The ALCS starts tonight with the New York Yankees taking on the Texas Rangers at 8 PM on TBS. CC Sabathia will match up with C.J. Wilson in game one of the series.

Tomorrow night, the Philadelphia Phillies will take on the San Francisco Giants at 7:30 PM on FOX. Roy Halladay takes the mound for he Phillies as he faces Tim Lincecum. 

To view the rest of the schedule for the Championship Series, click here.

For complete coverage of the ALCS and the NLCS, click here.

So who you got in the ALCS? The New York Ranger… I mean Yankees, or the Texas Rangers?

Who's going to win the NLCS? The Philadelphia Phillies or the San Francisco Giants?

The Mets should be hiring their new GM in the coming weeks, and they are going to have a lot of work to do. Whoever it is will know that they are in a situation in which they have to shake things up and make some changes to this organization. Let's take a look at where the Mets are right now, it terms of their line-up.

Line-Up:

1. Jose Reyes – SS
2. Angel Pagan – RF
3. Carlos Beltran – CF
4. Ike Davis – 1B
5. David Wright – 3B
6. Jason Bay – LF
7. Josh Thole – C
8. Luis Castillo – 2B

As far as the line-up is concerned it doesn't look too bad. There have been talks about trading Beltran, and the way he finished the 2010 season the Mets could end of getting some value for him. Beltran is tweak his right knee toward the end of the season, but told people it wasn't anything serious and since the Mets were out of the playoff race he didn't want to risk further injury to it. If the Mets were to trade Beltran, it would be interesting to see what they could get. He has one year left on his massive contract for $18.5M. When he first came back from the DL he looked like a shadow of his former self, and if the Mets were going to trade him they would most likely need to eat all of his contract. Now, after he hit .321 with five home runs and two stolen bases in September, Beltran has value. Enough value that the Mets should seriously think about keeping him. Beltran is one of my favorite players on the Mets, so personal I would want to keep him and possible move him to right field and Pagan to center. If the Mets were to trade him, Pagan would move to center field, and the Mets would need a replacement in right field, which could be a problem because I'm not sure we want Lucas Duda or Nick Evans playing out there every day. If Beltran can do what he did in September for the whole 2011 season, obviously the Mets would keep him. However, that might be a gamble the Mets aren't willing to take.

The biggest problem in that line-up is Castillo. Whoever the new GM is, Castillo might be the first player he tries to dump. I'm not sure is Omar Minaya had a certain attachment to Castillo because he trusted him with that long-term contract and didn't want to give up on him (which at the time paying $6M a year for one of the better second baseman in baseball wasn't too bad, it was just the length of the contract I was unhappy about). The new GM will try to trade him, but I'm pretty sure the Mets will get nothing for him. In the end, the Mets will most likely eat the $6M remaining on his deal and sign a free agent second baseman. Keep an eye out for players like Felipe Lopez, Cristian Guzman, David Eckstein, Ronnie Belliard, and of course, Orlando Hudson. Though Ruben Tejada showed some nice things this season, it's clear he's not ready to be a starting second baseman in the MLB right now. Also, don't forget about that guy named Daniel Murphy. Depending how he comes back from the knee injury, he could fight for a shot to be the second baseman on the Mets. He's got the bat for it, it's just if he can play the field well and recover from that horrible injury.

Another problem that could arise for the Mets is if Davis and Thole suffer the "sophomore slump." Based on their performances in the 2010 season they are both clear cut favorites start in 2011. But who knows what the new GM will do. He could trade the young guys to get more experienced players. I hope he doesn't do that because I believe Davis and Thole have very bright futures ahead of them, but it is a possibility. Hopefully they both can at the same level as they did in 2010. I believe it was Mike Westhoff of the New York Jets who said, "The guy who as a rookie performs at a certain level, it's the next year that you get to him to play at the same level, you've made progress." Of course, if their production increases, that wouldn't be too bad either.

Next is Jason Bay. I'll quote another person here, Mike LaFontaine (A.K.A Fred Willard) when he said, "Hey, wha happen?" Bay had a worst season then anyone could have predicted. His power seemed to vanish and he suffered a concussion against the Los Angele Dodgers that forced him to miss more than half the year. When Bay comes back next season I can't imagine him having another season like in 2010. Bay is a very good player, and maybe he just needed a season to adjust to Citi Field and New York. Also, having Wright, Davis, and a healthy Reyes and Beltran around him should take some of the pressure off of him. One thing you have to love about Bay is the heart and hustle he brings to the game, which coincidentally was the reason he suffered the concussion. It's hard to hate on a guy you runs out every routine play and give a 100% all the time, but you also need to produce at this level, especially with the contract he is getting.

Who was the brightest spot for the Mets in the 2010 season? Many people would say Angel Pagan. He finally proved to people that once he can stay healthy, that he is a starting outfielder in the MLB. He hit for average, got on-base, stolen bases, showed that he had some power, and played a phenomenal outfield. If healthy, I see no reason why he can't replicate his 2010 number to 2011. It's just his health that concerns me, even though he was relatively healthy last year. He has a history of injuring himself, and those fears haven't left me yet. I shouldn't really think that way though. Pagan will be the number two hitter behind Reyes and play a great outfield, that's all I'll think about.

OK now onto Wright and Reyes. First, trading even one of them would be dumb. Wright's value is high right now, but if the Mets were to trade him they wouldn't be able to get their value for him. He means a lot more to this team than the numbers he puts up. On the other hand, Reyes' value is down. He had an injury rittled season in 2010 and his numbers suffered because of it. The fact that Reyes is only a type B free agent (if the Mets don't pick up his option, which they will) just shows that his value has dropped. I believe Reyes is still one of the best short stops in the league and that he will prove it again next season.

So if I had it my way, I wouldn't make much changes to the Mets line-up. The Mets need to hope everyone stays healthy and plays at the levels they are capable of. So this would be my starting line-up for the 2011 as of now:

1. Jose Reyes – SS
2. Angel Pagan – CF
3. Carlos Beltran – RF
4. Ike Davis – 1B
5. David Wright – 3B
6. Jason Bay – LF
7. Josh Thole – C
8. Orlando Hudson – 2B

We won't soon forget the six seasons that Omar Minaya dedicated to the New York Mets organization. Through all of the high's (trading for Johan Santana) to the low's (signing Oliver Perez) we have many memories of the ex-Mets GM.

Minaya's proudest season had to be in 2006, when the Mets fell short one game of going to the World Series, losing in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. Everything seemed to click for the Mets that season. From the veteran leadership of Carlos Delgado, Tom Glavine, and Pedro Martinez, the MVP-type performance from Carlos Beltran, the fire of Paul LoDuca, the hero off the bench in Endy Chavez, the light's out bullpen in front of the flamethrowering closer Billy Wagner, and the two blossoming young stars in Jose Reyes and David Wright, the Mets seemed to be destined for greatness. All of these players Minaya put together and watched as the puzzle pieces he assembled slowly came together.

However, as fate (along with Yadire Molina) would have it, the Mets lost game seven of the NLCS, and their magical season came to an end.

After that season the Mets seemed to be cursed. "The Collapse" in 2007, falling apart down the stretch in 2008, the insurmountable injuries in 2009, and the "We Can't Hit A Baseball" season in 2010.

I always liked Minaya and I still do. I think he went out in a classy way and I appreciate all he did for the Mets. That being said, it was definitely time for a change. Minaya wasn't getting the job done, and the Mets needed a new face to assemble a team that can lead them to the World Series.

Who that face will be, no one is sure of yet. But the Mets are going to be one of, if not the most interesting team baseball to watch these offseason. There will be a new GM, a new a manager, and a new look to the roster in 2011.

Adam Rubin reports that the Mets will begin their search for their new GM and have a list of about 32 people they would be interested in. They are going to interview five to seven people in person and will most likely have two rounds of interviews. The Mets hope to have a new GM by the end of the month.

I'm sure not many people know who those 32 names are, but we might be able to assume a few of them based of the reports we've been hearing. Here is a list of a few people that could be some of those 32 people:

• Terry Ryan
• Rick Hahn
• John Hart
• Josh Byrnes
• Sandy Alderson
• Gerry Hunsicker
• Jerry DiPoto

There are probably a few more names out there that I'm getting. Whoever the Mets get, the Wilpon's need to let them do what they want. The ownership need to put full faith in the person they hire, and trust that they will be spending their money wisely.

Adam Rubin reports that the Mets have shut down relief pitcher Bobby Parnell for the rest of the season. He was having inflammation in his right elbow, and the team didn't want to risk any further damage to it.

Parnell had a 2.83 ERA with a record of 0-1 in 41 games this season. He struck out 33 batters and walked only eight.

Doesn't sound like anything too serious. Parnell will be a very important person in the bullpen next season, so no need to risk anything with the Mets eliminated.