New York

In 14 days, pitchers and catchers will report to their respective camps as 2011 spring training means baseball is finally back again.
 
For the New York Yankees, it means pitching tryouts will begin, as there are two big holes that need to be filled in the starting rotation.
 
GM Brain Cashman is trying to fill the fourth and fifth spots, while Yankees fans are holding their breath hoping southpaw Andy Pettitte will appear.
 

Major League Baseball features some of the most talented athletes in the entire nation, and it has done so for over a century.  Over the years, stories are told about Major Leaguers having dominant seasons and becoming champions, but being a winner does not make a player unique.

In 2003, Mark Prior won 18 games with the Chicago Cubs.

That same year, Freddy Garcia won 12 games for the Seattle Mariners, while Bartolo Colon won 15 for the Chicago White Sox.

New York Mets' general manager Sandy Alderson conducted an interview today to address various topics, most important of all being recent financial struggles.

Alderson claims this offseason was all part of the plan. It was, and always had been, to skim the market for low risk, low money players to test out on the roster.

For many long-suffering Met fans, this was the winter of their discontent. Name-brand signings were replaced with bottom of the barrel gambles; the blockbuster deal took a back seat to the low-profile ones.

Having lived through the torment of the last four seasons, much of the fanbase had either had enough or was resorting to praying for divine intervention.

However, what many fail to see is that although the tree has not yet grown, the seeds have most certainly been planted.

The Mets have skipped arbitration with starting pitcher R.A. Dickey, and both sides have agreed to a two-year, $7.5 million deal.

This is a move that I advocated for earlier this year, and I feel that the Mets made a good decision. It was included as one of my top 10 moves that Sandy Alderson should consider for this offseason.

Anyone who has been watching the Mets this decade remembers him, a.k.a. the guy with the weird name (he also went by Thrilledge and L-Milz). The Mets took him in the 2003 draft with their 12th pick after he was passed on due to his sex allegations with a minor.

No doubt controversial, he was hyped up as a major part of the future of the Mets team, a replacement for Floyd/Green in the future. He was raw, but packed immense talent and promise.

Every year players come closer and closer to breaking new records and feats. This year is no different; a handful of Mets players come closer to breaking franchise records.

Here is a look at what is at stake:

David Wright needs to hit 24 home runs to become No. 3 on the Mets' all-time home run list.

Carlos Beltran needs to hit 21 home runs to become No. 5 on the Mets' all-time home run list.

When a baseball franchise signs a 36-year-old pitcher who has a career record of 33-37 with a 4.70 ERA, it usually doesn’t qualify as making noise in the offseason. But, relatively speaking, this is the second-biggest splash the New York Mets have made since the end of last season.

Fenway and Wrigley are the two most iconic baseball parks in Major League Baseball today. They are so iconic that just saying their first name, you automatically know which stadiums they are and who plays in them, unlike Minute Maid or Petco Park, which could have you guessing, even for just a second.