Fan News

The Texas Rangers' quest to catch the surging Oakland Athletics in the AL West just got a whole lot more difficult.

According to the Rangers' official Twitter feed, starting pitcher Matt Harrison will undergo back surgery for a herniated disc and be out until after the All-Star break:

If Matt Harvey hadn't already put his name on the list of the league's top young aces, tonight likely did the trick.

Harvey outpitched fellow phenom Stephen Strasburg, who allowed two earned runs and two unearned runs.

FINAL SCORE:  Mets 7 - 1 Nationals

W : Matt Harvey (4-0)

L : Stephen Strasburg (1-3)

HRs: Davis (2,3), Duda (4,5)

Ordinarily, you could answer a question like this via simple process of elimination. What do you already have? Once you know that, you know what you need.

Except, with this Phillies team, the answer to the primary question is a bit troubling.

The Phillies have a young, dynamic center fielder in Ben Revere. After that? You tell me.

On a normal night at Yankee Stadium, you're not going to hear too many kind words about the city of Boston. Not as long as those blasted Red Sox are stationed there, anyway.

But Tuesday was no normal night at the stadium. In response to the horrible tragedy that occurred on Monday, the Yankees organization had nothing but love in its heart for Boston.

For at least one day, there is no rivalry. Just fellowship in a time when it is needed.

Over the last several years, the famous Red Sox and Yankees rivalry has been said to be dead, or at the very least, diminished. But no matter where the rivalry stands today it remains—and has always been—one of the greatest, longest-standing rivalries in sports.

It’s only two weeks into the minor league season, but that doesn’t mean a prospect’s trade value can’t increase or decline based on performance thus far.

Many prospects have questions surrounding them heading into a new season, especially in regards to their ability to handle a new level or bounce back from a poor season. Getting off to a great start can ease the minds of their own organization and open up the eyes of teams potentially interested in acquiring them.

The Red Sox are in Cleveland on Tuesday night to take on the Indians, but it was obvious that everyone involved in the contest had their hearts back in Boston, where the city is still dealing with the aftermath of bombings at the end of Monday's Boston Marathon.

In an effort to honor the victims of the tragic bombing, the Red Sox showed their support by hanging a jersey with Boston's area code (617) in their dugout at Progressive Field (via Red Sox Instagram):

Who's the hottest pitcher in the majors? There's Yu Darvish, the Texas Rangers right-hander who nearly threw a perfect game his first time out. Or maybe it's Atlanta Braves lefty Paul Maholm, who is 3-0 and has thrown 20.1 scoreless innings.

You will never see these guys taking it easy during a game. They are the rare few who give every last at-bat and pitch the intensity each deserves.

The game just wouldn’t be the same without them. Whether it’s going for an extra base when a single would be just fine or laying out for the miracle catch, they go the extra mile for their teammates.  

The Jackie Bradley Jr. experiment will likely come to an end in the coming days once David Ortiz is healthy enough to return to the Boston Red Sox.

Boston made the popular decision of promoting Bradley to the big leagues after his monster spring training and when it was apparent that a roster spot would be open due to the array of outstanding injuries. In 28 games, Bradley hit .419/.507/.613 with seven extra-base hits, 12 RBI and 13 runs through spring training.