World Alexander

Season 19 Draft Analysis: Picks 21-32

2011-05-26T17:51:00.004-04:00

21. Milwaukee Brewers - Chad Lannan: The quickest way to describe Lannan would be "platoon SS", which sounds like a poor value in the 1st round. Lannan, however, has the potential to be an extremely valuable platoon SS. Luckily, his poor split is vL, which is much less damaging to a player's value than a poor vR. Excellent contact, great vR, and really good batting eye will make him a force at the plate against RHP's (which should account for 400+ great AB's a year). His defense isn't spectacular but will more than get the job done at SS. Lannan will provide the Brewers with a great option at SS vs. RHP's for a long time. If only the real life Brewers could find one too. Grade: B+

22. Indianapolis Lancers - Ross Prince: I think Prince is a pretty solid value pick for bottom half of the 1st round. I see him as having pretty good splits and control, with two solid pitches and three mediocre-to-crappy ones. Not a franchise-changer, but if he reaches the projections I currently see (no given, since they could drop once he signs) he will be a solid #3 SP...more likely he will be a 4 or 5. Grade: B

23. Little Rock Liddies - Larry Coco: Coco will probably be a decent player but nothing special, which is fine for a pick this late. His D is a little weak for SS, so he'll probably play 3B . Mediocre splits and batting eye will keep him from being a star, but his contact should let him be at least somewhat useful. His blazing speed combined with excellent baserunning skills should allow him to reach scoring position a lot. Probably a mediocre 3B or a very good utility man. Grade: B-

24. Baltimore mets - Carter Farr: I find Farr to be an acceptable but slightly below average pick at this point in the draft. On the surface he looks like a fairly successful SP, with solid splits, decent velocity, and above average control. However, when you note that his lower split is vR and he only has one above-average pitch, he looks a lot like a long reliever or spot starter than a middle-of-the-rotation stalwart. Grade: C+

25. Texas Dragons - Wascar Gil: Seeing a split as low as Gil's vL immediately turns me off to a player. However, I think Gil deserves a second look. That vR isn't great, but will do fine with good supporting ratings. And those beautiful first 4 pitches, great velocity, and pinpoint control give Gil all the supporting ratings needed to overcome those underwhelming splits. I think that his vL rating will hurt him, but I still think Gil will be a solid SP4 or SP5, with maybe a lucky season or 2 where he leads a staff. Grade: B

26. Augusta moose - Malcolm Young: If Young's durability were just 10 points higher, he'd be an absolute steal at pick 26. As it is, though, he's still a solid pick who can help a winning team. When it comes to pitching skill, Young's above-average split set, great velocity and control, and above-average set of pitches will make him dangerous on the mound. But that low durability will keep him stuck as a reliever or a low pitch count SP. Still, given how good Young will be when he is able to pitch, it's a good value for this late in the 1st round. I had him ranked 13th. Grade: B+

27. Hartford Pit Bulls - Alberto Lopez: Lopez is an average or slightly below average 1st round pick, in my opinion. His slightly above average splits, mediocre batting eye, and above average power will not make up for his low contact rating. I see him with a low batting average and unspectacular OBP with about 15-20 HR...but given his defensive prowess in CF, that may be plenty to warrant a starting job. Grade: C

28. New York Juicers - Victor Franco: Franco is an interesting player whose value is difficult to clearly define. On the bright side, he can mash the hell out of the ball when he's playing LHP's, and he'll provide a spark on the basepaths. On the downside, he probably can't hit RHP's enough to justify starting against them with his unspectacular defense. So he'll probably give 200-300 AB of excellent offense a season, meaning he's not a franchise-changer but could still have value. Grade: C+

29. Tacoma Mountain Men - Timo Workman: Low-contact players like Workman are one of the most interesting player types statistically around HBD. They seem to be very inconsistent to me, with All-Star seasons followed by years batting .240. I think Workman has the splits (especially that excellent vR), decent batting eye, and great power to make him an All-Star multiple years in his career. He will also have down years, though, but overall, with a bat like that at 3B, he's going to end up being a positive asset for the Mountain Men for a lot of years. Grade: B+

30. Durham Bulls - Ron Price: Price, to me, is thoroughly ordinary. These are the kinds of players that are picked frequently in this part of the draft. He'll probably make a ML team due to his good vL and great speed, but he will never be anything more than an average starter or a pretty solid platoon man at 2B or LF. These are the guys you can find aplenty in the Rule V draft or free agency. Grade: D+

31. Cheyenne Warriors - Brett Guerrero: Here is the type of dynamic pick teams drafting in the bottom of the first round hope to get to keep their franchise on top. Guerrero has the arm to play C, and while his pitch calling will never be above average, his bat (especially versus LHP's) and great batting eye will allow him to be a solid starter at C for a long period of time. Excellent value pick for the Warriors. Grade: A-

32. Boston Red Sox - Travis Earley: And here we have another example of a difference-maker picked late in the 1st round. While Earley doesn't have the great velocity of many RP's, he does have absolute pinpoint control, a great slider and change-up, and the above-average splits to make him a fixture in the late-inning bullpen of the Red Sox for many seasons to come. Grade: A

Season 19 Draft Analysis: Picks 11-20

2011-05-25T01:24:00.002-04:00

11. Sacramento Screaming Eagles - Dale James: James is going to be a very solid player, but in a draft this deep there were star-quality players still on the board at the time he was picked. He's got solid splits, solid power, solid batting eye, and mediocre contact, which means he'll be an average to slightly-above-average starter in RF for the Screaming Eagles. I had him ranked 8th, but his post-draft projections are worse than pre-draft for me. Grade: C

12. Las Vegas Rounders - Rajai Milledge: Milledge would be an excellent value pick near the bottom of the first round (though, once again, my scouts didn't see him), but he's a little iffy in the top half. He's got the control and velocity to be successful, as well as a killer sinker. He's fine against lefties, but the question is whether he can get righties out...and that's kind of an important thing to be able to do. His lack of a solid secondary pitches is troubling as well, but he should be able to pitch a lot of innings as a #4/#5 SP in the ML's...but this high in the draft, you want more. Grade: C-

13. Tampa Bay Sun - Cookie Beltran: Beltran is a rock solid pick (that my scouts once again missed) at this point in the draft. He's no top-of-the-rotation stud like several of the SP's taken above him, but with 4 good pitches, solid splits, and great control, he will be a good #3 SP for a long time...barring injury. And injury is a big worry for someone with as low of health as Beltran. Grade: B+

14. Oklahoma City Outlaws - Ross Venafro: Venafro is a talented bat that is a good pick for middle of the 1st round. He's got a poor glove in RF, but his arm and bat make up for it. He hits RHP's very well, and with good contact and power and solid speed, Venafro (ranked 9th by me) should see the All-Star game at some point in his career. Grade: A-

15. New York Stink Palmers - Sadie Downs: Downs is another good pick for this part of the draft. Catcher is a position with high durability demands, and Downs should be able to play just about every day. Downs will be about average defensively, but his .300 bat will make him a good option at C for a long time. I had him ranked 17th, but his post-draft projections are significant improvements over what I saw before the draft. Grade: A-

16. St. Louis Arch Angels - Derek Zaun: Zaun is another unspectacular but rock solid pick for the middle of the 1st round. Although listed as a 2B, he will probably end up playing LF, which makes his bat a little less impressive. Only slightly above average hitting RHP's, his good contact, power, and very good batting eye should nonetheless allow him to succeed at the plate. Health could be an issue. I had him ranked 10th. Grade: B

17. Charleston Vampires - Bobby Simontacchi: With the Vampires' 2nd 1st-round pick they got one of the best steals of the draft in Simontacchi. The only knock on him is a poor change-up and low velocity...but his great splits, excellent control, and fastball/slider combo will make him a top-of-the-order SP in the future. He was my 2nd-ranked player, behind only Martin. Grade: A

18. Hartford Pit Bulls - Kip Donnelly: Donnelly is an interesting player whose bat reminds me a lot of my own Rafael Quixote: excellent contact and power, above average vL, and a weak vR and batting eye. Quixote has had a successful career, and Donnelly should have him beat in both splits, meaning he should be a very productive player. He also has great speed, though it's hampered by his baserunning skills. Donnelly's bat at 2B would probably make him a frequent All-Star. More likely, though, he will play LF and be an above-average bat for the Pit Bulls. My scouts missed him. Grade: A-

19. Cheyenne Warriors - Achilles Uribe: Uribe is an interesting choice as a 1st round pick. At first glance, he seems like a poor pick due to his very average bat. However, he's got blazing speed, with baserunning skills to make him a true demon on the bases, and he's also going to be a defensive whiz in CF. I think that his speed will really improve his offensive impact, and the (+) plays he makes in CF will probably earn him his share of Gold Gloves. I've also seen guys with worse bats make the All-Star team. Uribe is an unspectacular pick, but he is a guy who can really help his team win without lighting up the box score with big offensive numbers. I had him ranked 29th, but his post-draft defensive ratings outshine the ones I saw pre-draft. Grade: B-

20. Pittsburgh Penguins - Allan Holland: Holland is a player who can play a contributing role on a good team, but guys like him are often available after the 1st round. He will be Gold-Glove caliber at SS, but he is simply unable to hit RHP's. He can be a solid platoon SS against LHP's, but guys like this are frequently available in lower rounds and in free agency, which makes me think he is not worthy of a 1st round pick. Grade: D-

Season 19 Draft Analysis: Picks 1-10

2011-05-24T19:03:00.006-04:00

Disclaimer: I have $16 million advanced scouting (and $14 million HS and college scouting), so my projections are not perfect. This analysis is done based on the projections I see (advanced scouting for signed players, HS/college scouting for unsigned players).

1. Columbus Small Ballers - Russ Martin: Martin was my top-ranked player. He is the definition of a player to build a franchise around: MVP-quality bat, blazing speed, and very solid defense at the most difficult position, SS. He will be an All-Star SS for the Small Ballers for many seasons to come, and was a great pick by chuckster. Grade: A

2. Mexico City Charros - Danys Perez: Another excellent selection. Perez will hit for more power than Martin, but might not get on base as much. He does boast blazing speed, but his defensive limitations mean he'll probably play 3B rather than SS in the bigs. Still, a bat like his at a position other than C/DH/1B/LF are not easy to come by. I had him ranked 5th, but his projections improved when my advanced scouting guys took a look at him. Grade: A

3. Cleveland Redlegs - Russ Paramore: My scouts saw this as an extraordinarily weak pitching draft, and part of the reason is because they missed Paramore. Wow, what a stud. Has the potential to be even better than Jeff Muratore (even before his injury). Nearly unbeatable splits, as well as great control, velocity, one great pitch and three other good ones...I am very unhappy he's in my division. Grade: A

4. Los Angeles Urban Achievers - Corky Ramsey: Ramsey has yet to sign, but when he does, the Urban Achievers will have a great bat to build around. Ramsey has MVP potential, thanks to his great power, excellent eye, speed on the basepaths, and ability to play pretty much every single day. The only downside is he will be limited to 1B or DH throughout his career. Still, an MVP-quality bat with the 4th pick is very good. I had him ranked 3rd. Grade: A

5. Florida Jack A$$'es - Alberto Alvarez: Ah yes, another stud SP that my scouts missed out on. Alvarez is no Paramore, but then again, nobody is. He still has potential to win a Cy Young (or more) during his career. The lack of a 3rd pitch might hurt him a bit, but his control, splits, and velocity make up for it. And with that high durability, he can put up some monster innings for the Jack A$$'es. Grade: A

6. Baltimore mets - Glenn Barnes: And here we have the 3rd stud SP my scouts missed. He's not quite at the caliber of Paramore or Alvarez, but he should see his share of All-Star games during his career. Barnes' excellent splits and great velocity should make up for his low control and lack of good 2nd through 5th pitches. Baltimore management is hoping he doesn't run into health issues during his career, which could be a worry. Grade: A-

7. Charleston Vampires - Orber Espinosa: The wealth of offensive talent in this draft continued as the Vampires picked up a great CF with the 7th pick in Espinosa. Espinosa continues the trend of speedy position players, though his baserunning instincts are subpar. He struggles against LHP's, but his great contact, vR, and batting eye should make him a MVP candidate at some point in his career. He should be very solid in CF as well, and bats like this at a demanding position like CF are rare indeed. My scouts continued their stellar work in completely missing out on Espinosa. Grade: A

8. San Francisco Friars - Don Kelly: The stellar draft continued with yet another MVP-caliber bat going 8th to the Friars. Kelly can hit for power (40+ HR threat) and average. He should be a very solid defender in CF, and could even fill in at 2B in a pinch (though you wouldn't want to play him there for a full season). Getting an MVP-caliber bat at the 8th pick, even at a corner OF position, is still an accomplishment. I had him ranked 4th. Grade: A

9. Madison Cheeseheads - Pedro Gonzalez: Finally the first dud pick in the draft. When Gonzalez throws the ball, he gets people out. He's got pitching tools comparable to Paramore and Muratore. However, Gonzalez suffers from an extreme case of narcolepsy: by the time he's thrown 10 pitches, he's usually asleep on the mound. Although his disorder has entertained dozens of fans at Milwaukee Area Technical College (who often compete in odd contests for the right to wheel him off the field), he probably won't be a great help for a ML baseball team. Luckily for milton7, though, he probably won't sign, as he prefers prefers playing in front of only his parents rather than a packed stadium, and a compensation pick could yield a useful pick next season. Grade: F

10. Nashville Troubadors - Jared Russell: Since he's still unsigned, and since apparently my scouts can't even locate a single college newspaper article about him, I can't give any opinion on this pick. When he signs, I'll update this with analysis.

