Kuzul

Injuries have continued to plague some of the biggest names in baseball. With David Price the latest Cy Young contender to come up with a sore arm, Bryce Harper bouncing his head off an unprotected section of fencing and Ryan Howard limping again, we can only wonder about the hours that the medical staff is putting in.And while those good men and women work 18-hour days, we're left wondering if anyone else seems to care. I'll pass on stepping back up on my normal soapbox here. You know the next stanza on your own by now. At some point, some team will realize the advantage it can gain.In the meantime, we're left trying to find where the advantages are in our own fantasy world. You'll know if your favorite team is serious about managing injuries, but on a fantasy team, it's a game of minimization and prediction. The simplest way ...

While the Chicago Cubs didn’t head into the 2013 season with the expectation that this would definitely be a rebuilding season, they knew it was at least a reasonable possibility—one that’s looking more likely after an 8-14 start. The rebuilding process took a big step last season as three of the top four prospects in the organization, according to Baseball Prospectus (Albert Almora—draft, Jorge Soler—international free agent, Arodys Vizcaino—acquired in 2012), were added to the farm system after Theo Epstein took over as president of baseball operations in Chicago. Along with the team’s first-round pick in 2011, shortstop Javier Baez, the Cubs' quartet of prospects at the top of the list are quite impressive. In less than a year, the future of the team is already looking much brighter. The rebuilding plan, as it pertains to the second year under Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer, could revolve around the trade value of starting ...

A David Price trade is pretty much inevitable; the question is: When? And with which team?The reigning Cy Young award winner could leave Tampa as early as this summer if the Rays fall out of contention, but he could possibly stick around for two or even three more years. My guess is that he's dealt this offseason, but when GM Andrew Friedman decides to pull the trigger depends on many factors.After mammoth contracts signed by other elite pitchers recently (Zack Greinke, Justin Verander and Felix Hernandez), the Rays clearly won't be able to afford Price long-term, which is why it's time for the Rays to search for potential trade suitors.Here are a few potential trade packages that should be able to pry Price from Tampa Bay.Begin Slideshow

 David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays will be the 2012 American League Cy Young winner. Period.He'll also be the first AL southpaw to do so since 2008, but here is a much better fact: He'll be the first Rays' pitcher ever to win the award.After improving his record to 20-5 in a 6-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox Sunday evening, Price has immersed himself as one of the top pitchers in the game this season and, perhaps arguably, one the best left-arms as well. His 20 wins thus far,  makes him the first 20-game winner in franchise history. Price's 2.56 ERA is the best in baseball, is second out of the ten pitchers who have thrown 200-plus innings with hitters only hitting .226 against him, ranks sixth with innings pitched (211.0) and has fanned 205 batters, placing him in sixth as well.To any follower of MLB, you should ...

Everyone knew David Price had potential. A 6’6” pitcher out of Vanderbilt, who torched SEC hitting, seemed destined to be a top-five draft pick from the moment he declared his professional intentions. Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of high school, Price decided that becoming a college pitcher was a key step before joining the minor leagues and getting the call to the big leagues. Strikeout after strikeout can describe his Vanderbilt career. His junior season consisted of 194 strikeout victims. That same year, he also won SEC Male Athlete of the Year and college baseball’s top honor, the Dick Howser Trophy. It was no surprise when the Tampa Bay Rays took Price at No. 1 overall that same year in the 2007 draft. He epitomized everything professional scouts looked for in a player. To put it simply, Price tore up the minor leagues. While the Rays shocked everyone ...

The New York Yankees have some pretty bad contracts on their hands these days. Alex Rodriguez isn't coming close to earning his $30 million salary, Mark Teixeira isn't worth his $23 million fee and even Derek Jeter is overpaid at close to $16 million.Thank goodness for CC Sabathia. The Yankees are paying him over $24 million this season, but Sabathia is somehow managing to give them their money's worth.That's been the case ever since Sabathia first suited up in pinstripes in 2009. He's been everything the Yankees could have asked for, and he's shown no signs of slowing down despite the fact he has over a decade of big league experience under his belt and nearly 2,500 innings on his arm.Though he's had to battle more than he's used to, Sabathia is once again having a fine season for the Yankees. He's pitched well recently, to boot, and he now ...

The 2010 Major League Baseball season was coined as the "Year of the Pitcher," but after two no-hitters in a week, will 2011 be the same? Or are pitchers just taking over the MLB?This time, Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander shut down the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing just one walk over nine innings. With his second no-hitter since 2007, Verlander has developed into one of baseball's top pitchers.The 2010 MLB season contained five no-hitters, including two perfect games, and after 2011's two no-hitters thus far, Major League Baseball may experience one the greatest two-year runs in pitching.In contrast with the League from the mid-'90s through 2000s, where hitting the home run was supreme (mostly due to a wide usage of illegal, performance-enhancing drugs, but that is another story), baseball has no changed its appearance into a lower-scoring, pitching-heavy league.But, writers, analysts and fans should start changing the name attributed to ...

David Price is going to have to win 20 games if the Tampa Bay Rays have any aspirations to repeat as AL East Champions.In Friday night’s 8-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, he got put to the test and fell short...very short. It brought his record to 3-3. “I didn’t play very well at all,” Price said in reference to his outing. “You know, our offense did a great job, gave me some runs early and that’s all I can ask for, and we played good defense. I just didn’t throw the ball very well and the mistakes I made, they hit them.” “That’s why you get 33 starts. I didn’t beat myself, they beat me.” It was Price’s worst outing since getting pulled after 1.1 innings against the Texas Rangers in 2009 when he allowed six earned runs and walked five batters. Price threw 98 pitches and gave ...

Each year, the talent that enters Major League Baseball seems to get younger.  After all, we are on the verge of seeing a player break into the majors who is barely old enough to vote for the President of the United States.This is great news for the fans who get to see a young talent pool of players who should be around for a very long time.Here is a list of the top 25 pitchers under age 25 who should anchor major league pitching staffs for the next 10 to 15 years.Begin Slideshow

This is the sixth offering in my series of All-Franchise teams. Since Tampa Bay along with Florida are relatively new franchises, I have relaxed the rules a tad for the two. There is no minimum requirement as to tenure with the franchise. Unlike most franchises you will not find any current Hall of Famers on this list.Begin Slideshow