RealClearSports
Advertisement

RealClearSports Major League Baseball

MLB: Top 30 Fantasy Storylines

Scott White, CBS Sports

MLB: 1B Position Primer

Andy Behrens, Yahoo! Sports

Can Exciting Marlins Compete?

Mike Berardino, South Florida Sun Sentinel

Coming off an MVP season, Braun would have been a sure-fire early first-rounder in most leagues this year. Of course, with a likely 50-game suspension for a f...(full article)

He arrived a few years too late, truth be told. Terry Collins would have been the perfect manager to guide the Contender Mets of a few years back, the 2006-08 heartbreak kids who...(full article)

f you’re the sort of fantasy owner who tends to search for reliable investments in the opening rounds — and, for the record, that’s the sort of owner we’d...(full article)

Compelling? These revamped Miami Marlins definitely qualify there. Why else would Showtime cameras be in Jupiter when pitchers and catchers hit the field for the first time Wednesd...(full article)

It’s 15 minutes into Bobby Valentine’s first official workout as the Boston Red Sox’s manager, and I’m already exhausted. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherin...(full article)

More Recent Articles

Who Won the Offseason?

At some point this winter, a baseball general manager made a genius move—or resisted making a stupid one—that will propel his team to the title. But which team? The A...

Pitching Gives Phillies Title Hopes

The Phillies lost the National League Division Series in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals. Game 5, a 1-0 St. Louis victory, was an October classic. As terrific as Roy Hallad...

Ichiro Looks to Reinvent Himself

A quiet Mariners camp was riled up on Tuesday. In his post-workout media session, Eric Wedge matter-of-factly dropped the blockbuster news he had been hinting at since the end of ...

Translating Spring Training-Speak

If Mark Twain was a 21st century sportswriter, he'd say there are lies, damned lies and spring training stories. As I head to Florida for my 20th spring training, here are the stor...

MLB: Fantasy Sleepers

The following nine baseball players are not yet first round locks or household names and could easily fall to the middle and later rounds of your fantasy baseball draft, but they...

The Making of Classic 'Homer at the Bat'

On Feb. 20, 1992, more American homes tuned into The Simpsons than they did The Cosby Show or the Winter Olympics from Albertville, France. A foul-mouthed cartoon on a fourth-plac...

Pujols Just One Reason Angels Are Excited

Albert Pujols stepped into the batting cage, and Angels officials began a quiet scramble. Where is Arte? He has to see this. As spring training moments go, here was a big one: Pujo...

Strange Florida at Center of Sports World

Pitchers and catchers report this week. Me too. Like migratory birds down the Atlantic Flyway, northern sportswriters return season after season to Florida. Most of us for spring ...

Mets Saw Madoff as House Money

Saul Katz called it the Madoff “vig.” Vig, or vigorish, is a gambling term, meaning the money a bookmaker collects on every bet taken, regardless of the outcome &mdash...

Rivera's Last Season? 'Saver' Every Moment

The chair was occupied, and — in its own way — that was perhaps the first clue it would not be for much longer. When the clubhouse door opened to the media early yesterday mor...

Pujols Gets Started With Angels Early

The most anticipated arrival in the Angels' history came early – in more ways than one. Pujols reported to camp on Monday, six days before position players are required to ...

A's Have Nothing to Lose with Manny

On June 2, assuming none of Oakland's first 50 games are rained out, Manny Ramirez will be eligible to join the A's. He may need a few games in Triple-A to get ready, but signing R...

Red Sox Hope Valentine's the Answer

Bobby Valentine's influence is already felt here at brand spanking new Jet Blue Stadium, where they served only wraps yesterday, perhaps as an ode to their new manage...

MLB: Bargain Closers for 2012

Solving the closer quandary can make or break your fantasy season. Uncover the next great thing out of the pen, and you'll shoot up the standings. Overdraft a bust and not only w...

Expect Quiet Spring from Rangers

Two years ago, the quiet of the Texas Rangers' Arizona spring was interrupted by the revelation that the manager had tested positive for cocaine. One year ago, it was the news th...

