My 2011 MLB season predictions were a little off this year.

I said the A’s would win the AL West and they actually finished 22 games out of first.

I said the White Sox would win the AL Central and they just traded their manager to another team, which sums up how well they did this year.

I said the Giants would repeat as National League champions and in doing so I cursed Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Freddy Sanchez and the 900 other players they placed on the DL this season.

I had the Braves winning the NL Wild Card and we all know how that turned out. Yiiiiiikes.

While I did have the Phillies winning the NL East and the Yankees making the postseason as the AL Wild Card, those were gimmies. My only claim to fame was predicting the Brewers to win the NL Central, although when you have the Red Sox winning the World Series and they don’t even make the postseason you have no right to brag about anything.

So if you’re offended by my postseason predictions below, don’t be. Chances are I’ll be wrong anyway.

ALDS: Yankees over Tigers.
I don’t trust the Yankees’ pitching but I trust it more than I trust Doug Fister. Justin Verlander was the best pitcher in the American League this season but he’s had a knack for coming up short on the road throughout the years. Knowing the Yankees they’ll be down in every game of this series and figure out some way to advance. Derek Jeter will be 16-for-18 with 11 doubles and one game-winning home run or something ridiculous.

NLDS: Phillies over Cardinals.
The Phillies did the Cardinals a favor by beating Atlanta but if I were them, I would have wanted the downtrodden Braves to advance. That team would have just been happy to reach the postseason after a miserable September. Nevertheless, the Phillies’ pitching will dominate the hot-and-cold St. Louis lineup and the Cardinals’ pitching will fail them in Philadelphia. They’ve got Edwin Jackson slated to start Game 2 in that bandbox the Phillies’ call a stadium, which should work out well considering he’s a fly ball pitcher. (Read: sarcasm.)

ALDS: Rangers over Rays
I love the Rays and I would rather see a small market team like them reach the postseason in dramatic fashion than an underachieving Boston club. But Texas’ starting rotation is deep and was the first AL team since 1977 to have five pitchers with 13 or more victories. That’s an amazing stat when you consider Cliff Lee is no longer a part of the rotation. On the other side, the Rays will throw two rookies (Jeremy Hellickson and Michael Moore) and a guy in David Price who always seems to come up short in big games. I don’t like this matchup for the feel-good Rays, although Joe Maddon deserves to be the AL Manager of the Year with the work he did in Tampa this season. The guy has done great things despite being handcuffed by a cheap front office.

NLDS: Diamondbacks over Brewers
I get the impression that everyone believes the D-Backs are just happy to be here. But let me tell you something: This team does all the little things right. They pitch well, they steal bases, they play good defense and they get just enough offense to win ballgames. The Brewers have more overall talent but I like the NL West to reach the NLCS again this year.

ALCS: Rangers over Yankees
Again, I just don’t trust New York’s rotation. The Yankees relied on Sabathia and a three-man rotation en route to their last World Series title in 2009 but CC is running out of gas this time around. I know Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia have good numbers but toss in A.J. Burnett and this rotation seems awfully combustible to me. Without Lee, I thought Texas wouldn’t even make the playoffs. But I’ve seen the error of my ways and like the Rangers to repeat in the American League.

NLCS: Phillies over Diamondbacks
While I do like Arizona’s chances of advancing past the first round I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of last season when Philadelphia’s bats fall silent in the NLCS. The Diamondbacks’ pitching is good but the Giants’ arms were special last October. Plus, I don’t see how the Phils don’t make the World Series with the rotation they have. It’s just too good. Bonus for Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee: No Cody Ross this year.

World Series: Phillies over Rangers
Yeah, I’m picking the favorite: what of it? Pitching, pitching, pitching…both of these teams have the starting rotation s to reach the Fall Classic and in the end, I see Texas coming up short again. I really like what the Phillies did at the trade deadline in acquiring Hunter Pence. To think Giants’ GM Brian Sabean gave away one of the best pitching prospects in baseball for a 34-year-old rental in Carlos Beltran when he maybe could have had a 28-year-old Pence for much less is just absurd. (Not to mention a 28-year-old Pence who is under team control.) Phils in six.

