Fan News

Spring training is nearly over for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Boston Red Sox are getting closer to starting the defense of their World Series title when they begin regular season play on March 31 against the Baltimore Orioles.

Some questions about the roster have been answered during their time in Fort Myers, Fla. However, new ones have appeared due to certain performances, and others still need to be figured out.

Though it was fun to behold, the Baltimore Orioles’ return to the postseason in 2012 had the look and feel of a season that was going to be awfully hard to repeat.

And it was. The Orioles went from 93 wins in 2012 to 85 wins in 2013, in large part because their pitching was nowhere near as consistent as their offense and defense.

Take a look at their 11-13 record in spring training, and you might be convinced that the Kansas City Royals are due to disappoint in 2014 after a momentum-building 86-win campaign in 2013.

But come on, who takes spring training records seriously anymore? If anybody's going to be optimistic or pessimistic because of spring training, it should be because of other things.

The St. Louis Cardinals came to spring training with very few roster decisions to make.  Most of those decisions have been reached in the last few days. 

Updates from Tuesday, March 25

Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the latest on Yu Darvish:

T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com had more on Darvish's health:

He has a stiff neck, and the Rangers are concerned that Darvish has additional issues.

When spring training began, Alex Wood was simply trying to put himself in position to make the Atlanta Braves rotation. With Opening Day on the horizon, the 23-year-old has survived a war of attrition to become a central figure on manager Fredi Gonzalez's staff.

In Atlanta, pitching has gone from a strength to a major concern.

The Atlanta Braves entered the 2014 spring training with their starting lineup set and the majority of their rotation in place.

Due to injuries, the starting rotation looks almost undoubtedly to be Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, David Hale and Freddy Garcia, with Ervin Santana set to join after the first week.

The key positional battles involve the final bench spot and a couple slots in the bullpen.

Daniel Murphy might have a fairly decent AND1 mixtape with the sick moves he flashed getting Bryce Harper out at first.

Next Impulse Sports' Pete Blackburn spotted the play of the year. OK, to be fair, it was the play of spring training, but we think you will agree it's still something quite wonderful.

The 2014 MLB season is finally here, which means fans should be on the lookout for some upcoming milestones. 

Albert Pujols is closing in on his 500th career home run. Watch the video to take a look back at Pujols' accomplishments during his career and to look forward to the moment when he can join one of the most exclusive clubs in sports.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com