Is it epic performance? Flash? Pizzazz? Excitement? Humor? Whatever it is, Major League Baseball hasn’t had a lot of it throughout its history. While baseball — the “kid’s game” — is constantly in danger of being hijacked by traditionalist blowhards who want the sport to be as entertaining, plodding and painful as a trip to the proctologist, there is a new generation of star players coming up who don’t believe in such conformities....

The day doesn’t let off the gas in terms of great matchups for us to target with the defending NL East Champs Braves taking on the Phillies in what will be Bryce Harper’s first regular season game with his new team. Another pitching duel looks to be taking shape in Tampa between aces Blake Snell and Justin Verlander in a game that has the joint lowest run total on the slate at only 6....

For fans of four teams drafting in the top five of the 2020 MLB Draft, it’s bittersweet: they stink right now, but the value of high draft picks can alter the future of a franchise — if they pan out and develop. The Royals, Orioles, Marlins and Tigers are all picking within the top five again in this year’s MLB Draft, four of the same five from last year’s first five picks....

RUMOR: The Astros are starting to show interest in signing outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. REPORTED BY: ESPN’s Peter Gammons DETAILS: With Chris Davis off the board — he was being sold as an outfielder by his agent — a lot of teams are scrambling to fill their outfield needs as limited options remain. One name that’s cropped up on almost every team’s wish list since the end of the season is Yoenis Cespedes, and the Cuban slugger appears to have another new suitor in the Astros....

MORE HOT STOVE: Fantasy pitchers on the move Updated Dec. 21 Rangers reportedly sign OF Shin-Soo Choo. Choo leaves one hitter-friendly park for another. There is sometimes concern when a hitter switches leagues, but Choo’s experience in the American League should alleviate any concerns of a slow start. He’ll join Prince Fielder in what should be a very strong lineup in 2014. Rockies acquire OF Drew Stubbs from Indians. A perrenial power/steals sleeper who will kill your team’s batting average, Stubbs will no doubt keep some supporters now that he’ll call the thin air of Denver home....

Some people say baseball is too boring; teams just don’t score enough runs. Tell that to the Astros, Braves, Nationals, Royals, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Red Sox and Diamondbacks. Those eight teams combined for 92 runs on 127 hits Tuesday. Yes, those numbers are ridiculous. The Braves-Nationals game had a combined 32 hits, and the Blue Jays-Red Sox game had 30 hits. MORE: Fantasy rankings, sleepers for Wednesday | Scherzer backtracks on DH comments | What’s wrong with the Nationals?...

Toronto Blue Jays -122 (vs Boston Red Sox)R.A. Dickey vs Clay Buchholz We like the Blue Jays a lot, with their capability of scoring and turning games in a single inning. The Jays’ pitching is suspect, but they boast the sort of offensive threat that leaves other teams wondering and pitchers wavering in their shoes. Boston has had its fair share of problems on the mound as well and has not been very impressive in other aspects of the game, either....

Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current baseball lines from Las Vegas. Detroit Tigers +118 (vs Cleveland Indians)Alfredo Simon vs Corey Kluber The series between the Tigers and Indians heads into the third game with each team having won one. Detroit started well with a 4-0 win but succumbed in the second game despite leading early on. In AccuScore simulations, Detroit is slight 54 percent favorite. The oddsmakers have made the Indians the chalk....

The 2019 MLB postseason not only features several teams that could legitimately emerge as the last team standing when the World Series concludes, but also a few others that could ride a surprise hot streak to playoff glory. But that’s the beauty of postseason baseball: Despite projections and stats and gut feelings, we just never know what’s going to happen. MORE: 2019 MLB playoff odds, favorites That makes postseason predictions a bit of a fool’s errand, but we’re here to offer our thoughts anyway....

It started in April, when Toronto lost a 3-2 game at Tampa Bay when a replay review showed that Jose Bautista came off second base with his takeout slide on Logan Forsythe, rendering it illegal and turning a wild throw that gave Toronto a 4-3 lead game-ending double play. “I guess we’ll come out wearing dresses tomorrow,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said then to criticize the just-implemented rule, sparking a controversy over casual misogyny in sports....

