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On Monday afternoon, one of the great ambassadors of baseball passed away.

Johnny Pesky, a man who dedicated his life to the game that he so loved for over six decades, died at the age of 92. While Pesky will always be remembered for his unabashed love of the Boston Red Sox, he is also remembered for his unwavering passion for the game and for the people that played it.

The Red Sox have honored Pesky in various ways over the years by retiring his number; by having him raise the World Series championship banner in 2005; and countless other ways.

But Pesky’s Pole is a feature that has become one of the most talked-about parts of Fenway Park.

In honor of Mr. Pesky and in honor of the terrific man that he was, we will take a look at various features at different ballparks throughout MLB.

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It was another pretty incredible night for premier pitchers in the American League.

In fact, it was a Justin-credible night for the Detroit Tigers.

Justin Verlander struck out 14 batters in a 132-pitch, eight inning effort against the New York Yankees on Monday night, while Jered Weaver notched his major league-best 15th win with a four-hit complete game masterpiece over the Oakland A’s.

The two elite pitchers couldn’t be more on the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of style—Verlander with the capability to blow hitters away with his 100 MPH heater at any time, and Weaver with the ability to completely baffle hitters with movement and location.

On any given night, when either pitcher is on top of their game, fans in the stands could easily be watching history in the making—a no-hitter.

Verlander already has two—in 2007 and last year. Weaver picked up the first no-no of his career this year against the Minnesota Twins.

Along with Weaver and Verlander, there are others in MLB with the capability of notching zeroes inning after inning every time out. Here is a look at some of them.

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With the just-concluded 2012 MLB All-Star Game now a distant memory, the business of baseball once again takes center stage.

Over the final two-plus weeks of the month, contending teams will be jockeying for position, hoping to land that key acquisition that can help their playoff aspirations.

Among the many players who will no doubt be discussed by teams are players who took part in the All-Star game last Tuesday.

Here is a list of five 2012 MLB All-Stars and five former All-Stars who could be playing for contending teams in early August.

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The 83rd edition of the MLB All-Star Game is underway at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

With the starting lineups already having been analyzed and discussed ad nauseum since Monday morning, we’ll add even more to the nauseous mix, so to speak.

We will grade the performance of each starter’s performance in the Midsummer Classic, taking into consideration the quality of their at-bats, their defensive plays, their attempts to conquer hitters on the mound, their social media skills while playing, and their ability to win over the hearts and minds of the fans.

Well, maybe not the social media skills, and Robinson Cano may be the only player who needs to do the final item on that list.

Nonetheless, we will grade everything else.

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Now that the month of July has arrived, so too has the uptick in speculation that always seems to lead to rumors.

Rumors in the world of Major League Baseball are what fans grasp onto like barbecue sauce on a char-broiled steak. As each rumor swirls around the web and grows like a weed, it’s hard to discover the difference between truth and fiction.

Fortunately, for fans of the Los Angeles Angels, you now have a place to come to in order to find out what’s real and what’s fake.

Over the next month, we will work to provide you with all of the latest information concerning your Angels—we’ll break down each new bit of information as it’s presented on the web, provide analysis for each rumor and transaction that involves the Angels and weed through all of the rumors/speculation/banter and determine whether they’re valid or just a bunch of hooey.

Bookmark this link, Angels fans. There’s no need to go anywhere for the latest in trade rumors and news—we’ll keep you updated right here!

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One quick look at the numbers for Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper clearly shows that he is on a pace to rival numbers put up by other famous teenagers in MLB history.

Through 51 games, Harper is hitting .280 with seven HRs, 20 RBI, an .848 OPS and an OPS-plus of 129.

Not too many youngsters can lay claim to those types of lofty numbers at such a young age.

We will take a look at 10 other teenagers who displayed raw power at an early age.

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With the upcoming MLB non-waiver trade deadline comes much speculation about a bevy of players likely to be changing destinations.

As such, they essentially lose their jobs, but not quite like getting canned.

Some hitters will lose their current standing because of payroll constraints, others to make room for upcoming prospects, and still others because they are underperforming.

Whatever the case, here is a list of hitters from each MLB team who will be cashing a paycheck for a new team sometime in the future.

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In professional sports, athletes generally spend much more time with their teammates than they do with their own families during the season; eating, sleeping and traveling together for at least seven months a year.

In Major League Baseball, that means that 25 players plus an assortment of coaches and other team personnel are together from mid-to-late February until as late as October each and every year. With the diversity of personalities, it’s natural to assume that not everyone on every team is going to get along all the time.

