Opinion

1. Gobble, Gobble

Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go!

The horse knows the way, to carry the sleigh

And, ahem…how much, exactly, do I weigh?

The shame of the 2015 National League Cy Young race is that only one pitcher can win it. Really, the award wouldn't be misplaced on any of the three finalists' mantelpieces. 

If there is an odds-on favorite for the award, though, it's probably Jake Arrieta.

This much we know: The 2015 American League Cy Young Award will go to a southpaw.

No offense intended to Sonny Gray, the lone right-hander in the trio of finalists, but we're watching a two-man fight between free agent David Price and the Houston Astros' Dallas Keuchel.

The Houston Astros stunned Major League Baseball when they drafted shortstop Carlos Correa with the first overall pick in 2012. 

A stock-piled offseason of free agents is about to get into full swing in Major League Baseball with some of the game's top pitchers and position players ready to narrow down their suitors and sign offers for their futures.

The Atlanta Braves started the process a year ago.

The plan, wisely implemented and shrewdly executed by a new front-office regime led by president of baseball operations John Hart and general manager John Coppolella, was to build the franchise into a youthful contender by the time it opened its new suburban stadium in 2017. That meant trading away much of the club’s core and stockpiling young pitching.

It's not even officially winter yet and the MLB hot stove is already up and cooking, with a couple of big trades going down in mid-November.

The Rookie of the Year is about performance, not potential.

Just when Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs commanded everyone's attention this summer, Houston's Carlos Correa made our heads swivel. And then Cleveland's Francisco Lindor threatened to chase him down for the American League Rookie of the Year award.

Minnesota's Miguel Sano showed some sick sock, but then tick tock, here came the Cubs' Kyle Schwarber. And Addison Russell.

Randal Grichuk in St. Louis? Whoa. Jung Ho Kang in Pittsburgh? Wow. Matt Duffy in San Francisco? Whoa-wow.

The New York Yankees need starting pitching. That's not breaking news, but it's an undeniable truth.

They can get it by spending on the open market, which would be the classic Yankee Way. Or they could get creative on the trading block, which might be the Yankee Way 2.0.

If they go the trade route, here's a name the Yanks and general manager Brian Cashman will at least consider dangling: Brett Gardner.