Reset

Time to reset the blog. Over the coming weeks I will begin to tweak this blog a little. I have cut down on some of my commitments and feel like I can focus solely on Ruth world for HBD.

Also I am linking this to my empire avenue account. EAVB_OMCKAYGEFP

Season 10 - AL South Preview

Texas won this division by 14 games last season, and while Richmond looks to play catch up Durham and Memphis are keeping things in neutral. The race between the top two teams could become a tight one, so either owner may be looking to improve before the trade deadline.

Here are the team outlooks with last season's record, followed by offensive/defensive ranks and my prediction for season 10:


Texas Southfork Ranchers (Stewart_UK)
S9: 96-66, 1st place, lost to Ottawa in 1st round; 941 RS (5th), 832 RA (8th)
S10: 97-65, 1st place


Key Additions: LF Santiago Ordonez, RP Pablo Rivera
Key Losses: -

After five straight seasons finishing in the cellar, Texas won the division last season for the second time in franchise history. Now with a new owner, and change of venue, they'll rely on their bats once again to keep them atop the South. Ordonez is a virtual lock for 40+ HRs- he'll protect a potent 2-3-4 combo of Tomlinson, Torres and Camacho. These four will provide plenty of pop throughout the season.

There are some nice arms on this club, headed by last year's 18-game winners Felipe Garces and Kevin Lane. The starting pitching is definitely the strength as the bullpen is very vulnerable. Rivera has been handed the keys to the ninth inning which he hasn't done full-time since his rookie season, so keep an eye on how that pans out.

The Southfork Ranchers added to their 96-win team from a season ago without losing anyone important, so they are still the team to beat in the South. Barring any major injuries expect to see Texas continue their rapid turnaround with a second consecutive division title.

X-Factor: By the numbers, Ivan Hairston had the best season 9 of any pitcher on the staff. His continued success will be necessary to bridge the gap between a solid rotation and a new closer.


Richmond Zingers (hogan11)
S9: 82-80, 2nd place; 892 RS (9th), 793 RA (6th)
S10: 87-75, 2nd place

Key Additions: RP David Bonham, 1B/DH Felix Bard
Key Losses: RP Pablo Rivera, IF Brent Corsi, C Yamil Mesa

Replacing Mesa with Bard at DH might be a slight upgrade in the power department, but otherwise things look awfully similar to last season's 9th ranked offense. Reigning MVP Josias Cortez (69 HR in S9) is still the heart and soul of the Zingers' attack, with 2nd year CF Wayne Long adding some much needed pop after a 48 HR rookie season.

Losing Rivera to division rival Texas will be much easier to deal with if Bonham can be effective out of the pen. Former reliever turned starter Russell McGee had an impressive S9 despite going 6-8, but the Zinger's are hoping he can give them more than 131 innings as a starter (158 IP in S8 as an RP).

The staff as a whole is not going to shut many teams down, but probably won't get lit up much either. Without making any mid-season moves I don't see Richmond seriously challenging Texas for the division, but they may have upgraded just enough to be in the wild card race when the chips fall.

X-Factor: Opening day SP Steven Anderson is entering his third full ML season, and needs to step up if he wants to be considered the ace of this rotation. He's got good stuff, but must cut down on the HRs allowed to keep that ERA down (1.41 HR/9 in S9).


Durham Dukes (mazurkj)
S9: 58-104, 3rd place; 930 RS (7th), 1277 RA (15th)
S10: 54-108, 3rd place

Key Additions: -
Key Losses: SS Anthony Abercrombie

Not much has changed since S9, so Durham fans aren't overly excited going into this year. Letting Abercrombie go was a foregone conclusion as the compensation picks are more important at this stage to mazurkj, considering the Dukes' won't be competing this season. There's not a whole lot in the cupboard at this point either, so I'd look for guys like DH Stump May, 1B Kevin O'Connor, OF Andre Reese and P Ned McConnell to become available as the season progresses.

The Dukes' offense is based almost solely on power. They finished in the middle of the pack in AVG and OBP, but led the league in HR. They had five players, yes five, hit 40+ HR last season- the three mentioned above along with Doug Richard and Mike Griffey.

