With September just a couple of days away, the Major League Baseball season is entering the home stretch. The next month will see the regular season come to a fast and furious finish, as teams look to lock up their spots in the 2012 MLB Playoffs. While players like Ike Davis of the New York Mets and Jason Kipnis of the Cleveland Indians had designs on the postseason as recently as July, their teams are far on the outside looking in as the calendar turns to September. Others, like Michael Schwimer of the …More

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun is letting his bat do the talking. The "Hebrew Hammer" blasted his 34th home run of the season on Wednesday in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs, the highlight of a game that saw him go 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and the homer. As impressive as Braun's outing was, it bordered on being just another day at the office for Braun, who has hit 12-for-27 (.444) in the last week with five homers, eight runs batted in and a stolen base. Moreover, with his 34th home run, Braun …More

Boston Red Sox catcher prospect Ryan Lavarnway got his long awaited call-up to the majors at the beginning of August. After this week, Lavarnway won't be going anywhere for a while. The Red Sox traded backup catcher Kelly Shoppach to the New York Mets on Tuesday, leaving Lavarnway and starter Jarrod Saltalamacchia as the only two catchers on Boston's big-league roster. The move clears the way for Lavarnway to remain in Boston for the remainder of the 2012 season, and the next stage in his development. So far, …More

Kevin Youkilis may be performing far better in his first weeks with the Chicago White Sox than he did in his last with the Boston Red Sox, but if there's any bitterness in Beantown, it hasn't been apparent this week, as the three-time All-Star third baseman returned to Fenway Park with his new team. Youkilis received a warm ovation before his first at-bat on Monday night, as the White Sox opened a four-game series with the Red Sox. The veteran of more than 950 regular-season games with the Red Sox stepped back …More

Whether or not the Boston Red Sox trade Kevin Youkilis in the near future, the presence of a Jewish player in the lineup at Fenway Park is poised to continue. Playing in the major leagues for the first time since the end of the 2010 season, Red Sox outfielder Ryan Kalish made his season debut for Boston on Sunday, playing against the Chicago Cubs. The 24-year-old—who lost the majority of his 2011 season to injuries—even drove in the go-ahead run in Boston's 7-4 win over the Cubs. After striking out …More

Given his Los Angeles upbringing and his admiration of Sandy Koufax, Max Fried was probably hoping to be picked by the Los Angeles Dodgers this week in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft. That didn't happen, but if Fried makes it to the majors, he'll certainly see a lot of Dodger Stadium. Fried, an 18-year-old pitcher from Harvard-Westlake High School, was selected by the San Diego Padres on Tuesday in the first round of the draft. The six-foot-four lefthander was the third pitcher chosen in the …More

Jason Marquis' first foray into the American League didn't last long. The veteran pitcher signed with the Minnesota Twins for the 2012 season, but was placed on release waivers over the weekend and became a free agent on Monday. He didn't last long on the open market, signing on Tuesday with the San Diego Padres, returning to the National League after his brief sojourn with the Twins. The Padres could certainly use the help—San Diego has the worst record in baseball at 17-35—but after going 2-4 with …More

Although Brad Ausmus got his degree from Dartmouth College while starting his baseball career in the New York Yankees' minor league system, he never had the opportunity to take advantage of one of his alma mater's foreign study programs. Now retired after an 18-year playing career with the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers, Ausmus is catching up. Ausmus, a three-time Gold Glove winner who currently serves as a special assistant with the Padres, will manage the Israeli …More

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun has a new project brewing. Braun, the reigning MVP of the National League, is teaming up with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Milwaukee-based SURG Restaurant Group to open 8*twelve MVP Bar & Grill in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield. The name of the restaurant comes from the jersey numbers of Braun (8) and Rodgers (12), both of whom are the reigning MVP winners in their respective leagues. Braun and Rodgers both signed licensing agreements with …More

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun is in the middle of a historic week. As his team heads to San Francisco to begin a three-game set with the Giants on Friday, the reigning National League MVP is coming off of a three-game series with the San Diego Padres that saw him achieve a career milestone and put his name in the record books at San Diego's PetCo Park. On Monday night in San Diego, Braun became the first player ever to hit three home runs in a single game at Petco Park, powering his team to an 8-3 win …More

Ian Kinsler has scored big for the Texas Rangers in the first week of the Major League Baseball season, hitting .304 with three home runs and five runs batted in in his first six games. He's also scored big off the field, signing a five-year, $75 million contract extension that will keep him in Texas through 2017 (with a club option for 2018). The defending American League champion, Texas is 4-2, leading the four-team West division of the American League by a half-game over the Seattle Mariners, and Kinsler is a …More

Technically, three regular-season games have already been played in the Major League Baseball season, but Thursday marks Opening Day across the country, with seven games on the schedule from New York to San Diego. As the baseball season begins in earnest, Jspace rounds up the eight Jewish players starting the season on major league rosters. Here's who they are: Ryan Braun, outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers: The reigning National League MVP is coming off the worst spring training of his career—he hit .213 with …More