The Detroit Tigers have found their $214 million dollar man, and his name is Prince Fielder. As the months of the baseball off season have gone by, there has been much anticipation as to where the hottest free agents of this off season where ultimately going to sign. The hottest free agent of this off season was the great Albert Pujols. After he signed his giant contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the biggest free agent of the market was Prince Fielder. Since then, there have been several rumors going around about Fielder especially during the winter meetings; which is historically a time when general managers around the league will trade for players or sign free agents. It’s also a time when player agents around the league are making the case for their respected clients to get the biggest contract that they can get or in the case of most players, just trying to find a place that they can call work.

We typically know football players only as athletes. Big, tall, strong men who we cheer on every Sunday and/or Monday night in the hopes of victory and team pride. But in a way, many of the fans get lost in the game. The sport of football is based so much on the entertainment factor now, that we typically forget that these are men, in every sense of the word. Despite all of the media attention through radio, television and newspapers, these are just men trying to make a living and who happen to have the support of thousands of people. At times, they might not show or say it, but they all appreciate the support that they get from their fan base.

“The fans do their part on game day, which is cheering for us,” said Prince Amukamara, cornerback for the New York Giants. “So this is one of the ways we can give back.”

Without fan support, there would be no league; if there is no league, all of these men would be out of a job. Arguably the greatest action that an athlete could demonstrate is giving back to the community that supports him or her. Nobody knows this better than New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck.

“We have been put on this pedestal because we are the Giants,” said Tuck, who is playing in his seventh NFL season. “Being this successful, it is very important for us to give back. This is just one of the ways we try to do our part in it.”

Tuck and three other Giants players (Michael Boley, Prince Amukamara and Dave Tollefson) teamed up with Westfield Garden State Plaza and WBLS and WLIB radio stations to host their fifth Annual Toy and Book Drive this past holiday season benefiting The Boys & Girls Clubs in Garfield, Lodi and Hackensack and Tuck’s charity (Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy).

The Boys and Girls Clubs in Garfield have been extremely grateful to Tuck and his teammates as they have tried so hard for the last five years to have these toy drives for the underprivileged children in the community. John Riley, who is the president of the board of trustees for the Boys and Girls Club of Garfield, has worked closely with Tuck during the holiday seasons.

“I have partnered with Justin Tuck for the last three years for this toy drive,” said Riley. “It is a great event and they raise a lot of toys. We have some parties around Christmas time and the kids love it and have a great time.”

Fans also showed their appreciation by showing up to the event and donating toys. Valerie and Jake Showder of New Jersey donated a stuff dog, a doll, two bows and got to meet their idols in the process.

“The kids look up to them,” said Valerie. “They are their heroes. It took Jake’s breath away.”

Some of Tuck’s teammates, like Prince Amukamara, have taken notice of their teammate’s generosity.

“I’m just taking it slow, sitting back and watching how the vets do it like Tuck,” said Amukamara, who played college ball at Nebraska. “He is one of the most caring and lovable guys who just enjoys giving back. Just sitting back and watching him, I’ve learned a lot.

I think it is fair to say that we all know where Justin Tuck and his teammates are going to be next holiday season.

To see pictures from the event, click here.

When looking at this year’s World Series matchup, the Rangers and the Cardinals are evenly matched. Think about it; both teams have their superstar players (Josh Hamilton for the Rangers, Albert Pujols for the Cardinals), both teams have young and upcoming stars like David Freese and Nelson Cruz, and both teams are struggling when it comes to bullpen play.

As it is said in just about every playoff series, the team that has the best pitching is the team that is going to win. That statement seems to prove true every year. Look at last year, when these same Texas Rangers bumped into the eventual World Series champions, the San Francisco Giants. With the exception of a few players, the Rangers have the same lineup that they had going into the World Series last year. They almost looked like they were unbeatable, considering how many runs they were scoring and how they just went straight through the American League. But the Giants’ starting pitching was too much for the Rangers to handle and the same could be said when all is said and done with this year’s World Series in regards to the Cardinals’ pitching.

The Cardinals are off to a fast start in this series behind the great pitching of their ace Chris Carpenter, giving them an early 1-0 game lead over the Rangers. But I don’t think that this is the year when the Rangers are going to roll over and die. Why? Because they have a better bullpen than the Cardinals and that is where this series is going to be won.

When looking at both teams’ starting rotations, they both have one eye-opening pitcher and then the rest are just, for lack of a better word, mediocre. With the mediocre pitching and the offenses that both teams have, both managers are going to have to turn to their bullpens early.

