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Those sneaky Tampa Bay Rays have been anything but complacent this week as they aim for their fourth playoff berth in six seasons.

They signed former farmhand Delmon Young to a minor league deal. On Friday, they completed a trade for outfielder David DeJesus after claiming him off waivers the day before, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Although neither addition is particularly sexy, they cumulatively have the potential to help the Rays distance themselves from other contending teams in the American League.

He’s been notorious for years now, so it may come as a shock to you that Young hasn’t yet reached his 28th birthday. The designated hitter still possesses the bat speed and power to help Tampa Bay score even more runs.

He’ll presumably spend the rest of August taking cuts for the Double-A squad before rejoining the Rays when rosters expand. The team recently placed Luke Scott on the disabled list with back spasms, so Young can take some of his at-bats in the meantime.

It’s not far-fetched to believe that he can make a positive impact in a platoon role. Although Young is three years removed from his only “great” season, he has posted at least a .750 OPS against left-handed pitching every summer since then.

Wearing a fielder’s mitt makes him a sabermetric disaster, but Tampa Bay isn’t relying on him to do that.

DeJesus, of course, is the more significant member of this newly acquired pair. Topkin tweets that the Washington Nationals will choose a player from the Rays farm system as compensation for his services.

There’s no doubt that the 33-year-old is a greater offensive threat than Sam Fuld.

Skeptical of his declining range? Don’t be, courtesy of MLB.com.

DeJesus’ stats have never looked particularly impressive. He seldom homers or steal bases, and his batting average has slipped in the past several summers.

He’s guaranteed to improve the Rays, however, with his knack for getting on base—.346 OBP since 2010—and steady glove work.

During a trading season in which there wasn’t a whole lot available for contenders, Tampa Bay quietly added legitimate depth.

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Chicago White Sox starter Chris Sale technically surrendered four home runs on Friday night, although the one that came off of Ian Kinsler‘s bat only landed about halfway between home plate and the bleachers.

Judge his third-inning, inside-the-park blast for yourself:

Even for a great baserunner like Kinsler, line drives hit down the left-field line don’t typically result in anything more than doubles. Chicago’s Dayan Viciedo had ample time to get in front of the ball.

Unfortunately for the home team, Kinsler’s hit rolled underneath the wall and abruptly stopped. Viciedo dropped to his knees, exchanged a “you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me” glance with the umpires and began searching. The Texas Rangers second baseman continued sprinting, so by the time Viciedo recovered the ball, he had to rush his throw to the plate, and Kinsler scored standing up as it skipped offline.

Tater Trot Tracker shares the unofficial time of his mad dash:

Adam Rosales’ HR over the fence for Texas: 16.13 secs. Ian Kinsler’s inside-the-parker for Texas: 15.66 secs.

— Tater Trot Tracker (@TaterTrotTrkr) August 24, 2013

Good fortune and sheer hustle can be a lethal combination. In this scenario, those factors culminated in Kinsler’s 11th bomb of the season and second since the All-Star break.

However, not everybody was impressed by the feat:

Cheapest HR Kinsler will ever get. Ball never traveled 300 feet.

— Doug Padilla (@ESPNChiSox) August 24, 2013

Congrats Ian Kinsler for hitting a home run that didn’t even leave the field

— President Raegan (@raeganbrooooke) August 24, 2013

Sale had allowed five HR total since June 25. Has allowed four tonight with an asterisk on Kinsler’s

— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) August 24, 2013

U.S. Cellular Field has been open for more than two decades, but apparently, nothing like this has ever transpired there. Otherwise, the ballpark’s ground rules would’ve had a passage specifying how the umps should judge the play.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura immediately emerged from the dugout, imploring third base umpire Greg Gibson to use his common sense. The tactic didn’t work, as Gibson eventually ejected him.

It’s been that kind of year for Ventura’s players, who buried themselves deeper in the AL Central cellar with their 75th defeat of the 2013 season.

Texas won comfortably, 11-5, but going forward, expect such plays to be ruled dead once the ball becomes trapped. Nobody wants a close game to be affected by this sort of confusion.

