Preview/Prediction

Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell—after the 2010 season, we feel like we know these guys.

We saw them hit. We watched them orchestrate a dramatic transformation of the Giants clubhouse with their veteran leadership. We know their sense of humor, and we rattle off tales of their college days together with autobiographical familiarity, as if we had tagged along for the shenanigans too.

By God, we even learned their underwear preferences over the course of the 2010 season.

Baseball season is almost upon us. March 31 is almost here.

You can smell it, Opening Day 2011 is just around the corner.

Last year, everyone had a 2009 World Series re-match picked between the Yankees and the Phillies.

But, the Texas Rangers shocked all of baseball by knocking off the defending champion Yankees in the American League Championship Series and the San Francisco Giants knocked off the heavily-favored Phillies in the National League Championship Series.

With Opening Day only one week away and the list of injuries seemingly growing, fans across Dodgertown are left wondering if a door may open for one of several minor league prospects within the organization.

The track record of general manager Ned Colletti suggests that he much rather prefers middle-of-the-road veterans over the youngsters, however a handful of the farmhands have already shown positive value over the course of Cactus League play this spring.

Most baseball predictions are relatively straightforward. Sure, you can argue over whether Joey Votto will be better than Albert Pujols or who will win the AL East, but as long as the focus is on just one outcome, it's at least easy to understand the train of thought.

That's why, when one person decides to power rank all 30 MLB teams, things inevitably go awry.

There's a general consensus about how the top and the bottom should look, but in between the two extremes, things can get pretty screwy. One man's top-three team is in another man's bottom five.

Let me preface this article by saying that Jonny Gomes is one of my favorite players on the Reds.

I am wondering if being 'unofficially' awarded the left-field job prior to the start of camp hasn't sapped the slugger of his hunger.

After looking at Braves starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens’ numbers prior the start of last season, many would have slated him as the team’s No. 2 starter, right below Tim Hudson, after two impressive campaigns in both 2008 and 2009.

For every Jason Heyward that begins his rookie year right from Opening Day, there is a Buster Posey who is called up in the summer to delay his major league service clock.

These two rookies played an equally significant role for his respective team in 2010, though they reached the majors at different times.

Midsummer call-ups can alter a pennant race and a team’s fortune for that season, and 2011 won’t be different.

The Mariners were bad in 2010. There's no getting around that. The real worry here, is how do we get better?

We get better with trades. What do you need for trades? Prospects.

We get better with new talent. What is another word for new talent? Prospects.

It's all simple math, really. Here, I'll try to lay out some of those prospects that could serve a purpose in the Mariners getting over that 61-win mark.

John Farrell, the Blue Jays' new manager for the 2011 season, believes fully in having a set batting order.  He believes in having a system of attack to go against each pitcher, and thinks it is important for the players to know where they are playing and what is expected of them.  The game on Wednesday against Philadelphia might have shown the first representation of Farrell's vision.

Sometimes, when a star player goes down, the team rallies around and comes together, but the Cardinals will have to rally for an entire season. 

The loss of Adam Wainwright was the catastrophe of Spring Training, but the other 29 teams certainly don’t feel sorry for St. Louis.  The Cardinals went from having one of the best starting rotations in baseball to one with several question marks.