Wednesday, May 26, 2010

10 Questions with Philadephia Balboa’s GM Booshie73

Q: Tell the readers about the Season 16 Balboas. What makes the fans come to the ball park to see this team?
A: We really thought either this season or season 17 would see us put together our most balanced club in awhile. Unfortunately, some injuries to key young players and losing one of our best starters to free agency has hurt. The encouraging thing about this year though is the young talent that we have hitting the big club. Rookies like catcher Matt Marion, LF Matt Chouinard , and CF Hector Kendall give us a good core to go along with IF J.P. Melendez and Valerio Guillen . All of these guys are 26 or younger and should be in the line up for years to come.

Along with the young position players, we have some good young arms in the rotation with Stevie May, Cliff Moore, and Adam Parrish. We were devastated 2 years ago when Adam had the shoulder aneurysm but after missing almost all of last year, he seems to be regaining his form. Finally, there is a young closer J.P. Ordonez. He has started a little slow this year, but he had a great season last year and will be one of the league's best closers for the next ten years.

Q: In season Nine, You moved from Montreal to Philly. What happened, did you find players becoming distracted by the beautiful French Canadian Woman?
A: Season 2 was our first season in Montreal and we ended up winning the World Series which was fantastic. The down side was that we averaged about 5,000 fans and they didn't know a Home Run from a Slap Shot. The fans would throw hats on the field whenever a player got 3 hits in a game and then there was the one really annoying fan that kept dressing up in a orange furry suit. He would run on the field between almost every inning and then in the stands he would hassle the other fans. Needless to say, when the chance to go to a city like Philly, with their passionate fan base presented itself, we jumped at the chance.

Q: In your opinion, what minor league player, in your franchise, has the most potential to be a ML star and why?
A: Our minor leagues are not in the best shape right now. As I mentioned before, we have a lot of our future hitting the Majors all at once this season. Our best prospect would be 2B Heinie Rauch in AA. He has a good bat and glove. He is still 2 - 3 years away however. On the pitching side would be Benny Beltre. He is a 21 year old starter in his first year a AAA. We think he could be 15 - 20 game winner in the near future.

Q: Which Balboa player, past or present, have the fans in Philadelphia been most fond of, and why?
A: Philly is a blue color town and they like the hard-nosed, get dirty, blood and guts ball player. We have had a lot guys fit that mold over the last few seasons. Guys that came over from Montreal like Justin Smith, Eugene Pryce and Wade Prince were guys the fans could relate to. They were not the most talented guys in the league, but they busted their butts and won more than they lost. The current fan favorite though is RF Valerio Guillen. He is going to be a Hall of Famer before it is all over.

Q: Which Balboa player, past or present, the fans have the highest hopes for, only to have them dashed by poor performance?
A: We have had several pitchers fall into this category and one of the most frustrating is still in our organization. I really shouldn't be saying this because I do not want him to get down on himself, but RP Jose Sierra has driven me crazy. We thought he would be much more successful than he has been. He has started out great this year so maybe he has turned the corner and will live up to his potential.

Q: Which NL team do you consider to be your biggest rival?
A: Well until we can get into the playoffs on a consistent basis we will have to stay in our division. We are still stinging from finishing one game behind Columbus in Season 14 and they won it again last year so they would be #1.

Q What trade have you made that you have the most regrets over?
A:.I do not even have to think twice, Season 6 I traded Everett Roosevelt to the Bombers for some bullpen help for the stretch. I did get quality in return but I would loved to have had Roosevelt in my rotation for the last 8 years.

Q: What players on your team (past/present) have had the best nicknames?
A: On the current team there is Valerio "Super Raton" Guillen, which means Mighty Mouse because of his slight build but awesome power. We have JP "shotgun" Melendez and in the minors is Heinie "Slapper" Rauch.

Q: What player on your team has the best theme music?
A: Well this just started in the last couple weeks and it is not really theme music, but instead a movie clip. Since our closer JP Ordonez has been so erratic this season, our scoreboard director took it upon himself to play the tunnel scene from Willy Wonka. The scene were Gene Wilder has everybody on the boat and starts singing that crazy song with all the images flashing by.
"There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going.
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing.
Is it raining?
Is it snowing?
Is a hurricane a blowing?

Not a speck of light is showing
so the danger must be growing.
Are the fires of hell a glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?
Yes! The danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing.
And they're certainly not showing
any signs that they are slowing!"

I wasn't very happy about it because it made seem like you could not count on him. The crazy thing is that JP loves it and the fans go crazy for it.


Q: The Clubhouse can be an interesting place to get a behind the scenes look at our favorite players. Tell us an interesting story from the clubhouse.
A: Well as I mentioned before, we have a lot of rookies on the club this year. They were prime targets during Spring Training. The veterans like Hunter Wilkerson and T.J. Little just abused these kids. You had the standard hot foots and such but they had some other more elaborate ones. T.J. went a loosened up the stitching in all of catcher Matt Marion's pants. He made it thru the 2nd inning and then you could see them start to rip. He went out the next inning and soon as soon as crouched down they gave way. The best part was he made through 2 outs before the umpire told him.

