30 Teams in 30 Days: Houston Astros (Day 22)

30 Teams in 30 Days continues with Houston Astros. They also happen to be my latest addition to my hat collection, and it looks great. The Astros finished 4th in the NL Central, one game above the Cubs. They also finished below .500 with 76 wins and 86 losses. No one saw Houston finishing this well after starting the season off so poorly. But let's look into what the Astros did in the 2010 off season to prepare for the 2011 season. The Astros picked up: Bill Hall, Brett Wallace, and Mark Melancon. Not to mention the players they got in the 2010 season from the Phillies, such as Nelson Figueroa and J.A. Happ. But Opening Day pitcher Brett Myers and center fielder Michael Bourn are the true stars of the Astros that came from Philadelphia. The Astros have a very young bullpen with a handful of relief pitchers that have never pitched a full season in the majors. This could work for the Astros, because they have several hard-throwing pitchers, but there is also a lack of experience. The Astros are not doing very well in Spring Training going 10-17, but there is no definite answer of where to place the blame. Is it the lack of experience? The lack of leadership or talent? I'm not quite sure because the Astros do have talent in: Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence, Carlos Lee, and Brett Myers. The Astros or as my dad refers to them as, "Philadelphia's Farm Team" have been struggling, but hopefully can find a groove in the 2011 season. I wish them luck duking it out against among the other five teams in the NL Central.

30 Teams in 30 Days: Chicago Cubs (Day 21)

30 Teams in 30 Days is more than 2/3 done, and today will cover the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs finished 5th in the National League Central, which isn't very hard to do when the Pirates win 57 games. The Cubs finished with 75 wins and 87 losses in 2010, which is actually bad for the Cubs in recent years. In 2009 they finished with 83 wins, and in 2008 they had 97 wins. What do you do when you have a bad season? That's right, come back the next season with a better team. Chicago signed new players to a few different positions. Blake DeWitt, Carlos Pena, and Matt Garza were the three largest names acquired by the Cubs in the 2010 off season. Pena can bring the long ball to Chicago, but he is also known to strike out. Matt Garza will add to the depth within the Cubs rotation, but Chicago newspapers did not know what Garza looked like. It was after Garza was acquired by the Cubs that The Chicago Sun-Times placed a picture Joaquin Benoit on the front page of their paper with "Big G" on the cover. Some call it stereotyping, others call it lazy editing. I just find it funny. The outfield for the Cubs is the same as in 2010 with Soriano, Byrd, and Fukudome. Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto have had off seasons in recent years, but are looking to return to their former glory. Carlos Zambrano is also looking to do that. Zambrano is known for pitching well and being a bad teammate. But regardless of that fact, Zambrano is back in the starting rotation for good, and is pitching behind Garza. I wish the Cubs luck in the 2011 season.

30 Teams in 30 Days: Pittsburgh Pirates (Day 20)

30 Teams in 30 Days continues with coverage of the National League Central, and at the bottom of the NL Central was the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates finished the season 57-105, and on August 20, 2010, the Pirates were able to clinch 18 consecutive losing seasons. But somehow the Pirates were able to take 3 out of 4 games against the Phillies over 4th of July weekend. I would know, I was there for a Phillies win and loss. PNC Park is a really nice park within Pittsburgh and I would recommend it to anyone. Unfortunately for the Pirates, they had the worst road record in all of Major League Baseball going 17-64. Hometown fans did not see that bad of a home record, going 40-41, but they were very generous to their hosts. In the off season, the Pirates were able to make some decent pickups. Among those pickups were: Matt Diaz, Joel Hanrahan, Chris Synder, and Lyle Overbay. Pittsburgh still held onto Garrett Jones, Andrew McCutchen, Ronney Cedeno, and Pedro Alvarez. The Pirates also kept National League All-Star relief pitcher, Evan Meek. Ross Ohlendorf won in arbitration against the Pirates in the off season and Ryan Doumit will be the backup catcher and possible outfielder. I really think that the Pirates will win more than 60 games this season. If you have three digit totals in the the win or loss column, you're either really good or really bad. But in the only division with 6 teams, the Pirates are already at a disadvantage. I wish the Pirates luck in the 2011 season because it would good to restore some of the former glory that baseball in Pittsburgh had.

30 Teams in 30 Days: San Francisco Giants (Day 19)

30 Teams in 30 Days continues with the 2010 World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants. It was on the last game of the season that the Giants clenched the NL West over the Padres. But really, what does it take to win a World Series? A world renowned pitching staff? An amazing offense? Great management? None of the above. It takes one man to win a World Series, and his name is Pat Burrell. How many World Series rings does he have? Two. How many rings does All-Star first baseman Albert Pujols have? One. So who is the better player? Pat Burrell. But regardless of how much I love in Pat Burrell, the Giants did win the World Series in 2010 over the Texas Rangers. It was the Rangers first time in franchise history to the World Series, and it was the Giants first win as the Giants on the West Coast. With a team including: Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, Pablo Sandoval, Cody Ross, and Rookie of the Year Buster Posey. Posey started in May and just kept the ball rolling ever since. With almost the same team, the Giants look to repeat what they did in 2010. But that will be difficult after several already good teams "beefed" up their teams which will hurt the Giants in the long run. The Giants kept almost their entire pitching staff by retaining Jonathan Sanchez, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and closer Brian Wilson. As long as Wilson retains his beard, the Giants will be fine, and I really liked his shoes from the All-Star game. I wish the Giants luck in the 2011 season, and more importantly, I wish Pat Burrell good luck in the 2011 season.

