Opinion

Let's preface this piece by saying the Rule 5 draft is the most overrated way to obtain talent for your organization. The reason why is most teams know their own organizations players pretty well.

They know the players make up as well as their games.

Can the player handle pressure?

Do they have a good work ethic to get better as a player?

This is the final part of a series of articles outlining the decisions that the Cubs will need to make this offseason. You can read part four by following this link.

After decades as the majority among the Baseball Writers Association of America, the traditionalist voters were finally overtaken by something that has eluded the Cy Young voting since its inception: Baseball logic. 

In a year that was widely renowned as the “Year of the Pitcher, Part II,” Felix Hernandez stood head and shoulders above his American League counterparts.

The New York Mets are expected to announce that they've selected Terry Collins as their new manager, signing him to a two-year contract. Collins was selected after weeks of searching, and beat out names like Bob Melvin, Wally Backman and Chip Hale.

The Mets had accumulated a long list of managerial candidates, each with something different to bring to the table, but the Mets feel Collins is the best choice to restore the Mets to relevance, and dare I say it, playoff contention.

Derek Jeter is still a free agent, much to the surprise of the entire baseball community.

Jeter's agent, Casey Close, has said that he is "baffled" by the way negotiations are proceeding and how little respect the Yankees organization is showing for their most iconic player.

This year's Cy Young award winner is a pitcher with a:

2.27 ERA (best in baseball) 

249.2 innings (best in the American league)

6 complete games (second in the American League)

232 strikeouts (second in the American League by 1)

1.06 WHIP (second in the American League)

34 games started (best in the American League)

If you asked me two days ago what I thought would have to happen for Derek Jeter not to re-sign with the Yankees, I'd basically have only three educated guesses:

1) He decided to focus his attention on his new chain of Derek Jeter's Taco Hole restaurants.

Immediately following the World Series, the New York Yankees announced the termination of pitching coach Dave Eliand, which came as no surprise.

There were many guessing games of who might be Eiland’s replacement. The front-runners looked to be current bullpen coach Mike Harkey; Rick Kranitz, who has worked with Yankees skipper Joe Girardi before; and Scott Aldred, who currently serves the role in Triple-A Scranton for the last two seasons.

The Mets have finally made a decision and named Terry Collins as their next manager.

This was a mistake, as their were much better candidates. Some got interviewed (Wally Backman and Bob Melvin) and others did not even get a shot (Bobby Valentine).

The Mets will have to live with this decision for at least the rest of the year and if the team struggles again, the fan base will once again be calling for change.

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Come March, when Spring Training rolls around, the Florida Marlins will without a doubt turn to Matt Dominguez for a shot to claim the third base job. Originally, Chris Coghlan was destined to man the hot corner until the Dan Uggla and Cameron Maybin trades left him in the outfield only this time in center. 

But what if Matt Dominguez isn't ready with the bat? His defense is major league ready at this point but at 20, many wonder whether the offense is a year or two away. He hit .252/.333/.411 with 14 HRs, 81 RBI in 138 games.