The Cleveland Indians rotation is one of the best in baseball, which makes life difficult for the other four teams in the American League Central, so that makes them the favorite. Minnesota has the most improved team, but will the Twins rotation help them make up 13 games in the division race? For drama to happen in the AL Central, the Twins need a consistent rotation. Kansas City is banking of health for Danny Duffy and a bounceback from Ian Kennedy. The White Sox will have at least two former...

The best overall pitching in the National League West belongs to the Dodgers, but the Rockies aren't far behind, at least when it comes to youth and depth. The Dodgers' biggest addition is reliever Joe Kelly, who grew up a Dodgers fan and ate Dodger Dogs sitting in the left field seats at Dodger Stadium. Kelly, 30, helps a bullpen that goes thin when the postseason arrives. He pitched for World Series champion Boston last season. Arizona is without Patrick Corbin, now a National. The Giants...

Where has all the pitching gone? That's the theme for rotations in the American League West. Houston had to replace three starters going into the offseason. Oakland isn't sure who is going to be in the final three rotation slots. Texas is hoping for a bunch of injury comebacks. Los Angeles is banking on comebacks, some from injuries others from subpar seasons. Seattle traded its No. 1 starter, James Paxton, to the Yankees. The Mariners pin their hopes on pitchers such as Mike Leake and Wade...

Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who hit 586 home runs and helped the Orioles win World Series in 1966 and 1970, and later managed the Nationals, died Thursday in Southern California. He was 83. Here are things to know about Robinson: * He was born in Beaumont, Texas, the youngest of 10 children, and when his parents divorced, his mom moved the family to Oakland, where Frank was a high school basketball teammate of future NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell and baseball teammates of future big league...

Major League Baseball is getting serious about quickening the pace of a game. And, MLB isn't just talking about cutting a few minutes here and there. The idea is to get away from games that drag for three hours. It's better to get the average time of game down to 2 hours, 30 minutes. MLB is discussing several rule changes with the players association. ESPN's Jeff Passan writes that his sources say that owners and players are thinking about a variety of ideas and rule changes that would...

Newly elected Hall of Famer Mike Mussina played 10 years with the Orioles and eight with the Yankees, so which team's logo will appear on his cap in Cooperstown? Mussina announced Friday that his cap on his plaque will be blank when he's inducted July 21. He said at the Hall of Fame press conference that he didn't know which team to choose, because he wouldn't have been going to Cooperstown without playing for either team. Mussina pitched in six postseason games for the Orioles, 17 for the...

The Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame two starting pitchers, a designated hitter and a closer with a history-making vote total. For the first time in 75 years, there's a unanimous selection on the BBWAA ballot. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera got every one of the 425 votes cast. Who would have thought that a closer would have that honor instead of someone like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Bob Gibson or Henry Aaron? Ken Griffey Jr. had...

Pitcher Roger Clemens and outfielder Barry Bonds are moving closer to the 75 percent threshold needed for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but it is still a mystery as to why they should be in. As a voting member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, I can't vote for them. I don't understand or agree with the arguments that BBWAA members use to vote for Bonds and Clemens. A vote for Bonds and Clemens is a vote for steroids usage. That means a voter thinks that Clemens'...

Here are answers to questions that might come up at family gatherings over the holidays: Question: The White Sox haven't had a winning record since winning 85 games in 2012. Why would Bryce Harper or Manny Machado consider going to Chicago's South Side? Answer: The White Sox hope to have two things going for them: money and a team that is loaded with young talent. The White Sox, tired of playing in the shadow of the crosstown Cubs, have to get Harper or Machado to believe that they would be...

LAS VEGAS - The symbol for this year's Winter Meetings is the strikingly empty scene at the far end of the media work room at the Madalay Bay Resort and Casino: There's a stage with a backdrop, podium and microphone, risers for TV cameras and a couple of hundred chairs lined neatly into rows. The tableau is baseball's version of a ghost town. Except for a charity auction event, the announcement of Nathan Eovaldi's deal with the Red Sox and the Hall of Fame press conference introducing new...

