Opinion

A little more than a year ago, I interviewed Josh Reddick for more than an hour out in Arizona. We talked about a lot of things, but mostly we talked about hitting. He spoke at length about how the ballclub was working with him to modify his approach at the plate.

Philosophically, the organization preaches plate discipline, but Reddick was (is) a self-described free swinger.

Amongst the minor league free agents the Cubs have signed, two names stand out: Kevin Millar and Chad Tracy.

Millar helped the Boston Red Sox break their World Series Championship curse, and Tracy was once considered one of the elite young corner infielders in the game, but both these things were half a decade ago.

Metsblog made a post about the possibility of the Mets doing a Citi Field race, similar to the Presidents Race in Washington or the Sausage Race in Milwaukee.  I think since Citi Field was built with New York City in mind and the name of the park implies New York City, that it should have the entire city in mind.  After all the Mets represent New York baseball and all its history.

With spring training on the horizon, the Cubs have a need for a solid starter until Ted Lilly can return, and for a veteran right handed setup man for Carlos Marmol. John Smoltz could fill both needs, while adding a solid veteran presence to the clubhouse.

Most Mets fans have a love-hate relationship with their team. It's been said "No one hates the Mets more than Mets fans." 

There has been a lot of negative talk about Citi Field, and I feel as if the size of the field itself is taking away from the beauty of the actual ballpark. So let's try to evaluate Citi Field after its first year. Here are five thing the Mets did right, and five things the Mets did terribly wrong with Citi Field in 2009.

Rights

The Royals will not compete in 2010.

The talking-heads and sports writing powers-that-be will have you believe this is already a foregone conclusion. Does this statement derive from abundant research and insightful analysis, or lazy regurgitation?

First of all, it is hardly a prediction when looking at the past 20 years of Royals baseball; failure is near certain for this franchise year after year.

UPDATE: Passan now thinks Chapman has signed with a National League Central team, but he's not sure at this point. Watch for updates.

While the Cubs starting eight appear to be set, there is one pressing need in the bullpen left to be filled. Ah, but is that a set-up man, as we've been led to believe, or a true closer?

For if the Cubs can somehow pull off a trade for the San Diego Padres' Heath Bell, they could move Carlos Marmol back where he belongs, as the Cubs' set-up man.

I know it may be somewhat farfetched, but bear with me for a minute. First of all, the Padres know they aren't going anywhere in 2010, so Bell's name has come up as trade fodder.

With 16 out of the last 22 MLB MVPs, NL and AL combined, being infielders, it has been determined that the need for a good infield is not something to be shrugged off as a nice gesture.
Eight out of the top 10 AL MVP vote-getters were infielders, with the same statistic going for the NL.
This slideshow is going on current rosters. Not last year's statistics.Not official projections for next year, but clearly an assessment of how the teams' infields look now.

Begin Slideshow

Theo Epstein gets more bang for his buck than Brian Cashman.

Temporarily setting aside the century-old Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, let's put into perspective the decade-long Cashman-Epstein rivalry.

There is no rivalry. Beyond Epstein's perennial duping of Cashman in his many faux free-agent pursuits, the former dominates the latter where it really matters: the bottom line.

Comparing each General Manager's potential 2010 payroll with his prospective 25-man roster's 2009 production reveals Epstein's superiority.