The Baltimore Orioles had a great, very surprising 2012 season. They made the playoffs for the first time since 1997, and baseball in the beltway is peaking when you take the success of the Washington Nationals into account as well. But Baltimore GM Dan Duquette is going to have some work to do in order […]

We had a moderately busy day yesterday as the winds of change in the offseason continued to swirl. Yesterday seemed to be National Option Day, with numerous options exercised, declined, and opted out of. Most of the decisions on options were pretty easy to predict coming into the offseason, but that doesn't make them any […]

In a parallel universe, Scott Rolen makes a good throw to Joey Votto in the top of the tenth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS, the Reds sweep the Giants, and go on to win their first World Series since 1990. Really, it's possible that Rolen's bad throw is all that really separated the […]

I normally don't write posts about options getting picked up or declined, but the Royals declining Joakim Soria's option for 2013 seems significant to me. Soria missed all of the 2012 season after Tommy John surgery, and after he struggled in 2011, many suggested that the Royals should have looked into trading him and his […]

The 2012 season for the Oakland Athletics came pretty much out of nowhere. The A's went from a .500 club at the All-Star Break to AL West champions to finish the year, with the season culminating in a thrilling three game sweep of the two-time defending AL champion Texas Rangers in Oakland to give the […]

After their late-season collapse and early exit in the Wild Card round, big changes could be in store for the Rangers, including the possible, if not likely, departure of Josh Hamilton.  They definitely won't take their disappointing season lying down though and figure to be extremely active on the free agency and trade market. Needs […]

Happy Halloween, everyone. Yesterday, we had our first signings of the offseason. Of course, both were technically contract extensions since the free agency exclusivity window doesn't end until Saturday, but they count. Jake Peavy re-upped with the White Sox for two years, and Brandon League got paid by the Dodgers over three. The Gold Glove […]

Live on ESPN2 (and delayed by 15 minutes thanks to some sort of X-Games racing event), the MLB Gold Glove winners were announced this evening. The format was the same as last year, with "nominees" being announced online beforehand, and a winner being chosen from those nominees. Also, instead of three outfielders being chosen, there […]

The Braves weren't the best team in the National League this season. But they *were* clearly better than the St Louis Cardinals during the regular season, and yet, they were forced to play the Cardinals in the one game wild card playoff. The Cardinals prevailed, and the Braves playoff run was over after just one […]

The San Francisco Giants pretty much flew under the radar all season, and that continued throughout the playoffs. Then, they won six straight games facing elimination against the Reds and Cardinals before sweeping the Tigers in the World Series. What Went Right: THEY WON THE WORLD SERIES, SO EVERYTHING. But anyway, back to reality. Buster […]

The Rays had a disappointing 2012 campaign, but that can largely be tied to the absence of one player: Evan Longoria, the team's superstar third baseman who played just 74 games. Being without an MVP candidate for half of the season isn't a good way to compete for a playoff spot, and considering that the […]