Q: In closing, please list the players who have played on your team that you feel are Hall of Fame worthy?
A: I think barring injury(knock on wood) Valerio Guillen will be a HOF. I have not been fortunate enough to have guys that have prolonged great careers. I have stops by guys that could make the Hall like Orlando Martinez and Albert Rincon, but RP will have a hard time getting in for awhile.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

10 Questions with the Durham Bull’s Bigalric

Q: Tell the readers about the Season 16 Bulls. What makes the fans come to the ball park to see this team?
A: Borderless optimism. We've been so bad the last seasons, it can only get better.

Q: I miss Bull's slugger Pedro Ortiz, no other man could sky the ball like him. And yet still strikeout about 200 times a season. Bobble head night or commemorative jersey?
A: Bobble head night on our last home stand this season.

Q: In your opinion, what minor league player, in your franchise, has the most potential to be a ML star and why?
A: That's clearly A.J. Rollins, our starting SS at AAA, and the next superstar in Durham.

Q: Which Bulls player, past or present, have the fans in Durham been most fond of, and why?
A: Scott Rose, great guy, great player, who left us as a free agent after season 14.

Q: Which Bulls player, past or present, the fans have the highest hopes for, only to have them dashed by poor performance?
A: Probably Will Gonzalez, our 1st round pick (#5) in season 5. He was a great minor league player, but in the majors he never lived up to his potential.

Q: Which AL team do you consider to be your biggest rival?
A: The Washington old school warriors. Most seasons we are battling for last place.

Q What trade or off Season move have you made that you have the most regrets over?
A: In season 8 I traded Shayne Nagy for Vicente Montanez, Richie Cormier, and Sam Parker. I got 2 good players, who were mainstays for some seasons in my lineup; Cormier is still a fan hero. But ... you simply don't trade a player of Nagy's class. To top that, in season 9, I traded Shayne Owen for Jose Chavez, Andres Amaral, and Sam Hawkins. Amaral and Hawkins were total busts for me, but Owen is one of the best players today. So I traded my no. 1 draft picks in consecutive years and my team in the whole wasn't any better off after that. Show me worse managerial decisions in our league and I'll buy you a drink. I am still not over it.

Q: What players on your team (past/present) have had the best nicknames?
A: Shea 'We have a problem' Houston, a very bad fielder. Pete 'Moon' Walker.

Q: What player on your team has the best theme music?
A: Eswalin Lopez with "the carnival is over' performed by the Seekers, one of my all-time favorites. To be honest, we only promoted him for having an opportunity to play that song at our home games.

Q: The Clubhouse can be an interesting place to get a behind the scenes look at our favorite players. Tell us an interesting story from the clubhouse.
A: Some seasons ago we had someone from Haiti in our clubhouse. He performed some voodoo magic aimed to better our record. Well, we lost the next 7 games, our equipment guy got ill and never recovered, and we had 3 failed marriages on our coaching staff in the next 3 months alone. Oh, and I won 100k in Vegas ... but that's another story...

Q: In closing, please list the players who have played on your team that you feel are Hall of Fame worthy?
A: Obviously Timothy Garcia. Then Pedro Ortiz, Richie Cormier, Scott Rose, Jose Jose, Shayne Nagy, Shayne Owen, Jose Chavez.

