MLB

As the 2013 Major League Baseball season winds down, the sport looks ahead to new beginnings in 2014. 

On Tuesday, via MLB.com, a tentative schedule was released for next season, marking the path to the pennant races through a 162-game marathon.

Not all playoff teams are created equal. Some years, there will be a lot of depth and parity throughout both the American and National League. Other years will be top-heavy, with one or two dominant rosters and the rest fighting to keep up.

But how does this year's group of playoff contenders compare to what we have seen in the recent past? 

You can tell things are getting intense in the AL East when managers are ready to fight over allegedly stealing signs.

That's exactly what happened Monday night in the first inning, when Yankees' manager Joe Girardi went ape crazy over Orioles' third-base coach Bobby Dickerson allegedly stealing signs.

This was the exchange between Girardi and Orioles' manager Buck Showalter:

The Tampa Bay Rays are currently sitting in the second Wild Card spot in the American League. If they are able to advance to the postseason, they will have a rough road to the World Series.

The Rays’ winning formula of great starting pitching and defense has been challenged this year due to injuries to the rotation. The team hopes those worries are behind them for 2013 with a full stable of arms finally available.

Major League Baseball released the schedule for the 2014 regular season on Tuesday through its official website, with traditional Opening Day set for March 31.

To give you an idea of how long it's been since the Pittsburgh Pirates posted a winning campaign, take a minute to soak up the landscape of Major League Baseball all the way back in the summer of 1992.

Among the numerous differences in the sport between then and now, the following stand out:

-Each league featured only two divisions, an East and West.

-Wild cards were not part of the postseason landscape.

Predicting the winners and nominating the top candidates for MLB's end of season awards is kind of our thing here at Bleacher Report. Since entering September there has been an updated stock watch for one award or another on what feels like an hourly basis.

But listing the top five candidates for each major award in order and predicting how many votes they'll actually get? Well that's something of a new wrinkle.

Even the commissioner of baseball and the powers that be in MLB have nightmares.

While some of us wake up in a cold sweat at 3 a.m. because we dreamt that we were falling or being chased by monsters, their nightmares involve a short list of contenders making the playoffs.

There a number of reasons why a team would end up on that list, from a lack of local fan support and the size of their market to being without a genuine superstar that even the most casual of baseball fans is familiar with.

With less than a month to go in the MLB season, there's still a lot to be decided.

Nearly half of the teams in baseball are still reasonably in the playoff hunt, although some have more work to do than others.

Teams like the Braves, Tigers, Dodgers and Red Sox can relax a little as the month goes on. Others know that bad play could result in no playoffs or one of the wild card spots. As we saw last year, that's the last thing any team wants.

For me, for teams to get to where they want to be, it starts with pitching.

All MLB stars must cope with immense pressure in September. They're either leading teams into the playoffs, trying to buff up their stats for upcoming contract negotiations or responsible for exciting a non-contender's fanbase down the stretch.

Taking advantage of the first competitive season of your career can be just as important as ensuring that your last season before a deal ends finishes on a positive note.