Baseball

Since the Barry Bonds era came to a close, the San Francisco Giants have been winning games because of top-notch starting pitching.

However, this season, it's been different. San Francisco's rotation has been horrendous, and the bullpen is falling apart. Surprisingly, the Giants are 35-31 and right in the thick of things in the NL West, but if they don't make improvements soon, they'll fall behind.

Yasiel Puig has quickly taken baseball by storm, but if he wants to keep playing at a high level, the Dodgers need to rein him in.

The 22-year-old outfielder is batting .487 with four home runs and 10 RBI in just 12 games.

In the short span of two weeks, Yasiel Puig has become the hottest player in baseball, adding yet another top player to an already star-studded lineup.

Time may be running out on some veteran general managers who are reaching a critical point in what could end up as their last season on the job.

These situations could create a conflict of interest with the general managers, understandably, wanting to go all out to win now while the organization might not be willing to mortgage the future.   

The San Francisco Giants didn't select any high-ranking prospects in the 2013 MLB draft. Nonetheless, two of their picks will be showcased this weekend in the College World Series.

The Seattle Mariners appear to be confident that Mike Zunino is ready to be their everyday catcher. Whether or not the youngster is up to the challenge is yet to be seen.

The Los Angeles Angels are a mess. Their 29-38 record is the second-worst mark in the American League, and the Texas Rangers and Oakland A's are miles ahead of them in the AL West.

The Detroit Tigers have quite a few glaring weaknesses for a team that leads its division by 4.5 games, namely struggling closer Jose Valverde and an anemic offense that only shows up for six innings a night.

Starting pitcher Cliff Lee and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. of the Philadelphia Phillies both want to win, but they might soon do it on different teams.

The Phillies have come to a fork in the road, and the club has to decide whether to blow up the remaining pieces from the last few years of success or build around aging stars.

Cal Ripken Jr., he is not.

Like Ripken, Troy Tulowitzki is a big, power-hitting, MVP-caliber shortstop.

As far as staying healthy, though, Tulowitzki and Ripken are on opposite ends of the spectrum.