Opinion

September baseball is all-or-nothing baseball. It is baseball that is played either in front of swelling crowds with palpable tension or in a cold ballpark sparsely dotted with paying customers where the peanut vendors are the loudest voices.

September baseball is either rich with meaning, where every pitch is hung on, or it’s merely an exercise of formality, played out because the schedule says so.

September baseball is either “must win” baseball or “must play,” nothing in between.

Justin Upton is front and center on the trading block, and there are multiple teams interested in the two-time All-Star.

The latest free-agent buzz in Major League Baseball has surrounded three clients of Scott Boras, all currently left out in the cold of winter with spring training fast approaching.

Rafael Soriano, Kyle Lohse and Michael Bourn have yet to find new homes this offseason, in large part because all three are attached to draft-pick compensation after their former employers extended them qualifying offers.

For years, we all have known the day was coming when the stars from the steroids era would be on the Hall of Fame ballot. They all should get in. None of them should ever get in. Believing there is one answer that will resolve this problem in a way that makes complete sense is reserved for the Skip Baylesses of the world. The rest of us know this situation is far too complicated and that there is just no easy way to make it right.

A new rumor involving the Arizona Diamondbacks trading outfielder Justin Upton seems to surface daily. MLBTradeRumors.com is updating constantly with the latest potential landing spots for the sometimes brilliant and sometimes enigmatic right handed slugger.

Just a month and change remains before the thrilling kickoff to spring training 2013.

As the thump and thwack and crunch of cleats scurry through our imaginations, questions remain regarding what the everyday lineup for the New York Yankees will look like this campaign.

One thing fans do know, however, is that Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki and Robinson Cano will be swinging at the top of the Yankees order come April.

In recent years, MLB has gotten tougher on steroid use. 

After instituting mandatory testing in 2004, baseball followed that up by imposing severe penalties for players caught using performance-enhancing substances.

It's no secret that the Braves are looking for a left fielder—preferably one with a good OBP and some speed that could hit leadoff. 

With right around a month separating us from spring training, there have to be some positive feelings amongst Boston Red Sox fans heading into 2013 as the team has made a number of moves to improve their roster in the improving AL East.

Between the addition of Ryan Dempster to the starting rotation and Joel Hanrahan as the team's closer, the pitching staff has gotten a jolt after seeing Josh Beckett depart last summer.

The New York Mets have become the latest suitor in the Justin Upton sweepstakes, but they might not have the chips to pull off a blockbuster trade. Marc Carig of Newsday tweets that the Mets are interested in Upton, but are unlikely to give up their top prospects: