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Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is set to make what could be his final rehab start on Wednesday as he inches closer to a return from an upper back injury that has kept him out of action since being scratched from his second start of the season on March 30. 

At the time, the Dodgers had a 2-0 record after sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks in Australia and were looking primed to continue their dominance of 2013, a season in which they were victorious in 62 of their final 90 regular-season games and advanced to within two wins of a World Series appearance.

Although the other three teams in the division—the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants—had yet to play a game, there had to be at least some concern that the Dodgers were capable of running away from the pack as they did late last season. 

But the injury to 2013 Cy Young Award winner Kershaw, who allowed just one earned run over 6.2 innings during the team’s Opening Day victory over the D-backs, made that much less of a certainty.

In fact, the possibility for one of those teams to build a big lead over a Kershaw-less Dodgers team had quickly become a reality. 

ESPN’s Buster Olney listed a Kershaw injury as one of the top five reasons why the Dodgers wouldn’t win the NL West, comparing his loss to the Dodgers of 1962-1966 losing Sandy Koufax.

MLB Lead Writer Zach Rymer wrote about the window of opportunity that had opened up for the D-backs, Rockies, Padres and Giants and the potential impact that Kershaw’s absence for even a few weeks could have on the race. Rymer‘s advice to the Dodgers’ division rivals: “Win as many games as you can now, while the getting’s good in the NL West race.”

As of today, though, it’s safe to say that none of those division rivals have been able to take advantage of their “head start.” 

The Dodgers haven’t played over their heads without their ace, managing a 12-12 record, while Kershaw‘s fill-in Paul Maholm has been very good in two starts and very bad in two others. 

In the meantime, the D-backs have lost 19 of 27 and are already buried in the division. The Giants have gone 15-11, the Rockies are 15-12 and the Padres are 13-14. Regardless of what happens between now and when Kershaw can conceivably return during the team’s May 5-7 series against the Washington Nationals, the Dodgers won’t be too far behind, if at all.

Their current one-game deficit to the first-place Giants is nothing compared to what they overcame last summer. In a span of one month, from June 22 through July 22, they had not only emerged from a 9.5-game hole, but they had jumped all four division rivals to go from worst to first in the division. By August 22, they had a 9.5-game lead and were on cruise control. 

It’s still a tight race, but it will soon be one in which the Dodgers will have the best pitcher and, arguably, the best rotation. And this time, they’ll have no deep hole to dig themselves out of. 

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1. The Boss, the rapper and the All-Star

Here comes Robinson Cano racing back to the Bronx, history already being written.

A real, live Seattle Mariner actually guesting on The Tonight Show.

In the name of all that is sacred—and weird—we never saw Ruppert Jones or Bruce Bochte sit with Johnny Carson. We never saw Mike Blowers crack wise with Jay Leno. Yet there Cano was on the eve of this week’s reunion with Derek Jeter and co., chatting it up with Jimmy Fallon, Jay Z and $240 million now the wind beneath his wings.

Meanwhile, you look at the Yankees infield, and the obvious reaction is: Brian Roberts and Yangervis Solarte at second base? Are you kidding? (And yes, I know Solarte’s current on-base percentage is .400).

Things always were going to be different after George Steinbrenner’s passing, but it’s difficult to get a handle on the Yankees these days.

“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing,” The Boss famously said while his 1998 club was steamrolling toward 114 wins and a World Series title. “Breathing first, winning next.”

For a time after Steinbrenner’s death, for the Yankees, it became breathing first, avoid paying luxury tax second, make life luxurious for the swanky set behind the plate at new, soulless Yankee Stadium third…and winning somewhere after that.

So in 2013, as the Yankees worked hard toward reducing their luxury tax, they also reduced their winning. They finished third, watched the playoffs on their flat-screens and shuddered when the Red Sox won again.

Then a team that cannot for the life of itself produce a fertile farm system and homegrown stars kissed off Cano, one of its last remaining homegrown stars, and dove into the free-agent market after Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran.

Later in the winter, they completely blew past the luxury-tax threshold in signing Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka.