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Just as we were polishing this article about the demise of the Los Angeles Angels, Scott Miller of CBS Sports chimed in with juicy details about a fight that nearly broke out between Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter in August 2012.

According to team sources, emotions were running high following consecutive home losses to the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 17 and 18.

Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson each performed poorly, as the Halos dropped to 62-59 overall, eight games back of the AL West lead and three short of the closest playoff spot. Hunter was annoyed by how the pitchers deflected responsibility onto everybody else through comments and gestures, and he and Wilson were involved in a small altercation.

Veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins decided to nip this madness in the bud with a players-only meeting.

From there, the situation escalated quickly:

In a glimpse into how fractured the Angels had become, they could not even agree on a meeting format. Hawkins called for a players-only meeting. Pujols, insisting that manager Mike Scioscia and the coaches attend, wound up co-opting the meeting.

Pujols called out Weaver for showing up a teammate the night before. Then he turned his attention on Hunter, blaming him for the dugout altercation with Wilson.

Hunter snapped back at Pujols and, according to the report, they would’ve tried to rip each other’s heads off if not for Hawkins and Vernon Wells intervening.

Miller believes the root of all this dysfunction is owner Arte Moreno. Since taking control of the franchise about a decade ago, he has trimmed the staff to increase his role in the decision-making process. 

Moreno digs deep into his own pockets to woo top-tier talent and expects those acquisitions to translate into more wins and ticket sales.

His problem, however, is paying players exorbitant sums based on what they’ve previously accomplished, rather than what they’re capable of doing in the future. Big checks feed big egos, and that’s why Hunter, Pujols and Wilson struggled to coexist last summer.

Mike Scioscia brought the club its first championship in 2002, before Moreno entered the picture. One reason he hasn’t returned the Halos to the World Series since is because his boss influences the front office to acquire the aforementioned marquee names, regardless of whether they fit into Scioscia’s vision.

The current roster is a mess and, more importantly, the franchise’s leaders don’t see eye to eye. Unless that changes, the issues we’ve learned about in the clubhouse and those we’ve witnessed on the field will persist.

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Record-wise, the 2013 Los Angeles Angels are on pace to be the worst team that Mike Scioscia has ever managed in the majors.

Consequently, Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports tweeted that either Scioscia or general manager Jerry Dipoto will likely be relieved of their duties this offseason. “Philosophical differences” between the two have hindered team success, he added.

Who actually is most to blame for this franchise’s nightmarish erosion? Is it Scioscia, Dipoto or someone else entirely?

The Angels entered this season under championship-or-bust pressure, but enter Friday night at a putrid 55-71 overall. They could be mathematically eliminated from October baseball within the next couple of weeks.

Countless factors contributed to this tragedy but none more so than these five.

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SB Nation’s Bill Parker did us the favor of comparing Felix Hernandez and Randy Johnson based on their performances as members of the Seattle Mariners.

Just a quick glance at his findings leaves you with a burning desire to further analyze their dominance:

Whoa. Felix Hernandez: 264 GS, 1799 IP, 128 ERA+, 39.2 WAR Randy Johnson with Mariners: 266 GS, 1838 IP, 128 ERA+, 39.3 WAR

— Bill Parker (@Bill_TPA) August 23, 2013

To clarify, we’re interested in more than plain effectiveness. Those stats Parker tweeted confirm that King Felix and the Big Unit were equally excellent in near-identical sample sizes.

Dominance is so much more than that. It factors in strikeout rate—taking pressure off of the defense—as well as pitch efficiency and finding the delicate balance between them. Consistency from game to game is also a huge part of the dominance equation. Complete-game efforts are ideal, but a truly dominant individual also minimizes his implosions, the forgettable outings when he puts his team at an insurmountable deficit.

Continue scrolling down as we take all of that into consideration and make the difficult choice between a surefire, first-ballot Hall of Famer, and a superstar on pace to become one.

*Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and accurate as of August 23.

