NL East

Last week's relatively quiet announcement that the New York Yankees had signed Chan Ho Park to a $1.2 million, one-year contract raised some eyebrows.

If Park was willing to sign for such a meager sum and accept a bullpen role, why didn't the Phillies lock him up?

Throughout the offseason, indications had been that the pitcher was seeking an opportunity to be a starter and bigger dollars than the Phillies were willing to offer.

Perhaps that was true early on, but obviously neither of those desires was fulfilled with the Bronx Bombers.

Would McDonald’s ever toy with their Big Mac?

Would Burger King ever mess around with the taste of their Whopper?

Would Taco Bell ever transform into a vegetarian food chain?

Would the New York Mets ever do anything detrimental to the core of their team?

The answer to the first three questions is an almost laughable “no,” while unfortunately the answer to the final question is “yes.”

The Marlins have earned a reputation of making the most out of having the least.  The fact is that you don't win 87 games in the major leagues without some bona fide talent.  We all know the two stars, Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson, but where else can you find some impact fantasy players on this team?  The largest unknown this spring is how the pitching rotation will turn out.   Here is what you can expect from the Marlins pitching rotation.

Josh Johnson

This past season was rough, to say the least, for Chipper Jones.

Is it better to be optimistic and be disappointed by the results, or pessimistic and be pleasantly surprised?

I find myself asking that question a lot these days, and not just about the Washington Nationals.

There is an awful lot of optimistic talk coming out of Viera right now, and on the interwebs, about the prospects of significant improvement for the upcoming Nationals season.

Chan Ho Park spoke with reporters about becoming a Yankee even though he had a better offer from the Phillies and also had an offer from the Washington Nationals.

Here are some quotes from his first day in camp :

Over the next couple of weeks or so, I plan to write up a full report on my all-time favorite Mets team. Pulling from players across generations, I plan to build a 25-man squad that, well, makes me happy. You'll notice the list is light on pre-1985 Mets which is mostly because I haven't been a fan of the team for much longer than that. Even learning the history of the team cannot give me the proper appreciation of those guys that's needed to make them my favorite players.

Much has been made about the lack of potential upgrades to the New York Mets rotation this offseason and, by and large, the reason for concern is legitimate.

Every slot in the rotation has a question mark next to its given name. Even Johan Santana, to a lesser extent, could be cause for concern after suffering season ending surgery last season.

It’s not officially spring training for the Mets until the manager puts himself under the microscope for a questionable decision.

This year’s controversy came rather quickly, and it revolves around the centerpiece of the Mets franchise: Jose Reyes.

The frustrated Mets fanbase has been so accustomed to their star shortstop batting leadoff that they are unwilling to consider him batting in any other spot in the lineup.

Last year I started a series called “September Call-Ups.” The series highlighted some of the top rookies and prospects in baseball for 2009.

Some of the rookies I highlighted were Andrew McCutchen, Chris Coghlan, Buster Posey, and Tommy Hanson.

With a new season under way, I thought I would continue the series in 2010. The rookie class of 2010 figures to be just as good, if not better than in years past.