Szczur continues strong spring in split-squad nightcap

Right from the start, Shelby Miller and Kyle Schwarber gave the sellout crowd at Salt River Fields a regular-season type matchup with a nine-pitch battle that Miller won as the D-backs beat the Cubs, 3-1, on Thursday night. Schwarber, who started the game in left, popped out to shortstop on the ninth pitch.

Miguel Montero prepares for another season as Cubs backup

Miguel Montero produced one of the biggest hits of the Chicago Cubs’ championship run in the game that decided it all, and now he’s preparing again for life as a backup catcher. Montero figures to start behind the plate once or twice a week when second-year big leaguer Willson Contreras needs a break – not the veteran’s ideal role or what he envisioned when he joined the Cubs in a trade from Arizona ahead of the 2015 season.

Online Marketing News: Generational Video, Facebook Ups the Volume and Hiring an SEO

Infographic: How Gens X, Y and Z Consume Video Content A new infographic shows how content consumers across generations interact with video content – unsurprisingly, Gen Z consumes video at a higher frequency than their Gen Y and Gen X counterparts, but the platform and preferred format data may surprise you. AdWeek Facebook Videos Will Now Play With the Sound on by Default In contrast with a decision made last year to keep the sound from auto-playing on videos in the News Feed, Facebook has opted to turn the automatic sound back on for videos after rumored pressure from advertisers.

Online Marketing News: Generational Video, Facebook Ups the Volume and Hiring an SEO

Infographic: How Gens X, Y and Z Consume Video Content A new infographic shows how content consumers across generations interact with video content – unsurprisingly, Gen Z consumes video at a higher frequency than their Gen Y and Gen X counterparts, but the platform and preferred format data may surprise you. AdWeek Facebook Videos Will Now Play With the Sound on by Default In contrast with a decision made last year to keep the sound from auto-playing on videos in the News Feed, Facebook has opted to turn the automatic sound back on for videos after rumored pressure from advertisers.

The Cubs will start the season with a healthy Kyle

USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale and Jorge L. Ortiz break down the important story lines to play out under the skies in Arizona and Florida. Spring training story lines: From the Cubs to the World Baseball Classic USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale and Jorge L. Ortiz break down the important story lines to play out under the skies in Arizona and Florida.

Retooled Cardinals have sights set on postseason return

It was one thing for many people to predict St. Louis would finish behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central Division before last season. It’s another matter entirely for the Cardinals heading into this spring training, knowing they are indeed the team doing the chasing of the defending World Series champions.

How will the 25-man roster shape up?

The defending World Series champion Cubs don’t have any major roster decisions to make this spring, other than to figure out who will lead off and which relievers compose the bullpen. is a plus for manager Joe Maddon, who likes to move players around.

Royals will report to spring training with new key additions

The Royals’ pitchers and catchers report to spring training in nearly one week, and the team is headed to Surprise, AZ with some new key additions. When the offseason began, Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore explained how the team would attempt to get better in 2017 while openly admitting the organization was in no way going to overspend.

Did Jet Lag Cost Dodgers a World Series?

… changes. Per the report, athletes are equally affected as everyday travelers. The study is the first of its kind in sports, as Dr. Ravi Allada and his colleagues chose to focus their research on baseball, arguably the most grueling of all the major …

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What’s next when you have helped snap the two longest championship droughts in sports history and, at 43, have all but clinched clinched a place in baseball’s Hall of Fame? If you are Theo Epstein of the World Series champion Chicago Cubs, the answer is at some point you could own a baseball franchise and not just run one.

Harper, Nationals avoid arbitration with $13.6M deal for ’17

In this May 6, 2015, file photo, Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper watches the ball after hitting a second home run against the Miami Marlins during the third inning of their baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington. Harper, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, New York Mets pitchers Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom, and Baltimore third baseman Manny Machado were among 146 players eligible to exchange salary arbitration figures with their teams, though most were expected to reach agreements.

Cubs won it all just in time for many long-time fans

In this Nov. 4, 2016 photo provided by the Strobel Family, Cubs fan Helen Weithman, celebrates the Chicago Cubs World Series victory at her home in Glen Ellyn, Ill. A lifelong Cubs fan Weithman, 98, who according to family was slipping away until the Cubs made it to The World Series, “She really came alive when it started and they had the Cubs games on,” said the daughter, Kathleen Strobel.