Baseball

Originally published at TwinsTarget.com .

Historically, the NL West has been an extremely competitive division. Although there was a 25-game difference between the first- and late-place teams in the NL West this past season, each team in the division has had some degree of success in the past.

Through Martin Prado’s first 779 major league at bats he has been extremely productive, especially for a middle infielder. He has a career .360 OBP, .451 SLG, and a .353 wOBA (similar to OPS, but weighs OBP more than SLG, mean is around .330 just like OBP).

Prado also performed extremely well after being promoted to full-time status last season after Kelly Johnson and Omar Infante were injured. Despite all things going well for Prado, I am still skeptic about him starting the season at second base.

With an overwhelming vote of 91 percent, The Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU) will partner with Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO.

This partnership will now be known as AMLU/OPEIU Guild 322, the 322 representing three balls, two strikes, two outs.

The AMLU was created in 2000 as a way to protect the interests of everyone involved. Prior to ‘00, umpires did not have representation.

The Yankees are fresh off a World Series championship.  They have no steroid-scandal distractions, no major injuries, and all but about two or three spots of the roster have been solidified.  Yes, things are good for the Bombers.

However, the Yankees have issues that could flare up this season.  I’ll try to address the 10 biggest, or at least most obvious, questions (potential problems) the Yankees could have in 2010:

New York Yankee Brian Cashman was quoted in today's New York Daily News as saying that Robinson Cano has a chance to make a name for himself that people will remember forever.

Cashman predicted that Cano has the chance to win batting crowns, MVPs, and implied that he could have a Hall of Fame career.

What came to mind is whether Robinson Cano is the best Yankee second baseman who has ever pulled on the pinstripes.

The Yankees have had some very memorable players at second.

With the great teams of the 1920s and 1930s, Tony Lazzeri was a rock at second base.

There are some players who always appear to be on the cusp of breaking out, aren’t there?  We’ve already discussed Johnny Cueto (click here to view), who certainly falls into this category. 

The oft-injured Rickie Weeks is another player who pops into my mind.  What about the Angels' Brandon Wood?

Forget the stale taste of yet another Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

If you're looking for relentless competition between heated rivals, do what your forefathers did: head out West.

After a flurry of moves this offseason, the AL West has finally become major league baseball's Wild West.

For the better part of a decade, the game's smallest division was really just a one-horse town, with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim laying down the law in six of the past 10 seasons.

But a shuffling of all four decks has put the three-time defending champs on the defense.

With a sudden influx of young guns an

Two years ago, the Red Sox drafted 18-year-old Casey Kelly in the first round of the MLB first-year player draft (pick No. 30 overall) out of Sarasota, Florida. At the time, he was a 195-pound two-sport schoolboy star who had signed a letter of intent to play quarterback at the University of Tennessee.

But then the Sox lured him to baseball with their checkbook and a promise that he could both pitch and play shortstop in the minor leagues. The agreement between the player and club was that he’d have to choose one or the other at the end of last season.

When you think of someone with bad vision you tend not to think of baseball players who hit .330 with 25 home runs. 

Pablo Sandoval may have not had terrible vision, the Panda is getting some brand new Oakleys to help him "see" the ball better. 

I know what you're thinking. 

A guy who hit .330 is getting glasses so he can see the ball better? Cue the Tim The Toolman Taylor soundbite please. 

Apparently Sandoval has been wearing his new specs when he was playing in the Venezuelan league this past off season and the numbers speak for themselves. 

First published on Beantown Sports Observer

This past offseason was not only big for the Boston Red Sox, but for the teams in their division as well. New York, Tampa Bay, Toronto, and even Baltimore made some significant moves on their roster and though some more bad than good, the division will be tough this season.