NL East

For Philadelphia Phillies fans, February 12th cannot come soon enough; that's when pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, Florida.

Expectations have never been higher in the entire 121 year history of Philadelphia professional baseball. Behind four of the top pitchers in the game in Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels and a lineup that features two former MVPs and perennial and potential all-stars.

Quite simply, Philadelphia is in "Baseball Heaven."

As we head toward the start of the 2011 MLB season, it’s time to start previewing the NL East.

Instead of just giving a projection for each team, I’ll rank all of the projected starters at every position, leading up to the final predictions.

The catchers are up first, and as with the division in general, the Braves and Phillies are battling for the top spot. Brian McCann and Carlos Ruiz were 1-2 in the National League in WAR for catchers this past season (and Ruiz actually had a higher wOBA), but who will perform better in 2011?

I know that it is way to early to be thinking about the 2012 season, as the 2011 season has not even started yet, or is it? Some teams as of right now know that they will not have a chance for the World Series, and some of those teams are probably already eying players who are due to hit the free agent market after the conclusion of the current season. It is wise for all teams to look at this point in time at the holes that may be left in their current roster after this season and see who will fit into that hole.

Michael Young has played his entire career with the Texas Rangers. He has put up some pretty impressive numbers during his career, averaging 17 HR, 87 RBI, a .300 BA and a .795 OPS. He has posted these numbers while switching positions twice already, and if he plays with the Rangers in 2011, he will once again switch positions.

For the 2012 season, it should be a reasonable assumption that the Philadelphia Phillies will contain both Jimmy Rollins and Roy Oswalt.  In 2010, Rollins had a down year due to the fact that he spent nearly half of the season on the disabled list.  However, it is safe to assume that he will return to form in 2010.

The Atlanta Braves have always prided themselves in having a great minor league system.

Unlike the Yankees and Red Sox, who just go out and buy other teams' players, the Braves consistently develop their young talent through their minor league teams.

Braves such as Jason Heyward, Brian McCann and Tommy Hanson are all examples of the quality training that players receive in cities such as Lawrenceville and Rome.

MLB Countdown Till Pitchers and Catchers Report: Five days.

The man that Philadelphia Phillies fans love to call “Chooch” has just turned 32, and has never been voted onto an all-star team or honored with a Gold Glove award.

The Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme has been a terrible tragedy for many in the United States.  For those not familiar with ponzi schemes, it refers to a financial "investment" company, where the person running the scheme pays dividends to those investing their money with the investments that new investors make. 

Now how does this affect the New York Mets?  Well, according to the lawsuit, Mets owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon invested both team money and personal money into the team.

If you have been following the Washington Nationals’ offseason, you are aware that the team has now entered Phase Two.

Michael Young of the Texas Rangers made it clear that he is not happy with his current situation in Texas, where Young's role will be reduced to designated hitter, with the signing of Adrian Beltre.

Young has long been a good sport to the Rangers.  Young came up as a second baseman, working on the other side of second base to his natural position of shortstop, because the Rangers had Alex Rodriguez.

Then, Young moved to shortstop after Alex Rodriguez was traded to the New York Yankees to play third base there.