MLB

The Pittsburgh Pirates have failed to live up to expectations so far in 2014, owning an overall record of 16-21.  

However, the team has won four of its last five games, as its batters begin to heat up.  

Let's take a look at each player on the active roster and the grades they've earned after the first quarter of the 2014 regular season.  

This list of grades includes only players on the active 25-man roster.  

And for his next trick, Rougned Odor will pull a rabbit out of his hat. 

The San Francisco Giants are 16-5 this season when facing opponents that have a .500 or better record, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Tuesday, as they prepare to take on the Atlanta Braves at AT&T Park.

The Washington Nationals are 20-9 in Stephen Strasburg's last 29 starts as a road favorite, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Tuesday, as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Sports bettors will find that the Nationals are 10/13 favorites in the pro baseball odds, with the betting total sitting at eight in the market.

There's no shortage of ways to determine who the face of a franchise is in baseball.

For some, the face of a franchise is simply the best player on the team, the guy who consistently puts up the most impressive individual numbers on a yearly basis. Others may look to the player that's most quotable, the guy who stands in front of the cameras and answers the questions his teammates avoid.

Another week of the MLB season has passed, and along with it, a new set of potential trade opportunities has emerged.

In the past seven days, there have been key injuries on contending teams, rumors of relief pitchers being made available and the constant din of a starter leaving the city of Chicago.

The "Year of the Pitcher" in 2010 turned out to be the start of the "Age of the Pitcher." Good pitching has become easy to find in the last five seasons. And with the league's ERA starting the week at 3.80, it's been especially easy to find in 2014.

But if you want to find the really good stuff, here's a three-word hint: National League, yo.

If you asked me before the season whether I thought the Colorado Rockies offense could be the best in baseball, I wouldn't have ruled out the possibility.

With nearly a quarter of the 2014 Major League Baseball season expired, the Washington Nationals sit two games over .500 and in second place in the National League East.

The good news, despite trailing the Atlanta Braves, is that the Nationals' deficit in the division is just 1.5 games. 

1. Marlins reeling while awaiting Jose Fernandez test results

Now Jose Fernandez is down.

It’s as if lightning struck right on Main Street. The lights are out, the town is dark and the smell of smoke is sickening. Damn. The last few months already have been hell on pitchers. Does the disabled list have to take every last blasted one of our young phenoms?