Opinion

With the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game now just a month away, crunch time for the voting has arrived.

And thanks to the latest batch of updates, now we know where the voting stands going into said crunch time.

Despite their recent struggles in June, the Toronto Blue Jays still hold the top spot in the American League East and have a 4.5 game lead over the second-place New York Yankees.

While the Blue Jays have looked like a playoff club for the most part this season, there have also been instances where their lack of depth in certain places has been exposed and cost them games. This doesn’t bode well for a team with aspirations to play in October.

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is now the all-time hit king in franchise history, surpassing Mike Schmidt with career hit No. 2,235 on Saturday afternoon against Cubs starter Edwin Jackson. After 15 years of borderline Hall of Fame-caliber play, the best shortstop in the history of Philadelphia now has the number to cement his legacy.

As Father's Day approaches, the 2014 Major League Baseball season is officially 11 weeks old, careening toward the All-Star break and never-ending questions surrounding contenders, pretenders and the state of the pennant races.

During a campaign of immense excitement, day-to-day and week-to-week results can get lost in the shuffle, replaced by season-long narratives and fans looking ahead to the months of great baseball still to come. If you need a dose of perspective on the season thus far, you've come to the right place.

More so than any other sport, baseball is known for bad contracts. Such is life when clubs can't stop investing massive amounts of guaranteed dollars in players who have no hope of earning them.

But bargain baseball contracts do exist. Actually, there are a lot of bargain contracts out there, some of which are bargains so big they deserve to be talked about.

Hey, I've got an idea: Let's do that.

Grab a pen and mark this down: Friday, June 13, 2014, at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. That's the date and the venue of Gregory Polanco's coming-out party.

Oh, and the other two members of the Pittsburgh Pirates' homegrown outfield also showed up.

The Washington Nationals Systems Check video offers a quick overview of the team's farm system, addressing its strengths and weaknesses and how it can improve moving forward.

The video also provides a breakdown of the Nats’ top prospects for 2014, right-handers Lucas Giolito and A.J. Cole and outfielder Brian Goodwin, including each player's ETA in the major leagues and potential long-term role within the organization.

For the New York Yankees, star power always trumps the success or failure of top prospects. In the case of 21-year-old catcher Gary Sanchez, a difficult start to the 2014 season could be a prelude to another bust emanating from general manager Brian Cashman's farm system.

You know it's a weird week in sports when Drake turns down an NBA Finals game in Miami to watch the Houston Astros play.

Nevertheless, the hip-hop star wisely avoided the sinking ship that is the Miami Heat in favor of showing love to Houston—his home away from home.

Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado caused a controversy earlier this week when he flung his bat into the field following a brushback pitch from Oakland A's pitcher Fernando Abad.