AL West

When you've got (arguably) the best team in baseball, the best manager in baseball and the best general manager in baseball, the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline would seem to be a rather irrelevant date on the calendar.

But if there's one thing that we've learned about the Oakland A's under the stewardship of GM Billy Beane, it's that the team rarely passes up an opportunity to improve, regardless of their place in the standings.

It's been difficult to get a grasp on the Seattle Mariners in 2014, given that the club hasn't been at full strength much of the season.

They only recently got prospect Taijuan Walker back into the rotation, while fellow youngster James Paxton remains sidelined by injury, robbing the rotation of two of its most talented and important pieces.

Mmmm…the sweet tang of palm gravy.

A young Houston Astros fan received a five-finger wake-up call on Thursday night after taking his tongue to a souvenir baseball. 

Older fans in a nearby section passed the ball to the young man in the hopes it would make his little day—which it did, in a weird, compulsive way. 

The child grabbed the ball, retreated to his seat and promptly began licking it like an owl with a lollipop. 

An otherwise promising season for the Houston Astros took a turn for the worse after top prospect Carlos Correa suffered a leg injury during a Single-A game for the Lancaster JetHawks.

JetHawks broadcaster Jason Schwartz reported that Correa had to be carted off the field and was in a visible amount of pain:

In his last start, June 14 against the Atlanta Braves, Garrett Richards tossed six scoreless innings and struck out 10 en route to an 11-6 victory. (Richards was denied the win when the bullpen coughed up the lead, but the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ultimately prevailed in 13 innings.)

Generally speaking, the Oakland A's are a very good baseball team—one of the best teams in baseball during the 2014 regular season. But if they want to legitimately compete for a World Series title, there are a few things they must shore up.

Don't mistake that statement as doubt.

For the first time in a number of years, the Seattle Mariners may consider being buyers at the July 31 MLB trade deadline.

It’s always quite an intense battle between these two California foes. The Bay Area’s Oakland Athletics taking on SoCal’s Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim in a matchup between the American League West’s top two teams; and the series was every bit as competitive as expected between these intrastate adversaries.

You know it's a weird week in sports when Drake turns down an NBA Finals game in Miami to watch the Houston Astros play.

Nevertheless, the hip-hop star wisely avoided the sinking ship that is the Miami Heat in favor of showing love to Houston—his home away from home.

Lloyd McClendon has had a relatively successful first 57 games as manager of the Seattle Mariners, leading the club to a 29-28 record, including its first winning month since July 2013.