Kershaw, the 2014 National League MVP and a three-time Cy Young winner who probably would have won a fourth this season had he not missed July and August with a back injury, is now the proud owner of three wins in his playoff career. With five innings of work Friday, in which he gave up three runs on eight hits, Kershaw got the W in the Dodgers’ 4-3 victory over the Nationals, a triumph that steals away home-field advantage in the best-of-five series....

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and Nationals No. 1 starter Max Scherzer both struggled in LA’s 4-3 victory at Nationals Park. MORE: Top 50 players in the playoffs Kershaw allowed three runs in five innings and was pulled after throwing 101 pitchers (65 strikes). He did strike out seven batters, but he had to pitch out of jams multiple times after allowing eight hits and a walk. Scherzer had thrown 91 pitches (60 for strikes) before Wilmer Difo pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the sixth inning....

Thanks to Joe Panik’s walk-off hit in the 13th inning, San Francisco has won its last 10 elimination games, each one in more dramatic fashion, culminating with Monday’s 6-5 win over the Cubs that forces a Game 4 Tuesday at AT&T Park. MORE: 12 players who own unfortunate postseason records The Giants trailed when ace Madison Bumgarner exited after 101 pitches in five innings as the southpaw served up a three-run homer to Cubs counterpart Jake Arrieta....

Along with the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins, the Astros and the Dodgers were two of only four teams to win at least 100 games this season, as they finished with the best and second-best regular season records respectively. Houston went 107-55, while Los Angeles won 106 games and oddsmakers believe the two teams could again cross paths in the World Series, as they did in 2017 when the Astros defeated the Dodgers 4-3....

But if that doesn’t work out, and Lester signs elsewhere, expect the Red Sox to take a hard look at Max Scherzer, the other top starting pitcher on the free-agent market. “Once Lester signs his six-year deal that could wind up having a total value of somewhere between $150 million and $170 million, Scherzer is going to replace him as the focal point of every team that is looking for a starter,” Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports....

Commissioner Rob Manfred admitted as much Wednesday afternoon at a summit hosted by Yahoo Finance. Here’s what he said: “Sports betting happens. Whether it’s legalized here or not, it’s happening out there. So I think the question for sports is really, ‘Are we better off in a world where we have a nice, strong, uniform, federal regulation of gambling that protects the integrity of sports, provides sports with the tools to ensure that there is integrity in the competition?...

So, yes, Braves fans might be a little worried right about now, especially with the state of the bullpen. But that kind of worry/urgency isn’t what we’re going to talk about today. Today, we’re going to look at five franchises/fan bases that are feeling a different sense of urgency. MORE: Watch live MLB games all season long on fuboTV (7-day free trial) Remember when the Red Sox hadn’t won a World Series since Babe Ruth wore their uniform?...

MORE: 10 best trade destinations for Johnny Cueto | 13 worst career All-Star Game hitting performances With David Wright on the disabled list since mid-April (and an unknown return date), the Mets’ infield has struggled to produce. Daniel Murphy has played a decent third base and batted .277/.327/.396 since making the move from second base, but shortstop Ruben Tejada and second baseman Wilmer Flores each have a sub-.700 OPS. Ramirez is getting bit long in the tooth at age 37, but his 10 home runs and 39 RBIs would be among the leaders in the Mets’ clubhouse, and Ramirez was just named NL player of the week after batting ....

We’ve already looked at the Yankees, the Braves and the Reds. Today, we’ll focus on a couple of California teams that will soon be parting with multiple players. The Padres, of course, have already made a major move, dealing starter James Shields to the White Sox. He won’t be the last to go in San Diego. MORE: See where Beane, Preller land in our front office rankings The idea here is to look at the players who will be available when contenders come calling, with one featured player and then a run-through of other position players and pitchers on the block....

The first place to look for potential midseason trade acquisitions is at the list of potential after-the-season free agents. Well, that list is pretty bare. Front offices will have to get creative. But the needs are still going to be there. Teams have playoff pushes to make. We thought we’d take a quick look at five of the teams we know will be buyers as this year’s deadline (it’s Aug....