Fan News

In baseball, to slump is to be human. Nobody likes it when the darn things happen, but they happen. Even the best of ‘em have to deal with them now and then.

About the only good thing about slumps is this: They don’t last forever.

There are a few players around the league who have gotten off to slow starts in 2013 who can take comfort in that reality, and some will surely be breaking out of their season-opening slumps sooner rather than later.

And B/R Pop Culture Lead Writer Gabe Zaldivar and I think we know who they are.

Over the last year, baseball fans have celebrated the rise of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout as the seminal players of the next generation. Both are dynamic talents with the potential for superstardom and possibly future tickets to Cooperstown.

As it is in every major sport, being selected as a top pick doesn't equate to greatness.

Mark Appel, Jonathan Gray, Kris Bryant and Chris Frazier are all expected to be among the first players selected in the 2013 MLB draft, but that doesn't mean they'll be the best of this year's class.

There are some underrated prospects who have just as good a chance as these guys to make an instant impact in the league. 

The New York Yankees do many things that opposing fan bases dislike. From spending outlandish amounts of money on payroll to traveling with road crowds that overwhelm home field advantages to winning on a consistent and grand scale.

If there's one attribute that all fans would like their team to copy from New York, it would have little to do with perception or attendance or past success.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote an open letter to Bryce Harper asking him to never change. I made it clear that it involved him upholding his style of play, as Bryce Harper just isn't Bryce Harper without the Tasmanian Devil approach to the game. 

Dusty Baker's Reds currently own the third-best record in the National League, 2.5 games behind the Cardinals and one full game behind San Francisco.

Though we've yet to see our first no-hitter of the season, there have already been a number of truly dominant pitching performances.

From Yu Darvish nearly throwing a perfect game in his first start of the season, to Anibal Sanchez striking out 17 against the Braves, pitching has reigned supreme in the early stages of 2013.

In the past week alone, four different pitchers allowed just one hit over nine innings of play. However, not all one-hitters are created equally.

The race for the MVP award doesn't really start until August, at the earliest, but it is always fun to see who the early-season contenders are. 

A lot of things can and will change over the next five months, so it is best to take any awards favorites right now with a grain of salt. That said, we are not so stubborn that we can't at least acknowledge the quarter-season MVP winners in both the American and National Leagues. 

There are a lot of pitchers close to comebacks. With Zack Greinke making a quick comeback from his collarbone fracture and Jered Weaver not far behind him, not to mention Johnny Cueto's return, we will see a lot of pitching coming back to the mound. The problem is that there are just as many heading out with injury. 

We are about one quarter of the way through the MLB season with the Atlanta Braves clinging to a slim lead in the National League East.

After a blazing start, the Braves have come back down to earth against a rather difficult early schedule.

The Braves have yet to play a game with their full lineup and still have one of the more talented rosters in the National League.