With Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth out of the picture now, the free agency period has settled into the backdrop.  However, many players are still out on the market looking for contracts. 

Even with the big names signing big contracts, there is still plenty of talent available.  Here are the top 20 free agents that are still available. 

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Being of Generation Y—loosely defined as the segment of the population who saw Jenny McCarthy's botox-ravaged face on New Year's Eve and wondered where the last 15 years went—I've become quite Internet savvy.

That means I can filter out much of what doesn't interest me and gravitate toward content that sits on my Mount Rushmore of Internet usage: Fantasy sports/real sports/attractive women/Wikipedia. There's nothing I need on a computer screen that doesn't fit one of those four categories.

The Designated Hitter—home of the offensively talented and the defensively challenged players. By not having to play the field many players have been able to prolong, or even make, a career through offensive contributions alone. 

As we head towards our fantasy drafts for 2011, there’s a debate raging as to who should be the first pitcher off the board. 

Sure, you may get the occasional person who prefers Tim Lincecum, but for most the decision comes down to the 2010 Cy Young Award winners: Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez.

Who should be the first pitcher off the board on draft day? Let’s break it down category-by-category and see:

Strikeouts

All in all 2010 was a great season—historic you could say! 

Pitchers were once again in control.  The average runs per game for each team in 2010 was nearly a run lower than in 2000 (5.39 compared to 4.44), and an enhanced drug policy enforcing a more regulated testing system has shown the fans that the game can be played clean.  

In articles like this, many websites will provide readers with the best overall prospects at any given position, but the intention here is to focus on those prospects that are likely to provide the greatest fantasy impact for the 2011 season; thus, while Oakland 1B prospect Chris Carter may have some long-term potential, he won’t be on my list because he is blocked—at least in the short-term—by Daric Barton.

Ditto for Yonder Alonso in Cincinnati.

Heading into 2010 fantasy owners wanted to believe that the Chicago White Sox’ Gordon Beckham would mature into a must-use second base option.  He was coming off an impressive rookie season as a third baseman (.270, 14 HR, 63 RBI, 58 R in 378 AB) with a line that certainly would play well at second base especially when projected over a full season.

Unfortunately a repeat performance was not in the cards as Beckham struggled:

It's been quite a few weeks since former Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland was removed from the team's equation for 2011, and Cubs coach Larry Rothschild was hired to replace him.

The many ways in which Rothschild is a major upgrade for the Yankees this coming season (and the obvious and equal number of ways Eiland's departure was necessary) will be dealt with by others in the coming months and season.

Back in 2007, the Washington Nationals had a center fielder who had no power, couldn’t bunt and tried to hit left-handed pitching from both sides of the plate, neither with any success. For most of the season, his on-base percent was below .300 and yet then-manager Manny Acta publicly supported him and guaranteed that he would remain the team’s everyday center fielder.

With the new addition of former Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks and a great 2010 from Daniel Bard, there has been a lot of speculation as to what will happen with Jonathan Papelbon.  There has been much talk of a trade, as Paps will likely test the market and walk after the season.  While these three arms could each close for the Sox in ’11 and see tremendous results, the team is best served with Papelbon remaining on the roster closing games.