Boston

It's time we all take a breather from worrying about the sports themselves and focus on the players involved. This article is written with the intent of recognizing that there are bigger things that we should be focusing on at this time in the world rather than sports. On 3/11/2011 an unprecedented 8.9 earthquake rocked the country of Japan. It brought devastation, injuries, life loss and widespread panic but that was only the beginning.

Bobbleheads, t-shirts and refrigerator magnets.

Oh, my!

One of the pleasures a fan of a lousy team has to look forward to every season are the cool promotions that sucker you in to handing over a hundred bucks you may not have otherwise.

I've become an expert at this in recent years rooting on the Mariners, unfortunately. I have more dolls than any 31 year old man should, thanks to the annual Ichiro bobbles. Though, they're sucking me in again this season.

By George Campbell

Red Sox setup man Daniel Bard had his best outing of the spring Tuesday as the Sox beat the Astros 3-2.

Bard was in the unusual position of coming in the inning after closer Jonathan Papelbon. He pitched the sixth inning, getting out all three batters he faced, including two by strikeout.

One hundred and fifty million five hundred thousand dollars. That's an obscene amount of money. With that kind of cash, you could open thirty of your own Dunkin' Donuts franchises, buy the high school I attended, acquire all of the Honus Wagner rookie cards that may be left on Earth, and a Fenway Frank.

Or, if you're like the Red Sox, you craft a multi-year commitment to two pitchers that went a combined 20-17 with an ERA above five last year.

I am finally at the end of my series examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis. The players at each position have been ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players.

Today, the series concludes with a look at the Designated Hitters.

The best player will earn 10 points for his team, with the remaining players being assigned points as follows: 7-5-3-1.

It’s a fickle life in Major League Baseball. Here today, gone tomorrow is a phrase often used when referring to ballplayers who had a quick run of success before seemingly losing it altogether, or players felled by injuries who were unable to make it all the way back.

The stories of great fame and then injury go back many years in baseball, especially among pitchers. Dizzy Dean was a classic example.

Known as the Ace of the Gashouse Gang for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dean was the last pitcher to win 30 games in the National League, reaching that mark in 1934.

This past calendar year has been nothing but heartbreak after heartbreak for New England sports fans.

(All 29 other sports regions/cities roll their eyes collectively).

We're no Seattle or Cleveland, but these have been somewhat trying times for fans that have high standards for success.

Spring training is upon us. The Red Sox have been busy this offseason. The Yankees, on the other hand, were uncharacteristically quiet. How could the New York Yankees make noise this offseason with a payroll of over 200 million dollars? Yes, even the "Evil Empire of New York" has limitations on how much they can spend.

This article will break down the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry as it stands today and forecast what the 2011 season may hold for each team and/or their players.

Be honest, at this time last year, was anyone picking the San Francisco Giants to win the World Series? In a sport that many will argue lacks a competitive balance, baseball has produced more than its fair share of surprise success stories of late.

Out of the previous eight World Series winners, five of them did not make the playoffs the previous season. That means 62.5 percent of recent World Series winning teams can be considered sleepers. The numbers are exactly the same for the runners-up over the same span of time.

As spring training gets underway in Florida and Arizona, we take one last look at the recent Major League Baseball offseason and how the various trades and acquisitions will affect the fantasy landscape for 2011.