Opinion

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

On Monday night, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association held their 107th annual awards banquet in Cherry Hill, NJ.  The PSWA honors athletes in every sport around the Philadelphia area. 

The New York Yankees agreed to terms with Freddy Garcia on Tuesday, the latest in a succession of bargain basement signings of once-great pitchers rendered ordinary (or worse) by age, injuries—or in the case of Bartolo Colon—the soft late-night glow of the refrigerator.

This strategy was last employed with success by the 1989 Cleveland Indians, which would be cause for encouragement if it didn't occur in the fictional world of the movie Major League.

In 14 days, pitchers and catchers will report to their respective camps as 2011 spring training means baseball is finally back again.
 
For the New York Yankees, it means pitching tryouts will begin, as there are two big holes that need to be filled in the starting rotation.
 
GM Brain Cashman is trying to fill the fourth and fifth spots, while Yankees fans are holding their breath hoping southpaw Andy Pettitte will appear.
 

Boy, I can't wait for this season to get started.

This offseason has been filled with a negative feel, whether it be the fact that the Mets have no money to spend, the signing of "mediocre" free agents, Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo's presence on the team, and now the hoopla surrounding the Wilpons' money scheme.

The Rays are finding a unique way to go to the playoffs this year.

They are relying on castoffs from their offseason moves. They feel those guys can help them contend for a wildcard spot with their core players.

It's an interesting move. It could work out, but it may not work out.

Either way, give them credit for trying to make something out of nothing this offseason.

I've put in a lot of study and a lot of research into this, and I have  come up with my pick for the 2011 MLB Baseball World Series champions. The offseason has been filled with DFA's (Designation for Assignment) trades, free agent signings, and tons of teams in the league have put themselves in a good position to succeed.

The American League Central Division is filled with very good starting pitchers.

Starting pitchers can obviously determine where a team goes in the postseason, or if they even go at all.

The Minnesota Twins are looking to three-peat, and they bring back the exact same rotation that they sported during the 2010 season, resigning everybody necessary to make a deep run.

The same can be said about the Chicago White Sox, who were the last AL Central team to win the title when they did so back in 2006.

After a very busy off season, the Oakland A’s are poised to make some noise in the American League this year, and for once they won’t go unnoticed. At least this is what the A’s are counting on.

The A’s busy off season has landed them star players through trades such as David DeJesus and Josh Willingham, to go along with free agent signings: Hideki Matsui, Grant Balfour, Brian Fuentes, Brandon McCarthy, and the return of Rich Harden.

In 2003, Mark Prior won 18 games with the Chicago Cubs.

That same year, Freddy Garcia won 12 games for the Seattle Mariners, while Bartolo Colon won 15 for the Chicago White Sox.