Baseball

Do you like monstrous power at the plate? How about unhittable pitching with some of the nastiest stuff from some of the best hurlers in the game? Throw in a few hints of unbelievable defensive gems, and that's exactly what fans will feast their eyes on during the 2014 MLB All-Star Game.

The Chicago Cubs surprised the baseball world last month by selecting Kyle Schwarber out of Indiana University with the No. 4 overall pick in the first-year player draft.

In starting pitcher Edinson Volquez's first four games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014, the righty went 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA.  

Suddenly, it looked like the Pirates made a great decision in signing him to a one-year deal during the offseason.  

Who will represent the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game?

This question is a reflection of how the team has played so far this season both individually and collectively. 

Since 2008 the question surrounding the Rays' All-Star selections has been how many players the team would send. The franchise has sent at least two players to the Midsummer Classic each season since changing the name to the Rays.

Major League Baseball does so many things right by its fans, especially when it comes to putting on a show, but the one mystery the people running the sport have never figured out is the All-Star Game. 

The fan voting is an integral part of the process, as it should be. Despite what Bud Selig might have you believe, the game doesn't really count; it's just a fun way to get the biggest stars on one field to market the game. 

Voting for the 2014 MLB All-Star Game has officially come to a close.

As the Midsummer Classic approaches, all we can do now is speculate which players will earn enough votes to make the team and a starting role in the game.

The American League featured several close positional battles from the last time MLB.com released the standings. We won't know the official results until rosters are announced on Sunday.

Arguing about the All-Star Game voting snubs is a bit of a futile endeavor. Most of the players discussed will get into the game anyway through either the manager selections or final vote. But that's not going to stop anybody from doing it.

Ideally, the All-Star voting is a meritocratic process rather than a popularity contest. The best players get the most votes, and everybody is happy. That's not how it goes, though. Fans will vote for their favorite players no matter what they've done on the field.

The Oakland A’s made fireworks with a blockbuster trade to land both Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel on the Fourth of July, according to ESPN insider Keith Law, giving up Addison Russell, Billy McKinney, Dan Straily and a player to be named later.

• 2014 MLB Trade Deadline
• AL West
• Baseball
• Jason Hammel
• Jeff Samardzija
• MLB
• Oakland Athletics
• Opinion