Monday, May 24, 2010

POWER RANKINGS S16 Week 2


  1. New York NL (1) It has been 10 season's since New York has had an ER over 4 (4.03 S6) Right now they sit at 4.26. The Focus of the new owner is starting to show as the offense seems to be driving the game in New York now days. RATING 510.5 (-28)
  2. Chicago (5) Wolves benefit from a change in the fielding rating to include +/- rankings. Where they dominate with a +23 fielding rating overall. RATING 491 (+29)
  3. Louisville (4) – 1 game over .500 yet the power ranking machine says this team is the real deal. If EXP Win % (.607) is an indicator to where this team should be then maybe this team needs to wake up and stat living to potential. RATING 479.5 (+10)
  4. Toledo (3) Toledo makes a big splash with a trade for All-Star Sp Pedro Seguignol who is finding the AL just as tough as he remembered where his career ERA is 1 point higher. He should settle in start winning soon enough. The question will be what does the future hold with Pedro in Toledo for the next 3 seasons. RATING 479 (-2)
  5. Vancouver (6). The Pitching has been performing well despite Alex Wang's unusual struggles with control. When he gets back on track fully this team should soar. RATING 469 (+34)
  6. New York AL (2) 5 seasons ago when Daryle Davis was signed the Bombers had high hopes for him. In his first season he went 15-7, since then he was been mediocre for New York. Now comes this seasons he's a perfect 6-0 with a 1.91 ERA and an early favorite for the Al Cy Young RATING 449.5 (-53)
  7. Colorado (7) Personal note for Clarence Thompson, The Green Light for Stolen bases is for the younger faster guys. Clarence Thompson has lost enough of a step that his poor base running is catching up to him on the base paths. RATING 447 (+20.5)
  8. Memphis (13) -Best home record in the league at 17-6 while only post a 7-9 record on the road. A 7 game road trip versus sub-500 teams should show if it's the road or the quality of opponents that are causing this difference. RATING 436.5 (+93)
  9. Texas (25) – 11-8 record for the week might not justify this huge jump alone, but they did throw 2 shutouts and only lost 1 series (to Vancouver just recently) RATING 426 (+155.5)
  10. Madison (9-) Brett Sanders leads the league in Home Runs with 18, but the real surprise might be Tony Jacquez, 4th with 14 who seems to have gotten his power swing back in full force. – RATING 398.5 (+6)
  11. Salem (8) Outside of Angel Mateo the pitching staff has been really pedestrian this season. If they hope to take this division they will need to be able to lean more heavily on pitching. RATING 397 (-2.5)
  12. Kansas City (11) SP Andres Ramirez's arm has not looked right all season. Last week it was determined he had major ligament damage in his throwing elbow. He will be shelved for the remained of the season. RATING 377.5 (+29.5)
  13. Cheyenne (10) – It appears last season was no fluke Edwardo Feliz is back after countless elbow ailments the past few seasons that threatened his career. Feliz has been able to sport a 2.55 ERA so far this season. RATING 370.5 (-16.5)
  14. Colorado Springs (17) Sp Pokey West seems poised to build on Last season successful 16-4 campaign with a 2.89 Era already he is 3-4 with a 2.44 ERA. RATING 364 (+51.5)
  15. Las Vegas (12) OF Del Prieto is usually a pretty contestant .290 hitter with good power and speed. This year he is showing none of those attributes. Batting a lowly .223 6 hr and 11 stolen bases. RATING 357.5 (+11.5)
  16. Philadelphia (14) - I thought LF Harry Vosberg's career was over a few seasons back, but he seems to have reinvented himself as a valuable role player in the NL. His bat seems to be sharp this season, gone might be his 30_ home run seasons, but the old man can still hit. RATING 340.5 (+2.5)
  17. Columbus (18) SS Tyler O'Neil has regressed to his Milwaukee days and is averaging a strike out every third at bat for the season. On paper he should be able to get this number down quite a bit. RATING 311.5 (-.5)
  18. Cincinnati (23) I loved Tony Funaki for his defense and was reluctant to trade him away because of it. But I never expected him to be an early favorite for NL ROY. He's batting .336 with 7 home run and 7 stolen bases already this season. As the leadoff man in Cincinnati. RATING 306 (+27.5)
  19. Norfolk (20) SP Trenidad O'Donnell is living up to expectations. Compiling a 3-2 record with 47 strikeouts in 58.2 innings of work. He looks like he could be the Savior Norfolk needs on their pitching staff.– RATING 290.5 (-12)
  20. Austin (16) Calvin Coco has reinvented himself into a quite spectacular relieve pitcher. As a starter he found good success in his career, but durability issues seem to haunt him. Now Austin needs to find a way to maximize his usage in games to exploit his arm. –RATING 271 (-60)
  21. Salt Lake City (30) 7 game win streak makes you wonder how much better this team would be if the owner could check in more than every other day. RATING 268.5 (+102.5)
  22. Houston (24) LF Fergie Wickman blew through the minors and seems to have ML pitching figured out in his first go around of the league. Now that some scouting reports are out on him. Let's see how he holds up. RATING 260 (-18)
  23. Pittsburgh (28) – Both Angel Duran and Diego Cruz have looked good since the trade that brought them here. The change seems to be a welcome one for the team who as a result of a more rounded pitching attack moved up the power rankings 5 notches. RATING 247 (+37.5)
  24. Milwaukee (19- ) - 6 qualities starts out of 29 gives the team a good indicator where the problems might lie in Milwaukee. On the contrary the pen has only allowed 8 out of 45 inherited runs to score. RATING 242.5 (-69.5)
  25. Monterrey (21) – After a tough Negotiation 3B Sam Miller has signed a 4 year contract extension basically locking Sam up his career in Monterrey, a franchise he has spent all but 1 season playing for. RATING 224.5 (-73)
  26. Minnesota (27) - The hitting has been doing quite well this season, but the pitching has been truly an enigma. Roy Robinson is pitching well below his standards throwing up a 7+ era in 8 starts. he seems to have regressed to the level of the rest of the starting staff. Job had to hope that would work the other way where the rest of the bottom of the barrel staff rose to his level. RATING 220.5 (-13.5)
  27. Florida (29) this will be the last week where last season's standings mattered. Without out that boost and they way Florida's hitting they might further sink in the rankings next week. Time to wake up guys and hit the ball. RATING 209.5 (+30)
  28. Washington D.C. (26) if this team can get the hitting going for Ryan Perry they could start to threaten the division. Perry has been huge this season leading the league in Strike outs and posting a 3.36 ERA –RATING 204.5 (-59.5)
  29. Burlington (22) Trying to find a place on the team for both 2B Joe Norton (coming off the DL) who had a hot start to the season before injury derailed him, and Prospect Iago Silva who has filled in nicely as a utility player as well as playing 2B. –RATING 200 (-80.5)
  30. St Louis (32) CF Lawrence Hutton is trying to build on a so-so rookie campaign. He is performing about the same this season though, again a disappointment to the fans in St. Louis who have had high hopes for the youngster
    RATING 195.5 (+55.5)
  31. Durham (15) 6-12 in the last 2 weeks puts the team 5 games under .500 and tumbles the team down the power rankings. Watch for them to dust themselves off and start a climb back up, Might never see 15 this season again though. RATING 189 (-143)
  32. Atlanta (31) The Sole bright spot in this young season might be the play of 2B Gabby Sanford who is batting .332 with 8 hr and 13 SB, at this pace he should threaten his career highs. RATING 133.5 (-28)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

