We are T-minus six days from Opening Day of the 2011 MLB season. The first official pitch will be thrown by Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers in Yankee Stadium.

It's a great time of the year.

I used to have to sleep with a baseball in my hand around this time of year when I played coach-pitch ball. Now, I just get the itch to scour online ticket vendors for cheap seats to great games.

SEATTLE MARINERS

Last Year: 61-101, fourth in AL West  

Manager: Eric Wedge

PROJECTED LINEUP 

C- Miguel Olivio (R) 

1B- Justin Smoak (S)

2B- Brendan Ryan (R) or Adam Kennedy (L)

3B- Chone Figgins (S) 

SS- Jack Wilson (R)

LF- Milton Bradley (S)

CF- Franklin Gutierrez (R)

RF- Ichiro Suzuki (L)

DH- Jack Cust (L)

Opening Day 2011 is less than a week away, and the Washington Nationals have yet to officially name their starting center fielder. Unofficially, the Washington Post is reporting that Rick Ankeil will get the nod, essentially banishing Nyjer Morgan to Syracuse to start the season.

Joe Saunders, the man who wept when he was traded to the Diamondbacks, has made fans weep this entire spring, and last night was the biggest cry-fest of all.  In a game that Saunders needed to pitch well he fell flat. 

After being inconspicuously omitted when Kirk Gibson was naming the starters earlier in the week the pressure was on Saunders to have a quality outing and show that he deserves to be one of the five.

Year in and year out, catcher has often been a talent-scarce position when it comes to fantasy baseball.

In 2011, that's not necessarily the case.

In my opinion, the top four fantasy catchers are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, but there are plenty of options as you go deeper into the draft that can help (or, at least, won't hurt) your team.

Here are the top 15 catchers for 2011:

Opening day is only seven days away, which means it's time to ponder and predict what the Philadelphia Phillies will accomplish in the 2011 baseball season. They go into this season with one of the best pitching rotations in baseball history and are the presumptive favorites to represent the National League in the World Series.

From Ryan Howard's potential bombs over the left field fence at Citizens Bank park to Raul Ibanez's crucial role with the absence of Jason Werth, we look at these 10 bold predictions for the 2011 Phillies baseball season.

The 2011 Opening Day lineup is out, and it's a little surprising.

1. Martin Prado (R/LF)

2. Nate McLouth (L/CF)

3. Chipper Jones (B/3B)

4. Brian McCann (L/C)

5. Dan Uggla (R/2B)

6. Jason Heyward (L/RF)

7. Alex Gonzalez (R/SS)

8. Freddie Freeman (L/1B)

Weeks of speculation have finally come to an end.

The rotation shuffling that saw the A’s top four starters all in the running to make the opening night start over the past two weeks finally concluded when manager Bob Geren named Trevor Cahill his opening day starter this morning.

Just last season, Cahill battled through spring for the fifth and final spot in the rotation before he finally found himself starting the season in Sacramento on a rehab assignment.

The Diamondbacks have recently been in contact with the Texas Rangers about acquiring third baseman Michael Young, however it appears as though no serious talks have since proceeded. It was recently reported that the Rangers would be willing to pay half of his remaining $48 million contract, or $16 million per season through 2013.

The likelihood of Brian Wilson appearing on Opening Day at Chavez Ravine is doubtful after he was yanked from a bullpen session today.

Reports from ESPN are saying he felt a little discomfort and was told to stop.

Is this a setback?

Who are you asking?

According to Wilson, no, but then again this is Brian Wilson, and rarely do we see him stress publicly about anything, especially something as lowly as a strained oblique. It just doesn't fit his lumberjack persona.