So a team that a year ago was obsessed with a self-imposed mandate to go below the luxury-tax threshold reversed course in record time and spent $470 million this winter. And it still can hold a T-shirt giveaway day at The Stadium this summer: “We spent $470 million and all we got was Kelly Johnson at third base and Roberts/Solarte at second.”

“Owning the Yankees is like owning the Mona Lisa,” Steinbrenner once said.

Yet this infield is more like the artistic rendering of Dogs Playing Poker, given the situations at second and third (in the wake of Alex Rodriguez’s suspension), the likelihood that Mark Teixeira never will be what he once was following wrist surgery and Derek Jeter attempting to play championship-caliber shortstop at 39.

Recognizing how much Cano was about to get from Seattle, the Yankees signed Ellsbury on Dec. 7 to a seven-year, $153 million deal. Cano signed with the Mariners five days later.

If you believe it came down to a choice, as the Yankees said at the time, fine. There are fair arguments on both sides of that fence.

But could the Yankees have signed both? And McCann and Beltran and Tanaka? Sure. Why not? They’re the Yankees. Since when do they have a payroll lower than the Dodgers—or anybody else?

Marquee stars in their primes just don’t leave the Yankees. At least, they didn’t under The Boss.

“Second place is really the first loser,” he once said.

And: “As I’ve always said, the way New Yorkers back us, we have to produce for them.”

With The Boss gone, last season was only the second time since 1994 that the Yankees failed to make the playoffs. And the postseason was even expanded last year.

Now, even Mariners are climbing onto The Tonight Show stage. Even if Cano does have only one home run through 102 plate appearances.

2. Racism strikes at Jackie Robinson’s team

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives,” Jackie Robinson told us in words of wisdom, so on point that they could have comes straight from the Ten Commandments.

So. Let’s talk NBA, Clippers owner Donald Sterling and Matt Kemp.

Kemp has spoken eloquently for years as baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day each April 15.

He also is an NBA fan and close friends with the Clippers’ Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. He took his mother to a Clippers game awhile back and posed for a photo with V. Stiviano, Sterling’s former mistress.

Then in the latest leak of a taped conversation between Sterling and Stiviano, the owner was giving her a hard time for posting that photo on Instagram because, well, Kemp is black, and The Donald didn’t want his squeeze having anything to do with African-Americans in public.

“I thought Matt Kemp is mixed, and he was OK, just like me,” Stiviano told The Donald in the taped conversation Deadspin revealed on Sunday.

In my favorite moment by far of the past week, Kemp’s reply was pointed: Before each of his four at-bats Sunday, his walk-up music in Dodger Stadium was Michael Jackson’s “Black or White.”

“Racism is kind of old. For real,” Kemp said Sunday. “Honestly, I just feel sorry for him that he feels that way about African-American people.

“I feel sorry for my boys on that team that have to play for a guy like that. Chris and Blake and all those guys, where we come from, that’s not acceptable.”

One of the best things baseball does is turn Jackie Robinson Day into a national holiday each April 15. The day Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947 extends well beyond just the game itself. It was one of the most important days in American history.

Baseball truly is a social institution, as commissioner Bud Selig habitually reminds us, though even with Robinson as its shining moment, things are not always perfect. Anybody who remembers John Rocker can attest to that. If you don’t remember him (and, truthfully, even if you do), make sure to read Jeff Pearlman’s excellent piece here.

Baseball hasn’t had an issue like this with an owner since Cincinnati’s Marge Schott, who was suspended in 1993 following a series of racist and insensitive comments, and again in 1996 for saying Adolf Hitler “was good in the beginning but went too far.”

Kemp said playing for an owner like Sterling “would be tough. I would figure out a way not to be in that situation anymore.”

As Kemp said, in as accurate a statement as anybody will issue this year, “Black, blue, green…it doesn’t matter what race you are. We’re all people. We all want the same things. Happiness and all that great stuff, you know? It’s weird.”

