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.

Teams are continuing to make transactions left and right as we head into the final 30 games of the MLB regular season. We’ve seen all the contending clubs trying to solidify their lineups, whether that means cutting busts or taking a chance. It’s been both successful (Matt Holiday and the Cardinals) and a let down (Alex Rios and the White Sox). Though not as huge a story as other recent pickups, earlier today the Dodgers acquired utility man Ronnie Belliard from the Nationals in exchange for prospect Luis Garcia and a player to be named.

“He gives us some offense,” manager Joe Torre said. “He can play around the infield, probably all positions but shortstop. It gives me the ability to spell these guys. He gives us a little more depth with experience coming off the bench.”

Belliard started at second base for St. Louis during its 2006 World Series championship, batting .240 with four RBIs during the playoffs. The Dodgers will have to make a roster move to open a spot for him on Monday.

“It’s a compliment,” Belliard said, after the Cardinals beat the Nationals 2-1 in St. Louis to complete a three-game sweep. “Now I have a chance to win another one. I helped the Cardinals in 2006 witih my defense and some lucky hits that I got in the playoffs. Hopefully I can do that in LA. That’s why they traded for me.”

Nice confidence there, Ronnie. I’m sure that’s exactly what Joe Torre wants to hear when he calls on you to pinch-hit during the NLCS. “Hopefully I’ll get a lucky hit.” Belliard has shown he can be a capable player, recently batting .290 with the Nationals in 2007. He’s been a starter for most of his career, which has included time with the Brewers, Rockies, Indians, Cardinals, and Nationals. However, the Dodgers will primarily use him to give Orlando Hudson and Casey Blake some rest.

With Belliard’s acquisition, the Dodgers will need to send somebody down to make room on the roster. Unfortunately for Juan Castro, all signs point to him, despite his solid play.

The Stephen Strasburg era is about to begin as the Nationals beat Tuesday’s midnight deadline to sign the top overall pick by agreeing to a deal for roughly $15.1 million.

Per the Washington Post:

The contract details: Strasburg’s signing bonus is $7.5 million; his four-year deal includes a total of $7.6 million in annual salaries. He gets a prorated share of the league minimum, $400,000, this year. Then he makes $2 million in 2010, $2.5 million in 2011, and $3 million in 2012. A few of the Nats players I’ve talked to or texted with since the deal went down believe — uniformly — that this was an excellent deal with the club, and very reasonable. I don’t think Strasburg will face much animosity within the clubhouse.

Time will tell if Strasburg is worth the money, but for now the Nationals have to be relieved that the contract is done. Agent Scott Boras doesn’t make things easy for clubs, but now that he’s signed Washington can concentrate on the baseball side of things.

Ideally, Strasburg will be on the fast track to the big leagues and even though they could delay his free agency status if they wait to bring him up, the Nats may want him to be in their starting rotation as early as next season. It might be hard to keep him off the big league roster if his high-90s fastball and top-notch slider carve up minor league hitting throughout the winter.

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.

According to a report by NBC Sports, Nationals’ starter Jordan Zimmermann will have to have Tommy John surgery to repair his right elbow injury.

(Acting general manager Mike) Rizzo says Monday that Dr. James Andrews reviewed an MRI exam done on Zimmermann’s right elbow and agreed with a Nationals team doctor that the pitcher should have an operation to repair a ligament.

The team will seek a third opinion before consulting with Zimmermann and his agent on whether to have the surgery.

This is a massive blow to both Zimmermann and the Nationals, who view the 23-year-old as the cornerstone to an up-and-coming starting rotation. If he does follow through with the surgery, he’ll likely miss the entire 2010 season and won’t be ready to rejoin Washington’s rotation until 2011 at the earliest. And of course, there’s no guarantee that he’ll respond well to the surgery.

This is disappointing news for a developing young star like Zimmermann.

With a 26-61 record over the first half of the season, the Washington Nationals have decided to part ways with manager Manny Acta. The club anointed bench coach Jim Riggleman as the interim manager for the rest of the season.

