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Will The Toronto Blue Jays Bullpen Sink Their Hopes?

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The Toronto Blue Jays bullpen is the biggest question mark this team faces as they’ve sprinted out to a three-game lead in the AL East in this final month of May. Toronto is atop the American League in runs scored and their starting pitching ranks fifth in the league. But the bullpen ERA is at the bottom of the AL.

The Case For Johnny Cueto As The National League’s Best

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Prior to the start of this baseball season, I texted a friend with a simple question—allowing for good health, was Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto the top starter in the National League? My friend, though a Reds fan, responded as though I was nuts, saying that while he hoped Johnny would have a big year, that the answer to the question was clearly the Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw.
I was mystified by why Cueto was so casually dismissed…

MLB Instant Replay: Keep The Manager In The Dugout

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My big-picture issue with the way MLB instant replay is being handled by the managers themselves. Every time a call is close, we see the skipper take a slow walk to visit the umpire, all the while looking back over his shoulder at the bench coach, as the replays are being reviewed, waiting for a signal on whether to challenge or not.

National League Darkhorses

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TheSportsNotebook’s MLB spring training review has covered ten National League teams with individual preview posts. Those ten were a combination of the playoff teams from last year, those that at least made a little run at it (Washington & Arizona), along with two others who played poorly, but have a reasonable basis for thinking 2013 was an aberration (San Francisco & Milwaukee).

Milwaukee Brewers Preview

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It was a lost season for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2013. The year got off to a bad start on the field, then rotation ace Yovani Gallardo got a DWI, something that was akin to gathering storm clouds. Then the hammer dropped, when left fielder Ryan Braun, the face of the franchise and heart of the lineup, was suspended for PED use. Braun is back and both he and the team have a lot of repair work to do, both in the community and on the field. Our spring training review here at TheSportsNotebook continues with the Brewers’ Notebook Nine, the nine talking points for the coming year.

Arizona Diamondbacks Preview

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The Arizona Diamondbacks led the NL West for much of the first part of 2013, but faded badly down the stretch and their only impact on the division race in September was to raise a fuss over the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrating in the pool when the Dodgers clinched the NL West in Phoenix. Is there any hope for the D-Backs to reclaim the status they held in 2011 when they won the division and were seen as a rising force in the National League? Here’s the Notebook Nine, our nine focal points for a new season…

Kansas City Royals Preview

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The Kansas City Royals are relevant again. After years of seeing false hopes raised and dashed, the good people of Kansas City were able to watch their team compete for a playoff spot into the final week of the 2013 regular season.

It was the first winning season for the franchise in ten years and gives a reasonable basis for hope that the first playoff berth since the team’s championship year of 1985—and first of the post-1993 realignment era—will be forthcoming. What follows is the Notebook Nine, our nine talking points on the Royals as the new season begins…

Philadelphia Phillies Preview

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The rebuilding has begun in Philadelphia, as Charlie Manuel was fired midway through last season and former Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg is the new manager for the Phillies. The team that won five straight NL East titles, two National League pennants and one World Series title from 2007-11 is on hard times. The Notebook Nine focuses in on nine key points regarding the Philadelphia Phillies as a new season and new era begins…

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