3. The American League, but looks like the World Baseball Classic

Not only did Toronto whip Boston 7-1 on Sunday, the Blue Jays did something that had never been done before: They became the first major league team to field a starting lineup with six players from the Dominican Republic.

“It might get me a job in winter ball this winter,” Jays manager John Gibbons quipped. “I’ll be in the next WBC.”

The six Dominican Jays in the lineup: Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Juan Francisco and Moises Sierra.

4. Bryce Harper, We Hardly Knew Ye

Yasiel Puig, Josh Hamilton and now Bryce Harper all have missed time this season because of hand injuries suffered sliding headfirst into a base.

More teams than not now employ two hitting coaches. When, oh when, will somebody hire a coach to tackle these guys who A) slide headfirst into first base and/or B) slide headfirst into any bag?

It’s been a brutal couple of weeks for Harper, between getting yanked by manager Matt Williams for not running hard to first base the other day and now facing thumb surgery that will sideline him until July. Bryce, while you’re out, here’s some reading for you.

5. Brother, can you spare a hit?

Pitchers have dominated in recent years, but this is borderline ridiculous: Sunday was the first time in history that 10 pitchers went seven-plus innings while allowing three or fewer hits, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The 11:

• Houston’s Collin McHugh (against Oakland).
• Kansas City’s James Shields (against Baltimore).
• The Angels’ Garrett Richards (against the Yankees).
• Atlanta’s Julio Teheran (against Cincinnati).
• The Cubs’ Jason Hammel (against Milwaukee).
• Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto (against Atlanta).
• The Mets’ Dillon Gee (against Miami).
• St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright (against Pittsburgh).
• San Diego’s Ian Kennedy (against Washington).
• San Francisco’s Ryan Vogelsong (against Cleveland).

6. They’re not booing, they’re Abreu-ing

Is it time to close the polls for American League Rookie of the Year voting? If White Sox slugger Jose Abreu has a couple of more weekends like the one he just finished against the Rays, it just might be (with apologies to the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka, of course).

The Cuban defector leads all AL rookies with 10 homers, 32 RBI, 20 runs, 29 hits, 67 total bases, 17 extra-base hits and a .626 slugging percentage.

And contrary to what you might believe, no, he did not compile all of that in four games against Tampa Bay over the weekend. Close, though.

Against the Rays, Abreu went 7-of-17 with three homers, including a walk-off grand slam Friday night. Not long after that slam, Sox catcher Tyler Flowers raved about Abreu to us on the Round Trip show on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio.

Among other things, Flowers is impressed not only with Abreu’s power, but with the fact he has a plan.

“The guy takes batting practice,” Flowers said, “and it’s like, what is this big guy doing shooting balls to right field?”

Just preparing to mash for another evening, apparently.

7. Rehabilitation Blues

Two aces, two unhappy guys.

The Phillies’ Cole Hamels was not happy last Wednesday when, in his first start of the season following a bout with biceps tendinitis, manager Ryne Sandberg lifted him following just 86 pitches and six innings. Hamels said he could have thrown at least 100.

“For me, I thought it was outstanding for a first outing,” Sandberg said, noting Hamels had thrown around 90 pitches in his final rehab outing in Clearwater, Florida, and was approaching 90 in Dodger Stadium and that there was a huge difference in effort in the venue.

The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, following his first injury-rehab outing last Friday for high Class A Rancho Cucamonga, lobbied hard to rejoin the Dodgers’ rotation this week. But given that he’s missed a month, the Dodgers will have him make another rehab start—likely in Double-A Chattanooga—Wednesday.

Kershaw is not cool with that.

“Not really,” the 2013 NL Cy Young winner said. “I did the best I could (in lobbying to return), but I’m not going to fight the team if everybody doesn’t want me to do something.”

8. A sock in the jaw would be better than a bat in the face

Scary—and unbelievable—moment in Milwaukee on Saturday when shortstop Jean Segura was hit in the face by a bat swung by teammate Ryan Braun.

On the dugout steps.

