Baseball

There's a saying that goes you should "strike while the iron is hot." Well right now, Alfonso Soriano is incendiary, and I say this is the best time to explore trade options for the Cubs mercurial left fielder.

In his last three games, Soriano has slammed four homers and driven in 10 runs.

On the season, he's batting .325 with 6 HR, 17 RBI, and (for you stats geeks out there) an incredible .1057 OPS.

I'm in love with a man whom I've never met. My knowledge of his life is minimal, and he doesn't even know I exist. Yet he's affected my life in ways few have, and I preach his praises to any congregation that will listen.

I am, of course, referring to Chone Figgins.

I can’t believe it has already been a full month of baseball. Here are the guys who knocked the cover off the baseball this past week.

Anytime sports and politics mix, things get a little sticky. We want sports to be pure and offer a sanctimonious escape in the form of entertainment. We also want sports to use its national platform to encourage positive change in our country and countries beyond our borders. Both are achievable, presumably, but we can rarely have it both ways.

Asking Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, to single-handedly change the new immigration law in Arizona is asking too much.

Here’s a look at some unheralded players who played well yesterday.

Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays

Cecil, my pick for a streaming option yesterday, chewed up the Indians, going eight innings and allowing one run on one hit with 10 Ks. He improved to 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA.

David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals (pictured with Albert Pujols)

Remember the good old days when fans just got tackled for running on the field? Not anymore.

A 17-year-old fan who ran onto the field during the Phillies-Cardinals game at Citizens Bank Park was taken down by a Taser.

This was no Zach Galifianakis in "The Hangover" either. There was no fight.

I think we may have just discovered the game changer in the War on Streakers.

Begin Slideshow

Welcome to the second half of this week's Featured Columnist Poll, an early All-Star vote.

As stated in yesterday's AL results slideshow, for this survey, I asked my peers to select only the players who have earned spots based on their performances so far this season—not to predict who will make the team or choose players who they think will have earned spots by July.

For each position I have included the full vote totals, and asked a different respondent to write a synopsis for each winner.

Thank you to everyone who voted and submitted commentary!

Note: So as not to clog people's in

Attention mediocre American League pitchers and hitters.

If you'd like to build Hall of Fame numbers, it would be in your best interest to transfer to the National League as soon as possible.

We see pitchers like Brad Penny, Carlos Silva, and Jose Contreras, recent transfers to or back to the National League, as examples of the most recent hilarities the National League has produced.

When the action on the field grows tiresome, too many fans decide to create their own entertainment.

That was the case last night in Philadelphia where a 17-year-old Phillies fan hopped the fence and ran onto the field during the eighth inning.

Dusty, does this Cairo guy have an incriminating video of you smoking crack à la Marion Barry?  A Dusty Baker sex tape à la Paris Hilton?

We're fans.  We will understand and forgive your past indiscretions.

Seriously, why is this guy on the team?  And why do you keep using his weak stick to pinch hit?

Take Monday night for example: men on the corners, and you pinch hit Cairo for Mike Leake in the Reds half of the sixth?