POWER RANKINGS S16 Week 1

  1. New York NL (-) …The meek shall inherit the Earth. And sign Matt Shave in the Off Season and not only lead the league in Pitching but in hitting as well. RATING 538.5
  2. New York AL (-) If you had to name a catalyst for the rise of Bomber bomb, you might need to give new 2B Nipsey Diaz a shout. He is batting .342 with 6 home runs while providing solid defense in the field. Guess you have to expect some bang for your buck when you pay 24M this season. RATING 502.5
  3. Toledo (-) interesting fact: Holy Pitchers have picked off 6 base runners so far this season to lead the league. RATING 481
  4. Louisville (-) – Half the batting order seems to be carrying the other half. 5 starters batting .300+ 4 below .250 (3 below .200)
    RATING 469.5
  5. Chicago (-) the bullpen has been outstanding shutting down opponents and closing the door on games. The starting pitching is still feeling their way around. Nate House has been quite inept this season with a 1080 ERA in 5 starts. RATING 462
  6. Vancouver (-). Batting 100 points higher at home (.301) then on the road (.203) RATING 435
  7. Colorado (-) The Bullpen is struggling to hold the lead late in games as a unit they are 7 for 14 in save situations. RP Andres Osuna has a 14.34 ERA through 13 games and 10.2 innings. Batters seem to be teeing off of him this season. RATING 426.5
  8. Salem (-) The Starting pitching has kept the team in games and allowing them to win. The bullpen seems to be struggling on anything close. Salem has to hope they can get better production out of Delgado, Trammell and Li if they want to stay above .500 this season.-
    RATING 399.5
  9. Madison (--) Pitching was revamped for S16 bringing in 4 new starters. Most of which who are fly ball pitchers. In retrospect not so smart in a bandbox stadium.–
    RATING 392.5
  10. Cheyenne (-) –2B Chris Durbin is still swinging near the top of the league after his near MVP season last year. Batting .370 with 18 stolen bases RATING 387
  11. Kansas City (-) Here's a telling sign 0 plus plays and 17 minus plays in the field. The McCoys basically field a damn good softball team. –RATING 348
  12. Las Vegas (-) CL Cookie Espinosa- has brought his A game in his sophomore effort as team closer. A perfect 10 for 10 in saves with a .90 ERA –RATING 346
  13. Memphis (-) Losing 1B Kimera Newman early in the season has limited the Amon-Ra offense. Newman regularly contributes 30+ homerun and 100_ RBI a season. Big hole to fill for the next month of the season. RATING 343.5
  14. Philadelphia (-) - RF Valerio Guillen, overlooked for NL MVP, seems like he has a big chip on his shoulder already batting .340 with 11 dingers. He is not relenting on the race this season. RATING 338
  15. Durham (-) 10th in the league in plate appearances and yet the Bulls still have been issues zero intentional passes this season. Talk about no respect for a team's hitters. RATING 332
  16. Austin (-) –When you pay a guy 24.5M you have to expect he is going to perform. Hi Tegheder has done just that. 3-0 with a .87 WHIP and a 1.48 ERA RATING 331
  17. Colorado Springs (-) Pitching has been surprisingly good this season without Ace Hi Telgheder. It will be interesting to see how they hold up the rest of the season. RATING 312.5
  18. Columbus (-) 2B Bernie Martinez set the bar high with his breakthrough sophomore effort last season where he batted over .300 13 hr and 73 RBI. This season he is battling the Mendoza line at .194 with 3 HR. RATING 312
  19. Milwaukee (-) - LF Harvey Carson leads the league in Home runs with a .348 batting average. He has ignited the normally passive Blue offense as a result He is on the trade block. RATING 311.5
  20. Norfolk (-)Rule 5 RP Richard Martin is finding the adjustment from AA to ML a little tougher than he expected. His OBA of .382 and ERA north of 9.75 are good indicators that he should be buried at the end of the bench until he's ready. RATING 302.5
  21. Monterrey (-) – Rookie LF Emil Reynoso despite his .316 batting average is also leading the league in strike outs amassing 30 strikeouts already in 98 at bats. RATING 297.5
  22. Burlington (-) the pre-season Knee injury to SS Steven Jenner takes a big bat out of the ballbuster lineup. Although Jenner isn't the player he was 5 seasons ago, he still is a solid force for a team to lean on.–RATING 280.5
  23. Cincinnati (-) Nice turn around in Cincinnati who have played tough in a number of high pressure games. They have already played 13 I run games amassing a 10-3 record. The Bullpen will not be able to maintain them with the workload they are carrying so there needs to be caution for the future. RATING 278.5
  24. Houston (-) The Buffs have thrown out 41% of potential base stealers. RATING 278
  25. Texas (-) LF Trevor Jackson seems to have aged a20 years. He has been sluggish on the base path and seems to have developed a bigger hole in his swing. He seems to have the skills to rebound, Texas might not be able to wait for that to happen.–RATING 270.5
  26. Washington D.C. (-) As poor as RP David Montanez appears to be pitching this season ( 25 hits in 16.1 innings 6.61 ERA) he has only let 4 of 16 inherited runners score. He seems to be being used in some high pressure situations and is performing pretty well. –RATING 264
  27. Minnesota (-) Team ERA is 6.63 more than 1 run higher than the next worst team. Carson Forest struggled in the start of the season, but seems to be improving as the season progresses. One item to watch is the high walk totals Minnesota is handing out.-
    RATING 234
  28. Pittsburgh (-) Roy Parks (BA .194) is definitely in the league for his defense, but you still would hope he batted his playing weight .216. – RATING 209.5
  29. Florida (-) Hitting has been a major concern. Randolph has been a consistent .280 hitter for his career is batting a flat .218 Candy Zoltan a career .303 hitter is batting .223 and Victor Rios a career .260 batter is hitting a lowly .168. They need to shake these boys up. RATING 179.5
  30. Salt Lake City (-) RP Fred Taylor has never found a groove in Salt Lake City. He leads the league in walks with 22 while only striking out 12 in 17 innings of work this year. Not a great way to stay employed. RATING166
  31. Atlanta (-) Gabby Sanford has been impressive with his .410 batting average. He has already ran a 20 game hit streak in this young season. RATING 163.5
  32. St Louis (-) 9 of their 10 wins have come in save situations. Making those wins nail biters. St. Louis has only blown 3 save opportunities this season. RATING 138


