Opinion

The Boston Red Sox landed outfielder Rusney Castillo on Friday with a record-setting contract for an international player from Cuba.

In the midst of an extremely disappointing season, the Boston Red Sox are gambling on a better future with the signing of highly touted Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo.

According to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com, Castillo and the Red Sox have agreed to a seven-year deal, and he is expected to play for Boston during the current campaign:

Just one season after finishing 31st in ERA, the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen has been one of the best in the majors in 2014.

As the 2014 season begins to wind down, the San Francisco Giants are battling for a playoff berth. 

In the NL West, the Giants currently trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by 3.5 games but only two in the all-important loss column.

The Giants are also in the hunt for a wild-card spot, along with St. Louis, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. 

The Toronto Blue Jays are in the midst of fighting for their playoff lives.

When it comes to elite, powerhouse teams, there suddenly seems to be a void in Major League Baseball this season. At least, that's what the numbers indicate.

Only one team, the 76-50 (.603) Los Angeles Angels, is playing .600 ball through Thursday's games. That's a lofty winning percentage to meet, but it reinforces what feels like an increased level of parity in the sport.

Let's go back 25 years to Aug. 22, 1989, to appreciate Nolan Ryan doing something that hadn't been done before, hasn't been done since and may never be done again.

Ryan, then a 42-year-old veteran in his first year with the Texas Rangers, began a game against the Oakland A's needing six strikeouts to reach 5,000 for his career. Hardly a tall order for The Ryan Express, so the only real question was who would help him make history.

It's now been 25 years since Pete Rose accepted a permanent ban for betting on baseball, and it's still one of the most hotly debated topics in all of professional sports.

Rose retired following the 1986 season as the sport's all-time leader with 4,256 hits and 3,562 games played. It was his tenacious style of play that made him a fan favorite and the heart and soul of the Big Red Machine.

When an early morning team meeting is needed just before facing a team 20 games under .500 in your own house, it might be time to start choosing pallbearers.

The New York Yankees won Thursday, a fine shutout against the Houston Astros, but let’s be real here: When this is the win a team hopes turns around a lackluster season, it’s just going to keep going in the same direction.

The Los Angeles Angels suffered a potentially crushing blow Wednesday night when they lost ace Garrett Richards for the next six to nine months with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee.