Let’s take a look at the Pre Season Predictions and the Actual Results–
AL North - Rochester (Actual Burlington by 2 games over Rochester)
AL East - New York – Correct
AL South - Tampa Bay – Correct
AL West - Tucson – Actual Las Vegas
WildCard – Seattle and Las Vegas – Actual Seattle and St Louis
NL North – Chicago - Correct
NL East – Trenton - Correct
NL South – Florida - Correct
NL West – Los Angeles – Correct
WildCard – Philadelphia and Portland – Actual Jacksonville and Scranton
First Round Thoughts:
Seattle vs New York – New York is the division winner but the teams are pretty equal. Alex Gonzalez (a MVP candidate) will need to be a beast as Seattle comes in as a super hot team. I am picking Seattle in 5.
St. Louis vs Burlington – St. Louis is the WC entrant but I like them. The front line pitching seems a bit stronger, St. Louis in 5.
Scranton vs Chicago – In a 7 game series I would pick Chicago, but in this 5 games series I will take the tough pitching of Scranton in 5.
Jacksonville vs Florida – I like Florida in 4. Why? They play well at home and on the road.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Season 6 - 110 Game Update
110 Game Update
A lot of the early predictions from the blog have proven to be pretty good so far.
I would like to provide an update on the season at the 110 game mark!
St. Louis, Los Angeles, Tampa, Trenton and Houston are looking very solid. Las Vegas is in the mix and multiple teams in the NL will battle for not enough open WC spots. The blog missed St. Louis and Las Vegas being as strong as they are. Tacoma proved to be better than the blog expected, swing and a miss!
The disappointing starts for Boise, Fargo and Atlanta turned into disappointing seasons so far. Joining that group are Cincy, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Texas and New Orleans.
Top 5 ML Teams by Runs Scored
Rochester, Tucson, Toronto, Trenton, Los Angeles
Top 5 ML Teams by Runs Allowed
Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Tacoma
NOTE: Los Angeles is in the top 5 in both pitching and hitting.
Seattle is the top Fielding team
Stats of Interest –
Milwaukee’s Jackie Robbins had a 27 game hit streak and his OBP is .469
New York’s Alex Gonzalez has a .686 Slugging Percentage
Trenton’s Leon Holden has a .675 Slugging Percentage
Milwaukee’s Jackie Robbins has a .376 Batting Average
New York’s Alex Gonzalez has 45 Home Runs
109 RBI’s for Tampa Bay’s JT LaRocca
Florida’s Edgardo Manuel has 67 Stolen Bases
Rochester’s John Blair has a .180 Batting Average Against and a 0.94 WHIP
Los Angeles’ Jim Bush has a 2.21 ERA
New York’s Dan Marte has 35 Saves
Rochester’s Sun Sakamoto has 180 Strikeouts
Baltimore’s Macbeth Slaughter has 47 Errors, more than 15 more than the next guy
New Orleans’ Juan Mercedes is 4-14 with a 6.94 ERA and 87 BB’s
Favorite Stat – 11 Plus plays each for Los Angeles’ Nick Banks and New Orleans’ Jerrod Simpson. 19 MINUS plays for Toronto’s Juan Duran in CF with 0 plus plays.
30 Game Update
A lot of the early predictions from the blog have proven to be pretty good so far.
I would like to point out a few surprises and a few nice starts.
St. Louis, Memphis, Scranton and Los Angeles are the best record teams coming out of the gates. Memphis has been impressive coming out of the gates. The stiff competition from Tampa and Houston means there will still be plenty of work to do for these guys. Scranton was also predicted to be behind Trenton and Philly but they are off to a really impressive start. St . Louis is hot and they have other good teams in that division.
Houston is 17-13 but has played only 9 Road Games.
Texas is 15-15 but has played only 9 Road Games.
Disappointing starts are underway in Atlanta, Fargo and Boise.
Top 5 ML Teams by Runs Scored
Rochester, Scranton, St. Louis, Trenton, Texas
Top 5 ML Teams by Runs Allowed
Los Angeles, Tacoma, Memphis, Rochester, Scranton
NOTE: Rochester and Scranton are top 5 in both pitching and hitting.
Seattle is the top Fielding team
Stats of Interest –
Milwaukee’s Jackie Robbins has a current 20 game hit streak and his OBP is .485
Trenton’s Leon Holden has a .750 Slugging Percentage
Philadelphia’s Kevin Ogawa has a .376 Batting Average
Portland’s Eddie Taylor has 15 Home Runs
33 RBI’s for Rochester’s Alex Milton, Scranton’s Dwezil Richards, Texas’ Chris Ward, Tampa Bay’s JT LaRocca
Boston’s Randy Dixon has 19 Stolen Bases
Rochester’s John Blair has a .155 Batting Average Against
Los Angeles’ Jim Bush has a 1.00 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP
New York’s Dan Marte has 12 Saves
Rochester’s Sun Sakamoto has 56 Strikeouts
Atlanta’s Justin Drees has 16 Errors and Darrin Stevenson has 31 Base on Balls
New Orleans’ Juan Mercedes is 0-6 with a 7.39 ERA
Favorite Stat – Arizona’s Nolan Ruebel has 6 minus plays but also has 8 assists from the outfield. He is a risk taker with a canon arm is the assumption!
By Special Request - The new ownership in Burlington called to complain about a lack of press. Burlington is having a fine satart to their season. They have been to the playoffs 4 consecutive years so anything less than a strong start would be a surprise. Doyle Bloom's pitching is to be expected and he is off to a an ace level start. Parker Dunn is hitting the hide off of the ball. We expect the power but we do not expect the average to last. Alex Dong and Fonzie Hamilton have slumped out of the gate. They both need to support Dunn better than they have to date. Damain Rubel has also been a poor performer. Burlington has played a number of games onthe road. If they keep the home record winning percentage they should walk away with the division.
A lot of the early predictions from the blog have proven to be pretty good so far.
I would like to provide an update on the season at the 110 game mark!
St. Louis, Los Angeles, Tampa, Trenton and Houston are looking very solid. Las Vegas is in the mix and multiple teams in the NL will battle for not enough open WC spots. The blog missed St. Louis and Las Vegas being as strong as they are. Tacoma proved to be better than the blog expected, swing and a miss!
The disappointing starts for Boise, Fargo and Atlanta turned into disappointing seasons so far. Joining that group are Cincy, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Texas and New Orleans.
Top 5 ML Teams by Runs Scored
Rochester, Tucson, Toronto, Trenton, Los Angeles
Top 5 ML Teams by Runs Allowed
Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Tacoma
NOTE: Los Angeles is in the top 5 in both pitching and hitting.
Seattle is the top Fielding team
Stats of Interest –
Milwaukee’s Jackie Robbins had a 27 game hit streak and his OBP is .469
New York’s Alex Gonzalez has a .686 Slugging Percentage
Trenton’s Leon Holden has a .675 Slugging Percentage
Milwaukee’s Jackie Robbins has a .376 Batting Average
New York’s Alex Gonzalez has 45 Home Runs
109 RBI’s for Tampa Bay’s JT LaRocca
Florida’s Edgardo Manuel has 67 Stolen Bases
Rochester’s John Blair has a .180 Batting Average Against and a 0.94 WHIP
Los Angeles’ Jim Bush has a 2.21 ERA
New York’s Dan Marte has 35 Saves
Rochester’s Sun Sakamoto has 180 Strikeouts
Baltimore’s Macbeth Slaughter has 47 Errors, more than 15 more than the next guy
New Orleans’ Juan Mercedes is 4-14 with a 6.94 ERA and 87 BB’s
Favorite Stat – 11 Plus plays each for Los Angeles’ Nick Banks and New Orleans’ Jerrod Simpson. 19 MINUS plays for Toronto’s Juan Duran in CF with 0 plus plays.
30 Game Update
A lot of the early predictions from the blog have proven to be pretty good so far.
I would like to point out a few surprises and a few nice starts.
St. Louis, Memphis, Scranton and Los Angeles are the best record teams coming out of the gates. Memphis has been impressive coming out of the gates. The stiff competition from Tampa and Houston means there will still be plenty of work to do for these guys. Scranton was also predicted to be behind Trenton and Philly but they are off to a really impressive start. St . Louis is hot and they have other good teams in that division.
Houston is 17-13 but has played only 9 Road Games.
Texas is 15-15 but has played only 9 Road Games.
Disappointing starts are underway in Atlanta, Fargo and Boise.
Top 5 ML Teams by Runs Scored
Rochester, Scranton, St. Louis, Trenton, Texas
Top 5 ML Teams by Runs Allowed
Los Angeles, Tacoma, Memphis, Rochester, Scranton
NOTE: Rochester and Scranton are top 5 in both pitching and hitting.
Seattle is the top Fielding team
Stats of Interest –
Milwaukee’s Jackie Robbins has a current 20 game hit streak and his OBP is .485
Trenton’s Leon Holden has a .750 Slugging Percentage
Philadelphia’s Kevin Ogawa has a .376 Batting Average
Portland’s Eddie Taylor has 15 Home Runs
33 RBI’s for Rochester’s Alex Milton, Scranton’s Dwezil Richards, Texas’ Chris Ward, Tampa Bay’s JT LaRocca
Boston’s Randy Dixon has 19 Stolen Bases
Rochester’s John Blair has a .155 Batting Average Against
Los Angeles’ Jim Bush has a 1.00 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP
New York’s Dan Marte has 12 Saves
Rochester’s Sun Sakamoto has 56 Strikeouts
Atlanta’s Justin Drees has 16 Errors and Darrin Stevenson has 31 Base on Balls
New Orleans’ Juan Mercedes is 0-6 with a 7.39 ERA
Favorite Stat – Arizona’s Nolan Ruebel has 6 minus plays but also has 8 assists from the outfield. He is a risk taker with a canon arm is the assumption!
