Baseball

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez has been held out of the lineup for Friday night's game against the San Francisco Giants after leaving last night's 3-2 win with an injured hamstring.

Ramirez was pulled out of the game in the top of the seventh inning by manager Don Mattingly with "mild left hamstring tightness," according to the team.

Sometimes the baseball gods just aren't on your side. That certainly appears to be the case for Miguel Cabrera as he chases a second consecutive Triple Crown. 

With about two weeks left in the 2013 Major League Baseball season, the playoff pictures are starting to come into focus, but there's still a whole lot of jockeying for position going on, especially in the wild-card races.

From this Friday, the 13th, until the last day of the regular season on Sept. 29, teams that are already in the picture will be looking to fight for a better position in front of the camera, while those who are on the outside looking in will be hoping to elbow their way into the frame.

The 2013 Atlanta Braves can pump the breaks on their intensity over the final two weeks of the regular season. After all, at 30 games over .500 (88-58) and with a double-digit lead in the National League East, they are a virtual lock to win the division and host the first two games of a National League Division Series at Turner Field.

There is a headline that constantly scrolls in my mind every time predictions begin to swirl around the Los Angeles Angels’ offseason moves—each scenario popping with the lights of a ‘50s-style camera.

Big names. Big money. Big moves. Big…mistakes?

Pop!

It never fails—especially in the past few seasons—making the Angels one of the more intriguing organizations to watch in the winter.

Despite his status as a future Hall of Famer and team captain, the Yankees could actually be better off without Derek Jeter down the stretch of the season.

Despite a two-game losing streak, the Cleveland Indians find themselves just 1.5 games back of the fifth and final playoff spot in the American League. The Indians trail just three teams, those being the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers.

Envious of how Cuban stars have guided several of their MLB rivals into playoff contention, the San Francisco Giants continue to make a strong push for free-agent slugger Jose Dariel Abreu.

In December 2012, the Detroit Tigers signed Anibal Sanchez to a five-year, $80 million contract, bolstering one of the best starting rotations in baseball.

And this season, Sanchez has gone out and defended his mega deal.

Sanchez's deal was one of the more polarizing contract agreements in Tigers recent memory, igniting outrage from some fans, and elation for others.

In their endless search for depth and talent, the New York Yankees were in the mix for Washington Nationals starter Dan Haren as recently as last weekend, reports Ken Rosenthal of

• AL East
• Baseball
• Breaking News
• Dan Haren
• MLB
• New York Yankees