2011 MLB Spring Training

View From the Rockpile – Musings From a Mile High Along the Journey to Rocktober

A Weekly Colorado Rockies Report – By Michael Paul

April 4, 2011

This past weekend, fans rejoiced as baseball made its long-anticipated return.  After a long and tumultuous offseason, America's national pastime is back full force with new and improved teams that should make 2011 a great year for the sport.

Only three games have been played, and although it's still very early, certain teams have made strong statements from the get go.  At the same time, other teams have shown that maybe they aren't as talented nor as deep as they seem on paper.  Either way, Opening Weekend was a lot of fun to watch.

Opening Day is upon us! And each year, teams are destined to begin their regular seasons with certain core players on the disabled list, down with some sort of ailment. But it seems like more than ever in 2011, big-name players have been hitting the disabled list early and often.

Opening day is finally here!

These 10 rookies have made it one step further to becoming an MLB mainstay by breaking camp with their big league squad, so look for them to capitalize on every opportunity they get.

Capturing Rookie of the Year honors with a spectacular 2011 season as their main goal and here are the 10 rookies to watch on Opening Day weekend.

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Aging and Injury Plagued Carlos Beltan Equals 2011 Fantasy Baseball Bust

The Mets are going to be awful this season and Carlos Beltran is going to be a big part of that.

The former Astros playoff hero has never lived up to the enormous contract the Mets threw at him in 2005.

Does a guy that hit .255 while hitting seven home runs and 27 RBI sound like a worthy pick-up to you?

After sitting out for half the season in 2010 with a knee injury, Beltran had an abysmal 66 games.

Before the start of the season, I wanted to see which pitchers statistically had the best fastballs, curveballs, sliders, cutters, changeups and splitters of the 2010 season.

Here are a look at the top curveballs of the 2010 season. A few notes:

The Pitch Value data was created by Fangraphs.com. I will be using the statistic, wCH, which denotes the runs above average for a particular pitch—in this case a curveball.  

BALTIMORE ORIOLES 

Last year: 66-96, 5th place in AL East 

Manager: Buck Showalter 

PROJECTED LINEUP: 

C- Matt Wieters (S)

1B- Derrek Lee (R)

2B- Brian Roberts (S) 

3B- Mark Reynolds (R)

SS- JJ Hardy (R)

LF- Luke Scott (L) 

CF- Adam Jones (R) 

RF- Nick Markakis (L)

DH- Vladimir Guerrero (R)

The 2011 fantasy baseball season begins in less than 24 hours and now is the last chance to solidify your lineup.

While finding that unheralded utility man who ends up being Jose Bautista is always a thrill—a smart fantasy player is more concerned with avoiding guys that will severely disappoint them.

It's going to be hard to win your ERA and WHIP battle with a former stud that has been reduced to nothing more than a has-been that gets lit up on a regular basis.

TEXAS RANGERS

Last Year: 90-72, 1st in AL West  

Manager: Ron Washington 

PROJECTED LINEUP 

C- Yorvit Torrealba (R) 

1B- Mitch Moreland (L)

2B- Ian Kinsler (R)

3B- Adrian Beltre (R) 

SS- Elvis Andrus (R)

LF- Josh Hamilton (L)

CF- Julio Borbon (L)

RF- Nelson Cruz (R)

DH- Michael Young (R)

Minor Cuts Mean Little To New York Yankees Pennant Hopes

The Yankees are starting to finalize their roster right now.

The catcher spot has been the most interesting. Along with outfielder Justin Maxwell and infielder Doug Bernier, they sent Jesus Montero down to triple A and sent Austin Romine to Double A.

But the more high-profile moves: cutting Ronnie Belliard and sending former Cubs phenom Mark Prior all the way down to single A.