Rankings/List

If you weren't swept up in "Honkbal" fever during the 2013 World Baseball Classic, you're officially behind the curve. Team Netherlands made a surprise run through the early rounds of the tournament to the semifinals in San Francisco and proved they can become an international baseball power.

Maybe their success shouldn't have been such a surprise. The Kingdom of the Netherlands encompasses the Netherlands, Curacao, Aruba and other islands of the Netherlands Antilles, and some of baseball's best young talent calls those places home.

22-year-old Michael Wacha became the 17th-youngest pitcher to win a World Series game when he defeated the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 on Thursday night.

The rookie was still highly effective, despite lacking the outstanding command he demonstrated in his previous three postseason starts; he ultimately allowed two runs on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts over seven impressive innings.

The worst-to-first turnaround that has brought the Boston Red Sox to the 2013 World Series is largely attributable to their wise free-agent spending. Following the same keys they did this coming offseason could elevate most teams to the same heights in 2014.

General managers all have the same aspirations—acquire as much talent as possible for the lowest price.

The few that succeed from that perspective properly blend advanced statistics with personal evaluations; they factor in positional scarcity and only take calculated risks.

Apparently money can't buy everything. All it got the team with the highest payroll in baseball (by a mile) was an NL West division crown, the highest attendance in the game, a trip to the NLCS, and endless momentum for the foreseeable future.

But when the end goal is to win a World Series title, this all feels a little...pointless.

Jay Gatsby can buy all the beautiful things in the world, but none of it matters if he doesn't win Daisy Buchanan's love, right? 

If you love prospects, then it doesn’t get any better than the Arizona Fall League.

With six teams comprised of baseball’s top prospects from all 30 organizations, the AFL provides an opportunity to witness the future of the game on one field.

When Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn signed Jose Dariel Abreu, he instantaneously ignited the fan base.

Twitter timelines erupted in support, praise, admonishment and utter anger over Abreu’s signing. Like it or love it, though, Hahn and the White Sox signaled to everyone who is paying attention that they would like their return to relevance to be as quick as possible.

The 2013 World Series begins on Wednesday night as the St. Louis Cardinals head to Boston to take on the Red Sox in what promises to be a great series.

The matchup pits two of the most storied franchises in MLB history and two of the most passionate fanbases in the league against one another, as the Cardinals look to win championship No. 12 and the Red Sox push for title No. 8.

The Minnesota Twins have a lot on their plate this winter. As they ponder a dive into MLB Free Agency, general manager Terry Ryan needs to decide whether Joe Mauer is their 2014 catcher, if they really can trust Brian Dozier at second base and if some of the bright prospects in the organization are ready for the leap to Minneapolis.

However, there is one glaring need that must be addressed.

Managing during the regular season and playoffs are two entirely different animals. In the postseason, skippers are constantly faced with contentious situations that not only make or break a game, but also the season.

And while the focus of the playoffs tends to be on stars performing to their regular-season accolades, the decisions managers green light often have a similarly drastic effect on a game’s outcome.

We know the when and half of the who, but we don't yet know the where.