Ankiel hot, HGH story comes out, Ankiel goes cold. Hmm...

Chicago Cubs

Hot: The question has never been whether or not Cliff Floyd could hit, but whether he could stay healthy enough to do so. Well, he is healthy now, and he is raking. Over his last ten appearances, Floyd is 7-for-24, good for a .292 batting average, with three homers, four RBI, and seven runs scored.

Not: There is cold and then there is Ryan Theriot cold. Over the last ten games, Theriot has just four hits in 38 at-bats, which works out to a robust .105 batting average.

Cincinnati Reds

Hot: Adam Dunn, as usual this time of year, has nothing better to play for than pride, but that pride is showing at the plate and in the box scores. Over his last ten games, Dunn is hitting .323 with three home runs, nine RBI, and eleven runs scored.

Not: Nothing sums up how horrid the Reds really are than the fact that they keep giving the ball to Kirk Saarloos. Since returning in August, Saarloos has made three appearances out of the pen and one in the rotation and has looked mediocre in both roles, with a 4.65 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. Have a retread mediocre pitcher? Give the Reds a call – they love them.

Houston Astros

Hot: Brad Lidge looks back to being, well, Brad Lidge. Over his last ten outings, Lidge is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA, six saves, and a K/BB ratio of 14:4.

Not: Wandy Rodriguez can rack up strikeouts, but that is all he can do. Of his last five starts, only one has been a quality start.

Milwaukee Brewers

Hot: The man with the sunglasses at night is hot again. Corey Hart is hitting .371 with two homers, five RBI, and six runs scored in his last ten games.

Not: Dave Bush, our biggest disappointment this season, is having the Wandy Rodriguez problem, with just one quality start in his last four. Even when he is right, he offers so little of late as to be worth the risk.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Hot: Jack Wilson has been fire. Over his last ten games, Wilson is 16-for-32 – yes, .500 – with four home runs, ten RBI, and eight runs scored.

Not: All the other Pirates. Wilson got on base either via hit or walk 20 times in the last ten times, and scored eight runs. Four of those runs were scored via home runs, so that means that Wilson got on base 16 times without automatically going straight home, and they could only drive him home four times. For stranding Wilson an absurd 12 times in ten days, everyone batting behind Wilson in the lineup gets a “not.”

St. Louis Cardinals

Hot: I was skeptical about the Braden Looper to starter move, but it, at least to some degree, has worked out. Six of Looper’s last seven starts have been quality starts, with three of his last four starts being seven innings.

Not: Rick Ankiel has gone ice cold. Over his last ten games, Ankiel is hitting just .121, with no home runs, no RBI, and just two runs scored. This downward slide coincidentally, or maybe not so coincidentally, with the break of the HGH story.