Kuzul

When it became known that Adam Wainwright was injured and may need Tommy John surgery, virtually every sports media outlet was all over it.like any serious sports fan, questions from every angle must have come to your mind:"How exactly did he get injured?""How will the Cardinals adapt to his injury?""Does this affect Albert Pujols?"However, one person that may be of particular concern is Chris Carpenter.With that being said, don't be surprised if he moves on. Take a look.Begin Slideshow

Managers always preach that the intangibles are what win games.  Simple things like running out a ground ball, hustling on a weak pop up, fielding a ground ball and stealing a base in a big spot are all things that a manager wishes everyone at his club could do.  Unfortunately, everybody can't.  That's why these players are so valuable. I would first like to start with three players who, I feel, deserve some sort of recognition.  They failed to crack my Top 10, yet they are deserving of something. David Murphy (Rangers), Trevor Crowe (Indians) and Jamey Carroll (Dodgers).  Their respective managers can count on them to do whatever they ask. Although a regular starter on the American League Champion Rangers last season, David Murphy figures to be relegated to a bench role this season.  The signing of Adrian Beltre has since shifted Michael Young to the full time DH position ...

The baseball world seems to have gone crazy to end the week. The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon. What’s truly amazing is the size of the deals: for one year of each, the Rays spent a mere $7.25 million. Both played well enough last year, and look to provide value in 2011. Ramirez played 90 games for the Dodgers and White Sox last year, mostly due to injury. Since he looks to be primarily a DH next year, he should be able to stay in the lineup. In 2010, he posted a .298/.409/.460 line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage), which should provide decent value over more games. His wins above replacement (WAR) (which accounts for hitting, fielding, position and playing time) for the year were 1.6. He could easily post above two WAR (about starter-level) in 2011 with more playing time, even accounting for some decline.  Damon, ...

The St. Louis Cardinals made what might likely be their last addition of the offseason on Friday, signing infielder Nick Punto to a one-year deal. It will be worth $750K.Punto is a switch-hitter, who had strong seasons in 2006 and 2008, but has been disappointing since. He batted .238 with a .313 on-base percentage and a .302 slugging percentage in 2010.What he does bring is a solid glove. He holds a career UZR of 29.9 in 285 games at third, and, if starting third baseman David Freese is unable to return from ankle surgery on schedule, Punto can fill in."It addresses a couple of things for us," said general manager John Mozeliak. "One thing that we believe is he's a very, very good defensive player at second, short and third, and will certainly give us protection there should we need it. We also see value in him being a switch-hitter, to ...

As the Indians' organization breathes a collective sigh of relief that Shin-Soo Choo's gold medal victory in the Asian Games will excuse him from his military duty to his native South Korea, we can all stop worrying that we'll have to watch a parade of no-name prospects in right field next season. The Cleveland faithful are now free to shift the target of their worry over to that pesky, ever-problematic place on the diamond for the Tribe: Third base. A revolving door of a position for the Indians dating all the way back to their late 1990s heyday, the hot corner is like teflon for the Indians—nothing sticks. The team hit an all-time low in 2010, starting off with Jhonny "Quit hitting the ball toward me, you're interrupting my nap" Peralta and ending with the horrifying "Nimartuena", a blundering, clumsy, error-making Frankenstein cobbled together with the likes of Jayson Nix, Andy Marte and ...

The Seattle Mariners had a historically bad season in 2010.  They saw almost every position player on the roster perform at career-worst levels, they scored less runs than they did in a strike-shortened 1994, they fired manager Don Wakamatsu and lost 101 games just one year after winning  85 games.  The Mariners are in desperate need of a turnaround similar to after the 2008 season in which they had an identical record as they did in 2010 (61-101).  Luckily for us Mariner fans, the oft-criticized club President Chuck Armstrong and his partner in crime CEO Howard Lincoln chose to keep general manager Jack Zduriencik on for 2011.  Jack Z., as we so fondly call him in the Northwest, was the architect of the 2009 Mariners turnaround, and if Seattle is to do the same in 2011, he will need to make strong moves this offseason, and continue to let his fabulous draft ...

The Minnesota Twins appear to have a revolving door at second base.When the 2009 season began, the Abbott and Costello routine was, "Who's on third? I don't know."Now it's, "What's the guy's name on second?"This past week, eight Twins declared for free agency. Among them was second baseman Orlando Hudson.For the four-time Gold Glover and two-time All-Star, it begs the question—what is it wrong with Hudson?If Hudson does not re-sign with the Twins, and the odds of that happening appear unlikely, it will be four teams in four years for the switch-hitting second baseman. Between two stints on the disabled list Hudson played 126 games at second this season. That's the most since Luis Castillo played in 142 games in 2006.For the Twins, they will be searching for their sixth second baseman in eight years.The last player to hold the position longer than two consecutive seasons was Luis Rivas, the Twins ...

Who should be the Twins' third baseman? Coming out of Spring Training, Brendan Harris had the edge statistically after batting .326 with three doubles, a triple, and a home-run.  Punto ended the exhibition season with a .233 average, one double, and 12 strike outs.  When the season opened Ron Gardenhire named Punto his starting third baseman and the debate began. The answer now seems obvious—give it to Michael Cuddyer. After filling in for Orlando Hudson at second base in the first game of the Twins' west coast road trip in Seattle, Cuddyer should be given consideration to be the their fulltime third baseman. The benefits of such a move could not have been more evident than in the Twins' 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Delmon Young, Jason Kubel and Cuddyer all homered in the game. Cuddyer and Kubel on back to back pitches in the fourth inning. By playing Cuddyer at third this allows Gardenhire to play Kubel in ...