How great is it that Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit was a home run? Not because a home run is one of the most exciting plays in baseball, but because it wound up being a nice metaphorical middle finger to those who have criticized him over the last couple of weeks for being a player who “just hits bloop singles.”

Of course, had he just hit a bloop single, then he wouldn’t have had to worry about whether or not he was ever going to get the ball back.

Since his historic 3,000th hit landed in the stands behind the left field wall, the ball theoretically belonged to Christian Lopez. He’s the 23-year-old Yankee fan who caught the ball and was immediately ushered into the bowels of Yankee Stadium to ask what he wanted in exchange for the piece of history. Instead of hanging onto the prized possession for a while, Lopez decided to hand deliver the ball to Jeter after meeting him in the clubhouse following the game.

Some have estimated that the ball would sell for $50,000 to $250,000 in the collectibles market. But instead of cashing in, Lopez swapped the ball for a couple of autographed bats, balls and jerseys, and the Yankees pitched in with four Champions Suite season tickets for every remaining home game this season, including the playoffs. On top of meeting Jeter and the rest of the team in the clubhouse, it was all Lopez wanted in exchange for No. 3,000.

Since Jeter hit his historic shot, I’ve had separate conversations with friends and family members regarding what they would have done with the ball. It’s been interesting to hear their responses.

Several people said they would have sold the ball to the highest bidder and wouldn’t have thought twice about it. Another said he would have done the same thing Lopez did, which was give the ball back for a chance to meet Jeter and some of the other Yankees. If they received tickets and autographs on top of that, great. But it wouldn’t have been anything they specifically asked for.

That got me thinking: What would I have done with Jeter’s 3,000th hit, or any historic home run ball that I caught for that matter? My answer is simple: I’d give it back. I wouldn’t give it back without the opportunity to visit the clubhouse, speak with the players and maybe take a handful of pictures with them, but I would give it back without trying to sell it. No question.

Ever since my father bought me my first glove and used to throw pop flys to me in the front yard, I have loved the sport of baseball. I have been a Giants fan ever since Will Clark blew me away with his smooth swing and no-nonsense attitude in the late 80s. Had I caught a historic home run that he hit, money would be the last thing on my mind. Having the opportunity to catch the ball and be a part of history, all while meeting the team and getting a few autographs, would have been enough for me. As a person who cherishes the game, just being a part of the moment would be worth its weight in gold. I would have a story and an experience that I would remember for the rest of my life.

But I’m also a diehard baseball fan. The people who I spoke with this weekend who said they would try to get as much in return for the ball as possible aren’t diehard fans, so cashing in makes sense to them. I can’t speak for him personally, but if I were to take a guess as to what fellow TSR writer John Paulsen would do, I think he would be looking to cash in as well. Baseball just doesn’t appeal to John as the NBA or NFL does, so meeting Jeter or Clark or anyone else wouldn’t carry the same weight as X amount of cash would.

And that’s not to say that anyone is right or wrong here, or that you’re a money-grubbing person because you would try and sell the piece of history. If I got my hands on a historic game-winning soccer ball, you better believe I would sell that piece of rubber and air for as much as I could. The same could be said for any NBA, golf, or NASCAR memorabilia that I caught/received/stole. Those sports just don’t have the same impact in my life as baseball does, so I certainly understand if people thought it was crazy for Lopez not to sell Jeter’s 3,000th hit. It’s all relative.

But in the wake of Jeter’s moment, let’s stick with baseball. What would you do with a historic home run ball? It doesn’t have to be Jeter’s 3,000 hit – it could be anything that you believe would be valuable to you in some way or another. Would you sell it to the highest bidder? Exchange it for autographs and a chance to meet the players? Keep it as part of your personal collection? Sell it for booze and women? There are no wrong answers here, so let them fly in the comments selection.

