Kuzul

The Mannywood era of Dodger baseball came to a close in 2010. Now that the slugger has moved on from the City of Angels, the hunt is on to replace him.

Dipping below 700 total runs scored in 2010 for the first time since 2005, the Dodgers need to improve their offense if they plan on climbing to the top of the National League West once again. Even with Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, they were a team that was 27th in baseball in home runs at 120 and 24th in RBI at 621.

For the Dodgers to succeed in 2011, they will need some help from Ned Colletti to improve the offense. Can he lure Princewood to Los Angeles?

Here are 10 potential sluggers who can make Mannywood a thing of the past at Chavez Ravine in 2011.

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This is a difficult time for many of those who believe the game will forever be tainted by the Performance Enhancing Drug era.

I refuse to call it the “Steroid Era” as many of the so-called cheaters never actually took a steroid. If you’re going to label something, it may as well be accurate.

I will admit that some of the things MLB players did during this time disgusts me. It’s not so much the fact that they cheated, but that they were so smug and arrogant that they thought they could get away with it.

So here we are with Hall of Fame ballots in our hands with blank looks on our faces. How are we supposed to vote? From this point on, how are we supposed to determine which players from this era deserve enshrinement and which deserve to be left outside with their noses pressed against the windows of the Hall of Fame?

In my opinion the players have to be taken on a case by case basis.

It is patently unfair to just take the players from the PED Era and lump them all together in one uniform group. There are some players that have never been linked to a PED, but have had guilt projected upon them nonetheless. I’m in favor of protecting them because they are being hunted as well.

I am going to look at not only PED users, but also those who have been unfairly targeted by some as being guilty by association.

I know this is a passionate subject for many, but passion should not suspend a person’s rationality. Unfortunately for many, it does.

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The Major League Baseball free agency period is beginning to wind down. Adrian Beltre has signed with the Texas Rangers, Matt Garza is now a Chicago Cub after a big trade and many teams have wrapped up signing players for the 2011 season.

Other free agents have not been as lucky. Rafael Soriano is still looking for a club, as are Brian Fuentes, Eric Chavez and others. Teams still have openings on their roster for talent, and even as we speak players are being signed to deals. What are the top MLB rumors right now? Is Rafael Soriano close to a deal? Who did the San Diego Padres just sign? Could Jim Thome be on a new team next year?

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Manny Ramirez is without a doubt one of the most powerful and productive hitters to ever play the game of baseball.  Manny has a career average of .313 and has hit 555 home runs in his colorful career.  Manny is a 12-time All-Star and has won the Hank Aaron award twice.  He has won two World Series rings with the Boston Red Sox (2004,2007) and was the World Series MVP in 2004.  

Despite his hitting success, Manny Ramirez has been a serious cancer to any team that has taken him in.  His immature antics, his laziness, and his lack of passion has irritated every team he has ever played for and has resulted in him switching teams on more than a few occasions.  Manny Ramirez has also been plagued by the accusations surrounding his usage of steroids.  

The past couple of years have been a struggle for Manny as he has dealt with a ton injuries and a lot of criticism.  On the occasions that Manny has played, he has hit for a high average but has been dealing with a serious power outage.  Whether it be age, injuries, or the lack of a certain performance-enhancing drug, one thing is certain, Manny is not the same Manny he once was and it appears as though retirement is not far away.

Manny would still like to play and buzz was generated when he spoke to ESPN Deportes about how he liked the Toronto Blue Jays and how he has always wanted to play with them.  Ramirez has had very few suitors this offseason and is hoping that a team will take a chance on him.  I believe that Manny Ramirez and the Toronto Blue Jays would be a perfect match for 10 reasons……

Please note that the slides are not ranked, just numbered.

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The world series was won.  The parade is over.  Now it’s time to look at the division as a whole and really ponder about who is going to come out on top in 2011.  Many changes have been made to all teams in the division and fans from Los Angeles, San Diego, Arizona, Colorado and especially San Fransisco all know that their team has a chance to compete.  Let’s go down the list of teams in the division and see who has the best shot of coming out on top in the NL West.