Segura took stitches and hasn’t played since. The Brewers aren’t sure when he’ll be back. And Braun suffered an oblique strain later in the same game, and he’s out as well. So those hot-starting Brewers, with the majors’ best record at 19-7 starting the week, have some issues.

Beginning with, isn’t one of the first things any player learns as a kid is to not swing the bat near a crowd of people?

And isn’t the second thing any player learns as a kid is to watch out for anyone swinging a bat?

“I do my warmups every game, so I’m actually surprised something doesn’t happen like that more often,” Braun told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt.

9. Take that, Yankees

With one more win, the Dodgers will become only the fourth franchise in major league history to reach the 10,000-wins mark, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The first three? The Giants, Cubs and Braves.

“The Yankees have done it, right?” Dodgers manager—and former Yankees first baseman—Don Mattingly asked.

Um, nope.

“That’s cool,” he quipped. “Hey, L.A. is on my hat.”

9a. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lyric of the Day

Dedicated this week to Donald Sterling and points beyond…

“Racism lives in the U.S. today

“Better get hip to what Martin Luther King had to say

“I don’t want my kids being brought up this way

“Hatred to each other is not okay

“Well, I’m not a preacher just a singer, son

“But I can see more work to be done

“It’s what you do and not what you say

“If you’re not part of the future then get out of the way”

—John Mellencamp, Peaceful World

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. He has over two decades of experience covering MLB, including 14 years as a national baseball columnist at CBSSports.com.

Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball here.

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Every season features players who take nontraditional, roundabout paths to unexpected success in the major leagues.

Last year it was the Atlanta Braves’ Evan Gattis. This year, it’s Chris Colabello of the Minnesota Twins.

Through the first month of the season, the 30-year-old Colabello is batting .308/.351/.505 with nine doubles, three home runs and 27 RBI.

Colabello went undrafted out of Massachusetts’ Assumption College and signed a contract in 2005 with the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am Independent League. Other than a half-season stint with Nashua (another team in the league), Colabello spent the next seven years with Worcester and batted .317/.390/.514 with 166 doubles, 86 home runs and 420 RBI in 583 games.

In 2011, his final season playing in the Can-Am league, Colabello set career highs with a .348 batting average, 1.010 OPS and 20 home runs in 412 plate appearances. The then-27-year-old’s performance earned him Independent League Player of the Year honors by Baseball America, as well as a contract with the Minnesota Twins.

Colabello was assigned directly to Double-A New Britain in 2012, where he feasted on Eastern League pitching for the duration of the season. In addition to batting .284 with a .358 on-base percentage in 561 plate appearances, Colabello led the league with 37 doubles, ranked second in RBI (98), fourth in runs scored (78) and was tied for fourth in home runs (19). He also amassed 40 multi-hit games and 21 multi-RBI games and was the runner-up for the Eastern League MVP award.

However, it wasn’t until the 2013 World Baseball Classic that Colabello made himself known to a more national audience. Serving as the cleanup hitter for upstart Team Italy, he batted .333 with a pair of home runs and seven RBI in five WBC games.

Colabello’s strong showing against international competition ultimately earned him an invitation to major league camp the following spring. But despite posting an .873 OPS with four RBI in 10 games, he was reassigned to Triple-A Rochester to begin the 2013 season.

He didn’t stay there long, though; on May 22, 2013, the Twins purchased the contract of Colabello, 29 at the time, from Rochester after placing Trevor Plouffe on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion.

Unfortunately, Colabello’s long-awaited debut in the major leagues wasn’t pretty, as he collected just one hit and struck out six times in 11 at-bats. On May 29, the Twins optioned Colabello back to Rochester, but he returned the following day when Plouffe was placed back on the disabled list, this time with a calf injury.

Colabello shuffled between Rochester and Minnesota a few more times before joining the Twins for good on July 19. From that point forward, Colabello batted .201 with seven home runs and 17 RBI in 48 games. Overall, the rookie posted a disappointing .631 OPS and 58/20 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 55 games.

Though he struggled during his time with the Twins, Colabello’s .352/.427/.639 batting line, 24 home runs and 76 RBI in 391 plate appearances at Rochester earned him recognition as the International League MVP and Baseball America’s Triple-A Player of the Year.

