NL East Season 10 Preview

NL EAST

TEAM
Atlanta Braves PAYROLL $56,132,000

LAST YEARS RECORD: 81-81

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

	ADDED				SUBTRACTED
	NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
	Warren Carpenter	LF	29		Marty Johnson	P	34
					Don Woo	LF	27
					Roger Mays	LF	36
					Cesar Rincon	P	30
					Alex Strittmatter	P	33
					Miller Saunders	RF	33
					Albert Dispenza	P	35
					Tito Hume	1B	30

SUMMARY: offensively this team is pretty strong with the discovery of SP David Martin, Marty Johnson became expendable. The bullpen is anchored by premier closer Jose Jose and will have little issues holding the leads.

HOLES TO ADDRESS: The defense can be soft at places, but a shuffle of positions could limit the problems.

VEGAS ODDS: 35-1

TEAM Burlington Ballbusters PAYROLL $86,449,000

LAST YEARS RECORD: 70-92

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Roger Forbes	P	27		Charles Yoshii	SS	28
Jose Mercedes	1B	30		F.P. Carr	P	28
Chris Sears	P	34		Bobby Campbell	P	30
Francis Charlton	P	27		Harold O'Shea	P	30
Alfonso Flores	P	33		Humberto Izturis	RF	32
Victor Vega	P	26		Craig Gardner	P	30
Omar Segui	P	31		Michael Suzuki	LF	30
Rudy Shouse	C	29		Harry Nixon	P	35
Felipe Ortiz	CF	29		Pat Swann	DH	30
Glenn Osik	3B	30		Al Santos	P	38
Ken Gibbs	2B	34		Dwight Linden	P	28
Fred Moehler	P	34		Davey Mora	P	31
Carlos Fuentes	P	33		Glen White	P	31
Herman Franklin	P	34		Rick Atkins	P	32
Kevin Martin	C	30		Rigo Granados	P	30
Top of Form J.P. DeJesus Bottom of Form	P	25 Bottom of Form

SUMMARY: A complete retooling of the offense and pitching took place over the off season. Added are all-stars Ken Gibbs and Clarence Thompson on the offence along with power sluggers Kevin Martin and Glen Osik. In addition the pitching staff got better with the additions of starters Fuentes, Sears, and Charlton. I like this team to make its first playoff run in S10

HOLES TO ADDRESS: Still need to add 1 more long reliever and they have the roster spot to allow for it, without disrupting the team. AAA SP Omar Segui is probable that guy

VEGAS ODDS: 18-1

TEAM NY BURROS PAYROLL
$27,927,500

LAST YEARS RECORD: 106-56

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Victor Hernandez	C	24		Timothy Garcia	P	37
Philip Baxter	P	35		Joey Cunningham	P	40
Top of Form Al Santos Bottom of Form	P	38 Bottom of Form		Damian Ramirez	RF	34
				Dicky George	RF	34
				Trevor Garcia	SS	29
				Pete Barnes	SS	31
				Ricardo Diaz	RF	29
				Gus Weber	P	30
				Luis Carrasco	P	28
				Roy Robinson	P	27

SUMMARY: The Burro's loss of ace SP Tim Garcia has been cushioned by the arrival of Cy Young winner Philip Baxter. Similar statistically, this might be viewed by some as an upgrade. The biggest losses might be in #2 guy Robinson and closer Carrasco. Offensively the team has the weapons to score and manufacture runs, but dominant pitching has always been their calling card

HOLES TO ADDRESS: They probable need 1 more solid starter to make a legitimate return to the World Series. Even without a top flight 5^th starter this team still has the pitching tools just might end of in the same situation they ran into at the start of s9 with stamina issues.

