Kuzul

The trade deadline always brings new excitement to MLB teams and their fans, and it doesn’t matter whether the team is struggling or on their way towards the postseason.

This year there was a bevy of players who were sent all over the place and for some, it was really hard to keep up, but for others it was a torrent of player news they couldn’t get enough of.

It all started with Roy Oswalt, and went on from there, so let’s take a look at my top 10 list of who I feel were the best trades in 2010.

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Over the many years of player comparison and analysis, our understanding of what it means to be a great baseball player has continually evolved.

Along with that, we have also formed a better comprehension of the concept of a “bad” player.

There was a time when we would assess shortstops, catchers, and center fielders based merely on their offensive contributions, a practice we now understand to be shockingly limited. If ballplayers are to be judged, they must be judged for all of their contributions, both their hitting and their defense.

With this in mind, we take a look at the 20 worst players of the 2010 baseball season, guys who just kill their team in all facets of the game.

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As soon as the World Series ends, all eyes will turn to Cliff Lee and the free agent class of 2010 to see where some of the games biggest stars will end up at the start of the 2011 baseball season.

In advance, we take a look now at the top 20 free agents for the coming offseason.

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Every year we wind up hearing about a group of MLB stars that are reaching for the stars, so to speak, when it comes to playing for either a new gig in another town or an extension in their current digs.

This year there are plenty of players out there who are swinging for new deals, and I thought I would highlight a few of them for you today.

Interestingly enough, it will be where these players land and for how much that will inevitably take over the headlines, but for now, it’s what they are doing to shop themselves in an otherwise volatile FA market.

Let’s begin.

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It has been a season to forget for many teams.

While many teams, whether it be from front office mismanagement, injuries, or simply bad player performances, have disappointed in 2010, among them the Red Sox, Mets, Cubs, and Dodgers. Fortunately for these teams, however, it could be worse.

They could be the Orioles, Royals, Mariners, Nationals, Pirates, or Diamondbacks.

These are the six teams at the bottom of their respective divisions (the Royals are actually tied with the Indians, but are included as the representative team based on a worse Pythagorean W-L). Which team deserves the dubious title of “worst”, however?

Defining the worst is a tough process, and multiple factors go into it. Of course, 2010 performance has to be weighed heavily into the mix, but all six of these teams performed badly. Luck must also be considered (example, if the team significantly underperformed their Pythagorean W-L, like the Cardinals have), as must the team’s expected performance going forward.

Without further adieu, and using Jeff Zimmerman’s preseason rankings as a farm system point of reference, here are the rankings of the six bottom feeders in MLB, in order from most to least hope in 2011.

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For baseball fans, the pinnacle of the six-month grind awaits on the horizon.

With only a few weeks left in the regular season, it’s hard not to let the mind drift to October baseball, playoff drama, and the crowning of a new World Series champion.

Currently, three divisions stand all but settled.

The Minnesota Twins have a six-game lead in the American League Central, the Cincinnati Reds have a seven-game lead in the National League Central, and the Texas Rangers sit eight games up in the A.L. West.

That leaves us with three divisions up for grabs.

The New York Yankees are a half-game back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the A.L. East after losing their fourth straight.

The Philadelphia Phillies hold a one-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the N.L. East.

And the San Diego Padres are a half-game up on the San Francisco Giants with the Colorado Rockies only two-and-a-half games back in the N.L. West.

If there’s a God, we will get to enjoy the best thing other than Game 7 of a World Series: a one-game playoff to decide the division. A 163^rd game, if you will. 

In anticipation of our wish, we are ranking the top “tiebreakers” of all time. 

There’s only been 13 of these gems ever.

Keep in mind, one-game playoffs are only used to decide divisions and wild cards today. But prior to 1969—the year the League Championship Series debuted—these tiebreakers also decided league pennants.

Here’s the best eight tiebreakers ever played.

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The playoff chase is in full gear and the divisions are hotter than ever. Teams like the Rangers, Rays, Giants, and Phillies are getting that much closer to wrapping up their respective divisions. But they can’t look forward to October baseball just yet: First, they need to get through the final stretch on their schedules.

Some of these teams have a harder path than others to a division title. Who has the toughest road down the stretch and who will be ho-humming it to October baseball?

Here are the remainng schedules, ranked from hardest to easiest, for the following 10 contenders.

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Boy, this season went by fast.

Seems like just yesterday that the Mariners were gearing up to take the league by storm with lights-out pitching and defense, and the Padres were preparing to field offers for Adrian Gonzalez. Those were the days.

Now, just three weeks away from game No. 162, much of the playoff picture looks clear. The Rays, Yankees, and Rangers all seem safe bets to play into October. The Twins’ lead, while far from secure, would likely withstand a White Sox winning streak, and barring collapse, the Reds should be able to maintain their edge over the scuffling Cardinals.

But there are still questions. The Giants and Padres are tied in the NL West with the Rockies just 1.5 games back. The Phillies have a game on the Braves in the NL East, and Atlanta, in turn, has a single-game lead over San Francisco and San Diego for the Wild Card—at most three of those teams can make the playoffs.

In this slideshow are this week’s top 10 series to watch, based on intrigue and potential magnitude of impact.

Here’s to another week of great baseball!

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While some division races are winding down, others are just starting to heat up.

The Rockies, dead in the water two weeks ago, have ripped off 10 wins in a row and are now in the mix for both the Wild Card and NL West title.

Carlos Gonzalez continues to remind voters why he should be in the MVP conversation.

Troy Tulowitzki has jut finished a incredibly hot stretch as well. How hot? Well how does eight home-runs and 17 RBI in nine games sound?

The tandem are the reason the Rox find themselves within striking distance.

The Giants have been able to capitalize on the Padres’ massive slump and have tied them for first in the NL West. How will the Padres and their dismal offense respond?

The Reds, losers of seven out of ten, are allowing the Cardinals a chance to get back in the NL Central race. Yet St. Louis hasn’t been able to capitalize a whole lot, going 3-4 in the past week.

The Phillies have taken first place away from the Braves in the NL East. But with six games remaining between the two teams, that race is far from over.

The AL is lacking excitement at this point. The Rangers are in a very comfortable position in the AL West.

The Yanks and Rays have the AL East and Wild Card well in hand. And the Twins have opened up a six-game cushion on the White Sox.

As the season hits the final weeks, all of the questions about who will make the playoffs lie in the NL.

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All the talk about 2010 being the “Year of the Pitcher” in Major League Baseball is true. 

It has been an excellent year for pitchers.

For whatever reason, there’s been more no-hitters and perfect games than usual, and that’s without counting Jim Joyce’s rob job of Armando Galarraga.

But this year doesn’t only belong to the hurlers, it belongs to the young guns.

At a time when some people argue the fading relevancy of baseball, there has been more great young talent in the game than we can remember.

The amount of quality ballplayers age 26 or younger currently in baseball is staggering.

No, when it comes to TV ratings and big advertising dollars, baseball does not reign supreme. Football is America’s game now, and that’s just the way it is.

But for baseball fans, that’s OK.

As they say, more for you and me.

As the season ticks along in its final month and pennant races take shape, let’s look at some of the most impressive rookies from this year in baseball.

One last note before the show, don’t feel discouraged if your favorite rookie didn’t make the list.

We are keeping it to 10 names for this space, but there certainly have been more than 10 impressive youngsters who merit consideration.

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