Felix Hernandez in Seattle (2005-Present)

Hernandez debuted for the Mariners as a teenager and immediately excelled. Only 2006, his first full season, could be described as anything less than great.

He’s been a four-time All-Star and barring a brutal, late-season slump, this season will mark the fourth time that he has achieved a top-five finish in American League Cy Young Award voting. The writers thankfully overlooked his modest win total in 2010 to recognize him following what was undoubtedly an award-worthy campaign.

Using the marvelous Baseball-Reference.com Play Index, we can extract all the instances in which he has imploded, defined here by surrendering at least five earned runs in four or fewer innings pitched:

Not so bad, actually. Felix turns in only about one of those per season, and with a strikeout-to-walk ratio better than 1.00, we can infer that the ineffectiveness has more to do with well-placed balls in play, rather than his own awfulness.

That’s not an excuse, however. If Hernandez’s velocity wasn’t quite so ordinary, perhaps he would induce more swings and misses instead of hoping that his fielders bail him out.

The Venezuelan native has never led the AL in strikeouts, although he was runner-up to Jered Weaver in 2010. Also, prior to 2013, he never managed to average more than a strikeout per inning (career 8.3 K/9).

Nonetheless, Hernandez makes a habit out of terrorizing helpless batters.

Bill James’ Game Score helps us visualize this. It’s a metric that grades each start on a 0-100 scale based on the innings a pitcher provides, his strikeout total and the number of runs and baserunners he allows.

Through 264 career outings, the King has recorded a Game Score of at least 80 about 11 percent of the time.

Randy Johnson in Seattle (1989-1998)

The wiry left-hander spent eight full seasons in the Pacific Northwest (1990-1997) and finished top three in AL Cy Young Award voting four times. He won the hardware in 1995 when he lost only two (!) decisions in 30 starts.

Johnson didn’t implode often, but it was hideous when he did:

In nearly all of those 11 examples, his command deserted him. Johnson’s pitch count would climb in a hurry as he struggled to find the strike zone, and notice the four times he departed without even completing three frames (Hernandez had no such performances).

Of course, he was practically untouchable on most occasions.

Johnson limited his opposition to a batting average at or below .216 in every season from 1990-1997. He posted a gaudy 10.6 K/9 during his Mariners career, and his total of 94 double-digit strikeout games is safely out of anybody’s reach.

Remember the Game Score stat that attested to Hernandez’s dominance? Well, Johnson had 43 such efforts for the Mariners, accounting for more than 16 percent of his regular-season starts with the organization.

Unlike Hernandez, he had opportunities to pitch in the postseason. In allowing fewer than one baserunner per inning during the 1995 and 1997 playoffs, and making arguably the most important relief appearance in franchise history, that certainly doesn’t hurt his case.

So Who’s the Most Dominant?

It’s close, but the evidence slightly favors the retired southpaw.

Johnson was not quite as consistent as King Felix has been. Still, we stumble upon far more instances of his near invincibility.

Both of these phenoms pitched no-hitters for Seattle, and they both received their league’s ultimate compliment, a Cy Young Award.

As Hernandez’s seven-year, $175 million contract extension plays out, we’ll have plenty of chances to revisit this career comparison.

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Don’t spend too much time committing current MLB records to memory. From now through the end of 2013, there could be a handful of new teams and individuals rewriting history.

Career and single-season marks set by Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Nolan Ryan and Cy Young seem to be completely safe. While it’s technically possible for several players to beat Joe DiMaggio’s famous hitting streak or for the Houston Astros to lose more games than any previous team, the odds are ridiculously slim.

If you’re going to generously spend a few moments skimming this article, it ought to be filled with records that are both intriguing and attainable. We found 10 of them that fit that criteria.

*All stats updated through the games as of Aug. 9.

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Biogenesis of America has been closed for nearly a year, but you wouldn’t know it from the clinic’s page at Yelp.com (h/t CBS Sports).

Former “clients” of Tony Bosch have recently come out of the woodwork and left positive reviews about how Biogenesis products and services revitalized their athletic careers.

And you thought the internet couldn’t get any better.

