Preview/Prediction

Baseball may not be on the hearts and minds of many right now, but it will be in the next couple of months.

In part one of this series of seven on the Houston Astros baseball team, we took an in-depth look at the potential pitching rotation for next year’s team.

Following the Javier Vazquez for Melky Cabrera trade, the Braves' fanbase has gone berserk.

"What? Our best pitcher for a crappy fourth outfielder?" and blah, blah, blah.

Well, while it is tough to see Vazquez go, we should all just chill out and accept the trade. And there are a couple of reasons why.

First of all, Frank Wren found only a couple of teams willing to take Derek Lowe, and all of the teams wanted the Braves paying about half of the salary left on Lowe's contract.

Now think about this: How mad would all of you have been if the Braves did this:

The 2009 starting rotation of the Colorado Rockies turned in the greatest performance of any rotation in the franchise's history. Several team records fell as the regular five hurlers took their turn and pitched very well time and time again.

Ubaldo Jimenez, Jason Marquis, Jorge De la Rosa, and Jason Hammel each started 30 or more games, and Aaron Cook got the ball 27 times. Each won 10 or more games—the only team in MLB that could make such a claim.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, the Yankees may be close to acquiring a starter:

Yankees working very hard tonight on deal for starting pitcher. Remember that they came close to deal for Aaron Harang in summer.

The Yankees have been busy this offseason, already landing Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson, and have since turned their attention to the starting rotation.

As bold and premature predictions go, this may be the ultimate. In the world of baseball prognostication, it is nearly heresy to even consider what I am about to propose.

As I cast my eyes across the National League, however, I am left with no alternative. It simply must be noted: the Washington Nationals have a very real chance of making the postseason in 2010.

The 2010 campaign for the the New York Mets will begin this spring in Port St Lucie, Fla., for Spring Training and many changes are expected from prior years.

Here is my list of things that will be different about the 2010 season:

1)  No WBC this year, last year the Mets sent 16 players to this 21-day tournament in March, and it was a disruption to both the league and the Mets as a team. 

I’m not normally one to criticize Chris Carpenter.

I spent a solid month arguing with whoever would listen about why he should win the Cy Young, and even wrote a manifesto about why he was a the best choice.

Jason Bay is as good as gone.

Marco Scutaro is an offensive flash in the pan.

Boston billboards should be re-painted to warn Sox fans of the inevitable decline of David Ortiz.

Jacoby Ellsbury is David Dejesus with speed.

J.D. Drew is the most expensive injury-prone outfielder since Ken Griffey Jr. last donned a Reds uniform.

Last year, I did a ridiculously early playoff prediction.

I picked the Blue Jays and Mets to meet in the World Series... The Blue Jays started off the season on-fire and I got excited, but then failed... and the Mets were riddled with injuries.

However, I did get five out of the eight teams right -- the Rockies, Dodgers, Cardinals, Yankees, and Twins.

Continuing with the theme of last night's position players article (see: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/310728-heres-a-thought-nathaniels-ext...), here is a look at who, among the current pitchers in the Oakland organization, is best served to break camp with the team in 2010.

As I said in the other article, a lot can happen between now and then, but this operates on an "If the Season Started Tomorrow" premise.