Look for Mike Adams of the Rangers to factor big in this series going forward. He isn’t the closer for the Rangers but he is going to be a closer for another team sometime in the not-so-distant future. He has that kind of talent on the mound. He was brought over to the Rangers from the Padres, where he served as the setup man for Heath Bell. Since arriving in Texas, Adams has solidified the Rangers bullpen and could be just what the Rangers were missing last year.

Both teams are going to score runs in this series with the offenses that they have. But whoever makes the lease amount of mistakes in the bullpen is going to win this series. Look for the Rangers to come back and win this in six games.

Theo Epstein has already broken records and opened several eyes during the course of his young career. When he was hired to be the Boston Red Sox general manager in 2003, he was the youngest general manager in the history of baseball. He also took over a struggling franchise that had not won a World Series since 1918. So it was fair to say that he had a tough wall to climb.

Epstein managed to do what many people thought would never happen again. People literally lived and died and never saw the Red Sox win the World Series, and after the infamous collapse of 1986, it just seemed like the Red Sox would never win again. Epstein managed to find talent in players like David Ortiz and Kevin Millar, who were huge parts of the championship team that Epstein constructed.

Despite his critics, Epstein did the impossible and led the Red Sox to not one, but two World Series championships. He forever made his mark on Boston Red Sox baseball and their rich history as an organization. But there is one team that, believe or not, has it worse than the Red Sox. Just ask the billy goat.

The Chicago Cubs are known throughout the sports world as “the lovable losers.” Sure, it’s great that they are lovable, but no one wants to be called a loser. The Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908, currently the longest streak by far. The Cubs have had opportunities over the last 103 years. They went to the World Series in 1945 and lost, then made it to the NLCS in 1984 and 2003, losing both series in dramatic fashion.

The current Cubs general manager position is very similar to the Red Sox general manager position of 2003. Think about it—both teams are in big sports markets, have a lot of money to spend and a very loyal fan base, and have nothing to show for it.

Epstein has agreed to a five-year, $20 million deal to become the new general manager of the Chicago Cubs. If Epstein were to do the impossible again and take the Cubs to a World Series and win, he might have to be considered the greatest general manger not only in baseball, but in sports history.

The lovable losers are winners today.

With the start of every postseason in Major League Baseball, there is always the birth of new stars in the game, and this year is no exception. We already knew who most of the stars were going into the postseason. Players like Derek Jeter, Justin Upton, Prince Fielder, and Josh Hamilton, just to name a few. But one player who the average baseball fan would not think of is the Detroit Tigers' closer Jose Valverde.

It's fair to say that this is one of the most exciting finishes to a baseball season in recent memory. There was so much drama and anticipation to what was going to happen and it left everyone on the edge of their seats. Even people that were not baseball fans were excited about the last day of the season.

But when you think about the standings and where they were about a month ago, it looked like there was going to be no competition down the stretch.

As we enter the home stretch of the season, the division winners are close to being crowned, the wild card races are tight and the National League Cy Young Award is up for debate.

The American League Cy Young Award is going to go to Detroit Tigers ace pitcher Justin Verlander. He has been nothing short of amazing this year and is the main reason the Tigers are going to win the American League Central. CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees has had a great season but it does not compare to Verlander’s season. Verlander will win the Cy Young and fans could make an argument that he won it a month ago.

As to who is going to win the National League Cy Young Award, that is a completely different and more complicated question. At this point in the season, there are only two candidates for the NL Cy Young who coincidentally play in the same division, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Ian Kennedy of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kennedy is one of the biggest surprises of the 2011 season. None of the so-called “experts” picked the Diamondbacks to win the National West Division. They were picked by most people to finish dead last due to their embarrassing season last year, and how the team was under the direction of new general manager Kevin Towers.

In one season, Towers turned the laughing stock of the league into a winner. The Diamondbacks have a conformable lead in the NL West and are going to make their first playoff appearance in several years, and a big reason why is because of Ian Kennedy. Kennedy has put on career numbers with, as of today, a 20-4 record, 2.87 ERA and 194 strikeouts. If not for Kennedy, the Diamondbacks would not be in the position they are in right now. He has been their number one pitcher and more.

Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw has proved that he is one of the elite pitchers in baseball during his 2011 campaign. If the season were to end today, Kershaw would be winning the Triple Crown in the National League, which means that he would have the most wins, best ERA and the most strikeouts in the entire National League. Historically, the pitcher that wins the Triple Crown automatically wins the Cy Young Award. But the problem is, Kershaw is on a losing team.

