Baseball

Barring an injury that keeps Albert Pujols out of the line-up for any significant amount of time, the St. Louis Cardinals are the prohibited favorites to win the NL Central again this year.

Entering the 2010 season, the Cardinals top the division in several important factors. They have the best player (Pujols), the best catcher (Yadier Molina), the best manager (Tony LaRussa), the best starting rotation, and the best fans.

The Atlanta Braves have a great tradition of drafting and developing players. No other team has had the international pressence or pre-draft scouting success that the Braves have had since the late 1980's

Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine, Andruw Jones, Javy Lopez, David Justice, Steve Avery, and Rafael Furcal are some names that the Braves have developed from the past.

Harry Leroy Halladay III (or simply Roy) will always have a special place in the hearts of Toronto Blue Jays fans. Despite being born and raised in Denver and bearing a nickname derived from a gunfighter of the western United States (Doc Holliday), Roy Halladay has become synonymous with baseball in Canada's largest city.

The long running debate among baseball fans is just who has the best, most committed, smartest, (add superlative here) fan base. The fans of all 30 teams vary in commitment, knowledge, participation and attendance, but only one fan base can sit atop the list. Behind that fan base are 29 other groups who all jockey to separate themselves from the pack.

So let the debate, the hate and the trash talking commence with the power ranking of all 30 MLB fan bases.

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You hear about it every year: "Some good fantasy baseball sleepers for this year are..."

Sometimes they are wrong, while other times they are right. This year is no exception.

On draft day, fantasy baseball owners will grab who they believe to be the next great sleepers with the same thought in mind: There is nothing more exciting then grabbing an elite player in the later rounds.

So here are five players that could be the next diamond in the rough (All average draft positions according to ESPN.).

2009 was a tale of two seasons for Dave Bush. Prior to June 4, he was a solid middle-of-the-rotation pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. After June 4, he spent the remainder of the season injured and quite ineffective on the mound.

On that fateful early June day, Bush took a line drive off his pitching arm from Marlins' star Hanley Ramirez.

Although he made his next three starts, it was quite clear that there was something not right with his arm. An MRI on his arm revealed a micro-tear in his right triceps, and Bush spent the next two months on the disabled list.

Javier Vazquez is the luckiest man in baseball right now, and he probably doesn't even know it.

Imagine a World Series where Bad A.J. shows up instead of Good A.J. in Game Two, or Johnny Damon is thrown out trying to take that extra base in Game Five, or Hideki Matsui rides the pine with a bum knee in Game Six.

Had the Baseball Gods seen things differently, the Yankees may have entered a new decade riding the same ghost train that departed the Bronx in October 2004.

The success of any team in Major League Baseball revolves around one very important group of people:

Starting pitchers.

For as long as I have been a Rangers’ fan their pitching has been a topic of much discussion, and limited group success. Last year proved to be a diamond in the rough as numerous young pitchers had good outings for the big club.

The further success of this team is largely contingent on these same young arms. There have also been some additions that should aid the team this season.

Almost all of us who follow the game of baseball have heard the claim that “pitching and defense win championships.”

But is there any truth to that claim in this day and age?

While teams built primarily on pitching and defense may have been more suited to win World Series Championships in past eras, the current age of baseball is built on offense.

I also contemplated the kids game "Red Rover, Red Rover, send the A's offense on over!" The last few years I'd say the offense has bounced harmlessly off of the locked-together arms of the opposing side.