Almost every season, we see a team, including the players on it, that seem to surprise everyone.

Teams often get counted out too early, and throughout the season, show why everyone was wrong. Prospects come up, young players form into quality producers, and sometimes, players are acquired.

The most recent example would be the San Diego Padres, who were projected to finish fifth in the NL West by most people, despite the quality pitching they had.

In Oliver Stone's 1987 film, Wallstreet, Bud Fox, an ambitious stockbroker, gets into a heated argument with his hero Gordon Gekko, a Wall Street legend known for always being on the winning end of corporate deals.

After learning that Gekko has wrecked and decided to sell off his dad's friends and employer, Fox confronts Gekko. The following exchange takes place in the film:

Fox: "How many yachts can you water ski behind? How much is enough?"

Being unable to win the Cliff Lee "SweepStakes", or find a similar starter in trade to beef up their starting pitching rotation, the Texas Rangers will have to look primarily within themselves for help for now. 
 
The looming questions they will have to answer as they head to Spring Training are: how can the Rangers recapture the magic that propelled them to the American League Championship without an ace like Lee?  And what will they do with Michael Young?
 

By Mike Harris, Senior Writer for 4thandHome.com

Our first entry in this series looked at the September Star phenomenon and how an astute eye could have forecasted a Jose Bautista 2010 breakout. This week, we take a look at our first nominee, Drew Stubbs, to determine if he's destined for 2011 stardom.

It may come as a bit of shock, but the Florida Marlins aren't done with their offseason shopping. Foxsports.com is reporting that the Marlins are interested in Texas Rangers third baseman Michael Young who recently demanded a trade. 

Entering Spring Training, the Atlanta Braves only have a few questions surrounding the depth of their team, something manager Fredi Gonzalez will surely keep an eye on throughout February and March.

Over the course of the next month, Gonzalez will decide on the club's fifth starter — likely Mike Minor — and also evaluate the team's relievers, as they are looking for someone to occupy the final bullpen spot.

Albert Pujols is being offered an eight-year deal worth over $200 million, according to a report from Sports Illustrated. The three-time MVP has given the Cardinals a deadline lasting until Wednesday, to offer him a contract that he would sign, if it matched what he is looking for.

The current proposed contract would average out to over $25 million a season, almost identical to the deal Alex Rodriguez currently has with the New York Yankees.

Before anybody gets excited here, this is just a hypothetical situation. 

It's a situation created in order to prove a point, and to create an awareness of the value of top prospects.

But are they really worth the insanely high price tag placed upon them?

That's what I hope to accomplish with this article. 

By the time you are done reading this, I want you to question the train of thought of general managers around the game when they deem a minor league kid untouchable. 

Pitchers and Catchers Report.

For many, those four special words signal the beginning of the end of the long winter months and the unofficial start of the new sports calendar. 

In the recent weeks, I have been compelled to think about the current commissioner, Bud Selig, and his impact on the game of baseball.

Last week, I compared Pedro Martinez and Walter Johnson to determine who the greatest pitcher of all time was. My answer was Pedro—and it wasn't even close.