Opinion

The St. Louis Cardinals came into spring training this week with a number of questions about their starting rotation.

Who will win the fifth starter spot? Who will replace the injured Chris Carpenter?

Then a new guy showed up at camp—a skinny fellow with a small goatee. Well, he wasn’t a new guy, but he may as well be.

Choosing the right name can make even the worst fantasy baseball season memorable.

Nothing's worse than seeing an owner choose the same recycled name over and over again, or simply going for the low-hanging fruit and picking something that lost originality years ago. Jeters Never Prosper was clever the first time you heard it. Then you heard it again and again and again, and it lost the originality it once had.

Los Angeles Angels star outfielder Mike Trout has taken the whole "Best Shape of His Life" business in a completely new direction, and he has created some rather pressing questions as a result.

Justin Morneau, in the final year of a six-year, $80 million deal that will pay him $19 million this season, will likely be shopped around if the Twins fall out of contention in the AL Central.

The 2006 AL MVP told 1500ESPN.com's Judd Zulgad that he hopes to remain with the Twins this season, and beyond...but with a hitch. 

The 10-year, $275 million contract Alex Rodriguez signed in 2007 is one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the New York Yankees. The only good thing that can be said about it is that it has taught the Yankees precisely where they should draw the line when it comes to long-term contracts.

Most fantasy baseball owners enter the draft focused on getting a franchise hitter. Somebody like Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera or Mike Trout who can pace an offense. While that's sound strategy, it's crucial to land a staff ace, as well.

Since the opening round is usually heavy on hitters, the top-tier pitchers often last into the second round. At that point, owners have a decision to make. Pair their top hitter with another slugger like Giancarlo Stanton or start building a pitching staff.

Pope Benedict XVI may be in the news lately for his resignation, but did you know his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, was a major league slugger? Well, OK, not really. But he did take batting practice once.

And lucky for you, there were cameras on hand to record the entire thing. The YouTube clip, first uploaded in 2006, summarizes the events as thus, "Footage of Pope John Paul at an indoor batting cage during his 1987 visit to California. This video has just been released by the Vatican."

This will be it. This will be the year when the New York Yankees are finally undone by their age. Their collective geezerness will finally get the better of them.

Spring training games begin in a week, and the Red Sox still have work to do.

Boston is likely finished adding star players and major coaching personnel, but the team still has several tasks to complete before the games start on Feb. 21.

The Red Sox don’t have to figure out their rotation just yet. After Lester and Buchholz, the third, fourth and fifth spots are fair game. The order of the bottom half of the rotation will be determined during spring training.

Nelson Cruz has a lot to play for in 2013, especially now that his name was included in the MLB’s latest round of PED allegations.