Baseball

Well, finally the New York Mets get some good news.

Good news is a rarity for the Mets, so when it happens and it’s good news about one of their star players, it must be recognized.

The Mets found out yesterday that shortstop Jose Reyes has been cleared to play. His thyroid levels are back to normal.

Reyes has been back home in New York resting and avoiding exercise (sounds like me) until his thyroid levels were back to normal. It’s still uncertain whether or not Reyes will be ready for Opening Day.

The Yankees are expected to announce this morning that Curtis Granderson will indeed become their starting center fielder and will not play much left field, if at all, according to Joel Sherman of the NY Post.

Granderson roamed center field in all his years with the Detroit Tigers, but there was speculation that the Yankees would move him to left field after general manager Brian Cashman made the claim that Brett Gardner might be the best defensive center fielder in all of baseball.

These starting pitchers could have a hard time matching their 2009 production.

Joe Blanton, Philadelphia Phillies
Blanton’s numbers are misleading. He had a solid ERA of 4.05, but gave up 30 HRs. If he’s giving up that many long balls, his peripherals will likely rise. Also, his strikeout total of 163 isn’t on par with he he’s done for the rest of his career.

Outside of my Wild Prediction (click here to view), we haven’t talked much about Yovani Gallardo this preseason.  He is one of my favorite pitchers entering 2010 and I didn’t really think it was necessary to discuss him.  While many think highly of him, it turns out a little conversation is needed.

Last season there were a lot of questions surrounding him, as injuries had cost him all but 24 innings in 2008, but he responded with flying colors:

Perhaps the most amusing topic of discussion this spring as position players fight for roster spots is a stipulation of Ronnie Belliard's agreement with the Dodgers and manager Joe Torre: Lose weight, gain a roster spot.

That's right. The Dodgers want Belliard—just not as much of him.

As the 2009 season came to a close, no one was more prominent of an influence in the Dodgers' playoff run than Ronnie Belliard.

As incomprehensible as it may seem, the Red Sox apparently have Kevin Youkilis on the block, according to one major league source.

This source vehemently contends that the Red Sox would “love to dump Youk” and suggests such a move could be part of a deal sending Adrian Gonzalez to Boston.

The 2010 Seattle Mariners feature a new lineup, but much about the team remains the same. Here is the projected lineup:

1. RF Ichiro Suzuki
2. 2B Chone Figgins
3. LF Milton Bradley
4. 3B Jose Lopez
5. DH Ken Griffey Jr.
6. 1B Casey Kotchman
7. CF Franklin Gutierrez
8. C Rob Johnson
9. SS Jack Wilson

Let’s take a look at who will carry the Mariners to success, drag them to despair, or keep them in the same place.

This is a series of posts leading up to the season preview which will be posted sometime next week.

This post will look at the No. 1 and 2 starters for each team in the NL West (other than the Giants, since these posts will concentrate more on what the Giants will be facing in 2010 in various categories).

One thing to note about these posts is that I'm not looking specifically at the No. 1 and 2 pitchers in the rotation according to MLB.com depth charts.

Closers are the most overrated players in fantasy baseball. The good ones deliver strong contributions to one category, but generally pitch less than five innings per week.

During drafts, I usually ignore the position until the late rounds. Despite this strategy, my teams are usually very strong in the saves category. In fact, my teams have finished first, first, and second in saves over the last three seasons in my 10-team roto keeper league.

How is this possible, you ask? It’s simple really. Let me run some numbers by you…

It only seems like Buster Posey has become the center of the San Francisco Giants' universe.

No. No. Wait...

Given that Posey's the top prospect in the organization and that he's hitting the devil out of the ball in spring training, the Giants' universe is spinning around the guy.