On the hill is where Durham ran into problems, finishing next to last in the AL in runs allowed in S9. There's only one pitcher who had under a 4.95 ERA, RP Ralph Blalock. McConnell probably has the best stuff on the staff, but will be coming out of the pen again despite his best season as a pro coming when he started 16 games in S8. With roughly the same pitchers as last season, there's little reason to believe the results will be much different.

X-Factor: Following in Bing Herges' footsteps, the biggest factor this season is GM mazurkj. With a $104M player payroll budget it's hard to imagine Durham rebuilding. But instead of getting some decent FA's to place around the team's core, Tom Baez and Mark Grace were signed in arb for $6.9M and $3.3M, respectively. That money should be going to other budgets towards building the future or good FA's to place around the team's core. We'll see which way they're headed.


Memphis Free Marketeers (billhowell75)
S9: 46-116, 4th place; 754 RS (15th), 1107 RA (14th)
S10: 50-112, 4th place

Key Additions: -
Key Losses: -

The battle for 3rd place will continue. But as opposed to Durham's route, Memphis is in a clear-cut rebuilding year. They had the worst record in the AL, and this year doesn't look much better. But there are some nice looking prospects waiting in the wings, which should make this team a competitor within a couple seasons.

The lineup is led by Spud Gilbert, who's been an All-Star the last two seasons. While young 2B Geraldo Rodriguez may be viewed as a platoon player, he has earned the right to be an everyday starter having posted a career .405 OBP.

Leading the pitching staff is... well, I can't honestly say anyone leads the staff. But SP Marc Elster is looking forward to his time to shine, which may not come until S11. I consider Albert Ordonez the best pitcher on the ML squad, which gives a pretty good indication of where things stand in Memphis.

X-Factor: For this one, I'm going with the budget. I didn't really think a budget could be the X-Factor either, but there's not much else. With the maximum put into the amateur draft, the #2 pick, and not much trade bait to land young talent, billhowell needs a good draft and possibly a big international FA or two. The scary thing is with such a small amount of attention paid to the Medical budget, you cross your fingers hoping none of their future stars go down with any serious injuries.

AL North and East

Team Previews

On rating teams I provided .5 points for a league average player and 1 point for an all star player. No points were awarded for below average players.

AL North

Team	Owner	W-L	PCT	GB
Syracuse snow belt	schedule1 *	122-40	.753	-
Ottawa Braves	mmustain *	88-74	.543	34.0
Cleveland Armpits	bxtxcx *	84-78	.519	38.0
Cincinnati Panthers	tzentmeyer *	81-81	.500	41.0

Syracuse (24 out of 35)

Offense (8 out of 10): Well the team will hit. Aurillia, while aging is still very productive. Is this the season who transitions to 1b full time? There really is no weakness here

Bench (3.5 out of 5): The bench players are all good defensive replacements and decent to good bats. Can’t argue with that.

Defense (3.5 out of 8): The team has good ss and 2b. The other skill positions are at or below average defensively. There is no real pitch calling catcher on the team, that may hurt. There are also several 2b and SS who will play out of position, so it is difficult to really rate this team here. If one of them ends at CF that would take the rating to a 4.5.

Rotation (4 out of 5): The rotation is very young. Schedule1 has reloaded this rotation for the long run. Matt Petterson looks like he will be very good for a long time

Bullpen (5 out of 7): Hawk Walker returns for one more season and will be the long man in the pen. I can’t figure out what Bud Collins is doing on this team. Marshall Hitchcock closing things out and looking cool.

X-factor-Who plays CF? There are several decent options here. So this player would be the x-factor whoever he is. Maybe Bernie Williams will put down the guitar and fill in for a season

Overall Comments: Syracuse is very good. They set the league record for wins in a season last year. I know this season will be seen as a failure though for Sched unless it ends with a WS trophy.

Prediction: 110-52

Ottawa (20 out of 35)

Offense (6.5 out of 10): Armas is a beast. Mathews and Batista will rake as well. The rest of the group is solid but not great. The team will hit well.