By Special Request - The new ownership in Burlington called to complain about a lack of press. Burlington is having a fine satart to their season. They have been to the playoffs 4 consecutive years so anything less than a strong start would be a surprise. Doyle Bloom's pitching is to be expected and he is off to a an ace level start. Parker Dunn is hitting the hide off of the ball. We expect the power but we do not expect the average to last. Alex Dong and Fonzie Hamilton have slumped out of the gate. They both need to support Dunn better than they have to date. Damain Rubel has also been a poor performer. Burlington has played a number of games onthe road. If they keep the home record winning percentage they should walk away with the division.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Division Previews and Predictions
AL North
The defending champ Rochester big tunas held off Syracuse (moved to Burlington) and Toronto for the division title. They are well balanced and should be back in the hunt this year with the 1 2 punch of Sakamoto and Blair in the rotation. Burlington is also a strong balanced roster anchored by the Dong and Costilla combo, and could topple the big tunas this year. Toronto won 85 games and was just 4 games out, so hope springs eternal above the border. Wascar Picasso won 19 last year and leads the staff. Boise disappointed last year and hopes to rebound to a better result this year. Felix Park finished logging 200 plus innings and a 3.44 ERA. He was the Zack Greinke of the AL. Boise has the International Team with 4 guys signed via that route on the ML roster. Predicted finish: 1 Rochester 2 Burlington 3 Toronto 4 Boise
AL East
New York was the only team above .500 and we don’t expect that to change too much this year. Guillen, Borbon, Calles and Tucker are young and impressive. Boston isn’t without some strength with a good rotation and starting lineup. Omar Velazquez needs to do more to help the good hitters in Boston. Pittsburgh has the distinction of having 9 draft picks on its ML roster which is the highest in the league. The youngsters need to help out and with 4 of the top 5 roster spots being under 26 things will be better! Hartford is in rebuild mode but they are young so they will get better. They lack superstars but they have good depth. Predicted Finish 1 New York 2 Boston 3 Pittsburgh 4 Hartford
AL South
Houston won the division going away and most think it will do the same again. Philip Bonds continues to be the man and a few young call ups should keep them going strong. Tampa Bay is a really good team with a high priced squad. They will hit and hit and score. If the pitching can keep them in it they will be hard to beat. It is expected that Memphis will be in the mix as well this year. Glen Stull sees help in the form of Pablo Johnson and that has Memphis ready to go. Houston will drop down to the low 90 win total as the division competition is higher. Louisville moved to Atlanta and hopes the scenery changes things! Sammy Johnson needs to play better and the youngsters need to develop. Predicted Finish 1 Tampa Bay 2 Houston 3 Memphis 4 Atlanta
AL West
Las Vegas is the WS champ and they are well set to be good again. What a staff with Jenkins, Burke and now Taylor. If Taylor holds up, Las Vegas will be well into triple digit wins again. Tucson was the WC and they won 98 games so winning this division will not be easy, but the staff is deep and experienced. It is possible the WS champ may not win this division. This is the best division top to bottom as all teams were above .500 last year. We expect that to come down to earth just a bit this year. Seattle is the pick to be most improved and McDougal is coming off his second Cy Young. He leads a sparkling staff. St Louis plans to crash the party. A fan favorite Che-Bang Wang will dazzle with his moves with the ladies and they want to hang but the sledding is tough in this division. It is hard to see how this one turns out! Predicted Finish 1 Tucson 2 Seattle 3 Las Vegas 4 St Louis
Wild cards are Seattle and Las Vegas
National League
NL North
Chicago won the division and is one of the best combined pitching and hitting balanced teams in the league. With a solid everyday lineup from top to bottom they are hoping Paxton Doster plays to his potential this year and leads them back to the playoffs. Fargo appears to believe it can mash its way to the playoffs with a number of solid hitters. Melvin Katou has been called up to set the table and if he gets on base that makes for another duck on the pond. The pitching is somewhat pedestrian so the hitters will need to be steady for Fargo. Cincy moved from Vancouver and many players are excited about the college basketball powers they will watch this winter. Cincy hopes the change means Sherm Romero and Ajax Clarke will be even hotter than normal in the new digs. Young pitcher Bernie Acevedo leads the staff. Milwaukee has a good core of young players and has 6 draft picks on the opening day roster. Fernandez and Robbins need to hit, blade Roberts stayed on as hitting coach to assist, The Brew Crew knows the staff needs to continue to improve. Predicted Finish: 1 Chicago 2 Cincy 3 Milwaukee 4 Fargo
NL East
Trenton boasts 4 time All Start Patsy Linden (Season 4 Cy Young) and Leon Holden the former MVP and Home Run Derby champ. They won 114 last year and ended the year with disappointment as they fully expected to be in the WS. They are back and loaded. The bad news for them is the team in the division improved. Scranton won the WC slot and also won the first round of the playoffs. Lou DeShields is back and looks strong. Dweezil Richards is up with the big club and has much promise as a hitter. Scranton expects to challenge for the top this year. Philadelphia won 85 games last year and still ended in 3rd in the division. They have good top line pitching and if Canseco and newly acquired Miguel Lopez can do their part this team will be in the mix also. If Alex Boyd plays better this team should be pleased by year end. Baltimore is in a really tough division and they are getting better but this year will still be a rebuilding year for them. They do have a hitter by the name of PUJOLS that will be a strong candidate for an All-Star nod in his first full year in the bigs. Predicted Finish: 1 Trenton 2 Philadelphia 3 Scranton 4 Baltimore
NL South
Jacksonville has won 3 straight division titles. Anchored by Josh Linden and Glen Atkins they feel confident that another division win is theirs to be had. Younger players like Kelly, Larson and Cortazar need to contribute to make this team more than a division winner. They are relatively solid in starting pitching with Crawford and Ponson. Things look good in Jax. Florida came within 3 games of knocking off Jax and hopes to be back in the hunt this year. Waters is an outstanding pitcher and he heads the staff. Rafael Guitierez was a bust in Boise but he has skills and could solidfy the pen for the Hurricanes. Pitching will carry this team as far as they can. New Orleans has new ownership and he comes with credentials. The team is stocked with young players and will continue to improve. A .500 season is the goal for this year! Belliard and Cornelius are to be reckoned with and Pena is solid as well. If they develop the youngsters they will soon be division contenders. Texas is also under new ownership. Clem Bates is the most intriguing player on the roster. At 20 he is in his 2nd year in the ML. He was a Rule 5 pickup last year and he lost 24 games. The improvement is going to be fun to watch. There are some highly paid players on this team but it is likely that they will need to come off the books before these guys get above .500. Predicted Finish: 1 Florida 2 Jacksonville 3 New Orleans 4 Texas
NL West
LA won the division and played for the whole enchilada last year. The big three of Douglas, Batista, Bush had sub 3.00 ERA’s and all are back to keep things strong for the Bombers. Ever steady Nick Banks leads the hitting for these guys and his trophy case is likely to need more room alongside the gold gloves, silver sluggers and all star team awards. Arizona was a WC team last year. Ricky Iorg is a beast and he has help in the everyday lineup. Ferrell, Wilkinson and Robinson are all very good hitters. The pitching is good but not great and AZ hopes the hitters make up for that. Portland is relocated from San Fran. This is a pretty good team from top to bottom. The pitching is above average and the hitters are steady. The best players are mature so continued steady play from them while getting some young help are keys for improvement. Tacoma won 72 games and plans to do better this year. Roy Kohlmeier was very disappointing to fans and he needs to do better or he will hear the boo birds. Cy Loux is the mainstay in the lineup and with help on the way from Sutton they expect good things. If Jacob Liverman can keep his head up he will see better days this year. Tacoma’s reminds of the Boise team in the AL. They used to be really good, but seem to have fallen down for now. Predicted Finish: 1 Los Angeles 2 Portland 3 Arizona 4 Tacoma
Philadelphia and Portland are the WC picks
The defending champ Rochester big tunas held off Syracuse (moved to Burlington) and Toronto for the division title. They are well balanced and should be back in the hunt this year with the 1 2 punch of Sakamoto and Blair in the rotation. Burlington is also a strong balanced roster anchored by the Dong and Costilla combo, and could topple the big tunas this year. Toronto won 85 games and was just 4 games out, so hope springs eternal above the border. Wascar Picasso won 19 last year and leads the staff. Boise disappointed last year and hopes to rebound to a better result this year. Felix Park finished logging 200 plus innings and a 3.44 ERA. He was the Zack Greinke of the AL. Boise has the International Team with 4 guys signed via that route on the ML roster. Predicted finish: 1 Rochester 2 Burlington 3 Toronto 4 Boise
AL East
New York was the only team above .500 and we don’t expect that to change too much this year. Guillen, Borbon, Calles and Tucker are young and impressive. Boston isn’t without some strength with a good rotation and starting lineup. Omar Velazquez needs to do more to help the good hitters in Boston. Pittsburgh has the distinction of having 9 draft picks on its ML roster which is the highest in the league. The youngsters need to help out and with 4 of the top 5 roster spots being under 26 things will be better! Hartford is in rebuild mode but they are young so they will get better. They lack superstars but they have good depth. Predicted Finish 1 New York 2 Boston 3 Pittsburgh 4 Hartford
AL South
Houston won the division going away and most think it will do the same again. Philip Bonds continues to be the man and a few young call ups should keep them going strong. Tampa Bay is a really good team with a high priced squad. They will hit and hit and score. If the pitching can keep them in it they will be hard to beat. It is expected that Memphis will be in the mix as well this year. Glen Stull sees help in the form of Pablo Johnson and that has Memphis ready to go. Houston will drop down to the low 90 win total as the division competition is higher. Louisville moved to Atlanta and hopes the scenery changes things! Sammy Johnson needs to play better and the youngsters need to develop. Predicted Finish 1 Tampa Bay 2 Houston 3 Memphis 4 Atlanta
AL West
Las Vegas is the WS champ and they are well set to be good again. What a staff with Jenkins, Burke and now Taylor. If Taylor holds up, Las Vegas will be well into triple digit wins again. Tucson was the WC and they won 98 games so winning this division will not be easy, but the staff is deep and experienced. It is possible the WS champ may not win this division. This is the best division top to bottom as all teams were above .500 last year. We expect that to come down to earth just a bit this year. Seattle is the pick to be most improved and McDougal is coming off his second Cy Young. He leads a sparkling staff. St Louis plans to crash the party. A fan favorite Che-Bang Wang will dazzle with his moves with the ladies and they want to hang but the sledding is tough in this division. It is hard to see how this one turns out! Predicted Finish 1 Tucson 2 Seattle 3 Las Vegas 4 St Louis
