Baseball

Cameron Drew. Robbie Wine. Tommy Nevers.

Don't remember them? That's fine. The Houston Astros thank you for not reminding them of three of the biggest draft misses in franchise history.

Not all of the Astros' picks have been flops. Houston has delivered its fair share of All-Star talent on draft day, including a future Hall of Famer, one of the most dominant pitchers of the last 40 years and two players who were among the premier standouts of the past decade.

So sit down and enjoy as we count down the ten best draft picks in Houston Astros history.

I love players who have confidence. Give me the guy who thinks he is the best over the guy who is just happy to have a job in the major leagues.

Take Ricky Henderson, for example. A lot of people didn’t like him because they felt he was arrogant. I just thought he was extremely confident in his abilities.

I mean, who doesn’t want a guy who refers to himself in the third person on their team?

Days after announcing his first big surprise about Russell Branyan being his primary starter at first base, Manny Acta stirred the pot once again.

While he had this idea in his head since he first got the job, Acta is just now making it known that center fielder Grady Sizemore will be moving out of his long-time leadoff spot.

Asdrubal Cabrera will be replacing him.

Even more surprising, was the news that Sizemore wouldn't be moving to the three-hole like so many people yearn for, but he'd be following Cabrera and hitting in front of right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

Will 2010 be the last season for Derrek Lee as a Cub? Perhaps, but it looks like there is mutual interest on both sides:

"The last time Derrek Lee was up for a new contract, he signed a five-year extension at the outset of the 2006 season and suffered a season-changing wrist injury a couple of weeks later.

The thought of trading young talent away is always a scary one.

“But what if he comes back and kills us for years?”

“Who knows how good he’ll become!”

“Uhhh…two words, Lou Brock.”

Imagine a Pirates rotation with the 2007 ("star") versions of pitchers Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny, together with Paul Maholm and Zach Duke at their later (2008-2009) selves.

Imagine that the fifth starter is actually better than fifth starter-caliber.

That's what the Pirates may finally have in 2010.

Old Pirate standbys Maholm and Duke are (slightly) better than league average pitchers (by half a game or so). They don't look that way because they've had less than league average run support.

While fans of the Milwaukee Brewers are looking forward to the 2010 season, the majority of them are more worried about what could potentially happen after the 2011 season: Prince Fielder's departure.

In four full seasons with the Brewers, Fielder has cemented his place as one of the best power hitters in baseball. In that time, he has hit 158 home runs and knocked in 443 runs.

Fielder became the youngest player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs in a season at age 23 in 2007.

Point: Yes, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood...enough said.

Counterpoint: Dusty Baker killed their careers?

P: Yes, it is well known that Baker cares little about pitch counts.

CP: What about Carlos Zambrano?

P: He has not been free of symptoms either.

CP: Abuse happens but your criticism of Dusty Baker doesn't sound very scientific.

The AL Central looks to be a great race this year. They have the reigning division champions in the Minnesota Twins returning with what might be a better team than last year. They have the Chicago White Sox who look to boast one of the MLB's best starting rotation this year. They have the Detriot Tigers who lost the division last year in an epic game 163. Then they have the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians who are, for lack of a better word, miserable.
In this slideshow, I will reveal who I think will win the division.

Much has been made about the lack of potential upgrades to the New York Mets rotation this offseason and, by and large, the reason for concern is legitimate.

Every slot in the rotation has a question mark next to its given name. Even Johan Santana, to a lesser extent, could be cause for concern after suffering season ending surgery last season.