Bench (1 out of 5): McMurtry does not add a lot with the bat but neither did Charlie O’Brien. My big issue with the bench is it is all corner OF/1b types. There really is not back up player for up the middle and Mercado, Albert and Lane will need time off possibly about a combined 400 AB worth.

Defense (5.5 out of 8): The defense is at or above average for most positions. They will not give many away

Rotation (4 out of 5): Durability issues may force Ottawa to go with a 6 man rotation. They have the arms though to make it work. I am not sold on Steve Peterson though, he is going to struggle some. Then there is the reliable Roland Springer, just give him the ball.

Bullpen (3 out of 7): Depending how the rotation works out there are some potential IP issues. Several of these guys are going to be called on to pitch often and when they do pitch they won’t last long. They have good arms but not the ability to pitch enough or long enough.

X-factor- The Starting rotation is the key here. How long they go in game and whther they can go every 5 days will determine how far this team goes. They have the skilled players to win but will it come together? I say yes.

Overall Comments: This team is poised to make a step forward. They are young enough around the field and on the mound that they still have yet to peak. But they are in the same division as Syracuse and until someone knocks Schedule1 off it is still his division

Prediction: 93-69

Cleveland (16.5 out of 35)

Offense (7 out of 10): Offensively this team is primed to hit. Good players from top to bottom in the lineup led by Wendell Lambert. 9 of the 13 offensive players are making under 400K. That tells you a bit about this team. I would like to see Edge Stone given an increased role on this team.

Bench (3 out of 5): There are certainly plenty of options here. There is no true DH on the team so I assume the plan is to use one of the catchers as a DH, I do not think he is the best option though.

Defense (3 out of 8): The starters are all at or below league average. The range is mediocre and the gloves may cause some trouble. The replacements are all above average defensively so they should not lose it late. They may however cough it up early.

Rotation (1.5 out of 5) Victor Nieves is a beast on the mound and could challenge for a major award (he plans on displaying it is his living room window). Past him I see major question marks.

Bullpen (2 out of 7) Cesar Vasquez is the Victor Nieves of the pen. He will dominate when he is out there. Sadly those around him may hurt his chances.

X-factor- The GM. I would say the focus is squarely on the GM and his ability to get some pitching. This team has some great looking young bats and if they could be cashed in for some added pitching this team could challenge.

Prediction: 70-92

Overall Comments: Combine the defensive question marks with some spotty pitching may lead to some difficult stretches in Cleveland. The team will hit but in this division just hitting is not enough.

Cincinnati (16 out of 35)

Offense (5 out of 10): The offense is about league average. I see a team that was very good a few seasons ago and is now hitting the down slope. They also seem to lack power, outside of Don Smart who is cut from the Pete Incaviglia mold.

Bench (1 out of 5): The bench does not add much in the way of bats. They are mostly there to serve as defensive replacements. They have their strengths but the also have flaws.

Defense (2 out of 8): Neither catcher impresses much and runners will cut loose on them. I like Hugh Smith on defense in CF but short of him there will be a lot of missed plays, booted grounders and dropped flyballs.

Rotation (3 out of 5) I like Cerveza and Houston should be good but past them is mediocre.

Bullpen (5 out of 7): So here is the tough part. The bullpen looks very good. Sadly though you need your pen most when your starters can’t make it far in games because of performance or durability. In this case I think they will be pitching with a defecit often.

X-factor-Like Cleveland the GM is the key. I do not see this team competing but they do have some marketable pieces in the rotation and the pen. If they can be spun in an effort to build for the future it may be time to think about it.

Overall Comments: This team is the worst in the AL North, the defense is below average and the bats are getting old. This team will struggle to compete and may best be served by building for the future.

Prediction: 65-87

AL East

Team	Owner	W-L	PCT	GB	LIVE
Louisville Sluggers	raiderzman33 *	90-72	.556	-	-
Philadelphia Freedoms** (Burlington)	desanders	87-75	.537	3.0	-
New York Crunch II	SyrCrunch *	78-84	.481	12.0	-
Baltimore Inner Harbors	dal47fasano	72-90	.444	18.0	-

Louisville (22 of 35)

Offense (6 out of 10): Redding and Guapo are the true stars here. Past them are some decent bats and some not so decent bats.

