Aggressive approach part of Royals’ game

If not for the Herculean 2014 postseason performance of the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner, the Royals, beyond reasonable doubt, would be plotting a rare World Series three-peat this spring in their Surprise, Ariz., camp. What the 2015 champions have done in defying all evaluations, expectations and projections is even more impressive when you dig into how they’ve done it.

Mets have luxury of 5 Opening Night starters

The thing about lining up the New York Mets’ starting rotation for 2016 is that every option could be the correct one. Manager Terry Collins has given nothing away on this score. He has said that all five starters are in the running to be the Opening Night pitcher when the Mets face the Royals in a World Series rematch on April 3.

For Zobrist, Cubs had X-factor

Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist had to battle emotions last December. He was born and went to high school in Eureka, Ill., a small town about 120 miles southwest of Chicago and about 180 miles northeast of St. Louis, in the part of Central Illinois where that Cubs-Cardinals rivalry creates heated debates.