Opinion

The official web site of the Cleveland Indians has Orlando Cabrera listed as the starting second baseman for the club. This confirms what has been suspected since the signing was announced last week.

For the most part, reaction to the signing has been positive. All I'm hearing about is how great a player Cabrera is and how he's a big addition to the 2011 team. Did you know he's been to the playoffs six of the last seven years? I've heard about it ad infinitum.

The consensus number one pick in nearly every draft you participate in or read about is Albert Pujols. And rightly so; the guy has been putting up monster numbers year in and year out for quite some time.

This is not going to be a post knocking Albert Pujols as the number one guy. This is going to be a post explaining why I don’t think it’s a one-man race for that top pick and why Hanley Ramirez should be in the discussion and considered if you have the first pick.

Chicago is spinning with excitement for next off-season, and they haven't even been eliminated yet. Albert Pujols will become a free agent after the conclusion of this season, and some clubs have the rival right in their cross hairs. The Cardinals were unable to strike a deal with their current face of the organization and will now have to compete for his work. Pujols was reportedly seeking a 10-year, 300-million dollar contract and the Cardinals were unwilling to match it. Should the Cubs do what the Cardinals didn't?

Ryan Dempster, who is no more than a number two or three on most contending teams, will be the Cubs opening day starter on April 1st at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates. No, this is not an April Fool's joke.

In truth, this decision by Mike Quade is less of an endorsement for Dempster as a true number one than it is recognition of the fact that the starter with the most talent is a head case.

It was raining the day I arrived for 2011 Spring Training, and by my first full day in Peoria, Ariz., it was pouring. Clouds hung over the entire weekend.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized the weather was appropriate considering the situation facing my San Diego Padres heading into this coming baseball season. It's certainly not going to be sunshine and rainbows for the new-look Padres, who have weathered a lot of departures in recent memory.

Legendary New York Yankees Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle was without a doubt one of the best center fielders that ever played the game of baseball. His five-tool skills, combining hitting for average, hitting for power, base running skills and speed, throwing ability and fielding abilities were matched only by Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr.

With Opening Day just over a month away, there is more excitement in the air in Baltimore about the upcoming baseball season than there has been in a long time.

Many factors contribute to that excitement, namely manager Buck Showalter. What he did the last two months of the 2010 season for the birds and what President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail achieved over the offseason provided for positivity coming into this season.

As far as I can tell, there are only two options for the Phillies this season—domination or failure.  

Given the makeup of their pitching rotation, most observers are expecting domination. Total domination. Anything less would be seen as a failure by most.

San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval hit a home run Saturday on his first swing in his first batting practice at this year’s spring training.

After taking the league by storm in 2009 with a .330 average, 25 home runs and 90 RBI, Sandoval’s 2010 campaign was one of the year’s biggest disappointments across the majors. All season long, Sandoval battled with weight issues and off-the-field problems that carried over to the field.

Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein made a remark late last week that likely drew less attention than it deserved, especially as the world gears up for Albert Pujols to hit free agency after the 2011 season. 

In discussing the tactics that helped Boston sign free-agent Carl Crawford in December—despite rumors that Crawford would go to the Angels—Epstein mentioned that Boston scouted Crawford exhaustively throughout "the last three, four months of the season at the ballpark, away from the ballpark."