Lori Shepler / AP

Even without Manny Ramirez for 50 games, the Dodgers are the best team in the NL West.

Q: How do Albert Pujols' numbers in his first eight full seasons compare to the all-time greats? Just in numbers only, is he one of the 10 best players of all-time?
— Jaime Nunez, El Paso, Texas

A: To answer this one, I'll refer you to Baseball-Reference.com's similarity scores, Jaime. They are an offshoot of a system created by Bill James, and give you a top-10 list of players whose numbers most closely compare to a player.

And here is the list of Pujols' 10 closest comparisons through his age of 28. You may recognize a few of them: 1. Jimmie Foxx; 2. Hank Aaron; 3. Frank Robinson; 4. Lou Gehrig; 5. Ken Griffey Jr.; 6. Mickey Mantle; 7. Joe DiMaggio; 8. Juan Gonzalez; 9. Mel Ott; 10. Hal Trosky.

So at this point, yes, you'd have to say Pujols is among some of the all-time greats. Far be it from me to predict that Pujols' career is going to be anything less than Hall of Fame-caliber. Tony La Russa has called him the greatest hitter he's ever seen, and that's good enough for me. And with Alex Rodriguez's fall from grace, there is little doubt Pujols is the best player in the game.

But you never know what can happen long-term. But for now, we can say he is on a path to be one of the all-time greats.

Q: What's going to happen to Oliver Perez? His performance hasn't been what the Mets expected.
— Jimmy Hernandez, New York

A: The short-term answer is that Perez has landed on the disabled list after an MRI exam revealed patellar tendinitis in his right leg. That diagnosis came after he temporarily was moved to the bullpen in an attempt to work through his mechanical/control issues.

For the time being, young left-hander Jonathan Niese has Perez's spot in the Mets' rotation. But let's get back to Perez. The numbers through five starts really are alarming: 9.97 ERA, 21.2 innings, 28 hits, 21 walks, .315 opponents' batting average, and only one good outing among the five.

He has fallen into funks in the past, and he doesn't think this one is as bad as the one that got him traded from the Pirates to the Mets in 2006. And let's hope the struggles are more injury-related than anything else.

But you know the Mets are second-guessing the decision not to give Derek Lowe the fifth guaranteed year he was looking for, and instead re-sign Perez for three years and $36 million.

Q: I'm a big Yankees fan, and so far, I'm not as impressed by their pitching staff as I thought I would be. Should they sign a pitcher, maybe somebody like Freddy Garcia?
— Kurtis Mills, Keene, N.H.

A: I think the Yankees have spent enough money on pitching, don't you? Just kidding, but unfortunately, Garcia's days as an effective big-league pitcher may be over, so I don't think he's a viable option at this point.

You know things weren't right with Garcia health-wise when White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen — a very close friend — passed on the chance to sign him this winter.

Garcia ended up with the Mets, who released him this week following two dismal starts in which he posted an 8.18 ERA at Triple-A Buffalo. Garcia said his shoulder still hurts — two years after he underwent rotator cuff surgery — never a good sign for a 33-year-old who has logged a lot of innings.

As for the Yankees, Chien-Ming Wang will get every possible chance to get himself straightened out. But if not, they could acquire another starting pitcher some time before the July 31 trade deadline.

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Tony Gutierrez / AP

More heroics from Hamilton

Josh Hamilton fights off illness to hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th inning, lifting the Texas Rangers to an 8-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Angels win as Pujols HR streak up to 3 games

SEATTLE (AP) - Albert Pujols hit a home run in his third straight game and pinch hitter Alberto Callaspo came through with a grand slam in the sixth inning to give the Los Angeles Angels a 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

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