MLB

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

• Joe LaTengo
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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...

MLB

N.L. East Preview: Injuries Hobble Troubled Mets

• Joe LaTengo
• March 13, 2012

The New York Mets made headlines in the off-season, but for the wrong reasons. Speculation ran rampant that majority owner Fred Wilpon lost hundreds of millions of dollars in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, and might be forced to sell the team; Wilpon is now embroiled in a related lawsuit. Major League Baseball could step in...

MLB

N.L. East Preview: Many Changes For ‘New’ Marlins

• Joe LaTengo
• March 12, 2012

The claims to fame of the team formerly known as the Florida Marlins were two improbable World Series championships (1997 and 2003) amid a morass of mediocrity triggered mostly by player selloffs after winning those rings. Now they’re the Miami Marlins, with a new logo and colors, a new $500-million retractable-roof ballpark, a new manager...

MLB

N.L. East Preview: Braves Fine-Tune Stacked Roster

• Joe LaTengo
• March 9, 2012

The Atlanta Braves have almost everything a good baseball team could want. What they need is to avoid having another month like last September, when they threw away an 8.5-game lead in the National League wild-card race and finished out of the playoffs. The Action: Apparently general manager Frank Wren feels the pieces are already...

MLB

A.L. West Preview: Rangers Nab Phenom In Playoff Quest

• Joe LaTengo
• March 8, 2012

It’s said that everything is bigger in Texas, and the Rangers are facing some big-time hype and scrutiny as they attempt to make their way back to the World Series. The Action: Two words … Yu Darvish. All general manager Jon Daniels had to do in the off-sesaon was pay an estimated $111 million for...

MLB

A.L. West Preview: Little Expected From Mediocre M's

• Joe LaTengo
• March 7, 2012

It’s another season, and more steps in the slow rebuilding process for the Seattle Mariners. They seem to be perpetually in rebuild mode, but they appear to be assembling the components to turn around a reputation for losing baseball. The Action: Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik made a big move in January by trading pitching...

MLB

A.L. West Preview: A’s Spin Wheels Waiting To Move

• Joe LaTengo
• March 6, 2012

The Oakland Athletics have been around in one form or another since 1901, and are one of the founding franchises of the Ameican League. Yet even as the elder club of the league, they still get no respect either on the field or off. Rodney Dangerfield would understand. The Action: There has been a lot...

MLB

A.L. West Preview: Angels Ready For Championship Run

• Joe LaTengo
• March 5, 2012

Arte Moreno bought the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from the Walt Disney Company in 2003 for $180 million. Little did anyone know at the time that the former advertising mogul would go on to make some of the biggest splashes ever seen in baseball. The Action: This past off-season, after back-to-back years out of...

MLB

A.L. Central Preview: Twins Lack Power, Health and Stars

• Joe LaTengo
• March 2, 2012

The Minnesota Twins had a difficult road to travel in 2011. Injuries and poor play devastated the Midwestern club, and they narrowly avoided a 100-loss season despite spending a club-record $113 million in salaries. The Action: There has been much movement to and from Target Field in the off-season. Longtime Twin Michael Cuddyer went to...

MLB

A.L. Central Preview: Royals’ Youth Movement Maturing

• Joe LaTengo
• March 1, 2012

While the 2012 All-Star Game will be played in Kansas City, the Royals have other things to think about. They seem determined to keep their focus on the young core of players they’ve scouted and stockpiled; if they maintain their patience and get a little luck, perhaps one or two of them could be named...

MLB

A.L. Central Preview: Fielder Will Help Tigers Roar Again

• Joe LaTengo
• February 29, 2012

Things were going so well for the Detroit Tigers: American League Central winners, only two victories shy of going to the World Series, all cylinders seemed to be firing in synch. Then catcher/1B/DH Victor Martinez picked up a season-ending knee injury (anterior cruciate ligament) during workouts. This forced the team to make one of the...

MLB

A.L. Central Preview: Indians Continue To Ride Injury Train

• Joe LaTengo
• February 28, 2012

For a team, it’s never good to start off the year with injuries. The Cleveland Indians appear to be kicking off 2012 as a continuation of the long ride they took last season on the disabled list merry-go-round. Training camp just opened, and two of the Tribe’s high-profile players are already on the shelf: center...

MLB

A.L. Central Preview: Pallid White Sox Rebuilding In 2012

• Joe LaTengo
• February 27, 2012

In 2011, the Chicago White Sox put forward a “win-now” attitude and committed more than $120 million to prove it. The result was a sub-.500 record (79-83) and Adam Dunn, who had one of the most disastrous seasons in memory. This season, the signal appears to be “build for the future.” The Action: Every general...