AL Central

Millions of dollars have been dished out in new contracts this offseason, but Manny Ramirez still hasn't seen a single cent. The 38-year-old slugger remains a free agent and his list of suitors is dwindling.

This is not the same Manny that once terrorized pitchers. After all, he only hit nine home runs last season after playing in only 90 games. His power numbers and average are down, and he's even more of a defensive liability now than he was just a few years ago.

The 2010 Minnesota Twins, while having a great season with a 94-68 record, won their 6th American League Central Title since 2002.

The post-season struggles of the Twins have been well documented. The Twins will need to have another stellar season to stave off the reloaded Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers.

The Twins should have the following list of New Year's Resolutions in order to get back to the playoffs, and wreak some havoc should they make it there.

It's been a relatively uneventful offseason for the Twins, albeit only on the major league side. The Twins have landed a slew of relievers for their minor league system, as well as a few promising young prospects. Most notable is 17-year-old shortstop Javier Pimentel of the Dominican Republic. 

Besides the signing of Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, the Twins' major league squad remains fairly depleted. Key losses of Carl Pavano, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, Brian Fuentes, Jon Rauch and J.J. Hardy seem to overweigh the small but earnest gains.

Carl Pavano has had his ups and downs his entire career as we all know.

He had his breakout season in 2003, collecting 12 wins with an acceptable ERA of 4.30. The very next year in 2004, he won 18 games with an ERA of 3.00.

His All-Star season earned him a 4-year, $40 million deal with the New York Yankees.

But we all know how that turned out, as he started only 26 games during the four years.

The Chicago White Sox have completed most of their holiday shopping for the 2011 season. However, there may be one item Kenny Williams desires before he feels his stocking is full.

Has the bullpen situation been fully addressed?

I think the White Sox are at least a piece or two short in the relief corps. Right now, I see the following guys in the bullpen on opening day:

Tony Pena, RHP-our spot starter/long relief man.

Jesse Crain, RHP-7th/8th inning setup man.

With most of the big name free agents signed, sealed and delivered to their respective teams, it's time to look at what is still out there for the Minnesota Twins. The Twins still have plenty of questions at the major league level with the departure of Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, J.J. Hardy, and Orlando Hudson. Will GM Bill Smith promote from within as is widely speculated to patch the bull pen together or will be go out and be aggressive as he were last January landing Hudson and Jim Thome? Let's take a look at the ten players the Twins would still love to land this offseason.

The mid 2000’s was not the most memorable period to be an Atlanta Braves fan.  Coming off of three straight first-round exits in the playoffs, there was an unavoidable thought in the Braves community during the ‘04-05 offseason that Atlanta’s reign of supremacy was nearing an end. 

Earlier this week, Jesse Crain signed a three-year, $13 million contract with the Chicago White Sox.

As I mentioned in a previous article, the Twins are going to really need to bolster their bullpen in order to three-peat as Central Division champions.

But is losing Crain such a bad thing? Let's examine this question.

Dec. 22, 2010

Twins ‘Cold’ During ‘Hot’ Season

by Andy Vanfossan

With 2010 coming to an end, now is a good time to look at the positives and negatives for the last month and a half of the free agent season.

Positives:

With all of the hoopla surrounding the Boston Red Sox (Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Bobby Jenks), the Washington Nationals (Jayson Werth), the Philadelphia Phillies (Cliff Lee) and the Milwaukee Brewers (Zack Greinke), it seems that the Chicago White Sox have been dismissed as a contender for 2011.