MLB Opening Day: Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg take mound for season's start  —  The full-fledged opening of the baseball season evokes a similar excitement to the start of a long-distance race, where the competitors know they're in for an endurance test but still can't wait to get going.

Pitcher Tyler Cravy lashes out after being cut by Brewers  —  The Milwaukee Brewers made their final two pitching cuts of spring training Saturday and to say the least, neither player took it well.  —  Relievers Tyler Cravy and Rob Scahill were told they were being sent to Class AAA Colorado Springs …

Offseason In Review: Colorado Rockies  —  This is the latest entry in MLBTR's Offseason In Review series.  The full index of Offseason In Review posts can be found here.  —  The Rockies obviously see an opportunity to contend in 2017, and made some hefty commitments over the winter to bolster that possibility.

Paul DePodesta: The Brain Behind the Browns Rebuild  —  Cleveland's crafty chief strategy officer plays coy when pressed on how he plans to help the franchise return to relevancy.  But here are a few clues into the Browns' draft strategy.  Plus items on Adrian Peterson visiting the Pats …

Bumming out the DBacks  —  Madison Bumgarner is perfect through four innings as the Giants lead the Diamondbacks 1-0.  Bumgarner threw just 40 pitches, 30 for strikes.  Five of the 12 outs came via the strikeout.  Bumgarner also drew a walk in his first plate appearance, and just homered leading off the fourth.

Rays remain confident in Austin Pruitt despite rough debut  —  ST. PETERSBURG — It's not often a relief pitcher faces three batters, makes his pitches and leaves with the bases loaded.  But that was what happened to Rays RHP Austin Pruitt, who made his major-league debut Sunday in the ninth inning …

Jets expect Muhammad Wilkerson to be 'Mo better in '17 — or else  —  The New York Jets expect to see the 2015 version of Muhammad Wilkerson this season, not the slow-Mo who labored through a pedestrian 2016.  Reputations are riding on it, mainly those of Wilkerson and general manager Mike Maccagnan …

Games of the Day  —  The Pirates visit Fenway Park as Gerrit Cole takes on the Red Sox and reigning Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello.  Cole is coming off a down year in which injuries limited his playing time and led to his walk and home run rates going up.

THE CAMDEN EFFECT: At 25, ballpark's legacy is large in MLB  —  A quarter-century later, Larry Lucchino can be self-deprecating about a vision that ushered in a new era of ballpark construction.  —  “I tell everyone I've had one good, original idea in my 38 years in baseball,” said Lucchino …

Yadier Molina's $60 million contract is money well spent for the Cardinals  —  It's a sign of the times that the average fan will react to Yadier Molina's three-year, $60 million extension with disdain, thinking that the Cardinals paid too much.  —  Molina is indeed likely to decline during the contract …

Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie: Lions CB D.J. Hayden needed ‘fresh start’  —  PHOENIX — Part of Reggie McKenzie wanted D.J. Hayden back with the Oakland Raiders, and if the money had been different it might have happened.  —  But McKenzie also knew that, for Hayden to reach his potential as a cornerback …

The next chapter: Royals 2017 season preview  —  We're looking at the end of an era.  Several players of the core group responsible for the Royals' rise from despair to euphoria are set for free agency after the 2017 season.  Some are already no longer with the club.

The No. 1 concern of every MLB general manager  —  In my 15 years as a general manager, I was always asked going into a season what my No. 1 concern was.  To answer, I almost always went to talking about my concerns about our players' health or the state of the team's starting rotation.

Rangers send a clear message to Keone Kela with minor-league demotion  —  The Rangers' surprising demotion of Keone Kela on Friday stemmed from the way the reliever conducted himself during a recent “B” game, according to major-league sources.  —  Several of the Rangers' senior players took exception …

Melvin Upton Jr. Won't Make Blue Jays  —  8:07pm: The Giants are content with their current outfielders, meaning they're not inclined to go after Upton, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  However, Schulman doesn't rule out a trade, noting it could come down to the caliber …