MLB

Blue Jays Deal Snider and Thames Before Trade Deadline

• Dale Perth

• Last Updated: July 30, 2012

They pulled off a 10-player trade last week with the Houston Astros, but apparently Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos hadn’t finished working the phones. On Monday night, the Jays sent outfielder and fan favourite Travis Snider to the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-handed pitcher Brad Lincoln, then dealt outfielder Eric Thames to the Seattle...

MLB

Blue Jays Pull Off 10-Player Trade with Houston Astros

• Dale Perth

• Last Updated: July 20, 2012

With their needs on the mound having reached the desperation point, the Toronto Blue Jays announced a deal with the Houston Astros on Friday which sees three pitchers — lefthanded starter J.A. Happ and relievers Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter heading north. In return, the Jays have sent reliever Francisco Cordero and outfielder Ben Francisco,...

MLB

2012 All-Star Bautista Wants Blue Jays to Add Help

• Dale Perth

• Last Updated: July 9, 2012

While Detroit Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder outslugged him in the final round for the 2012 Home Run Derby title, Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista doesn’t want to see the same fate befall his team in its run to the playoffs. In the Monday night event at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Bautista...

MLB

MLB: Toronto Blue Jays Cut Vladimir Guerrero Loose

• Dale Perth

• Last Updated: June 12, 2012

He got his start in Montreal with the Expos and became a star there, and a fan favorite. Then he swung his bat with Anaheim, then the L.A. Angels, also with Texas and Baltimore during the next 16 years. Now Vladimir Guerrero is a free agent, having been released by the Toronto Blue Jays after...

MLB

MLB: Blue Jays Demote Slumping Adam Lind to Triple-A

• Dale Perth

• Last Updated: May 17, 2012

It was a move the Toronto Blue Jays needed to make: after a poor start to the season, first baseman/DH Adam Lind has been relegated to Triple-A Las Vegas. Lind has been with the Blue Jays since 2006 and hit the heights with a Silver Slugger award after hitting .305 with 35 home runs and...

MLB

MLB: Diamondbacks Host Giants to Start 2012 Season

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: April 6, 2012

It’s fitting that two of the teams who are most likely to contend for the National League West title should start their respective 2012 seasons facing each other right off the bat. The San Francisco Giants, World Series champions in 2010, meet the Arizona Diamondbacks, who won it all in 2001. As mentioned in my...

MLB

MLB: Opening Day Starts With Red Sox at Tigers

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: April 4, 2012

Three games which count in the standings have already been played in the 2012 Major League Baseball season: the two-game set between the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A’s at Japan’s Tokyo Dome last week, and Wednesday night’s tilt between the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins. Yet Thursday is considered Opening Day, supposedly because all...

MLB

N.L. West Preview: Giants Seek To Boost Run Total

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 30, 2012

One year after winning the World Series, the San Francisco Giants scored the fewest runs in the National League. They had to go most of the 2011 season without one of their most important offensive and defensive weapons, catcher Buster Posey, after a gruesome home-plate collision in May. Posey is fully recovered, and the team...

MLB

N.L. West Preview: Ominous Start For Lowly Padres

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 29, 2012

Former Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes has made his mark since joining the San Diego Padres as their wheeler-dealer. Despite a winning record in spring games, however, the Friars are already hobbled by an injury to one of their major acqusitions, which doesn’t bode well for them going forward. The Action: Byrnes traded two minor-leaguers...

MLB

N.L. West Preview: New Owner For Same Old Dodgers

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 28, 2012

When Frank McCourt bought a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004, he couldn’t have speculated what turmoil would eventually accompany that purchase. Now a group headed by NBA legend Magic Johnson has agreed to buy the team from McCourt for a record $2 billion. What they’re getting is a club with one...

MLB

N.L. West Preview: Rockies Seek Veteran Leadership

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 27, 2012

Dan O’Dowd is one of the longest-serving general managers in the majors. At one point, he even was able to assemble a team that threatened to advance to the playoffs. But the youngsters O’Dowd had given to manager Jim Tracy have mostly given way to some more established players, and time will tell if the...

MLB

N.L. West Preview: Arizona Ready To Take Next Steps

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 26, 2012

Kirk Gibson has electrified the Arizona Diamondbacks like few others could. The run-heavy “Gibby-ball” captured the imagination of the fans in the desert since Gibson was named interim manager; it propelled the team from back-to-back last-place finishes to 94 wins in 2011 and an improbable National League West title. They’ve steadily advanced since the “interim”...

MLB

N.L. Central Preview: Wild Cards Target Title Defense

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 23, 2012

They were a playoff dark horse, and these wild Cards went all the way to the top. New manager Mike Matheny has a tall order to fill — and a huge shadow to step out of — as he tries to take the St. Louis Cardinals back to the pinnacle. The Action: General manager John...

MLB

N.L. Central Preview: Pirates Bring Veterans Aboard

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 22, 2012

Saying that his club is now “beyond the talent-acquisition phase,” Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington brought a multitude of free agents on board to guide the Pirate ship to its next port of call: respectability. The Action: The biggest deal Huntington made in the off-season was to lock up All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen to...

MLB

N.L. Central Preview: Brewers Seek Post-Fielder Power

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 21, 2012

The Milwaukee Brewers lost a huge part of their game when Prince Fielder signed with the Tigers a few weeks ago. They appeared to be in even deeper trouble when All-Star and National League MVP outfielder Ryan Braun faced a 50-game ban after random testing found an elevated level of testosterone in his bloodstream. Braun...

MLB

N.L. Central Preview: More Humility For Unknown Astros

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 20, 2012

In a 2012 preview written in February, baseball writer Jayson Stark asked an anonymous National League executive to name any position player on the Houston Astros other than first baseman/outfielder Carlos Lee. According to Stark, the executive couldn’t name a single one. To be fair, there’s a competition for just about every position on this...

MLB

N.L. Central Preview: Reds Aiming Higher In 2012

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 19, 2012

Despite having a wealth of talent on their roster, the Cincinnati Reds finished four games under .500 last season. Injuries to the pitchers played a role, and the club pulled out all the stops to address that issue in the off-season. The Action: General manager Walt Jocketty gave up four players, including 17-game-winner Edinson Volquez...

MLB

N.L. Central Preview: Cubs Start Fresh From The Top

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 16, 2012

When you have a team which thinks it hasn’t won a World Series since 1908 because of a goat, you’ve got a problem. As a result, there’s no better time than now to fix things. How long the fix will take to get the Cubs to respectability is anyone’s guess. The Action: The changes begin...

MLB

N.L. East Preview: Nationals Think The Future Is Here

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 15, 2012

Founded on the ashes of the Montreal Expos, the Washington Nationals had been an afterthought almost from the moment they moved across the border. Times have changed: they now have the Next Great Pitcher (Stephen Strasburg) and the Next Great Hitter (Bryce Harper) in their fold, and things are looking up. The Action: General manager...

MLB

N.L. East Preview: Strong Staff Leads Favored Phillies

• Joe LaTengo

• Last Updated: March 14, 2012

They’ve been around since 1883, and the Philadelphia Phillies have never been stronger. They won their fifth straight National League East title last season, and all signs are pointing to a sixth in 2012. The Action: Afraid of losing closer Ryan Madson to free agency, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. lured Jonathan Papelbon from the...