Kuzul

The San Francisco Giants have lost all four of Matt Cain's starts this season, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Tuesday, as they continue a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park.Sports bettors will find that the Giants are -130 home favorites in the pro baseball odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total sits at 6.5 in the market.Let's take a closer look at this National League West matchup from a betting perspective, while offering up a pick along the way.Begin Slideshow

With Opening Day quickly approaching, only three National League teams have a better winning percentage than the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, they sit in the middle of the Cactus League standings. Wins say a lot during the regular season, but we need to look deeper to find meaning in those numbers during spring training.Want proof? The Kansas City Royals are 22-6, with the Los Angeles Angels at just 8-17. No, records don't really matter in spring training.For the Diamondbacks, there are many other things we've learned during spring training that hold more value. Let's take a look at 10 of them.Begin Slideshow

Adam Eaton, considered among the most exciting young players in baseball, was expected to start in center field and bat leadoff for the Arizona Diamondbacks this year. Instead, it was recently announced that he will miss up to the first two months of the season because of injury.  Arizona announced via the team’s Twitter account that the 24-year-old Eaton will miss the first six-to-eight weeks of the season because of a UCL injury in his left (throwing) elbow: OFFICIAL: @dbacks OF @adamspankyeaton will miss 6-8 weeks with left elbow UCL sprain— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 22, 2013  The story was confirmed in a separate report by CBSSports.com’s Mike Axisa.  Eaton, who also bats left-handed, was expected to start in the wake of Justin Upton having been traded to the Atlanta Braves this past offseason.  He first came to the organization as a 19th-round draft choice in 2010. Despite standing only 5’8”, ...

The grass is cut, the skies in Arizona are clear and the temperatures are perfect. It's time for baseball again in the valley of the sun, which means the Arizona Diamondbacks can put a disappointing 2012 season behind them and start fresh for 2013.The landscape of the National League West has changed, with the free-spending Los Angeles Dodgers expected to compete with the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. The Diamondbacks can't be counted out of the equation, though.They have a deep and talented pitching staff, and a good combination of youth and veterans who know how to get the job done. It was just two years ago that this team won 94 games and the National League West crown.Let's get to the season preview.Begin Slideshow

The Arizona Diamondbacks have extended the contract for newly acquired infielder Cliff Pennington, keeping him in Phoenix on a two-year, $5 million deal. The signing was reported by Buster Olney of ESPN via his Twitter feed.The 21st overall pick in the 2005 amateur draft played five seasons with the Oakland Athletics. He was never much of a hitter, but played defense well enough to start. He was the starting second baseman for the Athletics in the 2012 Division Series.He came over to the Diamondbacks in the three-team deal that sent Heath Bell to Arizona and Chris Young to Oakland. The Diamondbacks depth chart on MLB.com has Pennington as the starting shortstop.But Arizona also acquired Didi Gregorius from the Cincinnati Reds to play shortstop, and it cost the team Trevor Bauer, who is a top pitching prospect. So, where the 29-year-old Pennington fits into their long-term plans is unclear.Perhaps the move ...

The Arizona Diamondbacks are primed to make a run at the defending MLB champion San Francisco Giants and the free-spending Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. 2012 was a letdown, but 2013 is going to be a major rebound year.At 81-81, the Diamondbacks fell well short of expectations in 2012. They aren't expected to win the National League West in 2013, but they are expected to be in the race.They're deep at starting pitcher, with more help in Daniel Hudson on the way later in the year. They've got a deep bullpen with multiple closer options, so they can sustain injuries and continue on. The offense was No. 6 in the National League in home runs and batting average in 2012, which they would certainly take again in 2013. Let's take a look at who's going to breakout and lead the Diamondbacks back to the playoffs.Begin Slideshow

No player has been mentioned in more trade rumors this offseason than Justin Upton—and with good reason. The first overall selection in the 2005 draft out of a Virginia high school, Upton received an aggressive assignment to Low-A South Bend for his professional debut. The 18-year-old held his own in the Midwest League, posting a .757 OPS with 41 extra-base hits, 15 stolen bases and 96/52 K/BB in 113 games. Albeit impressive, his inaugural season didn’t suggest that he’d rip through the minor leagues as he did the following year. Opening the 2007 season at High-A Visalia in the hitter-friendly California League, the 6’2”, 205-pound outfielder absolutely exploded at the plate, batting .341/.433/.540 with 13 extra-base hits and 28/19 K/BB in 32 games. Upton’s torrid start quickly earned him a promotion to Double-A Mobile where he continued to rake as one of the younger players in the Southern League. After ...

The Arizona Diamondbacks have had a very busy offseason, starting with the trade that imported Heath Bell from the Miami Marlins to the three-team deal that sent phenom pitcher Trevor Bauer to Cleveland. They continued their activity by extending the contract of reliever J. J. Putz through the end of the 2014 season, according to The Associated Press (via Yahoo Sports.)The 35-year-old closer had his 2013 option picked up by the team in October and now will pitch in the desert for an additional year. He saved 32 out of 37 chances and posted a 2.82 ERA in 2012. In the second half of 2012, he let up only three earned runs in 26.1 innings, posting a 1.03 ERA, striking out 36 and walking four. He did not let up a single run in July or August of 2012.The Diamondbacks hope he can turn his fantastic second half into an ...

The struggle between players and management has gone on since the beginning of the sports world. Each side wants to have leverage when the inevitable split occurs. The "no-trade clause" is one of the biggest assets a baseball player can have, and Justin Upton just used his to really affect the Arizona Diamondbacks.When a contract is signed between team and player, it is supposed to bind them together for the duration of the contract. Unless of course, the player gets traded. The team generally holds that leverage, because they can change a player's life by exiling them to a rebuilding team or a franchise with no intentions of using the player how they want to be used.The Seattle Mariners are a rebuilding franchise in a wonderful city. However, they were also one of the four teams on Upton's "no-trade list." That means he holds veto power over any trade to ...

A new rumor involving the Arizona Diamondbacks trading outfielder Justin Upton seems to surface daily. MLBTradeRumors.com is updating constantly with the latest potential landing spots for the sometimes brilliant and sometimes enigmatic right handed slugger.Nick Piecoro of USA Today Sports reported that Upton used his no trade clause to block a potential deal to the Seattle Mariners. According to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, he can also block deals to the improving Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs.Marc Carig of Newsday.com wrote that the New York Mets are not negotiating a deal. It's an odd turn for a team that earlier in the winter dealt the popular Cy Young winner R. A. Dickey for prospects only to offer prospects for Upton.According to Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter) the Atlanta Braves are "lying in the weeds" for a deal that would unite Justin with his brother ...