Opinion

The Kansas City Royals had two prized pitchers heading into the offseason. The first was 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner, Zack Greinke. He was known to be available after having voiced his disgust with the Royals, and a few months later, they shipped him to the Milwaukee Brewers for four of the Brewers' top prospects.

According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the press release had barely gone public when teams started calling about the Royals' second most valued commodity—closer, Joakim Soria.

As the offseason continues, the Mets continue to make little noise. They've made some quiet moves—some quality, some questionable.

However, it would take some big changes to actually improve the team for 2011 because they've lost more than they've gained.

Johan Santana will be out recovering from shoulder surgery until at least the All-Star break, leaving the Mets' starting rotation in a state of flux.

Royals closer Joakim Soria has recently said to Mexican newspaper Vanguard he would not exercise his no-trade clause if a deal were in place with the Yankees. 

It must be noted that he also said he was open to playing on other teams, essentially anywhere. However, the big news involved in this is that he would be willing to go to New York without a guaranteed closer job.

The event I'll remember Bobby Jenks for came during the 2005 World Series. Ozzie Guillen came out to the mound and made the motion for his closer. Ozzie didn't just tap his right arm, he used both of his arms to signal that he wanted the "big guy". The bullpen door opened and the young, rotund fireballer came sprinting towards the US Cellular field pitcher's mound.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Many of the big names in MLB free agency have already signed with teams, and as widely reported, the Yankees haven't had their usual success.

A few names still float out there.  Mostly aging or battered pieces, but there is still intrigue with some of them.

Should the Yankees give Manny Ramirez and Raphael Soriano a look?  Some evidence suggests that maybe it could work out, but a lot of it points in the other direction.

Which New York Mets players pose some questions and concerns for the upcoming and debut season for GM Sandy Alderson and Manager Terry Collins? 

The first concerns are the unknowns. 

Will starting and bullpen pitching be acquired? 

Will our farm system be raided to acquire talent just to be in the middle of the pack? 

If it wasn’t already clear, the 2010-11 off-season has broadcast to the world the Chicago Cubs’ full-blown dormancy in the National League Central.  I’m not saying the Cubs won’t be heard from in 2011, but they’ll likely make fewer national television appearances than Barack Obama.  Don’t call them the Pirates yet, but also don’t call them the Reds, Brewers, Cardinals, or probably the Astros.  That’s right, the Cubs are officially stuck in .500-ville.  Picture the New York Knicks, except outdoors, and also without LeBron Ja

As we approach the voting results for the Hall of Fame this year, Bert Blyleven's case deserves one more look.  It has been a long and arduous path for Blyleven gaining votes almost yearly until last year he was but five votes short of induction to baseball's highest honor.  This path reminds me of his career — 4970 innings, twice fighting back from injury to reclaim excellence.

The Baltimore Orioles need a first baseman.

As former Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar might say: "It's time for the O's to pony up and get it done."

That's the feeling every Oriole fan is experiencing at this moment in time in regards to the first base situation, which has been dragging on for most of the offseason.

Brian Cashman and the entire Yankees organization are still hiding under the covers. It’s been a rough offseason for New York; not necessarily because they missed out on talent, but because the organization was continually embarrassed.