Opinion

My country 'tis of thee….

1. Sweet Land of Liberty

When the sniper started shooting at the Dallas police on that tragic day in July, Torii Hunter was at his home just outside the city, glued to the television, watching the nearby horror in a state of shock.

Sometime soon, Jose Fernandez will be an ex-Miami Marlin.

At the latest, it'll happen in the 2018-19 offseason, when Fernandez is set to hit the open market. The Marlins aren't entirely averse to handing out mega contracts (see: Stanton, Giancarlo), but someone with deeper pockets will almost surely outbid them for Fernandez's services.

Unless, that is, Miami unloads its young ace first.

The Atlanta Braves tried fastballs and changeups, sliders and cutters, in and out, up and down.

Whatever they threw, wherever they threw it, Trea Turner hit it. It got to be a little ridiculous—so ridiculous that when Turner came to the plate for the Washington Nationals on Saturday, Don Sutton called him "George Herman Ruth Turner" on Braves radio.

Hey, not sure if you've heard, but Tim Tebow is a baseball player now. Or, at least, he's trying to be.

The late innings have become a minefield for the San Francisco Giants. On Monday, there was another explosion.

In a crucial, borderline must-win game against the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine, the Giants carried a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning.

Peas and carrots. Kim Kardashian and attention. The St. Louis Cardinals and the postseason. Some things just go together.

The Cards don't make the playoffs every year—but it sure seems like they do. The last time they didn't was 2010.

St. Louis is poised to make its sixth consecutive late-October foray, which would move the franchise into third place on the all-time list.

The injury bug has been trying to block the New York Mets from returning to the World Series in 2016. Credit the Mets for putting up a strong resistance.

But the fight has finally been lost.

MLB officially has its first 2016 division winner: The Chicago Cubs clinched the National League Central title on Thursday.

But the Cubs still have something to play for. The team has yet to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Of course, there are other teams and players with more to play for. Check out the biggest takeaways from this week in MLB in the following slides. 

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It looked like a heck of a party at Wrigley Field, and why not? It's not every day the Chicago Cubs can spray some champagne.

Hey, Chicago hadn't clinched a playoff spot in about 12 months, and that's a long time to go without a party. The Cubs hadn't celebrated a division title in eight years, and that can feel like a lifetime.

Usually a trial run for rookies, MLB's September roster expansions have instead become a portal for second chances.

Prominent prospects are now typically promoted before the final month, especially if they can help a contender. In years past, Alex Bregman, Gary Sanchez and Jameson Taillon might have debuted as September call-ups.

Now it looks like they should have arrived sooner.