30 Teams in 30 Days: San Diego Padres (Day 18)

30 Teams in 30 Days continues with the San Diego Padres. I would like this 30/30 to be kind of a recap of what happened to the Padres, what they did in the off season, and how that can change their 2011 season, rather than the normal format (but that is very similar to what it already is, this I know). San Diego finished second in the NL West after losing the last game of the season and were also unable to make the playoffs. This situation was very similar to the Mets end of the season in 2007. Kind of stinks doesn't it? The Padres signed Jason Bartlett to an $11 million, 2-year deal, with an optional $1.5 million buy out in 2013. Unknown to most, Jason Bartlett was originally drafted in the 13th round by the Padres back in 2001, so this will be a nice homecoming for Bartlett. Orlando Hudson, or "O-Dog" as I refer to him, also signed with the Padres. O-Dog is a personal favorite of mine, don't ask me why, but he truly is great. The Padres suffered a devastating end of the season, missing the playoffs and allowing the Giants to coast into a World Series victory. Fans everywhere are saying, "Thanks a lot San Diego...." With Chase Headley stepping up this season, and the Padres acquiring Ryan Ludwick in the 2010 season, the Padres were looking to be a top-notch team. Heath Bell is also another name being tossed around within the Padres front office, because he will be a free agent at the end of this year. He was quoted saying that he would take a pay cut to play with the Padres further on in his career. Bell had 47 saves in the 2010 season, and is one of the best closers in the game, and only making $4 million. The Padres have suffered an offensive blow this offseason but hopefully they do not retain the bad taste of last year's season in their mouth at the beginning of this one. Almost a completely new infield will start for the Padres this year, and a new first baseman will start for San Diego, since the Fryers signed Brad Hawpe in early January. I wish the Padres luck in the 2011 season, and they will need it without their All-Star first baseman.

30 Teams in 30 Days: Colorado Rockies (Day 17)

30 Teams in 30 Days continues with the Colorado Rockies. They finished 3rd in the NL West with 83 wins and a winning percentage of .512. It's very surprising that a team with that much talent could only win 83 wins. Look at the starting nine for the Rockies (On every fifth day): Miguel Olivo, Todd Helton, Clint Barnes, Troy Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart, Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez, Brad Hawpe, and Ubaldo Jimenez. I'm not necessarily surprised that they did not make the playoffs, but only win 83 games? Carlos Gonzalez was in contention for the Triple Crown of Baseball and NL MVP. Ubaldo Jimenez was in the running for NL Cy Young, with the stats from the first half of the season anyway, but did not not produce solid starts at the end of the season. Yes, Jimenez did pitch a no-hitter, but Dallas Braden threw a perfect game, step it up Ubaldo. Troy Tulowizki was the best short stop in the best shortstop in the league, outdoing Hanley Ramirez in every category except stolen bases. That was even with a season full of injuries. Everyday starters to the Rockies organization this off season are Jose Lopez, Chris Iannetta, and Seth Smith. Smith is back after sharing time with Dexter Fowler, but now that Fowler is no longer a starter, Smith will be the the primary right fielder. With "Tulo" and "Cargo" being signed to long-term deals, Colorado is putting a lot of their eggs in one basket. I wish the Rockies luck in the 2011 season and hope that their off season signings pay off for them in the end, and they now have a special place on my hat rack because their hat is one of them I now own.

30 Teams in 30 Days: Los Angeles Dodgers (Day 16)

30 Teams in 30 Days moves up the National League West by covering the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers finished 4th in the NL West with 80 wins and 82 losses. The 2010 season was a "down" season for the Dodgers but baseball analysts don't know where to place the blame. They had 95 wins in the 2009 season, and even went to the post season, only to lose to Philadelphia once again in the NLCS. The Dodgers this year will have their work cut out for them because they lost one of their biggest assets: Joe Torre. Whether you love Joe Torre or hate Joe Torre, you have to respect the man and what he has done for baseball. Torre has 4 World Series Titles and 6 Pennants under his belt, and a winning percentage of .538, so the Dodgers will have their hands full with someone other than Torre. In the off season, the Dodgers acquired Juan Uribe from the Giants, and is a much better player than people credit him. The Dodgers lost Russell Martin and Ronnie Belliard to the Yankees, what a shame. They still have great players on the field such as: Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Rafael Furcal, James Lonely, Casey Blake, and Rod Barajas(?). Nah, I'll pass on Barajas. Jonathan Broxton is still the Dodgers closer, meaning the 300 lb, 6'4" hurler will remain one of the best closers in the game, and in the NL West along with Heath Bell. And be sure to listen to all broadcasters talk about the vast amounts of foul territory that used to be at Dodger Stadium, the always talk about it. I know that Chris Wheeler and "Sarge" were able to talk about it for about two innings. But regardless of the large amounts of foul territory, I wish the Dodgers good luck in the 2011 season, mainly because they are my favorite team in the NL West.