A new MLB season is on the way. What does that mean? It means that it’s time to start thinking about which teams are going to be good. Apparently the AL Central is going to be very competitive this year. With the Twins staying good, the White Sox being about as good as before, it’s going to be good anyway. But with the Indians getting a lot better now, and the Tigers and Royals improving as well (how could they not) it’s probably going to be one of the best seasons for that division ever. What other teams do you think will be good this year?

Joe Torre has become a traitor to the Yankees. Or has he? Is a manager required to still be nice to his old team if they have moved on? Yeah, kind of. I guess the problem is that what is discussed in practice and the locker room, stays in those places. Torre has come out with a book where a lot of different kinds of problems are brought up. One of the biggest issues is that Torre says that A-Rod was known to some of his teammates as “A-Fraud”. Who knows if that’s true, and clearly Torre has some issues with his former team. Sometimes they treated him pretty horribly in New York and that’s unfortunate. But he should probably just focus on his new job in LA and let it go.

Jeff Kent, who has been playing in the league for 17 years, has decided to call it quits now. He has been getting older, but his numbers haven’t really dropped off in recent years. After such a long run, he is looking forward to being able to spend time with his family again and move on to live in a more stable place. He’s quite happy to have had this time. But it’s kind of hard to tell, because he has always presented a rough exterior. His goal was to separate his emotions from the sport, and just be a no-nonsense kind of guy. He actually didn’t have anything against the people or anything like that. He just didn’t like to feel emotional connections with the other players. He will be missed, but he played a good game!

Don Zimmer, the senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays, is ok after all. He had a minor stroke a month ago, and says that he lost his speech for a week or so, but he’s getting better now and he’ll probably be able to join the team during spring training and see what the team is up to. It’s good to hear that he’s ok, as he is one of the big baseball names, at least in terms of administration people are concerned. The Rays, who played the Phillies for the World Series last fall, are looking to keep themselves back in the game again. See you next year, Tampa and Mr Zimmer.

With his physical passed and the ink fresh on the contract, Derek Lowe has signed with the Atlanta Braves on a four-year, $60 million contract that may have Atlanta becoming a contender once more…at the very least, they will be a hell of a lot better. Lowe is expected to take the top of the order for the pitching lineup, as well as lead them towards a large amount of wins. With this huge acquistion, Braves fans can put Peavy and Burnett out of their thoughts and focus on the upcoming season.

There is an interesting article about Cuban baseball players who defect from their native island and come to play ball in the US. Two players hopped on a raft this December to move to the US. The Cuban government is, of course, not happy about the defections, and who can blame them. The baseball players are the big celebrities down there. Imagine if Leonardo DiCaprio hopped on a raft and defected to Greenland. And imagine if the US had a big problem with Greenland’s prosperity and wealth and felt kind of insulted by it. But the players say that it’s simply the injustices that force them to move out. The government treats them like little kids and they sure don’t appreciate it. So here they are, ready to play, but causing diplomatic problems along the way.

Just checked mlb.com and part of the official USA World Classic roster has been established. Click this link and you can check out the impressive team that the US has put together.

There are 5 teams that are interested in looking at Ken Griffey Jr. He has been let out into free agency by the Chicago White Sox after last season and he’s looking for a new baseball home. He hit only 3 home runs in over 40 games with the Sox. It’s possible that his performance was significantly hampered by his knee injury that he didn’t show and tried to hide as best he could throughout the season. It was operated upon after the season, and it’s not clear whether he will get better or not. Anyway, this is a great player and apparently a very standup guy. He’s nearing the end of his career but he might make a good mentor for some younger players on one team or another.

The true World Series will be coming up in only a couple short months when the 2009 World Baseball Classic begins. Tons of stars are claiming allegiances to their home countries so it won’t be an easy route for the USA. Get all your information about the WBC right here.