The Nationals organization gambled in 2007 by hiring a young coach (Acta was 38 then) to manage a young team. Acta seemed to be well liked by his players and peers, but you can’t have a manager learning on the job at the same time young players are trying to develop in the big leagues.

Acta didn’t have the best talent to work with in Washington, nor did he have the greatest front office to support him. But he still deserves a ton of the blame for his eventual demise, so nobody should go on believing that he got a raw deal here.

The Nationals do have a ton of young talent (with more on the way with Stephen Strasburg on the fast track to the big leagues), but they’re going to need to find the right fit at manager. Who that person is, I don’t know. But it has to be someone with the right balance of experience and exuberance, because this young team will wear on a manager’s nerves. Maybe somebody like Joe Giriardi after the Yankees impatiently fire him at the end of the season for not going to the playoffs?

Tom Verducci of SI.com put together his individual and team awards now that baseball is at its halfway point. Below are some of his team awards.

AL Biggest Surprise: Texas Rangers.
The team with four straight losing seasons has never been more than 3 1/2 games out of first place all season. Kevin Millwood has been a true workhorse and ace for a pitching staff that has held up very well under coach Mike Maddux.

NL Biggest Surprise: San Francisco Giants.
They might not even hit 100 home runs and they might be the least patient hitting team in the league, but the Giants are a legitimate wild card threat because their pitching is spectacular.

AL Biggest Bust: Cleveland Indians.
Yes, injuries have helped take this team out of contention, but the Indians shouldn’t be this bad. The bullpen has been frightening.

NL Biggest Bust: Arizona Diamondbacks.
Suddenly, they are a stagnant organization, and the A.J. Hinch hiring as a completely inexperienced manager has looked about as risky as it sounded at the time.

AL Best Plan A: Detroit Tigers.
They fast-tracked Porcello, traded for Edwin Jackson, moved Brandon Inge to third, acquired Gerald Laird and Adam Everett and paid Gary Sheffield to go away, a symbolic move that the organization knew the team had grown too old and unathletic. The emphasis on pitching and defense has been spot on.

NL Best Plan A: Los Angeles Dodgers.
They cut their payroll by $18 million and wound up with the best record in baseball. The Orlando Hudson signing was a gem, not to mention those of Casey Blake, Mark Loretta, Brad Ausmus and Randy Wolf, gamers all.

AL Worst Plan A: Oakland Athletics.
Oakland does a nice job of collecting assets on the cheap, but the plan doesn’t seem to come together. Old horses Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera and Nomar Garciaparra have 729 plate appearances and OPS+ marks of 92, 69 and 83. Matt Holliday isn’t as valuable now as when Oakland acquired him. And the Athletics continue to have major problems keeping players healthy. Oakland does have a bunch of good arms that could pay off big soon, and there’s still time to invoke a good Plan B before the trade deadline.

NL Worst Plan A: Washington Nationals.
Why is Adam Dunn here? The Nats have too many outfielders who are poor defenders, too many starting pitchers who can’t go deep enough into games, too many relief pitchers who can’t get enough hitters out and too many dumb mistakes.

I’m happy to boast that the team’s Verducci picked as his biggest surprises (Rangers and Giants), were two of the five teams I chose as my “deep sleepers” in the offseason. (Hey, this back isn’t going to pat itself, you know?)

Of course, I was the one who also ranked the Diamondbacks as the seventh best team and the Indians the ninth best team in the league for TSR’s 2009 MLB Preview. (Hey, this body isn’t going to throw itself under the bus, you know?)

According to a report by SI.com, the Nationals are expected to fire manager Manny Acta, possibly as early as Monday.

Acta, 40, is well-liked by his bosses but appears to be taking the hit for the team’s 16-43 start. Nationals bosses feel “something needs to be done,” a person familiar with their thinking said.

Nationals bosses are said to admire Acta’s patience. However, they may not have the same sort of patience. He is 148-234 in his time in Washington.

Nationals president Stan Kasten and interim GM Mike Rizzo did not return phone calls.

The likely firing was first reported by foxsports.com, which said that Jim Riggleman would take over for Acta. Riggleman has managed the Cubs, Padres and Mariners.

