Since the recent acquisitions of studs Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, there has been much chatter regarding which batting order would best suit the 2011 Boston Red Sox.  If the season started today, the Sox boast arguably the deepest lineup in the A.L., maybe even the majors.  At the very least it should have very little trouble competing with a Yankee lineup that has earned the same accolade numerous times. 

The Baseball Writers Association of America will soon decide who will be elected into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

Among those who are trying to make it to Cooperstown, I believe only five will receive the necessary 75 percent needed to make it to the Hall.

First-timers include three MVPs in Jeff Bagwell (1994), Larry Walker (1997), and Juan Gonzalez (1996 and 1998). Another first-timer is Rafael Palmeiro, who probably would've been a shoe-in his first try, but it was revealed in 2005 that he used steroids.

It's been an eerily quiet offseason for most clubs.

While teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, and Dodgers have all been among the most active thus far, most have remained rather inactive in the early part of the free agent season.

With so many long-term contracts in the past that have proven to be a burden to clubs down the road, general managers aren't spending lavishly like in previous times.

It's a bad time to be a remaining free agent, because the amount of money left to spend is shrinking by the day. 

In 2010 the Minnesota Twins may have found their long term answer at third base in Danny Valencia.

Valencia joined the team in June and established himself as the everyday third baseman playing in 85 games and hitting  .311—third best on the team. 

With Justin Morneau on the opposite corner of the infield the Twins could have a very formidable twosome guarding the lines at Target Field. 

I took a look back over the Twins' history and, surprisingly, found only seven sets of corner infielders that ever played together for more than a single season.

In a year where we saw ‘Prevention and Recovery,' hirings and firings, and even some crazy top 10 plays, our New York Mets couldn’t put together a winning ball club and now our eyes are set on the promising future.

With a new regime in place that stands for almost everything opposite from the last boss, we take one last look at 2010 with the knowledge that our team will improve in 2011 and years to come. 

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After weeks of speculation, the Orioles finally signed their first baseman to finish the rebuilding of their infield. 

Derrek Lee will join recent signings J.J. Hardy and Mark Reynolds in making up the Orioles new infield, and more importantly, inject some power into an offense that was horribly stagnant in 2010.

Every fan has high hopes for his team in 2011; at least, the optimistic fans do.

The cynics and realists might already have concluded where their team is going to finish in their division next season.

Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies fans are ready to buy their World Series tickets, while Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals fans are running out of breath trying to explain to their significant others why you can't change teams.

After the 2008 season—a season where he pitched better than he had in years—Mike Mussina abruptly retired. Never mind that his ERA was the lowest it had been since 2001; likewise his WAR—the lowest since 2001. And never mind that Moose had won 20 games for the first time in career, putting him at 270 wins for his career. 300 wins—and a guaranteed Hall of Fame invite—was within reach.

Despite the gripes of New York Mets fans, Luis Castillo will at the very least be in spring training this season vying for the starting second base job that he once possessed.

He no longer has the range of his younger self and has also lost a step or two on the base paths.

But the one thing about Castillo to keep in mind is that he is owed a ton of money in the final year of his contract. Omar Minaya signed Castillo to a four-year deal after the 2007 season.

The Pearl River Hotel is the type of dusty old Irish pub where you don't wonder when the daytime regulars got to the bar, you wonder if they've ever actually left. Outsiders are met with steely glances of suspicion and the jukebox's only practical use is as a coat hanger.

It's not a place you go to meet your future wife or win a fist-pumping competition. Rather, The Hotel (as it's colloquially known) exists for the same reason all the best pubs do—to celebrate the art of conversation.