Dale Berra

Baseball's two most prominent hostages, Bert Blyleven and John Candelaria, were freed from last place last week in a couple of strange and interrelated deals. The Angels, who coveted Blyleven, dealt for the Pirates'...

The Pirates, once baseball's most feared hitters, have shifted their strength to pitching. Or as third baseman Bill Madlock says, "The Lumber Company is now the Toothpick Factory."

•Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, defending in a Senate debate his state's position as a major brewer of beer, after an opponent raised the possibility of a punitive tax on that beverage: "With respect to my home...

Sounds of spring: