NL East

Well, it finally happened. Adam Dunn has gone the way of Al Capone, making his living on the South side of Chicago.

And at $14 million per year for four years, he's making Capone-type money too.

Now, let's be objective for just a moment. This is like that time our favorite girlfriend jilted us, and we hurt and were angry, but didn't see at the time that it was the best thing that could have happened.

After having failing seasons the last two years following the epic late-season collapses of 2007 and 2008, there is no question that 2011 has to get off to a great start for the New York Mets.

More than individual performance, this team has to show that they are serious contenders and not in perpetual competition with the Washington Nationals for last place in the NL East.

As the 20th manager in New York Mets history, Terry Collins gave the impression during his introductory press conference that he wanted to start from scratch with his newly inherited team and go back to the basics.

He said that as the game changes, players are spending less time learning and developing at the minor league level, and now the major league level is where players need to be taught the fundamentals of the game. 

Have you ever owned a jack-in-the-box? If so, do you remember that feeling of anticipation that sunk deep within your stomach right before the lid popped open? No matter what you did to prepare yourself, nothing could stop the overflow of surprise when that lid popped open, right?

After the long overdue firing of skipper Jerry Manuel, the New York Mets owners announced the two-year signing of Terry Collins to be the franchises 20^th skipper.

COLLINS BACKGROUND:

Collins started his pro career as a shortstop drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971.

Though it was mostly Jason Heyward grabbing all the rookie headlines this season for Atlanta, Jonny Venters was the team's true freshmen MVP. Often times, the players that fly under the radar and have the least amount of pressure put on them become the major contributes to their team.

The MLB Winter Meetings take place next Monday through Thursday and with a new regime in place, you'd figure a big trade will be made or at least attempted. After all, it's long overdue that the Mets part ways with a member or two of their "core." Why it's called that is confusing since the Mets have never won a pennant with those players.

Two Thumbs Up

The Colorado Rockies locked up Troy Tulowitzki through the 2020 season with the announcing of a seven-year, $134 million contract earlier today.

Basically, Tulowitzki is going to be a member of the Rockies for the majority of his playing career. He'll be 36 when his current contract is up.

You can't blame the Rockies for this one. The 25-year old shortstop is quickly developing into one of the best shortstops in the game, if he isn't already.

According to ESPN and the New York Post, the New York Mets are deep in talks with hurler Chris Young.

According to MLB Trade Rumors the Mets are are pursuing starting pitcher Chris Young (formerly of the San Diego Padres).  The deal will in all likelihood be for one year, laden with incentives. The Mets are looking to add depth to a rotation which will not feature Johan Santana for a good chunk of the year.  Right now the Mets starting rotation features R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey and Jon Niese.