Alex Rodriguez

We now know that cheating was a part of baseball for the last two decades. There are legitimate reasons to believe between 50 percent and 80 percent of players were using some form of performance enhancing drugs. For many, the improvements flew under the radar, preventing suspicion.

But in a few belligerent examples of perceived immunity, players exploded for other-worldly numbers. These are a few of the most glaring examples of such seasons.  

It's a question with an answer that's simple and complicated at the same time.

Is signing Albert Pujols for A-Rod type money worth the risk?

Is any athlete worth $30 million a year?

One hundred and fifty million five hundred thousand dollars. That's an obscene amount of money. With that kind of cash, you could open thirty of your own Dunkin' Donuts franchises, buy the high school I attended, acquire all of the Honus Wagner rookie cards that may be left on Earth, and a Fenway Frank.

Or, if you're like the Red Sox, you craft a multi-year commitment to two pitchers that went a combined 20-17 with an ERA above five last year.

There are few "sure things" in life. Some that come to mind are death and taxes, which are not exactly what most people like to think about. But, with the baseball season less than four weeks away, lets take a look at each team's "money player" for the 2011 season. "Sure thing" will be defined as anybody who has and will put up consistent numbers over a minimum of a three year period. We aren't looking for flashes in the pan as much as legitimate stars who have been and will be consistent throughout this season and their career. 

Previously The Fantasy Fix reviewed and gave projections for the 2011 Yankees rotation. Now its time to dive in and analyze the Pinstripes positional players.

Mixed League Rotisserie Auction Values in Parentheses

CATCHER: Russell Martin ($7)

Barry Zito, who has struggled in a San Francisco Giants' uniform, still has three years and $57 million left on his contract. There is a good chance that Zito will be boughtout by the Giants, who already have a deep array of starting pitchers

Since the offseason before the 1999 season, when Mike Piazza and Kevin Brown signed by far the two biggest contracts ever at that time, there have been many gigantic contracts, almost none of which worked as a whole.

The American League East has been the best division in baseball since its creation in 1969. This is mainly because of the division's perennial top-two teams, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. These two bitter rivals have had many classic battles in the past, such as the unforgettable 2004 ALCS. This year should be no different.

All major league teams are now full bore in camp and the countdown until March 31st can't get here quick enough. With teams going through their full workouts and games starting last weekend, who are the "old timers" that came into camp maybe a little more fit than last year? Bleacher report will look at these aging stars and see if they can regain or increase their numbers from last year.

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Major League Baseball is in the air. All 30 teams have flocked to a warm weather site with the same goal in mind: Win a ring.

Whether it's veterans of the league imparting as much knowledge as they can on the young guns, or legends from the past returning to the place that they loved, spring training is a beneficial and necessary time for baseball players.

The New York Yankees have had some fine third basemen, but no Yankees third baseman is in the Hall of Fame. Of course, that will change when, five years after he retires, the great Alex Rodriguez will be voted in.

When he joined the Yankees, Alex generously and magnanimously agreed to switch from his shortstop position to third base, since shortstop was and still is the exclusive property of Derek Jeter. A-Rod has played 992 games at third base.