NL East

Let's get one thing straight shall we fair readers?

Entering their final season at Sun Life Stadium in 2011, the Florida Marlins will yet again relocate a home series.

It won't be by their choice, but because U2 is having a concert at the stadium on June 29, 2011.

On June 24-26, the Florida Marlins will be facing the Seattle Mariners in an interleague series. Essentially, it wouldn't give the crew at Sun Life Stadium enough time to set up for the concert stage and seating. 

APPRECIATING RAUL

Raul Javier Ibanez won't draw any NL MVP votes this year, and he may not even be in the top five of the Phillies' team MVP vote, but the Phils' left fielder should be commended for his 2010 season.

His numbers, at first glance, are not extraordinary. In fact, they're rather pedestrian. Okay, bad idea...on to the next story.

But wait—there's more.

Another baseball season is nearing its conclusion and for the fourth consecutive October, the New York Mets are absent.  With the front office sending out signs that the team will not make a big free agent splash this offseason, many fans are depressed.

Many have given up on the Mets' 2011 season already, but there are certain things that the team has in place that should keep fans optimistic.

Here are the top five reasons to believe that it will be different for the Mets in 2011.

C'mon Philadelphia, please put down the Michael Vick Kool-Aid...just for a second. We're talkin' baseball right now.

For years, the Phillies have relied heavily on their “Big Three” to win games; the “Big Three,” of course, being the trio of homegrown studs (Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard) the Phillies have featured in their daily lineup for the past several years .

Rookies are streaky.  It’s just something fantasy owners generally have to deal with.  You take the good with the bad, and hopefully, by year’s end, you get significant value for your investment.

Take Mike Stanton, for instance.  Big things were expected from him, especially in the power department.  That’s what happens when you hit .313 with 21 HR in just 192 AB at Double-A.

As I awoke to the splash of reality and the realization that Lee Mazzilli was not managing the Mets, flanked by Keith Hernandez as hitting coach and Ron Darling as pitching coach, I groaned and turned off my alarm.

Once the cobwebs cleared from my brain, so did the visions of Wally Backman coaching third, Tim Teufel coaching first, and Howard Johnson filling the role of bench coach.

The Nationals’ Mike Morse has become an intriguing source of power for fantasy owners.  With eligibility at first base and the outfield, his value is certainly diminished, given the depth of other options, but looking at the numbers there’s certainly a chance he is usable (statistics are through Monday):

213 AB, .296 AVG (63 Hits), 10 HR, 30 RBI, 29 Runs, 0 SB, .343 OBP, .502 SLG, .340 BABIP

With only 15 games left in the season for the Atlanta Braves, things are beginning to turn south.  Since the Philadelphia Phillies stole the lead in the NL East on September 12^th, the Braves have fallen 2.5 games behind. 

All indications are that Omar Minaya will not be running the show next year. So, under hopes that he won't be, the obvious question then becomes, who should replace him?

Here is the run-down of a potential candidate, Jon Daniels.


Who is he?