2011 MLB Spring Training

John Farrell, the Blue Jays' new manager for the 2011 season, believes fully in having a set batting order.  He believes in having a system of attack to go against each pitcher, and thinks it is important for the players to know where they are playing and what is expected of them.  The game on Wednesday against Philadelphia might have shown the first representation of Farrell's vision.

At this late date in spring training, the majority of teams across Major League Baseball have made most of their critical personnel decisions regarding who will be coming north with them once camps break and the regular season commences.

There are however, still important decisions to be made in Rangers camp, as the days dwindle and Opening Day rapidly approaches.

Baseball season is almost back and all the passionate fans across the country have less than two weeks left to wait.

A big part of the San Francisco Giants success last season was the amazing fanbase they had behind them from the beginning.

Not only the Giants, but a big part of every team's success is getting a boost from the fanbase so that the players have energy and will to play 162 games every year. Some teams however, have much better fans than others. Here are the best.

With the 2011 Major League Baseball season just around the corner, some teams may still be looking to add some extra fire power to their rosters.  With that being said, there's still an array of talent available on the market.

Most of the time a free agent is going to add depth to a teams roster, but not necessarily give you an everyday starter.  Every now-and-then you can find a former All-Star who can still be a productive starter.

So who are the top 10 available free agents?

With only 10 days until Opening Day, the Mets will have some tough decisions to make as they narrow their active roster down to 25.

They still have not named a starting second baseman, for one. There is uncertainty around whether Carlos Beltran will be starting the season in right field or on the disabled list. 

I think that about 90 percent of the roster is set in stone, so I will try to fill in the blanks and predict the 25 men who will make the final cut come April 1st.

Major League Baseball is a funny game, it's not like the NBA where guys can just play offense and win games.  Baseball requires a franchise to have dominant pitching that will shutdown the opposing offense players.  

A top of the line pitcher is one who'll take the rubber under his control and dictate what happens next through out the course of a game.

Sadly, there aren't quite as many of these guys out there as you would think.

So who are the top 10 franchise pitchers?

Buster Posey and the San Francisco Giants will head into the year looking to repeat as World Champions.

Before baseball season can start though, the NCAA Tournament will have to declare a winner. So why not make a mix of the two sports? After all, the best part of March Madness is watching the bracket come out for the first time on Selection Sunday.

If MLB were to adopt a ranking and selection process, here's how the bracket would look for the 2011 season.

The 2011 MLB season is just around the corner, and teams are starting to move into combat mode with spring training winding down and so are the top 10 performers of this year's spring.

Spring training is when players want to set their name in stone.  With a top performance in just a couple of games, a manager or GM could decide, "This is our guy to start the season at this position."

Besides a few household names known by the average fan, we have seen a surprising spring by a fair share of players.

Brian Wilson is hurt!

Let the madness begin.

Some headlines are already there, most of which are referring to buzz phrases like "oblique muscle" and "out for opener" and "former Beach Boy still playing guitar" and "PANIC PANIC PANIC."

I'm not exactly in panic mode yet.

If anyone has seen anything on Brian Wilson in the past year, you'll know that he actually tore his oblique muscle in his major league debut and then pitched another inning afterwards.

Through four starts in spring training, Bartolo Colon has a 2.40 ERA, a .192 BAA, a 0.73 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched. 

So, why am I arguing against this obvious Cy Young hopeful and godsend to the Yankees pitching staff earning a spot in the starting rotation come Opening Day?