Baseball

Heading into 2011, the Cincinnati Reds have a deep rotation, not necessarily loaded with aces, but with arms who are definitely strong enough to get a team through the 162 game ringer.

Here’s an early look at the 2011 AL-only shortstop rankings:

1. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers: The better shortstops reside in the National League, so there isn’t a clear-cut number one in AL-only leagues. I like Andrus because of his ability to score runs and steal bases. He could easily lead AL shortstops in both categories.

Over the past three or four years, third base has been one of the shallowest positions in fantasy baseball—with only a few players worthy of an early-round pick.  

As the 2011 season quickly approaches and fantasy owners begin drafting their teams, many owners will be pleasantly surprised to see that the third base pool is no longer filled with just a small handful of players.

In 2010, the Houston Astros played well enough down the stretch to finish a better than expected 76-86.  That was good enough to finish fourth in the NL Central.  This year, however, the Astros are younger and more inexperienced.

With every other team in the division improving its roster during the offseason, the Astros have not done much as they are about to be sold.  With so much uncertainty surrounding the team, can they do as well as they did last year?

Let's analyze each position and see if they can make a run for the Central.

Each year, this post takes a look at pitchers and how they fluctuate in terms of regular value from year to year. The point of the matter is simple: Pitching is a crapshoot.

Oakland Athletics General Maneger Billy Beane’s unconventional management methods were the focus of Michael Lewis’ 2003 blockbuster book Moneyball.  By focusing on on-base percentage and other sabermetric tools, Beane was able to build a successful ball club with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. 

Ted Simmons ranks among the better offensive catchers in baseball history. Simmons appeared in 1,770 games as a catcher and in 40 games as an outfielder. He was the designated hitter 276 times and pinch-hit 216 times.

Over 21 seasons, Simmons hit .285, with a .348 on-base average and a .437 slugging average. If Simmons had been a solid defensive catcher, he would be in the Hall of Fame.

Gary Carter (lifetime .262/.335/.439) had some solid offensive seasons, but he also had some poor ones.

Despite a strong showing from New York Mets lefty Oliver Perez on Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals in Port St. Lucie, Perez may be on the fast track to the bullpen come Opening Day.

Today is the first installment of a position-by-position look at the Pittsburgh Pirates camp battles in spring training.

We begin behind the plate, which was a sore spot both offensively and defensively during the 2010 campaign. Teams stole bases on the Pirates pitchers and catchers at an alarming rate a season ago. It was so alarming that it prompted Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington into making some midseason changes.

It wasn't the season the Los Angeles Dodgers were hoping for in the final year under manager Joe Torre. The Dodgers didn't exactly play badly at 80-82, but finished fourth in the NL West. Torre's replacement is Don Mattingly, who will try and bring life to an organization that hasn't made the playoffs since 2006.