Opinion

A couple years ago, the cut fastball was Mariano Rivera's pitch. He was the only pitcher in baseball who threw it with any regularity, not to mention with any real skill.

Now it seems like every pitcher in the majors features a cutter in his repertoire. The popularity of the cutter has increased dramatically, and hitters around the league aren't crazy about it.

Opening Day is getting closer, and teams are in a flurry trying to make last-minute moves to position themselves for contention come spring. 

The Cleveland Indians are undoubtedly one of the busiest teams, signing a slew of big names, most recently Michael Bourn. 

However, as we learn almost every year through free agency, all that glitters is not gold. 

Spring training has officially begun for the New York Yankees.

On Tuesday, pitchers and catchers reported down to Tampa, Fl to get prepared for the 2013 season.

Over the next month and a half, we will see coverage of the Yankees during their time in Tampa on the YES Network, MLB Network and ESPN.

There will be some new names and faces that will be wearing the pinstripes and some will even be looking to make the roster.

I spent two hours on Monday afternoon writing a nice, snarky piece making fun of the signings of Jason Giambi and Daisuke Matsuzaka, making parallels about how these signings are all that Chris Antonetti and the Cleveland Indians can seem to do anymore.

The San Diego Padres and GM Josh Byrnes have left much to be desired this offseason.

They have spent most of their assets on keeping their roster from last season and maintaining their farm system. This may be the best strategy for the Padres considering that they finished with a respectable 42-33 record after the All-Star break.

With Michael Bourn signing with Cleveland, starting pitcher Kyle Lohse is now the biggest name on the free-agent market.

New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson poked fun at his disaster of an outfield during the offseason.

The struggles are well-documented, and the forecast has been rather bleak for the Kansas City Royals recently. With only four winning seasons since 1990, this franchise has been mired in one of the longest funks in professional sports history.

Although spring training is just under way, there are still a number of quality free agents available who could have a big impact with a team.

According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Cleveland Indians are close to finalizing a minor league deal with former Rockies slugger Jason Giambi.  The contract would also include an invitation to spring training.