Kuzul

With football season coming to a close, many sports fans now turn their attention to the sunny beacon of hope that is spring training.

Even at this early stage of the season, it is always fun to pick who will win the major awards and which teams will be playing in October, but the following goes one further, not only picking those things, but also making some more player-specific predictions for all 30 teams.

So here are my 50 bold predictions for the 2011 season, because when you predict 50 things, you’re bound to be correct on at least a few of them, right?

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Few divisions in baseball have benefited as much from top-level prospects over the past few seasons.

Just take a look at the World Series champion San Francisco Giants, who were led to the title on the bat of Buster Posey and the arm of Madison Bumgarner.

Drop one rung down in the standings, and you’ll find a team, the Padres, who were guided by a fantastic season by Mat Latos, who if healthy the entire 2010 season would have been worthy of some Cy Young attention.

Move on to the Rockies, and you’ll find Carlos Gonzalez, a former top prospect in three different organizations and star of the Rockies 2010 season. Car-Go warranted serious MVP consideration as the Rockies made a late push for the wild-card.

Move even further down, and you’ll find a Dodger’s effort boosted by rookie John Ely and the usual consistent efforts from homegrown players Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.

And last but not least, the Diamondbacks, where former top prospects Daniel Hudson and Barry Enright emerged as major pieces in Arizona’s rebuilding effort.

2011 should be another banner year for the NL West in the prospect race. There are several top-notch talents ready to arrive on the scene and once again play major roles and potentially impact the pennant race.

Let’s meet them, the top 25 prospects in the National League West.

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The 2011 season is nearly upon us and the anticipation in the air is palpable. There is still time for teams to make improvements and increase their chances at a successful season.

But as the available free agents dwindle, the 2011 picture is coming into clearer focus.

Which teams have the best shot at the postseason will depend on a number of factors.  Some say pitching rules the day, others hang their hats on offensive outbursts.

The following is a list of all 30 teams, from worst to first, which ranks their chances at making the playoffs in 2011.

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The Major League Baseball offseason is coming to a close, as it is not long until players begin reporting to their respective camps.

With the regular season rapidly approaching, it is now time to look ahead at what teams are going to look like and how we think they will do.

Every year, there are the teams that win a ton of games, and then, there are the teams who don’t win many games.  Although these teams are different in many, many ways, there is one thing they do have in common.  

They all have their own strengths, regardless of whether they are winners or losers; they all have strong areas.  It could be pitching, hitting or several other things that separate them from other teams.

This article will analyze the biggest strengths of all 30 MLB teams as we approach the 2011 regular season.  Taking into account several factors including key additions, acquisitions and young players who could improve said team in a certain area.

So, without further ado, let us begin.

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The 2010-11 MLB offseason is nearing its end, and most players of note have now been signed to contracts. There are some free agents lurking around, mainly in the DH department, such as Vladimir Guerrero and Manny Ramirez, but nearly all position players have found a home at this point.

Now that the big names are signed, it is time to look back at the offseason moves. Some were genius plays by teams, others looked ridiculous. This is not the place for that. Instead, I will be looking at the most overrated moves. Which moves were hyped to no end, yet will not make much of a difference for the teams that made them?

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The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2011 inducted two very different, yet (in my mind) two very deserving players. Roberto Alomar was perhaps the premier all-around player of our time, and Bert Blyleven was a strikeout machine who could at least keep his team in games, even if they didn’t get the win.

While the Class of 2012 will likely be empty, there are many active players who seem like sure things when their time comes. Albert Pujols, Roy Halladay, and Joe Mauer are examples of players who will probably have no trouble.

There are a few borderline cases as well, such as Andy Pettitte or Jim Thome (though 10 years ago, he’d have been in on the first ballot)

The following are 25 great players who are either great now or on the tail end of their careers. Unfortunately for them though, they will not be a part of the Hall of Fame for various reasons unless the Hall goes crazy like they did in the late 1960s/early 1970s (the inductions of Rube Marquard, Jesse Haines and Paul Waner really hurt the Hall).

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Shortstops are rarely known for their offensive prowess.

Instead, they are generally known for their defense. They play a position that sees more scorchers than any other and a team benefits greatly from having a sure-handed player there. 

This is a list for the men who played the position the best, who sat in there and took countless bad hops to the chest just to record an out. 

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There is a plethora of speed on the base paths in Major League Baseball.

We all know Carl Crawford can swipe more bags in a single game than some might all season long, but is he the fastest player in the league?

While New York Mets fans will argue for Jose Reyes and Toronto Blue Jays fans will make the case for Rajai Davis, there are some other athletes in the league that may build quite an impressive resume in 2011 and beyond.

Beginning with the AL East, we’ll take a look at all the speed in the league by division as we break down who should be a valuable asset to his team in the upcoming campaign.

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It’s hard to tell from that picture, but that is Manny Ramirez inside the Green Monster in the middle of a game.

In baseball there are plenty of guys who have a love and passion for the game that is admirable.

However, there are also plenty of people who seem more interested in themselves than the game, or their team for that matter.

This is a list dedicated to the latter.

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The NL West was arguably one of the best divisions last season thanks in large part to the Giants bullpen and the Padres’ early success.

With young talent running deep, the NL West looks to continue its exciting play and eventually sponsor a squad in a playoff run in October.

Let’s look at 25 guys that could make that a reality, or a repeat.

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