At RealGM, we use the Field Impact Counter (FIC) to objectively measure how effective players are performing and then use the Reina Value to evaluate their financial worth.

The player with the highest FIC for the season, therefore, ‘deserves’ the highest salary, which is Alex Rodriguez’s $28 million contract for 2008. Because Ben Sheets is currently the leader, he ‘deserves’ $28 million, and since he is ‘actually’ making $12.125 million, the difference is 131% and that becomes his Reina Value.

Click here for more information about the Field Impact Counter and the Reina Value.

Each player’s season FIC is listed below with his Reina Value percentage in parenthesis.

1. Lance Berkman, HOU: 123 (+93%)

Berkman vaulted from an FIC of 89 to 123 and a comfortable lead this week by going 15-for-22 with a 1.136 slugging percentage.

In 2007, he struck out in 18.7% of his plate appearances and he’s lowered it to just 10% of them this season.

2. Albert Pujols, STL: 90 (+69%)

Pujols is as productive as ever, but is hitting a homer once in every 18.9 of his at bats, which is down from that 2006 season when it was at a 10.9 rate.

3. Nate McLouth, PIT: 85 (+4,976%)

Four of McLouth’s nine homers have come against pitchers with ERAs under 3.50.

4. Chipper Jones, ATL: 85 (+53%)

Jones is in a slow spell, batting just .235 over his last 17 at bats.

5. Chase Utley, PHI: 84 (+139%)

Utley is even cooler that Jones, batting .167/.300/.250 over his past seven games.

6. Brandon Webb, ARI: 82 (+211%)

Webb has now won each of his eight stars and threw a complete game against Philadelphia on Thursday.

7. Rafael Furcal, LAD: 78 (+8%)

Furcal is now having back problems in the middle of a career season.

8. Cliff Lee, CLE: 78 (+315%)

Lee pitched seven scoreless innings in his May 7th start against the Yankees to drop his ERA to 0.81.

9. Kevin Youkilis, BOS: 78 (+450%)

Youkilis is batting .375/.394/.938 over his last 32 at bats with five homers, but eight strikeouts and one walk.

10. Ervin Santana, LAA: 77 (+3,710%)

Santana pitched a complete game shutout on May 5th against the Royals.

11. Conor Jackson, ARI: 75 (+3,714%)

Jackson is just 4-for-18 over the past six games.

12. Hanley Ramirez, FLA: 73 (+3,545%)

Ramirez has helped lead the Marlins to the best record in baseball and is hitting .471/.600/.529 over his last 17 at bats.

13. James Shields, TBR: 71 (+1,500%)

Shields threw a complete game one-hitter on May 9th against the Angels, striking out eight and walking none.

14. Carlos Quentin, CWS: 71 (+3,894%)

Quentin has hit one homer in every 13.4 of his at bats in 2008.

15. Derrek Lee, CHC: 69 (+19%)

Lee is 5 for his last 24 at bats, but two of the hits are homers.

16. Tim Lincecum, SFG: 69 (+3,784%)

Lincecum beat the Phillies on Saturday, going eight innings (also striking out eight) and giving up two solo homers.

17. Carlos Zambrano, CHC: 69 (-2%)

Zambrano has a 1.80 ERA and a 2.71 K/BB rate.

18. Pat Burrell, PHI: 68 (+9%)

Burrell is two for his last 18 and is now hitting .298 for the season but his OPS remains over 1.000.

19. Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS: 68 (+3,718%)

Ellsbury is five for his last 26 and has a .762 OPS, but is 14-for-14 on the base paths.

20. Ben Sheets, MIL: 67 (+28%)

Sheets has a 2.53 ERA and is 4-0 this season.

21. Jake Peavy, SDP: 67 (+135%)

Peavy’s K/BB has dropped from 3.53 to 2.89.

22. Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS: 66 (+83%)

Matsuzaka rebounded from his eight-walk outing at Detroit by striking out seven and walking three at Minnesota.

23. Chien-Ming Wang, NYY: 66 (+278%)

Wang is continuing to throw fewer ground balls than ever before his season.

24. Aaron Cook, COL: 66 (+193%)

Cook gave up three hits and one run in a seven-inning win against San Diego.

25. Matt Holliday, COL: (+56%)

Holliday is hitting .364/.462/.636 over his past six games.

- Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM and the creator of the Reina Value. [READ]

Eric Gagné claims that he's ready to return to the role of closer for the Brewers just one day after manager Ned Yost removed him from the slot, according to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

"I know I belong in the ninth inning," Gagné said Monday afternoon.

Gagné entered Monday's game in the seventh inning and pitched two full innings. He allowed one run on a pair of hits and two walks. He also struck out a batter.

Milwaukee's Guillermo Mota recorded the save in the team's 8-3 win over the Cardinals.

"I had my mental break (Sunday). I'm good to go now," he said. "I know I'm a great closer. I know I'm going to do all right. I've just got to work out of it. It's just a confidence thing. The only way you'll be all right is keep going out there in a closing situation." [READ]

The Cubs are expected to sign centerfielder Jim Edmonds when he clears waivers on Wednesday, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

He was released by the Padres over the weekend.