As a Dodger fan, I’ve been waiting way too long for another world series to land in Los Angeles.  The last world series the Dodgers competed in was in 1988 when they won.  The cheers can still be heard in Dodger Stadium from Gibson’s walk off.  Since then, the Boys In Blue have yet to make it past the National Championship Series while loosing it recently, two years in a row to the Philadelphia Phillies in ’08 and ’09.  

2010 was a bust for the Dodgers while they struggled to win towards the end of the season.  Disappointed fans erupted up all over the city while their team subsequently imploded.  It was a sad and wasted last season for manager Joe Torre as he left with an under .500 record for the first time in over 10 years.  The departed Manny Ramirez was good and bad news for some fans, however his short reign of Mannywood will always be remembered in Chavez Ravine.  

This year the Dodgers added some new acquisitions such as Jon Garland, Matt Guerrier and Blake Hawksworth to shore up the pitching in both the rotation and the bullpen. Russel Martin decided his time with the Dodgers was over and in came Dioner Navarro and a starting job for Rod Barajas.  Navarro was with the Dodgers in 2005 and half of 2006 before being traded to Tampa Bay.  

Overall, the Dodgers really didn’t make any key moves this offseason to show that they really want to compete in the season ahead.  Although they added Juan Uribe and Tony Gwynn Jr., it doesn’t look like 2011 will be any different from 2010.  However, if key players such as Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, James Loney, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw and Jonathon Broxton continue to evolve into their own and reach their full potential this season without injury, then the Dodgers will be an unstoppable force that will easily be able to compete for a title.

The San Diego Padres were left upset by the events towards the end of the 2010 season when all they had to do was win a couple of games and they would have been set to compete in the playoffs.  You could hear the cries of agony from Padre fans all across the California coast.  

The age of Adrian Gonzalez is over and in come the new look Padres. Their phenomenal pitching got them as far as they did last season winning 90 games however it wasn’t enough to win the division.  With Gonzo gone, short stop Jason Bartlett, first baseman Brad Hawpe and comical second baseman Orlando Hudson have found their way into the Padres starting line up.  

Also, with Chase Headley still at third, the infield is looking good for 2011.  The Padres’ rotation hasn’t changed much except with the addition of Aaron Harang who should eat up some innings to relieve the bullpen of the long gap to Heath Bell.  Other than that, the Padres have relatively the same bullpen and outfield as last season with the addition of young Cameron Maybin in center field.  

Even without the presence of Gonzalez, the Padres are looking like a young team that is ready to compete and maybe even win more games than last season.  Look for them to be a competitor in the hunt for their first world series.

The Colorado Rockies look to throw their hat in the mix as they resigned Carlos Gonzalez to a hefty deal reassuring fans that they are ready to play ball.  Todd Helton hasn’t aged a bit and Troy Tulowitzki is as productive as ever as long as he can stay healthy.  The Rockies have a bunch of guys who can put the bat on the ball and rack up a lot of hits.  

They also have a decent rotation with young phenom Ubaldo Jimenez as the ace.  Young Jhoulys Chacin looks like his days in the big leagues may be in stone for 2011 as long as he keeps his swagger.  Last year he came up and did very well for the Rockies as a 22-year-old rookie.  

This year the Rockies rotation should be pretty decent as long as they all can stay healthy. With the addition of Jose Lopez, they should have even more power in the infield.  The outfield is looking pretty good as well with Cargo, Dexter Fowler and Seth Smith.  Overall, the Rockies should be putting up numbers on the scoreboard and as long as they don’t get hurt, they shouldn’t have a problem fighting for first in the west.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have a lot of issues to deal with as we move into the 2011 season.  With the loss of the two main power producers in Mark Reynolds and Adam LaRoche, the D-Backs will be looking to their youth as the power supply.  Justin Upton and Chris Young look to keep the team in contention although it is going to be very hard to do considering the team is in a rebuilding stage.  

New additions such as Xavier Nady, Melvin Mora and Juan Miranda hope to help the team win more than just 65 games.  First base should be interesting as youngsters Juan Miranda and Brandon Allen share the duties.  Kelly Johnson and Stephen Drew have stayed put in the middle infield and hope to contribute some “pop” as well to the lineup.  