Pujols Gone, But Cards Still Optimistic

The one thing we know for sure as we head into the newest era of the remade St. Louis Cardinals is just how much we really don't know. But isn't that what always makes baseball in ...

Beltran Pays for Ex-Teammate's Nose Job

Before Carlos Beltran was traded to the San Francisco Giants last July, he playfully told New York Mets left-hander Jon Niese, "Hey, we need to get you a new nose." Beltran offered...

Should Mets Retire Carter's Number?

The passing of Gary Carter last week elicited warm memories from his teammates, including Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and Wally Backman. The praise was genuine and deserved. Car...

A's Shouldn't Get Excited About Manny

You know those times on the freeway when, all of a sudden, cars ahead of you stop for no apparent reason? And you wonder why? And then you go far enough to see that the frustra...

MLB: Trade Won't Fix Burnett

Upon learning of A.J. Burnett's trade, initial reactions of both New York Yankees fans and fantasy baseball owners were probably one and the same: positive. Yankees fans were right...

Top 10 Asian-American Athletes

You know you've arrived when A) you lead an apparently moribund NBA franchise to seven victories in your first eight games, B) you put up numbers that prompt comparisons with leg...

Last Season for Yankees' Rivera?

He has made similar comments in the past, dating back more than a decade, but now with the all-time saves record in hand, and his age finally matching his famous uniform number, ...

Posey and Demise of the Slugging Catcher

The 2010 NL Rookie of the Year played in just 45 games last season because, and solely because, he is a catcher. On a sac fly in the 12th inning of a late May game, Florida's Scott...

Posey's Comeback Takes First Spring Steps

Just before 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Buster Posey stepped into the batter’s box at Scottsdale Stadium. On the first pitch, he bunted. “GREAT FORM!” a fan hollered from ...

Beckett Acknowledges 'Lapses in Judgment'

Listen up, Red Sox [team stats] fans: Josh Beckett [stats] wants you to know he had perfect attendance at gym class last season. That was essentially Big Boy’s message yester...

Burnett Was a $69.5 Million Flop in Pinstripes

There’s a good reason why major ­leaguers don’t appear on the Hall of Fame ballot until five years after their re­tirement: Time allows for context; it (usu&s...

Unlike Lin, It's Low-Key With Darvish

Yu Darvish and Jeremy Lin are of Asian descent. They also have names the American media can twist into puns with seemingly no effort. “It's up to Yu” already has been used on ...

Phillies' Papelbon: 'I Like Pressure'

As far as perfunctory press conferences go, this was up there. Jonathan Papelbon sauntered into the cafeteria at Bright House Field wearing shower sandals and spent 20 minutes an...

Zimmerman Nats' Cornerstone

Age is relative around a baseball clubhouse, and Ryan Zimmerman has lived inside one long enough to learn that. Put him anywhere else, and his youth is unmistakable. Put him around...

Revitalized RHP Colon Joins A's

Bartolo Colon won the American League Cy Young Award in 2005, and less than five years later, it appeared his career was over after elbow ligament and rotator cuff problems. In A...

Baseball's Spring Arrives; So Does Optimism

My first five years working for newspapers, I covered four major league teams. Spring training was a mental drain, basically six or seven weeks of clubhouse introductions. I coul...

Mauer Morphs Into Clueless Joe

When Bo Jackson captivated a previous generation, Nike built an ad campaign around the phrase "Bo Knows.'' It became a sensation. "Joe Knows'' wouldn't work in Minnesota, not thes...

'Cubs Way' on Epstein's Bookshelf

With a history of ineptitude on the franchise's rap sheet, the idea of writing a manual about the "Cubs Way" might seem like an invitation to a punch line. But as pitchers and cat...

Cashman: Stalking Scandal 'Difficult'

Brian Cashman broke his silence on Sunday about the scandal that has hovered over his head for the past few weeks, saying the situation has been “difficult” for him per...