The signing of Edmonds will mean a demotion for Felix Pie, who entered Monday's game with a .222 average and a host of embarrassing strikeouts.

If Edmonds is signed, he would likely share the centerfield duties with Reed Johnson. [READ]

Cleveland second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in Major League Baseball history on Monday night in the team's 3-0 loss to Toronto, according to The Associated Press.

Cabrera made a diving catch of a line drive off the bat of Lyle Overbay, touched second base, and then quickly tagged Marco Scutaro to complete the feat in the fifth inning.

"I was trying to speed up the game," Overbay joked. "I get to go down in history. They can't take that away from me."

"He flipped it into the stands and right as he did cried out, 'Oh, no!'" first-base Coach Luis Rivera said.

"I knew it was pretty special," Cabrera said.

Troy Tulowitzki turned the last unassisted triple play for the Rockies on April 29, 2007. [READ]

Hall of Famer Goose Gossage doesn't believe there is room for the antics of Joba Chamberlain in Major League Baseball, according to ESPN.com.

"There's no place for it in the game," Gossage told reporters Monday during a tour of the Hall of Fame, according to MLB.com. "I will stand by that and I love Joba Chamberlain. I'm with him down in Spring Training. He's a great kid, but no one is passing the torch today. Nobody talks to them. When I broke into the big leagues, I didn't say two words all year."

The Yankees young reliever is known for showing his emotions on the mound after striking out a batter.

"That's who he is. He's not showing anyone up. He's going to show emotion," Girardi said last Thursday of an incident where Indians outfielder David Dellucci took offense to Joba's antics. "He didn't look at Dellucci. He looked into our dugout."

"That's just not the Yankee way, what Joba did. Let everyone else do that stuff, but not a Yankee," Gossage told the Record on Saturday. "What I don't understand is, the kid's got the greatest mentor in the world in Mariano [Rivera]. He's one of the leaders of the team, so you'd think it wouldn't happen on that team." [READ]

Alex Rodriguez isn't likely to return to the lineup for the Yankees this weekend when they face the crosstown Mets, according to The New York Times.

The team is exercising extreme caution with the third baseman's injured quadriceps in hopes that it won't be a problem later in the season.

"You can’t afford to have him come back for two days and lose him for six weeks," Girardi said. "We have to make sure it’s healed."

Rodriguez had an MRI on his leg Monday, and the injury hasn't made the progress that the team was hoping it would.

He is eligible to return to New York on Thursday but will not do so as he continues to take ground balls and batting practice at team's training complex in Tampa. [READ]

The Dodgers placed Rafael Furcal on the 15-day disabled list with stiffness in his lower back, according to a report on MLB.com Monday.

[READ]

The Cubs are exploring the possibility of signing recently-released centerfielder Jim Edmonds, according to a report in The Chicago Tribune.

Manager Lou Pinella has long wanted another left-handed bat to complement Kosuke Fukudome, while Felix Pie has been inconsistent in center. Edmonds would allow the Cubs to send Pie to the minors for more steady work.

"We'll just have to see what happens," Pinella said of the Edmonds rumors. [READ]

Phillies' GM Pat Gillick doesn't usually like to discuss extensions with players during the season, but he might be making an exception when it comes to Pat Burrell and Brad Lidge this year, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

What makes this situation unique is that Gillick is leaving the team at the end of the season, and he appears to already be handing over some of the decisions to his assistants.

"If I'm not going to be back and the organization thinks that they would like to move ahead, then it would be something that we would have to consider," Gillick said Sunday.

"I'd say at this point they're both having above-average seasons," Gillick said of Burrell and Lidge. "They probably would be somebody we would have to consider retaining." [READ]

The Mariners have reportedly sent an executive to check out Reds' outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., according to The Dayton Daily News.

President Chuck Armstrong wants Griffey back in Seattle to help boost the team's attendance, and Cincinnati is rumored to be interested in ridding themselves of his salary.

Duane Shaffer, a special assistant to the organization, was at Shea Stadium this weekend to check out the former Seattle legend.

When Griffey was asked about Shaffer's visit, he said, "Don't know the man. Never heard of him. I just live and play for the present. I've never been a what-if guy." [READ]

Dodgers' Manager Joe Torre hopes that shortstop Rafael Furcal, who has been sidelined for five-straight games with lower back issues, will return to the field on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com.

The Dodgers will play against the Brewers on Tuesday, but the shortstop doesn't seem as optimistic as his manager.

"We have to wait and see how it feels," Furcal told the Los Angeles Times. "This is the type of thing where it feels fine one day, and it doesn't the next."

Los Angeles has lost four-straight games with Furcal out of the lineup. [READ]

Hanley Ramirez has agreed to the framework of a $70-million, six-year contract to remain with the Florida Marlins, a person familiar with the negotiations said Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

The deal likely will be announced next weekend.

RealGM Note: Ramirez is currently the 12th ranked player in the MLB according to our custom FIC (Field Impact Counter). He 'deserves' $16 million this season but is only making $439k and he, therefore, has a Reina Value of +3,545%. [READ]