Baseball

They have had the best record in Major League Baseball all season long. They have the lowest team ERA in the league. They have a top-notch closer with 18 saves.

Despite all of the above-mentioned success, the Los Angeles Dodgers have something in common with Rodney Dangerfield: They get no respect.

Over the last few years, it has become very apparent that the media and the Hall of Fame voters will never allow one of the greatest power hitters of my generation to enter the Hall of Fame.

My question is: Why? What is their basis to keep Mark McGwire out?

All they can say is McGwire used performance-enhancing drugs.

Has McGwire failed a drug test like Rafael Palmeiro or Manny Ramirez?

The answer is no.

Was McGwire on the dreaded Mitchell Report like Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Andy Petite, Roger Clemens, and many others?

This article originally appeared at the Baltimore Sports Report.

The dream began for shortstop Robert Andino on August 4, 2002, as he signed with the Florida Marlins and kicked off his minor league career. 

As the Giants continue to surprise people in the National League early on, and the need for an offensive upgrade becomes more evident with each passing series, a lingering question is on the minds of Giants fans everywhere:

Who do we give up to make this team better?

And the main player who is deemed expendable by a majority of Giants fans, bloggers, and columnists?

Jonathan Sanchez.

The baseball season is nearly half over. It is time to look back on the season and take a look at the numbers that have defined the A's so far, and will define the team's performance during the second half.

12

The number of times the A’s have used the disabled list.

Eric Chavez, Mark Ellis, Justin Duchscherer, Josh Outman, and Ryan Sweeney are just some of the players who were supposed to give huge contributions to the A’s this season, but instead have spent significant time on the DL.

The Astros' season thus far has been up and down to say the least. Injuries have been to blame for some of it, but not all of it.  They have seemingly been in every game, but have also let some winnable games get away.  That said, they are in a very solid position as we close in on the All-Star Break; only 5 1/2 games out of first in the always tight central division race.

After coming off a sweep against the Kansas City Royals, the Cardinals dropped three of four from the New York Mets. Although they only managed to win one game, the Brewers also struggled against the Twins, keeping the Cardinals atop of the NL Central. Let's take a look at the good, and the not so good of this midweek matchup.

The Good

"We'll be fine. We're the defending champs, and we're not defending champs for no reason. At the end of the day, I'm walking out of this place, and we're still in first place. That's how you've got to look at it." Confidence or complacency? Waltzing or wavering? Champs, or chumps? The answer should tell us who's going to be celebrating in October.

The blame for Geovany Soto and his struggles this season have been either a sophomore slump or the World Baseball Classic. Now it appears that the latter is true.

On Thursday, a positive marijuana test result, that was taken during the WBC, was made public. Soto quickly made a statement (a la Micheal Phelps) saying "I am embarrassed by my inappropriate behavior."

He "assured the organization this was an isolated incident and a misstep in judgment that will not be repeated."

Within controversies of steroids amidst Major League Baseball, here's my 5 picks of MLB players (past and present) that I hate.

It doesn't matter if they lied about steroid use or their incessant whining about pay or playing time, they still behave like they should be deeply hated.

NOTE: These may be my top 5 hated players, but I would appreciate any feedback for my upcoming Most Hated series of slideshows.