Friday, May 14, 2010

10 Questions with McCoy’s Raucous

Q: Our readers are dying to know how is it that you came up with the franchise's name. Are you hoping that the Hatfields join up so you can have a real feud?
A: It was named after the John McCoy, who is the father of Kansas City.

Q: The McCoys have enjoyed quite a bit of success under your stewardship, having a winning record 12 out of the past 13 years, winning the division title four times along with two World Series rings. Recently the McCoys have been slumping although payroll seems to have held steady, How are you reassume the Kansas City Faithful and the press that things will turn around.
A: The only plan I have is blackmail. I have some great pictures of Ewell Carasone (owner) with a pig. The McCoys need to get out of salary cap hell that I created for last season and this one.

Q: Which McCoys player, past or present, have the fans in Kansas City been most fond of, and why?
A: Their favorite player is Dick Sparks. They like to see the Dick catch fire, but last season it didn't spark at all. They also liked Donzell Cookson, David Seanez, Gil Davenport, D'Angelo Guevara, Mark Swift, and Shawn Cust.

Q: Which McCoy player, past or present, the fans have the highest hopes for, only to have them dashed by poor performance?
A: George Harding. Here is a guy who is a borderline HOF, yet he suffered from Coloradoitis. Also Butch Brush never seemed to get it together.

Q: Which AL team do you consider to be your biggest rival?
A: It used to be the Oklahoma City Chickens. Edric used to beat the crap out of us all the time.

Q: What prospect in your system do you have the highest hopes for?
A: My rule 5 pick from last year, Felipe Melendez. .he has been safely been dropped back into AAA for some more seasoning. Hopefully his elbow and his control problems will go away.

Q What trade have you made that you have the most regrets over?
A: I just perused my trades and I don't know if I have one. It could be a trade with the Ball Busters (now the Pirates) in season 10 where I gave up Kenny Foster for Willie Tavarez. This year is the proving grounds for Willie. If he bombs again, then I will regret this trade.

Q: What trade have you made that you feel has helped your team the most?
A: The trade I made with Edric back in seaon 5. I traded Dennis Gilbert to them for C Lariel Almanza and 2b Brian Mecir. Mecir has been a main player in my lineup for the last 8 seasons and Almanza really vaulted me to the WS championship in season 6. I really haven't had a catcher like him since.

Q: What free agent signing has been your best and worst?
A: The best one was my love, David Seanez. I paid a 6 mil bonus way back in season 2 to sign the IFA and I haven't regretted it. My worst one was George Harding.