Derek Jeter got hit number 3,000 with a home run while going 5-5 in a victory for the Yankees. It’s a fitting end to his quest for this milestone, as he’ll go down as one of the greats of his generation.

Yahoo! Sports has a great list of the greatest Yankees of all time, and Jeter is now in the mix.

Buster Olney tweets that Derek Jeter’s comments in which he “essentially exonerated” teammate Jorge Posada of any wrongdoing has apparently angered his Yankee bosses.

Following this weekend’s shenanigans in which Posada removed himself from the Yankees’ lineup because manager Joe Girardi was making him bat ninth (oh, the horror!), Jeter said: “Everybody’s struggled. And if that’s the reason why he came out, then he doesn’t need to apologize. If it’s something else, then yeah, but not for that.”

If Olney’s report is accurate and the Yankees are upset over Jeter’s comments, then they need to get a clue. Jeter is still the captain of their team and he’s not going to make a situation worse by scolding one of his long-time teammates via the media. And quite frankly, his comments were rather innocent. He’s been around long enough to know that a situation like Posada’s will eventually get ironed out without him having to say much on the topic. The Yankees’ “bosses” should just let the situation die out.

What would the Yankees have rather had Jeter say? That Posada was being a selfish, stubborn player and should have acted more professional? Even if that’s what Jeter thought, saying something like that would have fueled the situation even more and caused there to be a rift in the clubhouse (which is something the struggling Yankees don’t need right now, especially after they were just swept by their most hated rivals).

I get that the Yankees don’t want Jeter “exonerating” Posada’s mistake. Posada was definitely in the wrong here, which is why he apologized. But he did apologize and that should be the end of the situation. There’s no reason to make a mountain out of a molehill and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees came out and denied Olney’s report, because they look rather silly right now.

“I’d like to see how smart Theo Epstein is with the Tampa Bay [Rays] payroll. You got Carl Crawford ‘cause you paid more than anyone else, and that’s what makes you smarter? That’s why I like whipping their butt. It’s great, knowing those guys with the $205 million payroll are saying, ‘How the hell are they beating us?’”

All right! Let’s fire this f**king season up!

Those comments were made by Orioles skipper Buck Showalter, who recently did an interview with Men’s Journal. He also took a few swipes at Derek Jeter in which he said the Yankee captain “ticks” him off.”

“The first time we went to Yankee Stadium, I screamed at Derek Jeter from the dugout,” Showalter told the magazine, according to the Bergen Record. “Our guys are thinking, ‘Wow, he’s screaming at Derek Jeter.’ Well, he’s always jumping back from balls just off the plate. I know how many calls that team gets — and yes, he [ticks] me off.”

I love it. Some readers got upset with me last year because I didn’t mind when Reds’ second baseman Brandon Phillips stirred the pot with his comments about the Cardinals. But I don’t mind stuff like this. It brings intrigue to a league that has the opportunity to regain some of its popularity back from the NFL because of the CBA mess. I respect and love the game of baseball as much as anyone (I’ve played it my entire life and someone would have to cut my limbs off to ever get me to stop), but comments like Showalter’s breathe some life into Bud Selig’s stuffy league.

What’s ironic is that Epstein would somewhat agree with Showalter’s comments. In fact, just last week Epstein told the Boston Herald that “it’s definitely easier” to win with the more money you have. But as Epstein points out, there’s more to his job then just spending John W. Henry’s money.

“It’s easy to get defensive when people attribute a lot of our success to our payroll,’’ Epstein told Borges. “To a degree they’re right, but it’s still a challenge. It’s definitely easier the more money you have, but I’m justifiably proud of what our organization has done in the draft, in scouting, in player development. The core of our roster is 26 years old, and most of them came up through the organization.”

Epstein is right. Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard and Jed Lowrie all came up through the Red Sox’s farm system. It’s also important to note that Boston isn’t a big market team. They may spend like a big market team, but that’s only because the fans’ interest is so high in Baaahstin. Otherwise, Boston is actually a mid-market team.

