Opinion

Last Monday, Major League Baseball revealed the names of the 33 players on the 2011 Hall of Fame ballot. The list contains 19 first-year candidates along with 14 holdovers from previous seasons.

In order to be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a player must have spent at least 10 years in the Majors, with his final game coming in the 2005 season.

The Colorado Rockies have 20/20 vision. They see what they have and want to make sure they keep it.

What do they have?

They have Troy Tulowitzki.

The Colorado Rockies and Tulowitzki have agreed on a new seven-year, $134 million contract which will lock up their star shortstop through the 2020 season.

"I'm really lucky," Tulowitzki said. "I can't wait to be here my entire career."

Have you ever owned a jack-in-the-box? If so, do you remember that feeling of anticipation that sunk deep within your stomach right before the lid popped open? No matter what you did to prepare yourself, nothing could stop the overflow of surprise when that lid popped open, right?

On July 21, 2006, Jeremy Accardo was dealt from the San Fransisco Giants to the Toronto Blue Jays for third baseman Shea HIllenbrand.

This trade proved to be an absolute steal for the Blue Jays as Accardo was given the closer's job in 2007 because of the injury to B.J. Ryan.  During his time as the full time closer for the Jays, Accardo saved 30 games in 35 opportunities and finished the season with a ridiculous 2.14 ERA.  

If baseball is in the mood to fix things that may or may not be actually broken, then why not fix everything, all at once?

First, there is the "Texas Rangers Problem": The 2010 AL champs, who make their home in the Central time zone, find themselves marooned in the same division—the American League West—with three teams from the Pacific time zone (the Angels, A's and Mariners), which is two time zones away. 

Never chase your money.

It's an age-old gambling adage, meaning don't keep betting when your only goal is to get back what you've already lost.

Where Cliff Lee will end up has been one of the hottest topics talked about this off-season. Lee has even been ranked as the number one free agent on the market this year.

Most people around baseball believe that wherever Lee signs he will make that team the instant favorite to be American League Champion. Some of the rumored destinations for Lee include the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels. 

I like Derek Jeter, I respect Derek Jeter, but the man is on crack if he doesn't take the Yankees' three-year, $45M offer.

His skills are diminishing, he lacks the range of an elite shortstop, and he is no longer getting it done with the bat. However, he is still a leader and has great charisma.

What I'm saying is Jeter would make one hell of a manager.

After the long overdue firing of skipper Jerry Manuel, the New York Mets owners announced the two-year signing of Terry Collins to be the franchises 20^th skipper.

COLLINS BACKGROUND:

Collins started his pro career as a shortstop drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971.

Coming off a season in which the Rangers went to the World Series for the first time in franchise history, the team has made a couple of small moves that should improve, if only slightly, the 2011 squad.

Specifically, they signed catcher Yorvit Torrealba for two years for a total of $6.25 million, and they also signed right-hander Japanese reliever Yoshinori Tatekama to an undisclosed one-year deal with club options for 2012 and 2013.