Opinion

Tim Lincecum was never supposed to last this long. But he was never supposed to go away so soon.

He was too small and too funky, and he was never going to endure. Then he was a two-time Cy Young winner and a World Series champion, and he was going to be a San Francisco Giant forever.

September is here, and with it comes pennant-chase baseball and prospect call-ups. Not many prospects are gifted with the opportunity to immediately step in and take on a prominent role with a team competing for the postseason, so we’ve highlighted one player with the best opportunity to do that: Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers.

There are but two seasons across most of these United States, many folks swear: summer and road construction.

Nowhere is this more true than at the corner of Clark and Addison in Chicago, where the sun always shines over Wrigley Field and construction to build a winner has been ongoing since before the days of Bill Veeck and Harry Caray.

There aren't many miles between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but right now the defending champion Giants must feel like they traveled a long way just to get punched in the gut.

The only good news, really, is that the Giants are only reeling from a staggering blow. Not a killing blow.

If you look around Major League Baseball, there are a number of superstars with incredible regular-season resumes who are plagued by paltry postseason performances.

There are also some big names under big contracts who are expected to deliver World Series rings now.

Lou Gehrig's record stood for a half-century, and it felt like it had been there forever.

Cal Ripken Jr.'s record has stood for 20 years, and it feels like...wait, has it really been 20 years since that fabulous night when he passed Gehrig by playing in his 2,131st consecutive game?

"It seems like yesterday in one way," Ripken said. "And then there's the realization that it's been 20 years."

There will be a great many stories to tell about the 2015 MLB season, including the one of how the Houston Astros at last settled into their new home.

It was in 2013 when the Astros jumped from the National League Central to the American League West, thus bringing about an overdue balance between the two leagues. But beyond that, there really wasn't much to say about the move.

These are dark times in the nation's capital. And I mean baseball, not politics, which is saying something.

After a dispiriting loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, the Washington Nationals sit at 66-65, 6.5 games back of the New York Mets in the National League East.

As if things were not going to be difficult enough. 

The Toronto Blue Jays added game-changing pieces to their roster before the non-waiver trade deadline, and a barrage of wins and a sprint up the American League East standings ensued. They have taken over the top spot with a behemoth offense and strong pitching staff, and it does not look like they are going to slow down anytime soon. 

Today marks the first day that MLB clubs can expand their rosters to 40—providing much-needed depth for the postseason stretch and a chance for some young prospects to get experience.