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About 15 minutes ago, no one wanted to employ Jose Valverde. Now a contender has him facing Gordon/Escobar/Butler in the ninth. OK...- Joe Sheehan (@joe_sheehan) April 25, 2013 The last we saw of Jose Valverde, he was buried deep i...

Eric Karabell and I briefly raised this question a couple weeks ago on a SweetSpot TV: Which team is most collapse-proof? Or, to rephrase it, which is least likely to go all 2012 Red Sox on us? At the time, we mentioned the Reds, but I'm not so sure ...

The Seattle Mariners improved by eight games in 2012, but they remained the same, boring Mariners of recent vintage, once again finishing last in the American League in runs scored and seeing their attendance decline for the fifth straight season. Ru...

One lesson to take away from the 2012 season is that parity is as strong as ever. The Baltimore Orioles, after 14 consecutive losing seasons, improved by 24 wins over last season and made the playoffs for the first time since 1997. While the Oriol...

The Toronto Blue Jays are taking this "build a contender" idea pretty seriously. On the heels of the multiplayer blockbuster trade with the Marlins, they signed outfielder Melky Cabrera to a two-year, $16 million contract. Cabrera, of course, comes w...

As the San Francisco Giants have proved twice in three seasons, the best way to a World Series title is developing a homegrown rotation of Cy Young winners and contenders: Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner all were first-round draft picks...

As we head into the September stretch run, let's examine 10 players on playoff contenders who had big first halves -- most of these guys were All-Stars -- but have struggled of late. 1. Mark Trumbo, Angels He was a deserving All-Star after a mo...

If you're a fan of one of these teams, you know of what I speak. For all the hype and attention given to the trade deadline, the biggest area of improvement for playoff contenders usually needs to come from players already on the roster. Here are 10 ...

There's something simple and comforting about watching David Price pitch. No trick pitches, no cutter or split-finger or sidearm slurve, nothing ornamental in his delivery, just rear back and sling that leather sphere with a high degree of velocity. ...

Another all-star level chat, with great input and discussion among the chatters. Relive the excitement here....

Last week, the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-3, scoring two runs in the eighth inning on Ian Kinsler's two-out barely-making-contact blooper off Ervin Santana. The hit knocked Santana from the game, and, seemingly, knocked the Angels ou...

NOW the season heats up. Just ask Jered Weaver. The big trades are all complete. New nameplates have been sewn with care onto the back of uniforms. Division opponents start playing more often. Clint Hurdle has two months to learn how to manage his bu...

Baseball fans are more hyped up this time of year than a bunch of 6-year-olds chewing down an endless supply of Skittles. If your team is a contender, you hope your general manager can find that missing piece of the puzzle (but not give away anyth...

Here are the All-Star break statistics for two players who play the same position on playoff contenders: Player A: .296, 15 HR, 57 RBI, 87 games Player B: .284, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 87 games Which guy is having the better season? What if I told you ...

Carl Crawford isn't going to hit .156 all season. Adrian Gonzalez will hit home runs. But here are five legitimate issues that teams predicted to be contenders are facing right now. Franklin1. Cardinals closer. Ryan Franklin lost the job with two ...

LSU got the nod, but which team really deserves the shot at Ohio State? Page 2 breaks down all the contenders.