Lefty Cuban pitching sensation Aroldis Chapman defected from his national team in July and he is currently a coveted unsigned Major League Baseball free agent.

ESPN The Magazine reported in the summer that Chapman vacated his hotel room in the Netherlands, where Cuba was in the midst of participating in a baseball  tournament, and never returned.

Somewhere in the world, Mark Reynolds is fuming.

The Arizona Diamondbacks slugger missed a spot on the list of Major League players with between two and three years of service time who will qualify for arbitration this off-season by one day.

Following the acquisition of JJ Hardy, there are two major needs on this Minnesota team. First, and in my opinion the most important, a No. 2 hitter is needed to bat behind Denard Span.

With his new-found power, the Twins desperately need to find a way to get runners on base for Joe Mauer; batting third this past season, Mauer was 103rd in the league in total number of runners on base when he was at the plate. His 19.15 RBI percentage—ninth in the league of those with at least 250 chances—demands that he be given more opportunities.

Wednesday was a very good day for the Washington Nationals.

Ryan Zimmerman, who former general manager Jim Bowden described as a “future Gold Glove winner” when he drafted him 4th overall in 2005, won his first Gold Glove award earlier this afternoon.

A few hours later, Jim Riggleman, who single-handedly skippered the Nationals away from the horror of becoming the latter-day ’62 Mets, was named the team’s permanent manager.

Tigers fans frustrated by the team's lack of headlines since the moment Shane Victorino bounced out to Robinson Cano to end the 2009 baseball season need no longer worry.

On second part, scratch that last part. After all, the news isn't exactly pleasant.

According to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of foxsports.com, the Tigers are listening to offers for starter Edwin Jackson. Depending on how you interpret the report, it's possible the team could be actively seeking to trade him.

For the most part, the 2009 MLB Awards Season will be a snoozefest.

I know the title of the article will be controversial, especially among Philly fans, but I honestly believe it's the best course of action for the Phillies to take.  My hope is that the Phillies will not heed my advice, because as a Mets fan, the sooner they stink the better. 

Hear me out before you tune me out! 

Let's get some basic points down that we can agree on:

This has to be my favorite time of year. The beautiful leaves have fallen. The air is getting much cooler. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Gone is summer—the long days, the starry nights.

College Football Bowl season is so close we can taste it, NCAA Basketball holiday tournaments are getting ready to begin, and Hot Stove League baseball is in hyper mode.

The latter of that trio is one of my favorite aspects of the great sport of baseball. That time where everyone is 0-0. Every team has a shot.

A good portion of this piece will call back to point two of my Off-Season Plan , please refer back if you missed it!