Cross another would-be free agent off the list.

The two regular season favorites for the American League MVP award have continued their battled into the ALCS. Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and Rangers centerfielder Josh Hamilton are leading their teams as the American League championship heads to Texas for Game 6.

While their performances in the ALCS do not count toward the American League MVP award, they are both leading the charge for the ALCS MVP. All votes are already in for the regular season award that has yet to be announced.

First base is as deep of a position as any in baseball, though there are injury concerns hanging over a few of the best options in the game.  Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, Kendry Morales and Justin Morneau all have questions due to various injuries.  

How does that affect the rankings?  Let’s take a look at how we currently stand:

At the start of the season, if someone said that the Rangers and Giants would each be one win from the World Series on October 21, would you have believed them? Would anybody have?

But that is the cold, hard truth. The Rangers have a 3-2 series lead, and though the Yankees could easily stage a comeback, Texas is still in control.

The Giants meanwhile, have found their way toward a 3-1 series lead against the mighty Phillies. Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels—so what? The Giants have Lincecum, Sanchez, and Cain.

The bats finally woke up for the New York Yankees last night. CC Sabathia stepped up like any ace should, battling through six innings and giving his team the lead.

Staring elimination in the eye, the Yankees used their bats and took advantage of some sloppy play by the Texas Rangers to force a Game 6. The series now returns to Texas with the Rangers holding a three games to two lead in this best of seven series.

Buster Posey has announced himself to Major League Baseball. The San Francisco Giants rookie catcher broke out for the Giants in game 5 going four for five with two RBI's, in the Giants 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Giants now lead the best of seven series three games to one. 

It was Posey's at-bat in the bottom of the ninth that was the biggest, as Posey singled to right off of Roy Oswalt, sending Aubrey Huff to third, to set up Juan Uribe's sacrifice fly.

Last night’s NLCS game followed a script very familiar to Phillies fans.

The team scratched out a first-inning run, helped along by the miscues of their opponent.  They got key contributions throughout the lineup.  The unexpected hitting star continued to shine.  They were patient and did some damage against an opposing reliever.  The relief ace was lights out.  And they won the game thanks to some late-game heroics.

I am a Phillies fan and am one of the few people who has said from day one that Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is terrible.  I have said the Phillies have won despite his ineptitude because they have an extremely talented team.  When the Phillies lose, they lose because of him. When they win, they win despite of him.

When the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira couple of years ago in the offseason, they thought they were going to get a guy who could be Mr. October. They thought they would have a leader.

But they've gotten nothing so far out of their petulant star. His injury served as a symbol of what has gone wrong for him in October.

The only good thing Teixeira has done is provide protection for Alex Rodriguez and play good defense. That’s all well and good, but for the money he is being paid, he should be doing better.

With the 2010 regular season behind us, and all the normal MLB trade rumors completed, why not take the opportunity to discuss who will be headlining the Trade Rumor department in 2011?

The free agency market next year is rather large, and there are a number of players that could be mentioned here, so I will simply take a look at who I believe will be some big names taking center stage.

I’ll try to look at each position, and throw in a wildcard player that could be the next diamond in the rough.