Opinion

The young offseason has come to quite a start for the Atlanta Braves.

With Braves closers Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano hitting the market, Frank Wren looked like he would have quite a task on his hand to secure the back of the 'pen.

Nope.

Within a couple of days after teams made their decisions on arbitration-eligible players, the Braves General Manager succeeded in his task to complete the bullpen.

Here is the Braves' four main men in relieving next year:

Peter Moylan: 2.84 ERA

Eric O'Flaherty: 3.04 ERA

Takashi Saito: 2.43 ERA

This article was originally published in the November issue of my school's newspaper. It discusses how a Yankee game led to bonding on the Shabbaton, our school-wide overnight trip.

Top of the ninth. Bases loaded. Three balls. Two Strikes. Two outs. Down one run.

Winning is a risky business. It's much easier to lose.

But the Atlanta Braves are determined to win in 2010. Not 2011. Not 2012. In 2010.

The problem is Atlanta can't simply hope for the best in 2010. The Yankees can hope for the best. The Phillies can hope for the best.

Those clubs have the answers. There might be a few additions and subtractions here and there, but the gist of a winning franchise is already in place.

There are plenty in the Natosphere that want Mike Rizzo and the Washington Nationals to make a big splash and sign a bunch of free agents this winter to improve the product on the field.

After two straight 100-loss seasons, I'm sure Rizzo is tempted to make a run at Matt Holliday, John Lackey, etc.

But prudence, rather than exuberance, should rule the day.

If you take a good look at the Nats' 2010 lineup, the hitters are credible enough to imitate a wild card caliber team.

It's the quiet ones that you never suspect.

If you asked who is the least likely on the Cleveland Indians to be involved in any sort of public situation unrelated to baseball, Grady Sizemore would probably the last person I'd think of.

Here is a superstar that seeks not to be a superstar. He strives for greatness on the field, but could do without the accolades and attention that comes with it. He doesn't seek out endorsements and if he does have any, they aren't big time sponsors.

I heard this idea come up again a few days ago. I've kicked it around, and I'm going to make a case for it. I'm not sure that I believe in it 100 percetn, but, again, I'm just seeing where going in this direction takes us. This sort of plan gears more towards "building for the future."

Let me start off by apologizing. Work has been crazy, but I am back. I am not going to let the naysayers keep me from posting, so there. I am here, and I am ready to go. I decided that today would be as good a day as any to construct my offseason guide for what the Mets need to do. I am going to go step by step for what may be a cost-effective and solid way of getting this team back together. This team has money to spend, but we all know that the Wilpons have been swindled in the Bernie Madoff scheme a lot more then we are being lead to believe.

There were few stories that were better to watch this year than Carl Pavano’s re-emergence into baseball. After winning just nine games from 2005-08, Pavano came back with a vengeance this season, winning 14 games for a Twins team that made a remarkable run to the playoffs. As good of a story as this has been, there is worry that comes out of this. I am afraid that Omar Minaya might try and sign Pavano to the Mets.

Rumors across town are circulating about the status of Chien Ming Wang and whether or not he will be tendered a contract by the Yankees. Most people around baseball seem to think that the Yankees will not offer him a deal, but they may try to bring him back at a much cheaper price.

Recently, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to conduct an email-based interview with MLB.COM writer Jonathan Mayo.