Rankings/List

To say that the offseason for the Los Angeles Angels was a little contentious is akin to saying that the citizens of Egypt just wanted some minor tweaks to government.

After coming off a season in which they went 80-82 and finished out of the playoffs for only the second time in seven seasons, Halos fans were clearly looking for improvement during the offseason. What they got instead were two additions to the bullpen and a very controversial trade for the expensive Vernon Wells.

To successfully draft your closers in fantasy baseball, I suggest you consider my fantasy football philosophy to drafting a kicker.

You see, the best fantasy kickers aren’t always the best real-life kickers. They typically are not found on the team with the most high-powered offense, either. That is because kickers get most of their value when the offense sputters and they have additional field goal opportunities.

Same concept can be used on closers in baseball.

The closers with the most saves in 2010?

Now that football is finally over, the most exciting three months NOT during the baseball season have finally started.  The final transactions are taking place, depth charts are being finalized and pitching rotations are being sorted out. 

For now, though, let's have a look at the top 25 players that you will want on your fantasy team come April. 

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Throughout their history, the Mets have always been reluctant in retiring numbers that its franchise's greatest players have worn. The current front office's perception of retiring numbers is most likely more exclusive than what fans would like to see. To date, only four numbers have been retired in Mets history. The first was #37 for the legendary Casey Stengel, the Mets' first manager. His teams were not good, but Casey and his sayings all stood out during those years and it was only appropriate for him to be recognized.

Everyone always focuses on the NL and AL East Divisions, even though the AL Central usually goes down to the wire.

In 2009 the Twins beat the Tigers in a one game playoff, and in 2008 the White Sox beat the Twins in a one game playoff.

So why doesn't the AL Central get much love? Because they are in the Midwest, which means they can't get the same publicity as the East and West Coast. 

So relax, AL Central fans. This article is for you.

Tier 1: Evan Longoria
To me, there is one first round third baseman and that is Longoria.  In 2010 he showed that he could bring the total package to the table, adding stolen bases (15) and a near .300 average (.294) to an already impressive package.  While the power faded a little bit, at 25-years old it is not hard to imagine him returning to the 30 HR level.   Throw in 100/100 potential and what is there not to like?

Pitchers and catchers report next week, which in theory means the biggest offseason moves have already been completed.

Billy Beane and the A's have already made a flurry of moves, from bolstering the bullpen, adding candidates for the fifth starter spot and adding pop to the lineup.

Lets take a look at the top seven moves made by Billy Beane and the A's so far this offseason.

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Spring training is a great opportunity to get a sense of how a player's offseason went, and what to expect in terms of improvement or regression. How a player performs during spring training often helps scouts see how players are recovering from injury or whether or not to expect a player who disappointed the previous season to bounce back.

The Seattle Mariners recently signed Moises Hernandez to a minor league contract. Not a huge deal, right? Well, he's the brother of reigning AL Cy Young Felix Hernandez.

I'll get into more specifics on that later in the next slide.

I started to think, though. How many other brother combinations have there been, and often did the shared genes translated to shared talent? The best duo was Lloyd and Paul Waner, who are both hall of famers.

“Athlete” and “in shape” are often thought of as going together. It's part of the requirement, right?

You can't be one without the other.

Unless, of course, you are a major league baseball player. Then being fat is okay.

Maybe it's part of the appeal millions of Americans still have to what was once the national pastime, but baseball is a sport that can be played by the short or tall, fast or slow and in-shape or out of shape.