The Business Of Baseball 2012  —  Click for full photo gallery: Baseball's Most Valuable Teams  —  The National Pastime is flourishing thanks to cable companies' desire for live baseball programming.  —  The average Major League Baseball team rose 16% in value during the past year, to an all-time high of $605 million.

Hanson superb before Braves awaken late  —  Starter tosses four strong innings; Parraz, Constanza clutch  —  VIERA, Fla. — The Nationals and Braves found themselves in a pitchers' duel on Wednesday afternoon before the Braves tied it in the ninth and eventually won it in the 10th, 3-2, at Space Coast Stadium.

Hughes completes five against Rays  —  PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Right-hander Phil Hughes let up two runs over five innings in Wednesday afternoon's 5-2 Yankees victory over the Rays, as his bid to be New York's fifth starter continued.  —  With the game tied at 2 entering the top of the ninth inning …

NY Mets' Johan Santana is turning heads in camp as ace looks to Opening Day  —  Impresses Terry Collins and Cardinals by going six innings  —  Johan Santana wows skipper with six-inning outing on Wednesday and feels he'll start season for Mets April 5.  —  JUPITER, Fla. …

All signs pointing to roster spot for Conrad  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It is becoming increasingly difficult to envision the Brewers' Opening Day roster without Brooks Conrad, the utility man fighting for a job as a non-roster invitee.  —  Brewers manager Ron Roenicke made clear no decisions are cemented …

Victorino: ‘I will lead the league in triples’  —  With Opening Day just around the corner, media and fans across the country have been busy making their predictions for the 2012 baseball season.  In the latest MLB Fan Cave video (watch it below), some of baseball's biggest stars have made their own prognostications.

Seeking fifth-starter job, Oliver's rhythm off  —  Lefty prospect's control issues continue as he walks five  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — Andy Oliver is too young to be outrunning a reputation.  —  He's also trying to show he's not too young yet to hold down a rotation spot on a team that's expected to win.

Seattle's Hernandez Hit Hard in Final Spring Start  —  PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Felix Hernandez allowed seven earned runs over five innings in his final spring training start and the Seattle Mariners were roughed up by the Chicago White Sox 13-8 Wednesday.  —  King Felix gave up 10 hits in five innings and eight runs overall.

New-look Red Sox hope to put collapse behind  —  The Red Sox begin their second century at Fenway Park with a lot of changes.  Considering the way the first century ended, that's good.  —  Since missing the playoffs with the worst September collapse in baseball history …

Britton receives platelet rich plasma therapy  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — Zach Britton received two rounds of platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy on Wednesday, a new and increasingly popular procedure that he hopes will help heal the inflammation in his left shoulder that has plagued him since August.

Inbox: Does Washington get enough respect?  —  Reporter T.R. Sullivan answers Rangers fans' questions  —  Everybody says that Ron Washington's main asset is that he gets players to play hard, and during the playoffs last year they kept making a big deal about how excited he gets.

Burnett slated for simulated game Saturday  —  Righty hurls 52-pitch bullpen session, says eye, strength are good  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — A.J. Burnett's accelerating recovery from a facial fracture hit a different gear on Wednesday, when the right-hander made 52 pitches in his third comeback bullpen session …

New setback for Carpenter  —  JUPITER, Fla.  • Cardinals co-ace Chris Carpenter returned to St. Louis on Tuesday to be further examined by nerve specialists after experiencing renewed symptoms associated with a bulging cervical disc.  —  Carpenter, who threw live batting practice Sunday …

Could Cubs' glut of starting pitchers lead to trade?  —  MESA, Ariz. - The eye-opening emergence of Jeff Samardzija as a starting pitcher for the Cubs could turn a rotation candidate into a very expensive Class AAA pitcher by Opening Day - or a valuable trade commodity.