Opinion

During the Los Angeles Dodgers' amazing 62-28 run to finish the 2013 regular season, it's no surprise that the team's top two starting pitchers—Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu—completely dominated. 

The eventual Cy Young award winner, Kershaw went 11-4 with a 1.61 ERA in 17 starts while holding opposing hitters to a .503 OPS. Greinke went 12-2 in 19 starts while holding opposing hitters to a .589 OPS.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have big plans for Yasiel Puig in 2014, but some of the headlines he has been making may be cause for concern for his role with the team.

The typical criticisms of his off-field behavior and "non-traditional" playing style are generally unwarranted and not of any real concern.

The Dodgers' real issues with Puig should lie in his physical readiness to take on a leadoff and leadership role with the team.

As if the New York Yankees' middle infield situation wasn't difficult enough to figure out, Yangervis Solarte has plans to make it even harder.

The Atlanta Braves—a mid-market team on the verge of becoming a large-market team with a new ballpark—spent the winter locking up young, ascending stars. Along the path to securing future cost certainty, the Braves inadvertently changed the business structure of large-market foes.

For years, large-market teams have used deep pockets to fill holes—replace aging veterans and re-shape short-term goals. 

Bronson Arroyo is having trouble with a slightly bulging disk in his back and was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The news first came from MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. 

The Cincinnati Reds have played just nine spring training games, but as we head toward the second week of March, some players are already turning heads with their impressive play. This mix of players includes Reds veterans, non-roster invitees, minor leaguers and rookies all looking to raise their stock within the organization.

The start of the Major League Baseball season, more than any other sport, brings with it an air of optimism. With the season being 162 games, things can, and often do, go any number of directions. 

It doesn't matter if we are talking about a player or a team, there are going to be peaks and valleys for everyone. The trick is to minimize the damage so the peaks appear with greater frequency. 

The pessimism around the Philadelphia Phillies, particularly among the team's fans, has probably gone too far.

Sports talk radio in town cannot get anyone interested in talking about the Phillies because there just does not seem to be that much to talk about. The Phillies are an old team that got older in free agency.

On January 17, Blair Kerkhoff of The Kansas City Star reported that the Royals avoided arbitration with first baseman Eric Hosmer by agreeing with him on a one-year deal worth $3.6 million.  

Looking at the calendar, seeing that the regular season is just around the corner, it's amazing to look at the names still on the market who can be had for the right price. 

Of course, with most of the top players, the big caveat for a team trying to sign them is giving up a draft pick and the slot money that goes along with it. It's amazing how much the new qualifying system has changed the way teams approach free agency.