Wild cards are Seattle and Las Vegas
National League
NL North
Chicago won the division and is one of the best combined pitching and hitting balanced teams in the league. With a solid everyday lineup from top to bottom they are hoping Paxton Doster plays to his potential this year and leads them back to the playoffs. Fargo appears to believe it can mash its way to the playoffs with a number of solid hitters. Melvin Katou has been called up to set the table and if he gets on base that makes for another duck on the pond. The pitching is somewhat pedestrian so the hitters will need to be steady for Fargo. Cincy moved from Vancouver and many players are excited about the college basketball powers they will watch this winter. Cincy hopes the change means Sherm Romero and Ajax Clarke will be even hotter than normal in the new digs. Young pitcher Bernie Acevedo leads the staff. Milwaukee has a good core of young players and has 6 draft picks on the opening day roster. Fernandez and Robbins need to hit, blade Roberts stayed on as hitting coach to assist, The Brew Crew knows the staff needs to continue to improve. Predicted Finish: 1 Chicago 2 Cincy 3 Milwaukee 4 Fargo
NL East
Trenton boasts 4 time All Start Patsy Linden (Season 4 Cy Young) and Leon Holden the former MVP and Home Run Derby champ. They won 114 last year and ended the year with disappointment as they fully expected to be in the WS. They are back and loaded. The bad news for them is the team in the division improved. Scranton won the WC slot and also won the first round of the playoffs. Lou DeShields is back and looks strong. Dweezil Richards is up with the big club and has much promise as a hitter. Scranton expects to challenge for the top this year. Philadelphia won 85 games last year and still ended in 3rd in the division. They have good top line pitching and if Canseco and newly acquired Miguel Lopez can do their part this team will be in the mix also. If Alex Boyd plays better this team should be pleased by year end. Baltimore is in a really tough division and they are getting better but this year will still be a rebuilding year for them. They do have a hitter by the name of PUJOLS that will be a strong candidate for an All-Star nod in his first full year in the bigs. Predicted Finish: 1 Trenton 2 Philadelphia 3 Scranton 4 Baltimore
NL South
Jacksonville has won 3 straight division titles. Anchored by Josh Linden and Glen Atkins they feel confident that another division win is theirs to be had. Younger players like Kelly, Larson and Cortazar need to contribute to make this team more than a division winner. They are relatively solid in starting pitching with Crawford and Ponson. Things look good in Jax. Florida came within 3 games of knocking off Jax and hopes to be back in the hunt this year. Waters is an outstanding pitcher and he heads the staff. Rafael Guitierez was a bust in Boise but he has skills and could solidfy the pen for the Hurricanes. Pitching will carry this team as far as they can. New Orleans has new ownership and he comes with credentials. The team is stocked with young players and will continue to improve. A .500 season is the goal for this year! Belliard and Cornelius are to be reckoned with and Pena is solid as well. If they develop the youngsters they will soon be division contenders. Texas is also under new ownership. Clem Bates is the most intriguing player on the roster. At 20 he is in his 2nd year in the ML. He was a Rule 5 pickup last year and he lost 24 games. The improvement is going to be fun to watch. There are some highly paid players on this team but it is likely that they will need to come off the books before these guys get above .500. Predicted Finish: 1 Florida 2 Jacksonville 3 New Orleans 4 Texas
NL West
LA won the division and played for the whole enchilada last year. The big three of Douglas, Batista, Bush had sub 3.00 ERA’s and all are back to keep things strong for the Bombers. Ever steady Nick Banks leads the hitting for these guys and his trophy case is likely to need more room alongside the gold gloves, silver sluggers and all star team awards. Arizona was a WC team last year. Ricky Iorg is a beast and he has help in the everyday lineup. Ferrell, Wilkinson and Robinson are all very good hitters. The pitching is good but not great and AZ hopes the hitters make up for that. Portland is relocated from San Fran. This is a pretty good team from top to bottom. The pitching is above average and the hitters are steady. The best players are mature so continued steady play from them while getting some young help are keys for improvement. Tacoma won 72 games and plans to do better this year. Roy Kohlmeier was very disappointing to fans and he needs to do better or he will hear the boo birds. Cy Loux is the mainstay in the lineup and with help on the way from Sutton they expect good things. If Jacob Liverman can keep his head up he will see better days this year. Tacoma’s reminds of the Boise team in the AL. They used to be really good, but seem to have fallen down for now. Predicted Finish: 1 Los Angeles 2 Portland 3 Arizona 4 Tacoma
Philadelphia and Portland are the WC picks
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Season 6 Team Capsules
Las Vegas Runnin Rebels
Who's In: C Archie Painter (1 yr. $675K), CF Phil Browne (trade with Trenton), SP Del Taylor (trade with Los Angeles)
Who's Out: 2B Peter Tanaka (traded to St. Louis), SP Max Olivares (released), SS Mo Newman (released), 2B Rich Clarke (left via FA), LF Shigetoshi Chiba (left via FA), David Fernandez (left via FA), C Edgar DeLeon (left via FA), C Denny Kim (left via FA)
Capsule: The World Champions look to defend their second championship with a similar formula to last season but with some new faces. The strong point of this team revolves around pitching, both starting and relieving. The biggest addition to Las Vegas is $20 million dollar man Del Taylor. If he can stay healthy after recovering from major surgery, he provides a huge addition to an already solid starting pitching core. He does come with some risk though; he is 35 this year coming off a labrum tear. Also coming aboard is the excellent defensive CF Phil Browne, he will be counted upon to shore up the middle of the outfield. Manager Paulbiss6 also gambled in trading Peter Tanaka at his prime and replacing him with 2 rookies, David Granados and John Tracy. How well these rookies transition to the majors will go a long way determining how well the offense does.
Boise Spuds
Who’s In: Pitchers Elston Freel(FA) and Ken Ransom(Rule 5). RF Henry Sierra(FA) and CF Juan Arias(Rule 5)
Who’s Out: Pitchers Larry Incaviglia, Bobby Collins, Norm Cloud, Woddie Kirby, Alex Merced. 3B Matty Molina.
After winning 90 games or more 4 straight season Boise fell to a low of 63 wins last year. The team will rely on the hitting as the team is weak in pitching. The best pitchers this team has are 20 and 21 years old so it is doubtful they will be in the majors this year. Youth needs to improve including Davey Cornejo and Jose Ortiz. Tomas James will continue to improve and he will be the cleanup hitter. Felix Park and newcomer Elston Freel are expected to deliver excellent pitching. Freels age is a concern and the bullpen and starters 4 and 5 are a bit unsettled.
Jacksonville Manatees
Who's in: 3B Wendall Crede(Free Agent), RP Luis Pujols(Free Agent) and RP Leon Pritchett.
Who's Out: 3B Wayne Healey, RP R.A. Charles, RP Ivan Van Hekken, C Alton Counsell.
Jacksonville looks to go for their 4th straight NL South Title. This team will depend on key hitting from 2B Josh Linden, RF Glen Atkins and new comer 3B Wendall Crede. This team will rely on the play of young players like CF Brutus Kelly, SS Sean Larson and C Marino Cortazar. Strong starting pitching, lead by a solid 1-2 punch with Blake Crawford and Jeffrey Ponson. Added to the bullpen to fix it's biggest weakness the past few season's, lead by one of the games best closers in Andres Romero.
Tucson Trolls
Who’s in: 3B/UTIL B.C. Patterson (FA), RP Stan Howell (minors promotion), RP Rob Moseley (minors promotion), RP Nipolito Nieves (FA), SP Woodie Kirby (FA)
Who’s out: RP Aurelio Pineda (FA), RP Lance Moeller (FA), RP Neifi Dunham (FA), SP Elston Freel (FA), SS Bernard Jones (FA)
Capsule: The Trolls hope to build on last year’s season, in which the club won 98 games and advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs. The team plays in arguably the league’s toughest division, the AL West, where all 4 teams finished with a record over .500. The Trolls had a relatively quiet off-season since 11 of their players on last year’s squad were rookies. The biggest changes are in the bullpen, where the club brought in a few new faces from free agency and their farm system.
The offense is led by veteran DH Footsie Lee (48 HR, 130 RBI), 3rd year player RF Tris Erdos (40 HR, 106 RBI), and 2nd year first baseman Matt Thurman (37 HR, .307 avg.). Omar Castro is making the transition from CF to SS to fill the departure of Bernard Jones.
The pitching staff is below average and relies too heavily on run support. Key returners include SP Jorge Cedeno, who went 9-2, and 14 game winner Jamie Conway. Tito Tanaka must be steady out of the bullpen for this team to have a chance at another playoff run.
Seattle Rainiers
Whos in: Lou James P David Fernandez P Batolo Trevino P
Robin Reese P Max Olivares P Alex Keefe C Louis Cook 3rd
Whos out: Josh Oneill P Leon Berger P Quinn Matthews P
Eric Wilkerson P Wilt Martin C
The Seattle Rainiers in arguably the toughest division opened up their wallets after finishing in last the previous season. Pitchers Batolo Trevino and Max Olivares will compete for the final two starting spots behind cy young winner Jeff Macdougal Geraldo Ugueto and Red Marshall. Alex Keefe Robin Reese David Fernandez and Lou James were brought in to solidify a shaky bullpen. The promotion of Wally Houston will improve the up the middle defense. And the signing of reigning mvp Louis Cook are sending whispers of a return to the playoffs throughout Seattle.
Scranton Schrutes
Whos in: P Norm Cloud
Whos out: SS Omar Santos, SP Jorge Gomez
The Scranton Schrutes were pushed over .500 ball and into the playoffs last year by the strength of Lou Deshields. He made the SP2 Bart Nickle a 17 game winner and Frank Lo a 13 game winner. The 4th and 5th starters struggled all year until the Schrutes traded away some prospects for SP Harold Simms and SP Miller Middlebrook. Also, the Schrutes have a talented bullpen with 2 frontline closers, Cesar Solano and Norm Davis. Rumor has it that Solano is on the trade block. The Schrutes have 2 OF in AAA vying for an open position in LF, Rodrigo Taveras and PT Bush. We will see. Management would prefer to keep Taveras in AAA for another year and Bush to at least start in AAA but time will tell. Trenton is the time to beat in the division. Hopefully with Cook leaving Trenton will take a hit.
Pittsburgh Steel Works
Message: New: Alex Peterson (SP, Rule 5), Juan DeLeon (RP, Rule 5), Ozzie Frazier (C, Waiver Claim).
Call-Ups: Randy Power (SP), Tito Kieschnick (SP), Christopher Reid (RP), Rico Rivera (RP), Vicente Guerrero (CF), Sammy Acevedo (2B), Darron Corder (1B), Bart Holmes (DH).
Returning Starters: Josh Thomas (LF), Jim May (SS), Victor Vizcaino (3B), Mitchell Burnitz (SP), Pat McDonald (SP).
Capsule: A very young team with low expectations, the main hope for this team is a ROTY award after a dismal 52 wins last season. A move from heatstroke-inducing Puerto Rico to Pittsburgh and a new owner will hopefully allow this village bicycle of a franchise to settle down. Many questions remain, as the owner is as inexperienced as his players.
Trenton Thunder
Message: Who's In: The Thunder made no off-season acquisitions, instead choosing to promote a few stud prospects to add to their already intimidating roster. Wilson Brinkley will take over CF duties, Jumbo Soto will man the hot corner and Augie Huson will take a spot at the back of the rotation.
Who's Out: The Thunder lost two of the best players in the league during a very tough off-season. Reigning MVP Louis Cook and perennial Cy Young candidate Miguel Lopez both left via free agency, while starting CF Phil Browne was traded to Las Vegas to make room for Brinkley.