VEGAS ODDS: 8-3

TEAM
Rochester Raging Reverends
PAYROLL $58,214,332

LAST YEARS RECORD: 63-99

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Carlton Robinson	2B	23		Bill Hayes	C	34
Alejandro Maradona	P	26		Garrett Ferguson	P	37
Rocky Alexander	C	34		Bonk Ross	SS	34
Scooter Paronto	SS	29		Del Sano	3B	35
Carlos Zapata	SS	27		Carlton Rolle	P	32
Derrick Fisher	P	30		Brutus Rowan	P	31
Tommy Dillon	LF	31		Andre Thornton	SS	32
Milt Lee	RF	28		Marc Brown	RF	31
Nate House	P	22		Rudy Shouse	C	29
Scot Branson	P	22		Paul Hara	P	29
Peter Huff	P	26		Derrick Fisher	P	30
				Felipe Ortiz	CF	29
				Joey Dispenza	P	31
				Al Clement	RF	33
				Roosevelt Ensberg	RF	32
				Carlos Zapata	SS	27
				Jose Mercedes	1B	30

SUMMARY: Strong pitching looks to carry this below average offense. Defensively the players can field adequately, but they will have a hard time creating runs. Both catchers are former all-stars who are way past their prime and can no longer be depended on to keep runners honest or provide some offense.

HOLES TO ADDRESS: Upgrades at catcher and in the corners of the outfield would help shape this team and work it toward success. Former ML 3B Ivan Beltre sits in the minors.

VEGAS ODDS: 150-1

NL NORTH

TEAM
Cincinnati Bowties PAYROLL $77,712,000

LAST YEARS RECORD: 96-66

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Bill Hayes	C	34		William Franklin	P	25
Brandon Mercedes	CF	28		Vic Toca	P	33
				George Harding	3B	34
				P.T. Heathcott	P	31

SUMMARY: Still set to run the 3 man tandem rotation. They have the starters to make it work, but many of the pitchers they will have to depend on are older and have lost a step or few. Offensively the team is one if not the premier offenses in the NL. Led by the duel threat Carlos Hernandez this team is hard to slow when they get swinging.

HOLES TO ADDRESS: Still need a good durability option in the bullpen the key to the tandem rotation is the ability for the pitchers to take the rock every 2 days. This team's bullpen might struggle with that this season.

VEGAS ODDS: 14-1

TEAM Milwaukee Blue Stockings PAYROLL $39,914,000

LAST YEARS RECORD: 72-90

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Garrett Ferguson	P	37		Craig Russ	2B	26
Doug Perry	P	37		Tomas Arias	LF	33
Marty Robinson	3B	30		Kenny Clinton	P	30
Top of Form Shayne Lankford Bottom of Form	RF	24 Bottom of Form		Kerry Holmes	P	28
				Marvin Griffey	SS	32
				Al James	P	31

SUMMARY: Only a bad streak toward the end of the season took this team out of contention. They should be able to be competitive this season. He Blue Stocking have to hope an early season injury to star Aurelio Espada does not set the pace for the season. Sp Doug Perry is not the star he use to be, but should fit a role in Milwaukee.

HOLES TO ADDRESS: Could use upgrades in the outfield. The outfield as stands will provide little offense.

VEGAS ODDS: 30-1

TEAM Minnesota Maulers PAYROLL $53,323,000

LAST YEARS RECORD: 81-81

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
				Shane Mack	P	35
				Geraldo Chavez	P	32
				Nolan Sodowsky	P	35
				Bump Baldwin	P	34

SUMMARY: Addition by subtraction. Minnesota has one of the better pitching staffs in the NL if they watch and maintain it carefully. They also need to match their pitching prowess with a little more offense.

HOLES TO ADDRESS: The 8 man pitching staff they currently field is not going to last long; they need to add a few quality bullpen guys. AAA pitchers Nixon, Fitzgerald, and Guerrero could get their chance to fill this hole. They might want to add players to the minors though.

VEGAS ODDS: 40-1

TEAM Philadelphia Balboas PAYROLL $39,402,333

LAST YEARS RECORD: 91-71

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
J.P. DeJesus	P	25		Cy Robinson	1B	32
Jesus Ramirez	LF	26		Roger O'Brien	SS	34
Oscar Crawford	C	35		Rafael Nunez	P	38
Erick Savage	P	26		Darryl Sexton	P	35
Rick Swann	P	26		Raul Valentin	CF	32
Clay Martin	P	24		Glenn Osik	3B	30
				Jung Gao	P	30

SUMMARY: Losing their starting 3^rd and setup man might be hard for a team to overcome, but they had the guys in AAA to make it happen. Rookies now patrol at 3^rd, and LF with CF suspiciously unmanned. The starting pitching is very much intact and can pitch with the league leaders, the Bullpen took a step back with the loss of Sexton, but the

HOLES TO ADDRESS: CF needs a guy who can field, offense is just a plus

VEGAS ODDS: 15-1