With the Twins anticipating a lack of 40-man roster flexibility in 2014, and Colabello without a guaranteed spot on the team’s Opening Day roster, they presented him with an opportunity to play for the LG Lions in the Korean league for a guaranteed $1 million contract.

However, Colabello declined the offer, deciding that he wasn’t ready to give up his major-league aspirations.

“I don’t think it was that hard [of a decision],” he said, via Phil Rogers of MLB.com. “My heart never went that way. I’ve followed my heart my whole life. I use my head too, but I follow my heart. … It has never steered me wrong.”

Well, it now goes without saying that Colabello made the right choice.

The 30-year-old was arguably the Twins’ top hitter this spring, as he locked up a spot on the active roster by batting .349/.462/.512 with five extra-base hits and eight RBI in 23 games.

Colabello continued to rake through the first week of the regular season, collecting a hit in each of the Twins’ first seven games while batting .370/.414/.630 with four doubles, one home run and 11 RBI. His impressive start resulted in AL Player of the Week honors.

Through 23 games this season, Colabello is batting .308/.351/.505 with nine doubles and three home runs. He already broke the team’s two-decade record for RBI in the season’s first month with 27, overtaking Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett’s 26 in 1994.

“It’s quite an honor,” Colabello said, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “You start getting mixed in with names like that and you realize how special this game is and how special this opportunity to be here is. It’s certainly something I’ll remember for a long time.”

More importantly, he’s a major reason the Twins are one game above .500 (12-11) with an offense that ranks best in the AL in on-base percentage (.353), third in runs scored (127) and fifth in OPS (.742).

But can Colabello sustain his terrific opening-month production over the course of a full season? In looking at a few comparable, offensively oriented players from previous years, we see that hot starts never last; however, it doesn’t mean the player will necessarily have a poor season.

Shelton and LaHair both became small-sample-size legends with their torrid Aprils, but their high strikeout-to-walk ratios and BABIPs made it impossible for either player to sustain that level of production for a full season. If we compare their numbers with Colabello’s, we see the same glaring trends: poor strikeout-to-walk ratio and BABIP-driven batting average.

In terms of each player’s respective career trajectory following that season, LaHair—he actually made the 2012 NL All-Star team—spent the 2013 season playing overseas, and the 30-year-old now plays for the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate. Shelton, on the other hand, has been out of baseball since 2010.

Unfortunately, it’s easy to see Colabello’s career going down the same dreaded path given his lack of a defensive home. His natural position is first base, but it’s not as though he’ll ever play there over Joe Mauer. Therefore, the Twins have worked Colabello’s bat into the lineup elsewhere this season, giving him eight games at designated hitter and 12 in right field. The only problem is that Colabello is not an outfielder; in fact, his defense at the position has already cost the Twins six runs, according to FanGraphs.

Dan Cook of CBS Minnesota seems to agree with this assessment, though I’m sure neither of us is rooting to be correct:

There’s no question that he’s limited by the lack of a natural defensive position. His best spot, first base, is currently occupied by $23 million. And his BABIP is a sky-high .397. So even if the Twins are able to stay creative and get him at-bats, his hitting numbers should normalize a bit.

Even if the Twins continue to find him regular at-bats, Colabello’s production is going to even out. That being said, the 30-year-old should still put up similar numbers as some of the other second-tier corner players in the American League, batting in the .250 range with roughly 20 home runs. However, if Colabello cools off dramatically and the Twins need a roster spot, don’t be surprised if he suddenly becomes the odd man out.

Colabello is a great story, but definitely not a late-blooming star.

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The Baltimore Orioles are currently sitting at second place in the AL East with a 12-12 record, and they have been flirting with a .500 record for the past week.

Despite kicking off the season with a 2-5 record in their first seven games, the Orioles have rebounded nicely, winning 10 of their next 17 games, thanks to notable contributions from some of their offseason acquisitions.