Capsule: The past two seasons have ended in bitter disappointment for the Thunder. In fact, some are comparing them to the Atlanta Braves of MLB in that they've won more than 100 games and their division title in each of the past four seasons, with only 1 WS championship to show for it. For some organizations, this would be enough, but not for Trenton. So, with the losses of Cook, Lopez and Browne, they're now counting on a few rookies to bring the WS trophy back to Trenton. And, let's not forget who's still in the stacked Trenton lineup, namely stud 2B Leon Holden (.310, 57 HRs, 119 RBIs), powerful SS Andres Delgado (.270, 49, 116), and slugging 1B Raymond Bowles (.295, 37, 115). And on the mound, the Thunder are still bringing heat with a top 3 that includes the reigning Cy Young Patsy Linden (21-5, 2.39), Ty Penny (20-7, 3.14) and Miguel Infante (17-7, 3.72). So, despite a rough off-season, the Thunder are still in the driver's seat in the NL East and should win their division for a record fifth consecutive year.
Philadelphia Continentals
Who’s In: SP Miguel Lopez (FA), C Stephen Wright (FA), SP Ted Shuey (AAA)
Who’s Out: SP Ben Rice (AAA), SP Andres Gonzalez (AAA), C Ron Olson (released)
Capsule: The rebuilding process that began when the team moved to Philadelphia in Season 2 started to bear some fruit last year. During that time, the Continentals have evolved from a 103 loss laughingstock to last year’s 85 win squad that was in the thick of the Wild Card chase until the last week of the season. Their main handicap last year was a very top-heavy rotation that featured ace Micah Regan and lefty workhorse Alex Morales backed by a This was partially improved at the trade deadline with the acquisition of veteran RHP Don Canseco. That top three will be supported this year by aging, but still effective free agent Miguel Lopez and LHP Ted Shuey who was the third overall pick in the Season 3 draft. A strong bullpen anchored by closer Tony Diaz and RHP Al Rosado should continue to be a strength in Season 6. The offense remains essentially the same as last year. The heart of the line-up continues to be slugging LF Barney Edwards, on base machine RF Chris Rapp and slugging 3B Placido Sanchez. Philly is counting on a leap forward from top prospect 2B Alex Boyd who struggled as a rookie last year and 1B Ruben Acevedo who seemed to find his major league stroke in the second half. Durability issues will force a platoon at catcher where free agent acquisition C Stephen Wright will complement lefty mashing defensive star Hector Bonilla. The Continentals are aiming for a first ever playoff appearance and should be a strong contender for the NL Wild Card.
Toronto Blue Jays
Key Additions: Vinny Mateo (Trade), Glendon Eaton (Trade), B.C. Bolivar (Trade), Michael Jang (FA), Clem Hawkins (FA)
Key Losses: Chris Perez (Buyout) Clayton Sutton (Trade), Greg Ward (FA)
The Jays have been busy as they have re-vamped their rotation at the cost of losing Clayton Sutton to Tacoma. The pitching will once again be led by 19 game winner Wascar Picasso. He will be followed up with some unknown quantities in Alex Dominguez, Mateo, Eaton and Damaso Delgado. Bolivar was acquired to prepare for the closing role that will be empty with the departure of ageless wonder, Devon Stargell at the end of the season. The offense will once again be led by the best catcher in baseball, Trent Daniels who just signed a long term deal in the off season. His partner behind the plate will once again be Mike Daniels who had another productive season for the Jays. The strength of the infield will be lead by 2 time all star Theodore Franco at 2nd and Craig Kydd will finally get his chance at short with the departure of Sutton. The outfield seems a little suspect but the addition of Jang should help. Will the Jays be better? Maybe if the young guys in the rotation come around and guys like M. Daniels and Juan Duran have anything left in the bat.
Who's In: C Archie Painter (1 yr. $675K), CF Phil Browne (trade with Trenton), SP Del Taylor (trade with Los Angeles)
Who's Out: 2B Peter Tanaka (traded to St. Louis), SP Max Olivares (released), SS Mo Newman (released), 2B Rich Clarke (left via FA), LF Shigetoshi Chiba (left via FA), David Fernandez (left via FA), C Edgar DeLeon (left via FA), C Denny Kim (left via FA)
Capsule: The World Champions look to defend their second championship with a similar formula to last season but with some new faces. The strong point of this team revolves around pitching, both starting and relieving. The biggest addition to Las Vegas is $20 million dollar man Del Taylor. If he can stay healthy after recovering from major surgery, he provides a huge addition to an already solid starting pitching core. He does come with some risk though; he is 35 this year coming off a labrum tear. Also coming aboard is the excellent defensive CF Phil Browne, he will be counted upon to shore up the middle of the outfield. Manager Paulbiss6 also gambled in trading Peter Tanaka at his prime and replacing him with 2 rookies, David Granados and John Tracy. How well these rookies transition to the majors will go a long way determining how well the offense does.
Boise Spuds
Who’s In: Pitchers Elston Freel(FA) and Ken Ransom(Rule 5). RF Henry Sierra(FA) and CF Juan Arias(Rule 5)
Who’s Out: Pitchers Larry Incaviglia, Bobby Collins, Norm Cloud, Woddie Kirby, Alex Merced. 3B Matty Molina.
After winning 90 games or more 4 straight season Boise fell to a low of 63 wins last year. The team will rely on the hitting as the team is weak in pitching. The best pitchers this team has are 20 and 21 years old so it is doubtful they will be in the majors this year. Youth needs to improve including Davey Cornejo and Jose Ortiz. Tomas James will continue to improve and he will be the cleanup hitter. Felix Park and newcomer Elston Freel are expected to deliver excellent pitching. Freels age is a concern and the bullpen and starters 4 and 5 are a bit unsettled.
Jacksonville Manatees
Who's in: 3B Wendall Crede(Free Agent), RP Luis Pujols(Free Agent) and RP Leon Pritchett.
Who's Out: 3B Wayne Healey, RP R.A. Charles, RP Ivan Van Hekken, C Alton Counsell.
Jacksonville looks to go for their 4th straight NL South Title. This team will depend on key hitting from 2B Josh Linden, RF Glen Atkins and new comer 3B Wendall Crede. This team will rely on the play of young players like CF Brutus Kelly, SS Sean Larson and C Marino Cortazar. Strong starting pitching, lead by a solid 1-2 punch with Blake Crawford and Jeffrey Ponson. Added to the bullpen to fix it's biggest weakness the past few season's, lead by one of the games best closers in Andres Romero.
Tucson Trolls
Who’s in: 3B/UTIL B.C. Patterson (FA), RP Stan Howell (minors promotion), RP Rob Moseley (minors promotion), RP Nipolito Nieves (FA), SP Woodie Kirby (FA)
Who’s out: RP Aurelio Pineda (FA), RP Lance Moeller (FA), RP Neifi Dunham (FA), SP Elston Freel (FA), SS Bernard Jones (FA)
Capsule: The Trolls hope to build on last year’s season, in which the club won 98 games and advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs. The team plays in arguably the league’s toughest division, the AL West, where all 4 teams finished with a record over .500. The Trolls had a relatively quiet off-season since 11 of their players on last year’s squad were rookies. The biggest changes are in the bullpen, where the club brought in a few new faces from free agency and their farm system.
The offense is led by veteran DH Footsie Lee (48 HR, 130 RBI), 3rd year player RF Tris Erdos (40 HR, 106 RBI), and 2nd year first baseman Matt Thurman (37 HR, .307 avg.). Omar Castro is making the transition from CF to SS to fill the departure of Bernard Jones.
The pitching staff is below average and relies too heavily on run support. Key returners include SP Jorge Cedeno, who went 9-2, and 14 game winner Jamie Conway. Tito Tanaka must be steady out of the bullpen for this team to have a chance at another playoff run.
Seattle Rainiers
Whos in: Lou James P David Fernandez P Batolo Trevino P
Robin Reese P Max Olivares P Alex Keefe C Louis Cook 3rd
Whos out: Josh Oneill P Leon Berger P Quinn Matthews P
Eric Wilkerson P Wilt Martin C
The Seattle Rainiers in arguably the toughest division opened up their wallets after finishing in last the previous season. Pitchers Batolo Trevino and Max Olivares will compete for the final two starting spots behind cy young winner Jeff Macdougal Geraldo Ugueto and Red Marshall. Alex Keefe Robin Reese David Fernandez and Lou James were brought in to solidify a shaky bullpen. The promotion of Wally Houston will improve the up the middle defense. And the signing of reigning mvp Louis Cook are sending whispers of a return to the playoffs throughout Seattle.
Scranton Schrutes
Whos in: P Norm Cloud
Whos out: SS Omar Santos, SP Jorge Gomez
The Scranton Schrutes were pushed over .500 ball and into the playoffs last year by the strength of Lou Deshields. He made the SP2 Bart Nickle a 17 game winner and Frank Lo a 13 game winner. The 4th and 5th starters struggled all year until the Schrutes traded away some prospects for SP Harold Simms and SP Miller Middlebrook. Also, the Schrutes have a talented bullpen with 2 frontline closers, Cesar Solano and Norm Davis. Rumor has it that Solano is on the trade block. The Schrutes have 2 OF in AAA vying for an open position in LF, Rodrigo Taveras and PT Bush. We will see. Management would prefer to keep Taveras in AAA for another year and Bush to at least start in AAA but time will tell. Trenton is the time to beat in the division. Hopefully with Cook leaving Trenton will take a hit.
Pittsburgh Steel Works
Message: New: Alex Peterson (SP, Rule 5), Juan DeLeon (RP, Rule 5), Ozzie Frazier (C, Waiver Claim).
Call-Ups: Randy Power (SP), Tito Kieschnick (SP), Christopher Reid (RP), Rico Rivera (RP), Vicente Guerrero (CF), Sammy Acevedo (2B), Darron Corder (1B), Bart Holmes (DH).
Returning Starters: Josh Thomas (LF), Jim May (SS), Victor Vizcaino (3B), Mitchell Burnitz (SP), Pat McDonald (SP).
Capsule: A very young team with low expectations, the main hope for this team is a ROTY award after a dismal 52 wins last season. A move from heatstroke-inducing Puerto Rico to Pittsburgh and a new owner will hopefully allow this village bicycle of a franchise to settle down. Many questions remain, as the owner is as inexperienced as his players.
Trenton Thunder
Message: Who's In: The Thunder made no off-season acquisitions, instead choosing to promote a few stud prospects to add to their already intimidating roster. Wilson Brinkley will take over CF duties, Jumbo Soto will man the hot corner and Augie Huson will take a spot at the back of the rotation.
Who's Out: The Thunder lost two of the best players in the league during a very tough off-season. Reigning MVP Louis Cook and perennial Cy Young candidate Miguel Lopez both left via free agency, while starting CF Phil Browne was traded to Las Vegas to make room for Brinkley.
