Season 3 Musings......

I'm beginning the Commissioner Corner Ramblings:
If you review the rankings of the franchises we have a very parity driven league. There are no super duper teams and very few that are horrible. It should make for an exciting season. As I get a few moments I'll handcicap the division races. I'll start with my own since it the one I know without any study required!

AL North
Lloyd took Syracuse over in Season 2 and took them from a dismal 32 wins all the way to a division title and 98 wins! That is one amazing turnaround. The new Helena team was pretty competitive in season 1 and 2 and looks to drive back to the playoffs. The Sioux Falls team is young and has great potential. Boise went to the playoffs twice and came within 2 wins of the WS last year. They are a little old so it will be tough to stay up in the hunt. This division is up for grabs 100%. Prediction is Syracuse repeats and Boise and Sioux Falls chase.

AL East
Every team in the East has been competitive at one time or another in the first 3 years. The Toledo team was the division winner last year but is off to a RRRocky start this year. They have Matt Sikorski the great SS and young Jorge Sosa who is a flat out stud. But..Toledo also has some over the hill guys that are paid a bit too much at this point. After this year they should be lean and mean. Burlington, New York and Boston seem destined to battle for the division. Burlington has the MVP pitcher Lou DeShields so expect them to be in the hunt. New York is stronger with Jose Mieses as a big FA signing from Seattle where he logs big innings and should help that rotation. Boston has two players at a minimum that are easy to love. Omar Valezquez and Brad Barker. They are young and after a year 1 WC they fell down in year 2. Year 3 has them out of the gate competitive. This should be another strong and interesting race. Prediction is Burlington led by DeShields.

AL South
Tampa Bay is on the rise. A stong nucleus led by Kelvim Phillips along with Rivera, Lee, LaRocca make them the team to beat. Memphis fell back a bit this past year but boasts a well balanced hitting team. If the pitching can hold up they can compete. Staying above 500 is the first goal. Houston had a big year by winning 100 games while getting bounced in the first round. They are back with a vengence and have a really nice pitching staff. If the hitters hit they should be able to put pressure on Tampa. KC was a year 1 division winner and then dropped in year 2. They have a relatively high payroll and are anchored by Person and Rivera in the everyday lineup. Pitching is not really a strong suit so far but if they can compete they could get back in the hunt. We'll update this division as time goes on but we predict Houston hold off Tampa in the end!

AL West
Tucson and Seattle have each won division titles. Las Vegas was the winner of the WS from the WC spot so this division is strong. St. Louis is no slouch either! They won the trade battle for Sherm Romero and they have goot hitting now! So look for them to hit better this year. The pitching rotation is pretty solid, but again this is a tough division. Seattle has fantastic pitching and they play in a pitchers ballpark. Las Vegas is back to defend and they have perhaps the best hitting team int he league, certainly the AL. The pitching is solid as well so they should be right there. Tucson also has strong hitting and play in a hitters park. They should out up big numbers. Parity and strength define this division, Seattle will win 96 plus games and win this division.

National League
NL North
Fargo has dominated this division so far and went all the way to the WS losing 4-2. They won the division two years running and will be trying for a 3rd. They are led by a couple of strong pitchers. 18 game winner Andres Perez returns and is joined by his protege, the young BJ Stoddard. They will try to carry them to another banner but watch out for the depth and strngth that is appearing in the other teams. Milwaukee equals depth in my opinion. Not really any super duper studs other than Jackie Robbins the 23 year old 2B and Juan Duran but overall a good looking team for this division. Vancouver has Ajax and Rich Clark(e) along with what looks like a breakthrough player in Stephen Phillips. The fans in Vancouver are thinking they can win this year. Madison is an interesting looking team. They have incredible youth in Doster, Messmer and Fujiwara. This team is bursting with farm club talent as well and seem to this observer to be built for the long haul. We think Madison may yet challenge for the division title and be there by a nose at the finish.

NL East
Trenton and Scranton has nice years last season and are looking to continue that trend. The Philly ownership seems to have an on the ball GM so it won't be easy to hold them off either. The Mets boast strong Starting Pitching which is always a real plus. Trenton has a couple of players worth noting. 2 time all star Patsy Linden and Vince Murphy are really strong; and the phenom of the league just might be Leon Holden. Plus they have the returning MVP. Anyone would love to have a 23 year old 2B player hitting 51 HR's! Philly's oldest ML player is 29 which is going to bear watching isn't it? Scranton has the leagues favorite mascot and that WC appearance was a sweet one for the Office fans. Castillo and Duran provide the power and Brady Jennings is the pitcher the hope can get them 20 wins. We predict Trenton will once again win this division and the others will try to compete for the WC.

NL South
Atlanta (now Jax franchise) in year 1, Austin in year 2, look for those to to challenge while San Juan and Little Rock continue to build. Little Rock is a bit ahead of schedule and firedock is an owner that knows what he is doing so expect that team to put pressure on the leaders. San Juan has some work to do, but they have some talent and with some draft picks, etc they could be better soon. Jax has the flat out superstar Josh Linden to carry the load and the fans in town are hoping for 100 wins like year one. They are off to a good start this year so it looks promising. Austin has a mature team and they must be thinking the future is now in the executive suite. But, the cupboard is not bare and they are off to a 17-5 start in AAA. We think Austin wins again with Jax in pursuit. Little Rock hopes to challange for a WC and San Juan will be fighting for respect for this year!

NL West
I'm cheating a bit on this one, didn't get to it until now. Tacoma and Arizona have been the top teams but at this point the division is upside down! San Jose's Eddit Taylor and Wiki Manuel are tearing it up. This team is currently on AI so it may all come undone but right now they look good. Salem says watch out for James, Banks, Julio and Middlebrook. They are off to a nice start. The boys in Tacoma are warming up. They have tough pitching and plan to be there at the end. Arizona also has a lot to say still. I'll take the whimpy way out for now. This one is wide open!

A Little History

We'll get to the season after we recap where we have been.

Season 1
Playoff Teams - Division Winners NL Fargo, St. Louis, Atlanta, San Diego, WC Durham/Arizona
Playoff Teams - Division Winners AL Boise, Charlotte, Santa Fe, Tuscos, WC Boston/Burlington

World Series was won by the #6 seeded Boston over #1 seed Atlanta 4 games to 3.

MVP - NL - Alton Counsell - Atlanta AL - Pascual Palacios - Boise
Cy Young - NL - Kelvin Phillips - Tampa Bay AL - Lou DeShields - Charlotte
ROY - NL - Hiram Blair - Tacoma AL - Glen Stull - Memphis
Fireman - NL Hiram Blair - Tacoma AL - Devon Stargell - Ottawa

Season 2
Playoff Teams - Division Winners NL Fargo, Trenton, Austin, Tacoma, WC Scranton/Arizona
Playoff Teams - Division Winners AL Syracuse, DC, Houston, Seattle, WC Las Vegas/Boise

World Series was won by Wild Card LasVegas 4-2 over Fargo!

MVP - NL - Raymond Bowles - Trenton AL - Phillip Bonds - Houston
Cy Young - NL - Del Taylor - Tacoma AL - Lou DeShields - Florida
ROY - NL - Raymond Bowles - Trenton AL - Predro Ramirez - Houston
Fireman - NL - Rick Young - Salem AL - Shannon Allen - Syracuse