Heading into today’s series final, the Pittsburgh Pirates could complete an unforeseen sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers to start the season. Last season, the Pirates set the dubious record of become the only franchise in Major League Baseball to have 17 consecutive losing seasons. Everyone wants to begin each season in baseball with the old adage, “Hope springs eternal”, but fans in Pittsburgh are probably sick of hearing that applied to their baseball team. But do the Bucs really have  a chance for a winning season this year? Andrew McCutchen’s three hits against the Dodgers were indicative of the many experts expecting a break-out season from the 23-year-old. Garrett Jones, Lastings Milledge, Ryan Doumit have all shown promise at the plate in their careers and if they all have good years this season I don’t see why the Pirates can’t finish the year above .500. Ross Ohlendorf and Zach Duke would benefit from having better run support this season as both pitchers won 11 games last year on a bad team.

Todd Helton, the cornerstone of the Colorado Rockies franchise since he was the Rookie of the Year in 1998, has been given a two-year contract extension by the club. Helton owns every offensive franchise record being one of the most consistent MLB players over the last decade. At age 35, Helton is nearing the end of his career, but proved last year he still has some gas left in the tank. Helton had a batting average of .325 and knocked in 86 runs in 2009, helping the Rockies win the Wild Card for the second time in three years. Helton agreed to have $13 million of the $141 million dollar deal he signed way back in 2001 to be differed to after his playing career to help the club gain flexibility in the free agency market. It is also a possibility according to reports, that Helton continue on with the organization in some capacity after his playing days are through.

After months of speculation Johnny Damon was introduced as a Detroit Tiger this week giving Detroit a viable option at the top of their order. It’s no secret that Damon is no spring chicken at age 36, but the guy can still get it done. He brings 14 years of experience to the locker room and the ability to get on base, run the base paths intelligently, and knock in 75-80 runs a year. Damon’s arm isn’t what it used to be in the outfield, but he can still play out there or just be the Tigers’ DH. Should the Tigers make it to the playoffs in 2010, they’ll have a guy who has a wealth of experience playing in the postseason with both the Red Sox and Yankees. The Tigers are hoping to build off of their 2009 season where they choked on the final days to lose the AL Central to the Minnesota Twins.

The city of Philadelphia was disappointed last year as their Phillies lost in six games to the New York Yankees in the 2009 World Series. After winning the World Series in 2008, Philadelphia has become a baseball-crazed town, but time will tell if the team can keep up such a high level of success. The Phillies off season saw Cliff Lee leave and Roy Halladay join the a already impressive roster. Halladay’s career winning percentage of .661 is staggering considering he spent his entire career in Toronto. If the 2008 version of Cole Hamels shows up this season the National League will have its hand full with the Phillies pitching staff. At the plate the Phillies are set for years with perennial All Stars Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the lineup. Raul Ibanez had a breakout year last season knocking out 34 home runs and making his first trip to the All Star Game. If the Mets power packed lineup stays healthy than the Phillies might be in for a fight in NL East, but otherwise expect to another division crown to be put up on the mantle in Philly.

Hall of Fame shortstop Luis Aparacio is lending his retired #11 number to the Chicago White Sox’s new signing Omar Vizquel. The 42-year-old Vizquel and the 75-year-old Aparacio are two of the most decorated professional baseball players to ever come out of Venezuela. Aparacio played ten years out of his three decade long playing career in Chicago winning a Golden Glove awards and leading the league in stolen bases for years. Vizquel, now in the twilight of his career, has model himself after Aparacio breaking the baseball great’s record for most games played at shortstop in 2008. Vizquel asked Aparacio if he could wear the #11 for Chicago to honor him and the legend agreed. Vizquel has played for the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and most recently with the Texas Rangers. In 2009, Vizquel was used in mostly a backup infielder role playing in 62 games and did not commit a single fielding error all season. Seeing Vizquel play in Chicago wearing #11 will be great to see this season as two legends of past and present pay homage to each other.

ESPN ranked the Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun as the Preseason #3 best MLB fantasy player behind only Albert Pujols and Hanley Ramirez this past week as the left fielder goes into the 2010 season. The Brewers didn’t make the playoffs in 2009, but Braun had a great year personally batting .320 with 32 HR’s and 114 RBI’s. Braun has had three of the best seasons any player has had in the MLB since he hit 37 HR’s as a rookie in 2007 winning the NL’s Rookie of the Year Award. He represented the USA at the World Baseball Classic starting in left field and won the Silver Slugger Award in 2009 for the second year in a row. The 26-year-old has accomplished incredible things in just three seasons, but only made $1,032,500 last season with his pay increasing year-by-year according to the 8 year contract extension he signed with the Brewers in ‘08 worth up to $51 million. The Brewers are likely to lose Prince Fielder eventually, but Braun contract will ensure they have one of baseball’s best hitters in their lineup for years to come. The real question is whether the Brew Crew can surround Braun with enough talent to make it to the playoffs while playing in a division with bigger market teams like the Cubs and the Cardinals.

New St. Louis Cardinals batting coach Mark McGwire decided to own up to his past when he admitted to using steroids as to clear the air before he began working for a MLB team again. The fact that McGwire used performance enhancing drugs wasn’t a big surprise to many people as it had been suspected since the ballplayer hit 70 home runs in 1998 breaking Roger Maris’ single season record of 61. In an interview with Bob Costas the former first baseman claimed that steroids did not help him break the record, but only aided him in recovering from injuries.Costas thinks otherwise, but feels that McGwire honestly believes what he says. The real question is how will the general public react when McGwire is in the dugout with the Cardinals this year. It seems likely that when the team travels the 47-year-old will be subject to some jeering. Baseball fans will be interesting to see how the crowd in Cincinnati will react to McGwire when the Cardinals open their season against the Reds.

Earlier this week, as you probably know, there was a huge earthquake in Haiti. There are quite a few ballplayers in the MLB who are from Haiti. As you can imagine, many of them are still worried sick about where their families are and how they’re doing. Some of them might even be down in Haiti itself during the offseason. The MLB is doing a great job helping out with the big relief effort that is underway. They are contributing a lot of money for these operations and goes to UNICEF. A million dollars from the MLB organization, and surely many of the players themselves are giving money to this effort. Hopefully they will be able to help out many different people as this unfolds. Good job MLB. People who are looking to donate themselves can find some links on other parts of the web too.

If you haven’t had the chance to check out the stadium where the Marlins play, you’ll have to look it up in a different name again. For a large part of last year it was referred to as Land Shark Stadium, as it had been leased by Jimmy Buffett, singer and founder of the Land Shark brewery. For the entire football season and much of the last baseball season, it was known by that name. It seemed clunky at first, but it’s finally started to feel normal again. Dolphin Stadium always seemed a little weird for the Marlin’s baseball team, but it makes sense for the location. I think they just keep getting stuck with fish down there in Miami, with the Marlins, Dolphins and “Land Sharks.” Anyway, it won’t change much about the stadium except the name on your tickets.

Adrian Beltre is reportedly headed to the Boston Red Sox. This means that there will be yet more money put into the 3rd base position for the team and the high possibility that both of the players at that position could be injured at any one time. It’s exciting, and Beltre is a very talented player. But he tends to get injured, as he hasn’t made 640 plate appearances very frequently over his 12 year career. He’s going to do well in Boston, I think, where there is a lot of support and high expectations. And with Lowell out for the first part of the season recovering from his recent thumb surgery, it’s no surprise that they are looking for replacements in various places. The Red Sox are trying to make some big moves and they might just get some kind of change this year.