Yanks Pay for Mistake With Burnett

This is A.J. Burnett, so of course it did not work out how the Yankees imagined. The Yankees did not want to give him more than a four-year contract because he was a health risk....

Posey Back Behind Plate at Camp

A contingent of front office executives, media members and fans moved from one corner of Scottsdale Stadium to the next on Sunday, all eyeing the same player. Buster Posey didn...

5 Pitchers on Spot This Season

With the majority of pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training over the weekend, the time to show and prove is upon many. However, there is a certain group that might hav...

MLB: 2nd Half Producers From 2011

Nick Hundley, C, Padres Second-half numbers: .367 average, .404 on-base percentage, .656 slugging percentage, 1.061 OPS, 11 doubles, four triples, six homers and 14...

Wakefield Truly One of a Kind

Usually the phrase “once in a lifetime” describes an athlete of breathtaking ability, whether it’s Larry Bird, Bobby Orr or Ted Williams. But it applies to othe...

Cubs Build Culture of Accountability

Among the pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training Saturday for the Cubs, you won’t find any C.J. Wilsons, Mark Buehrles or any other big-ticket free agents. Or Carl...

Wakefield Bows Out Gracefully

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Tim Wakefield [stats] stood in left field at the Red Sox [team stats]’ new spring training ballpark and said retirement was “the hardest thing I&r...

Bryce Harper's Honesty Refreshing

Can we let Bryce Harper be Bryce Harper for now, when he’s 19 and still learning the ways of the world? Can we appreciate his personality, letting him grow and mature, without ...

Mets Family Mourns Loss of Amazin' Kid

Now Carter is dead of brain cancer, dead much too young, the old Met they knew and we knew as Kid, the one who played the game with talent and joy and a smile. Ron Darling, a b...

Spring Preview, Offseason Review

No more mystery teams. No more posting fees. No more free agents jetting into Miami for a tour of the gleaming new Ballpark That Ozzie Guillen Didn't Build But Will Definitely Tw...

Yankees Had to Unload Burnett

cipient of the fans' boos and the tabloids' jeers. Questions about his status bogged down each of manager Joe Girardi's daily press briefings. He is too overpriced to be a reliev...

Carter Was Gracious and Giving Person

Ed Hearn was crying when he called on Thursday. Earlier in the afternoon, Hearn had learned that Gary Carter, the Hall of Fame catcher, had died from brain cancer at age 57. Like ...

Tim Wakefield Announces Retirement

Tim Wakefield will announce his retirement at 5 p.m. today at JetBlue Park. Wakefield, 45, was 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA in 627 appearances in his 19-year career. The Florida native ...

Gary Carter, the Light of the Mets

Try as I might as a witness to his five years in New York as a catcher for the Mets, I cannot conjure a single image of Gary Carter with anything but a smile on his face. I have ...

Carter Never Stopped Being 'The Kid'

There have been more than a dozen big league baseball players through the years who were called Kid … but I suspect that the name didn’t fit any of them quite the wa...

Can Red Sox Rotation Go the Distance?

On the field, at least, the principal issue now is as it was then: the durability of the starting rotation. Minus Jon Lester, there is relatively little assurance that any of the...

Top Remaining Free Agents

Because baseball offers no monthly jobs report, we at 10 Degrees thought it a public service to do just that. The state of baseball’s economy is good. So say Albert Pujols ...

Rays Wait to Trade Pitchers for Power

That general manager Andrew Friedman was able to cover first base, to strengthen his bench, to deepen his bullpen, to add a catcher and to secure a designated hitter wasn’t...

MLB: Draft Day Manifesto

I am reminded of a joke my friend Phil Palisoul (a fantastic comedian; check him out on YouTube) tells in his standup act. Phil says, "Get this. My doctor told me I could add two ...

Maddon Has All He Wants in Tampa

Joe Maddon has gone global. Dig: Maddon and his wife, Jaye, vacationed in Europe last month. One day, they were exploring the famed Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, the unf...