Who has the best organization? pt 2

2011-03-18T19:38:00.003-04:00

I know everyone has been waiting for part 2 of "who has the best organization's top 15."Once again this is the ranking for best organization from rookie to major leagues.Whitehouse Rating= 4 points for world series,3 points for LCS,2 points for div title and 1 point for playoff appearance at any level. NOTE: i mixed up notes on colorado,colorado springs and colombus.The only correction from part 1 is a tie for #18th(tied)-Colorado Springs Field Mice-(104 pts)Big League play these guys rank 9th with 11 appearances in playoffs via 6 by div chamionships and 1 LCS's to their ML banners.They slipped a little in minors with a 22nd ranking with 25 appearances,20 div titles,3 LCS, and 1 world series.psanders is an original owner.So our countdown continues at #14....

#14-New York Stink Palmers-(120 pts)The NY2 club has 6 major league playoff appearances and 1 division title which ranked them 22nd in bigs.Their minor league teams helped them tremendoudly in rankings coming in 10th.with 45 appearances,13 div titles,7 LCS'S and a countdown high at this point, 5 World Series'(4th best in minors).Look for this team to move up in ML rankings as they are one of the 3 youngest teams in league.joshcarolina is an original owner.
#13-Augusta Moose-(127 pts)The Moose ranked 13th in ML's with 7 playoffs appearances with 4 div titles.minor league they ranked 13th with 39 october appearances,32 by div titles,but only 3 LCS titles and lacked points for "closing the deal"in the big series. Mcgupp is an original owner.
#12-Cleveland Redlegs-(133 pts)Cleveland ranks dead last in ML's with 0 appearances-that makes them a very fine minor league club ranking 10th in minors with 44 appearances but get mad points for 40(ranks 3rd total) division titles!! They have 3 LCS titles to add to their point total.However have 0 WS which makes them 1 of 7 teams with no WS banners in their organization!
#11-Boston Red Sox-(136 pts)Red Sox have 2 playoff appearances in ML's to rank them 29th.the made up a lot of points in the minors ranking 9th.they were propelled by 37 appearances via 32 div titles,7LCS titles amd 3 World Series.
#10-Colombus Small Ballers-(143 pts) Small Ballers have a new owner that has some high expectations expected of him.They rank the 4th best ML team with 14 appearances ,13 div titles and 3 LCS titles.A 7th ranking drops them in minors they have acquired 20 div titles,6 LCS, and 3 WS rings in 24 appearances,
#9-Nashville Troubadours-(149 pts)Nashville is tied at 17th in ML's with 6 appearances and 3 div titles.They are 8th in minors with 46 appearances,23 div titles,11 LCS'S and 3 world series trophies.
#7(tie)-Little Rock Liddies-(150 pts) The Liddies are tied 31st with 1 playoff appearance.They pack a punch in the minors with a 6 ranking.After 43 trips ,35 by div title.They have acquired 8 LCS's and 3 World Series rings.
#7(tie)-Texas Dragons-(150 pts)The Dragons rank 10th in bigs with 5 playoff appearances all by division titles and have 1 LCS ,and they made it count gaining their 1 world series victory.Texas was 11th in minors with 39 trips to playoffs,23 div titles,9LCS, and 4World Series triumphs.
#6-St Louis Arch Angels-(160 pts)Arch Angel's rank 3rd best team in ML's with 11 div titles,2 LCS,and 2 WS in their 12 appearances.They finished 14th in minor leagues with 37 appearances via 29 bydiv titles but have only produced 1 LCS and WS.
#5-Scranton Screamin Eagles-(194 pts) a mere 28th ranking in bigs with just 3 palyoff appearances hurts them but in minors this teams always come to play.They have a whopping 53 appearances(3rd in minors),39 div titles(4th in minors),12 LCS(tied for 3rd in minors) and 6 WS(tied for 3rd in minors).
#4-Atlanta Angry Pirates-(195 pts)Another 1 point victory.ML's these guys are 11th with 7 div titles and 8 appearances.Look for that to change over the next couple yrs wit this other young team.Ranking 5th in minors with 43 appearances 38 by div titles,10 LCS,and 6 WS.
#3-Cincinnati Red Stockings-(221 pts)Cincy ranked 5th in ML's with 10 trips to playoffs,9 by div title and 3 LCS titles.A 4th ranking in minors is from their 62 appearances(3rd most),33 div titles(4th),12 LCS(tied for 3rd), and 5 WS(tied for 4th)
#2-SalemStreep Sweepers-(343 PTS)Salem is middle of the bigs, ranking 15th but by far is the most decorated minor league squad by far.in ML's they have 6 playoff appearances and 4 division titles.Where they rack up is in the minors.They have 68 appearances(2nd),60 div titles(1st),23LCS(1st),and 18(1st-5 more than 2nd) World Series'.
#1-Tacoma Mountain Men-(387 pts)Suprise,Suprise!Did anyone doubt the Mighty Mountain Men?They trumped in all categories in ML's,the only team to touch their #1 rankings was Indy with 14 div titles.they have had 9 LCS,8 WS, all in a perfect 17 maximum oppurtunistic appearances.Minor leagues they did finish 2nd with a league leading 70 appearances,but only 52 div titles(2nd),19 LCS(2nd),and 13 WS(2nd).

While i had the numbers crunched i decided to see who was the best division,these were the results:
#1-NL North
#2-(tie)NL South/AL North
#4-AL West
#5-NL West
#6-NL East
#7-AL East
#8-AL South

Top League
#1-National League-2013 pts
#2-American League-1863 pts

I'm sure not averyone approves of this formula, but its just a gauging system for collection of banners through minors and majors and doesnt really mean anything! Hope you all enjoyed the number crunch and have a nice spring!I will check these again in a few seasons, so you better pick up those minor league systems because the Whitehouse is watching!

Who has the best organization? Pt 1

2011-03-15T19:02:00.005-04:00

Well we all know who has the best ML franchise and that would be Tacoma,but after a little thought i wondered who had the best entire organization.There was a couple different ways I found to answer the question.What i decided to do was come up with a formula that could be understood with easy explanation that would rank by covering all levels of play,majors and minors.The Whitehouse formula as I have named it, is scored like this.For a Divisional Title you get 2 points,League Championship you get 3 points, and for a World Series 4 points and 1 point for a playoff appearance,in any level.NOTE : no points were given for Divisional Champion Series wins.I broke it down for the bigs at first and decided to go for an entire franchise ranking,these are the results of the Best Organizations since inception(up through season 17) I will break the teams down in a 2 part write up counting down to #1,hope you all enjoy!

#32-Charleston Vampires-(23 pts)Have only made it to the ML playoffs once,which tied them for a 30 rank in ML's and have had only 7 divisional titles and 1 wild card appearance in minors as their highest accomplishment.
#31-Sacramento Screaming Eagles-(39 pts)With 1 divisional title and 4 ML total appearances, Sacramento has also blundered in the minor leagues, but is tied for 24th in ML rankings,to have a bright side if there is one.The Screaming Eagles have 5 minor league div titles with 15 appearances in playoffs in minor leagues.
#29(tied)-Baltimore Mets-(43 pts)Baltimore ranks 18th in ML's with 3 division titles and 6 total playoff appearances but their minors have failed them in getting them props for the Whitehouse ratings.1 league championship and 8 division titles in minors.pitnickd is an original owner.
#29(tied)-New York Juicers-(43 pts)The Juicers came in 12th in ML ratings, but like Baltimore dont put much thought into minor league accomplishments,which hurts in these rankings. 2 league championships and 7 divisional titles which make up all their ML playoff appearances is impressive.Though,their minors has failed to produce but 1 world series,1 1 league championship and 1 div title and has had 13 playoff appearances in the minors.
#28-Salt Lake(44 pts)-This franchise, although, has had success with 6 divisional titles and 2 League Championships in the Bigs for a #7 ranking,they have been horrid in the minors with a measely 3 minor league division titles and 12 playoff appearances in all minor league levels over 17 seasons.
#27-Oklahoma City Outlaws-(49 pts)With 2 division titles,their only ML appearances, does rank them 22nd in the bigs.But a dismal minor league system with 10 total division titles,1 league championship(that they did make count), and 1 world series in 16 appearances just doesn't help them in these polls.
#26-Ottawa Rough Riders-(53 pts)Ottawa has 9 ML playoff appearances,1 league championship and 1 division title which ties them for 14th at big league level their minor league has failed to fire.20 minor league playoff appearances have brought them home just 1 league championship with 8 titles which ranked them 26th in minor league ratings.They do play in a division with mighty Tacoma but there are no excuses in baseball.
#25-Tampa Bay Sun-(67 pts)They rank 23rd in ML's with 2 division titles and those were their only appearnces.In minors have had 30 playoff appearances,9 div titles,3 league championships and 1 world series team but i see a brighter future with the Sun with thompkinsaj at the helm.
#24-Madison Cheeseheads-(71 pts)Madison was 27th in ML ratings with 1 div title and 2 appearances but picked it up in the minors a bit.They had 20 appearances,15 by div titleway,3 LCS's and the first of our teams unveiled to have 2 World Series rings.
#23-Durham Bulls-(85 pts)Durham has some nice ML ball teams and are ranked 8th with 9 playoff apearances,7 of them by div title, and had 1 LCS.The 24th ranking in minors was the stinker for Durham,they have had 30 minor league playoff appearances with just 1 LCS and 13 div titles to their belt.
#22-Indianapolis Lancers-(97 pts)The mighty Lancers of the major leagues are ranked #2 in pro rankings with 71 pts.They have been in playoffs 15 of 17 seasons with 4 world series rings all via their 4 and only LCS's(they make it count, they are 4-0 in world series when they make it there)also adding 14 div titles out of the 17 yrs.Very Impressive!!! Their minors....arent so hot!They are ranked the 28th worst minor league organization.They only have 10 playoff appearances with 8 div titles in 85 opportunities....with no minor league banners!danman is original owner along with world commissioner!
#21-Colorado Moonshots-(101 pts)They rank 25th in bigs with 4 playoff appearances and 1 div title.a 16th ranking gives them a boost in minors with 24 appearances,20 of them by division titleway.They have 6 minor league LCS's and the first of our teams to have 3 World Series banners from the minors.
#20-Las Vegas Rounders-(102 pts)Edging Colorado out by one point is Las vegas.3 div titles helped pull them away and 5 total tickets punched in october ranked them 19th in big league play.32 appearance via 26 div titles helped get them to 1 LCS in which they won their one and only WS title in the minor leagues.
#19-Milwaukee Brewers-(103pts)Another 1 point victory in the rankings.A 27th ML ranking didnt help with 1 div title and only 2 playoff appearances.They picked it up in the minor leagues(14th) with 40 big banging appearances,15 by div title,with 7 big LCS AND 2 WS banners hanging in Miller park...these awards all brought to you by kainvb, an original owner.
#18-Mexico City Charros-(104 pts)Once again a tight race won by 1 point.Mexico City has been to 7 playoffs 2 by the way of div titles and won 1 LCS but lost in their only chance at a Championship which ties them for 15th on the big league scale.Minor leagues they ranked 19th with 32 appearances,19 div titles ,4 LCS'S and 2 WS
#16-Iowa City Moonlight Graham's-(107 pts)The Moonlight Graham's are interesting they have 0 div titles but have 2 appearances in which one they won the LCS and world series which ranks them 20 in ML rankings.Minor leagues they rank 15th by 33 appearances 29 by div title, 1 LCS and world series.
#15-Florida Jack A$$es-(117pts) Florida ranks 6th in ML's.They have been to playoffs 10 times 8 by div titles.And have also won a LCS and have a WS ring!Minors,The jack a$$es look like exactly that they fall of to 20th.32 appearances, 21 div titles,2LCS's and 1 minor league world series banner.

Didn't see your team , you were lucky enough to make it to the top 15 coming soon.....

