Rankings/List

When Los Angeles Angels' manager Mike Scioscia announced last Thursday that starting pitcher Scott Kazmir would open the season as a member of the starting rotation, he was asked by reporters whether or not Kazmir had earned the spot.

“Earned?” Scioscia said. “Define ‘earned.’”

Not exactly a stirring vote of confidence.

However, Kazmir, who struggled last season with a 9-15 record and a 5.94 ERA, is owed $14.5 million this season.

I know I've hardly been a beacon glowing in the otherwise dark night of the Chicago Cubs. In fact, you might say I'm much more of a realist than most Cubs fans.

Still, always looking at the grim realities can become downright boring and so, in an attempt to liven up my day, allow me to put on the ol' rose-colored glasses and search out reasons to be hopeful that 2011 will be a better year than 2010 for us Cubs fans.

From Rusty Kuntz and Dick Pole to Randy Johnson and Wonderful Monds, baseball has had a knack for providing us with funny names. 

With fantasy baseball season approaching, it's integral for owners to think of a funny team name, and those best team names often stem from actual players.

I've attempted to compile the 50 funniest, ironic, awesome and just random player names of 2011. Enjoy. 

Begin Slideshow

This is the sixth offering in my series of All-Franchise teams. Since Tampa Bay along with Florida are relatively new franchises, I have relaxed the rules a tad for the two. There is no minimum requirement as to tenure with the franchise. Unlike most franchises you will not find any current Hall of Famers on this list.

Begin Slideshow

Before the start of the season, I wanted to see which pitchers statistically had the best fastballs, curveballs, sliders, cutters, changeups and splitters of the 2010 season.

Here are a look at the top fastballs of the 2010 season. A few notes:

The Pitch Value data was created by Fangraphs.com. I will be using the statistic, wFA, which denotes the runs above average for a particular pitch—in this case a fastball.  

Yes! Baseball season is almost upon us. We all know what that means here in Chicago.

It means going to the ballpark on a hot summer day, watching game after game with friends on a daily basis and, oh yeah, countless arguments over which team is the better team, the White Sox or the Cubs.

Anyone who is a fan of either team knows how fun these arguments are, but also how heated they could get. I guess that's what makes baseball so exciting here in Chicago.

Money does grow on trees in professional sports. All you have to do is look at contracts that teams dole out every season that make fans scratch their heads and swear at their computers until steam shoots out of their ears.

While researching the teams and their contracts, one thing has become evident. If you sign more than a couple players to bad contracts, the odds are the list will continue to grow. Teams like the Mariners, Dodgers, Rangers, Tigers  and Yankees have been notoriously bad in spending their money. The Yankees can afford it. The Mariners and Rangers can't.

The 2010 baseball season was the closest we have come to "The Year of the Pitcher" since 1968, when it was custom to win more than 20 games, and batting averages just barely slid into the .200's.

In 2010, it was crazy how many no-hitters and perfect games were thrown.

We, as fans, are blessed to be witnessing such talents on the mound these days.

Not just talent, but young talent.

I'm talking guys like Tim Lincecum, Felix Hernandez, Ubaldo Jimenez, David Price, etc. The list goes on and on.

Manny Ramirez seems to really be enjoying himself in a Tampa Bay Rays uniform. Although there are still a lot of skeptics that think that currently the Rays are only experiencing the honeymoon phase with Manny.

It is also possible that Manny and the Rays could truly be a very good fit for each other at this time. The key phrase being "at this time."

With the massive departure of regular faces and vital contributors from Tampa Bay in the offseason, bringing in Ramirez makes a lot of sense for both the player and the team.

Los Angeles Angels (2010 record: 80-82)

The Angels had a rough offseason. It pales in comparison to the one suffered by the NY Mets (the Madoff effects, a lawsuit, a loan from MLB, cleaning house in the front office, etc.), but it was bad nonetheless.