W.B.C. Championship Will Be a Study in Contrasts  —  LOS ANGELES — This World Baseball Classic has taken the languid pastime of springtime baseball and turned it into something else, as if the game were being viewed through a fun house mirror.  —  It has had outrageous defense …

Longtime GM and Manager Dallas Green Dies  —  Dallas Green, the first Phillies manager to win a World Series and later the general manager who brought Ryne Sandberg to the Cubs, died Wednesday.  He was 82.  —  A cause of death was not announced, but Green had been receiving dialysis treatment …

MRI shows no structural damage in the elbow of the Reds' Raisel Iglesias  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. - An MRI showed a bone bruise in Raisel Iglesias' right elbow, but no structural damage, Reds manager Bryan Price.  Iglesias is scheduled to begin a throwing program on Sunday, timing that could put his readiness for Opening Day in jeopardy.

Team Offense, Milwaukee Brewers  —  The 2017 series on team offense continues with the Milwaukee Brewers.  The Brewers finished tied for 11th in the National League and tied for twenty fifth in the majors in 2016 with 4.14 runs scored per game.  —  I am using RotoChamp as a source of default lineups.

Theo Epstein  —  President, Baseball Operations, Chicago Cubs Theo Epstein walks across Wrigley Field after a news conference.  —  In the fall of 2016, as partisan distrust and division reached abysmal depths, fascination with the Chicago Cubs became that all-too-rare phenomenon that united America.

Brewers Release Joba Chamberlain, Ryan Webb  —  The Brewers have released veteran righties Joba Chamberlain and Ryan Webb, per a club announcement.  Both had been signed to minor-league deals over the offseason.  —  Though he allowed only three runs in his eight spring frames …

Martinez to start Opening Night  —  JUPITER, Fla.  • A pitching pairing worthy of Opening Day was going to be the feature of Wednesday's Cardinals exhibition with the Washington Nationals.  But, a couple of hours before game time, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny was more specific about Carlos Martinez …

Versatility of Jurickson Profar has Rangers leaning toward short bench  —  TEMPE, Ariz. - The extra versatility of Jurickson Profar and Ryan Rua gives Rangers manager Jeff Banister the very real option of beginning the season with a shorter-than-usual three-man bench and extra bullpen reinforcements.

Yankees getting trade offers to fill sudden shortstop hole … CLEARWATER, Fla. — Taking the approach that the answer is always no until you ask the question, the Reds and Tigers contacted the Yankees to see if they had an interest in acquiring a shortstop after Didi Gregorius went down with a shoulder injury.

Mets will face some tough decisions on Opening Day roster  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Normalcy is returning here soon, to be followed closely by anticipation.  —  After Tuesday's off day, just nine spring training games remain on the schedule, including a split-squad game.  Opening Day looms less than two weeks away.