AL North Season 18 Preview

2011-01-11T14:53:00.002-05:00

Scranton Red Barons

Key additions: Stevie Reed, Luther Broome, Louis Gibson, Harry Mateo
Key losses: Eddie Marshall, Tex Parnell, Clem Smith, Fred Lieberthal

Although this franchise won 87 or more games each of the past 3 seasons, they missed the playoffs each year, and new owner pgburner realized some moves were necessary to push them over the hump and land their first playoff berth since season 14. Gibson and Mateo were signed to small 1-year contracts to provide an offensive burst, and newly promoted Phil Hampton should provide some pop from a corner outfield position. The starting rotation looks pretty solid, but the bullpen will probably need more help than just newly signed Reed and Broome. Prediction: 95-67

New York Juicers

Key additions: David Ontiveros
Key losses: Gabe Douglass, Hector Beltran, Erubiel Martin, Ismael Santiago

The Juicers underwent a tumultuous off-season that could cause them to lose their 6-season hold on 1st place in the notoriously tough AL North. The biggest loss was 2-time MVP Beltran, who left to sign a 5-year, $102 million contract with Colorado Springs. The bats of Martin and Santiago will also be missed, but Ontiveras, acquired in a trade with Salt Lake City, will greatly help the lessen the blow. Along with Emmanuel Machado and on-base machine Hideo Hujimoto, this offense still has the capability to put up lots of runs. And the 1-2 punch of Raymond Buckley and Daisuke Kimura will probably keep the Juicers in playoff contention all season. Prediction: 94-68

Cincinnati Red Stockings

Key additions: None
Key losses: Matty Oliva

Not much changed over the off-season for the Red Stockings, who look to return to the playoffs after a first round exit last year. There's no doubt that the offense will be solid, led by Tony Shannon and Mack Webster. The real question is whether the pitching staff will repeat its performance last season, when SP's Tomas Alomar, Ken Gehrig, and Tuck Sweeney all posted 16 or more wins and ERA's of 3.45 or below. My guess is the staff will take a step back this season. Prediction: 86-76.

Milwaukee Brewers

Key additions: Eugene Nicholson, Luis Nieves, Vladimir Bautista, Stuart Kirkland
Key losses: Darrel Young, Bret Gagne, Jimmie Morales

Last season, the Brewers won 88 games...and finished in dead last in the division. Their off-season plan appeared to be replacing departing old pitching with some fresh old pitching from the free agent market. However, their pitching staff appears to be stronger than last season's staff, provided injuries and aging don't strike too hard. The offense is once again led by Bosco Hyers and a solid, but not spectacular, supporting cast including Adam Gagne and Albert Lugo. The season likely depends upon incoming SP Nicholson's ability to stay healthy. Prediction: 84-78

NL North Season 18 Preview

2011-01-11T00:43:00.002-05:00

Ottawa Rough Riders

Key additions: Jay Hughes
Key losses: Carlos Fernandez, Lonny Aguilar, Neil O'Neil

The Rough Riders have done a real nice job staying competitive with a small payroll in recent seasons, and this season should be no different. With a payroll under $50 million and no huge losses following a 93-win season, the Rough Riders look to compete for the division title once again this year. The offense is led by former ROY winner John Murata and fellow young slugger Sawyer Delmonico, and the rotation, though it features no true ace, is solid and should keep the team in games enough for the offense to push the Rough Riders to the playoffs. Prediction: 90-72.

Tacoma Mountain Men

Key additions: Buddy Cepeda
Key losses: Jimmy Springer, Tomas Concepcion, Vladimir Bautista, Donne Higginson, Jamie Risley, Peter Chong

After 17 years of unmatched success, including 8 (eight!) World Series titles, including one last season, it might finally be time for Tacoma (formerly the Rochester Big and Tall juggernaut) to return to the pack. Although a lot of talent was lost during the offseason, the Mountain Men still boast a strong starting rotation led by Robert Walton, and a few good middle-of-the-lineup bats, led by Benito Perez. They aren't my pick to repeat, but I think they have a chance at making the playoffs despite all the off-season losses. Prediction: 87-75.

New York Stink Palmers

Key additions: None
Key losses: Dennys Hayes

We've all heard a lot about New York's rebuilding plan, and now it's time to see if there are going to be results. The offense is led by Ben Bickerton and young Javier Santana, and the pitching staff is led by Mark Cox. Owner joshcarolina obviously feels he has enough young talent on this franchise to make a run at the playoffs this season, but a weak starting rotation and a mediocre offense will probably lead to a finish in the bottom half of the division. Prediction: 74-88.

Madison Cheeseheads

Key additions: Carlos Fernandez, Freddy Dixon, Michael Lee, Neil O'Neil, Eddie Marshall
Key losses: Charles Suzuki, Grant Kapler

After a disappointing 89-loss campaign last season, the Cheeseheads set out to improve their pitching through free agency, and they did just that, inking SP's Dixon and Marshall and RP's Fernandez and Lee. However, without a true ace atop the rotation or top-notch slugger in the middle of the lineup, the Cheeseheads will probably disappoint this season as well. Prediction: 73-89.

The State Of The New York Stink Palmers

2010-11-23T16:00:00.002-05:00

The New York Stink Palmers started a rebuild after a dismal season 13 winning only 71 games and had a diminished minor league system.Their 1st move was to get young players that were one day capable of playing in the major leagues and being an annual playoff team.This provides the hurdle of, by the time these young players make it to bigs the stars or core players of now are rapidly declining so it was apparent to me that those stars of now needed to be moved.which leaves a ML team defenseless.Pitching was a major problem, no one wants to trade with a team that has nothing to offer back in the pitching department since every owner wants a top notch prospect to depart with a good solid pitcher.Position players http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=373755 and http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=373788 were moved along with pitchers http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=350477 and http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=958587 . With these moves arrived setup pitcher http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3041411 and Rookie of the Year candidate http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2806179 who has seen the best offensive production year for a NY2 guy in a decade,along with http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2847768 and http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2281574 to give me a holdover 3rd baseman until a miracle happens and one comes to new york along with a cple other additions.I'm still looking for that guy!

So that left a young bad team after the loss of the last few above average players left from the whole franchise, but had started a decent beggining of young capable players.With the drafting of http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2657307 a year before at number 8 in the draft, before the tear down, and the placement of Javier i was only in need of a left fielder who came along quickly.The rule 5 draft let http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2281557 fall through the cracks and sure up a young outfield along with http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2466741 to give me a #4 or 5 starter.That meant drafting infield,pitching and a nice catcher was all that was left in my rebuild.....besides the wait of them developing.With the next draft http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2847378 fell to the 19th pick and gave me what i wanted at catcher.With the loss of those pricey big leaguers came loss of a budget which allowed me to play in the international market and acquire some pretty good players which included a starting shortstop in http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2806201 . Then after learning that http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2466830 was not going to be the Big Bat star believed in New York we made a move to acquire a bat in http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=1802143 for more contact.About this time another international free agent was picked up to play 2nd base position and fit the age range(which was key for anyone i was looking to acquire) http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=1737534 has played well and is molding into a nice ML player. With the addition of utility player http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2416393 my infield was about finished and all that was left to assemble was pitching.

This was the trickiest part of all because who wants to depart with a good pitcher especially a young one,once i realized this, it had to be the draft i had to rely on. http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3041427 was the 1st stop,i needed pitching and with his low accuracy he fell to 8th somehow. In just his 3rd major league start he throws a no-hitter and establishes himself as a threat every time on the mound and still is just in his rookie year.Next draftee was a #6 pick in http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3231331 who has already suffered a broken arm but can still be a #3 guy.Then comesalong a #1 draft pick with all the cream not yet risen to the top, http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3501706 makes for a nice #2 and leaves me looking for bullpen help and a starter to complete this long treachorous rebuild.The international market was huge in these 4 yrs, i didnt get everyone i was after but acquired a few nice pitchers in http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3184948 , http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3185025 , http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3441615 , and http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3441751 .Add players to the great skills of http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2466757 and by golly i think we have a team! Milledge,Lester,Valentin,Montero/Rollins gives me a 1thru 5 that can give a great chance to win over any starting 5 put against it in 5 years, i believe. With Cox,Hitchcock,Abreu,Alcantara,Fernandez, and Pascual in the bullpen and if closer http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=1138475 can hold on for a few yrs with his 96 makeup and remain a solid closer, i believe we have a annual playoff team that may gain back to back world series! These guys will take a few yrs to be fully developed and playing to at full potential but i think it is a promising team that will make some noise in a few seasons.Its not the best team ever assembled but since i started with next to nothing im happy with the 4 season process now i just hope i can afford all these guys contracts when that time comes :)

The Record Update Pt 2

2010-07-31T16:17:00.002-04:00

Now that we have the offense out of the way, lets talk pitching.Curt Schilling(PHI),Jimmy Springer(TAC),and Al Carreras(STL) have always been huge name pitchers in this league and have owned many records between them.One record that i dont see being broken by anyone other than these guys is complete games,with the new AI and changes made to whatif these guys are the top dogs probably for life!To give these guys some credibility i am going to list a few record facts to support them.Out of the 3 Springer leads win % by a large chunk and neither of the other 2 are in the top 5,Schilling holds the strikeout title and i dont think any of the other 2 will catch him,Carreras and Schilling are tied for shutouts in their career,and Carreras has a 6 win lead over schilling245-239 for the win's record.a 33 yr old David Lugo(IND) is not far behind them with 194,so it will be interesting to see if danman can get him wins to put him in contention for the record.There is another good pitcher in the world that deserves some recognition named Robert Hinchcliffe from the Salem City Slickers that owns some records.He recently passed Schilling in games started but has thrown 305 less innings than Schilling and is behind leader Carl Blalock(176) by 2 in most losses followed by Pedro Johnson(172)(NAS) and a young Joshua Womack(149) at 32 yrs old in Baltimore.Some players are stuck on bad teams with no offense but these guys show up without injuries for a great chunk of the time and i felt they Hinchcliffe deserved the recognition.
The save record is owned by Benji Banks at 441 and has a crop of young pitchers coming for his record.Rafeal Tatis(NYJ) is 6 yrs younger and is already at 396 ,followed byVin Estrada(OTT)32 yrs old and 345 saves and then Davey Sosa(FLA) at 325 and 31 yrs old.Save percentage is lead by Davey Sosa in a extremely close race with Hector Kierschnick (PHIL) and then Rafeal Tatis.Tony De La Vega(BAL)leads the world in OAV followed by Ed Owen ,another up and comer from St. Louis.De La Vega also is tied for 1st at the moment for K's through 9.A couple other players making a push at he K/9 is another Baltimore player named Chance Rivera and a 29 yr old Graeme Hinch from Seattle Emeralds.Also we have a new ERA leader for the time being in Joe DiFelice(STL) who recently overtook it from Jimmy Springer.
Here are a couple fun facts i noticed.Schilling leads league with 51,381 pitches thrown 3,500 more than Robert Hinchcliffe(who is 3rd). 9 more wild pitches from Eddie Bryant and we have a new wild pitch leader.and the 4th and 5th worst OAV pitchers ever in the world still found homes in Salem(Marshall Cox) and Vancouver(Troy Downs) not being harsh i had Cox, but just found it interesting they have homes!

The Career Records Outlook Pt1

2010-07-31T15:34:00.004-04:00

First lets talk offense,the world as we know it has been ruled by Rudy Aldridge(IND) but all that is changing.Dont get me wrong,Aldridge still leads the world in HR's and has a 117 HR lead on the young 33 yr old Karim Martin from Durham,but for how long?Is Perez the new King of Alexander?Not so fast Aldridge still has a 562 runs created lead over Martin which is huge and has a slim 35 RBI lead. Although Martin has scored more runs than "Rudy the Great" not sure if he has earned to be crowned The King!
Gary(The Stank) Stankiewick(IND) has put up some offense himself at 36.He has recently taken the lead in games played from Wally Crespo(Karim Martin is only 100 back at 33)to prove he is an ironman and ready for every game.He also has taken the hits record away from Rudy Aldridge and also owns the runs scored and plate appearances record(by 921 appearances).Martin is only 176 runs scored behind "Stank" in runs scored, so is this is a premature assumption about Martin?Only time will tell but i will miss the greatness and awesomness of Rudy Aldridge,who wowed us all with his power!
A few other records are out there in jeopardy or already been taken over that also need mentioning.The career OBP owned by Aldridge is being threatened by Helena Loggers,Adam Gagne its a close .468-.459. Aldridge has a firm grip on the INT walks also at 228 but a young powerful Jorge Park in Colorado is only 29 and has 105 and will threaten the most feared batter in history for his title.There has been a plethera of young speedy players moving up the stolen base rank and Benito Perez looks to be the next Rickey Henderson at the young age of 30 he has swiped 605 bases which leads his closest competitor(Larry Richard-Burlington Bay Bogarts) by 85 and they are the same age.The retired Hector Sterns still holds the triple's record at 150 but Karim Martin is 33 and closing at 117 after just passing "The Stank" whos stuck at 113! On a lighter note the beanbag award has been taken over by Edwin Parker from Oakland,how much longer can this 37 yr old take pitches for the team?

