The Red Sox And Yankees Are Cellar Dwellers And Other MLBullets

Bryce Harper or Mike Trout. Who you picking first to start your team for the next 15 years? Or are you picking neither?

• The Yankees and Red Sox are still sitting at the bottom of the AL East standings, and Rob Neyer wonders if their place there is actually legit this year. Ultimately, he concludes it is not. "[T]here's also no compelling reason to think that both won't eventually climb the standings and get into the playoffs. Remember, only two American League teams outside the East even have positive run differentials. There's an excellent chance that three teams from the East will qualify for the postseason tournament. The Rays are looking pretty good and the Blue Jays might be a year ahead of schedule and the Orioles might be for real ... But isn't it most likely that the Yankees and Red Sox will do what they almost always do?" Rob has a fair point, and reminds us that, no matter how fun standings-gazing might be in late May, it doesn't necessarily tell us much about how things will ultimately shake out. Well, except, perhaps, in the NL Central...

• Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts has missed more than a year following a concussion that he originally suffered back in 2010. He's had a uniquely difficult time dealing with post-concussion problems, and some thought he might never return. Well, he's about to start a minor league rehab assignment, and here's hoping it goes well for him.
• The Rangers and Red Sox have worked out free agent Roy Oswalt, who is expected to sign with a team at some point during the season. The Rangers might have a renewed sense of urgency after Neftali Feliz went to the disabled list with right elbow inflammation.
• Andre Ethier doesn't want to put an artificial deadline on contract extension negotiations with the Dodgers, but the free-agent-to-be hasn't received a proposal from them yet, either.
• Another day, another closer loses his job: the Nationals have demoted Henry Rodriguez from the role (which he was filling for injured righty Drew Storen, who has yet to pitch this year), and will now go with a committee until Storen returns.
• Aroldis Chapman celebrated his ascension to the closer's role with the Reds by driving 93mph on a suspended license and getting arrested. Insert your Aroldis-Chapman-changeup-speed joke here.
• Bill James tells the story of a baseball-sniffing dog who could tell the difference between a Major League baseball and a minor league baseball. Did you know they were different? James answers a number of questions - baseball-related and otherwise - in the piece.

Brett Taylor is the Lead Writer at Bleacher Nation, and a Contributor here at Bleed Cubbie Blue.