MLB

Spring training games have officially begun and the Mets—like the other 29 MLB teams—are trying to prepare for the regular season by seeing which players will have what it takes to be part of the major league roster.

Is it time to break up the Seattle Mariners?

So far this spring, after only five games, the M's are 4-1 while averaging nearly seven runs per game with power coming from several surprising sources with players such as Casper Wells and Jason Bay having already hit home runs. Meanwhile, pitchers Hector Noesi and Jeremy Bonderman have both struggled in brief stints on the mound.  

The Dodgers' signing of Zack Greinke to a six-year, $147 million deal was one of the offseason's biggest moves, but it almost didn't happen.

Bobby Valentine did a hell of a job managing the 2012 Boston Red Sox to a 69-93 record—at least according to him.

Speaking at a press conference signaling his appointment as the new athletics director at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, Valentine spoke openly about his last job and his new appointment.

Remember last month when the possibility existed that the Philadelphia Phillies could use a double-platoon for their corner outfield spots, rather than naming a starter at each position heading into spring training?

Here's my early top-60 listing of outfielders heading into exhibition play, with an emphasis on 5x5 roto leagues.

This position will likely produce baseball's largest number of four- and five-category studs by season's end.

But that star power still cannot obscure the uncertainty of taking inexperienced young players or injury-riddled veterans later in the draft, or household names that will invariably fall short of last year's amped-up stats.

Hopefully, this listing will eliminate some of the draft-day doubt and consternation that come with the territory.

When the Miami Marlins sent Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio and over $100 million in salaries to the Toronto Blue Jays in November, that would have been a good time for team owner Jeffrey Loria to speak up.

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said on Tuesday that the club wasn't interested in pursuing free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com.

Matthews tweeted on Tuesday:

The steroid era seems to be dark cloud that will just not pass over Major League Baseball.  

While this era has somewhat ended in terms of the widespread use of banned substances within the game, it clearly has not been completely eliminated.

And now, the steroid era is beginning to rain one of baseball’s most prized and revered institutions: The Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Baseball Hall of Fame has always been a sacred place, reserved only for those who have achieved at a level head and shoulders above the rest.

The sights and sounds of Spring Training remind us that the coming summer is going to be a wonderful time. They also remind us that J.P. Arencibia does a perfect Tim Kurkjian impression.