Chris Carter

There’s rebuilding projects, and then there’s the Houston Astros.  Ever since the team went to the World Series in 2005, the entire organization has been in shambles. 

Sure, they won 86 games in 2008, but that is their only time in the past eight years to win more than 80 games.  They are currently on their seventh different manager in those eight years, and their attendance has plummeted to one of the lowest in the league.

On Friday, the Oakland Athletics optioned Chris Carter to Triple-A Sacramento, ending his quest to break camp part of the A's opening day roster.

Carter was a long shot to make the team after the offseason acquisitions of Josh Willingham, David DeJesus and Hideki Matsui. Although Carter expected the move, he entered camp determined to make it a difficult decision for the Athletics management.

The 2011 Major League Baseball season seems a long ways away, but it is never too early to take a glance at potential impact rookies for next season.

Jeremy Hellickson, 23, a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, leads a group of 10 players who are ready to make an impact on their respective teams in 2011.

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"We are better than this."

That was the message Mets players had on Tuesday at Citi Field, as the team looked to close the gap on NL East rivals Atlanta and Philadelphia.

"I think this is a first-place team if you ask me," Chris Carter told me. "You know what, we've been losing a lot of one-run ballgames, so we just need to find a way to score one or two more runs I think we'll be good."

The New York Mets might be 8.5 games out of first place in the National League East, but the players know that they are capable of turning the deficit around if they're given time.

Therein lies the kicker, though. The Mets are more than two-thirds of the way through their schedule and time just isn't something that is on their side. Still, they say, you can't stop believing now.