This past offseason, the Orioles proved that patience is indeed a virtue, signing two of the most high-profile free agents in starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez (four years, $48 million) and outfielder/designated hitter Nelson Cruz (one year, $8 million) in late February to relatively cheap deals, considering what they bring to the table.

Let’s take a closer look into the group of offseason acquisitions and evaluate them based off of their performance to date.

All statistics courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.

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“It’s time for Dodger baseball!”

A month into what could very well be Vin Scully’s final season uttering those famed words, most of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ contingent isn’t able to hear them spoken.

Scully’s voice is booming rich with bits and pieces of Dodgers history gushing from his lips like a geyser as it has been for decades now, but the majority of Dodgers fans are being deprived of that which they’ve come to crave for six months of the year.

After a month of deadlock in negotiations between the Dodgers’ new TV channel, SportsNet LA, and cable and satellite providers, those fans are parched and enraged.

A month into what has been the most anticipated Dodgers season in a decade, fans are witness to a finger-pointing match that they have no interest in but are forced to watch as they impatiently wait to see the Boys in Blue take the field.

The blame is of no importance to fans.

They could care less if the hefty $8.35 billion deal Time Warner Cable struck with the Dodgers is the root of the impasse, or that there’s a website set up to demand providers to carry SportsNet LA.

What matters to the nearly 70 percent of fans who haven’t been able to watch the Blue Crew on TV is that the matter become resolved immediately.

Los Angeles sports fans are growing weary of getting entangled in the stalemate of TV negotiations. It’s become a maddeningly familiar debacle that starves fans of watching the games they love.

In 2012, fans were held hostage in a standoff between the Pac-12 Networks, Time Warner Cable SportsNet, and its Spanish-language equivalent Time Warner Cable Deportes and providers that prevented them from being able to watch both the Lakers and Pac-12 games, including those of local colleges UCLA and USC.

While nearly all providers eventually struck deals with those channels after a few months, DirecTV and the Pac-12 Networks, as well as Dish Network and the TWC tandem, have still to make a deal, which continues to infuriate fans.

The consumer, of course, has the option to switch to a variety of other providers that carry Pac-12 Networks and TWC SportsNet and Deportes, but in the case of SportsNet LA, only Time Warner Cable is carrying the new channel.

But, then again, why should consumers be subjected to the hassle of switching providers over one channel? It doesn’t take a genius to decipher that the onus is on the provider and channel to find resolution, not the paying consumer.

Moreover, was not the endgame of this new Dodgers channel taken into account when the megadeal was proposed and then inked by both Time Warner Cable and the Dodgers? Are there not shrewd businessmen capable of meeting a deadline, which would’ve been Opening Day?

Again, a digression. Trying to sort out the culpability in the matter is as useful as swinging when the ball’s already in the catcher’s mitt. A blatant waste of energy.

A.J. Ellis said he watched Tuesday’s game via a pirated feed. #ineedmydodgers

— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) April 10, 2014

Fortunately for fans, though, there is an assortment of alternative ways to partly satiate their hankering for the Dodgers as the TV deal remains unresolved.

For one, fans can tune into games on the radio and follow along with play-by-play streams online. There is also a bevy of free, high-quality content from SportsNet LA on the TV channel’s website.

Yet, those methods of ingesting the Dodgers are droplets to a panting beast.

This is starting to get old REALLY FAST @DIRECTV!!!!! #iNeedMyDodgers

— #BeatSJ!! GKG (@DaveyGoesCray) April 28, 2014

@MagicJohnson Hmm…didn’t see it on my TV. Actually, I haven’t seen any Dodger game on TV yet. Hard to be a fan of the Dodgers these days.

— WayneB (@whb1957) April 26, 2014

The Dodgers faithful don’t want to merely watch highlights or features on the team; they want to be immersed in the game, doused knee-deep with Scully’s fascinating stories or poetic tangents about the picturesque Los Angeles skyline that lingers above Chavez Ravine as the first pitch is being thrown.

Without it, fans are disenchanted and irritated, which they are unendingly expressing on social media every day; however, with every game that isn’t televised, a growing number of them are becoming increasingly withdrawn from the team.

