Opinion

There's been a lot of buzz going around that the San Francisco Giants overpaid when they extended Hunter Pence via a five-year, $90 million deal.

Dave Cameron of FanGraphs sums up that argument by writing:

The Tampa Bay Rays have picked a horrible time to hit a snag. The team came into its final series against the Toronto Blue Jays needing to win just one game to ensure a berth in the AL Wild Card Game.

After dropping the first two games of this all-important series, the Rays have to win on Sunday to have a shot at playing in the AL Wild Card Game. They are now 90-71 and tied for the second wild-card spot with the Texas Rangers.

"You can never have too much pitching."

Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

The aforementioned old adage is well-known to be a favorite of Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.

With one day remaining in the 2013 Major League Baseball regular season, one race is undecided. Heading into play on Sunday, the Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers all control their respective destinies on the path to an American League Division Series date with the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park late next week.

In the midst of an awful season, the San Francisco Giants made a preemptive strike to secure their future place in the NL West standings by agreeing to re-sign right fielder Hunter Pence to a five-year, $90 million contract on Saturday.

The St. Louis Cardinals, having won their division for the seventh time in the past 14 years, head into the playoffs facing some fierce competition.

Even if a team loses in the division series, it was worth it just to make it to the MLB postseason.

That's what four teams are going to be saying in a couple of weeks after they're bounced out of the playoffs in the opening series.

Since it's decided over five games rather than seven, the division series offers a much greater chance of seeing the better teams making quick exits.

There's the slightest of chills creeping into the air, football is once again dominating Sundays and, at least in a few American League cities, the tension of a Wild Card race inserts itself into everyday living. 

The MLB postseason is nearly upon us, folks.

Chicks dig the long ball. But unless it's a 500-foot bomb, it's not going to make Sportscenter's top 10 plays.

Defensive gems are what generally get the glory for top plays, and here at Bleacher Report, it's no different. We've written multiple stories highlighting a play that happened on a particular night that was beyond all measure.

While some plays are game-savers, others are just spectacular plays that came out of nowhere. Regardless, all of these plays deserve recognition.

One of the greatest regular-season pitching performances in recent memory has come to a close.