Franchise Wins Through Season 15

2010-06-24T22:49:00.008-04:00

Rochester/Tacoma - 1611 (107 per season, .663 W%)
Indianapolis - 1482 (99, .610)
Pawtucket/New Britain/Washington D.C. - 1416 (94, .583)
New York (NL) - 1402 (93, .577)
(T-5) Colorado Springs - 1374 (92, .565)
(T-5) Anaheim/Honolulu/Seattle - 1374 (92, .565)
Montgomery/San Antonio/Kansas City/El Paso - 1368 (91, .563)
St. Louis - 1327 (88, .546)
New Britain/Ottawa - 1323 (88, .544)
Kansas City/Durham - 1309 (87, .539)
Albaquerque/Oklahoma City/Las Vegas/Vancouver/Salem - 1288
Augusta - 1272 (85, .523)
Toronto/Fargo/Buffalo/Syracuse/Boise/Minnesota/Cincinnati - 1260 (84, .519)
Baltimore - 1256 (84, .517)
Texas/Tampa Bay - 1237 (82, .509)
Montreal/Pawtucket/Philadelphia - 1194 (80, .491)
Nashville/Louisville/Richmond/Mexico City/Nashville - 1192 (79, .491)
San Diego/San Juan/Helena - 1170 (78, .481)
Milwaukee - 1168 (78, .481)
Louisville/Santa Fe/Atlanta/Memphis/San Juan/San Antonio/Houston - 1143 (76, .470)
Cleveland/Columbus/Chicago/Philadelphia/Iowa City/Rochester - 1129 (75, .465)
Charleston/Tampa Bay/San Antonio/Jackson/Mexico City/Jackson/New Orleans - 1111 (74, .457)
Chicago/Jacksonville/Cleveland - 1110 (74, .457)
Madison/Scranton/Philadelphia/Madison/New York (AL) - 1106 (74, .455)
New Orleans/Santa Fe/Charlotte/Wichita/Atlanta - 1105 (74, .455)
Boise/Arizona/Oakland - 1095 (73, .451)
Las Vegas/Tacoma/Tucson/Las Vegas/Salem/San Diego/Oklahoma City - 1085 (72, .447)
San Francisco/Los Angeles/Boise/Arizona/Boise/Anaheim/Las Vegas/Vancouver - 1081 (72, .445)
Norfolk/Syracuse/Philadelphia/Wichita/Chicago/Burlington - 1067 (71, .439)
(T-30) Cincinnati/San Juan/Boston/Chicago/Philadelphia/Boston - 1007 (67, .414)
(T-30) Richmond/Cleveland/Hartford/Trenton/Charleston - 1007 (67, .414)
Atlanta/Tampa Bay/Nashville/Little Rock/San Antonio/Florida - 972 (65, .400)

HR poll

2009-07-20T10:32:00.002-04:00

Here are links to the players and their stats so far:

Rudy Aldridge - ML years 12, HR 709, Age 33

Clay Tanner - 11 ML years, 613 HR, Age 32

Karim Martin - 11 ML years, 556 HRs, Age 30

Season 12 NL Playoff Races

2009-06-18T15:03:00.004-04:00

NL North - It looks like the Rochester Big and Tall will take the division crown again, for the 7th straight year. With 24 games to go, they lead the New York new york by 9 games. However, for the 1st time in recent memory, the Big and Tall will actually have to fight for a 1st-round bye in the playoffs: they lead the Houston Hope by only 5 games in the battle for the 2 seed. The Big and Tall's drop-off from last year (.716 W% to .609) can best be attributed by an underachieving pitching staff, especially former closer Vin Ugueto (3.45 ERA last year, 6.81 this year) and RP Bernie Bonilla (3.16 ERA last year, 5.75 this year). SP's Willie Santiago, Julio Rosa, Gabe Burks, and Jimmy Springer have also all posted ERA's above their career averages.

NL East - The Indianapolis Lancers have clinched the division crown for the 10th straight season, and have the 1 seed pretty much wrapped up as well (18 game lead with 24 to go). Their improvement can be attributed to a couple factors: Rudy Aldridge bounced back from a career-worst year to become an MVP favorite again, and several other hitters are having career years: Orber Estalella, Damaso Moreno, and Eddie Sterns. The 1-2-3 punch of David Lugo, Erick Sweeney, and Sam Stewart has led the pitching staff.

NL South - This is the tightest race of all divisions right now, with the Houston Hope leading the Richmond Revolution by only a game. Luckily, the runner-up will likely end up with a Wild Card spot. The Hope are looking for their 1st ever playoff appearance along with their 1st ever season above .500. Victorzhao has engineered an amazing turnaround from last season, when the Hope finished with almost 90 losses. 1B B.J. Frascatore has been one of the keys to the turnaround. He missed much of last season with a knee injury, but has come back strong (.325 BA, 36 HR). Juan Contreras has kept up his consistent production, and the rest of the lineup contains 5 guys batting between .269 and .317 with 24-37 HR. The bullpen has been rock solid, anchored by closer Davey Espinosa, who spent the last 2 years in AAA after being a highly-touted Rule V selection in season 7.

NL West - This is another division with a close race, as the St. Louis Arch Angels are leading the upstart Oklahoma City Outlaws by only 3 games. The runner-up has a shot at a Wild Card spot, but isn't a shoo-in. The Arch Angels finished with a W% near .600 last year, but are hovering around .550 this season. The drop-off is largely due to a struggling bullpen. Season 12 Fireman of the Year Hector Kieschnick has been unable to match last year's success, and Michael Glass has fallen off after a successful year as setup man last season. The good news for the Arch Angels is the top of their rotation will keep them in any playoff series, with Charles Suzuki and Mo Levrault having fantastic years. The Outlaws have caught almost everyone by surprise. This franchise hasn't had a winning season since season 2, but are poised to break that streak this year. The offense is led by season 10 Rule V pick Geraldo Nieto and Russell Yeager. The Outlaws don't hit for much power, but they find ways to get on base and score runs. The pitching staff is powered by Victor Jacquez, who has bounced back nicely from a 20-loss season in Philadelphia last year, Kyle Foster, and closer Ryan Michaels, who is a perfect 15-for-15 in save opportunities this year.

Wild Card - The NL Wild Card race is one to watch this year, with 5 teams within 5 games of each other, all battling for 2 spots. The Revolution have the top spot right now, and are looking for their 5th consecutive trip to the playoffs. Vin Estrada is 2nd in the world in saves for them, and Chris Myers has continued being a real offensive force. The Baltimore mets are 2 games behind the Revolution and hold the 2nd Wild Card spot right now. They are looking for only their 2nd playoff appearance since season 2. They're once again led by HR machine Clay Tanner and a great 1-2 punch in the rotation in Lance Coleman and Tony De La Vega. New York is only a game behind Baltimore. New York is looking for their 1st playoff appearance since their 6-year streak ended in season 7. A midseason trade that brought Zach Clemens their way has really helped the offense. Their pitching has been pretty mediocre, though Sid Erdos has been a bright spot. The Cleveland Redlegs are only a game behind New York. Edwin Parker, Sherman Nathan, and Brent Morgan will give the Redlegs 3 players with 40 HR, and P.T. Jimenez has been phenomenal this year (league-leading 41 out of 42 saves). Finally, the Outlaws are only a game behind the Redlegs.

NL West - Midseason update

2009-05-29T14:40:00.003-04:00

It's been another crazy season for the doormat division in Alexander. And some interesting surprises along the way to this mid way point.

Oakland Acorns

The Acorns are still finding it difficult to produce wins at the ML level. A 33-50 record one week before the All-Star Break is making this reporter question his ability to predict the future. (84-78 good for 3rd in the West)

The Acorns management has not found the magic formula yet, despite bringing up future star Dicky Robertson. Dickey has struggled in his first 14 games... but not many rookies could handle the pressure fans are placing upon his shoulders. Acorn fans are tired of waiting for a playoff appearance. And rightfully so with underacheivers Harry Silva, Jeff Fischer, Louis Russell, and Eddie Bryant not meeting expectations so far this season. Here's hoping for a much better second half.

St. Louis Arch Angels

The Arch Angels are the model of inconsistency this season. Nothing seems to be coming together the way it should be... and the fans are blaming management for making poor decisions... despite leading the division. Management claims the liberal media is skewing the facts... but it's hard to ignore some facts:

Clay Edwards is having his worst season since he was brought up. And 3/5 of the rotation is struggling to put up wins. Ugueth Montero can't find the groove he was in last season, Joe DiFelice is just recently starting to show signs of being a dominate pitcher again, and Don Darnell is trying to convince the fans that last season wasn't a fluke... he has some work to do.

The bright spots - Augie Dorsey is holding his own as a rookie. Harry Milton is having a career best first half, and looks to be heading to yet another All Star Game. Mo Levrault is continuing to improve every outing on his way to another All Star game. And after last seasons devastating injury, Charles Suzuki has come back very strong this season - and looks to be joing Mo in the All-Star rotation.

Helena Loggers

Helena is disappointing if you look at the standings... but this team will make a charge. They are simply to good not to.

Erubiel Martin has struggled to find his power, but is showing signs of improvement. Howie Ward is having a rookie of the year type season... emerging as a team leader at his age is impressive. He may be the player Helena management looks to to get this team back on track in the 2nd half. Ivan Alfonzo is just awesome... he just craps consistency.

Helena's problem seems to be with the Pitching staff. A team era of 4.96 usually doesn't net many wins. Look for Helena to make some "adjustments" in the second half to try to ignite a spark in this team.

Oklahoma City Outlaws

While it's no surprise to anyone in Oklahoma.... this reporter is shocked, and impressed by the performance of the Outlaws thus far in the season. This roster of overachievers has been incredible. And they have shown no sign of letting up.

The Outlaws are finding ways to win. While no one man is leading the team... a true team effort. The effort is captained by Russell Yeager. Can Russell and his teammates keep finding ways to win in the second half? Oklahomans think so.

It should be an exciting 2nd half in the NL west... many variables are at play.

NL East Draft Review

2009-05-21T11:32:00.003-04:00

Disclaimer: My advanced scouting is at $16 million and my high school and college scouting are at $14 million each, so these might not be 100% accurate.

Boston Red Sox - The Red Sox had the first overall selection in the season 12 draft, and they went with SS Harry Porter. Porter projects as a future All-Star SS, but unfortunately their scouts didn't pick up on future Cy Young winner Jeff Muratore, who would've been a great #1 overall pick. Porter will play passable defense at short, and should post a decent batting average with 20-HR power. He also is a devil on the basepaths and brings all the intangibles with him. The Red Sox got Walker Jodie in the 2nd round with the 48th overall pick. Jodie's control is suspect, and he doesn't have a 2nd out pitch to go with his blazing fastball. He might end up as a back-of-the-rotation starter in a best-case scenario. The Red Sox got Arthur Reed in round 3 with the 80th selection. Reed is passable behind the plate and solid with the bat. Alex Swann and Josh Thompson, the Red Sox's 4th and 5th round picks, project to be platoon players at the big league level. The Red Sox got a solid 1st rounder, and picked up several more players that could help the ML club at some point in the next couple rounds.. Grade: A-

Baltimore mets - The mets chose Sam Adams with the 14th overall pick in round one. Adams will play slightly above average defense at SS while putting up solid numbers at the plate. He won't be a perennial All-Star, but expect to see him make it at least a couple times. The mets didn't have another pick until the 4th round, where they chose Alan Walton. He projects as a bottom-of-the-rotation starter in a best-case scenario, but he doesn't look like he's willing to sign. The mets' only other pick of consequence was Buck Walker, who should be a minor league innings-eater and possibly make it to the show. The mets gave away their 2nd and 3rd round picks when they signed Tony De La Vega and Alex Freeman. With only one selection in the first 3 rounds, the needed to make sure they made it count, and they did. Grade: B+

Cleveland Redlegs - The Redlegs picked CF Shawn Kaufman 21st overall. Kaufman projects to be one of the top defensive CF in the world, and he should get on base a fair amount as well. He struggles driving the ball, but his high contact percentage, solid speed, good eye, and excellent defense makes up for it. Sam Servais was the Redlegs' 2nd round selection. Servais, a switch-hitter, boasts solid power, but can struggle when he bats righty. The Redlegs' 3rd and 5th round picks, Edgard Espinosa and Jacob Nicholson, are fringe ML players. Overall, the Redlegs had a solid draft. Kaufman probably won't be an All-Star but he'll greatly help out on defense, and Servais could hit 20 HR in a platoon role. Both also have solid speed on the basepaths. Grade: B

Indianapolis Lancers - The Lancers started things off by grabbing Kris Alexander with the 31st overall pick. When Alexander arrived at camp, Lancers management was dismayed to find his durability much lower than what the scouts said. This is the 2nd time this has happened recently to the Lancers (Toby Watkins in season 10 was another example). Nevertheless, Alexander could be a long reliever or possibly a 5-inning starter when he makes it to the big leagues. The Lancers chose Jesse Treadway with their supplemental pick, 39th overall. Treadway's bat was too good to pass up, and the Lancers hope he can play 1B in the future, though his range and glove are suspect. The Lancers took Jeff Sele in the 2nd round. Sele is a catcher with a solid bat who might be headed to an AL team, because his work behind the plate leaves something to be desired. Highlights from the rest of the draft include Bip Witt, Miguel Pena, Howie Ponson, and Albert Presley, all of whom face an uphill struggle to make it to the show. Coming into the draft, Lancers management was hoping to draft a pitcher who could make it to the big leagues some day, and Alexander provides that. Plus, Treadway could be a steal if he doesn't hurt the defense too much. Grade: B+

NL East 1st Quarter Update

2009-05-13T13:00:00.005-04:00

We're about a quarter of the way through season 12 in World Alexander, and the season is playing out about how I predicted it would in the preseason preview. Here's a team-by-team rundown of how things are going:

1st place: Indianapolis Lancers - The Lancers are sitting in 1st place with a record of 33-10. They've been firing on all cylinders so far this season, as they lead the world in ERA (3.43) and OPS (.921). The key to their offensive success has been the resurgence of C Rudy Aldridge. While Aldridge was no slouch in seasons 9-11 (he did win the MVP award in season 10), his numbers were below his career average. His numbers have seen an uptick in season 12, though, as he's batting .395 with 18 HR and a 1.266 OPS. Randy Newman (.386), Damaso Moreno (.373), Orber Estalella (.341), Paul Benjamin (.347), and Eddie Sterns (.322) are all batting significantly higher than their career batting averages, so it's unlikely the Lancers will keep up their world-leading .310 team batting average. The success of the pitching staff has been led by SP David Lugo's 6-1 record and 1.74 ERA. He's backed up by a solid relief corps featuring rookie closer McKay White (11 for 12 saves, 1.17 ERA), Josias Pena (2.75 ERA), Pedro Santiago (2.25 ERA), and Vernon Peterson (3.00 ERA). The team ERA may not stay all the way down at 3.43, but it at least has the potential to as many of these players have staying power. Look for Indianapolis to continue their success in the 2nd quarter of the season unless a major injury or two occurs.