Bench (4 out of 4): This bench provides a good deal of flexibility. A good defensive catcher who can hit some and some players who can play any position and ht some as well.

Defense (5 out of 8): I like Guapo’s defense I just don’t like how he calls a game. Vargas and Beltre both leave a little to b desired up the middle and may struggle to get to and hold onto all the balls they should. My assumption however is that Fujiwara is going to play SS, which takes away the prior criticism of the SS position.

Rotation (5 out of 5): 11 of the 13 pitchers have a stamina rating above 60 and 7 of them are above 70. This pitching staff is almost entirely starters! I like Gibbons best of all but really all of them are good.

Bullpen (2out of 7) I would really have to look closer at how this worked last year. It just seems so foreign to me to even try it. I count 2 true relievers. Ramirez is going to be very good.

X-factor- The pitching staff…see above

Overall Comments: I think raiderz needs to talk to the Cleveland GM about spinning off a couple of starters for some minor league depth. I like this team, they should make the playoffs.

Prediction: 95-67

Burlington (19 of 35)

Offense (6 out of 10) There are some really good bats here and they should win a lot of games with big run totals. Trevor Donovan is the big star here.

Bench (2 out of 5): Miller Robinson offers great value for his skills. Otherwise the bench is a few RF and SS. Not a lot of variety here.

Defense (6 out of 8) The defense is good enough to not cost ht e team games and from time to time win a game. I would however add that Caballero is not a shortstop and should not be played there. He makes Derek Jeter look like Ozzie Smith.

Rotation (3.5 out of 5): 8 players with staminas over 70! Is this the division of starters? You guys need to share these with the rest of the league. Actually after Mendoza, Perry and Slaughter there may be a reason why so many starters are in town. None of them may be able to do it too long.

Bullpen (1.5 out of 7): Harry Owen= Best reliver in the league

X-factor-Pitching. Past the top three guys in the rotation the opponents are going to see Harry Owen a lot. If he can hold teams down they will win their fair share. Really how the bullpen handles the demands of 2/5 of the rotation will determine their season.

Overall Comments: Can I have Harry Own? I have a man crush on him. He will pitch often and effectively. This team has a good mix of offense, pitching and defense. They should win and they should compete with Louisville for the division. I see Louisville holding on in the end though.

Prediction: 88-74

NewYork (17.5 of 35)

Offense (6 out of 10): This team has some offensive ability. They will hit and score lots of runs. It is largely a team based on team speed Coleride will have opportunities to drive in many runs.

Bench (1.5 out of 5): The bench is about speed and defense. They will all do their job and serve a role. Nothing spectacular but good enough

Defense (4 out of 8) I would like to see better defense in CF and Morgan really looks more like a 1b than a LF. Oddly, for a team built around running I think they may struggle shutting down other running teams. I like Mota a lot.

Rotation (2 out of 5): Yawn…7 starters with a stamina above 70. All of them appears to be league average or below. They will struggle as a staff in this division.

Bullpen (3 out of 7): Of the 4 members of the pen all of them are solid. They will do a good job holding leads that are handed to them.

X-factor-Speed. Will the focus on speed translate into more runners on base and more runs scored?

Overall Comments: The offense is interesting but the pitching is lacking. This team is behind both Burlington and L-Ville. Add a couple of starters and that will change.

Prediction: 75-87

Boston (16 of 35)

Offense (6 out of 10): Uhoh, 14 players on offense is the first thing I notice. Wilfredo, Cone, and Zero James make this an offense to watched. They will score many runs but are there enough AB for all these bats?

Bench (2 out of 5): The bench has many options, each for its own need. This bench has many interesting players. Each of them seems to do one or two things very well while having big weaknesses in other places.

Defense (4 out of 8): I do not like the catching defense and around the infield Stone seems the safest bet, depending who is at short. The outfield looks like it has 3 first basemen to choose from out of the 4 players listed as of.