Capsule: The past two seasons have ended in bitter disappointment for the Thunder. In fact, some are comparing them to the Atlanta Braves of MLB in that they've won more than 100 games and their division title in each of the past four seasons, with only 1 WS championship to show for it. For some organizations, this would be enough, but not for Trenton. So, with the losses of Cook, Lopez and Browne, they're now counting on a few rookies to bring the WS trophy back to Trenton. And, let's not forget who's still in the stacked Trenton lineup, namely stud 2B Leon Holden (.310, 57 HRs, 119 RBIs), powerful SS Andres Delgado (.270, 49, 116), and slugging 1B Raymond Bowles (.295, 37, 115). And on the mound, the Thunder are still bringing heat with a top 3 that includes the reigning Cy Young Patsy Linden (21-5, 2.39), Ty Penny (20-7, 3.14) and Miguel Infante (17-7, 3.72). So, despite a rough off-season, the Thunder are still in the driver's seat in the NL East and should win their division for a record fifth consecutive year.
Philadelphia Continentals
Who’s In: SP Miguel Lopez (FA), C Stephen Wright (FA), SP Ted Shuey (AAA)
Who’s Out: SP Ben Rice (AAA), SP Andres Gonzalez (AAA), C Ron Olson (released)
Capsule: The rebuilding process that began when the team moved to Philadelphia in Season 2 started to bear some fruit last year. During that time, the Continentals have evolved from a 103 loss laughingstock to last year’s 85 win squad that was in the thick of the Wild Card chase until the last week of the season. Their main handicap last year was a very top-heavy rotation that featured ace Micah Regan and lefty workhorse Alex Morales backed by a This was partially improved at the trade deadline with the acquisition of veteran RHP Don Canseco. That top three will be supported this year by aging, but still effective free agent Miguel Lopez and LHP Ted Shuey who was the third overall pick in the Season 3 draft. A strong bullpen anchored by closer Tony Diaz and RHP Al Rosado should continue to be a strength in Season 6. The offense remains essentially the same as last year. The heart of the line-up continues to be slugging LF Barney Edwards, on base machine RF Chris Rapp and slugging 3B Placido Sanchez. Philly is counting on a leap forward from top prospect 2B Alex Boyd who struggled as a rookie last year and 1B Ruben Acevedo who seemed to find his major league stroke in the second half. Durability issues will force a platoon at catcher where free agent acquisition C Stephen Wright will complement lefty mashing defensive star Hector Bonilla. The Continentals are aiming for a first ever playoff appearance and should be a strong contender for the NL Wild Card.
Toronto Blue Jays
Key Additions: Vinny Mateo (Trade), Glendon Eaton (Trade), B.C. Bolivar (Trade), Michael Jang (FA), Clem Hawkins (FA)
Key Losses: Chris Perez (Buyout) Clayton Sutton (Trade), Greg Ward (FA)
The Jays have been busy as they have re-vamped their rotation at the cost of losing Clayton Sutton to Tacoma. The pitching will once again be led by 19 game winner Wascar Picasso. He will be followed up with some unknown quantities in Alex Dominguez, Mateo, Eaton and Damaso Delgado. Bolivar was acquired to prepare for the closing role that will be empty with the departure of ageless wonder, Devon Stargell at the end of the season. The offense will once again be led by the best catcher in baseball, Trent Daniels who just signed a long term deal in the off season. His partner behind the plate will once again be Mike Daniels who had another productive season for the Jays. The strength of the infield will be lead by 2 time all star Theodore Franco at 2nd and Craig Kydd will finally get his chance at short with the departure of Sutton. The outfield seems a little suspect but the addition of Jang should help. Will the Jays be better? Maybe if the young guys in the rotation come around and guys like M. Daniels and Juan Duran have anything left in the bat.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Year 6 starts
We had a great year 5 with Las Vegas taking home their 2nd title. LA tried to go back to back but they did not quite have enough to get it done. Still to get to the series twice is a great accomplishment.
We have 7 spots to fill and some excellent teams are available. We look forward to getting started.
We have 7 spots to fill and some excellent teams are available. We look forward to getting started.
Monday, August 10, 2009
End of Year on the way.....
The Blog messed up the second round of the playoffs. The season is coming to and end and it has been another fun one. Two former champs are battling for the title, including the defending champs from LA(Scottsdale last year). As of tonight they are tied one apiece.
Awards were handed out and the only repeat winner was Jeff MacDougal of the Seattle Rainers winning a second Cy Young (season 3 and 5). Tony Andrews (Las Vegas) picks up the MVP which comes as no surprise. In the NL Louis Cook dominated all year and cruises to his first MVP. His Trenton teammate Patsy Linden won the Cy Young.
Syracuse and Arizona claim the 6 seeds . It was predicted that Toronto would be there but they fell just shy of the playoffs. florida was picked to make the playoffs but Jax got hot and Florida didn't. Fargo and Philly had a shot but they closed poorly to end their respective seasons.
Trenton, Los Angeles and Las Vegas all went over 100 wins. That does not guarantee playoff sucess but those teams are heavy favorites due to pitching prowess. Houston plans to hit their way to the series!
AL -
Las Vegas and Houston will rest up an wait
New York vs Syracuse - This one seems pretty even to me. Syracuse may have had to play to the last day to get in, but they play in a good division. I will not go so far as to pick the upset and expect New York to hold off a tough Syracuse squad. New York ends up having no problems in sweeping out Syracuse, 3-0!
Rochester vs Tucson - A fairly classic fbattle of pitching against hitting. Tucson can mash and they hope to win home games with power and runs. Rochester will rely heavily on Sakamoto and Blair and hope they can pitch early and often. I am picking Rochester in a series that goes to the final game and outs... In a surprise to us, Tucson roughs up Rochester and moves on to the next round!
NL -
Trenton and Los Angeles will wait for the first round survivors
Chicago vs Arizona - A statistical look shows that these two teams look pretty darn even. I don't have much coming from the magic 8 ball to tell me who wins. I flipped a coin and it came up Arizona in a mini upset. Chicago leads 2-1, let's see if they can move on this afternoon. I was wrong and went 2-2 in the first round. I knew this would be close and Chicago played really well!
Jacksonville vs Scranton - Another hitting versus pitching matchup. I give the nod to Scranton as they can get 2 starts out of DeShields and he should carry them to round 2. As expected Scranton marches on, although it was a bit easier than expected...
Awards were handed out and the only repeat winner was Jeff MacDougal of the Seattle Rainers winning a second Cy Young (season 3 and 5). Tony Andrews (Las Vegas) picks up the MVP which comes as no surprise. In the NL Louis Cook dominated all year and cruises to his first MVP. His Trenton teammate Patsy Linden won the Cy Young.
Syracuse and Arizona claim the 6 seeds . It was predicted that Toronto would be there but they fell just shy of the playoffs. florida was picked to make the playoffs but Jax got hot and Florida didn't. Fargo and Philly had a shot but they closed poorly to end their respective seasons.
Trenton, Los Angeles and Las Vegas all went over 100 wins. That does not guarantee playoff sucess but those teams are heavy favorites due to pitching prowess. Houston plans to hit their way to the series!
AL -
Las Vegas and Houston will rest up an wait
New York vs Syracuse - This one seems pretty even to me. Syracuse may have had to play to the last day to get in, but they play in a good division. I will not go so far as to pick the upset and expect New York to hold off a tough Syracuse squad. New York ends up having no problems in sweeping out Syracuse, 3-0!
Rochester vs Tucson - A fairly classic fbattle of pitching against hitting. Tucson can mash and they hope to win home games with power and runs. Rochester will rely heavily on Sakamoto and Blair and hope they can pitch early and often. I am picking Rochester in a series that goes to the final game and outs... In a surprise to us, Tucson roughs up Rochester and moves on to the next round!
NL -
Trenton and Los Angeles will wait for the first round survivors
Chicago vs Arizona - A statistical look shows that these two teams look pretty darn even. I don't have much coming from the magic 8 ball to tell me who wins. I flipped a coin and it came up Arizona in a mini upset. Chicago leads 2-1, let's see if they can move on this afternoon. I was wrong and went 2-2 in the first round. I knew this would be close and Chicago played really well!
Jacksonville vs Scranton - Another hitting versus pitching matchup. I give the nod to Scranton as they can get 2 starts out of DeShields and he should carry them to round 2. As expected Scranton marches on, although it was a bit easier than expected...
Friday, July 24, 2009
IFA - or the Harry Tatis Season
Only one serious battle has taken place all year in the IFA market. Harry Tatis went for a whopping 29M dollars to the PHILADELPHIA CONTINENTALS. His start in Low A did not go well and he is now in Rookie ball where he is doing fine. Harry has some impressive ratings in stamina, control and splits. The only real question mark being his second pitch. Will the other factors weigh heavy enough to overcome that weakness?
Hector Ozuna went to Trenton Thunder for 14.7M and he looks to be a great contact hitter. He should be Ichiro in a few years as his OBP will be high and his best asset (Speed) setting the table to the Trenton team inther future.
Esteban Machado is the other player pulling in at least 10M or above this year at 13.7M. The Scranton Schrutes were drawn by his blend of speed and power. He is a little weak against right handers and he was moved directly to AAA so his adjustment will be fun to watch. So far the 22 Right Fielder looks to be performing well.
All in all this is a fairly weak IFA class. We'll see if anything decent comes along before the year ends......
Hector Ozuna went to Trenton Thunder for 14.7M and he looks to be a great contact hitter. He should be Ichiro in a few years as his OBP will be high and his best asset (Speed) setting the table to the Trenton team inther future.
Esteban Machado is the other player pulling in at least 10M or above this year at 13.7M. The Scranton Schrutes were drawn by his blend of speed and power. He is a little weak against right handers and he was moved directly to AAA so his adjustment will be fun to watch. So far the 22 Right Fielder looks to be performing well.
All in all this is a fairly weak IFA class. We'll see if anything decent comes along before the year ends......
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Playoffs - Update from Mexico
AL - Playoffs:
Currently looking like shoe-ins....
New York, Houston, Las Vegas
Leading division with work to do....
Syracuse
Wild Card shoe-in....
Tucson
Teams with a chance still....
Toronto, Rochester
Teams with solid season but not happy with their playoff chances...
Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay
Teams that are having sunlight piped to them this year....
Louisville, Memphis, Boise, Boston, San Juan, Hartford
------------------------------------------
NL - Playoffs
Currently looking like shoe-ins....
Chicago, Trenton, Los Angeles
Leading division with work to do....
Florida
Wild Card Battlers and Fighters....
Scranton, Fargo, Arizona, Philadelphia
Teams with a chance still for a division title or outside WC chance....
Jacksonville
Teams with solid season but not happy with their playoff chances...
Vancouver
Teams that are having sunlight piped to them this year....
San Fran, Milwaukee, Tacoma, Atlanta, Charleston, Baltimore
Currently looking like shoe-ins....
New York, Houston, Las Vegas
Leading division with work to do....
Syracuse
Wild Card shoe-in....
Tucson
Teams with a chance still....
Toronto, Rochester
Teams with solid season but not happy with their playoff chances...
Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay
Teams that are having sunlight piped to them this year....
Louisville, Memphis, Boise, Boston, San Juan, Hartford
------------------------------------------
NL - Playoffs
Currently looking like shoe-ins....