But getting back to Showalter, whether he was trying to poke the embers in the AL East or pump up his young Orioles, it works. Baltimore may finish in fourth place again this year, but Showalter is trying to light a fire under his club’s ass. It’s time for everyone to wake up in Baltimore and maybe Showalter can be the rooster. (What? Stupid…)

The only beef I have with what he said is the part about “whipping” the Red Sox’s butts. As ESPN’s Gordon Edes points out, the Showalter-led Orioles went 3-3 against Boston last year, which hardly constitutes whipping anyone’s butts. Still, I like his spunk.

If you’re anything like me, I hate it when my favorite team signs an aging veteran free agent. I’ve uttered the phrase, “Please God don’t let them sign that crusty old vet,” too many times to count.

But those “crusty old vets” hold a ton of importance to a team’s success, especially in baseball where World Series-winning rosters usually have a mixture of both youth and veteran experience. Take the World Champion Giants for example. They won because of their young pitching, but it wasn’t Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain or Madison Bumgarner who wound up holding the World Series MVP Trophy at the end. It was 35-year-old Edgar Renteria, who was cursed by the SF faithful for being yet another horrible Brian Sabean signing, but wound up being a Fall Classic hero.

Today’s media doesn’t pay enough homage to the older MLB players. In fact, when fellow TSR contributor David Medsker and I were brainstorming ideas for a new feature, the first thing I brought up was that we should do an all 24-and-younger MLB team comprised of…well the idea is pretty self explanatory.

It wasn’t until David and I exhausted that idea before he sent me an e-mail that simply read: “Has anyone done an all 35-and-over team?”

Perfect. The moment I read it I burst into laughter. Could you imagine compiling a team of players that were only 35 years or older when present day teams usually build around youth? I love it.

Unfortunately, the guys over at Off Base Percentage beat us to the punch by compiling their own 35-plus year old team, so David and I decided to actually hold a live draft in order to make two teams. (Take that OBP.)

Below is a round-by-round breakdown of our all 35-and-older MLB draft. We selected a player for every infield position, plus three outfield positions, four starting pitchers (we only had eight to choose from), three relievers, one DH and two bench spots. Once the draft started, David and I quickly developed different strategies for building our rosters, so it was interesting to see how the draft played out. Take a look and let us know if you would have gone a different route.

David Medsker: GM of team “Springfield Geezers”
Anthony Stalter: GM of team “He’s Still in the League?”

Round 1

Springfield Geezers: Alex Rodriguez
He’s Still in the League?: Derek Jeter

David: A-Rod was unquestionably the best position player on the board, and while starting pitching was scarce, I remembered the one time I took a pitcher in the first round (Jason Schmidt, 2005). Never again.

Anthony: I’ll admit it: I screwed the pooch by not taking Ichiro with the first pick. That’s not to say I don’t like Jeter (whom I believe will bounce back this season at the plate), but Ichiro has been the poster child for consistency his entire career. My first pick of my first 35-and-older MLB draft and I screwed up. Bow + Head = Shame.

Round 2

He’s Still in the League?: Chris Carpenter
Springfield Geezers: Ichiro

Anthony: I knew Carpenter would be one of my first two picks because after David chose A-Rod, I wasn’t going to build my team around offense. Pitching still wins championships and Carp was clearly the best starter available. Again, I blew it by not taking Ichiro with one of my first two picks but just let it go, okay? Back off.

David: Had I picked second, Ichiro would have been one of my first two picks, so seeing him “fall” to me in the second round was a bonus. Anthony took the best pitcher on the board, and when I see a run starting, I tend to do the opposite – time to get another bat.

Round 3

Springfield Geezers: Paul Konerko
He’s Still in the League?: Alfonso Soriano

David: Thirty-nine dingers last year. Pauly still has some pop, plus he is by far the best first baseman of this group.

