Baseball

Take a look at their 11-13 record in spring training, and you might be convinced that the Kansas City Royals are due to disappoint in 2014 after a momentum-building 86-win campaign in 2013.

But come on, who takes spring training records seriously anymore? If anybody's going to be optimistic or pessimistic because of spring training, it should be because of other things.

The St. Louis Cardinals came to spring training with very few roster decisions to make.  Most of those decisions have been reached in the last few days. 

When spring training began, Alex Wood was simply trying to put himself in position to make the Atlanta Braves rotation. With Opening Day on the horizon, the 23-year-old has survived a war of attrition to become a central figure on manager Fredi Gonzalez's staff.

In Atlanta, pitching has gone from a strength to a major concern.

The Atlanta Braves entered the 2014 spring training with their starting lineup set and the majority of their rotation in place.

Due to injuries, the starting rotation looks almost undoubtedly to be Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, David Hale and Freddy Garcia, with Ervin Santana set to join after the first week.

The key positional battles involve the final bench spot and a couple slots in the bullpen.

The 2014 MLB season is finally here, which means fans should be on the lookout for some upcoming milestones. 

Albert Pujols is closing in on his 500th career home run. Watch the video to take a look back at Pujols' accomplishments during his career and to look forward to the moment when he can join one of the most exclusive clubs in sports.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Yankees trotted Masahiro Tanaka out for his fourth appearance and third start of the spring on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins. It was his longest outing so far, both from innings (5.2) and pitch count (92), and the results were basically what they have been all spring—a lot of good and some things to work on. 

Following Saturday morning's 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Los Angeles Dodgers have won their season opener in four consecutive years for the first time since 1963-66, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Trade rumors begin to swirl as spring training nears completion in Major League Baseball.  As Opening Day draws near, teams begin to identify their needs as well as their surpluses.  The St. Louis Cardinals, who have found themselves actively involved in the market for shortstops around the league over the last few seasons, suddenly find themselves with a player to offer to the market.

The distance between Los Angeles, Calif., and Sydney, Australia, is roughly 7,500 miles or 6,500 nautical miles.

The end of spring training is a thrilling time for everyone in Major League Baseball. Players hate the grind of playing a full month's worth of exhibition games before the real thing starts. Fans build up anticipation in preparation for Opening Day. 

There are two sides to the spring training coin. The players who have performed well want to get going so they can carry their momentum into real games, helping their team to a playoff berth and potentially a championship.