Horsehide Chronicles

The No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft has a checkered past. 

Hello, June!

With two full months of the 2013 season behind us, performance sample sizes are reaching a point where it's worth buying into those who are playing well. Especially those who are putting up Most Valuable Player-type numbers.

With that in mind, here's a countdown to update the top five candidates for both the American and National League MVP as we say goodbye to May.

All statistics, including WAR, come from FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.

The competition to be the second-best free agent behind Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano this upcoming offseason is two months in, and there are no clear-cut answers as of yet. Injuries to Matt Garza and Josh Johnson and Tim Lincecum's continued decline from his former dominant self have the starting pitching market full of question marks. 

It looks like CC Sabathia is back.

And this time, it might actually be for real. No funny stuff.

Back in 1996, the New York Yankees were on the verge of something big.

The club, of course, would go on to win the World Series that year and then three of the next four. At the heart of those title-winning teams? Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera.

Not even Miguel Cabrera can will every ground ball he hits past the fielders, and even Justin Upton needs to hope for a long fly ball to sneak over the fence now and again.

What do they have in common? Not much aside from the fact that they're hitters. Relying on luck is something that every hitter does to some degree. 

Teams in need of a shortstop in 2014—the A's, Cardinals, Mariners, Pirates, Tigers, Twins and Yankees are my early picks—will have slim pickings on the free-agent market next offseason with Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta the best of the bunch.

Like Democrat or Republican or Star Trek or Star Wars, American League or National League is one of those furious debates. Ask it out loud in a room full of people, and there will be raised voices.

Goodness knows we all have our biases when it comes to the AL vs. NL debate. In the interest of full disclosure, I know I do. I used to live in New England and now live about 20 minutes outside of Oakland, so I've never really had a choice but to be an American League guy. It's in my blood.

After an offseason in which they traded away several of their top prospects —catcher Travis d'Arnaud, center fielder Jake Marisnick and pitchers Justin Nicolino and Noah Syndergaard— in an effort to upgrade their 25-man roster for 2013, the Blue Jays aren't going to give up on the season anytime soon despite a rough start. 

Anibal Sanchez came this close.

The Detroit Tigers right-hander was staring his second career no-hitter right in the face at Comerica Park on Friday night, making it through 8.1 innings without allowing a hit. Alas, then came Joe Mauer with a squeaky-clean single up the middle.