NL West

When we last looked in on Conor Jackson, he had just begun playing winter league baseball in the Dominican Republic.

With the season now in full swing in Santo Domingo, I thought it might be interesting to see how things are going for the lost Diamondback.

Playing for the Leones del Escogido, Jackson has now appeared in 23 games.

The most valuable asset in baseball is good pitching. Good, young, controllable pitching could be likened to winning the lottery for a million dollars, and when you go to cash in your ticket, you find out you actually won five million.

To call the 2009 season a roller coaster for Chad Billingsley would be an understatement. He was named to his first All-Star game in July, but he also had his career-worst year statistically.

This year has been a cornucopia of delights. Despite the Arizona Diamondbacks having a dismal season on the field, it has been a great year to be a fan of the team. So many things have happened this year. But it is nothing compared to what 2011 will be.

Commissioner Bud Selig announced Chase Field as the location of the 2011 All-Star game meaning all eyes will be on Phoenix Arizona when the mid-summer classic takes place.

Since the season ended, the Arizona Diamondbacks have been searching for two candidates that would fill the coaching vacancies on the Major League Baseball staff. Diamondbacks manager AJ Hinch suggested he hoped to fill these spots by the first week in November.

According to Fox Sports, the Seattle Mariners are going to "kick the tires" on the availability of All-Star left fielder Jason Bay.

With the bloated contracts of C Kenji Johjima, SP Erik Bedard, SP Jarrod Washburn, RP Miguel Bautista, and 3B Adrian Beltre coming off the books, it frees up roughly $45 million in cap space for them to use.

Bay has played for the Boston Red Sox since they acquired him in a three-way deal that saw the departure of slugger Manny Ramirez.

Sept. 19, 2009 has two very different meanings for the San Francisco Giants organization.

On one end of the spectrum, their High-A affiliate, the San Jose Giants, celebrated yet another California League championship after completely steamrolling the competition.

On the other, their teammate Angel Villalona, who was in the Dominican Republic after being sent home to visit family before beginning offseason conditioning, was being accused of murder.

From top prospect to being 19 years old and a possible murderer. Not exactly what you call an ideal situation.

Uncertainty is the most unbecoming characteristic of a baseball team, and right now it has emerged as the best way to describe the state of the Los Angeles Dodgers heading into the offseason, both on the field and off.

Owner Frank McCourt is neck-deep in divorce proceedings with his wife and former Dodgers CEO, Jamie, and the decision of a Los Angeles County court could trigger an unwanted sale of the club over the offseason.

Juan Pierre is baseball’s best fourth outfielder.

The problem is that Juan Pierre plays like—and is being paid like—a starting outfielder.

Pierre, 32, has two more years and $18.5 million remaining on the five-year, $44 million pact he signed with Los Angeles prior to the 2007 season.

While literally millions of New Yorkers (including myself) were busy celebrating the 27th New York Yankee World Championship up and down downtown New York's Canyon of Heroes, the rest of Major League Baseball began offseason business as usual.

The National League Champion Phillies moved quickly in picking up the 2010 club-option on their lefty ace Cliff Lee.

Lee, who went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for Philadelphia during the latter half of 2009, will be owed $9 million in the final year of his contract.

The New York Mets have reportedly said that they will not pick up the $8.1 million option for JJ Putz next season.

They have instead opted to buy his contract out for $1 million, making him a free agent.

It was just one season ago that Putz was considered a top closer in the American League. He was also the centerpiece of the trade that netted the Seattle Mariners CF Franklin Gutierrez, 1B Mike Carp, OF Endy Chavez, P Garrett Olson, and INF Ronny Cedeno (later used in a trade for SS Jack Wilson, and SP Ian Snell), among others.