Baseball

In the 2010 season, the first basemen of the Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard, spent a great deal of time on the disabled list.  When doing the math by analyzing the innings played, it shows that Howard played in about seventeen fewer games in 2010 than he did in 2009. 

The Minnesota Twins won the American League Central last season despite injuries to some of their biggest stars.

Joe Nathan, an All-Star closer, was lost after a significant tear in the ulnar collateral ligament forced him into Tommy John surgery last March.

From 2004-2009, Nathan was one of the most dominating closers in all of baseball. Nathan's 246 saves over six seasons are the most in the majors during that span.

Everybody knows about Hanley Ramirez: 2009 batting champ, five-tool stud and perennial first rounder.

Everybody should know about Josh Johnson: Cy Young contender, career ERA of 3.10, a ton of potential.

But what else, if anything, do the Marlins have to offer fantasy owners?

In spite of the organization's everlasting dedication to penny pinching, the Marlins have a handful of players that are sure to impact this year's fantasy season.

A big market city, such as Boston, comes with big payrolls and even bigger expectations.

Year after year the front office, coaches and fans expect a certain level of excellence from their players. If they do not live up to their potential then it's the general manager's job to find someone who can.

It used to be that most players, especially stars, would start and finish their careers in the same uniform. However, since the introduction of free agency that is now rarely the case.

Josh Beckett was a train wreck last year. He’s been alternating between great and decent years since 2004.

2004:  9-9, 3.79 ERA, 1.22 WHIP
2005:  15-8, 3.38 ERA, 1.18 WHIP
2006:  16-11, 5.01 ERA, 1.29 WHIP
2007:  20-7, 3.27 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
2008:  12-10, 4.03 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
2009:  17-6, 3.86 ERA, 1.19 WHIP

The Pittsburgh Pirates had little reason to smile last season, holding the worst record in Major League Baseball by a full four games. At 57 wins with 105 losses, the Pirates won just 17 games on the road en route to their 18th consecutive losing season. That's right, 18 years in a row they have had a losing season, which also happens to be the longest streak in professional sports today.

As the month of February is upon us, baseball season gets a step closer to returning.

In a few short weeks, pitchers and catchers will be reporting for teams in Florida and Arizona.

In Tampa, the Yankees will begin their 2011 season with a few question marks, mostly residing in their starting rotation.

They wanted Cliff Lee, but lost out on him when he returned to the Phillies in perhaps the biggest surprise move of the winter.

The Yankees have been scrambling and searching all winter for a Plan B.

Before I get started, a tip of the cap from all of us in Red Sox nation to Theo Epstein, our maverick genius, our watchful protector, our Dark Kni-...never mind. But I stand in awe of what the 37 year old son of Brookline, MA has accomplished.

For the services of Adrian Gonzalez, he still managed to keep Jose Iglesias and our draft picks. Under the cover of darkness, he locked up one of the most complete outfielders in the game and disrupted the Yankee-Lee negotiations with his free hand.

There has been no lack of chatter about the Philadelphia Phillies' rotation this offseason. After adding Cliff Lee to a staff that already included Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, the anticipation for Opening Day in the city of Philadelphia became all that more unbearable. While that certainly is true—the Phillies have the league's best rotation—we must read between the lines as well.

"We made it very clear that an area of focus to improve our team this offseason was our outfield. And it became very clear to us that we were going to fill that position with a right-handed bat, somebody that could play defense as well as somebody that could help us offensively and acquire somebody with tremendous leadership ability. With that being said, I am delighted to announce that we've signed Jeff Francoeur as our latest addition to the 2011 Kansas City Royals."