MLB

No, it's not quite the second half of the baseball season just yet, but it's safe to say the first half is just about over.  Texas has had several players put up remarkable numbers this season, helping the team to a 47-33 record, good for first in the AL West.

The Cleveland Indians swept the Chicago White Sox on Friday by scores of 19-10 and 9-8 in what has to rank as one of the weirdest and most exciting doubleheaders in Cleveland Indians history. According to the MLB Network, the 19 runs tied the Indians' own mark for the most runs scored in a single game in the MLB this season.

After a while, the MLB All-Star Game can become, well, kind of boring.

While it's great to see the biggest names in baseball go head-to-head for the right to home-field advantage in the World Series, it doesn't always reflect the players who are having the best seasons—and isn't that what the All-Star Game is all about?

Cole Hamels is getting a pass from Philadelphia Phillies fans—and the city's media—for his horrible pitching this season.

That stops now.

Entering the second half of the 2013 season, the Oakland A's sit at a very respectable 47-34, good for second place in the American League West. The A's are on pace to match 2012's 94-win total in spite of some very key components either being injured (Brett Anderson) or flat out underwhelming (Josh Reddick). 

One thing the Los Angeles Dodgers have to be given credit for on a night where nothing went right—they know how to end a streak in grand fashion.

Backed by a 21-hit attack and a six-RBI night from embattled outfielder Delmon Young, the Philadelphia Phillies whipped the Dodgers, 16-1.

It represented the Dodgers' worst loss at home since they moved out west in 1958.

Make it an even dozen for Max Scherzer, and some history on the side.

The Detroit Tigers right-hander picked up another win on Friday night, pitching seven innings and allowing three earned runs in a 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. That makes Scherzer a perfect 12-0 on the season.

Former major league pitcher Justin Miller, whose career spanned parts of seven seasons, was found dead in Palm Harbor, Fla., on Wednesday. 

He was 35.

I'll take a wild guess and say that about 98.32 percent of rumored trades between now and July 31 won't happen. In fact, a large percentage of those probably weren't even seriously discussed by the teams mentioned.

So while we were all seriously discussing how those players would fit on their new teams and speculating on which prospects were going to be part of the trade package, the general managers involved in the rumored deal were probably working on a deal that was completely under wraps and then surprised the heck out of everybody once it was announced. 

On the MLB schedule for Friday, a veritable who's who of young pitching stars were scheduled to start.

Matt Harvey and Shelby Miller were just two of the bright young arms in the game slated to work—Gerrit Cole, Julio Teheran, Miller, Harvey, Allen Webster, Alex Colome and Trevor Bauer all took the mound on Friday.

Each one of them were highly touted prospects who have made their way to the majors—all with thoughts of achieving greatness at the highest level.