2nd place: Cleveland Redlegs: - The Redlegs are sitting 8 games behind the Lancers with a solid record of 25-18, good for a tie for 4th in the NL. The offense is 10th in the world with an .815 OPS and the pitching has been better than expected, as they're in 11th with a 4.19 ERA. The team's defense has also been a great strength, as they're tied for 3rd in the world with a .988 fielding percentage. Edwin Parker has performed up to his billing as the team's top hitter, posting a .283 BA with 19 HR, which is tied for 8th in the world. Sherman Nathan (.327 with 12 HR), Brent Morgan (.285 with 12 HR), Hiram Tyner (.284 with 9 HR), and Hank Jones (.323 with 3 HR) have all performed admirably as well. The starting rotation has been much better than expected, with Dennis Gray and Jimmie Sosa both posting ERA's around 3, and Francisco Castillo and Barney Uribe posting ERA's around 4. P.T. Jimenez has been dynamite at closer (12 for 13, 4.08 ERA, the 12 saves are an NL-high), and Derek Ramsay and Brant Parker have been fantastic in making sure the lead gets to Jimenez. Overall, I don't think the first quarter of the season could've gone much better for the Redlegs. Their pitching is performing much better than expected and their offense is above average as well. I don't foresee this level of success in the next 40 games, mainly because I don't think their rotation can keep up this level of success, particularly the bottom of the rotation. However, even with a slight falloff this team should have a good shot at the playoffs, and with a top of the rotation as solid as theirs has been, anything can happen.

3rd place: Baltimore mets - The mets are 1 game behind the Redlegs and 9 behind the Lancers at 24-19. The mets are 15th in the world with a 4.50 ERA and tied for 20th with a .775 OPS. Their current record places them in the final wild card spot if the season were to end today. Their best offensive performer has been superstar LF Clay Tanner, who is batting .325 with 18 HR. Tanner has been backed up by a solid supporting cast, including Stan Damon (.299 BA, 7 HR, 11 SB), Alex Rivera (.305 BA, 7 HR), and Alejandro Reyes (.281 BA, 7 HR). The key to the mets' pitching has been their 1-2-3 punch of Lance Coleman (3-0 with 1.96 ERA), Tony De La Vega (3-1 with 2.86 ERA), and Bartolo Montana (4-4 with 3.51 ERA). The bullpen has been led by closer Kevin Wood (7 for 7 saves, 2.00 ERA). I think the next 40 games should be pretty similar for the mets. Placido Pena has performed worse than should be expected, so his hopefully improved performance should be a boost for the mets. The bottom of their bullpen hasn't performed too well, but that is to be expected as it's a weakness of this team. When half the season is done, I think the mets will still find themselves in the thick of a playoff race.

4th place: Boston Red Sox - As expected, the rebuilding Red Sox have struggled. They are already 23 games behind the Lancers at 10-33. They're 29th with a .704 OPS and 28th with a 5.55 ERA. They are also dead last in fielding, with a .963 fielding percentage. This young squad is led at the plate by Rule V pick Juan Jimenez, who is batting .315 with 5 HR. Another Rule V pick, Ronald Roundtree, is tied for 2nd in the world with 18 SB (out of 20 attempts). On the pitching side of things, the Red Sox are struggling as well. Not a single pitcher has an ERA below 4. The rotation is led by waiver wire pickup Robb Cedeno (3-3 with 4.42 ERA and 1 shutout), Rule V draftee Luis Bonilla (1-5 with 4.44 ERA), and Rule V first overall pick Charles Zhang (1-4 with 4.64 ERA). Jorel Marshall has been the most consistent arm out of the bullpen (4.11 ERA). Most of the rest of the pitching has really struggled. I foresee a lot more of the same for the Red Sox in the 2nd quarter of the season. Some of the players may be underperforming at this time, but not by much. There just isn't a lot of talent at the ML level for this franchise at this time, as they're in the midst of a large scale rebuilding project.

Milwaukee Brewers preview

2009-05-05T13:30:00.001-04:00

The Milwaukee Brewers are coming off of their most successful season last year. They set the franchise mark for most victories, won their first division title, and lost a tough playoff series in the first round. A couple of late season pitching injuries cost the team in the end. One of those injuries was to All-Star Jamie Moore and was the main reason the team decided to let him walk during free agency this year. The team also let #5 start Magglio Polanco and closer Chris Scott leave via free agency. Because of those losses, the team focused on pitching during the signing period. After being outbid on the Al Carreras and Oswaldo Ferrer signings, the team went after several others. To replace Moore, the team got Freddy Dixon and believe he is better than Moore after last years injury. For the #5 spot, the team got Wil Rolison and the only question there will be if he can stay healthy. To shore up the bullpen, the team got Juan Diaz and Tito Wallace. Hopefully these new players can help improve the pitching staff from last season.On the offensive side, no major changes were made. Some role players were let go duing free agency but the main core is back to this top five offensive team. The main addition is the promotion of Robb Hughes and the team is not looking for much from him except for some solid defensive help. The team also locked up Dustin Buckley and Joe Halter to long term deals with the hope of keeping this great offensive team together for the next several years.In the minors, the team will be keeping an eye on their top pitchers from High A last year as the move on to AAA and AA. Hopefully this young group can provide some relief in the next couple of years.

AL EAST PREVIEW PART 3: CHICAGO CUBS

2009-05-01T22:56:00.004-04:00

Owner: mase4342 (3rd season in Alexander/60th overall)
.522 Pct/2 WS titles/3 Pennants/15 Division Titles (no titles in Alexander)

Franchise History: .425 Pct/0 playoff appearances

Last Season: 72-90/3rd place/23 GB
Runs Scored: 831 (7th)
Runs Against: 954 (15th)
Advanced W-L: 70-92

Award Winners: None

Notable Departures:

Wolf Baldwin: Jack of all trades who was below average, but could be below average at a number of positions across 450 at bats. He's lost a step defensively and remains unemployed

Matt Reames and Buddy Sikorski: Reames is an excellent defensive catcher who gave back a lot of that value with a sub .300 OBP. Sikorski lacks a dominant out pitch and didnt pitch up to his ratings. Traded for Spud Bennett and Howard Gibbs, who have mid-rotation and 4th OF potential. A very good trade for the franchise given their long-term focus

Rod Long: First Baseman made redundant by the return of Sam James. An AAAA guy, now in AAA with St Louis

Guillermo Sanchez: One of the better pitchers out of the Cubs pen last year with a 1.22 WHIP. Probably has reached the end of the line at 36

Key Additions:
Ernie Hammonds: Journeyman signed as a stopgap at 3B. Cubs are intrigued by his power potential in the cozy confines of Wrigley (5 HR through 11 games)

Todd Champion: Soft tosser selected in the Rule Five draft with a good assortment of breaking stuff and mid rotation potential. Will start working out of the bullpen

Grant Kapler: Free agent signed away from Richmond to replace Sikorski and take the closer role, should be the best pitcher on the staff.

Season Synopsis

When Mase4342 took over the Cubs franchise three seasons ago, the team was in disarray coming off a 102 loss season with a $90MM+ player payroll and a threadbare farm system Mase has focused on reducing the bloated payroll (down to $51MM) and rebuilding the farm system (up to $38MM available to spend on prospects this season. The trade of Matt Reams and Buddy Sikorski is a move emblematic of the direction Mase is taking the franchise: shedding $7.6MM in salary while picking up two decent prospects for two decent players who will be getting long in the tooth by the time the Cubs contend again.

The farm is starting to improve. Curt Gabriel, a number 2 overall pick and future #2 starter, could be a factor as early as this season. Timothy Bowie , a number 3 overall pick, should be able to stay at SS and put up high .800 OPS while playing every day, which will likely force bonus baby Daisuke Nomo over to third base. Last years first round pick, Damon Darwin lacks dominant stuff but will be a #3 starter if he stays healthy. With another top ten pick and money to spend in the international market (where the team is gradually increasing scouting), the future looks brighter than the present.

This is good, because the present looks pretty bleak. Chicago was 15th in the league in pitching last season and will likely remain near the bottom this year. The loss of Reames, who made up for his weak bat with excellent game calling skills, will hurt here. Some help is on the way from AAA, and Kapler will help stabilize the bullpen, but the starting rotation remains long in the tooth and relatively mediocre. Trace Maranville (8-11, 5.02 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) may be the nominal ace of the staff where he slides in as a 4th or 5th starter on a good team.

The lineup is mainly made up of placeholders as well. Fernando Hernandez and Howard Cora are two nice up the middle players, but both would be better off playing more against lefties than full time. Rob Spivey (39 HR, .871 OPS) is probably the Cubs top hitter, but he's far from a true middle of the order presence. The Cubs will likely not be represented in the All-Star game again in season 12.

Mase took over a big rebuilding job in Chicago, and while the franchise is turning around, the major league team is still several seasons away from being competitive. Look for another long season in Chicago

Prediction: 71-91

NL East Pre-Season All-Division Team

2009-04-30T18:36:00.002-04:00

C: Rudy Aldridge - Aldridge would probably be the starting catcher for any team in the league, so he's the obvious pick for All-NL East catcher. He has won 7 MVP's and 11 Silver Sluggers and is an 11-time All-Star. He has 655 career HR heading into season 12 and a .366 career BA.

1B: Edwin Parker - Parker is a 3-time All-Star and also has a Gold Glove award to his credit. He's a consistent 50-HR threat and has 468 career longballs entering season 12. He'll continue to provide solid defense at 1B and a fantastic bat in the 3-spot for the Redlegs.

2B: Alex Freeman - Freeman moved from the Lancers to the mets over the offseason, but looks to continue his production in the leadoff spot. He was a 7-time All-Star for the Lancers and has 4 Silver Sluggers under his belt, but his .306 career BA, 209 HR, and 344 SB head to Baltimore for season 12.

3B: Jermaine Magee - Magee took Freeman's spot on the 25-man roster for the Lancers, but moved over to 3B to better suit his defensive capabilities. Magee is only 22 years old but could potentially be a perennial All-Star. He batted .333 with an even 100 dingers in the minors, and the Lancers hope he continues his success in the big leagues.

SS: Orber Estalella - Estalella is a 4-time All-Star and one-time Gold Glove SS for the Lancers. He was signed as an international free agent in season 4 for almost $15 million, and has provided the production the Lancers hoped for out of the shortstop position. He has a .306 career BA and 188 HR entering season 12.

LF: Clay Tanner - Tanner is one of the world's best power hitters and the division's best LF. He has won 4 Silver Slugger awards and 2 All-Star berths, to go along with his world-record 83-HR MVP season in season 9. He has a .284 career BA and 546 HR entering season 12.

CF: Garry Stankiewicz - Stankiewicz is one of the Lancers' longest-tenured players, having played at the ML level for them since season 1. He's got an impressive array of awards, including 7 All-Star berths, 4 Silver Sluggers, and 3 Gold Gloves. He's a member of the elusive 300/300 club, with 307 HR and 325 SB entering season 12, to go along with a .301 career BA.

RF: Stan Damon - Damon is the other member of the mets' stellar corner outfield. He's got 2 Silver Sluggers under his belt to go along with .292 career BA, 149 HR, and 123 SB. His value is aided by his ability to play every day, and at only 27, he's got a lot of games ahead of him.

SP: David Lugo - Lugo was the Lancers' 1st round pick in season 1, and has lived up to the pick fantastically. He has pitched at least 220 innings in each of the last 7 seasons, and has posted a 123-47 record and a 3.50 ERA. He's also won 2 Gold Gloves and been named an All-Star 5 times.

