Baseball

The biggest news out of the New York Yankees spring training camp so far this spring has been the battle for the fifth spot in the club's rotation.

Among the five men battling for the spot, three stand out to me as potential starters for the Yankees come April. Those men would be Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Alfredo Aceves.

After the first few weeks only one has stood out as a potential fifth starter and that is Alfredo Aceves.

I had my first draft of the season a week ago and it seems no matter how well you prepare for a draft you can never quite envision how it will play out.

Even after reviewing many different ADP reports for my 10-team H2H league it still shocked me how the first round went. I ended up with the 10th overall pick and while I was initially not pleased I certainly made the most of it.

Immediate shock waves rippled through Philadelphia and Saint Louis on Sunday when Buster Olney of ESPN.com wrote that the Phillies have "kicked around" the notion of trading slugger Ryan Howard for regular MVP contender Albert Pujols.

"No way would (insert either team) do that!" cry emotionally attached fans in their respective home towns.  However, such a deal would make sense for both teams.

News broke on Sunday that the Phillies organization has discussed the idea of trying to use slugger Ryan Howard to pry Albert Pujols from the Cardinals.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro flatly denied the rumors, saying, "I don't know who you're talking to, but that's a lie."

Amaro may be denying it, but the idea makes a lot more sense than you would think.

The Red Sox top prospect, outfielder Ryan Westmoreland of Portsmouth, RI, has been diagnosed with a rare congenital condition (a cavernous malformation) that carries a risk of neurological damage and is potentially life-threatening.

He has taken a medical leave of absence from the club to obtain treatment and undergo surgery.

GM Theo Epstein made the announcement yesterday:

Most people have heard of him by now, Yankees prospect switch-pitcher Pat Venditte . Switch pitcher means he can throw with both his right and left hands, and so far in his Yankee career he’s done so quite well with both arms putting up a 2.34 FIP as a right hander and a 2.26 FIP as a lefty.

Well Venditte is scheduled to be a guest on Yankees Daily’s blogtalkradio show on March 16 and it got me thinking about Venditte.

According to George King of the NY Post , Cuban shortstop Adeinis Hechavarria is close to signing a contract near $10 million with the Blue Jays. The Yankees have made a strong push to sign him, but Hechavarria is said to be worried about being blocked by Derek Jeter .

Here is more from the NY Post:

Last year was pretty heartbreaking for Detroit Tigers fans, as they had to watch their team blow the seven-game lead they held at Labor Day. Detroit ended up tied with the Minnesota Twins but lost their one-game playoff in the 12th inning to miss out on the postseason. It was surprising that this team won as many games as they did when only two Tiger hitters had 275 at-bats and a batting average above .250. The pitching staff was a pleasant surprise though and should be strong once again in 2010.  Those hurlers give this team a real chance to compete for the division.

I realize that the title sounds a little arrogant, but it's true.  Allow me to explain to you how/why it's going to happen. 

The first reason is very simple: we have an easy starting schedule. Of the first 39 games we play, only six come against teams that had a winning record last year. We open the season with a three game series at Atlanta, and then host the Marlins for a three game series early in May. 

The Chicago White Sox tried to make enough moves last year to give them a final push towards the playoffs, but they ended up falling short. Hopefully, the acquisitions of SP Jake Peavy and OF Alex Rios will work in their favor in 2010.

The White Sox had trouble scoring in the second half of the season, but this team had a 4.14 ERA which was good for second in the American League. Chicago is one of the favorites to win the Central, but are still slight underdogs to the Minnesota Twins.

Pitching