AL East

The Baltimore Orioles have been one of the hottest teams in baseball since the All-Star Break, taking all but one series since then and establishing the best division lead in all of baseball.

Even though most of the credit must be given to the personnel who are actually playing the game, some of the credit needs to be given to the man in the dugout.

Where would the Yankees be right now if not for Brandon McCarthy?

Now that the MLB season has hit the post-trading deadline stretch, all eyes are on division races, wild-card spots and the excitement of marching toward the postseason.

The Baltimore Orioles are one of the teams that are positioned nicely, currently holding the largest division lead in the league at six games. If the O's just keep doing what they're doing, they shouldn't have to worry about losing their spot atop the AL East.

In baseball, managers are often placed in an unenviable position. They are usually the first targets of blame if anything goes wrong with their team over the course of the season.

But, if the team ends up doing well, managers rarely get the credit that they deserve.

Updates from Tuesday, Aug. 12

The results of Manny Machado's MRI are in, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com:

GM Dan Duquette briefly commented on how long Machado could potentially be out via Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun:

Original Text

July 31 was a significant day in Red Sox history, as the team underwent perhaps the most dramatic makeover in franchise history, undergoing a fire sale once it became clear the team would not contend in 2014.

A fire sale's ultimate goal is to get a team back to contention, but the way general manager Ben Cherington went about it ran counter to most fire sales. Typically, fire sales consist of stripping the major league squad and pinning hopes on the progression of prospects.

Updates from Saturday, Aug. 9

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com has the latest on Brian McCann's status for Saturday's game:

Hoch also noted that McCann was placed on the seven-day disabled list:

Another week is in the books following the July 31 MLB trade deadline, and the Boston Red Sox have enjoyed a little more time to evaluate some of the young talent contained within the organization.

As the news of Boston's recent blockbuster trades begins to settle down, we can shift our focus to the next possible cast of characters that may comprise a Red Sox roster in coming years.

The New York Yankees have had a long, strange trip through the 2014 season.

In the post-trading deadline world that the Boston Red Sox now occupy, it's best to watch games with an eye on 2015 rather than the scoreboard.

The Sox still boast plenty of talented players, to be sure. But there are going to be many rough stretches in the coming weeks as young players are allowed to take their licks and sink or swim at the major league level.