Fan News

The small-market Cleveland Indians have been one of the most active teams in Major League Baseball this winter.

Major League Baseball went 46 seasons between batting Triple Crown winners.

Miguel Cabrera took the honor last year and was the first player to lead the league in batting average, home runs and RBIs since Carl Yastrzemski did the trick in 1967 with the Boston Red Sox.

You have to possess a certain level of patience if you are a fan of the New York Mets these days.

They haven't had a winning season since 2008 and have actually taken a step back each of the past two years.

Better days are ahead, however, judging by their minor league system, which was recently ranked No. 14 overall in the major leagues.

General manager Sandy Alderson is not one to be persuaded by public opinion, as he has been slowly but surely improving the edges of the roster and, more importantly, the farm system.

According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Cleveland Indians are close to finalizing a minor league deal with former Rockies slugger Jason Giambi.  The contract would also include an invitation to spring training.  

It's been a busy offseason for the Cleveland Indians, and even with spring training coming up fast, it seems general manager Chris Antonetti has no intentions of slowing down.

The newest move: signing Jason Giambi.

The Oakland A's had a busy winter stocking up on talent in order to defend their AL West title.

Spring training is around the corner, and in only a couple days, the Pittsburgh Pirates will once again begin the quest to break their streak of what is now 20 consecutive losing seasons.

On February 11, pitchers and catchers will report to Bradenton as the Bucs start preparing for their 2013 campaign.

Leading up to the 2013 season, I'm going to write player profiles about key members of the Detroit Tigers. This is the fourth installment, featuring setup man Joaquin Benoit.

This series will evaluate one team per day, starting on Jan. 23, 2013, and ending on Feb. 22, 2013 (the first game of spring training). It is based on last season's performance, offseason changes since and the author's outlook for the team in 2013. Please keep in mind that rosters can, and will, change before Opening Day. We started in the AL East, worked across to the NL counterpart, and now, tackle the Central divisions in alphabetical order.

When Brian Wilson went down in the first week of the 2012 season, many Giants fans panicked. Some lost hope for the whole year. 

After all, the Giants didn't have any proven ninth inning options, and the last several World Series champions, including the 2010 Giants, had proven closers.