Baseball

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.

With playoff positioning and the top spot in the NL West still up for grabs, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Yasiel Puig kept the San Francisco Giants from scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th inning during Monday night's game.

On Tuesday night, the Baltimore Orioles are going to be partying like it's 1997.

With an 8-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, Buck Showalter's squad captured its ninth victory in 10 games and moved 13.5 games in front of Toronto in the AL East, effectively locking up the division.

Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig were caught on camera bickering at each other during Monday night's game, a clear sign that skipper Don Mattingly is losing the clubhouse and the NL West-leading <

It's almost awards season!

So, who should win X or Y end-of-season-award? It's one of the most exciting, and debatable topics of the season, and since the minor league season is over, we can replicate that to some extent while looking at the Cincinnati Reds farm system.

Though the season was filled with some mixed results from top prospects, there are plenty of players who deserve recognition for their outstanding accomplishments.

It's a topic no one feels like talking about. It's a stat commonly dismissed, regarded as weak or passive. And in 2014, it is killing the Cincinnati Reds offense.

Take a brief stroll through Twitter to find out what people think of walking, especially regarding Joey Votto, who has built a reputation for accumulating bases on balls (BBs):

The Chicago Cubs entered the 2014 season with a very strong farm system and somehow ended the year with an even stronger one. Several key prospects have found their way to the major leagues this season, but a lot of top-level talent still remains in the farm system.

New York Yankees star Martin Prado is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after an emergency appendectomy.

Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network passed along the news:

The Yankees later confirmed the news of Prado appendectomy (via Danny Knobler):

The 2014 Major League Baseball postseason is approaching quickly, and the best teams continue to jockey for playoff positioning, if not fight for a postseason berth.

Follow along while we update the playoff picture and provide key notes and information from around the league.

The following teams have already clinched a 2014 playoff berth: Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles

Teams in bold currently occupy a playoff spot

"x" indicates clinched playoff berth

"y" indicates clinched division title