In high school, Manny Machado seemed to want to be Alex Rodriguez. Now Machado is a 20-year-old star, and the best thing is, he's not A-Rod. ...more

The New York Yankees hoped to survive the first few weeks of the season with a makeshift lineup and then watch their stars get healthy. But there was always a flaw in the plan, as Derek Jeter's setback on Thursday reminds us. ...more

Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera turned 30 on Thursday. Where do his before-30 numbers stand compared to other stars? Not bad, as it turns out. Cabrera is ahead of Pete Rose's pace for hits and ahead of Derek Jeter's, too. ...more

After staying away from the Yankees all spring, Alex Rodriguez said he's confident he'll return, and that he's not concerned about an MLB investigation into the Biogenesis clinic. ...more

Mark Teixeira's injury means the Yankees will begin the season without at least eight of their 10 players who hit double-digit home runs in 2012. The Yanks have built their offense on home runs ('We're not the Bronx Bunters'), but where will the homers come from? ...more

CC Sabathia spent the second half of last season denying that his elbow was an issue, right up to the time the Yankees announced he would have surgery to clean it out. Sabathia admitted Tuesday that the elbow 'was always there,' and said he feels 'a relief' now. The Yankees, with so many other questions, hope that's true. ...more

Yankees spring training has begun without Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees are keeping him out of sight, at least for now, and can easily do so, thanks to A-Rod's hip surgery. They can't stop the A-Rod questions. ...more

Drug testing was supposed to catch cheaters, but it was also supposed to help us trust that we could believe what we were watching. Now, with more questions raised about Ryan Braun and others, we're heading back to the uncomfortable zone of steroid uncertainty. ...more

The two teams that could be most affected by MLB's drug investigation in South Florida are the Nationals and Rangers, and sources say both teams are very concerned that they could lose Gio Gonzalez and Nelson Cruz to 50-game suspensions at some point this season. What can they do to prepare? ...more

It never gets better anymore for Alex Rodriguez, and it's never going to get any better, despite his denial of Tuesday's Miami New Times report that linked him with HGH and testosterone cream. ...more