Andrew Cashner

Kerry Wood's retirement and Carlos Marmol's disabled-list stint leaves James Russell as the longest continuous member of the Cubs bullpen, with a little longer than two years on the job. That will change when Marmol returns from the DL, but no active...

— Ernesto Frieri's eyes lighted up. Would he like to be a closer? "For sure," Frieri said. "That's every reliever's dream." The Angels might give Frieri that chance. If the Angels had not scored insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning...

Stepping back into the batter's box after an 8-minute rain delay to face Stephen Strasburg with a 3-2 count, two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the first inning, San Diego's John Baker guessed what was coming. Fastball. Baker smacked the...

SAN DIEGO Dontrelle Willis can still claim a share of the title. It shouldn't be long before Ricky Nolasco takes full ownership of it. Nolasco allowed two runs over seven innings Sunday in the Marlins' 6-3 win at Petco Park, earning his 68th career...

I don’t know why Carlos Marmol is still a Cub. I don’t know if Marmol knows why he’s still a Cub. Only Theo Epstein knows, and he should know better. Marmol is the European sports car of closers --- finely tuned and destined to cost a...

Then in his second start, Aaron Harang came out of the phone booth and laughed at the mere mortals. It was going to be that kind of night. This was a much different Harang from the right-hander who couldn’t get out of the fifth inning in his...

Aaron Harang lasted only 41/3 innings in his Dodgers debut last week. "I didn't look at it as a typical game for me," Harang said. So, was what Harang did Friday night in the Dodgers' bizarre 9-8 walk-off victory over the San Diego Padres more typical?...

Matt Kemp has been unstoppable. The Dodgers have been too. Leading the major leagues in all three of the triple crown categories through Sunday, Kemp became the first player ever to win consecutive National League player-of-the-week awards in the first...

MESA, Ariz. — Just because general manager Jed Hoyer is satisfied with the "attitude and energy" in Cubs spring camp doesn't mean he's done tinkering with the rebuilding project. He admits he and President Theo Epstein are on the prowl for end-of-...

TV SPORTS Men's College Basketball--Big 10 Conference Tournament quarterfinals, 11 a.m., 1 p.m. (ESPN), 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. (Big 10 Network); Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals, 11 a.m., 1, 6 and 8 p.m. (ESPN2); Southeastern Conference...

Forget the Mets' financing troubles attached to the Fred Wilpon/Bernie Madoff connection. Look past the Red Sox's franchise-reshaping, where these days only the uniforms seem unchanged, and the slow-moving sale of the Dodgers. The chaos at the Padres'...

MESA, Ariz. — Jeff Samardzija went into spring as an afterthought to some. The Cubs were planning to give him a shot at the rotation, but with newcomers Chris Volstad and Travis Wood in the mix, along with incumbent starter Randy Wells, most...