Opinion

As the summer continues to heat up, so will talk of trade potentials and teams looking to make adjustments for a late-season push.

Although it is still fairly early, injury, slumps and poor records have already began to plague major league clubs.

Some teams like the Chicago Cubs, the Houston Astros and, perpetually, the Oakland Athletics will enter rebuilding mode and begin to sell off contracts for prospects.

Bruce Bochy, general manager of the San Francisco Giants, is clearly one of the most underrated coaches in all of baseball.  Ranking third in wins among active managers, Bochy has flown under the radar for most of his managerial career, which is absolutely by design.

The New York Yankees have some pretty bad contracts on their hands these days. Alex Rodriguez isn't coming close to earning his $30 million salary, Mark Teixeira isn't worth his $23 million fee and even Derek Jeter is overpaid at close to $16 million.

Thank goodness for CC Sabathia. The Yankees are paying him over $24 million this season, but Sabathia is somehow managing to give them their money's worth.

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). 

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.

National League RBI leader Andre Ethier's contract has reportedly been extended by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Growing up, every kid is told by their parents and coaches that with enough hard work and dedication, they could one day play in the major leagues. While it’s a nice thought, it’s a bit misleading and far from the truth.

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.