Preview/Prediction

With Christmas just around the corner, and the Winter GM Meetings already a thing of the past, Major League Baseball's Hot Stove league is well underway.

Going into this offseason, there was much talk about guys like Cliff Lee, the one true ace available, Jayson Werth, considered the best offensive threat on the market, and Carl Crawford, the superlative all-around threat coming off of arguably his best season.

2011 predictions are on every sports fan’s mind as the holidays near. Here are predictions for 2011 in the sports world:

MLB:

Adrian Gonzalez wins the American League MVP award after taking advantage of friendly confines of Friendly Fenway Park.

The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the World Series behind a masterful four-hit shutout by…Pedro Martinez.

There sure has been a lot of banter about the Philadelphia Phillies over the past week, and why not?

In a surprise twist worthy of an M. Night Shyamalan film, Cliff Lee passed on both the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers, the two teams thought to be the finalists for his services, to pitch once again for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Minnesota Twins, long known for their patient approach to the offseason, have quietly rebuilt their middle infield, and added new, intriguing arms to a retooled bullpen. 

There are many questions still needed to be answered for the Twins this offseason. Here's a look at the moves made so far this winter by the Twins.

Who's Gone

JJ Hardy, SS: Traded to Baltimore Orioles

After much speculation, the Kansas City Royals finally traded their star pitcher Zack Greinke on Sunday morning, sending shock waves through the rest of the baseball world.

He was traded along with Kansas City's starting shortstop from last season, Yuniesky Betancourt, in exchange for four players. Many have begun to wonder who ended up getting the better end of the deal in this one, but it is just way too early to tell at this point.

On Saturday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins formally introduced 26-year-old middle-infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka. He toured the stadium (which was snow covered), chose the No. 1 to wear in the upcoming year, and became the first Japanese import to sign with the Twins.

The deal is for three years, $9.25 million, with an option for a fourth year, 2014, for $4 million. According to mlb.com's report he "charmed" in his first press conference.

But the question still begs: Who is this guy?

I don’t know if you noticed two things, but the Oakland A’s with their ragtag, no-name pitching staff and always-youthful roster somehow stumbled their way to an 81-81 (.500) record last season in the suddenly wide-open American League West.

Last year, the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers missed the playoffs entirely.  The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees made the playoffs, but sat the World Series out while the San Francisco Giants met up with the Texas Rangers for baseball’s biggest series.

At the end of the 2010 season, ranking the top teams based on their finish would have looked something like this:

Zack Greinke was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers around 9:30 Sunday morning.  Does this announcement make him an automatic favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award?  After all, he did win the award in the American League in 2009.  Here are 10 pitchers who will compete with Greinke for the award in 2011.  

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