New York

Robert Alomar and Bert Byleven have been elected to Cooperstown this year. Both men narrowly missed out on being elected last season.

Alomar spent time with seven different teams during his Hall of Fame career. It is amazing to that a player of his caliber bounced around so often and never spent more than five seasons with one team. Alomar was a 12-time All-Star and won 10 Gold Gloves as a second baseman. In addition, he also won four Silver Sluggers and was the 1992 ALCS MVP, as well as the 1998 All-Star Game MVP.

The MLB has benefited greatly off of imported talent.  A recent wave of Japanese and South American players have taken the game by storm.  

Today, about 27% of MLB consists of foreign-born players.  Great talents like Hideki Matsui and Ichiro were established already in Japan.  They still were able to make an even bigger name for themselves here in the States.  Many others from South American countries as well have "made it big" in America.  Collectively, these foreign-born plays add another dimension to the game.  

On January 5, Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame class for 2011 will be announced on a live MLB Network simulcast at MLB.com. Among the distinguished list of candidates are two former New York Yankee first basemen who will always occupy a special place in the hearts of Bronx Bomber fans.

The name Bartolo Colon and the New York Yankees should never be linked in a sentence again this offseason.
 
Yes, Colon won the 2005 American League Cy Young Award, but that is not what resonates in my memory.
 
Back in 2008, the Red Sox were the only team interested in signing the overweight pitcher, who stood at 5’11" and tipped the scale at 245 pounds. Making seven starts as a member of the Red Sox, the injury-prone Colon found himself back on the DL again.
 

The Phillies' recent acquisition of Cliff Lee is drawing the attention of baseball writers all over the country.  Many of them commend GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and his bold decision to acquire the lefty, but others are not quite as generous.  

I have mentioned this a few times already, but he is worth the attention again.
 
Rafael Soriano is still a free agent, available and on the market. Whatever it is shocking considering he was the AL’s dominate closer in 2010 with the Tampa Bay Rays.
 
Even before Cliff Lee’s decision, Soriano as a player would have been more than enough for the New York Yankees to walk away with heads high.
 

As the offseason continues, the Mets continue to make little noise. They've made some quiet moves—some quality, some questionable.

However, it would take some big changes to actually improve the team for 2011 because they've lost more than they've gained.

Johan Santana will be out recovering from shoulder surgery until at least the All-Star break, leaving the Mets' starting rotation in a state of flux.

Royals closer Joakim Soria has recently said to Mexican newspaper Vanguard he would not exercise his no-trade clause if a deal were in place with the Yankees. 

It must be noted that he also said he was open to playing on other teams, essentially anywhere. However, the big news involved in this is that he would be willing to go to New York without a guaranteed closer job.

Daniel Murphy is in a state of flux within the Mets organization.  Murphy was once a man poised to be the starting first baseman with the departure of Carlos Delgado and solid 2008 and 2009 season, which averaged out as 11 home runs, 64 runs batted in, a .275 batting average and a .331 on-base percentage over 162 games.

This off-season, the New York Yankees' hopes of adding an additional pitcher fell through.
 
True, pickings were slim, but with the seemingly impending retirement of Andy Pettitte, it didn’t make life any easier in the Bronx.