MLB

Alex Rodriguez finally made his polarizing 2013 debut on Tuesday night after being sidelined with a hip injury...but it wasn't for the New York Yankees.

Introducing Porter Fischer, the latest key witness for Major League Baseball in the league's ongoing investigation into the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drugs scandal.

The road back to the New York Yankees has officially begun for Alex Rodriguez, as the third baseman played his first rehab game for Single-A Charleston on Tuesday evening.

Rodriguez recorded two at-bats, grounding into a double play in his first at-bat and striking out looking on a 2-2 fastball in his second at-bat. Not exactly the best results for A-Rod, but it could have been worse.

No amount of idiocy will go unturned. 

Welcome to the weekly installment of “MLB Idiot of the Week”, where the biggest dum-dums of the week are presented for your consideration.

Voting is really quite simple: MLB Lead Writer Zachary Rymer and MLB Contributor Gabe Zaldivar will set up some easy pins in the form of knucklehead candidates, and you knock them on down.   

The New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez returned to baseball Tuesday night, making his first rehab start since undergoing hip surgery in January. Most of the fans here in Charleston showed up mainly for the novelty of one of baseball's great players coming to town. As an orthopaedic surgeon, I was much more interested in watching how well his hip rotated with each swing of the bat or when chasing ground balls.

Former MLB outfielder Milton Bradley has reportedly been sentenced to almost three years in jail and 400 hours of community service for abuse of his estranged wife. 

The Associated Press, per CBS Sports' Matt Snyder, has some of the details of his crimes:

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig's rapid ascent to superstardom in just one month has raised several questions about what kind of talent we are looking at for the future. But the one thing that should not be up for debate is his spot on the National League All-Star team. 

With two days to go in the All-Star Game voting process, it's time to go ahead and say it—the fan vote is flawed.

The most recent vote counts have been released by NBC Sports, and I'm troubled by some of the totals. And it most noticeably has to do with certain San Francisco Giants players.

Elevating one's game is one of the toughest things to do in Major League Baseball.

Hitting a slump can really impact a player’s confidence at the plate and on the mound, especially if it’s over an extended period of time. We’re not talking about going 0-for-7 through two games. We’re talking about weeks of striking out and giving up home runs.

Mark Appel will make his professional debut Friday for the Houston Astros Class-A short-season affiliate the Tri-City ValleyCats, according to Ken Schott of The Daily Gazette.