Baseball

In life, and in sports, nearly everyone experiences prolonged periods of both success and failure. Of course, the 2014 sports year was far from different, as fans were treated to some truly memorable performances, of both the good and bad sort.

Madison Bumgarner, for example, had a downright iconic year, establishing himself as one of baseball’s all-time greats with the type of postseason pitching we’d never seen before.

With an array of talented pitchers eligible for free agency next season, the Cincinnati Reds—unlikely to re-sign them all—are a logical trade partner for teams looking to improve their staff.     

Unsurprisingly, Johnny Cueto, the man at the top of Cincy's rotation, is the most desirable. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal has the newest rumor: 

With executives from all 30 Major League Baseball teams in San Diego for the winter meetings, eye-opening names were bound to be discussed. The Cincinnati Reds have apparently decided to stoke the hot-stove fires by adding closer Aroldis Chapman to their list of available talent.     

The Chicago Cubs' rapid-fire rebuild continued Tuesday, as they acquired All-Star catcher Miguel Montero from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for pitching prospects Jeferson Mejia and Zack Godley.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are keeping the gang together.

Imagine if Mark Twain and Grantland Rice drank rye by a bonfire all night and attempted to come up with an American folk hero for the modern sports era. 

Trade talks and free-agent signings are at a fever pitch during this MLB offseason, and the hype for MLB 15 The Show is gaining serious steam as well. On Saturday, the debut sizzle trailer for the game was released at the PlayStation Experience in Las Vegas. 

This has to stop.

Hearts are broken, and that is certainly understandable. But the screaming has to stop. Now.

Billy Beane is not a villain. He is not a moron. He is not attempting to piss off anyone who has ever cheered for the Oakland Athletics.

And most importantly, he is not trying to lose. To think that is his goal is not only ridiculous but also completely ignorant.

Francisco Liriano declined the Pittsburgh Pirates' initial qualifying offer but was able to negotiate and secure a long-term deal to remain with the club on Tuesday.

A busy day in baseball saw another trade go down on Tuesday, as the Oakland Athletics shipped starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija to the Chicago White Sox for a number of prospects, including Chris Bassitt and Rangel Ravelo.      

The A's official Twitter account has the details: