Albert Pujols

With spring training knocking on the door and snow falling outside my window I can't help but dream of baseball. To get ready for the 2011 season I am going to break down each team in each division and give you my predictions for the winner, MVP, and breakout player from each division starting with the National League Central.

Cincinnati Reds

Albert Pujols set a deadline to talk extension with the Cardinals, and they offered him less money than he wanted (reportedly in the $21 million per year range).

That's a lot of money, but being that he is the best player in the history of baseball he wanted more. I'm backing him especially after seeing the contracts that Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford got this offseason.

He deserves to be the highest paid player.

As teams prepare to begin the exhibition season, the fans continue to prepare for what the upcoming season may bring from their favorite teams and players.

With plenty of unexpected movement this past offseason, we are guaranteed to experience some more major surprises, as the season is just over one month away from the first pitch.

After all, how many people predicted that the San Francisco Giants would defeat the Texas Rangers in the 2010 Fall Classic? If you did, can you please tell me who you like in 2011?

Chicago is spinning with excitement for next off-season, and they haven't even been eliminated yet. Albert Pujols will become a free agent after the conclusion of this season, and some clubs have the rival right in their cross hairs. The Cardinals were unable to strike a deal with their current face of the organization and will now have to compete for his work. Pujols was reportedly seeking a 10-year, 300-million dollar contract and the Cardinals were unwilling to match it. Should the Cubs do what the Cardinals didn't?

St. Louis muscleman Albert Pujols has done a pretty good job of imprinting himself on Major League Baseball's collective consciousness these past several months as followers of the grand old game have been compelled to consider a radical change of venue for the stand-out Cardinal first baseman.  

Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein made a remark late last week that likely drew less attention than it deserved, especially as the world gears up for Albert Pujols to hit free agency after the 2011 season. 

In discussing the tactics that helped Boston sign free-agent Carl Crawford in December—despite rumors that Crawford would go to the Angels—Epstein mentioned that Boston scouted Crawford exhaustively throughout "the last three, four months of the season at the ballpark, away from the ballpark."

Shhh...do you hear that?

If you're a baseball fan, a sports enthusiast, or if you simply happen to hail from the Greater St. Louis area, I'm sure you are hearing the same thing I am.

Silence.

That's right, for the first time in recent memory, the day's sporting headlines have not been dominated by Albert Pujols chatter and, I must say, the silence is deafening.

As spring training gets underway, wide-eyed rookies share time with wily veterans, battling for a spot on the big club. 

If the young men do earn a place on the team, they have to fight for a starting position and even then, only the best get nationwide recognition. In the end, only two win the Rookie of the Year award.

In gearing up for another season, let’s look back at the 15 greatest rookie campaigns in the history of the award.

Albert Pujols to the Boston Red Sox?

You remember being a kid? 

Dreams and wishes came to you without the meddlesome burden of reality or practicality.  You could dream of being a cowboy or pirate or pretty much anything else you had seen on television that looked cool and while you were at it you could wish for the stars.

For some kids the mother of all wishes was simple yet grand, getting a brand new Pony.

Courtesy of Yankees 'n More