2011 MLB Spring Training

C.J. Wilson has been named the opening-day starter, Brandon Webb is being set back and Neftali Feliz is getting his crack at the rotation. In the first week of spring training, there's already been a lot of movement among the starting rotation candidates. Its time for a look at what the Rangers themselves will be looking at in regards to starting pitching options in Surprise, Arizona.

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Hank Steinbrenner indirectly called out Yankees captain Derek Jeter and his newly constructed mansion on Monday.

Steinbrenner implied the team was not focused in 2010 and was hungover from its 2009 World Series championship, saying: “Some of the players are too busy building mansions and other things and not concentrating on winning.”

As teams prepare to begin the exhibition season, the fans continue to prepare for what the upcoming season may bring from their favorite teams and players.

With plenty of unexpected movement this past offseason, we are guaranteed to experience some more major surprises, as the season is just over one month away from the first pitch.

After all, how many people predicted that the San Francisco Giants would defeat the Texas Rangers in the 2010 Fall Classic? If you did, can you please tell me who you like in 2011?

Justine Siegal has been all about breaking down barriers, and on Monday, it was only natural for her to break one of the biggest barriers of all.

Siegal became the first one woman ever to throw live batting practice to Major League hitters when she threw for the Cleveland Indians earlier on Monday.

Siegal became the first woman ever to coach on a professional baseball team when she was named the first base coach of the Independent League Brockton Rox in 2009.

Thirty-six year old Justine Siegal has a passion for the game of baseball, and this has allowed her to make great strides in the sport.

No, she's not a player—that would be truly remarkable. What makes this event so special is that, for some reason, it's flown somewhat under the radar.

Siegal has spent the past four years as an assistant baseball coach at Springfield College in Massachusetts. Aside from coaching baseball at the college, she has been working toward her Ph.D. in sports and exercise psychology.

Normally, a team will have two or three players competing for a position in Spring Training. The Mets, who have had a hole at second base for the past few years, will have as many as six different players competing for the second base job. Each player has his strengths and weaknesses and will have a chance to win the job.

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It was raining the day I arrived for 2011 Spring Training, and by my first full day in Peoria, Ariz., it was pouring. Clouds hung over the entire weekend.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized the weather was appropriate considering the situation facing my San Diego Padres heading into this coming baseball season. It's certainly not going to be sunshine and rainbows for the new-look Padres, who have weathered a lot of departures in recent memory.

Legendary New York Yankees Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle was without a doubt one of the best center fielders that ever played the game of baseball. His five-tool skills, combining hitting for average, hitting for power, base running skills and speed, throwing ability and fielding abilities were matched only by Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr.

San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval hit a home run Saturday on his first swing in his first batting practice at this year’s spring training.

After taking the league by storm in 2009 with a .330 average, 25 home runs and 90 RBI, Sandoval’s 2010 campaign was one of the year’s biggest disappointments across the majors. All season long, Sandoval battled with weight issues and off-the-field problems that carried over to the field.

Shhh...do you hear that?

If you're a baseball fan, a sports enthusiast, or if you simply happen to hail from the Greater St. Louis area, I'm sure you are hearing the same thing I am.

Silence.

That's right, for the first time in recent memory, the day's sporting headlines have not been dominated by Albert Pujols chatter and, I must say, the silence is deafening.