Rotation (2 out of 5): A few seasons back I went after Antonio Zheng hard. I still think he could offer a lot to may teams. Sadly Boston doesn’t have enough Zhengs. This staff will give up runs and tax a short staff.

Bullpen (2 out of 7): I like Sampson and Morandini but after them there is not a lot to like

X-factor- The pitching staff. I do not think there are enough arms here to make it through the season. There will be some really taxed arms.

Overall Comments: This team has got some really bright spots but they also have some really ugly cankers. This is a team that may benefit from marketing some of its better young players to stock for the future

Prediction: 60-102

NL WEST - Season 10 Preview

Honolulu Electric Lizards : rougherpride (4th season)

Last Season: 98-64 (2nd)

Key Additions: Glenn Minor (FA)

Key Losses: Julio Rios (FA), Santiago Ordonez (RELEASED)

Outlook: After a miserable Season 8 Honolulu righted the ship to finish with a 98-64 record, good enough for a wildcard birth. Unfortunately some key losses and the emergence of divisional foes will make getting back to the playoffs an uphill battle in Season 10. Former Rookie of the Year Frank Sutton and Anthony Crespo head a good staff that will keep them in most games. 26 year old stud Dennis Hudson put together his second strait 40+ HR and 130+ RBI season and should be well protected with Clarence O'Donnell in the lineup. This team has all the makings of a playoff contender but the strength of their division may keep them out of another wildcard spot. Still the best players on this team are all still under 30 so the Lizards appear set for the future.

Fresno Farmhands : kmoyer (5th season)

Last Season: 65-97 (4th)

Key Additions: NONE

Key Losses: NONE

Outlook: After improving the team in each of his first 3 seasons, kmoyer took a step back in Season 10. A lack of any impact off season signings makes you wonder were this team is headed. Still Fresno does posses a nice mix of young and old players. Cameron Carter continues to improve but the rest of the staff is starting to show its age. Lead off man Lynn Rodgers should get plenty of chances to show his stuff but no one else in the lineup looks to get on base with any consistency. To make things worse for the Farmhands it plays in one of the toughest divisions. Some good youngsters wait in the wings, including Eli Trevino, but until they develop Fresno will struggle.


Tacoma Pixies : jakurus(10th season)

Last Season: 109-53 (1st)

Key Additions: Jerry Baxter (FA), Jim Walker (FA)

Key Losses: Max Feliz (RELEASED), Donnie Brown (FA)

Outlook: Tacoma captured its second strait WS title but the biggest headline has to be the loss of Donnie Brown. The good news for the Pixies, they were without Brown for the second half of last season and still managed to win another title. The bad news is, they not only lost Brown to free agency but he landed in the division! Everyone will be watching to see how jacurus responds without Brown leading the way. Jim Walker joins a still dominate staff and watch out for Alex Richard who looked impressive in a late season call up last year. The offence will be lead by last years All-Start game MVP Cristobal Quixote and should produce more then enough runs to keep the W’s comming. The loss of Brown shouldn’t be over looked but Tacoma is deeply talented and will compete for another title.


Los Angeles Knights : mrtheedge (7th season)

Last Season: 92-70 (3rd)

Key Additions: Donnie Brown (FA), Ted Walsh (FA), Brent Corsi (FA),

Key Losses: Alex Ortiz (TRADE)

Outlook: Donnie Brown, Ted Walsh… Take a couple deep breaths before you go on because the Knights staff also includes former Cy Young winner (can we please rename this the Donnie Brown award?) Luis Johnson, youngster Bobby Chance and all time saves leader Wills Little. Hopefully jakurus didn’t just stick his head in a trash compactor. The staff on paper appears to be the best ever seen and has turned the Knights into WS favorites overnight. The offense isn’t bad either headed by some very promising youngsters and longtime Knight Sherman Lawton. The loss of Alex Ortiz will hurt but the offense will produce enough to win and win often. If this team stays healthy it’s hard to imagine them not going deep into the post season.