MLB

What good is talent to a fantasy owner who lacks timing?

Fantasy baseball—just like the real thing—is a game of skill, luck and timing. That last trait, in particular, comes in handy in regard to getting value in the trading game.

Knowing which player(s) to trade away and which to deal for—and knowing just the right time to do so—can make all the difference.

A series of unintentional happenings turned Thursday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies into an ejection-filled, plunking contest.

The drama began in the eighth inning when Rockies outfielder Corey Dickerson nicked a foul ball into the facemask of Braves catcher Gerald Laird.

Last week, all eyes were on the 2014 MLB draft. Now the attention is turning toward the inevitable mayhem that accompanies the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Amidst the chaos, there is one constant. Each week, someone will step up and thoroughly dominate at their position, while others will have weeks they would just as soon forget.

Let’s focus our attention on the best MLB had to offer last week and identify the stars at each position.

Although the Philadelphia Phillies are in the midst of their longest winning streak in over a year, they are still one of the worst teams in baseball at 28-36. They sit dead last in the NL East, and despite being just a half-game behind the fourth-place New York Mets, they have shown no promise of contending this year.

Life clings to the Boston Red Sox like a disease.

At 30-36 and eight games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays, they are unlikely to make the playoffs this season. Yet they keep winning just often enough to keep them on the periphery of relevancy at 4.5 games back of a wild-card spot, and this is a team with enough natural talent to make a run.

The Atlanta Braves have already signaled they would like to add a reliever or two to their bullpen. General manager Frank Wren was clear about that when he spoke with SiriusXM radio host Jim Bowden earlier this week:

As long as MLB All-Star Game voting is done by the fans, there will always be cases where popularity wins out over production—and this year is no different.

While the game does mean something these days with home-field advantage in the World Series at stake, it is still very much an exhibition for the fans, and they certainly have the right to elect the starter they want to see play.

Ever the odd creatures of habit, many Major League Baseball players will stick to the weirdest routines before every at-bat.

These odd superstitions obviously hold no bearing over the results. If FiveThirtyEight released a report showing a 56 percent offensive spike in batters who crawl to the batter’s circle, we’d witness a lot of grown men slinking to the plate on all fours.

It's hard to blame Chicago Cubs fans, really.

Ryan Zimmerman did not show up this spring planning to vacate third base. Did you start the year expecting to give up the job you love? Volunteer to move to a new cubicle? Wistfully admit you're just not the same?

Things change. Days pass. They become years.

If you're lucky, you find the ability to adapt with the times and continue to thrive.