1.   Defending division champion Texas and Anaheim both sought pitching help during the offseason but came up empty-handed.

2.   He also sent the defending division champion Athletics to their fifth consecutive defeat.

3.   Injuries have devastated the defending division champions.

4.   It has gotten so bad that the defending division champions have roped off the field during batting practice to keep a critical media at bay.

5.   Morgan Ensberg is all hit and Adam Everett is all glove, and starting both of them is a big risk for the defending division champs.

6.   Players are talking openly about challenging Dallas, the defending division champions.

7.   Soon, Accorsi and Fassel, the new leaders of the defending division champion Giants, were talking about how, together, they made a good team.

8.   The Giants were inconsistent throughout the first half, alternately playing like the defending division champion and also-rans.

9.   The Rangers could feel the hot breath of the defending division champs on the backs of their necks all the way in Canada.

10.   And they begin the season Sunday against the defending division champions, the New York Jets.