MLB

Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz delivers his brief but powerful message to the United States men's national team prior to its battle with Belgium in the round of 16.

(Note: This video has borderline NSFW language)

Tell 'em, Big Papi.

The Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff struck out 287 batters in June, setting a new MLB record for most strikeouts by a team in one calendar month, according to MLB.com.

It may not coincide with some ridiculous campaign commercials dished out by rich politicians, but the 2014 MLB All-Star vote has been entertaining nonetheless.

Like any formal political vote, the MLB's deadline is rapidly approaching, and each and every tally will count. Some positions are such toss-ups at this juncture that it's hard to imagine who comes out on top.

Boston's World Series title defense hasn't gone quite as anyone anticipated, as the Red Sox have been outscored by the opposition and sit with a losing record on the outskirts of the playoff picture in the American League.

Ninth in an 11-part series examining the vagaries of awards voting.

The rebuilding process in Chicago that general manager Rick Hahn began in earnest last year has already begun to pay dividends.

Are the Cleveland Indians contenders or pretenders?

It's an impossible question to answer, with the club hanging around the outskirts of the playoff race despite having a losing record and a negative run differential, which makes the Indians one of the more intriguing teams to follow as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline draws near.

Few teams in baseball have enjoyed the kind of recent success that the Detroit Tigers have.

Winners of three consecutive American League Central crowns, the Tigers have a legitimate chance to make it four in a row in 2014.

But a World Series title has remained elusive, and the pressure is on general manager Dave Dombrowski to figure out how to best position his club to claim baseball's biggest prize.

Late last week we learned through a report by Ben Badler of Baseball America (h/t MLB Trade Rumors' Steve Adams) that another high-profile Cuban hitter, outfielder Yasmani Tomas, had defected in order to pursue a career in Major League Baseball.

Things haven't been nearly as bad in Houston as many expected they would be, with the Astros looking very much like a team that has finally taken a big step back towards respectability after years of being the laughingstock of the game.

General manager Jeff Luhnow has done a remarkable job in recent years of unloading his veterans for younger, less-expensive talent, and the current roster doesn't have much in the way of valuable trade chips to peddle at the trade deadline.