SP: Edgar Aguilar - Aguilar's low stamina has prevented him from being a mainstay in the Lancers' rotation, but whatever role he's been called on to pitch in he's been fantastic. He's had 3 seasons of 27 or more starts, and in each of those has posted an ERA of 2.95 or lower. He's got 75 career wins, 31 career saves, and a 3.37 ERA. He'll likely be a full-time starter this year, so he hopes he can repeat his All-Star performance of season 11.

SP: Lance Coleman - The mets traded for Coleman in season 11 after his insane season 10, in which he went 16-2 and posted a world-record 1.92 ERA for the Patriots. Unfortunately, he had elbow surgery in season 11 and missed almost the whole year. He's healthy for season 12 and is being counted on to be the mets' ace this year. He's got 2 All-Star berths and 2 Cy Young awards to his name, along with a 119-56 and 3.49 ERA.

SP: Erick Sweeney - The Lancers picked Sweeney in the 1st round in season 2, and he has helped solidify their rotation over the last half-decade. He came into the NL with a bang, making the All-Star team and winning the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in season 7 with an 18-5 record and 2.18 ERA. He's come back down to earth a lot since then, but still has an 83-29 record and 3.61 career ERA. He missed the All-Star team the last 2 seasons but hopes to earn his 3rd berth this year.

SP: Bartolo Montana - 36-year old Montana seems to be getting better with age. After posting an ERA of at least 4.50 from seasons 4-9, he signed with Baltimore and seemingly revived his game. He posted a 2.70 ERA in 29 starts in season 10 and a 3.39 ERA in 30 starts last year en route to his first All-Star berth since season 2. His skill hasn't decayed much over the last few seasons so there's no reason to think he can't repeat those performances this year.

RP: Josias Pena - Both lefties and righties have a very hard time getting solid contact off Pena, but his mediocre pitch quality has left him somewhat vulnerable. Pena looks to rebound after a somewhat disappointing rookie year that saw him post a 4.69 ERA.

RP: Pedro Santiago - Santiago had a fantastic rookie year in season 10. At one point, he threw something like 27 straight scoreless innings. He finished with a 1.51 ERA and a sub-1 WHIP. Hitters seemed to adjust to him somewhat but he showed staying power last year with a 3.36 ERA in over 95 innings.

RP: Donaldo Mercado - Mercado's career as a great righty out of the pen looked to be in jeopardy after a sore shoulder cut short his rookie year, but he rebounded nicely and has improved every season. He posted a 2.88 ERA last year and is the Lancers' top setup pitcher.

RP: Carl Edmonds - Although Edmonds' control is lower than most ML relievers, his 3 plus-plus pitches and excellent velocity and splits make up for it. His low durability limits his innings, and he's looking to rebound from a dismal season 11. If he pitches up to his ratings, he should be successful.

AL EAST PREVIEW PART TWO: AUGUSTA MOOSE

2009-04-29T21:36:00.003-04:00

Owner: McGupp (12th season in Alexander/26th overall). .507 Winning Percentage/2 division titles (both in Alexander)

Franchise History: .521 Winning Percentage/2 division titles/2 Wild Card berths

Last Season: 79-83, 2nd place (18 games behind). 758 runs for (6th) 795 runs against (15th), "Advanced Record" 77-85

Award Winners:
Norm Wheeler, All Star (1st)
Matthew Sellers, All Star (3rd)

Notable Departures

Matt Wheeler: The Seven time All Star with a 1.000+ career OPS is clearly on the downside posting only an .837 OPS. An original Moose, he's now unemployed

Ron Hernandez: Another original Moose who had become a liability first in the field, and now with the bat. Ron is also currently unsigned

Bosco Lewis Parttime catcher who moved on to Montreal, slightly below average catcher. Traded for third base prospect Tex Summers

Graeme Moore: Addition by subtraction as he was terrible out of the pen last year with a 1.52 WHIP and 5.30 ERA. The second piece of the Tex Summers trade

Key Additions
Bonk Alexander: Acquired for short money to boost the offense and compete for the leadoff spot. Has the speed for it given his 46 steals in 51 chances, but the sub .320 OBP from season 11 would hurt.

Willis Baker: Nice short money signing who can handle the hot corner and put up an .800 OPS with 22 HRs in Season 11.

Ismael Tavarez: Former international bonus baby signed for $6.3MM coming up to man the SS position. Can handle the position defensively and shouldnt be a complete zero with the bat, should post a .700ish OPS

Season Synopsis: Augusta is a team in transition after four straight seasons without a postseason appearance. This move towards the future is best symbolized by the parting of ways with Wheeler and Hernandez, two players who had been with the Moose from the beginning and and are 1/2 in most offensive categories. It was clearly the right time to move on (neither player has been signed yet), but their departures represent the clear end of an era in Augusta. Meanwhile, the future isnt quite here as most of Augusta's top prospects still need more seasoning. So what's in store for Season 12?

The pitching staff should be solid. Wheeler (14-10, 3.91, 1.35 WHIP)leads a nice rotation backed up by Mateo Rojas and solid young starters Rich Heving and Fred Riggs. Sellers (2.09 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 30 saves in 32 opportunities) is coming off a dominating season as a closer although at 35 age and durability are becoming more of a concern. Paul LaRocca (1.27 WHIP over 73 innings) is an excellent setup man, and additional veteran depth in the bullpen with Mickey Gwynn and Ozzie Yamamoto provide good depth. The bullpen should be a team strength.

The problem is the lineup. Augusta finished 15th in runs scored last year, Baker and Alexander should replace Wheeler and Hernandez at much lower cost....but when you're 15th in the league upgrades rather than replacements are needed. Wes Rigby (.300/.391/.562) is a legit middle of the order hitter and, at 24, a building block. Glenn Morgan provides potential 40/40 power and speed. Beyond that, the lineup looks pretty grim and while Augusta is decent in the field, the defense isnt strong enough to make up for the weak hitting.

The future looks brighter for Augusta. The Moose are not built to win now and will find it hard to compete with an excellent Pawtucket squad. With the fourth lowest player budget in the league at $63MM, a full $20MM budgeted to prospects, and $11MM available under the cap the Moose will be looking to add to the development pipeline, especially on the pitching side. Sellers in particular seems like a good candidate to move at the trade deadline to further shore up the system.

The farm system is in good shape position-player wise. Bigby has already flashed all-star talent at the big league level while Tavarez (24) may merely be a placeholder for bonus baby Pasqual Castro (22) and former first round pick Matt Waters (23) coming off 1.000+ OPS seasons in up the middle positions in High-A. Trevor Donnels (26) is knocking on the door at Catcher, he'll only be able to hold up for 80 games a year or so but they will be All-Star level games. Wilfredo Guerrero (23) should improve on an already solid rookie year at the keystone.

Sometime a franchise needs to take a step back before taking a step forward, and Augusta will likely take a small step back in Season 12. The foundation to end the team's postseason drought is in place, but that end will not be this year.

Prediction: 74-88

THE PRE SEASON ALL-NL WEST TEAM

2009-04-29T11:38:00.026-04:00

SP1 - Eddie Bryant

Eddie Bryant
Oakland
Acorns
Age: 33	B/T: L/L
Born: Arcadia, WI
Position(s): P (SP2)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Oakland Ace had his option picked up this season($17 mil), and is being counted on to win 15+ games for the struggling Acorns. With a young offensive lineup providing support, he may be able to reach this goal for the first time since season 8.

SP2 - Mo Levrault

Mo Levrault
St. Louis
Arch Angels
Age: 29	B/T: L/L
Born: Grand Forks, ND
Position(s): P (SP3)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Mo has emerged as the Ace in the St. Louis rotation. The crafty south paw is counted on to put up a 4th straight sub 4 era for the Arch Angels. Hopefully he can regain the confidence he had in season 10 with 17 wins and lead St. Louis to a 4th consecutive division crown.

SP3 - Joe DiFelice

Joe DiFelice
St. Louis
Arch Angels
Age: 30	B/T: S/R
Born: Barksdale, TX
Position(s): P (SP2)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Joe has been underappreciated, and under rated by GM's his entire career. But he keeps putting up the numbers. With a career ML era of 2.99, it's no wonder St. Louis is excited to see him back in the rotation for season 12.

SP4 - Ugueth Montero

Ugueth Montero
St. Louis
Arch Angels
Age: 32	B/T: R/R
Born: Loma de Cabrera, DO
Position(s): P (SP5)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Ugueth came cheap to St. Louis last season, and he promptly posted a 2.21 era in 25 starts for the Arch Angels. If he can stay healthy, he has the skills to flat out embarrass hitters.

RP1 - Hector Kieschnick

Hector Kieschnick
St. Louis
Arch Angels
Age: 23	B/T: S/R
Born: Lubbock, TX
Position(s): P (ClA)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Hector was another newcomer to St. Louis in season 11. Thrown into the fire in his first ML season, Hector compiled 50 saves with a 1.64 era on his way to winning the Fireman of the year award. This youngster looks to be a dominate closer for years to come.

RP2 - Calvin Becker

Calvin Becker
Oakland
Acorns
Age: 37	B/T: L/L
Born: Downey, CA
Position(s): P (SuA)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Calvin has been around, and while not as dominate as he once was, his experience makes things happen. Calvin is the anchor to the Oakland pen this season... and with his age, it may be his last.

RP3 - Wilkin Lee

Wilkin Lee
Oklahoma City
Outlaws
Age: 24	B/T: L/L
Born: Mapleton, IA
Position(s): P (ClB)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Wilkin slides into this role almost by default. The NL West is extremely thin on RP talent, and Wilkin's youth and upside makes him the best of the rest. If OKC can keep him healthy, he should be a force to reckon with for years to come in the Outlaw bullpen.

C - Tyler Monahan

Tyler Monahan
Oklahoma City
Outlaws
Age: 33	B/T: R/R
Born: Laverne, OK
Position(s): C/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

In a division where defensive catchers ride the pine, Tyler emerges as the best of the offensive group. OKC is counting on him for another 1.000+ OPS season.

1B - Craig Strong

Craig Strong
St. Louis
Arch Angels
Age: 29	B/T: L/L
Born: Price, UT
Position(s): 1B/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

By no means a dominate first baseman, it's just that the NL West doesn't have a dominate firstbaseman. Helena uses a committee to fill the role, if they ever place a player in the position permanently, they'd likely claim this All Division slot.

2B - Russell Yeager

Russell Yeager
Oklahoma City
Outlaws
Age: 27	B/T: S/R
Born: Royal Palm Beach, FL
Position(s): 2B/CIF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The NL West has several talented 2Bman, Yeager earns this honor with his solid glove and hitting skills. Look for Howie Ward to try to claim this spot by mid season.

3B - Norberto Manzanillo

Norberto Manzanillo
St. Louis
Arch Angels
Age: 33	B/T: R/R
Born: Cartagena, CO
Position(s): 3B/RF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

This 2 time Gold Glover is aging fast, but still has better skills than any division 3Bman. Consistency has been Norberto's greatest asset throughout his career.

SS - Joe Roth

Joe Roth
Helena
Loggers
Age: 24	B/T: L/R
Born: Middleton, MI
Position(s): SS/IF/OF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Young Joe is without a doubt the best SS in the NL West, and just a small part of the Helena youth movement coming of age. In his 3rd ML season, Helena management is hoping for an improvement in offensive production, and Joe is primed to deliver.

RF - Ivan Alfonzo

Ivan Alfonzo
Helena
Loggers
Age: 23	B/T: R/R
Born: Santa Teresa, VE
Position(s): RF/1B/LF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Can you say STUD? Not only is Ivan the best Rf'er in the NL west, he's the best in Alexander... and he's only 23. You can almost hear his agent calculating the cost of this guy's long term contract.

CF - Harry Milton and Erubiel Martin - too close to call

Harry Milton
St. Louis
Arch Angels
Age: 29	B/T: R/R
Born: Lasker, NC
Position(s): CF/CIF/2B/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Erubiel Martin
Helena
Loggers
Age: 29	B/T: L/L
Born: Saluda, SC
Position(s): CF/1B/OF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Milton made the All-Star team last season, Martin didn't. Martin and Milton both made their way to the NL West last season from Rochester. It'll be a tight race to see who the best CF'er in the West is this season.

LF - Harry Silva

Harry Silva
Oakland
Acorns
Age: 22	B/T: R/R
Born: Pueblo Nuevo, DO
Position(s): LF/CIF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

At age 22, Silva is entering his second season as a ML LF'er. He's got all the tools to be a Hall of Famer. He began his career with 32 rookie HR's, and figures on increasing that number this season. Silva is part of the solid 3 man core in Oakland that fans are hoping will turn that organization around.

NL South Meet the Owners: victorzhao (Houston Hope)

2009-04-29T08:56:00.002-04:00

On the eve of the regular season, your NL South correspondent will bring you a series of Q&As that will introduce you to the owners of the NL South. Today, we bring you victorzhao (me), quite simply, the most electrifying performer in the history of WhatIfSports. What makes me so electrifying? My stunning success, witty banter on the world chat, and rugged good looks. Looking to absorb some of that magic and improve his own HBD abilities, shucky - who has never beaten me in a playoff series - sat down with me for a Q&A.

