MLB

To be fair, she did have a better angle on the ball.

MLB.com's Cut 4 posted a video that proves even the ballgirl feels bad for the San Francisco Giants this season, because she tried to lend a hand with a recent pop foul.

A hit batter can be everything from an unfortunate accident, to a bench-clearing trigger to the cause of a season-ending injury. In some rare cases it can even result in a strikeout, and not one, but two players suffered that fate in Monday night's round of games.

Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips took a pitch to the right knee from Diamondbacks reliever Joe Thatcher, while Angels shortstop Erick Aybar was hit near the left knee with what looked to be a slider from Indians side-arming reliever Joe Smith.

The Cincinnati Reds appear to be running on all cylinders toward their first possible back-to-back postseason appearances since 1975-76, per Baseball-Reference.com.

Even though Ryan Ludwick was injured on Opening Day, the Reds have counted on new additions to the team this season.

While there are still two-and-a-half months left in the 2013 regular season, it is not too early to look ahead to what the Boston Red Sox's starting nine will look like on Opening Day next season.

There will be some new faces, but many of the options the Red Sox have are already signed to long-term deals or are young, athletic players who could make a huge difference in the playoff race.

Let's see who is in the starting lineup come Opening Day for 2014.

General managers around baseball have this recurring nightmare every offseason.

It's the one where they go out and add established major league talent to their respective rosters in an attempt to plug holes and upgrade specific positions from the previous season, only to watch those new additions wilt under the spotlight and become part of the problem, not the solution.

Have you ever wondered where your favorite MLB franchise stands in comparison against all the others?

I'm not talking about how your favorite team is doing this season. In fact, this year has almost nothing to do with this discussion.

I'm referring to things like team history—playoff appearances, World Series championships and Hall of Fame players—as well as revenue earned and farm systems.

Even as the Oakland A's fight for their second consecutive American West League Championship over the last six weeks of the Major League Baseball season, there is a truth that should hearten fans in the East Bay and everywhere else: This team is built to last. They are young and—although inconsistent at times—this team's core is full of talent. 

Momentum is important in Major League Baseball and the most important part of this season is starting to get into gear.

With a little bit more than a month left before the playoffs, any team that is lucky enough to end up in the postseason will want to be in top form when it begins.

That is why it is so important to do well right now and that is why the following four teams are so interesting. Some of them are securing their postseason positions while others are making charges at grabbing their playoff invitations.

The title of "ace" of a team's pitching staff is often bestowed upon a pitcher as if it were a nickname. It is prematurely applied to any and all types of pitcher, like a "Player of The Week" award. 

But ace is not a label to be categorized with lesser distinctions, such as: 

While the Baltimore Orioles' 2013 season is far from over, it's never too early to speculate on the future of the ballclub.

The O's have a solid team and they don't have that many players who are free agents after this season, meaning their lineup probably won't look extremely different from this year's starting nine.