Here’s what John S. of West Haverstraw, New York had to say:

At 64 years old, I thought my baseball days were well behind me but thanks to the “weight loss” products I got from the guys down at Biogenesis, I’m a bulked up power hitter. Coincidentally, the NY Yankees just found an extra $27,000,000 in their salary budget. Wish me luck, baby, I’m Bronx bound!

On the opposite end of the country and age spectrum, California’s Anthony T. thanks Biogenesis for rescuing him from an offensive rut:

I was having a sophomore slump on my high school baseball team. So, halfway through the season, I had enough of it. I went here and the employees were very helpful. They gave me some stuff that was guaranteed to improve my batting average. Halfway through the season I batted .182 and after this I ended up hitting .465 & being selected to the all-county team! Thanks Biogenesis of America. I hope to make it to the pros one day.

In case you’re wondering, Nelson Cruz, Alex Rodriguez nor any of the other MLB players affiliated with the place posted any praise. Even Jesus Montero and those who struggled on the field after purchasing PEDs passed on the opportunity to rip Bosch publicly.

One important detail that has been lost during the Biogenesis investigation and ensuing chaos is that the clinic actually did provide wellness services for real people.

Take Max Gonzalez, for example, father of All-Star left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com reminds us that he was “a legitimate patient” trying to lose weight. Isn’t it possible that other middle-aged men and women across South Florida came to Bosch for similar guidance?

Probably, but we could understand if they didn’t feel comfortable sharing their private health problems with the world on Yelp or another mainstream website.

Of course, there’s always room for more satirical entries. Comic Alison Forns urges you to participate:

guys, we need to make this funnier. http://t.co/zFuk8Y1ofn

— Alison Forns (@alisonforns) August 5, 2013

Do it for Alison, and do it for the rest of us who want to make light of an ugly situation.

Ely literally lived down the street from the Biogenesis building in Coral Gables throughout 2012. He doesn’t have any intimate details to share, but…well, follow him on Twitter, anyway.

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The Atlanta Braves have been absolutely awesome the past couple weeks, if you haven’t noticed. An 11-game winning streak entering Tuesday night’s action has allowed them to leave the rest of the NL East in the dust.

This begs the question: should we consider the Braves World Series favorites based on their recent dominance, or dismiss it and emphasize their prior three-month stretch of inconsistency?

Despite a fiery 13-2 start to the 2013 season, a lot went wrong early on.

Remember how Atlanta’s outfield had the potential to be one of the best ever? The supreme athleticism, past production and relatively young ages of Jason Heyward, B.J. Upton and Justin Upton made it seem like a safe bet that they would be worth at least 10 Wins Above Replacement. Many analysts had them penciled in for even better performances, and understandably so.

Courtesy of FanGraphs, here’s what this trio accomplished from 2010-2012:

Funny how baseball works.

Coming off a career year, Heyward stunk in April. He batted an anemic .121 through 17 games before an appendectomy sent him to the disabled list.

Dealing with enormous pressure after inking a five-year, $75.25 million contract, B.J. endured a humiliating start of his own. He was striking out as often as anybody in baseball and facing the threat of demotion as his struggles continued into June, according to the Associated Press.

In stark contrast, the younger Upton was challenging franchise records with a season-opening power surge, which included six home runs through seven contests and elevated the Braves to first place. They’ve been there ever since, but hardly because of Justin. The 25-year-old saw his name disappear from MVP and All-Star discussions as his offensive numbers plummeted, particularly against right-handed pitching.

Fortunately, the Braves have been carried by several unlikely sources of production.

Third baseman Chris Johnson, an afterthought when the Justin Upton trade was completed in January, leads the National League in batting! After years on inexplicable mediocrity against left-handers, he entered Tuesday with a .963 OPS against them. A .425 BABIP assures that Johnson’s numbers will regress, but maintaining his excellent line drive rate should prevent anything too dramatic.

Former janitor Evan Gattis solidified the catching position while Brian McCann recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. He doesn’t have a strong case for NL Rookie of the Year anymore, but manager Fredi Gonzalez ought to be thrilled to have a such a slugger available off the bench.

