NL West

I am going to have to admit, I didn’t see this signing coming at all.

I thought if Jon Garland was going to sign with a team over the Thanksgiving weekend, it would have been with the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres or even the New York Mets. I didn’t see him signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers at all, but he did.

There are many fans of the Colorado Rockies out there who simply don't understand how the organization works.

The San Francisco Giants are looking to rebuild the left side of their infield after winning the world series with a combo of Edgar Renteria at short and Juan Uribe at third base.

As the Giants remain in the hangover stages of a World Series championship campaign, the questions are beginning to swirl in the Bay Area over who will replace the World Series' most valuable player, shortstop Edgar Renteria, in the upcoming 2011 season.

With Juan Uribe as a high candidate for moving teams, one thing is for certain. The Giants are going with the young guns: There is always room for improvement.

Will the Giants try to reel in Derek Jeter, or will they make a trade for another big name infielder?

Only time will tell.

The Dodgers just signed Jon Garland for 2011 at $5 million with $3 million in performance incentives and a guaranteed $8 million in 2012 if he pitches 190 innings in 2011.  My first thought on hearing this was Garland must want to play in L.A. next year.

According to the team website, the Dodgers declined to offer arbitration to veterans Vicente Padilla, Rod Barajas and Scott Podsednik, making them unrestricted free agents.

However, declining to offer a player arbitration is not a signal that the team is ready to move on. Multiple media outlets have reported the Dodgers remain in talks with all three players. General Manager Ned Colletti has mentioned several times that he is still very interested in resigning Padilla to fill out the remainder of the rotation.

After winning their first World Series since moving to San Francisco, the Giants took their first step in the offseason by giving their first baseman Aubrey Huff a two-year, $22 million extension. The deal also includes a $10 million club option for 2013. This is a great deal for the 33-year-old first baseman. 

Making a Hall of Fame case for the legendary player, manager and world series champion

By Howard G. Ruben

For most hardcore Dodgers fans, the ongoing melodrama between Jamie and Frank McCourt has more than frayed our collective nerves, worn our patience and bored us to tears. 

Major League Baseball announced the National League Most Valuable Player selection and, for the first time in three years, the winner is not someone named Albert Pujols.

The 2010 NL MVP was Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto. Votto’s win was not that surprising given the type of year he had but the degree with which he won was shocking. Votto received 31 out of a possible 32 first place votes and that one vote was a second place.

My 2010 preseason National League MVP pick: Hanley Ramirez