David Ortiz

When the top RBI guys are off the board, there are still value picks that can help you in that category.

Average Draft Positions are from Mock Draft Central.


Catcher

Kurt Suzuki, Oakland A’s: Suzuki had 71 RBI last year and 88 in 2009. Both years he had the fourth RBI among catchers.

When fans think of the Boston Red Sox, many players quickly come to mind: Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester and new comers Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez are certainly some of them.

But no player has become a bigger icon and face of the Red Sox then the man known around baseball as Big Papi, David Ortiz.

When it comes to his lineup, Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona has a lot of difficult decisions to make. He was handed some of the best puzzle pieces around and was told to “Tetris” them together to the best of his ability.

Francona better invest in those extra big pencil erasers that you used to buy in elementary school. You know, the ones that fit onto the end of the writing utensil over the small eraser that’s already attached to the pencil. I think Tito will be going through quite a few of those.

I am finally at the end of my series examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis. The players at each position have been ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players.

Today, the series concludes with a look at the Designated Hitters.

The best player will earn 10 points for his team, with the remaining players being assigned points as follows: 7-5-3-1.

Albert Pujols to the Boston Red Sox?

You remember being a kid? 

Dreams and wishes came to you without the meddlesome burden of reality or practicality.  You could dream of being a cowboy or pirate or pretty much anything else you had seen on television that looked cool and while you were at it you could wish for the stars.

For some kids the mother of all wishes was simple yet grand, getting a brand new Pony.

Last season, New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia stated to the press that despite having the option to do so, he would not opt out of his contract.  Joining the team in 2009, the big lefty's seven-year, $161 million deal has a clause that allows him to opt out after three years, should he want to.

Just yesterday, however, Sabathia hinted that he might exercise that clause after the season.  Being a Yankee fan, I just had one response.  WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Wait he still plays?

Like many baseball fans, I am guilty of saying this expression from time to time. It seems like more than any other major sport, baseball players still tend to have the ability to produce in the later stages of their careers.

Every team seems to have that one old hitter that you thought retired five seasons ago. Often times we poke fun at them, but it is not deserved.

Most championship caliber teams are guilty of having these kinds of players. There is a lot of value in having a hitter that has aged like fine wine.

Spring is almost here. Okay, not really. A good portion of the country is currently covered in snow. But it is just around the corner. And with spring comes the baseball fan's favorite thing to hear after a long, cold, baseball-less winter: Pitchers and Catchers report.

In trying to assess players at Spring Training for the Boston Red Sox this season one can take several different approaches from a few different angles. You can look at those current roster players on the depth chart and say you need to pay attention to those guys since they are slated to play in the majors as it stands today, or you can look at the guys who have made their living in the minors and are ready to make the jump by replacing the major leaguers if they slip up in Ft. Myers this spring.

The title of the article says it all, Red Sox Nation.  Let's do this.  But first, a few quick ground rules:

Some of the players on this list played part of their careers for other teams, but only accomplishments in a Red Sox uniform will be considered.

The era a player played in will be factored in when considering all statistics.  Players' numbers will be compared to their contemporaries, not just to players from other eras who played the same position.