MLB

The crowd was on its feet in Arlington, Texas on Friday, screaming "Yuuuu" with a no-hitter hanging in the balance. But for the third time in his MLB career, it was not meant to be for Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish.   

Darvish was just one out away from the feat after pitching 8.2 no-hit innings against the Boston Red Sox, but David Ortiz stepped up to the plate and ripped a single through the right side of the infield to break it up.

After singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at McCoy Stadium—home of the Pawtucket Red Sox—for the past 10 years, Michael Mullins finally made it to Fenway Park.

The reason why the Reds are three games below .500 and six games back of the first place Milwaukee Brewers has little to do with offense. According to the numbers, the Reds are just under par when it comes to National League offenses.

On Tuesday, it will be 11 months to the day since Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper uttered his famous "That's a clown question, bro" response to a reporter during a game in Toronto. The response ultimately turned into a pop-culture reference, as well as a line of Under Armour T-shirts. Almost a year later, the 21-year-old is still willing to laugh about it.

Many of us knew and expected the Miami Marlins to be better in 2014.

But many of us couldn't have predicted the Marlins to be five games over .500, have the best home record in the majors, the second-best run differential in the National League and be on top of the NL East division at this moment.

The trade market does not generally get going until the summer months, but that does not mean early-season trades don't occur from time to time.

In fact, the Pittsburgh Pirates already pulled off a deal in the first month of the season, landing first baseman Ike Davis in a trade with the New York Mets.

They say numbers never lie, and this also rings true for the 2014 Boston Red Sox. A maddeningly inconsistent but nonetheless exciting start to the season has left the Red Sox with plenty of reasons for both optimism and doubt moving forward as the weather warms up and players fully enter their regular-season grooves.

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.

Baseball enthusiasts can become obsessed with prospects. For every group of fans, regardless of payroll or market size, the idea of a special young player making the jump to the big league club is tantalizing. Despite the number of prospects that flame out on a yearly basis, the pursuit of the next Mike Trout or Bryce Harper is never-ending.

Teams that feel they are close to being championship-caliber will occasionally take the risk of trading away young talent in exchange for one year, and sometimes only two to three months, of an impact player.

While sacrificing the "future"—players with impact potential who will be under team control for several years at a team-friendly rate once they reach the majors, if they're not there already—to give the big league team a better chance to advance to the playoffs and beyond for the current season has been known to backfire, it can also be great for business.