Astros Embark on Rebuilding Effort

There are thousands of ingredients that go into building a successful baseball franchise. But sometimes the difference between a great franchise and a lousy one can be summed up ...

Rangers Relying on Pitching

What, exactly, should the Rangers have fixed this winter? A slightly longer left arm for Nelson Cruz? A better fastball for Neftali Feliz? Can a general manager shop for an out tha...

Sources: Yanks Want More for Burnett

The proposed trade between the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh that would make A.J. Burnett a Pirate is close but not quite done, and there are indications that the Yankees are p...

Avoiding Arbitration With Ortiz Right Move

This has been an offseason where the Red Sox have become almost unrecognizable. Change has come to Yawkey Way not in droplets, but in torrents, washing away the identity of the O...

MLB: What to Expect From Injured Pitchers

Josh Johnson, Miami Marlins Injury: Shoulder inflammation Return: Expected Opening Day Effect: Reduced velocity, rapid recurrence The check is in the mail. I'll call you. She's go...

Will Cubs Spend a Year on the South Side?

It's the question that bubbles up whenever the Chicago Cubs talk about taking the scalpel to Wrigley Field and putting it through the extensive renovation it desperately needs: ...

Selig Staying Out of Mets' Mess for Now

Selig’s wait-and-see approach, while frustrating to many Mets fans, is no different than his approach on most issues. He prefers teams to resolve their own problems, withou...

Phillies Must Make Up for Howard

Really, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. had no choice but to ride it out. This is the team that won 102 games in 2011, that’s on a streak of five NL East titles, that had a f...

Angels Aim to Win Over Los Angeles

Well, where to start … Apparently the only man more disappointed than the three-million-plus fans, who last year watched the Angels spend a second consecutive season witho...

Sports Love Matches: For Better or Worse

What flies between an athlete or owner and his/her significant other/others, theoretically, is none of anybody's business. Derek Jeter break-ups are best limited to double-play si...

MLB: Breakout Candidates

By now everyone's been exposed to Lin-sanity, a condition that overcomes its victims when they witness the mad skills that sports' latest and greatest sensation, Jeremy Lin, put ...

Red Sox, Ortiz Split Difference

  David Ortiz and the Red Sox [team stats] swerved away from an awkward and likely damaging arbitration hearing with both sides agreeing yesterday on a historic annual salary...

Mariners Get Spring Camps Rolling

The Mariners already set up camp over the weekend. This week, everyone else joins them, with their tent stakes, sleeping bags and World Series dreams in tow. On the sun-dappled d...

Yanks, Pirates Talking Burnett Deal

In an effort to rid themselves of underperforming pitcher A.J. Burnett, the Yankees are turning to a familiar trading partner. A team source confirmed Friday that the Yankees have ...

Cabrera Slims Down to Play 3rd

Time will tell whether Miguel Cabrera can make the move back to third base, as the Tigers have planned. As the reigning American League batting champion prepares for his big test...

RHP Lowe Unloading Atlanta Mansion

Derek Lowe’s inconsistent tenure with the Atlanta Braves is over, and so is his time in a stately mansion in the prestigous Buckhead area of Atlanta. Prior to his O...

Tigers Spend with the Big Boys

That ol’ sandbagger Dave Dombrowski. His Detroit Tigers had won the AL Central by 15 games last year, and the division didn’t look much better this season. Even with ...

Cards Can Contend Without Pujols

The last World Series winner to undergo such a dramatic overhaul in the afterglow of its championship was the 2003 Florida Marlins, whose owners treated the ballclub like a forecl...

Orioles May Be Perfect Fit for Manny

Less than a year after retiring in disgrace to avoid a second performance-enhancing drug suspension, Manny Ramirez just might catch on with another major league team. Ramirez was...

Rockies Acquire RHP Guthrie

Despite making five jarring trades this offseason that reshaped the everyday lineup, the Rockies woke up Monday without accomplishing their primary offseason goal: acquiring a v...

