Opinion

There’s no question that Joe Mauer’s contract extension is good for Major League Baseball.

Rumors had been swirling for months that Mauer, the unquestioned best catcher in the game, would command more money than the Minnesota Twins could afford, and would inevitably be playing his home games in Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium by 2011.

Eight years and $184 million can do a lot of things, but prying inexpensive, top-tier closing talent away from a small-market club is a gargantuan task, regardless of the resources available.

Yet if the Minnesota Twins have any designs on persuading the San Diego Padres to part with their All-Star closer, Heath Bell, they took the first and most important step on Sunday.

That is when they agreed to a mega-deal with catcher Joe Mauer, extending him through the 2018 season and solidifying their catcher situation for the majority of the new decade. 

Spring Training is like Jesse James at this point- nobody wants it around.

A mere 2 weeks from Opening Day and I think we’ve all seen enough fake baseball for the year. We don’t want to watch fake baseball, the players don’t want to play fake baseball, and the announcers don’t want to announce fake baseball. It’s the dog days of spring training.

But now that we’re officially into spring we can look forward to real baseball in days. Bad for veteran pitcher X’s golf game, but good for the rest of us.

Opening Day in St.

Is a bomb going to go off in the Arizona desert?

Over the past couple weeks, the Chicago White Sox's Spring Training has overtaken the new ownership of the Cubs as the front page news all over baseball. And it hasn’t been because of anything the team has done on the field.

Did anyone in the surrounding areas of the upper midwest feel a strong breeze come upon them on Sunday afternoon? That was the collective sigh of an entire fan base. 

The Minnesota Twins signed their catcher, and 2009 League MVP Joe Mauer to an 8 year $184 million contract extension. 

The significance of this deal cannot be summed up in few words. 

There are actually so many different angles you can take on the exact importance of what this deal means to the player, the franchise, and the fan base. 

Well, we’re twenty games into the college baseball season, and the TCU Horned Frogs are now No. 4 in the nation.  I was watching them sweep Texas Tech last weekend shredding on a nice mid 70’s Tejas spring day with my bud Mexican Joe, and we agreed that the scene was quite idyllic.

'Cept for the dang ping of those stupid aluminum bats.

This article was originally published at TheDailyCub.com , my blog covering all things Chicago Cubs.

Although the 19-year-old prospect was sent to the minors yesterday, Starlin Castro has spent his Spring Training turning heads and creating quite a controversy as to whether or not the Cubs should give the young prospect a shot.

The Baltimore Orioles return to glory isn't too far away considering the stockpile of pitching talent they have ready to take over. In fact, should they be in contention by this year's trade deadline, the mere depth of the impressive arms in their system should allow Andy MacPhail and his staff the pieces to acquire the "over the hump" type of player teams in a playoff hunt look to acquire.

Brandon Erbe, RHP

The Mariners traded for Cliff Lee and signed Felix Hernandez to solidify the top of their rotation, but the back end of the rotation was still a glaring weakness that has many questioning how good the M’s could be.

After a couple weeks of spring training, not only have the questions not been answered, but more questions are piling up.

Ray Tannock is the Managing Editor for Fantasyknuckleheads.com , and a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Ah, Fantasy Baseball! So many leagues to choose from, so little time, which is exactly why I am bringing you this short little tidbit about a league I have available for all to join.