Anthony: This is when I really started to hate my draft and I wanted to beg David for a re-do. I’ll gladly take the 20-25 home runs from Soriano, but his numbers are clearly in decline and he plays an awful left field. There’s no doubt that the Ichiro blunder was still fresh on my mind.

Round 4

He’s Still in the League?: Tim Hudson
Springfield Geezers: Bobby Abreu

Anthony: But I quickly righted the ship with the selection of Hudson. Now I have the top two pitchers from the available talent pool and I’m completely invested in my pitching staff. As long as I didn’t directly look my offense in the eye I was okay with the way my team was shaping up.

David: And now I’m in trouble. Anthony now has the two best pitchers on the board, so I may as well take one more hitter before drafting my first pitcher. Abreu is a perennial member of my real-life fantasy team (it’s a points league, and his high walk rate is gravy), so this one was a no-brainer.

Round 5

Springfield Geezers: Ted Lilly
He’s Still in the League?: Vladimir Guerrero

David: Sigh. Lilly is by no means a #1 starter, but I couldn’t afford to let Anthony take him as his #3 starter. Definitely a defensive maneuver. I would much rather have taken Vlad the Impaler here, but there is great depth at the DH slot. I can make it up in the next round.

Anthony: Finally one of my draft moves paid off. As David noted above, my selection of Hudson caused him to grab Lilly and therefore, Vlad “fell” to me. With this pick, I’m starting to feel a little more optimistic about my offense.

Round 6

He’s Still in the League?: Torii Hunter
Springfield Geezers: David Ortiz

Anthony: And now I feel a little better about my defense, too. Hunter obviously isn’t the same player he was earlier in this career but he’ll anchor things in the outfield. I don’t expect much of a drop-off from the offensive numbers he put up last year either (.281 average/76 runs/23 home runs/90 RBI/9 SBs).

David: Big Papi is not a bad consolation prize in the DH slot. Plus, as much as Baltimore’s offense has improved this offseason, Ortiz is still going to have far more run-scoring opportunities than Vlad, even if he lands in the 6-hole like he’s projected to.

Round 7

Springfield Geezers: Mariano Rivera
He’s Still in the League?: Derrek Lee

David: All right, so I didn’t get the two best pitchers. But I definitely have the best closer, and a ton of offense to give him loads of save opportunities.

Anthony: I don’t know if he meant to or not, but David read me like a book here. I wanted Rivera to pair with my solid starting pitching, but he snagged him a pick before I was going to take him. Lee’s thumb is a concern but if he stays healthy he should be more productive than he was a year ago.

Round 8

He’s Still in the League?: Joe Nathan
Springfield Geezers: Jorge Posada

Anthony: I was somewhat worried that David would take the top two relievers, so I grabbed Nathan while he was still available. Hopefully he’ll return to form and I’ll have a top-notch closer to go with my solid rotation.

David: There are lots of over-35 catchers, but there is only one who’s still producing at the plate, and that is Posada. I never take catchers this early in a fantasy draft, but given the position scarcity, this seemed like the one to take the plunge on.

Round 9

Springfield Geezers: Raul Ibanez
He’s Still in the League?: Mark DeRosa

David: He’s only one year removed from 34 homers and almost 100 runs batted in, and he’s one of the most well-liked players in baseball. Can’t think of a better guy to round out my outfield. And with Anthony taking one of the two second basemen on the board, I can now punt on the position until the last round.

Anthony: I’ll be honest, I just didn’t want to wind up with Craig Counsell, so I scooped up DeRosa while he was still available. A wrist injury ruined his 2010 campaign, but when he’s healthy De-Ro can play multiple positions and is the ultimate clubhouse guy. I’m happy to have him on my team…as long as it’s not Craig Counsell.

Round 10

He’s Still in the League?: Derek Lowe
Springfield Geezers: Miguel Tejada

Anthony: And boom goes the dynamite. I now have three quality starters while David is stuck with Ted Lilly as his No. 1. I may average 0.5 runs a game but hopefully my pitching will match up with his offense.

