AL East

Since the Yankees failed in their quest to get Cliff Lee, the Yanks need to make a trade and make one now! They cannot go into the 2011 season with the same thin pitching staff that got them unceremoniously dismissed from the postseason. The Yankees need a solid No. 2 pitcher behind C.C. Sabathia and the Mets have him.

Who should the Yankees go and trade for?

The answer is Johan Santana.

Via Jerry Crasnick of ESPN:

LHP Jeff Francis has gotten calls from several clubs. Mets, Nationals, Pirates, Rangers and Yankees have varying degrees of interest.

The Tampa Bay Rays have gone through baseball's version of a liquidation sale in the 2010 offseason. It is almost as if any player with any value has left the team or has been rumored to be traded with few exceptions.

Starting with the expected departure of Carl Crawford to the Boston Red Sox and the subsequent departures of players including Carlos Pena and Jason Bartlett the team will look very different in 2011.

When a fan asked David Price on twitter about how the team will be different in 2011, he responded jokingly by saying, "the field will still look the same."

For the past two seasons, Derek Jeter has been leading off for the New York Yankees after spending many years in the two-hole.

At the beginning of 2009, Joe Girardi explained that Jeter was a "more pure" lead-off man than Johnny Damon. Speculation has it that it was also because Jeter frequently hits into double-plays.

Mickey Mantle matured on Aug. 14, 1960. The New York Yankees were embroiled in a tense pennant race with the defending American League champion Chicago White Sox and the upstart young Baltimore Orioles.

The Washington Senators were in Yankee Stadium for a doubleheader. The Yankees were in first place, but when the games had been completed, they were a third-place team.

It was a tremendous 2010 campaign for Clay Buchholz, who emerged as a great fantasy option despite pitching in the ultra-competitive AL East.  Now, owners have to decide if they think he can replicate these impressive numbers, or if a regression is in his future:

17 Wins
173.2 Innings
2.33 ERA
1.20 WHIP
120 Strikeouts (6.22 K/9)
67 Walks (3.47 BB/9)
.265 BABIP

With the Yankees having missed out on ace pitchers Cliff Lee and Zack Greinke, they are now faced with more bad news.

Veteran lefty Andy Pettitte is leaning towards retirement, which will make the Yankee rotation thinner than it already is.

There are not many options left in free agency, so the Yankees might be forced to make the 38-year old Pettitte a big one-year contract.

Losing Pettitte would be devastating for the Yankees, who currently have Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre at the back of the rotation.

In a somewhat surprise turn of events, the Blue Jays, who were believed to be the strongest bidders for Zack Greinke, lost out on his services earlier in the week as the Milwaukee Brewers wound up being the best suitors.

2011 predictions are on every sports fan’s mind as the holidays near. Here are predictions for 2011 in the sports world:

MLB:

Adrian Gonzalez wins the American League MVP award after taking advantage of friendly confines of Friendly Fenway Park.

The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the World Series behind a masterful four-hit shutout by…Pedro Martinez.

The New York Yankees relied on the right arm of Luis Vizcaino as their bridge to Mariano Rivera in 2007.

The Yankees acquired him in the deal that also brought along Randy Johnson for a short amount of time. Then they sent Vizcaino on his way and chose not to re-sign him when his contract expired.

Vizcaino's road in the Major Leagues was crazy afterwards. He signed with the Colorado Rockies only to be traded early on to the Chicago Cubs, who would release him in the same season.