Opinion

When the New York Mets take the field to open the 2011 season, their roster will be relatively unchanged from 2010. They let Hisanori Takahashi leave for free agency, showed interest in SP Chris Young, and had Pedro Feliciano close to declining arbitration, but other than that the Mets don't have much going on.

So if the Mets aren't going to do much this offseason, what could make the difference for them in 2011?

The New York Yankees' two biggest free agent targets this season are most definitely long-time shortstop Derek Jeter and star pitcher Cliff Lee. 

It seems unlikely that they'll sign both, so in the hypothetical case that they only sign one, which will be more valuable to the team?

In my mind, there's not even a question about this—Cliff Lee.

Lee is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball; he may even be the absolute best. 

With the looming mega deal proposed by the Colorado Rockies to Troy Tulowitzki and a press conference scheduled for later in the day to make the formal announcement, it is interesting to consider the precedent this contract could set.

Note: I wrote this article on my old blog (11/17/10). Any time-sensitive material should be disregarded.

With the offseason in full swing and free agents already relocating to different area codes, the younger unproven players are working hard to show their respective major league clubs that they are prepared for a role on the major league roster in the 2011 season. 

The future location of free agent outfielder Carl Crawford has been a hot topic this off-season and interest continues to grow in the star player since his contract ended with the Rays this past season.

Although many teams might not be able to afford his large contract requests(some say he is looking for $100 million), he could still be an early Christmas present for any team that bids the right price for him.

As the Indians' organization breathes a collective sigh of relief that Shin-Soo Choo's gold medal victory in the Asian Games will excuse him from his military duty to his native South Korea, we can all stop worrying that we'll have to watch a parade of no-name prospects in right field next season.

The Cleveland faithful are now free to shift the target of their worry over to that pesky, ever-problematic place on the diamond for the Tribe: Third base.

It's not often you will read an article that's primary focus is on utility player who has never been an All-Star, has one season of 30-plus home runs, and has seen his playing time consistently dwindle.  This, however, is one of those articles.

If Sandy Alderson and the rest of the New York Mets' brass are reading this, I suggest they pay close attention. 

I proclaim that Bill Hall would be a perfect fit for the 2011 New York Mets.

Now what? The Pirates hit their 18th straight losing season in 2010. The 105 losses of the 2010 season are six more than 2009, which would lead most people to think they only got worse. That isn't exactly the case. Although they had one of their worst seasons in franchise history, they also showed off a few guys that could really make an impact down the road. Maybe these few guys could even get the Pirates back into the light of a winning season.

MLB rumors continue to heat up the hot stove—or at least New York City—as we inch closer and closer to February.

And that magical date when pitchers and catchers report.

Around baseball, it's actually been a somewhat quiet offseason for player movement. No free agents of note have signed, with the exception of the reports that former Yankee Javier Vasquez will sign with Florida.

But not even the much-coveted Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford have been in the news as much as Derek Jeter's very public contract talks with the Yankees have been.