Chicago, Trenton, Los Angeles
Leading division with work to do....
Florida
Wild Card Battlers and Fighters....
Scranton, Fargo, Arizona, Philadelphia
Teams with a chance still for a division title or outside WC chance....
Jacksonville
Teams with solid season but not happy with their playoff chances...
Vancouver
Teams that are having sunlight piped to them this year....
San Fran, Milwaukee, Tacoma, Atlanta, Charleston, Baltimore
Friday, July 10, 2009
NL Power Rankings
1 Trenton Thunder 52-26 – The defending NL East champ is looking strong yet again.
2 Los Angeles Bombers 52-26 – Defending WS champs are on track to make another strong showing!
3 Chicago Midway 47-31 – A solid balanced team, winning at home and on the road.
4 Scranton Schrutes 44-34 – With big Lou they can make post season noise.
5 Arizona Smokin’ Aces 45-33 – The WC seems likely for this team.
6 Fargo Elks 41-37 – The recent W9 had this team back in the hunt!
7 Philadelphia Continentals 39-39 – They had played better but have swooned a bit. If they can get hot they can challenge for a WC.
8 Florida Hurricanes 41-37 – They lead the division and should be a playoff team.
9 Vancouver Referians 37-41 – A bit more is expected of this team, Ajax Clark needs to do more.
10 Jacksonville Manatees 37-41 – Frustrating for this team to not win more home games
11 San Francisco 33-45 – The rebuild is on schedule
12 Atlanta Sky Hawks 33-45 – Ditto, another good rebuild underway
13 Tacoma 2x4’s 32-46 – The Boise of the NL, they are having a shockingly poor start.
14 Baltimore Navymen 31-47 – Mateo Martin needs some help!
15 Milwaukee BrewCrew 08 30-48 – The Robbins/Fernandez double play combo is one of the best.
16 Charleston Clubbers 29-49 – Steady ownership will help this team greatly.
2 Los Angeles Bombers 52-26 – Defending WS champs are on track to make another strong showing!
3 Chicago Midway 47-31 – A solid balanced team, winning at home and on the road.
4 Scranton Schrutes 44-34 – With big Lou they can make post season noise.
5 Arizona Smokin’ Aces 45-33 – The WC seems likely for this team.
6 Fargo Elks 41-37 – The recent W9 had this team back in the hunt!
7 Philadelphia Continentals 39-39 – They had played better but have swooned a bit. If they can get hot they can challenge for a WC.
8 Florida Hurricanes 41-37 – They lead the division and should be a playoff team.
9 Vancouver Referians 37-41 – A bit more is expected of this team, Ajax Clark needs to do more.
10 Jacksonville Manatees 37-41 – Frustrating for this team to not win more home games
11 San Francisco 33-45 – The rebuild is on schedule
12 Atlanta Sky Hawks 33-45 – Ditto, another good rebuild underway
13 Tacoma 2x4’s 32-46 – The Boise of the NL, they are having a shockingly poor start.
14 Baltimore Navymen 31-47 – Mateo Martin needs some help!
15 Milwaukee BrewCrew 08 30-48 – The Robbins/Fernandez double play combo is one of the best.
16 Charleston Clubbers 29-49 – Steady ownership will help this team greatly.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
AL Power Rankings
1. Las Vegas Runnin Rebels 54-22– An outstanding start for this team, they are dominating at home.
2. Tucson Trolls 52-24- 2nd place in the division and ranked 2nd in the AL. They look strong for the WC.
3. Houston Cabalerros 47-29 – What is up with that road record? Very impressive.
4. New York Mafia 47-29 – That 16 game lead looks unbeatable.
5. Tampa Bay Primetimers 44-32 – They are battling for the division lead and if not are looking strong for the WC.
6. Syracuse Lions 42-34 – Leading the divison, this team has been to the playoff 3 of 4 years and look strong to do so again.
7. Rochester big tunas – 41-35 and right in the hunt.
8. Seattle Rainers 42-34 – Are bouncing back very after their first losing season last year.
9. Toronto BlueJays 39-37 – They are hanging tough, just 3 games out in the AL North.
10. St.Louis Red Birds 37-39 – A nice bounce back season on this rebuild, they are making
progress
11. Louisville
12. Memphis
13. Boston
14. San Juan
15. Boise – A fast fall for this team, losing DeShields exposed the pitching staff.
16. Hartford
2. Tucson Trolls 52-24- 2nd place in the division and ranked 2nd in the AL. They look strong for the WC.
3. Houston Cabalerros 47-29 – What is up with that road record? Very impressive.
4. New York Mafia 47-29 – That 16 game lead looks unbeatable.
5. Tampa Bay Primetimers 44-32 – They are battling for the division lead and if not are looking strong for the WC.
6. Syracuse Lions 42-34 – Leading the divison, this team has been to the playoff 3 of 4 years and look strong to do so again.
7. Rochester big tunas – 41-35 and right in the hunt.
8. Seattle Rainers 42-34 – Are bouncing back very after their first losing season last year.
9. Toronto BlueJays 39-37 – They are hanging tough, just 3 games out in the AL North.
10. St.Louis Red Birds 37-39 – A nice bounce back season on this rebuild, they are making
progress
11. Louisville
12. Memphis
13. Boston
14. San Juan
15. Boise – A fast fall for this team, losing DeShields exposed the pitching staff.
16. Hartford
First Half Numbers of Interest
Hitting Notes:
BA: Rich Clarke of Las Vegas, a career .313 hitter has hit at a .374 clip this year at the age of 33.
Edgardo Manuel has 66 steals while being caught just twice.
Early MVP candidates are Louis Cook (TRE) 33 HR, 94 RBI, .333 BA and Tony Andrews (LV) 27 HR, 85 RBI, .292 BA. Ricky Iorg has great power numbers but is discounted due to a .252 BA.
Damaso Lee (TB) has the longest hitting streak at 28 games.
Notable Rookies: Victor Castro (TUC) hitting .336; Victor Guillen (NY Mafia), 14 HR, 70 RBI, and .330 BA; Robert Carter (HAR) has belted 28 HR.
Pitching Notes:
Sun Sakamoto (ROC) is a workhorse, pitching 126 innings before the halfway point. His ERA is 3.00 and he is 9-3.
Lou DeShields (SWB) is doing what everyone expects of him with 12 wins and a 2.49 ERA. He leads the league in wins.
Strikeouts are led by Graham Burke (LV) 116, followed by DeShields 115 and Sakamoto at 114.
Corey Payton (LV) leads the league with 27 saves.
Gary Jenkins (LV) has an incredible 1.43 ERA this year after 88 IP and a 0.91 WHIP which leads the lague in both categories.
Notable Rookies:
Jeremy Boyd (NY Mafia) with 99 IP, 5-2, 2.45 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP has been stellar. Ned Lane (FAR) has 9 wins so far. Miguel Infante (TRE) has 7 wins and 82 SO. Tom Sellers (FAR) has been outstanding with his 22 saves.
BA: Rich Clarke of Las Vegas, a career .313 hitter has hit at a .374 clip this year at the age of 33.
Edgardo Manuel has 66 steals while being caught just twice.
Early MVP candidates are Louis Cook (TRE) 33 HR, 94 RBI, .333 BA and Tony Andrews (LV) 27 HR, 85 RBI, .292 BA. Ricky Iorg has great power numbers but is discounted due to a .252 BA.
Damaso Lee (TB) has the longest hitting streak at 28 games.
Notable Rookies: Victor Castro (TUC) hitting .336; Victor Guillen (NY Mafia), 14 HR, 70 RBI, and .330 BA; Robert Carter (HAR) has belted 28 HR.
Pitching Notes:
Sun Sakamoto (ROC) is a workhorse, pitching 126 innings before the halfway point. His ERA is 3.00 and he is 9-3.
Lou DeShields (SWB) is doing what everyone expects of him with 12 wins and a 2.49 ERA. He leads the league in wins.
Strikeouts are led by Graham Burke (LV) 116, followed by DeShields 115 and Sakamoto at 114.
Corey Payton (LV) leads the league with 27 saves.
Gary Jenkins (LV) has an incredible 1.43 ERA this year after 88 IP and a 0.91 WHIP which leads the lague in both categories.
Notable Rookies:
Jeremy Boyd (NY Mafia) with 99 IP, 5-2, 2.45 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP has been stellar. Ned Lane (FAR) has 9 wins so far. Miguel Infante (TRE) has 7 wins and 82 SO. Tom Sellers (FAR) has been outstanding with his 22 saves.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
IFA Revview and Update
So, every year these huge bonuses go out to a few select players on the International market. Let's take a look at the progress of these players as they work their way to the bigs.
Year 1
Miguel Infante, Trenton - A 28M signing is now 22 years old and last year went 11-5 with a 3.66 ERA. This guy should be getting better and better. Grade him out as an A, albeit and expensive A.
Cesar Solano, DC - 15M signing is now 25 and has career numbers of a 4.24 ERA a 10-12 record and 25 saves. For that kind of money he gets a B- grade so far.
Year 2
Victor Guillen was a 27M bonus that New York landed. He is just 21 and has numbers last year of 31 HR, 131 RBI and a .307 AVG, that is one stud hitter. A is his grade as one would expect when spending that kind of money.
Juan Guerrero was signed for 19M, he is now 21 and Chicago enjoyed a 10-4 season from him in AA last year. He will be with the big club this year.
Year 3
Fausto Aguilar went for 19M. Seattle has to be pleased with his 12 HR, 73 RBI, .344 AVG in the farm system. He will be with the big club when they break camp this year.
Yoo-Nah Xaio went for 17M,his farm club numbers of 26 HR, 99 RBI and .329 AVG are nice. He will also be in the bigs this year to start the season.
The Year 4 guys are far too new to report on.
Year 1
Miguel Infante, Trenton - A 28M signing is now 22 years old and last year went 11-5 with a 3.66 ERA. This guy should be getting better and better. Grade him out as an A, albeit and expensive A.
Cesar Solano, DC - 15M signing is now 25 and has career numbers of a 4.24 ERA a 10-12 record and 25 saves. For that kind of money he gets a B- grade so far.
Year 2
Victor Guillen was a 27M bonus that New York landed. He is just 21 and has numbers last year of 31 HR, 131 RBI and a .307 AVG, that is one stud hitter. A is his grade as one would expect when spending that kind of money.
Juan Guerrero was signed for 19M, he is now 21 and Chicago enjoyed a 10-4 season from him in AA last year. He will be with the big club this year.
Year 3
Fausto Aguilar went for 19M. Seattle has to be pleased with his 12 HR, 73 RBI, .344 AVG in the farm system. He will be with the big club when they break camp this year.
Yoo-Nah Xaio went for 17M,his farm club numbers of 26 HR, 99 RBI and .329 AVG are nice. He will also be in the bigs this year to start the season.
