Baseball

The San Francisco Giants have a reputation for winning with pitching and defense.

The Toronto Blue Jays minor league system may not be as strong as it was a year ago, but they still have some premier talent developing throughout the farm system.

In order to acquire a wealth of major league talent for the 2013 season, the Blue Jays were forced to part with some of their more promising prospects such as Travis d’Arnaud, Jake Marisnick, Noah Syndergaard and Justin Nicolino.

Tucked onto the corner of 18th and Vine Streets in Kansas City, Missouri sits one of the more culturally significant museums in the United States.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) tells the story of how these segregated leagues evolved from creation until eventually being fully integrated with Major League Baseball.

The New York Yankees do many things that opposing fan bases dislike. From spending outlandish amounts of money on payroll to traveling with road crowds that overwhelm home field advantages to winning on a consistent and grand scale.

If there's one attribute that all fans would like their team to copy from New York, it would have little to do with perception or attendance or past success.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote an open letter to Bryce Harper asking him to never change. I made it clear that it involved him upholding his style of play, as Bryce Harper just isn't Bryce Harper without the Tasmanian Devil approach to the game. 

Dusty Baker's Reds currently own the third-best record in the National League, 2.5 games behind the Cardinals and one full game behind San Francisco.

There are a lot of pitchers close to comebacks. With Zack Greinke making a quick comeback from his collarbone fracture and Jered Weaver not far behind him, not to mention Johnny Cueto's return, we will see a lot of pitching coming back to the mound. The problem is that there are just as many heading out with injury. 

We are about one quarter of the way through the MLB season with the Atlanta Braves clinging to a slim lead in the National League East.

After a blazing start, the Braves have come back down to earth against a rather difficult early schedule.

The Braves have yet to play a game with their full lineup and still have one of the more talented rosters in the National League.

The New York Yankees have surprised everyone with their ability to sit atop the AL East division in spite of significant injuries.  As of this article, the club is tied with the Texas Rangers for the best record in the American League, and has yet to have contributions from Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez or Curtis Granderson.

Somehow they are finding a way to win.