MLB

Prior to the season, Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum were easily the top candidates for the National League Cy Young award.

Lincecum has won the previous two, and perennial AL Cy Young candidate Roy Halladay was moved from the Blue Jays to the Phillies, and the movement from AL to NL almost always benefits the player.

With that said, somebody else has joined the picture.

Ubaldo Jiminez has made a name for himself this year by dominating nearly every start he has made.

As a former bat boy for the Tampa Bay Rays, baseball has been a lifelong goal for Jesse Litsch.

Originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 37th round of the 2003 Amateur Draft, you can say that Litsch fell into the Toronto Blue Jays' lap.

Not signing with the Rockies was probably the best thing for this former South Florida Community College Panther.

Johnny Cueto pitched a gem of a game last night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, a 9-0, one-hit shutout of the Pirates.

It was the third consecutive game in which a Reds starter had a one-hitter through six innings. Mike Leake did it on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs. Bronson Arroyo did it Monday against the Pirates.

It was also the fourth consecutive quality start for the Reds pitching staff.

According to assistant GM Scott Proefrock via Matt Gelb and his Twitter feed, the Phillies expect to have Jimmy Rollins back next week when they start a seven-game homestand beginning with the Pirates, then the Cubs, and ending against the struggling Red Sox.

The Phils have played well without Rollins in the lineup, so having him back will make them that much better. Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez have performed admirably, but neither has been able to replicate Jimmy's offense.

Senator Robert Mendez, (D) New Jersey, is publicly lobbying Major League Baseball to boycott next years All Star Game, which is to be held in Arizona. In response to Senator Mendez's effort I have one word.  Why?

Has Daisuke Matsuzaka finally turned the page?

Let’s be honest, when the Red Sox posted a $50+ million ransom in order to secure the rights just to negotiate with this guy, and then signed him to a six-year, $52 million contract, this was the type of outing we thought would be the rule, not the exception. We were told he had six or seven pitches he would throw for strikes, and that his control was impeccable. Yet, we have seldom seen that pitcher in a Red Sox uniform.

Immediately, I nearly need to recuse myself.

This is a Google-mapped, Wikipedia-searched, and late night-compiled piece. But I believe it's valid enough to be written and so here it is.

Personally, I have no stake, other than an unpaid phone bill. Chances are I would have stayed home and watched the games remotely. Yet there's still something that perturbs me. 

It's early. There is no denying that. However, with an eighth of the season already complete, it's not too early to speculate on who will win the postseason awards.

This article was originally published at The Daily Cub.  Visit TheDailyCub.com for more original Chicago Cubs coverage.

One week ago the Cubs were 13-13, coming off of a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks and looked to be back on track to get the most out of their team this season.

All was well in Wrigleyville.

Back in March this year, the feeling around Spring Training was one of cautious optimism. 

After coming off a humbling 75-87 season, the firing of J.P. Ricciardi and the trade of team icon Roy Halladay, the Blue Jays were clearly embarking to rebuild.

Fast forward to May 9, with a record of 19-14, the water cooler talk was all about our "great young arms", our "potent offense" and dare I say it—Wild Card!