In 2012, the A's needed to scrape and claw to win the AL West. They held sole possession of first place for just one day all season – the final day of the year, when they completed a sweep of the Rangers at O.co Coliseum. Oakland's 2013 run wasn't nearly as dramatic – they spent […]

As we've established during our initial team season previews here at The Outside Corner, a club's "four horsemen" does not necessarily mean its four best players. The intention is to present the four guys who might have the greatest influence on their team's fortunes with their success or failure during a season. Players like Prince […]

Going into the 2014 season, the Rangers' biggest concern appears to be their starting pitching. The team has one, perhaps two spots to fill in its rotation, depending on who's healthy. With Matt Harrison again having back issues, there may be three openings on the staff. So that may be the key question for Texas […]

Hey Braves? This whole contract extension business is getting out of hand. The latest young member of their roster to sign a long-term extension with the club is shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who will make

With the additions of Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo, the Rangers once again have a fearsome lineup and look as if they could be one of the best teams in the AL this season. But general manager Jon Daniels has not assembled a perfect roster. (To be fair, has any MLB GM put together a […]

For the past couple of seasons, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels has been reluctant to make the big addition that could push his team back into World Series contention. No Zack Greinke, no Cole Hamels, no Justin Upton. Apparently, he and the rest of the Texas front office learned that lesson. The Rangers were one […]

When we came up with this "four horsemen" series, it was really just meant as a clever framing device to talk about the four key players on each team and kept with out incremental counting gimmick (two weaknesses, three questions, you get it). However, with the Angels, the reference to the four horsemen of the […]

Go ahead and pull Homer Bailey's name off of the free agent market for next winter – he's reportedly signed a six-year extension with the Cincinnati Reds worth $105 million. The right-hander will turn 28 in May, and was the seventh-overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft. Bailey has come into his own during his […]

As you can imagine, the Angels have some 'splaining to do after falling short of expectations and the playoffs four seasons in a row. A novel could be written about the many open questions they will have to address if they want to return to contention. Alas, there is only so much time at our […]

Despite all the big signings and trades of the last few offseasons, the Angels find themselves in limbo. They aren't a bad team, but they probably aren't that good either. At best, they are a fringe playoff contender that need to avoid having their biggest weaknesses exploited in order to actually have a shot at […]

Four consecutive seasons and counting without a playoff appearance for the Angels has patience wearing thin in Los Angeles (of Anaheim). While they may have resisted the urge to make big, splashy moves this offseason, they also may not have done enough to break their post-season drought. Could the Halos really be on the verge […]

You can probably figure out at least two of the four players most important to the Mariners' success in 2014 — it's finding the other two for this piece that was a bit more challenging. While some teams have four (or more) guys who are clear keys to success, the Mariners have two top-tier stars […]