Found February 06, 2013 on NESN.com: Yardbarker Blogger Network
With pitchers and catchers meeting in Arizona and Florida in just a matter of days, a new season of baseball is nearly upon us. And that means we can look at teams’ rosters and — on paper — do the analysis and look at who’s poised to contend in 2013. To be sure, there are a couple free agents along the lines of Michael Bourn and Kyle Lohse still out there, but for all intents and purposes the offseason is over, clubs have reorganized their toys and are ready to deploy those troops. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take one look back at Major league Baseball’s winter. Both of the top-prize free agents — Zack Greinke and Josh Hamilton — ended up on different sides of the Los Angeles rivalry. But were their signings enough to vault the Dodgers or Angels to the status of an offseason winter? The American League East was another source of a lot of action, as both the Blue Jays and Red Sox upgraded in big ways. Toronto, of course, raided the Marlins during their latest firesale, while the R...
THE BACKYARD
BEST OF MAXIM
AROUND THE WEB
RELATED ARTICLES

Dodgers switch roles of Chris Withrow, Pedro Baez + invite 17 non-roster to camp

The Dodgers have officially converted former starting pitcher Chris Withrow to relief and former third baseman Pedro Baez to pitching. FINALLY Personally, I’ve seen both Withrow and Baez in those roles for a couple years now (maybe Baez for longer given his swing), and I think most evaluators began to agree within the last year, so it’s good to see the Dodgers follow suit. Withrow...

The Justin Upton trade is another example of why No-Trade clauses have to go in MLB

Justin Upton is now joining his brother BJ in the Atlanta outfield. (Photo credit: congvo) Justin Upton is a 25 year old super star in the making and was recently traded to the Atlanta Braves in what looks to be a landslide transaction in favor of Atlanta. Not to take anything away from Martin Prado (the main player exchanged to Arizona), but Upton’s upside is in another universe...

Dodgers' full-season minor league team preview: Chattanooga Lookouts

This is the third in a four-part series projecting the Dodgers' full-season minor league teams. Up next, the Chattanooga Lookouts. Part 1 of 4: Great Lakes Loons Part 2 of 4: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Of all the Dodgers' minor league teams, this one should be the best. Once you see the roster, you'll see what I'm talking about. The Lookouts were the only...

Fantasy Baseball 2013: LA Dodgers Hitting and Pitching Projections

  Will the Dodgers celebrate a trip to the post-season? Los Angeles Dodgers – Predicted Finish: Second Place, NL West Did you know the the Dodgers payroll of $227 million is greater than the GDP of several entire countries? So let’s take a look at what type of team the wealth of nations can buy you. Dodgers Offense Player Name Pos. Age Bats AB R HR RBI SB AVG. Carl Crawford...

Braves’ Brian McCann won’t be ready for Opening Day

Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann said his shoulder is feeling good, but doctors won’t clear him for “full-on playing in games” until April 15, reports David O’Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. McCann underwent shoulder surgery in October which carries with it a six-month recovery period. He’s approaching the four-month point, and the middle of April...

Chopcast: Can bullpen meet expectations?

Last season, the Braves bullpen ranked as one of the best in baseball, featuring talented arms and one of the game's elite closers. After the Tommy Hanson trade, which brought over strong-armed reliever Jordan Walden from the Angels, the late innings look to be in good hands this season in Atlanta. Adding Walden to the depth chart of Eric O'Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craiig...

Latest On Bourn: Independent Arbiter Will Decide If Mets Pick Is Protected

According to Andy Martino of the Daily News, while the Mets remain very motivated to sign free-agent center fielder Michael Bourn, they won’t make a deal if it will cost them their first round draft pick. It turns out that the decision about the draft pick would be in hands of an independent arbitrator, not the commissioner’s office. Here is how the process could work: The...

Why Bourn, If Not Reyes?

As the possibility of Michael Bourn landing in Queens seems more and more like a reality, there are a faction of fans who feel Bourn wouldn’t be such a necessity, had the Mets simply resigned Jose Reyes.  On the surface, they’re correct, however as is the case with everything New York Mets, there is always more to it.  Its easy to compare the two players.  Both center their...

The Bourn Idiocy

Not to be a party pooper, because I know how some people love drama ... and perhaps some of you who read this nonsense like drama ... but can we figure out if the 11th pick is going to be protected or not already? We're starting to get to that area of this story where I just don't care anymore. It's kinda like that area of time right after the Manti Te'o story was...

Team Source Says Bourn Could Get $14-15M In Average Annual Salary

Here are two significant updates from Jim Bowden of ESPN XM Radio: “With Victorino getting an average annual salary of $13 million,” Bowden says. “And with Bourn turning down a qualifying offer of $13 million, it only makes sense that he would get north of that.” A team source (presumably the Mets) also told Bowden that if the Mets were able to sign Michael Bourn, negotiations...
THE MLB HOT 40
Today's Best Stuff
For Bloggers

Join the Yardbarker Network for more promotion, traffic, and money.

Company Info
Help
What is Yardbarker?

Yardbarker is the largest network of sports blogs and pro athlete blogs on the web. This site is the hub of the Yardbarker Network, where our editors and algorithms curate the best sports content from our network and beyond.