Preview/Prediction

Baseball may be the game of summer, but the real excitement comes when the fall air gets crisper and the pressure of every single pitch is magnified.

The long and grueling 162-game slate of the MLB season leads to the playoffs, and ever since the sport instituted an additional wild-card team for each league, there is even more postseason baseball to enjoy.

The 2014 MLB playoffs begin for 10 teams on Tuesday, but that number will be reduced to eight by Wednesday evening. The Oakland Athletics are set to take on the Kansas City Royals, and the San Francisco Giants meet the Pittsburgh Pirates in single-elimination contests to determine which two teams will move on to the best-of-five Division Series.

Just a handful of games remain in the 2014 MLB season, and nearly every team knows its fate at this point. A few franchises are still holding out hope to make a late charge into the postseason, but the bubble has popped for others.

Strong starts for the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves weren't sustained, as both are on the outside looking in. Then there are the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, who are still in a dogfight for a wild-card spot.

As the MLB regular season wraps up its final week, there are a few players who are making last pushes to solidify their cases the for individual awards, and one of the most heated races is the competition for the NL MVP crown.

Did Giancarlo Stanton do enough before his injury? Does a pitcher really deserve to win an MVP? Or are there a few dark horses running around and ready to steal the show?

There's less than a week left in the regular season, but there are still plenty of 2014 MLB playoff spots up for grabs.

The Detroit Tigers and the underwhelming David Price have lots of work to do before they can take home the American League Central title, while the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers have also yet to lock up their respective divisions. 

The Oakland A's could look a bit different in 2015, dependent on how the postseason plays out.

If the team doesn't make the playoffs at all, general manager Billy Beane could put everyone in cleats on the trade block. If they win the World Series, Beane may feel that after capturing that elusive ring, one in Oakland is good enough and recommit to the farm system.

To borrow a line from one of the great (or awful, it's open for debate) songs of the '80s, the appropriately titled "Talk Talk" by...Talk Talk: "All you do to me is talk talk."

In this case, "me" is actually we, as in us, fans of major league baseball, while the you in the lyrics are the players and agents that pump out reason after reason as to why they chose to sign with Team X as a free agent.

The Chicago Cubs took clear steps forward this season and have built up momentum moving into 2015. When they get some more prospects at the big league level and some top line pitching in free agency, this team could compete. 

Several things are still up in the air for next season, such as potential free-agent signings, but the future certainly looks bright. Based on indications the team has given and how their current roster has performed, here is the projected 25-man roster for the Cubs on Opening Day next season.

The 2014 regular season is far from over for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as they are on the cusp of another playoff spot.    

Still, it may not be too early to start thinking about what this team could look like next season.  

With less than a month left to play in the 2014 Major League Baseball regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are on the outside of a playoff race looking in.  

While it is still manageable for Pittsburgh to reach the playoffs for the second straight year, it is not too soon to start thinking about what this team will look like in 2015.  

Let's take a look at 10 free agents the Pirates organization should target during this offseason.