Baseball

The Toronto Blue Jays are well on their way to a successful 2013 campaign.

At least, that's what the unbiased Vegas ratings are saying, honoring the Blue Jays as 8-1 favorites to bring the World Series back north of the border. 

General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has been pressured for years to make a significant move to bolster the team's chances.

Although the Boston Red Sox are apparently exploring all options in an attempt to find a first baseman for next season, the answer is not aging free agent Bobby Abreu.

The Boston Red Sox had a terrible 2012 season with a 69-93 record. The upper management hope to bounce back with a new manager and new veteran players to get back into the postseason in 2013.

The Red Sox not only need to win more games, but pitchers and batters need to to step it up in 2013 if the team has any chance of making the playoffs.

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A left fielder, a leadoff hitter and replacing Chipper Jones are the biggest challenges facing the Atlanta Braves in 2013.

A year after losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the one-game playoff, the Braves are looking to win their first playoff series since 2001.

However, there are some issues that still have to be worked out.

Here's a look at the eight biggest questions facing the Braves in 2013.

Recently, ESPN writer David Schoenfield wrote a detailed feature about the New York Yankees and their success in spite of old age.

Rebuking doomsayers, Schoenfield time-traveled 18 seasons (to when Jack McDowell wore pinstripes) to show why it would be unwise to count the Yankees out in 2013.

After keeping the core of their championship team together by re-signing free agents Jeremy Affeldt, Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro, the latest rumors pertaining to the San Francisco Giants mostly surround the periphery of the roster.

Earlier this offseason, when the San Francisco Giants re-signed reliever Jeremy Affeldt to a three-year, $18 million contract, I argued that the club overpaid to retain the 33-year-old lefty.

With the New Year almost upon us, the Seattle Mariners have yet to truly make the splash that most of the baseball world expected them to this offseason. General manager Jack Zduriencik has been turning over every stone in an effort to find an answer for the lack of offensive production that has plagued the Mariners for years.

The 2013 offseason has been relatively busy for the Chicago Cubs.

Despite the fact that the Cubs are still in a rebuilding phase, they went out and signed starting pitchers Scott Baker (h/t ESPN Chicago) and Edwin Jackson (h/t ESPN Chicago).

Last year, the Oakland A's went on a run for the ages, and they almost snuck into the ALCS.

The A's won their last six regular season games to stunningly capture the AL West, before rallying from down 2-0 to force Game 5 of the ALDS. They lost Game 5, but it let Oakland experience a run for the ages.