MLB

If only one word could describe Felix Hernandez's performance this season, it would be "dominant."

The Royals are on a warpath.

Kansas City won its eighth game in a row on Monday night, overcoming the Oakland A’s to pull into pole position in the AL Central for the first time in 10 years.

Of course, the most important product of the win was the capstone celebration: a ridiculously athletic backflip by Jarrod Dyson.

The 2014 season has not gone according to plan for the Boston Red Sox.

Coming off a World Series championship in 2013, many expected the Sox to be right back in the thick of things again this year.

Those dreams came to an end sometime in mid-July, and Boston's inability to compete culminated in a fire sale at the trading deadline.

Now, with a 52-65 record heading into play on August 12, all that’s left is for Boston to evaluate its current roster with an eye toward 2015 and beyond.

The Baltimore Orioles have been one of the hottest teams in baseball since the All-Star Break, taking all but one series since then and establishing the best division lead in all of baseball.

Even though most of the credit must be given to the personnel who are actually playing the game, some of the credit needs to be given to the man in the dugout.

The July 31 MLB non-waiver trade deadline was almost two weeks ago, but that doesn't mean there aren’t still plenty of rumors and ample speculation regarding possible trade scenarios.

Jackie Robinson Park is a relatively idyllic multipurpose green space in the middle of Washington Heights, a working-class neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.

There are parks everywhere in Chicago, a product of the post-World War II initiative of the Parks District to green up the city. And although JRP is more well manicured than its neighboring parks and houses newer facilities, what sets it apart—especially in these summer months—are the hordes of black kids playing baseball there.

On this day 20 years ago, baseball fans were robbed.

Aug. 12, 1994, was the day Major League Baseball players went on strike. The work stoppage eventually resulted in the cancellation of the remainder of the '94 season and the World Series, bringing a premature end to numerous arresting storylines.

And of those, none was more arresting than what the Montreal Expos were up to.

Where would the Yankees be right now if not for Brandon McCarthy?

1. Tigers, Tigers, not burning so bright

Just when Motown was grooving on David Price, CLANK! Detroit’s assembly line of victories and good fortune suddenly came screeching to a halt.

Not that the past 48 hours have been a Tabby Nightmare, but it’s as if that giant statue of Joe Louis’ fist downtown suddenly clocked the Tigers in the chops. The Kansas City Royals, winners of eight in a row and 16 of 19, seized first place Monday night. Really? Are you kidding?

While it will be several years until most of the 2014 draft picks are ready for the major leagues, that doesn't mean we can’t get excited about the early returns from some of baseball’s brightest young players.

Thanks to an accelerated signing deadline in mid-July that was ushered in in 2012 as part of the new collective bargaining agreement—it used to be mid-August—draft picks are now encouraged to quickly begin their professional careers.