Baseball

Even with the exodus of such players as C.C. Sabathia, Curtis Granderson, and Zack Greinke the past few seasons, the AL Central certainly has no shortage of talent. Some of those star players simply don't get the attention they would playing in either of the Eastern divisions.

This division has sorely lacked parity the past few seasons, with a sizable gap existing between the top three teams and the bottom two, and this list reflects that. Whereas the Tigers, Twins, and White Sox combine for 20 representatives on the list, the Indians and Royals combine for just 5.

Now I know this is ridiculous.  It is, but Jeff Francoeur has been on a consistent downward slope since he started his MLB career with a bang.

Maybe he would not even have a job if the Royals did not decide to throw money his way. 

As I followed Francoeur’s career when he first hit the bigs, I soon began to associate his name with success.  He played well defensively, and he was a middle of the order hitter. 

After weeks of speculation, the Detroit Tigers officially signed former Cardinals starter Brad Penny to a 1-year deal worth three Million.  Best known for his time with the LA Dodgers (or for the fact that he's engaged to a woman who used to date Slater from Saved by the Bell—honest!), Penny marks the third significant newcomer added to the Tigers roster and potentially fill

The Reds yesterday signed Fred Lewis to a one-year deal worth $900,000. This is a great signing for the Reds, but it will force the Mets to turn their attention elsewhere.

The NL Central defending champion Reds will sport an outfield comprised of the young stud Jay Bruce in right, exciting Drew Stubbs in center and fiery Jonny Gomes in left.

Jon Lester is a name known throughout Major League Baseball as much for his battle with cancer as his pitching ability.

Lester had solid 2008 and 2009 seasons for the Red Sox before a serious coming out party in 2010. With a 19-9 record and a 3.25 ERA, Lester attended his first All Star Game and finished fourth in Cy Young voting.

All signs point to Lester, 27, continuing to improve in 2011. With a revamped roster and loftier expectations he is due for a stellar season.

Last week, WEEI's Alex Speier reported that Mike Cameron had no wish to leave Boston. Despite an offseason that clearly puts Cameron as the fourth OF on a solid outfield—both offensively and defensively—the 38-year-old vet with 16 years of MLB service is content with his role as a backup.

The Red Sox have listened to offers for Cameron and probably will continue to do so for the rest of the offseason. After all, Cameron is due a hefty $7.25 million for the remainder of 2011.

I am the first sports fan to admit that statistics spin tall tales as much as they inform.

While number-crunching has allowed us to distill fact from fiction when it comes to performance, stats have also cloaked deceptively bad players under the immunity blanket known as triple crown categories.

Stats are as damning to players as much as they immortalize (see Maris, Roger), and despite several encyclopedic volumes of evidence to the contrary, they are why Yuniesky Betancourt keeps finding work.

Ever since the Rangers pulled off the improbable and landed Michael Young, the team’s longest tenured player has been the subject of multiple trade rumors, as he has lost his position in the Rangers lineup.  

Young is considering moving to DH or second base to help the team, but some think it is inevitable he is traded for prospects or in a salary dump.

Here is a list of ten possible trade destinations for Michael Young:

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With the acquisition of Matt "oh no, we gave up way too much for him" Garza, the Cubs would appear to have the makings of a pretty good starting rotation for 2011, barring injuries and/or trades. But just who will bat leadoff in this lineup?

Let's take a look at the candidates and see if anyone exists on the current roster. Hey, it had better, because the Cubs seem set at every position.

Kosuke Fukudome

"No" is not a familiar word heard in the New York Yankees front office.

General manager Brian Cashman has the resources to woo players to come play in the Bronx, so what happened this offseason?

It has to be expected that the Yankees sans Mr. George Steinbrenner lost a little bit of their appeal.