Hopelessness can increase desire, but it can also yield discouragement, which has the potential to negatively affect fans’ relationship with the Dodgers in addition to their discontent with both sides of the TV standoff.

Dodgers fans continue to lose in TV money war — and this could last awhile, reports @thebenbergman for @KPCC http://t.co/ibyJLagDb5

— Melanie Sill (@melaniesill) April 28, 2014

@Dodgers @JoeyJ33 been a dodger fan 36 years. so angry that I cant watch games on TV. hope the big contract was worth alienating your core.

— Ryan Blackmun (@rblacky31) April 26, 2014

It’s been clear from the onset of this fiasco that it’s a winless scenario for both of the most important parties involved: The Dodgers organization and its fans. Without the most important medium to connect the two, the distance between them can only expand.

And for those fans eagerly waiting to be told it’s time, Dodger baseball is beginning to seem like a mirage.

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From the record-setting Jose Abreu to the wildly underachieving Prince Fielder, it’s time to dish out grades for MLB‘s top 15 offseason acquisitions heading into May. 

Of course, the Chicago White Sox’s slugger is far from the only big-money pickup who receives a high mark. Conversely, Fielder is definitely not the only premier name who has all sorts of room for improvement. Plus, there are a few stars who fall right in the middle.  

Now, let’s take a look at the grades for MLB’s top 15 offseason acquisitions. 

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Former New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano will play his first game against his former team when the Seattle Mariners return to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, April 29.

Jimmy Fallon wanted to give Yankees fans a chance to show how they really feel about his departure by letting them boo him. Fallon did not, however, tell these booing fans that the real Cano could hear everything.

Lots of the tough guys in this video have a quick change of heart when Cano comes out from behind the poster.

[The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, h/t The Big Lead]

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On paper, the Dodgers have too many good problems. Too many good outfielders, too many All-Star closers, and, for the first time in many years, a well-stocked farm system. So barring a rash of injuries, the Dodgers shouldn’t have the need to make any major trades this season. 

That said, general manager Ned Colletti isn’t exactly a frugal businessman, especially with the Guggenheim Group’s deep wallets backing him. He’s been known to pull the trigger on huge mid-season moves, including ones that brought his current starting first baseman, shortstop, left fielder and fifth starter to Los Angeles.

With the team off to a bit of a disappointing start, none of the standard trade subjects have made enough of an impact to raise their stocks. And if the Dodgers do swap one of their high-priced outfielders, they’ll more than likely have to eat a large chunk of any contract. 

But, if the Dodgers find themselves floundering in June and trailing in the division, Colletti might feel the need to make a trade and salvage their World Series-or-bust season. At that point, who will be the most attractive trade chips to other teams? Who might the Dodgers be willing to ship away for a younger, fresher bat or a group of minor league players?

Read on to find out who the Dodgers best trade bait is so far in 2014.

All statistics taken from Baseball-Reference.com.

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Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals came into the 2014 season showered with predictions of October glory. Before the start of May, plans of National League East dominance have been put on hold for the foreseeable future due to a thumb injury that will keep Harper out until at least early July.

That news, per Keith Law of ESPN.com, takes one of baseball’s brightest stars away from the Nationals until around the All-Star break, adds another injury to a growing list in Washington and changes the narrative in one of the most interesting divisions in the sport.

When spring training began, the Nationals looked poised for a special season. Led by a deep pitching staff, a fresh approach from the managerial seat and all-around stars such as Ian Desmond, Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Harper, Washington profiled as a team that could run away with the National League East.

Furthermore, the Atlanta Braves suffered through high-profile starting pitching injuries and teams such as the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Miami Marlins were either poorly constructed, in the midst of a rebuild or simply a year or two away from serious contention.

As May approaches and Harper exits the spotlight, it’s time to reconsider the Nationals’ place in the NL East hierarchy.

While it would be a fool’s errand to simply hand the division to the red-hot Braves or classify Washington’s entire 2014 season as a lost cause, the Harper injury has the potential to hold back the Nationals for the entire first half of the season—if not longer. 

