Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in 2 days.  Preparing for the oncoming deluge of spring training chum from our hard-working beat writers is not unlike those who choose to arrange their bunker, canned goods, and assorted weaponry for the coming apocalypse.  Asking a casual fan of a baseball team to ignore these stories is foolish.  Asking a casual fan to attempt to pull the nuggets of informa ...

The 25th Man on a Major League roster is not meaningless, but rarely do we see the 25th man contribute significantly to the club.  Usually, the countdown to the 25th man is the last vestige of the off-season; a fan's last opportunity to question the wisdom of the decision makers before the team breaks camp and heads north for Opening Day. We have a player in limbo, a player  whose use is entirely dependent ...

The Royals made a move Sunday that was pretty predictable if not downright expected yet totally unwanted by the majority of fans when they optioned Johnny Giavotella to Omaha in favor of Yuniesky Betancourt and Chris Getz. The Royals smartly are sticking to the stance that they are making the decision based on defense:  “(Giavotella) needs to continue to focus on his defense,” manager Ned Yost said. “Johnny ...

Well there isn't much question on whether the Cardinals lost out in the off season.  Losing the greatest hitter in the game today and most dominant and productive offensive player in baseball hurts just a little bit.  Albert Pujols signed a 10 year deal with the L.A. Angels leaving his World Series Champion teammates behind to fend for themselves.  There is absolutely no way to get any one player to replace ...

You will find that in general, prayer does not break curses.  Boston however found that Theo Epstein does break curses and I bet the Cubs are banking on it happening again.  The young prodigy of a GM and now President of baseball operations has yet another chance at breaking a bad  streak and cementing his legend in yet another one of baseballs hallowed grounds.  Epstein started this off season out to prove ...

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This organization is in for a tough road to repeat with a division title.  Last year they finished tied with the 3rd best record in baseball with a 96-66 record.  The tides in this division have greatly shifted during the off season with a couple big moves.  I'm not saying that Milwaukee won't be towards the top or competitive by any means.  Both the Brewers and the Cardinals however lost their best power h ...

It's getting close folks so so close and I'm sure you all are every bit as excited as I am for the upcoming season. Sunday is the first spring training game for the Royals and I can't honestly tell you who is more excited us fans or the Royals players themselves. Last night for those of you not on Twitter (why aren't you) Danny Duffy sent Royals Nation a buzz with a couple terrific tweets. Danny Duffy ‏ @dd ...

What could possibly be better than watching Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder leave the two teams that finished ahead of you in the NL central standings?  Absolutely nothing is the answer.  Looking down the roster for the Reds it is clearly apparent that they have no shortage of quality talent.  Last season that talent underperformed and finished 3rd in the division with a 79-83 record.  Looking over the sta ...

Kansas City is about to start spring training for the 2012 season.  Their starting 9 is set for the most part with the possible exception of 2nd base meaning deciding who fills the roles on the bench is all that is left.  The three outfield spots are manned with Alex Gordon Lorenzo Cain and Jeff Franceour this season and are under control for at least the next two seasons.  With those spots filled where doe ...

Does Billy Beane still play "Moneyball" in Oakland?  They finished above the dismal Seattle Mariners last season but at this point that's probably the best Beane can hope for.  Last season they finished 3rd in the four team division with a 74-88 record.  When going against the Angels and the Rangers it just doesn't seem like a mountain this organization can climb.  It seems like a never ending struggle to g ...

I know exactly how the fans in Seattle must feel.  Almost one third of the Mariners wins basically come from a King Felix start.  Obviously that stat isn't going to make you a winning team but apparently that's not an issue in Seattle.  The Mariners do have one of the best pitchers in all of baseball a promising young 2b and a new catcher, but have finished dead last 5 times in the last 8 seasons.  So after ...

Colorado finished 2011 with a record of 73-89 which left them 21 games back in the NL west.  Lets take a look at what happened in the Rockies organization this off-season to rectify their inadequacies. First on the list for GM Dan O'Dowd has to be pitching because it was horrific last year.  Riddled by injuries, inconsistency and inexperience it was a tough tough year on the bump for their staff.  Secondly ...