Baseball

Headed into the 2012 season, nobody expected the Phillies to be anything less than a playoff contender, let alone struggle mightily as they did.

By the all-star break, the team’s postseason aspirations had faded, and a few weeks later they began clearing house by moving both Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino at the trade deadline.

Losing Curtis Granderson—one of the premiere players in all of baseball—in his first real at-bat of spring training last week will be problematic for New York.

Having to insert Brett Gardner into the everyday lineup could also prove troublesome. Gardner appeared in just 16 games last season for the Yankees, and is a career .266 hitter.

Had it not been for a pair blockbuster trades with the Miami Marlins and New York Mets this offseason, the Blue Jays could have possessed five consensus top-100 prospects in Travis d’Arnaud, Aaron Sanchez, Jake Marisnick, Noah Syndergaard and Justin Nicolino.

People will always love baseball, but thanks to Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke, it is now clear that any sense of loyalty in the game is dead.

Carlos Marmol’s 2011 campaign was a disaster. His 2012 season was equally awful.

Why would the Cubs stick with Marmol as their closer?

The New York Mets are less than two weeks into spring training 2013, but it isn't too early to tell which players are set to outperform others down in Port St. Lucie.

Over the next month, Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson will have to make decisions on tough roster moves and position battles. The manager and the general manager will need to find a blend of experienced veterans who can mesh well with the variety of prospects the Mets have at their disposal.

The New York Yankees need some help in the outfield now that Curtis Granderson is out until May with a broken forearm, but taking on one-time Bronx Bombers prospect Alfonso Soriano is not the answer.

A huge factor in the success of the San Francisco Giants over the last four seasons has been their ability to turn minor league free agents in to key contributors.

Although spring training is officially under way, there are still players finding homes with new teams for the 2013 season, including pitcher Jose Contreras, who was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Straight up front, please save your "it's only one game!" remonstrations. Of course it's only one game, and of course it's only the preseason.

Know how you know that preseason results are meaningless? The Philadelphia Eagles went 4-0 in the preseason in 2012. And you know how that turned out.

So, yeah, right, it's ridiculous to take anything away from a preseason game in February (even one against the terrible Houston Astros) where Jimmy Rollins sat and Cole Hamels left after two strong innings. You're right.