New York Yankees (80-48)—The first team to 80 victories is officially in cruise control. The question is, can they carry it over into the postseason? Because we all know how you-know-who performs in October.

2. Los Angeles Angels (76-51)—If newly acquired Scott Kazmir stays healthy, this scrappy Angels team could be wearing new jewelry. Then again, October has been none to kind to them recently as well.

3. St. Louis Cardinals (75-55)—The Cardinals now have a 9 game lead on the woe-as-me Cubs. The good franchises always add the right parts when they are in a pennant race, and Matt Holliday and John Smoltz are those guys for the Redbirds.

4. Philadelphia Phillies (74-52)—The Phils may have given the slightest ray of hope to the Marlins and Braves, but then they remembered that they were the world champs.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (76-53)—Their lead over the Rockies shrunk to 2 games this past week. It’s now back to 4, but this NL West race is not going to be a landslide as everyone thought. In fact, it’s now a 3-team race.

6. Boston Red Sox (74-54)—Don’t think the Sox can’t still catch the Yankees. If not, they should be able to hang on to the wild card, and adding Billy Wagner certainly doesn’t hurt their chances.

7. Colorado Rockies (72-57)—The wild card is not what these Rockies have in mind, and they just keep right on winning and closing the gap.

8. Texas Rangers (71-56)—Slipping in the power rankings and slipping in their quest for a wild card berth.

9. San Francisco Giants (70-59)—Got a big lift from Lincecum last night against the Rockies, but Giants need to sweep this weekend if they want to remain in contention.

10. Detroit Tigers (68-59)—T-men hanging tough, but watch out for the surging Twins, is all I’m sayin’.

We’re just six weeks away from the end of the regular season in baseball. Races are maybe tighter than they have ever been as a whole in each division, so let’s have another look at the power rankings. This week and going forward, we’ll only look at the top 10 instead of top 5 and bottom 5.

1. New York Yankees (77-45)—They’ve won 8 of 10 and show no signs of slowing down. And 20 runs against the Red Sox? Are you kidding me?

2. Los Angeles Angels (73-47)—Looks like we’re heading for an east-west ALCS.

3. St. Louis Cardinals (70-54)—John Smoltz isn’t likely to make an impact, but the Holliday trade already took care of that. This team is on fire.

4. Philadelphia Phillies (69-50)—Seriously, can Cliff Lee be pitching any better? Even Pedro has gotten into the act, and the rest of the NL has to be afraid of the defending champs.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers (73-50)—.474 ball in August (9-10) isn’t going to get it done. Not only are the Dodgers slipping in the power rankings, they’re now just 4.5 games up on the Rockies.

6. Boston Red Sox (69-52)—And they thought they had the Yankees’ number. Not this year, unless they make a huge surge in September.

7. Texas Rangers (68-53)—A mediocre August, but still keeping pace with the Red Sox for wild card.

8. Colorado Rockies (68-54)—Forget the wild card, the Rockies have a legitimate shot at the NL West crown.

9. San Francisco Giants (67-55)—With their pitching staff, they are never out of any race.

10. Detroit Tigers (65-56)—The Tampa Bay Rays have a slightly better record, but Tigers get the nod because, well, they’re in first place and the Rays are in third in that ridiculous AL East.

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.