Fan News

1. Boston, Where the Baseballs Are Overly Inflated

The red-faced Red Sox held a players-only meeting in Toronto on Saturday, just a couple of days after the club axed pitching coach Juan Nieves.

Two years ago, Nieves oversaw a pitching staff that produced a 3.79 ERA, the organization's lowest since 2002, and the Red Sox won themselves a World Series.

On the mound for the New York Mets on this particular day will be an intimidating right-hander with an electric arm and all the talent he needs to be one of baseball's best pitchers.

No, it's not Matt Harvey's latest turn in the rotation. It's Noah Syndergaard's major league debut.

Few players in baseball have been more consistently MVP-worthy over the past handful of seasons than Andrew McCutchen. Yet more than a month into 2015, the Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder, who has three straight top-three NL MVP finishes—including the 2013 trophy—has looked nothing like his usual MVP-caliber self.

Every offseason, the MLB hype machine sputters to life. Fans, pundits and media outlets (including us here at Bleacher Report) throw their support behind potential juggernauts and dark horses, building some clubs up and tearing others down.

Then the games start and, usually, it all goes out the window.

The start of the 2015 MLB season definitely hasn't gone to script. Just look at the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins.

While the American League East heavyweights can't seem to get on track, the Twins, who were left for dead before Opening Day even arrived, have been rolling right along. The Red Sox and the Twins represent the two types of contenders who crack a spot on this list.

If he's so inclined, Zack Greinke can end his six-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers after only three seasons at the end of 2015. He just better make sure he has a really good season first.

Seven starts in, it wouldn't be fair to call his 2015 season "really good." It's been more like "superb."

Barry Bonds is reportedly preparing a lawsuit against Major League Baseball around the possibility of collusion following the 2007 campaign.

The first five weeks of the 2015 season have been filled with surprises for the Seattle Mariners.

Offseason acquisition Nelson Cruz has been on a tear nobody could have seen coming and is currently leading the majors by a healthy margin with 14 home runs. Cruz has really helped Seattle stay afloat during a rough stretch of play.

The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers both find themselves chasing the Kansas City Royals in the American League Central standings heading into the series opener of a three-game set at Comerica Park Tuesday.

Thank god the NL Central is a weak division.

Despite being just a .500 ballclub through their first 30 games, the Chicago Cubs find themselves in second place in the division and 6.5 games behind the strongest team in baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals.