MLBTR Originals: 12/26/10 – 1/2/11

With a relatively small amount of baseball news being made during in the last week, we pumped out plenty of original content to help quench your hot stove thirst. Let's recap all of it…

• With 2010 drawing to close, we presented our list of the top 15 stories of the year, led by Cliff Lee's season-long saga. Ben Nicholson-Smith also rounded up the top 15 remaining free agents, and we also looked at each club's remaining needs.
• Tim Dierkes looked ahead to potential impact bats that could be available after the 2012 season, and wondering how long Phillies' four aces could stay together. He also listed the best signings from January 2010, the hardest available throwers, and wrote about all the backloaded deals being given out.
• Ben named five outfielders that could benefit from Jayson Werth's contract, and looked to see if there's a fit between the Rays and Brian Fuentes. He also examined the Mariners' offseason, explained what changed for Orlando Hudson, listed the remaining free agents that will cost a draft pick to sign, and explored outfield options for the Braves. Finally, he spoke to Pirates GM Neal Huntington about his team's rebuilt bench.
• Steve Adams looked at alternatives for Adam LaRoche, Dan Mennella broke down the market for Rafael Soriano, and Luke Adams tried to dig up possible fits for Grant Balfour. Ben did the same for Troy Glaus, Tim for Manny Ramirez. I examined the youngest free agent on the market.
• This week's poll questions asked which DH you'd sign for 2011, where Scott Podsednik will sign, where Adrian Beltre will sign, will Carl Pavano get a three-year deal, and whether or not Andy Pettitte will retire.
• Discussion topics included lefty relief options for the Mets, middle infield options for the Yankees, and Washington's first base backup plan.
• We explored the history of transactions made on December 26th, December 28th, December 31st, and January 2nd.
• Howard Megdal's latest Jack Of All Trades post focused on Esteban Loaiza.
• I rounded up the best the blogosphere had to offer in this week's Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• This week's chat transcript can be found here.
• Our Arbitration Tracker debuted, and there will plenty of action for the Angels, Padres, Blue Jays, and Giants. Don't forget to check out our team Facebook pages.