Q: What players on your team (past/present) have had the best nicknames?
A: Boom-Boom Butch Brush. The ball always left the park when he pitched.

Q: What player on your team has the best theme music?
A: Adrian Cassidy. When he dusts himself off the bench, he comes out with –"I'm Super" from Big Gay Al.

Q: In closing, please list the players who have played on your team that you feel are Hall of Fame worthy?
A: Dude Reed, George Harding, Tony Kelly, Shawn Cust, and Chris Sears. D'Angelo Guevara and David Seanez will join the group when they are done.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

NL EAST S16 PREVIEW

Team

Owner

W-L

Summary

New York Dolls

gnocc

111-51

Take a team loaded with young cheap talent add expensive established talent. Less than a World Series appearance would be a disappointment.

Pittsburgh Pirates

noahkelley

79-83

Pirates didn't change a lot and I would expect they won't move to much in the standing either.

Norfolk Train Wrecks

mattfurjan

79-83

Improved but not quite ready for prime time, the pitching staff is moving in a very competitive direction.

Atlanta Braves

warrior0510

61-101

Things are bleak in Atlanta, as they wait for some farm talent to come charging up the ladder.

New York Dolls
89.1M(102M)
OFFSEASON MOVES: KEY SUBTRACTIONS: WAIVED: RF Tony Bryne- speedy light
hitter
Key Adds: RF Matt Shave- 3 time League MVP, SP Michael Foster- long reliever at this point, RP Geronimo Rosado-4A reliever.
Summary: What happens when you take over a World Series team with a payroll south of 50M, then double the payroll and added a superstar outfielder? We are about to find out. All kidding aside. The New Look New York Dolls are going to be very very good. Shave adds an element to the lineup that was greatly lacking and that was a true cleanup batter, Springer had a breakout year in that role, but with shave and Springer going back to back look for the balls to go flying every night. Pitching has always been a mainstay in New York look for their dominance to continue. The only question is how Michael Foster will fit into the New York plan. We will soon see.

Pittsburgh Pirates
74M(84M)
OFFSEASON MOVES: KEY SUBTRACTIONS: RETIRED: P Timothy Garcia- HOF'er ends long career, RELEASED: 2B Herman Chance FA LEFT: SP Omar Segui-better LR right now, C Torey Diaz- can still call a game, RP Jung Gao solid long reliever, SP Bruce Mayne- low tier starter, DH Sting Leary- no longer capable at Catcher, SP Alan Palmer- average starter, Key Adds: C Roy Park- good defensive catcher, SP Harry Palacios- average starter, RP Willie Feliz, SP Andres Amaral, WAIVER CLAIM: 1B Lorenzo Estrada- great 1B for the price,
Summary: The Off season puts the Pirates in a very similar position as last season. They replaced lost free agents with very similar castoffs from other teams. Palacios and Amaral will fill similar roles as Segui and Mayne but the upgrades will be slight if any. Parks does give the team a legitimate defensive catcher, with Waiver claim Estrada covering the reduction in offense. Basically a reshuffling of the same team for season 16 as they threw out for season 15.

Norfolk Train Wrecks
67.5M (69M).
OFFSEASON MOVES: KEY SUBTRACTIONS: FA LOSS: P Wilfredo Ordonez- Solid long reliever, SP Josh Brantley- pitches are starting to betray him, SP John Perkins- Same as Brantley, RELEASED: P Pedro Padilla- 4A Guy, Key Adds: RULE 5: 3B Pasqual Valdes- average at best hitter, RP Richard Martin- good be great if you can handle his durability. PROMOTED: SP Trenidad O'Donnell-Future Ace
Summary: The lineup is still set losing no one from last season's squad. The issue is they added no real depth either to the hitting corps. Pitching on the other hand should be much improved with the addition of rookie O'Donnell who will fill the role of staff ace without question. Add in already established starts Marty Hooper and David Dominguez and you will have a solid 3 punch. Sadly the rest of the rotation will over little more than a fresh body throughout the season. The pen should hold up quite well with ex-closer Hong-Jin Xaio and Livan Campos. Cl Raymond Kielty does not get much respect around the league but showed flashes which should allow him to compete for the job again. Rule 5 Guy Richard Martin is the Wildcard in the mix.

Atlanta Braves
81.5M(85M)
OFFSEASON MOVES: KEY SUBTRACTIONS: FA LOSS: RP Greg Arnold- still could be effective in relief, RP Sam Hawkins- Effective long reliever, DH Terrell Welch- efficient DH, RP Pedro Mantalban-4A guy, RELEASED: SP Kevin Yamaguchi- 4A Player DH Fernando Nunez- solid DH Key Adds: RULE 5: 2B Robert Lundquist- Average hitting FA ADD: P John Cho- average ML pitcher, SP B.J. Kipling- Avg SP.
Summary: Offensively and defensively this team is in rough shape. The best offensive player Matty Evers is limited to 1B and is poor at that position. The rest of the team will struggle with their defensive assignments as well. Offensively the team has good speed when they can get on the bases, but getting guys there will be a challenge. Hitting will come at a premium. I like New Catcher Josh Hargrave but he will wear quickly and is at best a half time player. Pitching added a few guys to replace the leaving free agents, but no huge upgrades in pitching to look to guide this team through another tough season. Atlanta is probably looking at another 100 loss season.

