Johnny Damon

While players like Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, and Josh Hamilton are accustomed to winning MVP awards, but it doesn't mean they are the most important players for their team to win.

We all know about team's most valuable players, but who really is the most important player for each team to have a successful season?

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Johnny Damon is on the cusp of reaching a statistic that almost guarantees entry into the Hall of Fame: 3,000 hits. 

Since Damon burst onto the scene in 1995 as a Kansas City Royal, he has developed into one of the most consistent hitters this game has seen since 2004 inductee Paul Molitor. 

When I thought about writing this, Molitor was the first person I thought of as a comparison because of his consistency.

Rewind to a year ago, and the Tampa Bay Rays were thinking Championship; fast forward to today, and just making the playoffs seems a bit far fetched.

The Rays are one of the best teams in baseball at developing young talent and getting as much as they can out of a small payroll. Having won two division titles in three years, including an AL pennant in 2008, the Rays will rely heavily on youth once again to make a run in the 2010-2011 season.

The Tampa Bay Rays took home their second AL East title in the last three years in 2010 by finishing with a 96-66 record. A quick exit in the Divisional Round at the hands of the Texas Rangers would soon follow.

Tampa Bay Rays fans shouldn't pin their hopes upon the dual offseason signings of veterans Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez. 

The addition of the pair of former World Series-winning heroes is merely papering over the cracks of Tampa Bay's unconvincing roster.

This year's American League East is going to be a very hotly contested division. With all five teams easily capable of putting together .500 or above seasons, the order of finish could be dictated by just a few games.

For the Tampa Bay Rays, the new look of the franchise gives them a new set of advantages and disadvantages over their division rivals. While the other teams within the division spent big bucks this offseason, the Rays were able to cut their payroll from over $70 million to approximately $42 million without sacrificing a tremendous amount of production.

The Rays' journey to becoming a constant playoff-contender took awhile, but came all of sudden when it finally happened.

Contending with the power-house teams of the AL East—the Yankees and Red Sox—is the toughest thing to do for any team to have to do. It's makes it even tougher when you can't spend half the money of the those two teams.

But the Rays haven't used any excuses, rather using lower-risk, high-reward pickups and their minor league system to create a nucleus for a championship-caliber squad.

The minute the final out was made in Game 5 of the ALDS at the Trop, Rays fans knew they had a long offseason ahead of them.

Some, like me, held out hope that they would be able to retain Carl Crawford or somebody, but that never happened; they even got rid of great players that they didn't have to.

If there's one time of the sports year that everyone watches like a hawk, it's MLB free agency.  From November until late January (sometimes longer), fans lose sleep over which teams top free agent players will sign with.

Some of these decisions pay great dividends, like C.C. Sabathia when he signed with the New York Yankees.  Other times, players regret locking themselves into long-term deals, like when Adrian Beltre signed with the Mariners.

The biggest off-season talk so far in the AL East has clearly been about the Red Sox big moves. Around the division, beyond Boston, the Yankees have made little improvement from last year, losing out on Cliff Lee, and signing Rafael Soriano, all while waiting on Andy Pettitte.

As of recent, the Yankees have been most active, in signing veteran pitchers Mark Prior, Bartolo Colon, and Freddy Garcia, all to minor league deals. According to sources, Pettitte has a $12M offer waiting for him, if he decides to return for another year.