Roy Halladay

The first week in January is one of baseball's most exciting time periods.

Sure, the regular season has been in hibernation for a few months, and a World Series champion has been crowned. The Hot Stove is cooling down quickly, with most big name free agents having already been signed to lucrative deals.

1. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

3. Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

4. Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies

5. Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies

6. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

7. Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants

Unless you live under a rock--and even maybe then--you have heard about the Phillies signing Cliff Lee to go along with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in a starting rotation that many consider the best of the decade.  This four-man rotation is the best in baseball by just about any stat category, but is it enough to win them the pennant?  The Phillies are projected to win the NL East easily, and to make a good run into the postseason, but is it a lock?  Not quite is the answer.  The Phillies have almost solved the puzzle for the 2011 season--and possibly beyond

As we head towards our fantasy drafts for 2011, there’s a debate raging as to who should be the first pitcher off the board. 

Sure, you may get the occasional person who prefers Tim Lincecum, but for most the decision comes down to the 2010 Cy Young Award winners: Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez.

Who should be the first pitcher off the board on draft day? Let’s break it down category-by-category and see:

Strikeouts

All in all 2010 was a great season—historic you could say! 

Pitchers were once again in control.  The average runs per game for each team in 2010 was nearly a run lower than in 2000 (5.39 compared to 4.44), and an enhanced drug policy enforcing a more regulated testing system has shown the fans that the game can be played clean.  

The Philadelphia Phillies:

After all the articles about how great the Philiadelphia Phillies are (I still don't see the 2010 WS trophy with their team on it), there have been some signings and trades in the off season that has gotten the attention of quite a few baseball fans. Most of them were over-shadowed with a bias for a team that has yet to prove they are the best. 

Enough is enough. There is no comparison between Roy Halladay and Don Larsen. The former is on his way to the Hall of Fame. The latter was a journeyman pitcher who caught lightning in a bottle.

Larsen faced the National League's defending World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series. Brooklyn had won 98 games and lost 55 for a .641 winning percentage.

New Year's Day is nearly upon us, and perhaps no MLB team is looking forward to a fresh start in 2011 more than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

From the ugly proceedings of the McCourt divorce to the departure of Manny Ramirez to the retirement of Joe Torre, the Dodgers had their fair share of pitfalls in a year that saw them fail to capture a third consecutive NL West division title.

The Philadelphia Phillies surprised the baseball world, and perhaps even themselves, when they snatched Cliff Lee on the free agent market a couple weeks ago. 

Not only did the signing seemingly come out of nowhere due to the stealth negotiations, but they undercut the New York Yankees in the process. Ever since Lee appeared headed to test the market, the big money has been on the Yankees to land him for the same reason— big money. 

Consider this piece more of a memoir than anything else.  My childhood with the Phillies was always adventurous but often ugly.  The Phillies were constantly a losing team and never broke the bank to go out and sign any big-name free agents.  At the time, we knew they weren't the New York Yankees, nor were we asking them to be.  We just wanted to know that they had a desire to someday win.