NL East

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.

The weather here in the northeast is unbelievable. I hope everyone is staying safe and not trying to travel in this snowstorm and the aftermath of it.

Consistent with the moves that the Mets have made this season, they have acquired shortstop Chin-Lung Hu from the Dodgers for lefty Michael Antonini.

This is a move that will likely have little impact on the Mets next year. Hu will most likely serve as a back up to Jose Reyes. Hu also has limited experience at second base (38 games), but he may be in the competition for the starting job.

So far this off-season the Mets have been somewhat quiet only bringing in Boof Bonser, Ronny Paulino and D.J. Carrasco.  Bonser can be a solid spot-starter for the Mets while Paulino will be a nice addition to have behind the plate to backup Josh Thole.  Carrasco is who I feel to be the Mets' best pickup so far.  Carrasco will be a great addition to a bullpen that has lost the likes of Pedro Feliciano.

The Philadelphia Phillies:

After all the articles about how great the Philiadelphia Phillies are (I still don't see the 2010 WS trophy with their team on it), there have been some signings and trades in the off season that has gotten the attention of quite a few baseball fans. Most of them were over-shadowed with a bias for a team that has yet to prove they are the best. 

Enough is enough. There is no comparison between Roy Halladay and Don Larsen. The former is on his way to the Hall of Fame. The latter was a journeyman pitcher who caught lightning in a bottle.

Larsen faced the National League's defending World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series. Brooklyn had won 98 games and lost 55 for a .641 winning percentage.

Every team is looking for the next breakout prospect that can join the team in the middle of the year and provide a spark to their lineup. Fantasy owners also look for these prospects who can lead their team to a championship.

Looking at this year's prospects, there appear to be a few players who can follow in the footsteps of Buster Posey and have an immediate impact for their Major League club.

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When Chipper Jones tore his ACL (for the second time in his career) in 2010, many (including myself) thought he would hang up his spikes for good and go down as one of the best switch hitters of all time.

But Chipper wasn’t going to leave the game until he could do so on his own terms, even if it meant a grueling recovery and playing for a manger other than Bobby Cox for the first time in his career.

With the majority of the major offseason activity behind them (trading Dan Uggla, Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin; acquiring Omar Infante, Mike Dunn, Dustin Richardson, Ryan Webb, and Edward Mujica; signing Javier Vazquez John Buck, and Randy Choate; extending Ricky Nolasco until 2013), we take a glance at the potential Florida Marlins lineup, starting rotation, bullpen, and bench and put it all together to come up with bold predictions for the 2011 season in a crowded NL East.

Professional athletes aren’t role models. With that said, I looked up to Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones as a child.