David: Anthony now has three starters and I have one, so it’s time to pick off another scarce infield position and then go pitcher-crazy. Tejada is no one’s first choice these days, but he still has some pop.

Round 11

Springfield Geezers: Hiroki Kuroda
He’s Still in the League?: Magglio Ordonez

David: Choosing my second pitcher was like choosing between an anvil on my head and a baseball bat to the kneecaps. In the end, I went with the guy with the best combination of low ERA and high strikeout numbers, plus a dandy 1.19 WHIP.

Anthony: Since David took all the best bats and I went with all the good pitching, I’m now left with a team full of defensive liabilities and injury concerns. That said, Maggs still hit .303 with 12 home runs last year in 84 games. I’ll take it at this point.

Round 12

He’s Still in the League?: Carl Pavano
Springfield Geezers: Francisco Cordero

Anthony: Had to do it. At this point, pitching is my strength so I rounded out my rotation with the best arm available in Pavano. Hopefully my franchise is nowhere near New York and I should be fine.

David: Anthony has now taken his fourth pitcher, which means I can now punt on this position as well since he’s capped. May as well bulk up wherever I can, which means relievers. CoCo seems like a better bet than the guy that was just talking about retiring.

Round 13

Springfield Geezers: Hideki Matsui
He’s Still in the League?: Ryan Franklin

David: Godzilla hit 21 home runs in what was considered an off year for him, plus he can serve as a fourth outfielder, though now that I think about it, my entire outfield is left-handed, as are my catcher and DH. Should match up well against Anthony’s starters.

Anthony: Franklin gives me another closer option if Nathan is hurt all year again. I probably should be adding more offense so that David doesn’t keep loading up on bats but at this point, my pitching is what will make or break me.

Round 14

He’s Still in the League?: Jim Thome
Springfield Geezers: Scott Rolen

Anthony: Thome was the best bat available, so there you have it. At this point, I was concerned about not adding more infield depth but I address that later.

David: My last three picks are already spoken for, so I may as well bulk this team up any way I can. Rolen might be worried about playing time when players report to camp, but I have a plan that I think he will find most agreeable.

Round 15

Springfield Geezers: Darren Oliver
He’s Still in the League?: Takashi Saito

David: This was tough. I flirted with taking Saito, but ultimately decided to get at least one lefty in the bullpen, and Oliver’s numbers last year were shockingly good.

Anthony: I would have loved to have Oliver, so nice pick, David. I went with Saito, whom I’m happy with.

Round 16

He’s Still in the League?: Chipper Jones
Springfield Geezers: Livan Hernandez

Anthony: Again, another injury prone bat to throw into the mix. I’m a Giants fan and therefore hate Casey Blake, so I went with Chipper. I don’t feel good about the decision, but I feel better than if I would have said the name “Casey Blake.”

David: And so begins my default picks. Livan’s a horse, I’ll give him that, but then I remember watching him as a rookie dazzle in the NLCS against Atlanta, where he recorded his 15th strikeout on a called third strike to Fred McGriff that was a good 10 to 12 inches off the plate. Haven’t liked him since then.

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. Shortstop is the new second base, a fantasy wasteland where only six (!) players are projected to be drafted in the first ten rounds. Six, out of a hundred. That’s bad.

“Hello. I’m Derek Jeter, and you’re not.”

Worse, only five of those players are proven fantasy performers year after year, and even that is stretching the truth until it nearly breaks. Truth be told, there is one guy in this group (Hanley Ramirez) that has held up as a reliable fantasy stud. The rest are streaky, as in ‘Will Ferrell in “Old School”‘ streaky. (Tulo, we’re looking at you.) What is a fantasy manager to do once Hanley and Troy Tulowitzki are off the board? For starters, don’t panic, and for God’s sake don’t reach. Continue to take the best guy on the board, and see if one of these guys lands in your lap.

