MLB

The good news for the Chicago Cubs is that most of their top prospects have been true to form to start this season with very few hiccups in the first month. The bad news, which is normally inevitable in baseball, is that some have still gotten off to some disappointing starts. As an organization, the Cubs' top 20 prospects have performed well, but three out of their top 15 have been particularly disappointing thus far.

Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig's approach to playing the game tends to rub people the wrong way, but there's no doubt that he brings some serious swagger to the ballpark.

Puig absolutely crushed a three-run home run off Miami Marlins pitcher Jacob Turner in the fourth inning on Saturday:

The bat-flip certainly put an exclamation point on the blast:

Nobody does it like Puig.

Instead of cheering with the rest of Yankee Stadium after a home run, one New York Yankees fan threw a temper tantrum because she wasn't able to snag the ball.

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira hit a no-doubter in the fourth inning of Saturday's game to bring his team within one run of the Tampa Bay Rays. Although a home run is cause for celebration, one female fan went berserk after the ball appeared to land within reach only to bounce away:

David Freese had to leave Friday's game against the Texas Rangers after being struck on the right hand with a pitch. Not surprisingly, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. 

From the official Twitter account of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:

In 2007, the Arizona Diamondbacks made a surprising run toward the playoffs and reached the National League Championship Series before finally falling short against the Colorado Rockies. Three years later, the architect for that surprising run, general manager Josh Byrnes, was fired in July 2010.

The Oakland Athletics are off to a hot start after one month of baseball. So, too, are some of their minor league prospects. But it might not be the guys you'd immediately expect to see.

An important day has arrived, baseball fans. With the 2014 Major League Baseball season graduating from April to May and five weeks of play in the books, it's officially time to stop using "small sample size" to justify or defend statistics, trends and narratives.

With every passing the day, results from 2013 matter less and early season headlines become more instructive as we dissect what is happening on the field. Every pitch, inning and game brings us closer to clarity on surprise teams and players. 

Tradition dies hard when it comes to Major League Baseball clubs. They're not afraid to make little changes, but it's not especially often that a franchise says "Screw it!" and goes for a completely new look.

There are a couple clubs out there, however, that ought to give it a shot.

Maybe even more than a couple, come to think of it. Heck, there might be as many as a dozen teams out there that could benefit from making like the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008, the Miami Marlins in 2012 or the Houston Astros in 2013 and going for a full-on rebrand.

In his first start for the 2014 Atlanta Braves on Friday night, young lefty Mike Minor was confronted with the reality of the 2014 Atlanta Braves.

With Minor doing his part by turning in a solid performance, he provided further evidence that this Braves team has the whole pitching thing down solid.

The whole hitting thing, on the other hand, is a work in progress. And at this point, one is starting to get the sense that's just how it's going to be.

Extra innings in baseball can test a player's stamina. When you're tired, bored and frustrated, what's the one thing that can pep you up?

Ice cream!

ice cream time! pic.twitter.com/Xz2ue8Idlk

— Jayson Werth's Beard (@JWerthsBeard) May 3, 2014

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