Last season, after the Boston Red Sox completed one of the most epic collapses in MLB history, reports came out that described issues in the clubhouse that were disturbing to say the least.

While the Sox shook things up by bringing in a new general manager (Ben Cherington) and manager (Bobby Valentine), apparently the toxicity of the clubhouse hasn’t changed much.

ESPN’s Buster Olney spent time with the Red Sox this weekend during their weekend series with the Chicago Cubs. According to his observations, and conversations with team officials off the record, the Red Sox clubhouse is still a mess.

One line in particular really stood out:

The unhappiness that exists among the Boston players and staff is multilayered and deep.

Olney would not name names, and quite frankly, the entire article was very vague as to the specifics of the source of the toxicity within the Red Sox’s clubhouse.

To me, Olney spending a few hours with the team because of an obligation to ESPN doesn’t exactly qualify as a great source for airing issues about the Red Sox, but I digress.

However, just to play along, here is a list of players who could be viewed as a source of the toxicity.

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On Monday night, Los Angeles Angels rookie phenom Mike Trout almost single-handedly delivered a victory for his Halos over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the resumption of the Freeway Series.

In a game that was sloppy from the outset, filled with baserunning blunders, errors and walks, Trout simply stole the show. A towering home run blast in the fourth, his sixth of the season, an opposite-field RBI single in the sixth to tie the game, and then his actions in the top of the ninth that set up the go-ahead run.

Trout drew a walk after falling behind 1-2 against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, then promptly stole his 15th base of the season. Albert Pujols drove Trout home with a broken-bat single to left that would lead to the 3-2 victory.

Count both Pujols and Angels manager Mike Scioscia among the biggest believers in Trout.

“He just doesn’t take anything for granted,” Pujols said of Trout. “He goes out there and plays hard every day — dive for a ball, stealing a base, getting his walk, bunting. Everything you can ask for from a perfect player, he has it. He’s just amazing.”

Ditto from Scioscia.

“Mike in the batter’s box is as advanced as any 20-year-old I’ve ever seen,” Scioscia said.

Pretty heady stuff.

Conversely, Washington Nationals rookie outfielder Bryce Harper is creating his own waves in the nation’s capital with his play as well. Harper was 3-for-4 on Monday night at the Rogers Centre, helping his Nats beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3. Harper is now hitting .295 on the season with six HR, 18 RBI and a .908 OPS. Harper is also hitting .364 in the month of June thus far, while Trout leads all major leaguers with a .354 since his call up on April 28.

So, where does the duo of Trout and Harper compare to rookie duos of the last 10 seasons? Let’s take a look.

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After a career that seemed to be built on toughness and durability, all of a sudden, Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis is becoming a major question mark health-wise.

The Red Sox announced their lineup early Tuesday afternoon, and for the third straight game, Youk was scratched due to what’s currently being called back pain, and nothing more.

Youkilis has struggled out of the gate thus far, hitting just .219 with two HR and nine RBI. Last year, Youkilis posted the lowest batting average of his career (.258) with 17 HR and 80 RBI, missing 42 games during the season with an assortment of injuries, including the final two weeks of the season during which the Red Sox completed their spectacular freefall, losing the AL wild-card slot to the Tampa Bay Rays on the final day of the regular season.

While there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Youkilis’ slow start is tied in to his current back pain, one certainly has to wonder if the pain currently being experienced by Youkilis is in fact the cause of his early season woes at the plate.

Nick Punto will replace Youk in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Oakland A’s. However, if Youk is indeed headed to the disabled list, is it now time for the debut of Sox prospect Will Middlebrooks?

Middlebrooks, a fifth-round selection by the Red Sox in the 2007 MLB draft, is currently tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A Pawucket—a .348 average, nine HR and 27 RBI in his first 23 games, with a .708 slugging percentage and 1.108 OPS to boot.

Middlebrooks is clearly the Red Sox third baseman of the future, and while I’m certainly not ready to call Youkilis over the hill or on the downside of his career, at 33 years of age, Youk is clearly showing signs of wear and tear.

The Red Sox offense has certainly heated up over the past 10 days, and they have largely done so without the bat of Youkilis. Why not give him time to heal what ails him and give Middlebrooks a good long look?

At the very least, the Sox get to see what Middlebrooks is made of, and Youk can take the proper time to heal. Back muscles are certainly much in play for any hitter, and strength, as well as bat speed, can be severely compromised as a result.

While it may not be Middlebrooks’ time full-time quite yet, it just may be his time to shine in the short-term.

Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.

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