Baseball

Pablo Sandoval may be back at third base for the San Francisco Giants, but after his dismal performance on Sunday, there is cause for concern.

Yes, the Panda has only been back two games, but with his latest string off-the-field issues, how good will Sandoval be?

Brandon Morrow has been dominant this season but is in a bit of trouble once again after leaving his start after nine pitches on Monday night.

What exactly is an All-Star?

After seeing the latest All-Star Update (NL/AL) and talking with experts such as Danny Knobler, I decided to take a closer look at this year’s possible selections.

The San Francisco Giants have started the season well, as they are in second place in the NL West at 34-27.

However, they still have one gaping hole: shortstop.

While you could argue that they have a hole in the rotation because of Tim Lincecum's slow start, Brandon Crawford's inconsistent play at shortstop has hurt the Giants. He has a .219 batting average and a 24.5 percent strikeout rate.

Oh, and his defense hasn't been too great either (as you may have noticed from the picture above). 

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright will take the mound tonight in anticipation of his sixth win of 2012.

Wainwright, who is still getting back to form following Tommy John surgery in 2011, has seen more success in his last four outings than all season.

His sinker sinks again. His curve moves again. That wasn't the case earlier in the season.

Ready for one of those overused "What if I told you..." lead-ins?

Very well. Here it is: What if I told you before the start of the 2012 season that Albert Pujols would not be the best hitter in the Los Angeles Angels' lineup by the time we got to mid-June?

This may be a little early, but catcher Yasmani Grandal's eventual permanent promotion to the big leagues is going to mean the end of Nick Hundley's time in San Diego.

In a move that was predicted by many, the Chicago Cubs have let go of their hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. While they remain arguably the worst offense and worst team in baseball, moves like these will tend to happen. Stepping into the interim role will be 35-year-old James Rowson, the Cubs minor league hitting coordinator, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN.com.

The Phillie Phanatic has been a very bad boy.

At least that is what one woman is claiming after the Phanatic allegedly tossed her in a pool and caused her severe bodily harm. 

Oh boy.

I will walk a fine line in this article, so forgive me if I teeter over the precipice. I am being balanced on one side by my hatred for grown men in mascot uniforms generally creeping me out. On the other is my skepticism of the claim. 

Like a nice steak dinner, let's work on the meat of this thing first. 

Late Monday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers proved once again that they mean business.

Several months after signing star center fielder Matt Kemp to an eight-year, $160 million contract extension, the Dodgers came to terms with right fielder Andre Ethier on a five-year extension worth $85 million.