Opinion

This year has been filled with injury and disappointment for the New York Yankees, and the team will see major changes in 2014.

As the final remnants of the 2013 MLB season play out, the Bombers find themselves desperately trying to remain relevant to the playoff chase after suffering three straight losses to the Boston Red Sox.  With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the team trails the Texas Rangers by two-and-a-half games for the final postseason spot.

In their quest to remain in the American League wild-card race, the Kansas City Royals are promoting right-hander Yordano Ventura, who was ranked as the No. 33 prospect in baseball in Mike Rosenbaum's midseason top 50, to start Tuesday night's game against division rival Cleveland Indians. 

It has been a year of ups and, more accurately, downs for the Philadelphia Phillies, but all was not lost. And even though it isn't much, late season heroics and surprises have revealed the proverbial silver lining from the 2013 season.

Put simply, things got weird during Monday night’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers. 

The MLB regular season wraps up at the end of the month, but with just those two weeks of games left, there are still 15 teams in the running for a postseason spot.

For some teams, the final two weeks will mean jockeying for seeding and playing for home-field advantage. For others, it means fighting for their postseason lives, as every game between now and the end of the season is incredibly important.

It’s a case of Wally Pipp, redux—in an indirect sort of way.

Jhonny Peralta got a headache and Jose Iglesias took his job.

Kind of.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday that the San Francisco Giants have started negotiations with impending free-agent right fielder Hunter Pence.

By winning seven straight games and 18 of their past 23, the Washington Nationals have surged back to relevancy. They've been extremely inconsistent all year, but an ultra-talented core and World Series-winning manager are now thinking in concert and executing to perfection with a few weeks of the season to spare.

Sound familiar? It should.

Sometimes the baseball gods just aren't on your side. That certainly appears to be the case for Miguel Cabrera as he chases a second consecutive Triple Crown. 

Resting comfortably next to religion and politics, what you put on your hot dog remains one of the most polarizing things anyone can discuss.

Sadly, we must have that discussion today, as word comes that the Detroit Tigers have dismissed their singing hot dog vendor because he chided fans who would dare put ketchup on their hot dog.