1. Tell us a little about yourself (job, favorite sports teams, hometown, etc.).
I was born in Shanghai, China and came to the States in 1987 (when I was eight), I've called Houston, TX home since then, with the exception of college and law school. As such, I'm a loyal fan of all Houston professional sports teams and all Duke (college alma mater) teams. Currently (never know in these economic times), I am employed as an attorney in Houston. My alias is my name - so that sort of takes some of the mystery out.

2. How did you get involved with WIS and why have you found it so enjoyable?
I rediscovered (underwhelming experience with the sim games around the initial site launch) WIS/HBD (along with shucky, a much inferior owner) when a couple of classmates from law school introduced us to the game, and have been hooked on it ever since. The enjoyment comes because I, along with most of the other owners here, am a huge baseball fan, and like other fans, have enjoyed pretending that we're running our favorite teams for a long time - this just gives us a terrific way to play out that dream.

3. Tell us about your franchise (and, specifically, your ML team) in Alexander. Strengths/weakness? Short and long-term predictions?
My team had no pitching and had never finished over .500 when i took over the squad last season. I addressed it last season through trades for MiL talent, the IFA route, and the draft. This season, I traded my top pick in the amateur draft last season for some ML talent, and was active in the FA market for ML pitching. In short, my biggest weakness was pitching, and I've sought to address it both at the major and minor league levels over the last two seasons. In the short-term, I hope to take the franchise to its 1st playoff in history this season, and of course, the long-term goal is always to build a perennial winner and have a better record than shucky.

4. You've made the playoffs 13 out of 16 years. Why have you been so successful and what advice would you give to other owners, especially first time owners?
My success (though no WS titles so far) has resulted singularly from the advice and tutelage I received from my (and shucky's) mentors in WIS, bjb2378 and pete0713. Without the two of them, I would be lost. The ability to bounce ideas and advice off of them, and off shucky, were invaluable when I first started. The best piece of advice is to find a mentor who is willing to help and bounce ideas off of. As is the case in life, without others, it's a lonely climb.

5. It is my understanding that you have had to buy several rounds of golf for your good friend shucky based on his whipping your tail at WIS. What is the total number of rounds you have (or will have) to buy? And, how does it feel knowing he got that elusive first WS title before you?
[Objection, mischaracterizes the evidence]
I believe i have purchased 2 rounds of golf, and owe about 5 more, due mostly to shucky's willingness to consummate blatantly lopsided trades with dubious owners like mrintegrity and loosecc, formerly in Squires. In all seriousness, it's great to have shucky around to share our joys and disappointments in HBD. Shucky getting the 1st WS (of many I hope) was painful - but I'm going to try my hardest to catch up.

NL West Preview

2009-04-28T22:19:00.018-04:00

TEAM:

Oakland Acorns (NL)
pengoman
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

OWNER: pengoman (9th season in Alexander)/ 24 total HBD seasons / .431 overall / 3 playoff appearances

FRANCHISE HISTORY: 2 division titles / 2 playoff appearances / never advanced past DCS / pengoman won the division in season 5 with an 80-82 record.

LAST SEASON: 70-92 / 4th NL West

NOTABLE DEPARTURES:

Al Hall - Al wasn't a superstar, but he has been a big part of the pitching staff since season 8 for the Acorns. His age, and salary demands gave Oakland management cause to look elsewhere for pitching help. Al may regret listening to his agent who obviously overestimated his clients value on the open market, as Al remains unemployed 2 days before opening day.

Oakland lost a few other contributors, but nothing that will hurt the team. Oakland management was able to dump a lot of dead weight to make room for the youngsters in Season 12.

NOTABLE ADDITIONS:

Jamie Moore - Jamie probably isn't a threat to run away with the Cy Young this season, but he has consistently been a competitive SP eating up more than 200 innings each of the last 3 seasons. A welcomed addition to the Oakland rotation that has been a wink link in recent seasons. Grade B

Kirk Morris - Kirk comes to Oakland after being released by division rival St. Louis. A solid defensive SS with occassional bursts of offensive poduction. He has the endurance to play 162 games at a high level, but he has struggled with consistency for the duration of his ML career. Oakland management hopes a new coaching staff will sort these issues out. Regardless, Kirk is an upgrade over last season's SS depth. Grade B-

WHO TO WATCH:

Harry Silva - at 22, this youngster is destined to be playing ball on All Star week for several years to come. Oakland management is trying to figure out a way to wrap up Harry in a multi year deal before he opts for Free agency.

SEASON 12 OUTLOOK: Oakland will struggle to find wins this season because of a weak pitching staff. The Oakland lineup is solid, and should produce a fair number of runs... the problem is, they'll give up as many or more on their way to their best season in 5 years.

PREDICTION: 84-78 / 3rd NL West

TEAM:

St. Louis Arch Angels (NL)
evancavan
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

OWNER: evancavan (12th season in Alexander)/ 45 total HBD seasons / .531 overall / 23 playoff appearances w/ 1 WS title

FRANCHISE HISTORY: 7 division titles / 7 playoff appearances / 1 World Series Title

LAST SEASON: 97-65 NL West 1st

NOTABLE DEPARTURES:

Orber Ordaz - inning eating pitcher who has struggled to break thru as a true top of the rotation pitcher. He was a salary cap casualty in a deal that brought Stan Dalesandro to St. Louis.

Walt Liefer - The second salary cap casualty, Walt was overpaid for his skills, and traded for Dalesandro in an effort to shed payroll, and upgrade at the SS position.

NOTABLE ADDITIONS:

St. Louis had a mild, but productive off season. With a series of trades that cost them prospects Larry Lowell and Trenidad Montero in exchange for Rafael Quixote and Andruw Simmons. Then St. Louis turned around and dealt Quixote to Indianapolis in exchange for Fritz Gardner and Max Hernandez. So two marginal pitching prospects and a RF prospect that scouts believe will fail to live up to his full potential for Simmons, Gardner, and Hernandez. Grade A-

SEASON 12 OUTLOOK: St. Louis has done very little to upgrade their starting lineup. They added some depth to the bench, and brought in some future ML talent to develop. The only significant change to look for in St. Louis this season is the promotion of super prospect Augie Dorsey. Dorsey has the potential to be special, and with a strong supporting cast returning from last seasons division winning squad, Dorsey won't feel the pressure many rookies with his outlook are burdened with. Look for him to contend for rookie of the year.

PREDICTION: 99-63 NL West 1st. Not much has changed in St. Louis, still a young team with a solid pitching staff. No reason to expect anything less than improvement in season 12.

TEAM:

Helena Loggers (NL)
rcf106
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

OWNER: rcf106 (9th season in Alexander) 37 total HBD seasons / .466 overall / 8 playoff appearnces

FRANCHISE HISTORY: 3 wildcard appearances

LAST SEASON: 88-74 NL West 2nd - Wildcard, knocked division champ St. Louis out of playoffs in DCS.

NOTABLE DEPARTURES:

Other than a few aging players with diminishing skills, Helena lost no significant players this off season.

NOTABLE ADDITIONS:

Bubba Magee -Helena shored up the pen by adding veteran journeyman Bubba Magee. Plagued by inconsistency his whole career, Helena hopes the role he fills here will provide him the parameters for success. Grade C+

SEASON 12 OUTLOOK: Helena didn't make a lot of moves, but with a young, and improving team, one could argue that there wasn't much to improve on. Led by a core of all-stars: Erubiel Martin, Ivan Alfonzo, Joe Roth, and Howie Ward Helena is in good shap to make another run at the division crown. If they fall short, it'll because they didnt address needs with pitching. Helena has some great arms, but they are built for the playoffs, to get through the regular season on top, they could use 2 more solid Starters and 1 more solid Relief pitcher.

PREDICTION: 90-72 NL West 2nd - wildcard

TEAM:

Oklahoma City Outlaws (NL)
Dufferman
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

OWNER: Dufferman (2nd season in Alexander) 26 total HBD seasons / .425 overall / no playoff appearances

FRANCHISE HISTORY: 2 division titles / 2 playoff appearences

LAST SEASON: 73-89 NL West 3rd

NOTABLE DEPARTURES:

Joaquin Espada - Traded to Boise, unfortunate departure, Espada added a great deal of value to a stuggling team. Fortunately, they added some nice pieces that may help make up for the lack of production at 3B. Grade C-

NOTABLE ADDITIONS:

Cooper Buckley - a solid contact hitter with above average baserunning skills. Should help produce some much needed runs. Grade B+

Victor Jacquez - a young SP to add to the stable. Above average, but not an All Star yet. He should be good for keeping the bullpen fresh with good stamina and decent splits. Grade A-

SEASON 12 OUTLOOK: OKC is well on its way to rebuilding, it still lacks a good ML pitching staff. This reporter believes it is the weakest in the NL West. For that reason, they'll be a streaky team, ultimately having more losing streaks than winning streaks. Still a dangerous team capable of beating anyone.

PREDICTION: 71-91 4th NL West

NL North Preview

2009-04-28T19:37:00.007-04:00

Rochester Big and Tall

Owner: ns220 (12th Season in Alexander)

Franchise History: 9 Division titles, 5 World Series titles

Last Season: 116-46, 1st place (for the 6th year in a row)

Notable Departures: The Big and Tall cut ties with several of their long standing stars, including Cy Young award winner Al Carreras, power hitting shortstop Harvey Young and reliever Gabe Douglass. As a result, Rochester will have 7 of the first 78 picks in the upcoming amateur draft.

Notable Additions: Rochester is dipping in to its deep store of farm talent to fill the holes created by free agency. Luis Lopez, who was strong as an injury fill-in last season, will return to the starting rotation; and the anticipated arrivals of Bob Holt and Jamie Risley 21 games in to the season will create new All Stars for Rochester at shortstop and catcher.

Outlook: The lineup will be strong, but Rochester's pitching will be its weakest in years. The bullpen lacks depth, and none of the starters can be depended on to go deep into games. Though a 7th straight division title looks likely, a significant injury among the Big and Tall hurlers would be tough to overcome.

Prediction: Anything less than 110 wins and a division title would be a disappointment.

Ottawa Rough Riders

Owner: Stitch01 (5th Season in Alexander)

Franchise History: 1 Division title

Last Season: 75-87, 2nd place (for the 5th year in a row)

Notable Departures: The big loss this offseason was Antoine Day, a nine time all-star, and perennial number one starter. Terry Pratt was also lost to free agency, but the Rough Riders had been transitioning the catching job to Rico Belliard so that's not as big of a loss.

Notable Additions: The team acquired Willie Tabaka as a good, low cost acquisition to solidify the bullpen.

Outlook: The Rough Riders are going young in the starting lineup, depending on youngsters like Nipsy LaRocca (24) and Ryan Jennings (25). Catcher Rico Belliard (23) will take a more full time role this season. On the pitching side, Season 7 first round pick Dennis Duffy will lead the way. David Tejera will start the season in AAA, but may hit the rotation by mid-season. 22-year old wunderkind Candy Swann will also see some time in a middle relief role.

The Rough Riders are excited about the players in their lower minors. Peter Dorsey (19, Lo-A) can become the next Mike Piazza, Jamie Wilson (21, AA) can be an above average bat at 1B, Ed Reboulet (22, Hi-A) can be a starter in LF, and they have a number of candidates for the SS spot. A future closer is in Lo-A, Esmailyan Sierra (19).

Prediction: Another second place finish looks likely, as Ottawa should finish around .500.

New York new york

Owner: joshcarolina (12th Season in Alexander)

Franchise History: 1 Division title

Last Season: 71-91, 3rd place (for the 5th year in a row)

Notable Departures: Speedster and long time centerfield fixture Bonk Alexander was let go, after disappointing for several seasons. RF Lonnie Milton never panned out and the team did not attempt to resign him.

Notable Additions: LF Dion Lane was signed to a 5 year/$46 Million contract to provide some pop. The New York Nine are hopeful that season 12 will look more like season 10 than season 11.

Outlook: The Gotham club will be leaning on three players entering their prime to carry the load this season. David Valenzuela, Lazy Stern and Hiram Chang are all 27, and should have breakout seasons. Adding Dion Lane and moving two-time All-Star Dean Brown to CF should make the lineup formidable.

Unfortunately, the pitching staff will not be up to the challenge. Despite the addition of Type A free agent Gabe Douglass, and though Shea Stadium will show lower than average ERAs and WHIPs, the team will be required to rely on Del Rincon and Christian Gray, each of whom would be quite a catch, were it season 7 instead of season 12.

Prediction: Another third place finish looks likely, as New York should improve on its win total from last season, but fall short of .500.

Montreal Canadiens

Owner: funk police (12th Season in Alexander)

Franchise History: 1 playoff appearance

Last Season: 64-98, 4th place (for the 6th year in a row)

Notable Departures: None.

Notable Additions: Shane McCartin was signed to help fill out the rotation.

