Matt Garza

Former Rays LF Carl Crawford's abysmal start to 2011 culminated with a chorus of boos from the Fenway faithful Friday night in Boston. This was followed by Terry Francona removing him from the lineup Saturday to help him recapture his focus.

It's gotten pretty bad for Crawford, who seems to be having difficulty adjusting to life in Beantown.

Now that the 2011 Major League Baseball season is underway, fans are enjoying the crack of the bat and the smell of freshly cooked hot dogs in stadiums across the country.

While the season is barely a week old, it's never too early to start thinking about potential All-Stars.

Here are five National League players who could be making their first All-Star team this season.

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The Cubs were looking hot, and it looked like they were going to actually pull out a victory and take two of three from the Pirates to start the 2011 season. 

Then they hit the top of the ninth.

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.

Hype is a dangerous thing.

Nothing good comes from it. Few players in modern sports ever live up to the hype that the media circus can create. Out of these unjust expectations, disappointment looms large.

Cubs fans know a lot about the hype process. All of the "This is the Year!" signs cast aside on the streets of Wrigleyville will vouch for this.

The MLB off-season can set up a player for success or disaster. Some teams made a big splash, while others are still looking for a solution. Each team has the potential of making 2011 a season to remember, but which players are looking to take the fantasy scene by storm?

Postion changes or calling a new town home can be just the spark a player needed to become an elite fantasy option. Understanding exactly which off-season moves impacted which players is the key to a successful 2011 fantasy baseball campaign.

After their offseason fire sale, the 2011 Tampa Bay Rays lost a lot of key players from their multiple playoff teams. In order to recover, they will need new players to step up to a more prominent role.

These power rankings take into consideration how much the loss hurts the Rays and if they have a viable replacement. 

The key losses to the Rays roster are mostly in their bullpen. The reason being that they do not have many proven players to fill in. In other areas they have players that have at least a year or more experience in the majors. 

With so many of the big name free agents signed early on this off season, it has been a winter of trade rumors, and while most have proved to be nothing beyond just rumors, the Brewers managed to pull off two of the bigger trades of the off season.

However, the rest of the NL Central has been fairly busy as well, as the Cubs, Reds, Cardinals, and Brewers all look to be in the running for the division. Even the Astros and Pirates made a handful of moves that could make series' against them that much tougher.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs made a surprising trade Thursday when the Rays agreed to send pitcher Matt Garza, outfielder Fernando Perez and a minor league pitcher to the Cubs for a package of prospects including pitcher Chris Archer, outfielders Brandon Guyer and Sam Fuld, catcher Robinson Chirinos and shortstop Hak-Ju Lee.

Tampa Bay Ray fans are watching their team fall apart by the seams of Matt Garza's 95 mile per hour fastball.

The Chicago Cubs have acquired SP Matt Garza, a minor league pitcher and OF Fernando Perez for a plethora of young players including OF Sam Fuld and RHP Chris Archer, the 2010 Minor League Baseball Pitcher of the Year.