The Year 4 guys are far too new to report on.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
FA Signing - Lou DeShields
The big signing of Lou DeShields has taken place. $110,000,000.00 over 5 years with a player option at the end. It is not often that a pithcer like this comes along, and becomes available on the open market. At 29 years of age and the all time leader in Strikeouts, Scranton is making a bid to contend. The question that always comes up with signings like Lou comes downto health and longevity. I have insider knowledge that Boise really didn't want to lose him but lacked the budget to get as high as 10M in bonus money. He is 30 and is coming off of 245 innings pitched last year. It is pretty likely that at the end of the contract his salary will be a negative, but enjoy the ride while he is the man! Other than Del Taylor there is no other pitcher like him in this league.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tucson Trolls
The following is a team preview for the Tucson TrollsThe Tucson Trolls are coming off a tough season in which they won 84 games, yet finished 4th in the always competitive AL West. New Manager Felipe Morales is hoping a revamped pitching staff can propel the Trolls into the playoffs. Leading the offense is Silver Slugger and All-Star DH Footsie Lee, coming off a 47 HR, 132 RBI season. OF Tris Erdos is looking to build on a 37 HR rookie year while free agent acquisition and shortstop Bernard Jones is coming off an All-Star season with Memphis. The pitching staff is headlined by veteran closer Tito Tanaka and Season 3 call-up Achilles Rivera, who posted an 8-1 record after his promotion from AAA. The Trolls are counting on rookie Jamie Nixon and free agent Will Perez to improve a staff that finished last season with an abysmal 5.12 team ERA. If Tucson can solidify their pitching and continue their offensive production, they will challenge Las Vegas for the division title.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Syracuse Lions Preview
Coming off back to back playoff seasons, the Syracuse Lions are trying to sustain that high level of play going with four new young stars in the making; SP Doyle Blume, SP Steven Miller, SS Julian Costilla, and CF Alex Dong! The Lions concentration will be to improve their home record from the dismal 37-44 they had in season 3. Improvement in the home record, the infusion of young talent, to go along with stars Doc Carter, Fonzie Hamilton, and Parker Dunn should help the team keep pace with division foe Bosie Spuds. Syracuse has a nice balance of young and old talent, and the team owner is counting on that balance to bring another post season birth. The Amateur Draft this year will be exciting and an important one for the Lions future, they hold 5 picks in the first 39 selections.
Las Vegas Preview!!!!!
Las Vegas Runnin' RebelsWho's In: SP Alexander Gray (4 yrs, $52.5million), RP Mac Lowry (1 yr, $1.9million) re-signed RP Alex Torrealba (1 yr, $4.8million), SP Gary Jenkins (trade with San Juan), SP Greg Riggs (trade with Scottsdale), OF Vic Lee (trade with Scottsdale), P Alton Bartee (trade with San Juan) Who's Out: C Phil Koh (traded to Scottsdale), SS James Sugawara (traded to Scottsdale), 1B/DH Darron Corder (traded to San Juan), RP Devon Stargell (Toronto), RP Norberto Baez (Scottsdale), SP Haywood Lincoln (Madison), 2B Andy Reynolds (Vancouver), SP George Seabol (Tucson)Capsule: The season 4 version of the Las Vegas Runnin' Rebels reloads on the run. After a disappointing defense of their season 2 World Series title that ended in an ALCS 7 game heartbreaker to the Boise Spuds, the Rebels targeted pitching this offseason and they hit the jackpot. Their number 1 target was Alexander Gray and he cost them dearly, to the tune of $52.5 million over 4 years. Also acquired was youngster Greg Riggs and highly paid veteran Gary Jenkins. The pitching staff boasts seven quality starters and hope this gets them back to the Series.The offense returns almost completely intact, losing leadoff man and double machine, Andy Reynolds who left via free agency and young catcher, Phil Koh who was dealt to the Scottsdale Bombers.Outlook: The Rebels own 6 of the first 56 picks due to the departure of some key bullpen parts but hope to continue building up a growing farm system while keeping the big league club competitive. Will these guys be the future of the Rebels or will they be used as trade bait and the trade deadline? Stay tuned, this team should be fun to watch.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
ROUND 2
Burlington vs Las Vegas
As much as I like the new hitters in Burlington, Palacios and Taft. As much as I think Burlington can pitch. As much as I beleive they are formidable. Las Vegas is a really good team. Balance is the definition for this squad. No particular player jumps out at you when looking at the roster or stats. but if you analyze the team stats you become impressed. i like them to win this series in 4 games and move on to face Houston.
Houston vs Boise
95 wins for Boise, 99 for Houston. This one will be tough. The pitching is close to the same, with Boise hoping that DeShields and Park are good enough to shut down the Houston scoring. Houston’s offense is built for speed over comfort. Eaton and Segui will hope to get on base and jump start the offense. The commish wants to pick his own Boise team, but he gives the nod grudgingly to Houston in 5.
Jacksonville vs Trenton
This one looks like a mismatch on paper. We are calling for a win for Trenton in 4. Too much pitching and hitting overall. Jacksonville has to hope Crawford can get two wins just to sneak up and steal this one. If he can’t get it done it will be tough for Jacksonville.
Vancouver vs Salem
Every owner is likely rooting for Vancouver as the owner is active. Salem hasn’t logged in since Jan 4! But he has two great pitchers in Taylor and Middlebrook. But….VC is pretty good and if Clark and Clarke dominate and Osborne pitches well we see no reason VC can’t win this series. We are going to call it for them in 5. Vancouver in an upset.
As much as I like the new hitters in Burlington, Palacios and Taft. As much as I think Burlington can pitch. As much as I beleive they are formidable. Las Vegas is a really good team. Balance is the definition for this squad. No particular player jumps out at you when looking at the roster or stats. but if you analyze the team stats you become impressed. i like them to win this series in 4 games and move on to face Houston.
Houston vs Boise
95 wins for Boise, 99 for Houston. This one will be tough. The pitching is close to the same, with Boise hoping that DeShields and Park are good enough to shut down the Houston scoring. Houston’s offense is built for speed over comfort. Eaton and Segui will hope to get on base and jump start the offense. The commish wants to pick his own Boise team, but he gives the nod grudgingly to Houston in 5.
Jacksonville vs Trenton
This one looks like a mismatch on paper. We are calling for a win for Trenton in 4. Too much pitching and hitting overall. Jacksonville has to hope Crawford can get two wins just to sneak up and steal this one. If he can’t get it done it will be tough for Jacksonville.
Vancouver vs Salem
Every owner is likely rooting for Vancouver as the owner is active. Salem hasn’t logged in since Jan 4! But he has two great pitchers in Taylor and Middlebrook. But….VC is pretty good and if Clark and Clarke dominate and Osborne pitches well we see no reason VC can’t win this series. We are going to call it for them in 5. Vancouver in an upset.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Playoff Preview
Edits underneath in CAPS!
AL First Round
Tampa Bay vs Burlington
The pitching matches up well in this series. Expect offense to make the difference. Tampa won 7 of 10 off of Burlington during the season and has a stronger offense overall this season. However, the big trade for Taft and Palacios made the Burlington offense better as the second half unfolded. We are calling it Tampa but would not be shocked if an mini upset occured. It does seem odd to call the WC team the favorite but Burlington has not been great at home.
TAMPA LEADS 2-1 LOOKING TO CLOSE OUT
BIG COMEBACK FOR BURLINGTON AS THEY WIN THE LAST 2 TO STEAL THIS ONE.
Boise vs Syracuse
The division rivals face off in this round. Syracuse got hot and closed the season strong. Boise had the freedom to rest some starters and prepare for the playoffs. This is another series where the pitching is pretty well matched. Boise scores a lot of runs and that should tip the scales to the Spuds.
BOISE SWEEPS BEHIND RUSS BORLANDS 4 HOME RUNS IN 3 GAMES!
NL First Round
Tacoma vs Jacksonville
Tough one to call. Both teams score runs about the same. Tacoma is the stronger pithcing team, they led the NL in ERA this season. Jacksonville is a great road team and Tacoma is a great home team. This is a fun matchup and we see it going 5 games. Tacoma and pitching probably wins the day and moves on.
A TOUGH ONE LIKE PREDICTED Jax LEADS 2-1!
ANOTHER BIG SERIES and JACKSONVILLE TAKES GAME 5 TO MOVE ON.
Arizona vs Vancouver
Another good matchup. They both hit well and play excellent defense. Arizona closed the season with a good run and will be tough to beat. Vancouver was steady all year. 18 game winner Harry Osborne will need to be the difference for Vancouver. We pick them to move on to the next round.
VANCOUVER LEADS AS PREDICTED, ARIZONA ISN'T DONE YET THOUGH!
VANCOUVER DOES MOVE ON.
AL First Round
Tampa Bay vs Burlington
The pitching matches up well in this series. Expect offense to make the difference. Tampa won 7 of 10 off of Burlington during the season and has a stronger offense overall this season. However, the big trade for Taft and Palacios made the Burlington offense better as the second half unfolded. We are calling it Tampa but would not be shocked if an mini upset occured. It does seem odd to call the WC team the favorite but Burlington has not been great at home.
TAMPA LEADS 2-1 LOOKING TO CLOSE OUT
BIG COMEBACK FOR BURLINGTON AS THEY WIN THE LAST 2 TO STEAL THIS ONE.
Boise vs Syracuse
The division rivals face off in this round. Syracuse got hot and closed the season strong. Boise had the freedom to rest some starters and prepare for the playoffs. This is another series where the pitching is pretty well matched. Boise scores a lot of runs and that should tip the scales to the Spuds.
BOISE SWEEPS BEHIND RUSS BORLANDS 4 HOME RUNS IN 3 GAMES!
NL First Round
Tacoma vs Jacksonville
Tough one to call. Both teams score runs about the same. Tacoma is the stronger pithcing team, they led the NL in ERA this season. Jacksonville is a great road team and Tacoma is a great home team. This is a fun matchup and we see it going 5 games. Tacoma and pitching probably wins the day and moves on.
A TOUGH ONE LIKE PREDICTED Jax LEADS 2-1!
ANOTHER BIG SERIES and JACKSONVILLE TAKES GAME 5 TO MOVE ON.
Arizona vs Vancouver
Another good matchup. They both hit well and play excellent defense. Arizona closed the season with a good run and will be tough to beat. Vancouver was steady all year. 18 game winner Harry Osborne will need to be the difference for Vancouver. We pick them to move on to the next round.
VANCOUVER LEADS AS PREDICTED, ARIZONA ISN'T DONE YET THOUGH!
VANCOUVER DOES MOVE ON.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
ML Stat Leaders!!!! Playoff Update
ML Stat Leaders and Playoff Chases
I perused and noted some interesting statistical leaders. I hope you enjoy this quick read.
