Baseball

Because they inhabit a playoff position at the moment, the St. Louis Cardinals are postseason contenders. But for most of 2014, the club hasn't played up to preseason hopes and expectations that included visions of a second straight World Series run. The prime culprit? The lineup.

With the New York Mets not doing particularly well this season, many fans are probably looking forward to the 2015 season by now. The Mets have a lot of young pitching in particular, which makes the future for the team look very bright.

Felix Hernandez is having a historically good season, arguably the best of his 10-year career with the Seattle Mariners.

Giancarlo Stanton has spent all of the 2014 Major League Baseball season showing us how great he is. He spent all of Monday's game showing us how great he can still be.

If only one word could describe Felix Hernandez's performance this season, it would be "dominant."

The Royals are on a warpath.

Kansas City won its eighth game in a row on Monday night, overcoming the Oakland A’s to pull into pole position in the AL Central for the first time in 10 years.

Of course, the most important product of the win was the capstone celebration: a ridiculously athletic backflip by Jarrod Dyson.

The 2014 season has not gone according to plan for the Boston Red Sox.

Coming off a World Series championship in 2013, many expected the Sox to be right back in the thick of things again this year.

Those dreams came to an end sometime in mid-July, and Boston's inability to compete culminated in a fire sale at the trading deadline.

Now, with a 52-65 record heading into play on August 12, all that’s left is for Boston to evaluate its current roster with an eye toward 2015 and beyond.

Where would the Yankees be right now if not for Brandon McCarthy?

Now that the MLB season has hit the post-trading deadline stretch, all eyes are on division races, wild-card spots and the excitement of marching toward the postseason.

The Baltimore Orioles are one of the teams that are positioned nicely, currently holding the largest division lead in the league at six games. If the O's just keep doing what they're doing, they shouldn't have to worry about losing their spot atop the AL East.

Clayton Kershaw can do it all. Witness his most recent start on August 10 against the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

Sure, Kershaw's line was typically dominant: 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 6 SO, 2 BB. But his contributions extended beyond the mound.