Outlook: The Canadiens will be bringing back essentially the same club as season 11, which is not a good sign for our friends up north. Neither the pitching nor the lineup will be in a position to compete. The Canadiens are trying to hold on until their recent draft picks, highlighted by future All-Star Al Wheat, are ready for the majors.

Prediction: Barring a complete collapse of one of the other teams in the division, this team will be in the basement once more.

AL North : New York Juicers

2009-04-28T16:21:00.003-04:00

Its been a pretty quiet off season for that other new york franchise. Jason Baez was a big ordeal for them to re-sign and they did it for 2 yrs 7.5 mill for each year.This was a smart move for New York since Baez is their highest rated player but is aging, he will provide a solid closing option for them on the mound.Another high priority was to get their starting outfield back in tact from last year which meant having to sign switch hitting Doug Zoltan at a hefty 5.2 mill for 2 yrs.The Juicers are hoping that he gets back to his old offensive ways since slumping since his arrival at the big apple.Media has been a distraction he claims but vows to be worth the value of his contract the next two seasons.

Ralph Blake was brought up this year for setup help and is a already a major addition to the bullpen and he is just getting started.He was rushed up through the minor leagues and is ready to start making a major league career and name for himself after being a whatif compound hometown guy from Florence,Ky .He could be a special fav of developers but only time will tell. Also Alex Irabu was acquired and brought up to earn some ML at bats to prep him for his career, along with POWER hitting catcher Sammy Tarasco who may be a huge difference maker for this franchise in the long run if he can live up to his ratings.

New york Juicers have been a bad franchise since depleting their roster after division title in season 1. Owner atrain33 has been at the helm for 6 previous seasons and looks to finally have whipped them into shape after coaching them to their best season since season one, 1 game under .500,New York will have to wait and see if Tarasco's power can motor them past Iowa City to get out of the cellar this season.I doubt it can happen but the good news is next season their best prospect blossoms and will be ready to take on the blood sweat and tears of this franchise, Ismael Santiago , looks to be a great player at shortstop and will be a contributor one day. I feel they need another big bat beyond Hector Beltran ,besides the fact this guy is one of the best in the league i dont think he has enough help and will not be able to carry this franchise on his back this season. Theo Nicholson is their best returning pitcher and is a young gun in this league who looks to be a major weapon in the future!

My prediction : 4th in the AL north

AL NORTH : Spotlight Iowa City Black Hawks

2009-04-28T14:57:00.004-04:00

Iowa City did some good things for their organization since leaving the field in season 11.They added talent in free agency during the playoffs and freed up a lot of cash in the process all the while getting younger.In the infield the Black Hawks promoted Tex Parnell looking for some power and good defense along with Ricky Sinclair at 2nd base. Pitching went well for the franchise in the off season they revamped their pitching and made it better with additions of Shawn Bradford to the rotation and Kyle West . Gerald Wang and Charles Yamaguchi ,the asian connection, were added to the the bullpen for long relief help .This definitely makes this pitching squad better than last years.This should be much needed help for the ace lefty and up and comer and last years Rookie of the Year Cristobal Lee . As for the outfield this group is one of the best in the division, in my opinion Hideki Lee is a great bat that leads this young and talented outfield,he is accompanied by Larry Richard and Albert Sivilla ,which are sure to create some runs for the Iowa city franchise this season.

This team is starting to come of age from past drafts, they promoted 4 rookies this season and are still well stacked in AAA. Elmer Ellenwood is the best prospect in their system and 2 international free agents signed at $20 mill a piece are soon to come of age also in Pedro Marrero and Carlos Santiago .Its just a matter of time before this team gets their first division title. With cespencer at the helm this team is improving, they went to their playoffs under him in season 10 for the first time since season 1.Hideki Lee is their best returning bat and the young Eddie Marshall is their top starter to return he will be the #1 for this improving franchise! This team is also playing money ball with a payroll of under 35 mill i dont expect them to compete for title this year unless the offense really does well, my prediction 3rd in the AL North!

NL South Meet The Owners: grivfmd1 (Richmond Revolution)

2009-04-28T08:18:00.003-04:00

On the eve of the regular season, your NL South correspondent will bring you a series of Q&As that will introduce you to the owners of the NL South. Today, we bring you grivfmd1, one of the most successful owners in this world. Grivfmd1 has logged 49 seasons at nearly a .560 clip, and amassed 5 world titles along the way. However, he has not yet taken the title in Alexander - something he will hope to address this season.

1) Where are you (what city) and what do you do? i.e. tell us whatever you would like to share with us about you

I am a reluctantly aging 58y/o MD. I own and run an in vitro fertilization (IVF) program in Grand Rapids, Michigan, hence my handle GRIVFMD1. I have 6 children and 2 grand children mostly in Michigan or Chicago.

2) Do you think your team is ready to reclaim the division title after yielding the title to Little Rock for the last two seasons?

Maybe - keep looking for that #1 shut down starter but not finding him.

3) What are your plans for Malcolm Young?

Malcolm Young and Steve Spence will likely see the ML club in "May".

4) How did you hear about HBD and/or WIS?

Stumbled across WIS - SIM baseball on MLB.com many years ago. Have played HBD since 1st released - rarely play SIM any more.

5) What aspect of HBD do you enjoy the most?

Competitive juice - at 58, I can not do what I used to do and don't have the time (or necessary money) for competitive sailing (which I miss but have not done in 5 years). I don't trade much and mostly build from inside the team - draft slow development.

AL EAST PREVIEW PART 1: Pawtucket Patriots

2009-04-27T22:17:00.004-04:00

Owner: Shucky: (2nd Season Alexander, 19th overall) .563 Winning Pct/9 Division titles (1 in Alexander)/2 Pennants (1 in Alexander)/1 WS title

Franchise History: .584 Pct/9 Division titles (8 straight)/3 Pennants/0 World Series titles

Last Season: 95-67, 1st place (18 games ahead), lost World Series in 5.
878 RS (6th AL), 692 RA (2nd AL), 99 "advanced wins"

Award Winners:
Al Carreras: Cy Young (1st)
All-Star (9th)
Mike Houston: All-Star (1st)
Orlando Perez: All-Star (1st)
Alfonso Borges: All-Star (1st)
Gold Glove (3rd)

Notable Departures:

Hamish Scoroposki: The 37 year old closer did a passable job, but is coming off of a down year with a 1.40 WHIP and 8 blown saves. He was allowed to sign with Colorado as a Type B free agent.

Al Henry: Surprisingly effective as a swing man with 66 innings of 1.25 WHIP ball , although he didnt pitch in the post season despite subpar stuff. He's still available as a free agent.

Tony James: Basically JAG out of the pen, not on the playoff roster, now a free agent.

Jose Pena: Effective setup man who was especially useful in the playoffs despite poor control throwing 9+ innings and allowing only 3 runs. Now in Durham

David Cruz: Was subpar as a 1b/DH going .274/.328/.465 in 409 at bats. He was not offered arb and is a free agent.

Notable Additions:

Al Carreras: The reigning Cy Young winner (21-3, 3.51, 1.19 WHIP) gives Pawtucket a true ace and one of the top rotations in the game. For 5 years and $70MM he better be among the best pitchers in the league: 183 career wins and 3.16 career ERA says he will be

Tino Jackson: Journeyman reliever signed to shore up the pen, has always pitched slightly worse than his ratings.

Season Synopsis: With Carreras, Pawtucket has added a true top of the rotation starter to a very good pitching staff including all-star Mike Houston (14-5, 3.50, 1.16) coming off a career year and former Cy Young winner Rick James (15-10, 3.90, 1.21). Leading the league in run prevention is not out of the question. That said, while letting Scoropski depart was likely the right move, he was not replaced and the bullpen is shaky to start the year. Rafael Martin is coming off a great season and looks like the likely closer to start the year, and Kurt Mullaney is solid, but after that there are question marks. Given the strength of the rest of the team, this is likely an issue that wont be a problem until the postseason, look for Pawtucket to spend some of its $7MM remaining cap room under its league leading $109MM payroll budget to shore this up midseason.

The lineup is solid if not spectacular. This is a run prevention based team, and the defense is spectacular up the middle led by GG CF Alfonso Borges and SS Ozzie Yang, but these glove men are also respectable with the bat. Jorge Escobar was the Patriots most productive hitter going .298/.370/.548 in a part time catching role, but his glove and the departure of Cruz probably argues for more time at the DH spot. David Cortazar, Lou Gibson, and Bo Carpenter all hit 40 HR's and provide good power, but lack the on base skills of elite hitters.

Depth is a bit of an issue, C Jim Hoffman could step in from AAA should a C or DH go down, but his glove is a big question. A handful of pitchers, led by Chris Healy, can be part of a solution in the bullpen or fill in as a back end starter, but there are no players ready to step in from the farm and take a major role. Farm system resources may be a bit of a problem as Pawtucket looks to improve the team midseason given the lack of impact prospects.

Pawtucket will almost certainly be playing in October, and the addition of Carreras makes them very dangerous in a short series, even more so than last years AL champions. By the end of the season, with an extra arm out of the bullpen and possibly another OBP guy atop the lineup, this could be the favorite to represent the AL in the World Series. This is a team built to win now, and it will do so.

Prediction: 98-64, division champions

AL South Preview - Montgomery Maulers

2009-04-27T13:49:00.002-04:00

Owner - zovakozi1 (1317-951) 9 playoff appearances, 7 division titles, 3 AL pennants, and 1 World Series ring

Major Losses - Yogi Lemon - huge loss in the middle of the lineup. Part of the Pedro Sierra trade.

Horacio Seneca - one of my favorite players. Has been money even though he has been in the twilight of his career. Very hard to replace.

Darrel Young - A solid #3 or #4 starter. Will be missed.

Anthony Pritchett - Very good young CF/2B. The addition of Vic Andujar made Pritchett obsolete in the Maulers plans.

Additions - Pedro Sierra - biggest addition to the Maulers. Hopefully will take me into the playoffs.

Vic Andujar - Great glove and range makes him my CF.

Davey Murray - replacing Lemon is not easy but Murray is going to try.

Prediction - 90 wins and no playoffs. (maybe next year)

AL South Preview - Jackson Rebels

2009-04-27T13:42:00.002-04:00

Owner - grissom97 (2676-2994)

Losses and Additions - nothing to report for Jackson. They are sticking to their hand from last year.

Prediction - 94 wins 2nd in the division and a wild card berth.

AL South Preview - Texas Rebels

2009-04-27T13:28:00.002-04:00

Owner - wizkid2407 (1328-1102) 7 playoff appearances, 2 division titles, and 1 AL pennant

Major losses -

World Alexander

Season 19 Draft Analysis: Picks 21-32

Season 19 Draft Analysis: Picks 11-20

Season 19 Draft Analysis: Picks 1-10

Who has the best organization? pt 2

Who has the best organization? Pt 1

AL North Season 18 Preview

NL North Season 18 Preview

The State Of The New York Stink Palmers

The Record Update Pt 2

The Career Records Outlook Pt1

Franchise Wins Through Season 15

HR poll

Season 12 NL Playoff Races

NL West - Midseason update

NL East Draft Review

NL East 1st Quarter Update

Milwaukee Brewers preview

AL EAST PREVIEW PART 3: CHICAGO CUBS

NL East Pre-Season All-Division Team

AL EAST PREVIEW PART TWO: AUGUSTA MOOSE

THE PRE SEASON ALL-NL WEST TEAM

NL South Meet the Owners: victorzhao (Houston Hope)

NL West Preview

NL North Preview

AL North : New York Juicers

AL NORTH : Spotlight Iowa City Black Hawks

NL South Meet The Owners: grivfmd1 (Richmond Revolution)

AL EAST PREVIEW PART 1: Pawtucket Patriots

AL South Preview - Montgomery Maulers

AL South Preview - Jackson Rebels

AL South Preview - Texas Rebels

NL South Meet the Owners: pieo (Wichita Wack Jobs)

NL East Tour: Indianapolis Lancers

NL East Tour: Cleveland Redlegs

NL East Tour: Baltimore mets

NL South Tour: Houston Hope

NL South Tour: Richmond Revolution

NL East Tour: Boston Red Sox

NL South Tour: Wichita Wack Jobs

Tour of NL South: Little Rock Radioactive Reindeer

Whitehouse Report 4/21

Season 11 Draft Review - Part II

Season 11 Draft Review Part I

Montgomery Maulers season preview

All-Time Franchise Wins Through Season 10

AL/NL MVP

Season 10 Amateur Draft Analysis: Picks 21-32

Season 10 Amateur Draft Analysis: Picks 11-20

Season 10 Amateur Draft Analysis: Picks 1-10

Top 10 Mauler Prospects

Indianapolis Lancers Top 10 Prospects - Season 10

All-Time Franchise Wins Through Season 9

NL WEST PREVIEW

Indianapolis Lancers Season 10 Preview

Montgomery Maulers Season 10

Off Season Blitz - St. Louis

zovakozi1 Interview

psanders84 Interview

joshcarolina Interview

gdfan Interview

pengoman Interview

stitch01 Interview