Preview/Prediction

Nick Johnson is the presumptive replacement for Johnny Damon in the two hole for the New York Yankees as Spring Training is about to open.

Johnson was signed as a free agent after Hideki Matsui was let go as the Yankees DH. So some will speak of Johnson replacing Godzilla.

But Johnson is not the kind of hitter that Matsui was and will not hit in the five or six spot in the order.

Johnny Damon has also departed. Damon hit in the two hole last season and Johnson will take that spot.

If there is a team that could be considered the polar opposite of the juggernaut-like Philadelphia Phillies that team would be the Washington Nationals . The Nationals are a team on the rise under GM Mike Rizzo, in his short tenure he has added the best defensive OF in the game and made some moves to prepare the Nationals for contention in the not-to-distant future.

Much has been made about the Mets' weak off-season movement.  Perhaps General Manager Omar Minaya and the rest of the Mets brass was a little hesitant to open their wallet too much?

But let’s play a little hypothetical here: What if the Mets are not as bad as everyone wants them to be in 2010?  What if Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Oliver Perez reach their potential and put up 10-15 wins each?

On the evening of March 31, 2008, Kosuke Fukudome was the toast of the Chicago baseball world. The Cubs stood at 0-1 after a heart-breaking loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Fukudome, however, had overwhelmed in his American debut: he went three-for-three, with a walk, a double, and a game-tying three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

One game into his four-year, $48 million contract, Fukudome seemed poised to become a star. The 323 games since have not gone nearly so well.

Casey Kotchman, his hands in his lap, waits patiently as his plane lands in Seattle. The Emerald City is particularly resonant today, the horizon shimmering blue in the Pacific Northwest as the chill of winter bites at the coastline. But there's still that sparkle, that tiny gleam that you can only see if you're looking for it.

It's the hope embodied by the entire city of Seattle.

It's the hope of a World Series team.

Getting Adrian Beltre for a guarantee of just one year and $10 million has to be viewed as a steal for the Red Sox. It's a huge come-down from Scott Boras's early demands of four years and $40 million, or more.

Over the past week, talks between the Minnesota Twins and left-handed starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn have begun to heat up.

Scott Miller of CBSSports.com  reported on Tuesday that the Twins made an offer to the lefty but the figures of the deal had not yet been disclosed. 

What's the potential of the Pirates in 2010?
Let's take a look in this preview around the bases.

All projected stats are based solely on myself. A stat you may not recognize is home run percentage. This equation is simple it's at bats divided by home runs hit. In doing calculations for 2010 previous years are taken into account along with the possibility of improvement.

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There are several interesting player comparisons we can look at in the first few rounds of 2010 fantasy drafts.  This season seems more muddled then normal, with very few clear-cut selections for fantasy owners to make due to injuries or epic struggles in 2009.  One of the interesting debates right now comes in the second, with David Wright (ADP 14.40) currently going a selection before Carl Crawford (ADP 15.17), on average.