Matthew Kory

A-Rod leaves, Mark Teixeira sneaks out the side door, Ichiro is somehow Ichiro again, and Mike Trout continues to look like he could be better than any of them.

The trade market for relief pitchers continues to defy reason, the universe continues to defy the Cleveland Indians, and teams get ready to change everything.

The trade market heats up as the Chicago White Sox burn themselves down, the Arizona Diamondbacks go avant-garde, and a possible World Series preview in Cleveland.

Dissecting the first big pre-deadline trade, figuring out what's wrong with the flailing Mariners, pondering the lot of the injured trade target, and other delights.

At the All-Star Break, the AL is upside down, the NL is anxiously playing out according to predictions, and everyone honestly needs to take a rest for a week.

The Indians kicked baseball's collective asses for a couple weeks, and are for real. Clayton Kershaw's back is hurt, and the Dodgers are really screwed.

The Red Sox have one of baseball's best offenses, but the back half of their rotation is a disaster. That is going to have to change, but it won't fix itself.

The struggling New York Mets take a shot at shamelessness, baseball's division leaders plump up the cushions, and the Texas Rangers continue to defy gravity.

An inquiry into why baseball fans somehow still care about the All-Star Game, a consideration of things at the 70-game mark, and the suddenly terrifying Giants.

The bad teams are somehow worse and the good teams are still great, but there's plenty of change to go around thanks to ultra-precocious beasts like Xander Bogaerts.

The San Francisco Giants need to replace the weirdest player in baseball to stay in the race; they probably shouldn't do it with Carl Crawford, though. Also: gross fans are gross.

Three sweeps remind us of the importance of a win or two here and there over the course of a season, the Rangers are fun, and the Reds redefine bad pitching.