LAS VEGAS - Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark was traded Wednesday to the Reds, a team that's trying to rebuild its rotation and recover from four consecutive seasons of at least 90 losses. The Reds have had nothing but pitching problems. Last year, their staff gave up 5.06 runs a game, highest in the National League. The staff finished 14th in ERA (4.63) in 2018 and were last in 2017 at 5.17. Last year, the Reds fired their manager, Bryan Price, a former pitching coach, after the first 18 games,...

LAS VEGAS - The Phillies came into the offseason promising to spend money to add pitching, defense and a power bat for the lineup. On Tuesday, the second day of baseball's Winter Meetings at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, the Phillies agreed to terms with outfielder Andrew McCutchen on a three-year, $50 million deal, pending a physical. But even with that kind of spending, reports are that the Phillies are could sign either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. Phillies ownership has a target on its...

LAS VEGAS - The Rays redefined their pitching strategy last season, and they are getting ready to use the same philosophy in 2019. That is, they will continue to do their bullpenning. "We're going to see it happen," Rays manager Kevin Cash said during a press conference Monday at the Winter Meetings at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. "We're going to do it." Why not? It worked. The Rays finished third in the American League East with 90 victories. Most teams would panic if they lose...

LAS VEGAS - Why wait until the Winter Meetings? Baseball's Winter Meetings will go on this week at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, even though the deals have been coming fast and furious since the offseason began, especially with teams in the National League East. The Cardinals have traded for first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The Red Sox have signed Nathan Eovaldi and pitcher Carlos Carrasco has signed an extension to stay in Cleveland. Former Oriole Jonathan Schoop signed with the...

The Hall of Fame ballot is out, and the slam dunk among the ballot's first-time players is Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who had 652 career saves with one pitch, a cut fastball that was deadly. Members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America will start their deliberations and their ballots are due Dec. 31. The Hall of Fame announcement is Jan. 22 and the induction ceremony is July 29 in Cooperstown, N.Y. Here is a look at the key first-timers on the ballot: * Mariano Rivera - Closers...

Joe Mauer's Hall of Fame case is complicated. If Mauer, 35, who officially announced his retirement Monday, is judged as one of the game's best-hitting catchers, then he'll be in Cooperstown. If the final five seasons of his 15-year career figure into the case, it could be a different story. It's shaping up to be a long debate. Mauer, playing for the Minnesota Twins, is the only catcher in history to win three batting titles. He was also an American League MVP with a career OPS of .827. He...

The awards week has arrived with a humdinger of a debate: Did the baseball writers make a mistake by not including Boston's J.D. Martinez in the top three for the American League MVP? The answer is yes. We'll know more about why when the votes are released next week, but this is a whopper of a mistake by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The top three candidates are the Red Sox's Mookie Betts, the Angels' Mike Trout and the Indians' José Ramírez. How to determine which...

Outfielder Adam Jones, an Orioles legend, is a free agent, and while there is a good argument for the team to keep him in Baltimore, it appears there is a market for him with other teams. Jones, 33, would be an asset for the Orioles because of his stature, leadership and his ability to play right field. But, he'd have to sign a team-friendly contract and deal the growing pains of a rebuilding. And it would awkward to return after his emotional good-bye at Camden Yards at the end of the...

Prepare yourself: The baseball offseason is here, and that means a never-ending stream of speculation about trades and free agent signings. John Schuerholz, former general manager of the Atlanta Braves, used to accuse reporters of blowing even the tiniest tidbit of conversation out of proportion. "Reporters take a kernel of popcorn and turn it into a large bag immediately," he said. In case you haven't heard, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are the two biggest names on the free agent market....

The Brewers' run at making the World Series for the first time since 1982 was refreshing, but the 114th World Series that starts Tuesday has a rare storyline. The last time the Red Sox and Dodgers played in the World Series was 1916, and the Dodgers weren't even the Dodgers: They were the Brooklyn Robins, named for their manager, Wilbert Robinson. (The Robins became the Dodgers in 1932 and then moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958.) The Red Sox won the 1916 series in five games. Babe...