Opinion

Like Sasquatch, Jimmy Hoffa or Luke Skywalker in that new Star Wars movie, Tim Lincecum is an enigma. A myth. A phantom shrouded in mystery.

We know he's recovering from offseason hip surgery. We know he's a free agent. And we know he's been throwing regularly, far from the prying eyes of scouts and media types.

Andrew McCutchen went into the Pittsburgh Pirates' latest contest as the worst hitter in their everyday lineup. Clearly, what he needed was a slump-buster.

Or three.

It's a safe assumption that every pitcher in the minors dreams of being the next Clayton Kershaw or Jake Arrieta. And since there's nothing wrong with dreaming big, that's totally cool.

It's also a safe assumption, however, that only a select few will have that dream come true.

True fact: We are living in a world in which Mat Latos is 4-0 with an 0.74 ERA for the Chicago White Sox, and Adam Wainwright is 0-3, 7.25 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Yikes…

1. Best and Worst of First-Month Starts

For a few hours on Monday, Chris Archer looked like an ace again. Now the only question is whether he can stay that way.

After three weeks of watching their new second baseman, Neil Walker, crush baseballs, New York Mets fans may be asking themselves a simple question: "Daniel who?"

Jose Altuve: home run hitter.

Seriously, this is going to be a little tough to get used to, with the emphasis on "little." Seriously, we've all accepted the idea that the Houston Astros second baseman is a big-time hitter, an All-Star, one of the better players in baseball.

But a home run hitter?

On Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins will kick off a four-game series in Southern California.

After pounding the Cincinnati Reds 9-0 Sunday, the Chicago Cubs have now scored 38 runs in their last four games.

So, naturally, there's offensive optimism aplenty for Chicago. Lob a dart at the lineup card and, chances are, you'll hit a guy swinging at least a moderately hot stick.

Felix Hernandez's quest to take the Seattle Mariners' strikeout record from Randy Johnson is over.

Now all King Felix has to do is get as close as he can to the Big Unit on Major League Baseball's all-time strikeout list. Considering Johnson is one of only four pitchers to record 4,000 strikeouts, this is otherwise known as the hard part.