NL NORTH S16 PREVIEW

Team

Owner

W-L

Summary

Philadelphia Balboas

booshie73

77-85

Sliding the wrong way, They seem to be in a holding patern of mediocrity

Columbus Horseshoes

bengal814

95-67

Over 100M payroll has the perk of buying a few extra wins, if they lead after the 8th good night.

Milwaukee Blue Stockings

jweiland

84-78

Improved defense and the young pitching staff continues to develop, slowly they become more relevant in the division.

Cincinnati Ramrods

malewell

75-87

Improvement is there, but depth is not a few rookies and up and comers should add a nice spark for the future, but take their lumps in s16.

Cincinnati Ramrods
75.7M (93M)
OFFSEASON MOVES: KEY SUBTRACTIONS: RELEASED: UTIL Stephen Allen- light hitting util guy, SP Patrick Greenwood- Never pitched well in Cinci, 1B Damon Miller older than dirt hit machine, P Freddy Hurst- middle of the road, RP Karl Fryman- days are gone, LF Alex Benitez- his time has passed, FA LOSS: RP Jose Bolivar- AAA guy who filled in during the dark season 15, RP Roy Murphy- at one time he was good, C Rudy Shouse, backup catcher no more. TRADED AWAY: C Brent Sheets- best offensive catcher for many seasons, Key ADDS: PROMOTED: SS Hector Fernandez – 1 year out of the Dominican Republic and he's here to stay. FA ADDS: SP Max Milliard- Serviceable starter, RP Robin Wilson- solid bullpen presence, RP David Ramos- TRADED FOR: SS Junior Moreno- 2B Tony Funaki- Great defensive option, C Eddie Duncan- solid backup or might be the starter. SS Aaron Fox- should be a stable force at SS; SP Albert Maurer- should be a front line starter, RF Alex Leon- Starter in RF... RULE 5: SP Stan Nation- will struggle against Righties.
Summary: Abandoned last season, the team still is feeling the effects, but is on the right road. Gone is super catcher Brent Sheets, but so is a lot of useless space eating players. In their place comes a stable force in the middle of the field in Aaron Fox, a few other starting pitchers to add depth to a starting rotation which features top gun Clarence Patrick, The Lineup is more defensively savvy than a year ago, but might struggle to pound out a lot of runs from the heart of its lineup. Leon and Fernandez are going to be asked to do a lot with a thin supporting cast at the plate. Look for the team to move closer to .500 this season, but to have building blocks for the future in place for seasons to come.

Milwaukee Blue Stockings
50.3M (51M)
OFFSEASON MOVES Key Adds: FA ADD: CF Wade Prince- plus all around player PROMOTED: C Darryl Gregg- DH playing part-time catcher, LF Moe Tucker –power bat, SS Felipe Flores- could use more seasoning to be the defensive star he is, RP Andres Brogna – could be Matt O'Malley's replacement as closer, TRADED FOR: 2B Matty Cela- rule 5 guy with good power Subtractions: RELEASED: SS Sven Groom- Defensive stopper, 2B Jose Alonso- Offensive hitter, C Kennie Hogan- Solid backup option, UTIL Darrell Richardson – Bench player at this point, FA LOSS: UTIl D.T. Hutch- still solid bat to give, WAIVED: 1B Lorenzo Estrada- solid 1B
Summary: The starting pitching took some lumps last season and with it went Hideo Tamura to division rival Columbus, The pitching should again show sparks of promise, but are still to green to be leaned on very heavy to control games. With this in mind, the stockings went after improving their defense with Prince and adding some offensive firepower with Gregg and tucker, Brogna is a very interesting player to watch and could be Matt O'Malley's replacement as closer. They are almost mirror images of each other. The pen should keep late games close which is important for a team whose bats have a history of disappearing in clutch situations. Overall the Team upgraded the defense which is a plus in the NL, but still has some waiting to do until the prospects truly shine.