Braves' Quiet Offseason Risky

No team’s offseason transaction list reads with quite the sparseness of the Atlanta Braves’. Oct. 31: Trade starter Derek Lowe to the Cleveland Indians for a 23-year-ol...

Peavy 'as 100% as I Can Be'

Ask Jake Peavy whether he is 100 percent healthy for this season and this is the answer you get: "I'm as 100 percent as I can be. I don't know if I'm 100 percent as to what I was ...

Rockies Get Guthrie From Orioles

True, the Rockies were looking for an experienced arm to put atop their young rotation, but not just any veteran would do. "The right kind of guy," Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd said. "The...

RHP Penny Joins Japanese Team

Brad Penny is indeed headed to Japan, agreeing to a deal with the Softbank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League, according to the team's official website.According to the Yomiuri Shimb...

Aceves, Red Sox OK 1-Year Deal

Globe colleague Nick Cafardo had the news this morning. The Red Sox avoided arbitration with RHP Alfredo Aceves by signing him to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million with $100,000...

Giants Seeking to Rebound

During one of the Q&A sessions at the Giants' annual FanFest on Saturday, a young girl asked Tim Lincecum how he felt when Buster Posey got hurt. As the loud "Awwww" from th...

Fielders Resume Family Feud

Cecil and Prince Fielder are putting that whole "time heals all wounds" mantra to the test. Last week, Cecil, the former Tigers slugger, had nothing but glowing things to say abo...

Reds Can Contend in Weak Division

Sixteen years since they last won a playoff game, having staggered backward in 2011 after their only division title in that time, the Reds have a plan again to win the NL Central...

Orioles Need New Wave of 'Stars'

Back in 1997, the Baltimore Orioles made the playoffs for the second straight season, winning 98 games and the AL East title. They led the American League in attendance and outd...

Angels Clear Winners of Offseason

It's been a weird offseason for free agents, hasn't it? First basemen Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols were able to land $200-plus million contracts in a market where the Phillie...

Pitching Is Rockies' Unknown

The Rockies – meaning GM Dan O’Dowd, manager Jim Tracy, veteran first baseman Todd Helton, otherworldly shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, all of them – left spring train...

Phillies' Window Is Closing

At the start of this run, Philadelphia had a potent offense that featured a handful of players simultaneously entering their primes. They now boast one of the strongest starting ...

Nationals Waiting on Phenom Harper

In 2009, when the Nationals lost 103 games, their pitchers allowed 874 runs. Two years later, they cut that total by 231 runs. That is why GM Mike Rizzo (with owner Ted Lerner&rsqu...

Burrell Retires With 292 HRs

Pat Burrell returned home with a battered reputation when he joined the San Francisco Giants in early June 2010. Once a feared slugger and one of the top run producers in the Nati...

Jays' Offseason Falls Short

It’s not entirely Alex Anthopoulos’ fault that the Blue Jays were supposed to be the “it” team of the 2011-12 offseason. After all, team president Paul Bees...

Texas Deep with or without Oswalt

The Rangers have had their meeting with free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt. There is no word yet if Texas will actually sign him, as a source said the situation remains ongoing and un...

Tigers' Martinez Has 1st Surgery

One surgery down, one to go. Or to put it another way: Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez suffered much more than a torn left ACL two weeks ago when he slipped during ...

Several Teams Lower Expectations

While several teams spent the last three months collecting free agents and trading to make their clubs better heading into spring training, several others have done little or not...

White Soxs Konerko Unafraid of Truth

There was a time when Paul Konerko drew the short straw and had to call White Sox season-ticket holders the week of SoxFest. It was a thankless duty. Lie to them, humor them, impr...

Cabrera at 3rd Won't Hurt Tigers

The great debate has commenced, and will continue every single moment of every single day through spring training, then every single Tigers game thereafter. Can he or can't he? W...

Braves' Heyward Looks to Rebound

On April 5, 2010, Jason Heyward was 20 years old -- an age when most of his friends would have been coming off spring break and downshifting toward the end of the school year. In...

Scores and Schedule

MLB Power Rankings

Top MLB Sites