Most importantly, the pitching staff has smoothly adjusted to major losses. Luis Avilan masterfully sets up for Craig Kimbrel like Jonny Venters used to, and coming off a frustrating campaign at Triple-A, Julio Teheran has deepened the starting rotation. Because of him, the front office didn’t need to panic in response to Tim Hudson’s fractured ankle.

There’s plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Braves moving forward.

For one, Kimbrel is the best reliever in baseball. This cannot be disputed. Dating back to the 2011 All-Star break, the right-hander has racked up 240 strikeouts with only 43 walks in 137 innings, converting 94 of 103 save opportunities (91.3 percent).

Justin Upton has awoken from his slump, recording at least one hit in each game since July 27. Between he, Gattis, McCann and Dan Uggla, it’s awfully risky to leave a fastball up in the strike zone, as each of them can deposit one into the bleachers with ease.

Then we have Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons, who used to be two of the most underrated players in the entire sport. Now, most of us have been made aware of Freeman’s surreal 1.168 OPS with runners in scoring position, and Simmons’ unprecedented defensive excellence (via Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com).

Rotation depth is yet another strength of Atlanta’s now that Brandon Beachy is back from Tommy John surgery. If the Indiana native can find any semblance of his 2012 form (2.00 ERA, 0.96 WHIP in 13 GS), he and Mike Minor (2.76 ERA, 137 K in 150.0 IP) will be an imposing pair to face in any playoff series.

With less than eight weeks left in the regular season, the Braves will not only cruise toward a postseason berth, but to the No. 1 record in the Senior Circuit.

Consider their remaining schedule. This team won’t play another game west of St. Louis, which means no long flights or major time-zone changes messing with players’ biological clocks. Moreover, only two more series—seven total games—will come against opponents with winning records.

The extraordinary cushion separating the Braves from the Washington Nationals will provide ample opportunities to rest stars down the stretch.

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All of the player movement—or lack thereof—that we saw prior to the 2013 MLB trade deadline, coupled with performances from the first four-plus months of the season, has helped us predict the fates of 2014 free agents.

Even with so much of the season remaining, certain contracts and future player/team matches seem inevitable.

We won’t go overboard and guess what happens to every notable individual. That’s a tough enough task at the onset of the offseason. Rather, the goal here is to arrive at whatever reasonable conclusions we can based on recent history and insider reports.

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With staff ace/trade candidate Bud Norris scratched from his scheduled start, the Houston Astros were aiming to score early and often on Tuesday night.

Rookie shortstop Jonathan Villar obliged in the top of the third inning with a straight steal of home against Wei-Yin Chen and the Baltimore Orioles.

Villar coyly took a walking lead, getting about five feet from third base, then 10 and 15. Chen had his back turned the whole time (oh, the challenges of being left-handed).

Villar paused for another second or two, then sprinted toward the plate. The throw to catcher Matt Wieters was neither accurate nor nearly in time.

The Astros’ official Twitter account reminds us that speedy second baseman Jose Altuve recently accomplished the same feat:

Prior to Villar tonight, Jose Altuve was the last Astro to steal home, turning the trick on 6/10/12 vs. the White Sox in CHI.

— Houston Astros (@astros) July 31, 2013

Just like that, a 22-year-old whom nobody wanted to watch—not even Chen or Wieters—now has the eyes of baseball world watching his impressive highlight.

Expect more of these athletic acts from Villar in 2013 and beyond. Prior to being promoted last week, he had stolen 31 bases and totaled eight triples in 91 games at Triple-A.

It’s been more of the same so far at baseball’s highest level. Villar’s latest theft is his fifth in eight contests for the Astros, and he added another highlight in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s contest with an outstanding diving catch in the field.

Villar is already atop Houston’s depth chart now that the organization has released veteran infielder Ronny Cedeno, so he’ll have ample opportunities to flaunt his skills with the bat, glove and wheels.

Now, we have at least one legitimate reason to follow the least competitive team in MLB down the stretch.

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