Kuzul

With the addition of MLB Network and expanded coverage on ESPN and other networks, a baseball fan can literally watch hundreds of baseball games each year from their own home. That said, nothing beats attending a game in person, as it is as much a part of summer as anything.

I have the privilege of living in the Chicago area and going to several games each year at the baseball mecca that is Wrigley Field, and with so many stadiums being rebuilt in the last decade it is one of the few classic stadiums still standing.

Baseball went through a stretch in the 1960 and 1970 when “cookie cutter” multipurpose stadiums were all the rage, and because of that there was an era of stadiums that were uninspired to say the least.

Still, there have been some truly great stadiums over the years, and what follows is the 50 greatest stadiums in baseball history.

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Baseball is all about rebuilding.

Just ask the 1997 Florida Marlins. Or maybe the 2003 Marlins.

With by far the biggest minor league system out of any of the major professional sports, baseball teams are constantly cycling through new players.

All it takes is a slow start to the season. If teams find themselves out of contention early, it’s not uncommon to see them dump big contracts and look towards the farm system and the future.

So, to fully have a grasp on where your team is headed, it is important to keep an eye on the minor leagues and the top prospects.

Let’s take a look at the young guns that can eventually help rebuild some of the teams in the AL West.

Also, I’ll just do it by position, as opposed to ranking them in order. A prospect all-star team, if you will.  

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The decision to award the 2010 Cy Young to Felix Hernandez was a historical aberration. His 13-12 record was by far the worst of any starting pitcher to win the award; his 12 losses were the most for any pitcher who failed to win 20 games.

That did not matter in the eyes of the voters, however. Had he worn a jersey reading “New York” rather than “Seattle,” he could have won close to 25 games, so good were his statistics other than his Win-Loss record.

Now, with Opening Day just over two weeks away, our attention turns to the 2011 award, and whether or not someone can dethrone King Felix.

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All major league teams are now full bore in camp and the countdown until March 31st can’t get here quick enough. With teams going through their full workouts and games starting last weekend, who are the “old timers” that came into camp maybe a little more fit than last year? Bleacher report will look at these aging stars and see if they can regain or increase their numbers from last year.

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Baseball season is finally here!

With the first spring training games played this past weekend, fans got to see the first look at what their 2011 team will look like. From getting to see their team’s big-time prospects to the veterans, everyone is starting to make their predictions on everything from how a particular player will perform in 2011 to the which team will in the World Series this season. 

Although not all teams played this past weekend, most did, and thus, we can start to get an idea of who we should keep an eye on this spring.

With that, based on this weekend and the talk about them this winter, let’s take a look at some of the players you should be keeping an eye on as spring training progresses. 

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In 2010, Troy Tulowitzki put up monster numbers for a shortstop. He showed tremendous power and led shortstops around the league in the majority of statistical categories. Last season, Tulowitzki was not the only shortstop who had a very successful year. Let’s now take a look at the top ten shortstops in Major League Baseball.

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The 2010-2011 MLB off season was one for the books. Whether it was news regarding Carl Crawford’s free agency or whether or not Zach Greinke would be traded, there was never a dull moment this winter for baseball fans. Very few teams remain in the same position as they were in November.

While there are still a handful of significant free agents still on the market such as Carl Pavano and Vladimir Guerrero, it is time to reflect on the unfolding of this winter. Which deals were the most significant? Who were the winners? Who is going to regret their aggressive behavior down the road?

In this article, I will examine the 25 most significant transactions from free agent signings to trades to re-signings. These transactions are not ranked based on how good the player(s) involved were, but how much the transaction will affect the team’s outcome. 

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MLB trade rumors never go away, even when things on the baseball front quiet down around the holidays, as is usually the case.

We’ve seen some pretty big free agent signings this offseason, chief among them being Carl Crawford and Cliff Lee. There have also been some big trades, such as the Adrian Gonzalez and Zack Greinke deals.

But spring training is still many moons away and there is still plenty of time for GMs around baseball to work out some last-minute deals.

With that in mind, here are 15 players who could be dealt before spring training starts.

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Spring training may still be two months away, but the cold winter months have had little success subduing MLB’s offseason hot stove.

The fall of 2010 has been an eventful one in the baseball world, even with the free agent class being as thin as it is.

As always, there are some teams that have added tremendously to their chances of World Series title contention in 2011, and plenty more that have been set back further, whether by their own missteps or by the unexpected choices of those they pursued (cough…Cliff Lee…cough).

With the likes of Adrian Beltre and Vladimir Guerrero still on the market, the hot stove might very well stay that way right up until Opening Day at the end of March 2011.

With that in mind, here’s a mid-December look at the offseason’s biggest winners and losers thus far.

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Cliff Lee was just offered a seven-year contract by the New York Yankees. This comes on the heels of this morning’s announcement that the Boston Red Sox had nabbed Carl Crawford. 

So it seems it is good to be a fan of baseball in the East. It really is trying for us in the rest of the country. But my qualm is that the Yankees are throwing money down the tubes because Cliff Lee will never live up to his big contract.

How could anyone? No one can meet the standards of a contract that is surely to be more than their original $140 million offer. 

Here are the reason why Cliff Lee is not worth the money. 

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