Last year, Seattle Mariners ace pitcher Felix Hernandez won the American League Cy Young Award with a 13-12 record, but didn’t get any wins because of no bullpen or offense support.

The Diamondbacks needed Kennedy to win the NL West division this year. He has been one of the biggest surprises and feel-good stories of the 2011 baseball season. But if Kershaw wins the Triple Crown for pitching this year, I feel like the voters have no choice but to give Kershaw the 2011 National League Cy Young Award. It doesn’t matter if he is on a losing team; it is an individual award and should be treated as such. The voters should not punish him for his team’s poor play.

The Washington Nationals haven’t been around Major League Baseball for that long (2005), so the team and the organization haven’t had much of a history, to say the least. The team has never won a playoff game or a division championship, but many baseball experts would argue that they hit the jackpot when they had the number one draft pick in 2009. And with that number one pick, the Nationals selected Stephen Strasburg.

Strasburg is known as arguably the greatest prospect in baseball history. Born and raised in San Diego, California, he was recruited by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn to play baseball for the San Diego State Aztecs. While at San Diego State, Strasburg was the big man on campus and turned into a baseball scout's dream. Throwing a fastball consistently in the high 90s and even touching the century mark with a breaking ball in the mid 80s almost made Strasburg unhittable.

He was known for his humble nature at San Diego State and never took all of the credit, giving most of it to his teammates and the coaching staff.

With his very unique style of pitching and his high velocity, Strasburg was on the radar of many Major League scouts, even as a college freshman.

The Nationals had been in Washington, DC for less than 10 years and needed something to get the fans excited about. Sure, most of the fans where excited that the new Nationals Park was built, but they wanted to see a change on the playing field through the draft. and boy, did they ever get that by signing Strasburg to a $15.1 million contract, setting a new record for a rookie contract.

Strasburg spent very little time in the minor leagues and was called up to the Major League roster less than a year after being drafted, which is almost unheard of in baseball. Strasburg started off well, winning his first game in the big leagues and keeping hitters on their toes. Strasburg pitched 12 games in the 2010 season, striking out 92 batters with a 2.91 ERA before he tore his ulnar collateral ligament, forcing him to have season-ending Tommy John Surgery. The surgery required him to have 12-18 months' worth of rehab, which would set back Strasburg and the Nationals.

Strasburg had a successful surgery and a successful year of rehab. He made six minor league rehab starts before returning to the big league mound for the Nationals yesterday. He pitched five scoreless innings and only allowed two hits. He was taken out of the game early because Nationals management has a very specific and well-planned process for Strasburg so that he will be able to last six or seven innings consistently. His fastball reached 99 mph, so it appears that he is still bringing the heat.

Strasburg being back is nothing but great news for the Nationals. With many solid prospects in their system, look for the Nationals to be serious contenders in the NL East if they stay healthy.

Since 2006, it is hard to think of a team who has suffered more on and off the field than the New York Mets.  Living in New York for the last three years has opened up my mind and introduced me to this very diverse and critical fraternity known as Mets fans.

One of the biggest thrills in baseball is the play at the plate. A lot happens all at one time, it is a very rare play, and it always gives the fans at the game and watching at home a rush of excitement and drama.

But recently, Major League Baseball has taken a step back and is starting to consider the possibility of changing the rules ever since the unfortunate events that happened on May 25.

It is no surprise to any General Manager in baseball that San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell is on the trading block. Bell is currently one of the best closers in baseball on one of the worst teams. Clearly, it would not make much sense for the Padres to keep Bell, since having a closer on a losing team’s roster is almost a roster spot wasted. So, needless to say, it is time for the Padres to make a move.

As the old saying goes, pitching is what wins championships. This has been especially true during the last decade of baseball. Teams establish themselves by having the best pitching staff they can afford. This has been made very clear as several pitchers have been signing record-breaking contracts. In that aspect, the game has evolved tremendously on the business side.

Adrian Gonzalez has finally made his mark on Major League Baseball on the national level. After coming in second place in the home run derby and hitting the first home run in the All-Star game, everyone has now witnessed the skill and talent level of Adrian Gonzalez.

Everyone remembers, or has heard about, when Tommy John had what is now known as the Tommy John surgery. At the time of his surgery, John was an aging pitcher who had blown his arm out completely. Not much was expected out of John except for retirement.