Despite a slow start (.289/.352/.422, 1 HR, 21 SO), Harper’s talent and potential were key to a quick and steady rise atop the division. Since the then-19-year-old arrived as an April call-up in 2012, Harper has been one of the most valuable outfielders in all of baseball. Typically, Harper’s star power and accolades are put into context with current or former young major league players.

In this case, there’s no need to classify Harper’s peer group as anything but fellow outfielders. The following chart shows how valuable Harper has been to the Nationals. Losing the left-handed slugger for two months is nearly the equivalent of taking Jose Bautista away from the Toronto Blue Jays or Giancarlo Stanton away from Miami. 

Despite a big payroll and win-now roster, don’t expect the Nationals to look for a high-profile replacement for their lost outfielder. Last month, Nationals owner Mark Lerner was asked about payroll flexibility, per Bill Ladson of MLB.com.

“We’re beyond topped out,” Lerner said. “Our payroll, as you know, has skyrocketed to about $140 million. I don’t think we can go much farther with the revenue stream that we have.”

Of course, good teams should be able to overcome injuries without the help of major in-season additions. While the Nationals fall into that category, the team has been dealing with ailments to Zimmerman, catcher Wilson Ramos and starting pitcher Doug Fister. The latter hasn’t thrown an inning yet this season. 

It’s possible that the Nationals could survive and thrive without Harper and complementary players, but one more injury to an impact performer—such as Werth, Stephen Strasburg or Jordan Zimmermann—could hold a formerly loaded roster down for a long period of time.

With the NL East looking better by the day, simply playing .500 baseball through the All-Star break might not be good enough for Washington. 

If Harper’s injury had been sustained during the first few weeks of spring training, the narrative around the Nationals likely wouldn’t have suffered because of a division that looked to have just one team—the perennially competitive Braves—capable of winning more than 85 games. With four weeks of the 2014 season in the books, the story is evolving.

Atlanta has won 17 of 24 games, shrugged off pitching concerns and thrived when it seemed it was likely to fall from the 96-win perch it sat on last season. With young, ascending stars such as Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons leading the way, the Braves should be able to stay in the race all summer long. 

More surprising: Solid starts by the Phillies and Mets, teams that last posted winning records during the same season in 2008. 

With the core of a formerly dominant team—Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Carlos Ruiz and Jimmy Rollins—healthy, the Phillies just need solid production from complementary pieces in order to surprise baseball and stay in the race. 

Heading into play on April 29, Mets starters own a 3.46 ERA. That mark is good for ninth in baseball, per ESPN. If that type of stingy pitching continues throughout the summer, competitive baseball could return to Queens, New York, for the first time in six years. 

Although the last-place Marlins look more feisty than competitive, Washington will miss Harper’s .918 career OPS against Miami during three head-to-head games in late May.

Harper’s 2014 season had the potential for greatness. Along the way, the Nationals had the potential to run away and hide in a below-average division. Four weeks and one major injury can’t derail everything once thought, but it’s more than enough to usher in doubt.

Eventually, Harper will return to reprise his role as one of the best young players in the world. When he does, the Nationals will look to make a move in a suddenly competitive division. Over the next two months, anything goes in the NL East.

Agree? Disagree?

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Statistics are from Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted. All contract figures courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Roster breakdowns via MLBDepthCharts.com.

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It’s not every day that an MLB player scores from second base on a flyout, but the Tampa Bay Rays’ Desmond Jennings made it happen with a little luck and great hustle.

During Monday’s game against the Chicago White Sox, Rays outfielder Matt Joyce hit a fly ball to the wall. White Sox center fielder Adam Eaton caught the ball, but he had to throw it to his teammate in order to get it back in as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for the White Sox, it wasn’t quick enough.

Jennings had alertly tagged up and never slowed up as he rounded third. His hustle allowed him to easily beat the throw to the plate:

The run gave the Rays a 2-0 lead, but the White Sox rallied for a 7-3 victory. 

[MLB.com]

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