It isn’t known how the early report of the likely firing might affect the Nationals’ thinking. But normally the ultimate decision doesn’t change based on the reporting.

Acta’s record speaks for itself, but what were the front office heads expecting? He’s got a young pitching staff that is going to need time to develop and although the offense is solid, the Nats are still a year or two away from competing (if not three, four or five years away).

I don’t follow Washington too closely, so I don’t know how good or bad Acta’s game managing is. But I do know he’s not working with much and I’m a little surprised that the front office wants to make a move, especially to Riggleman, who isn’t going to be much of an upgrade.

After the Washington Nationals took San Diego State phenom Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick of the 2009 MLB Draft, the first question that came to everyone’s mind was – will he sign?

Strasburg’s agent is Scott Boras, who is someone that would rather sell his mother on eBay than not overcharge a team for one of his client’s services. The pre-draft buzz was that Washington is willing to pay whatever it takes to sign Strasburg, but we’ll see what happens when the two sides actually come to the negotiating table.

The second question on everyone’s mind is – how good is this kid?

As a sophomore at SDS, he went 8-3 with a 1.57 ERA and struck out 133 batters in 97.5 innings of work. Four of his 13 starts that year were complete games and two were shutouts. Through May this season, he posted a 13-1 record with a 1.32 ERA and 195 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched.

The scouting report on Strasburg is eye-popping; his fastball tops out at 103 mph, his curve has excellent movement and his slider can clock in the 90s. If the Nationals absolutely needed him to pitch this season (which they don’t – there’s no reason to rush him), some believe that he’s even major-league ready now.

But there’s no such thing as a “can’t miss prospect” and Strasburg isn’t immune to criticism. Some believe he could be the next Mark Prior in that he’s injury prone because he puts too much pressure on his wrist and his elbow comes up too high in his release (which usually signals arm problems down the road). Throw in the pressure that comes along with being the No. 1 overall pick (not too mention a No. 1 pick who will eventually sign for $50-plus million) and all of a sudden you realize that transportation to bustville runs 24 hours a day.

Personally, I hope Strasburg lives up to the hype. The Nationals need him to be great and so does baseball, which is slowly starting to clean up its image. There has been a major buzz surrounding him and fans can’t wait to see him go toe to toe with major league hitters. Here’s hoping he has a bright and successful future ahead of him.

With the 2009 MLB Draft set to kickoff at 6:00 ET tonight on the MLB Network, SI.com did a cool feature in which they rated how each club has fared over the past 10 years when it comes to the draft.

The Brewers were rated number one and it’s hard to argue with the ranking after looking at the names Milwaukee has drafted over the years: Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, J.J. Hardy, Manny Parra, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo. Amazingly, this club also drafted Hunter Pence (Astros), but couldn’t sign him.

The Red Sox were rated No. 2, with Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and Manny Delcarmen leading the way, but the site left off a glaring omission: Jacoby Ellsbury. The Rays actually drafted Ellsbury in the 2002 draft, but never signed him. The Sox then nabbed him with the 23rd overall pick in 2005 and he’s currently their starting centerfielder.

Speaking of the Rays, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tampa ranked higher than No. 4 in the next couple of years. Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, James Shields, Andy Sonnanstine and David Price are just some of the names they’ve drafted in the past 10 years. Don’t forget that they were the team that also drafted Josh Hamilton before he got injured and then became the poster child of what not to do when you’re an inspiring ballplayer with loads of free time on your hands.

You look at a club like the Nationals ranked No. 8 and you wonder why they’ve been so awful over the years despite drafting so well. Then you realized they dealt Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips all in the same trade for Bartolo Colon and it all starts to make sense.

If you’re wondering whom SI had ranked last, it was the Astros; only Hunter Pence was worth noting of the players Houston drafted the past 10 years. The White Sox were second to last, although if Josh Fields, Chris Getz, Clayton Richard and Gordon Beckham develop like the club hopes, I highly doubt Chicago will be ranked that low again if SI does another ranking like this in the next couple of years.