The National League presents a classic case of on-base versus slugging this week. Manny Ramirez led the majors in OBA with a .608 mark. He batted .480 and collected 12 hits and eight walks. It looks like the opposition is taking the bat out of Manny's hands as he only drove in eight runs. Prince Fielder responded to the managerial change in Milwaukee, smacking the ball all over the park. Fielder led the majors in slugging percentage last week, knocking out nine extra-base hits for a 1.038 SPCT. He drove in 11 runs and scored six. Given that Fielder also posted a high OBA (.533), he wins the Baseball Musings National League Hitter of the Week.

In the American League, Joe Mauer and Shin-soo Choo put everything together offensively. Choo hit three home runs and drove in ten runs in just five games. Mauer, however, played seven. He reached base in every game and collect every type of extra base hit as the Twins pushed for the AL Central title. It's a tough choice, but for his outstanding OBA Joe Mauer win the Baseball Musings AL Hitter of the Week.

A current and former Red Sox pitcher take honors in the AL and NL. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched twice for Boston, winning both games and posting a 0.75 ERA. Most importantly, where Dice-K is concerned, he walked only four batter in 12 innings. Depsite the great overall ERA, walks are a problem for Matsuzaka this season, but going into the playoffs he appears to have brought them under control. For his great control, Daisuke Matsuzaka is the Baseball Musings AL Pitcher of the Week.

Derek Lowe continued his strong pitching that started in the middle of August. Only poor run support kept him from a 2-0 record last week as the Dodgers failed to score for his seven shutout innings on Sunday. He allowed just one run in 14 innings, walking three and striking out ten. For keeping runs off the board, Derek Lowe takes home Baseball Musings NL Pitcher of the Week honors.