Rankings/List

The Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme has been a terrible tragedy for many in the United States.  For those not familiar with ponzi schemes, it refers to a financial "investment" company, where the person running the scheme pays dividends to those investing their money with the investments that new investors make. 

Now how does this affect the New York Mets?  Well, according to the lawsuit, Mets owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon invested both team money and personal money into the team.

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training next week, teams around the league are looking to shore up their rosters and prepare for the season ahead. In Houston, Astros GM Ed Wade has some big decisions not only in the next few months, but also important choices for the future of the franchise.

Wade made a lot of big deals this offseason, notably bringing in Bill Hall and Clint Barmes for veteran support in the middle of the infield and also signing veteran ace Wandy Rodriguez to a new three year, $34 million contract.

Michael Young has been the one consistent face on the Rangers over the last decade, but now it seems his days in Arlington may be coming to an end.

Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock have all come and gone, but Young has stayed.  Through the losing, through the ownership quagmire, Young has been an All-Star six times, a versatile presence on the field (starting at three different positions), and a leader in the clubhouse.

This week, we take a look at the best hitter-pitcher combo in the American League.

I'm one who believes total value wins championships. Not pitching, not defense and not a power bat. If you have the overall balance and more total value, you're the best.

So, then, it would be important to have both a solid bat (who can play defense, but that's not factored in here) and an ace on the mound. A door slammer if you will.

Over the course of the past few seasons and offseasons, you've probably heard it said quite a few times. "It's a great time to be a Phillies fan." While that indeed is the case, it got me to thinking—where do some of today's Phillies' stars rank among the greatest Phillies of all time? How many Phillies could be called the greatest at their position in the history of this lengthy franchise? Are there any who could be called the greatest?

Young players, whether they be mid-season call-ups or rookies who make the team out of spring training, tend to have a massive impact on their team's success.

From players like Buster Posey and Jason Heyward to Neftali Feliz, more and more are young stars expected to produce immediately upon their arrival in the majors. 

Let's take a look at who we can expect to have some of the biggest impacts on their team's success in the 2011 season... 

During my current series, I will be examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the American League East, on a position-by-position basis.

The players at each position will be ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players. 

Today, the series continues with a look at the second basemen.

While the 2011 free-agent frenzy has pretty much come and gone, there is always next year. Let's take a sneak peek at what might be in store for the winter of 2012.

A solid crop of talent that will be on the open market, including Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, Aramis Ramirez, Rickie Weeks, Carlos Beltran, Mark Buehrle, Jonathan Papelbon and maybe even Albert Pujols.

Heading into the 2011 season, the Philadelphia Phillies are widely believed to be the favorite in the National League East, and maybe even the National League. 

However, to say that a team is without holes is unreasonable; in the case of the 2011 Phillies, there are indeed many questions that remain as they head to Clearwater to begin training.  On Friday, the Phillies packed up their trucks and sent the team's gear down I-95 to Florida.

Here are the top 17 questions that remain going into Spring Training.

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.