Jose Reyes, Mets
The late, great Sparky Anderson once said, “Just give me 25 guys on the last year of their contracts; I’ll win a pennant every year.” You think he wouldn’t love to have Reyes this year, since he’s essentially auditioning for all of Major League Baseball? The Mets are so bogged down with money issues that there has even been speculation that they will have a hard time paying their players, which makes the likelihood of a contract extension to Reyes unlikely. Meanwhile, the shortstop of the Red Sox, Marco Scutaro, has a player option on his contract for next year, which the club could buy out for $1.5 million. Don’t think for a minute that Reyes doesn’t know this, and will bust his ass to get him some Carl Crawford money. Having said that, don’t bid the moon and the stars to get him. If he comes to you, great. If not, then take a look at…

Marco Scutaro, Red Sox
Reyes’ 2010 stat line was .282-83-11-54-30. Scutaro’s line was .275-92-11-56-5. Nearly identical in every category except steals, and he can be had 11 rounds after Reyes is off the board. If you play in a points league and Reyes is gone, take a deep breath, and remember that the next best thing is a mere 110 picks away. Scutaro is the textbook definition of a value pick, even if he spends the entire year in the 9-hole.

Derek Jeter, Yankees
Thanks to his worst year offensively since his rookie season, plus the embarrassing public back-and-forth with the Yankees for a new contract extension, Derek Jeter’s stock has never been lower, and he knows it. Jeter has spent spring training doing extra sessions with Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long to work on shortening his swing, so look for him to play with an anvil-sized chip on his shoulder.

Rafael Furcal, Dodgers
Furcal’s 2010 stat line was .300-66-8-43-22…in 97 games played. Over a full season, that projects to .300-110-13-71-36. Not bad, and it can be all yours for the low, low price of a 16th round pick.

Starlin Castro, Cubs
He could probably use another year of seasoning, but Castro has the skills to be a Jose Reyes-caliber player. He batted .300 his rookie season (and remember, was only 20 years old) and showed occasional pop. If there is one thing he needs to work on – besides his defense – it’s his base stealing. He stole 10 bases, but was caught a whopping eight times. He certainly has the wheels to steal close to 30 bases if the Cubs gave him the green light, but he clearly needs to work on his timing and anticipating the off-speed pitch. (Ask Aubrey Huff about that last one; he stole seven bases last year, and wasn’t caught once.) He’ll make for a nice backup this year, but look for him to take a big jump in 2012.

Don’t believe the hype

Elvis Andrus, Rangers
Fantasy geeks love this guy, but the truth of the matter is that he’s the Juan Pierre of shortstops, only not as productive. He hit six homers in his rookie campaign but didn’t hit a single home run last year, and his caught stealing ratio (32 steals in 47 attempts, 68% success rate) is atrocious. Pierre, by comparison, was caught 18 times, but stole 36 more bases than Adrus did (79% success rate). Here’s perhaps the most damning stat of all: in our points league, Andrus was outscored last year by Jeff Keppinger, Juan Uribe and Yuniesky Betancort. Ow. If he cuts those caught stealings in half, he’ll be a useful shortstop for 5×5 leagues, but last we checked, speed only affects one of those five stats, while power affects the other four. Just sayin’.

Use him while you can

Juan Uribe, Dodgers
He’s playing second base this year. D’oh.

Below is our official ranking of shortstops.

1. Hanley Ramirez, FLA
2. Troy Tulowitzki, COL
3. Jose Reyes, NYM
4. Derek Jeter, NYY
5. Jimmy Rollins, PHI
6. Alexei Ramirez, CHW
7. Rafael Furcal, LAD
8. Marco Scutaro, BOS
9. Elvis Andrus, TEX
10. Stephen Drew, ARI
11. Miguel Tejada, SF
12. Yunel Esobar, TOR
13. Starlin Castro, CHC
14. Ian Desmond, WAS
15. Cliff Pennington, OAK
16. Juan Uribe, LAD
17. Yuniesky Betancourt, MIL
18. Alcides Escobar, KC
19. Jhonny Peralta, DET
20. Alex Gonzalez, ATL