The rotation for the D-Backs is very young and the only notable veterans were recently added either last season or this offseason such as Zach Duke, the former Pirate, and Joe Saunders, who they received in turn for Dan Haren during the 2010 season.  Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy and Barry Enright all show promise as they made their way to the show last season.  

The bullpen was also revamped, which was definitely needed, with closer JJ Putz.  For 2011, the D-Backs are going to need a positive direction under new manager Kirk Gibson and maybe with some luck, they’ll be able to compete with other teams in the league.  If any team would be considered a “sleeper” team in 2011, this would be the team.

Last but certainly not least, the World Champion San Fransisco Giants.  They are going to have a hard time protecting their title with all the moves that other teams have made this offseason.  The Giants rotation should stack up as still one of the best in baseball.  The only question in the rotation remains with Barry Zito.  He hasn’t had a winning record since he joined the Giants in 2007.  

Although no rotation can match up to the Phillies on paper, the Giants still have an arsenal that will definitely strikeout a ton of helpless batters.  With new addition Miguel Tejada at short and the rest of the infield staying the same as 2010, it should be interesting to watch the team bond as they’ve basically kept the same team.  It will be interesting to see Buster Posey’s first full season in the big leagues.  

In the end, Cody Ross was added to right field, but other than that, there haven’t been any real impacting transactions that stand out.  Nonetheless, the Giants have the best shot at winning the division and possibly making it past that in the post season.

Like every season in every sport, the team that can stay healthy and win games will be the victor.  It should be an interesting 2011 season.  Will there be a version 2.0 to “season of the pitcher”, or will there be home runs left and right?  With spring training just around the corner, only time will tell what new and exciting adventures await baseball fans.

The National League West will without a doubt be the toughest division in the league with multiple teams that have shots at being very successful in the near future.  You never know what team might come out of no where and sweep everyone off their feet.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

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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The MLB has benefited greatly off of imported talent.  A recent wave of Japanese and South American players have taken the game by storm.  

Today, about 27% of MLB consists of foreign-born players.  Great talents like Hideki Matsui and Ichiro were established already in Japan.  They still were able to make an even bigger name for themselves here in the States.  Many others from South American countries as well have “made it big” in America.  Collectively, these foreign-born plays add another dimension to the game.  

Baseball has become the most diverse sport in the world.  It’s no longer limited to the 50 states in America but has expanded across the globe.

A lot of scouting goes into finding talent overseas.  Teams with better international scouting tend to land such talent.  We’ve seen foreign players (who teams sometimes know little about) get some large contracts here.  Whether deservedly or not, many have had success in MLB.  

Here are the top five free-agent signings of foreign-born players.  

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Money makes the world go ’round, even (and especially) in Major League Baseball.

If nothing else, money makes baseball’s off-season much more interesting, with teams handing out absurdly large contracts left and right, to the likes of Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth and Cliff Lee.

The teams that contend year after year–the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies, among others—are among the biggest spenders, while those that always struggle or only occasionally have good seasons—the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San Diego Padres and the Oakland A’s, to name a few, spend only a fraction of what the former teams do on their payrolls.

Of course, more money doesn’t necessarily result in more wins; just ask the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

With that in mind, the following list is a ranking of all 30 MLB teams based on how much money each spent per win earned in 2010. Admittedly, there is much more to evaluating the success or failure of a franchise than just dividing its opening day payroll by the number of victories it earns, both in the regular season and the post-season.

That being said, there is still quite an interesting mix across the spectrum, with a remarkably large percentage of 2010’s biggest winners coming from baseball’s batch of frequently frugal spenders.

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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. 

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While most of the winter’s biggest prizes have been snatched up (Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford to name a couple) and delivered as early Christmas presents to franchises, there still remains a solid group of free agents who can impact the upcoming season for many prospective teams. In the spirit of the New Year, let’s countdown from the Type Bs to Type As remaining on the Free Agent landscape and where they will land in 2011:

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