Baseball

Whether or not they win their respective leagues, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs are set to make a mark on this year's World Series.

Home-field advantage plays a pivotal role in any playoff series, so MLB naturally lets an exhibition game decide who gets an extra home game during the championship showdown. If the Red Sox or Cubs don't make the Fall Classic, the participants can thank or blame the All-Star Game outcome.

Remember when the Cavaliers were the hottest act in Cleveland? You know, what with their winning the NBA Finals and snapping the city's 52-year championship drought?

Well, they had their time. Now it's the Indians' turn, and you can practically hear them telling the Cavs, "Anything you can do, I can do better."

The Boston Red Sox have reportedly been banned from signing international players in 2016-17 due to violations of signing-bonus rules. 

ESPN's Buster Olney was the first to report the news Friday, and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports confirmed the report.

Although fans sometimes make strange choices for MLB All-Star Game starters, the decisions to this point will create plenty of drama leading up to the final announcement.

Voting for the July 12 game closed at 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, so hopefully you were able to fill out as many ballots with your favorite players as possible before the cutoff.

Philadelphia Phillies pitching prospect Matt Imhof lost his right eye in a training accident last Saturday.

Imhof explained the situation in an Instagram post:

CSNPhilly.com noted the accident occurred during a "postgame stretching routine."

The San Diego Padres reportedly traded relief pitcher Fernando Rodney to the Miami Marlins on Thursday, according to Jon Heyman of the MLB Network and Chris Cotillo of SB Nation.   

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Thursday that they have acquired starting pitcher Bud Norris along with outfielder Dian Toscano, "a player to be named later and cash considerations" from the Atlanta Braves for minor league pitchers Philip Pfeifer and Caleb Dirks. 

NEW YORK — In the seats behind home plate, scouts from rival teams ogle the relief pitchers the New York Yankees haven't yet decided to sell. Just the other day, the Chicago Cubs had three scouts at Yankee Stadium, enough so each could have focused in on just one of the late-inning relievers who could change the trade market and perhaps Cubs history.

Boston Red Sox left-hander David Price was not an especially good pitcher Wednesday in a 4-0 loss to his old employer, the Tampa Bay Rays. Just ask him.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig left Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers after he collided with the right field fence.

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