Rankings/List

Teams in need of a shortstop in 2014—the A's, Cardinals, Mariners, Pirates, Tigers, Twins and Yankees are my early picks—will have slim pickings on the free-agent market next offseason with Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta the best of the bunch.

Whether you love it or hate it, interleague play is here to stay.

For the past 17 years, the MLB schedule has pitted teams from the American League and National League against each other in games that count, not merely exhibitions that mean little in the grand scheme of things.

While the premise has it's detractors, it has given fans the chance to see their favorite teams take on their "hometown" rivals.

If the MLB season ended today, your NL MVP would probably be Joey Votto, and your AL MVP would indisputably be Miguel Cabrera.

Fortunately, the season doesn't end today. We have four months left during which injuries or prolonged cold streaks could drastically alter the voting for the most popular end-of-season award.

Should those favorites drift back to the pack, there are five dark horses in each league who would gladly find a home for the award above their fireplace.

Entering the 2013 season, hardly anyone chose the Colorado Rockies or New York Yankees to contend for pennants. Both have shocked the baseball world by overcoming depth and injuries concerns, but we've seen plenty of that throughout MLB history.

Nobody likes to be labeled a failure.

Whether it's failing an exam in school, your first road test or not performing up to expectations in any of your endeavors, not finding success can be a deflating feeling, one that some people can move past more easily than others.

Professional athletes are no different.

Whether their failures came in the minor leagues or once they arrived in the big show, for the 10 pitchers that we are about to look at, failure was the best possible thing that could have happened for their careers.

Ouch! Injuries can do more than just the baseball player affected—they can throw off a team for weeks, even months at a time. The worst injuries can derail a team’s entire season.

Whether a team is in first place and needs a bat to return fast or is fighting to get back into the postseason hunt and needs a key arm, the following injured players are of major concern for their squads. 

Here are the five biggest injury concerns in baseball right now.

All statistics via ESPN.

After an offseason in which they traded away several of their top prospects —catcher Travis d'Arnaud, center fielder Jake Marisnick and pitchers Justin Nicolino and Noah Syndergaard— in an effort to upgrade their 25-man roster for 2013, the Blue Jays aren't going to give up on the season anytime soon despite a rough start. 

Stop me if you have heard this one before, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are spending a lot of money in 2013 and not seeing expected results. This is, unfortunately, an obvious and frustrating reality for fans in the City of Angels.

For anyone who was concerned that Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels would not be able to match his incredible rookie season following a slow first month of the season, his recent performances should put an end to any doubt.

Just two games after the 21-year-old hit for the cycle, Trout continued with his outstanding month of May by blasting one of the longest home runs of the 2013 season against the Kansas City Royals.

In the game of baseball, it is good to be lucky.

But, when a team has an unlucky season, it could mean a long 162-game stretch for the ballclub and its fans. 

Just like any other season, the 2013 Major League Baseball season has its own respective crop of unlucky teams. 

Here is a look at the five unluckiest teams in baseball so far this season. 

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