Here were the bright spots for the 2011 Mariners: Felix Hernandez, and Dustin Ackley. That’s pretty much it. Ichiro, the face of the franchise, had a disappointing season, his worst in America. The rest of the pitching staff struggled, and #2 starter Doug Fister was dealt to the Tigers in July. In 2012, the Mariners […]

We started with 32 baseball movies, some iconic and some obscure, and now, we’re down to two. Two of the very best are left, and only one can walk out with the crown. Which will it be? Voting will be open until Sunday night, and we will have our winner determined then and there. 1. […]

From last Friday’s Pirates season preview… Burning QuestionAndrew McCutchen has taken the next step towards superstardom. Will Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, and Pedro Alvarez follow him this season? OK, so everyone knows that Andrew McCutchen is a superstar. The newly-extended superstar posted a career high 5.7 fWAR last year, highlighted by an .820 OPS and […]

After a year of tumult with the status of the Dodgers ownership, the team finally has ownership in place in the Stan Kasten/Magic Johnson group. With that issue settled, all of the focus can turn to the on-field product, where the Dodgers return NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and NL MVP runner-up Matt Kemp. […]

Finding a leadoff man for an MLB lineup is a harder task that one would think.  Teams are looking for that perfect blend of plate discipline, contact skills and speed that can be the catalyst for a high-powered offense.  As it turns out, players that meet all three of those criteria are incredibly hard to […]

The Oakland Athletics had a difficult year last season, and how did they respond going into 2012? Simple, they blew up their team (again) and gave it another whirl. Nearly the entire starting rotation is new, and a good bit of the lineup is too. The A’s don’t look like contenders in the loaded AL […]

Only in Hollywood can one of the premier franchises in baseball get sold to a legendary basketball star for a record sum of $2 billion.  Yep, the Magic Johnson fronted ownership group is about to become the new owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The ownership group, which also includes former NBA and MLB executive […]

From today’s season preview of the Colorado Rockies… Burning QuestionHow much of an improvement will the Rockies rotation overhaul be in 2012? Let’s do a quick recap of the Rockies rotation. IN: Jeremy Guthrie, Drew Pomeranz,Tyler ChatwoodOUT: Aaron Cook, Jason Hammel, Kevin Millwood, Esmil Rogers, Alex WhiteINCUMBENT: Juan Nicasio, Jhoulys Chacin The five starters no […]

From today’s season preview of the Los Angeles Angels… Burning QuestionShould the Angels just be willing to cut bait on Bobby Abreu and Vernon Wells in order to give younger, more talented players more playing time? Bobby Abreu started at DH for the Angels last season, and managed a .718 OPS. He made $9 million, […]

From last Friday’s season preview of the Milwaukee Brewers… Burning QuestionCan Mat Gamel come close to adequately replacing Prince Fielder at first base? It’s not really possible to replace a player as good as Prince Fielder. He has a career .930 OPS and 230 homers, and he doesn’t turn 28 until May. He has five […]

When you’ve got two franchise cornerstone players like Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, you expect to win more than 73 games. Yer, that’s what happened to the Rockies last season. In July, they traded their ace Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians. However, that trade will help them out a ton in 2012, and the Rockies […]

The Angels have played second fiddle in the AL West for the last couple years after the back to back AL pennants won by the Texas Rangers. This offseason, Los Angeles set to change that trend, by signing both first baseman Albert Pujols and former Rangers starting pitcher CJ Wilson. Combine those two with their […]

From this morning’s season preview of the Arizona Diamondbacks… Burning QuestionWho is a better comparison for Paul Goldschmidt: Ryan Howard, or Mark Reynolds? These three players share two similar traits: a lot of power, and a lot of strikeouts. Reynolds and Howard are both abysmal defenders, while the jury is still out on Goldschmidt after […]

From today’s season preview of the Cardinals… Burning QuestionCan a rotation headed by Adam Wainwright returning from injury still be one of the top staffs in the National League, even if Chris Carpenter misses an extended period of time? Before blowing his elbow out last spring, Wainwright was one of the best pitchers in baseball. In […]

From last Wednesday’s season preview of the Astros… Burning QuestionHow is Brett Myers going to respond for being moved into the closer’s role for the first time since 2007? The Astros traded their 2011 closer, Mark Melancon, to the Red Sox in exchange for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Wieland. Lowrie is already the starter at […]