Johan Santana

For as long as most of us can remember, the Dallas Cowboys have been America's Team. 

A lot of that has to do with the teams locale, the dearth of professional teams that existed in America's heartland when the 'Boys broke onto the expansion scene in 1960.

The Mets are in trouble.

They’re being sued for $1 billion. They are trying to sell part of the team just to cover their expenses. They took out a $25 million loan back in November, and are asking for another one worth at least $10 million now.

The team hasn’t improved much, if at all, this offseason. Despite having a beautiful new stadium, they will be playing in front of a lot of empty seats.

Johan Santana announced today that he may not pitch at all during the 2011 baseball season.

Santana was once one of the most sought-after pitchers in the entire Major Leagues and signed with the New York Mets as one of the most highly regarded players in all of baseball.

Drawing huge contract offers and loads of media praise, Santana looked destined to become one of the best left-handed pitchers of all time.

It is a rare injury among pitchers, and Johan Santana was one of the unlucky ones to be diagnosed with it. He suffered a torn capsule in his left shoulder and has been recovering from his surgery that took place on September 14th of last year.

So what does this mean for the southpaw next season?

Well, he certainly won't be on the mound at all for spring training—that's for sure. General manager Sandy Alderson said that he is expected to make a late June to early July return.

The New York Mets of 2011 could be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline.

They probably won’t have their ace, Johan Santana until the All-Star Break, so the question becomes whether Mike Pelfrey, Chris Young, Jon Niese and RA Dickey can keep the team afloat until then.

If they can’t keep the Mets in contention, there could be a firesale in New York with a ton of pieces that would help clubs in the playoff hunt. Among them is shortstop Jose Reyes, who is owed $11 million in the last year of a four-year, $23 million deal.

The World Series champion San Francisco Giants boast arguably one of the most violent young pitchers in the game in Tim Lincecum.

However, despite his jerky wind up and fast pace, Lincecum is also known for having one of the better off-speed pitches in the majors.

So, how does Timmy stack up with MLB's all-time crawlers? Here's a list of the top changeup pitchers in the history of baseball.

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The Metropolitans were seventh in team ERA (3.73) in 2010. Impressive right? You bet. But in fantasy terms, the Mets starting pitchers are merely irrelevant.

As for Johan Santana, who will likely miss the first half of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, it will be tough to determine what ADP (average draft position) is suitable.

Throughout the offseason, some of the moves GM Sandy Alderson made were in attempt to bolster the Mets starting staff.  He's acquired pitchers Chris Capuano, and more recently, Chris Young.  Here's a look at what the Mets starting rotation might look like in the 2011 season.

1. Johan Santana (LHP)

With most of the top free agents now signed and teams starting to take shape as we approach spring training, I thought I would share my pre-pre-season perspective on the relative strengths, (and weaknesses), of all 30 major league teams.

Spring training is getting closer. Top players have switched teams and fans patiently wait for America's favorite past time to get started. 

There's a lot of buzz going on right now as some recent deals have occurred. Clubs are signing key players and some are losing them.

Let's take a look in to how these deals affect certain teams. As well as the latest rumors in the Major League Baseball world.

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