MLB

2009 regular season record: 64-98, Fifth place, AL East

Major Offseason Acquisitions: Mike Gonzalez (ATL), Miguel Tejada (HOU), Garrett Atkins (COL), Kevin Millwood (TEX)

2009 regular season record: 95-67, Second place, AL East, Clinched Wild Card

Playoff record: 0-3, lost in ALDS to Los Angeles Angels

Major Offseason Acquisitions: John Lackey (LAA), Mike Cameron (MIL), Marco Scutaro (TOR), Adrian Beltre (SEA), Jeremy Hermida (FLA)

The Victoria Seals are having an all-star offseason so to speak.

While first year manager Darrell Evans was terminated, the Seals did not take long in finding his replacement.

The Seals hired former all-star second baseman Bret Boone to lead the club into the 2010 season.

Everyone is familiar with Boone’s accomplishments;

Winter is not a good time for baseball fans.

With nothing to hold our attention but the inferior sports of basketball and football, we are forced to spend our days waiting for pots to boil on the Hot Stove.

As the rumor mill grinds away, many (if not most) of the major market developments are somewhat predictable.

Last year, I pegged the Central division in the American League as one of the better divisions in baseball, because I thought they were the deep.

How things have changed after just one year.

You’d be hard pressed to find someone that doesn’t think the AL Central won’t be a wide open free-for-all. It’s a division that three teams could realistically win the division or be as bad as fourth place.

If you didn’t fill your outfield slots early, you can still find value later in the draft. Try these OFers on for size.

With Buster Posey remaining in the San Francisco Giants' camp, the idea of him actually opening the season on the major league roster is becoming more of a reality.

Does it make sense to have one of your premier prospects simply watching from the sideline instead of getting at-bats at Triple-A? Not in the slightest, but that’s not what we’re here to discuss.

Upon reading the headline of this article, you are sitting there saying to yourself that I’m an idiot.

I’m sure most are only reading this to merely find out how stupid I possibly could be that I would have the audacity to say a middle reliever leaving is going to have more impact than the loss of a former Cy Young winner.

Just hear me out on this.

If you listen close enough, you can almost hear it:

If you realign it, they will come.

Baseball is on the verge of doing something smart for the first time since the arrival of the Wild Card. The question is, will they realize the reality that is at their fingertips? Or will it slip through their grasp?

Once again the dreaded “R” word is being passed around. This time it seems different than the regular ‘what if’ but quickly dismissed talk. This time, it actually appears to be gaining steam. Many baseball owners want it. Fans want it.

The key to the White Sox season lies in their offense. The team scored less than 4.5 runs per game last year and let two of their most productive hitters leave in free agency.

While their pitching looks very strong, they will need to be more productive to be considered a real contender. While there are some reasons to expect improved production, the offense could conceivably be worse if some things don't break in favor of the Sox.