Before we get to that let’s take a quick look at the playoff races. In the AL we have a few teams looking strong to win their respective divisions. Boise, Las Vegas and Houston have 6-7 game leads and that makes them tough to catch with 30 games left. In real terms if Boise played .500 ball they would finish with 98 wins. For Sioux Falls to catch them then they would need to win 22 of the last 30 games. Not impossible, but an uphill climb.
Sioux Falls does look strong for the WC and Seattle and Tampa Bay are hot on the trail for that last spot. St. Louis, Syracuse and Tucson are still in the race too. 6 teams all fighting for two spots.
The AL East has the Burlington, Boston, New York battle underway. Only one team will advance.
In the NL 5 spots are sewed up with 30 games left barring some crazy collapse. Vancouver, Trenton, Jacksonville and Salem will win divisions and Tacoma has the WC. The final WC spot is tight. Madison and Arizona are the favs now but Little rock, Austin and San Jose all have a shot.
All said 21 teams are still holding aspirations for the playoffs. That is a pretty competitive league.
STATS:
Philip Bonds HOU: 153 RBI
Pascual Palacios BUR: 51 HR’s
King Eaton HOU: 100 SB’s and 198 Hits
Theo Campbell PHI: 169 SO. Yikes!
Taylor Wilson MAD: .353 BA
Ray Bowles TRE: 109 BB’s, impressive
Paul Zhou KC: 2 steals, caught 17 times!
Vic Castro CF, TB: 14 Plus plays
Nick Banks CF, SAL: 13 Plus plays
Louie Lee CD, MEM: 22 Minus plays!!
Sun Sakamoto SXF: 205 IP
Blake Crawford JAX:201 IP
Albert Gomez AUST: 6 CG, 3 SHO
Del Taylor SAL: 17-2, 2.06 ERA, 224 K’s, 0.06 WHIP
Lou DeShields BOI: 228 K’s, .185 BAA, 0.93 WHIP
Darrin Stevenson ARI: 149 BB’s allowed
Aubrey Patel SYR: 43 HR’s allowed
Devon Stargell LV Hiram Blair TAC 37 Saves each
Al Martinez HEL: 17 Losses
I perused and noted some interesting statistical leaders. I hope you enjoy this quick read.
Before we get to that let’s take a quick look at the playoff races. In the AL we have a few teams looking strong to win their respective divisions. Boise, Las Vegas and Houston have 6-7 game leads and that makes them tough to catch with 30 games left. In real terms if Boise played .500 ball they would finish with 98 wins. For Sioux Falls to catch them then they would need to win 22 of the last 30 games. Not impossible, but an uphill climb.
Sioux Falls does look strong for the WC and Seattle and Tampa Bay are hot on the trail for that last spot. St. Louis, Syracuse and Tucson are still in the race too. 6 teams all fighting for two spots.
The AL East has the Burlington, Boston, New York battle underway. Only one team will advance.
In the NL 5 spots are sewed up with 30 games left barring some crazy collapse. Vancouver, Trenton, Jacksonville and Salem will win divisions and Tacoma has the WC. The final WC spot is tight. Madison and Arizona are the favs now but Little rock, Austin and San Jose all have a shot.
All said 21 teams are still holding aspirations for the playoffs. That is a pretty competitive league.
STATS:
Philip Bonds HOU: 153 RBI
Pascual Palacios BUR: 51 HR’s
King Eaton HOU: 100 SB’s and 198 Hits
Theo Campbell PHI: 169 SO. Yikes!
Taylor Wilson MAD: .353 BA
Ray Bowles TRE: 109 BB’s, impressive
Paul Zhou KC: 2 steals, caught 17 times!
Vic Castro CF, TB: 14 Plus plays
Nick Banks CF, SAL: 13 Plus plays
Louie Lee CD, MEM: 22 Minus plays!!
Sun Sakamoto SXF: 205 IP
Blake Crawford JAX:201 IP
Albert Gomez AUST: 6 CG, 3 SHO
Del Taylor SAL: 17-2, 2.06 ERA, 224 K’s, 0.06 WHIP
Lou DeShields BOI: 228 K’s, .185 BAA, 0.93 WHIP
Darrin Stevenson ARI: 149 BB’s allowed
Aubrey Patel SYR: 43 HR’s allowed
Devon Stargell LV Hiram Blair TAC 37 Saves each
Al Martinez HEL: 17 Losses
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
NL Power Rankings
NL Power Rankings
1 – Salem (89-40) A staggering 50-18 on the road, and they are on AI since Jan 4!
2 – Trenton (84-45) Murphy and Linden are quite the 1-2 punch in that rotation, a serious WS threat.
3 – Tacoma (77-52) This team feels like it should challenge for the title. And we agree. This will be the first year they won’t win 100 games, but don’t overlook these guys.
4 – Vancouver (75-54) They were picked second but they are running away in the division.
5 – Jacksonville (75-54) They will win and they aren’t afraid to play on the road.
6 – Madison (67-62) They are holding onto the 6 seed now. They have lots of competition! The last 30 games are going to be a battle. As long as Taylor Wilson and his 32 year old Catcher knees hold up they feel good about their chances.
7 – Austin (63-66) Starting to play well and they can mash…is it enough to make a run?
8 – Arizona (65-64) They are used to the playoffs but they have some work to do. Hitting is fine but the pitching has to do better.
9 – San Jose (62-67) Just 5 games out of the WC but slumping of late. On AI all year....
10 – Little Rock (63-66) Hiro is great but he is a one man show until the farm clubs kick in!
11 – Fargo (59-70) A down year for the WS participant.
12 – Milwaukee (58-71) This team is young and building to a big year next year with proper guidance.
13 – New York (56-73) Three owners in three years and on AI…..not good news for this team.
14 – Philadelphia (56-73) Another that could be just a year away.
15 – Scranton (53-76) Returning to glory…These guys are low payroll, ad investing in the future with big prospect signings!
16 – San Juan (27-102) wolf is doing well in setting this team in place for a better future.
1 – Salem (89-40) A staggering 50-18 on the road, and they are on AI since Jan 4!
2 – Trenton (84-45) Murphy and Linden are quite the 1-2 punch in that rotation, a serious WS threat.
3 – Tacoma (77-52) This team feels like it should challenge for the title. And we agree. This will be the first year they won’t win 100 games, but don’t overlook these guys.
4 – Vancouver (75-54) They were picked second but they are running away in the division.
5 – Jacksonville (75-54) They will win and they aren’t afraid to play on the road.
6 – Madison (67-62) They are holding onto the 6 seed now. They have lots of competition! The last 30 games are going to be a battle. As long as Taylor Wilson and his 32 year old Catcher knees hold up they feel good about their chances.
7 – Austin (63-66) Starting to play well and they can mash…is it enough to make a run?
8 – Arizona (65-64) They are used to the playoffs but they have some work to do. Hitting is fine but the pitching has to do better.
9 – San Jose (62-67) Just 5 games out of the WC but slumping of late. On AI all year....
10 – Little Rock (63-66) Hiro is great but he is a one man show until the farm clubs kick in!
11 – Fargo (59-70) A down year for the WS participant.
12 – Milwaukee (58-71) This team is young and building to a big year next year with proper guidance.
13 – New York (56-73) Three owners in three years and on AI…..not good news for this team.
14 – Philadelphia (56-73) Another that could be just a year away.
15 – Scranton (53-76) Returning to glory…These guys are low payroll, ad investing in the future with big prospect signings!
16 – San Juan (27-102) wolf is doing well in setting this team in place for a better future.
Monday, January 26, 2009
AL Power Rankings
AL Power Rankings
1 - Las Vegas – (74-52) The defending champs will be back in the playoffs and looking to defend the title. They are dominating teams at home.
2 – Boise – (81-45) This team defies the odds just a bit. They hammered teams with power, then traded away Palacios and Taft for DeShields. The belief being that pitching wins in the playoffs. We’ll see!
3 – Houston – (75-51) Cruising to the division title just as predicted at the beginning of the year.
4 – Sioux Falls (74-52) This team has been tough. They bounced out bog early, came back to earth and now hope the hitting holds up! They travel well that is for sure.
5 – Tampa Bay (70-56) They have battled Houston all year. Should slide into a WC spot if all goes well.
6 – Syracuse (69-57) The Lions are in 3rd place but would win the East going away! They are in a huge battle with Tampa St. Louis and Seattle for the WC. Can they win some hone games?
7- Seattle (68-58) Seattle is a good team, but they play in a tough division. They are trying to get hot and are on a nice run right now.
8 – St. Louis (68-58) ditto to Seattle, except they wish to be hot!
9 – Tucson (63-63) A team that deservers better! However, they haven’t been anything but vanilla this year.
10- Burlington (63-63) The East leader makes it on the list. There are just 2 games between first and third. This is a battle royale.
11 – New York (62-64) The Mafia need to win some dang home games to win the division. If not it will be tough.
12 – Boston (61-65) The Boston, NY battle is on! If they can get hot……
13 – Kansas City (49-77) The first of the rebuilding teams. The good news is the better players in KC are younger.
14 – Memphis (54-72) Who doesn’t love Glen Stull! But overall they haven’t hit or pitched consistently enough to compete this year.
15 – Helena (46-80) The pitching has struggled…..
16 – Toledo (34-92) The rebuild is underway. They need pitching help
1 - Las Vegas – (74-52) The defending champs will be back in the playoffs and looking to defend the title. They are dominating teams at home.
2 – Boise – (81-45) This team defies the odds just a bit. They hammered teams with power, then traded away Palacios and Taft for DeShields. The belief being that pitching wins in the playoffs. We’ll see!
3 – Houston – (75-51) Cruising to the division title just as predicted at the beginning of the year.
4 – Sioux Falls (74-52) This team has been tough. They bounced out bog early, came back to earth and now hope the hitting holds up! They travel well that is for sure.
5 – Tampa Bay (70-56) They have battled Houston all year. Should slide into a WC spot if all goes well.
6 – Syracuse (69-57) The Lions are in 3rd place but would win the East going away! They are in a huge battle with Tampa St. Louis and Seattle for the WC. Can they win some hone games?
7- Seattle (68-58) Seattle is a good team, but they play in a tough division. They are trying to get hot and are on a nice run right now.
8 – St. Louis (68-58) ditto to Seattle, except they wish to be hot!
9 – Tucson (63-63) A team that deservers better! However, they haven’t been anything but vanilla this year.
10- Burlington (63-63) The East leader makes it on the list. There are just 2 games between first and third. This is a battle royale.
11 – New York (62-64) The Mafia need to win some dang home games to win the division. If not it will be tough.
12 – Boston (61-65) The Boston, NY battle is on! If they can get hot……
13 – Kansas City (49-77) The first of the rebuilding teams. The good news is the better players in KC are younger.
14 – Memphis (54-72) Who doesn’t love Glen Stull! But overall they haven’t hit or pitched consistently enough to compete this year.
15 – Helena (46-80) The pitching has struggled…..
16 – Toledo (34-92) The rebuild is underway. They need pitching help
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