In the first of what figures to be a series of designated hitter dates, manager Mike Scioscia slotted his $240 million man there on Saturday. It was at once a wise move, to manage Albert Pujols' legs this early in the season -- and a disconcerting one, given that those legs must carry the 33-year-old slugger through nine more years on his monster Angels deal. ...more

This wasn't strictly a money-and-comfort deal for David Wright with the New York Mets. He needed to see a plan, a vision, for a winning team. ...more

Buster Posey of the Giants was my pick for NL MVP this year, and I think it's pretty evident that's the only pick. Nobody impacts a game the way a catcher does. And nobody impacted the 2012 NL West champion Giants the way Posey did. ... ...more

Joe Torre, the executive vice-president of on-field operations, said during a conference call Thursday that he hopes to have a ruling on the Mets' appeal of R.A. Dickey's potential no-hitter by Friday. ... ...more