Kuzul

With Opening Day right around the corner, teams are still searching for holes to fill in their lineup or bullpen.There are several players on the free-agent list available who can make an impact with any MLB team like Derrek Lee, Johnny Damon and Vladimir Guerrero. If that option fails, there is always the possibility to make a trade.One of the biggest holes a team filled was seen through the Oakland A's signing of outfielder Manny Ramirez. GM Billy Beane said the team needed a cleanup hitter, so Ramirez was their guy.Here's a look at each team's needs entering the 2012 season. Begin Slideshow

If any other baseball player on the planet saw his batting average fall to .272 for the season after hitting nearly .330 for his entire 10-year career, there would be maybe only a slight cause for concern. But Seattle Mariners' right fielder Ichiro Suzuki is no ordinary ball player. Thus, there are some major issues to address regarding the future production of the Mariners’ superstar.Can he rebound from an un-Ichiro-like 2011 season, one in which he batted .272 with an abysmal .645 OPS? Or was last year the signal of an eminent decline for the 38-year-old? If Ichiro played in a larger media market, this would be a huge story. But being tucked in the damp and cozy confines of the Pacific Northwest, the prognostication of Ichiro is only slightly on the radar of MLB’s hottest topics. Last week it was announced by ESPN.com, that Seattle manager Eric Wedge is ...

Adam Dunn's numbers weren't very glamorous at the end of last season.After it was all said and done, Adam had a mere .159 batting average with 415 total at-bats.  He batted only .128 in the month of September.But Dunn's new manager Robin Ventura is excited about him, according to this quote from csnchicago.com's Chuck Garfien, via his Twitter account:"Ventura on Adam Dunn: "He’s on our squad. He’s not going anywhere. I’m patient and I know it’s there."Encouraging news for a player who many fans have questioned even being in the lineup.But Dunn has been his own toughest critic.  Arriving at spring training, he talked about the immediate things on the agenda, which includes working with new White Sox hitting coach Jeff Manto."We'll kind of go over some things and see what he wants me to do and how he wants me to approach the season and kind of go from there," said Dunn in ...

The farm system is a vital piece of every organization, as it gives a team hope for the future as well as trade chips to acquire a missing piece in order to make a playoff run. The farm systems of the NL East are pretty loaded, and include the top prospect in the game.This article ranks the farm systems of all teams in the NL East and also continues my series of ranking all areas of the Braves with their competition in the NL East. Outfield and the starting rotation are already complete, with looks at the infield, bullpen and management/coaching staff yet to come.Begin Slideshow

With pitchers and catcher reporting to camp, spring training is finally underway. Although some fans might not be excited until the regular season starts, the players are certainly ready to get back on the field and prepare for the upcoming season.Spring training is often a time for hitters to find their swing, base stealers to condition their legs, and pitchers to find their touch. In addition, often pitchers will try out new pitches during spring training to see if they can add another weapon in their arsenal of pitches.Here are four pitchers everyone expects big things from this season and who are also trying out new pitches this spring.Begin Slideshow

As spring training starts baseball juices flowing, it's time for a look at the latest members of the "Benedict Arnold Club", as Matthew Kory of Over the Monster calls it.If you're a New York fanatic, there's always a twinge when you see a former favorite wearing the Red Sox uniform: think Alfredo Aceves. Similarly, members of Red Sox Nation cringe at the thought of seeing someone like 2004 World Series hero Johnny Damon don the pinstripes.  Making it worse for Red Sox fans is that the player movement along the Boston-New York corridor has been heavily in the Yankees favor over the years, starting with a guy named Babe Ruth.  Of the defectors in the last 20 years, I would guess Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs sting the most from the Red Sox side. Everyone over 30 will probably remember when Boggs joined the Yankees in 1993. That was bad enough, but seeing ...

Since Manny Ramirez got called up to the Cleveland Indians in 1993, we have seen him become one of the greatest batters in MLB history.Ramirez's career has generated over 500 career home runs, two World Series titles and a dynamic personality that has brought an extra layer of color to baseball.Yet all of these highlights have been overshadowed with the news that Ramirez tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a women's fertility drug that is used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It was also reported that Ramirez also had artificial testosterone in his body at the time of the drug test.Manny was suspended 50 games after the drug test, and has not been the same player since then. Ramirez found himself on the disabled list three times in 2010, and hit only nine homers with the Dodgers and ...

In Boston the weather has been a tease this week.  Two days ago the temps were in the mid 50's. Yesterday, it snowed. The Fenway Faithful are starting to salivate for the start of the 2012 season. The team was disgraced last year. Hopefully that means there is a chip on the shoulder of many men on this roster.Most of all, the pitchers.With a lot to prove and a fanbase anxious for baseball, here is a look at what we can expect from the starting pitchers in 2012.Begin Slideshow

Range Factor is a measurement of a defensive player's range. It is a simple statistic that is calculated by adding a fielder's put outs and assists, multiplying that number by nine and dividing the result by games played. Derek Jeter is rated as an average defensive player by some "experts." Others consider him to be and to have been below average. Range Factor for an infielder is dependent upon the number of ground balls put into play. Maybe, I hoped, that if they didn't hit many ground balls, I could rationalize Jeter's RF.  A batter that strikes out doesn't hit a ground ball.The following table lists Jeter's Range Factor and the number of strikeouts New York Yankees pitchers recorded from 1996-2001:  YEAR    SO    RF1996    1139    3.81       1997    1165    3.90       1998    1080    3.61       1999    1111    4.45       2000    1040    3.78       2001    1266    4.05       2002    1135    4.52    ...

Here's something odd to ponder. Will fans, media and even perhaps members of the actual team (the ones who have remained at least) look back on the end of the 2011 season, along with all of its traumatic aftermath, and think to themselves, "we're all better off that things went down the way they did?"It's not a normal way to view things that one finds to be so agitating. Make no mistake about it, unless you were one of the people for whom their actual job changed or was at least altered as a result of last season's Red Sox implosion, then it really wasn't that bad. Don't get me wrong, it was bad. It was the worst way to end a baseball regular season that I can remember. Even worse, was the fallout. Red Sox fans had to endure the departures of long-standing favorites. Symbols of success had become ones of ...