Baseball

Hunter Pence is locked in.  Tim Lincecum will wear orange and black for the next two seasons.  

The San Francisco Giants have successfully inked one corner outfielder and have retained another starting pitcher.  However, there are still holes to fill in both areas: The team still needs a left fielder and another starting pitcher in order to compete for a playoff spot in 2014. 

The Boston Red Sox won the all-important Game 5 of the 2013 World Series on Monday night to take a pivotal 3-2 lead, and they'll need a big-time performance to wrap it up in six games at Fenway Park.

With four World Series appearances in the last 10 years, the St. Louis Cardinals are baseball’s closest thing to a dynasty. 

However, rather than procure talent during the offseason like most large-market franchises, the Cardinals continue to produce winning teams the old-fashioned way: by developing players.

This winter, Robinson Cano will be the biggest, most expensive name on the free-agent market, which is just the sort of player the big-market, deep-pocketed New York Yankees have been known to land.

But will they? And more importantly, should they?

Cano, of course, actually is a Yankee. At least, technically speaking. For now.

Allen Craig was one of the most prolific hitters for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013.  His production at the plate, specifically with runners in scoring position, was a key component in the successful season for the team.  An injury in early September sidelined the first baseman, forcing the Cardinals to rely on young power hitter Matt Adams.

The Boston Red Sox stormed out of the gates in Game 1, taking advantage of some mistakes to grab an early World Series lead. The St. Louis Cardinals fought back to win Game 2 at Fenway Park, which sends the Fall Classic to St. Louis all square at one.

It doesn't come as a surprise that the two evenly matched teams are deadlocked after two games. In fact, it wouldn't be a shock to see them tied after six games as well. They were the best teams in their respective leagues this season and are now battling for the ultimate prize.

The Boston Red Sox took Game 1 in dominant fashion, and the St. Louis Cardinals used opportunistic base-running to win Game 2.

Now, the 2013 World Series is tied at 1-1.

A pair of dramatic games has put the series in toss-up position, as neither team has a true advantage.

The question is, what adjustments much each team make to earn the advantage in the World Series?

The first two games of the 2013 World Series have been like night and day, with the Boston Red Sox taking Game 1 and the St. Louis Cardinals taking Game 2.

The Red Sox won 8-1 in the first game of the series, getting to Adam Wainwright early and often.  In Game 2, the Cardinals were able to make the most of a key seventh inning, scoring three total runs in the 4-2 win.

Game 3 of the 2013 World Series will be played on Saturday night, and if this game is anything like we've seen through the first two, it should be quite a fun one to watch.

The Boston Red Sox were able to take Game 1 quite easily, winning 8-1 over the St. Louis Cardinals. Game 2 was a different story, however, as the Cardinals were able to win 4-2 thanks to a wild seventh inning.

With the World Series tied at 1-1, both the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals have some big questions that need answering as the series heads to Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals were able to tie up the series on Thursday night, winning 4-2 over the Red Sox despite a two-run home run from David Ortiz to put Boston up in the sixth inning.