Columbus Horseshoes
103.6M (104M) 91M.
OFFSEASON MOVES SUBTRACTIONS: FA LEFT: Sp Ricky Shaw- still could be a good option for the bottom of the rotation, SP Steven Latham- a solid spot starter if you really need one, 2B Derrek Forbes- he has good speed, SP Sherm Taylor-long reliever at this point in his career.
TRADED: SP Hideo Tamura-top line starter, SS Aaron Fox- stable force at SS
Key Adds: FA SIGNED: SP Brandon Roosevelt- good upgrade starter for a rotation, SP Gary Whiteside- cheap option to round out the rotation, C Charlie Marion- above average option at catcher, TRADED FOR: 3B Gil Rhodes- above average hitter solid defensive presence, SP Hugh Richardson-weak against lefties, but otherwise good, CF Felix Kim- defense and speed earn him a spot anywhere, SS Junior Moreno- average everywhere,
Summary: Pitching should be able to do its thing similarly to last season, but Tamura's loss does knock the lineup down a notch or two. Hitting behind league MVP Bo Glanville should holds own again. Adding Fox will not only add needed defense up the middle, but also a solid bat. Outside of Tamura the team really lost no one of incredible value, but added depth at a number of positions and an upgrade at SS, C and CF. Look for them to be the team to catch in the NL North again.

Philadelphia Balboas
59.2M (72M)
OFFSEASON MOVES: SUBTRACTIONS: FA LEFT: SS
Wade Prince- good bat, better 3B, 1B Dmitri Miller-still has a big bat, SP Jimmie Eusebio- middle of rotation fireballer, RELEASED: LF Emil Reynoso- all or nothing swinger, C Ricardo Rios- Solid hitting part-time DH Key Adds: FA SIGNED: 1B Marquis Ashley –looking for redemption after 1 season in NY, 2B Harry Vosberg – no longer good enough for 2B could be a solid OF'er.
Summary: I loved the Balboa's rotation not less than 3 seasons ago and thought this was the next best thing, They never lived up to that potential. Be it because of injury or training or whatever outside of Parrish I'm not sure who you lean on in a pinch in this rotation. Parrish is even a shadow of what he could have been because of a major shoulder injury. The Offense should be good enough to at least make the games into a fair slugfest. Valerio Guillen, J.P. Melendez, and Arthur Worthington should do a great job in the center of a strong lineup. If they do a good job of keeping it close CL J.P. Ordonez should be able to finish the game without question.

Monday, May 3, 2010

AL East Season 16 Preview

AL EAST Season 16 Projected Standings


Team

Owner

W-L

Summary

Chicago Wolves

vico

99-63

Should easily be the team to win the division, but teams that hold still seem to be the ones who get past on the shoulder.

Washington D.C. old school warriors

mjdolloff

88-74

I think they could compete for a wild card spot and even the division in the right condition. They get hot and look out.

Burlington Ice Storm

tbarden

83-79

This team could shock the world and go on a roll and either way and end 10 games up or down from .500

Durham Bulls

bigalric

64-98

Losing fewer than 100 is a big step right now.



Burlington Ice Storm
74.9M(81M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
OFFSEASON MOVES: LEFT FA: 2B Travis Hardtke- average at best, 3B Rolando Johnson- never really developed in Burlington, SP Andres Amaral- solid performer overwhelmed in his role with Burlington, RP Miguel Arrojo- bad S15 cost him his job and now his roster spot, LF Hal Taylor- all that is left might be the HOF, RP Frank Figueroa- Solid reliever in his career, should latch on somewhere, ADDED FA ADD: RP Babe Rose- should get a shot to be featured in Burlington, SP Wascar Martin- seemed to exceed expectations in Memphis, can't see that here. RULE 5 CF Oswaldo Jacquez- here for his glove not his bat
SUMMARY: The Ice Storm is returning the main parts of their offense again. They would still probably like to add another strong bat, but even if they sit on what they have they have a solid team to lineup the batting order. On the defensive side they added Jacquez who could be a great late inning defensive sub for Stroud and Silva. The Rotation again might be the weak point; Adding Martin will be an upgrade over Amaral and injects fresh blood into the rotation which struggled in S15. The Pen adds a good arm in Rose and should be able to handle the workload better than the few RPs Burlington let go. The team again might teeter close to .500 with the starting pitching throwing away to many games.

Durham Bulls
62.2M(71M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
OFFSEASON MOVES: TRADED: CF Felix Kim- Defensively solid offensively challenged LEFT FA: SP Graham Green-age has caught up to him, might still have 1 season left to give. RP Derrick Fisher- his days were over last season, LR Carter Warden- as a long reliever he could still get some looks, RELEASED: DH Juan Henriquez- hit 35 Hrs and 115RBI and nobody is calling, DH Julio Franco- Light hitting catcher still might find a home. SP Alex Amaral- overwhelmed in the ML for 5 seasons. ADDED: FA SIGNING: SP Pedro Espinosa – still can pitch and will be the team veteran if not the ace, SP Jimmie Eusebio- Should provide a stable force in a weak pitching staff. RULE 5: UTIL David Caballero- Average at everything, OF Matty Cela- Power hitter with good speed poor base running, 2B Jose Duran- Slightly above average projected hitter and runner. 3B Happy Jensen- power hitting slugger

SUMMARY: William Stewart was a good pick up last season and filled a need in offense. Where he ripped for 123RBI, but Superstar Theodore Grace took a step back and didn't perform. The Bulls will still need one more bat to allow the offense to get rolling and put ducks on the pond for Grace. The starting pitching staff is vastly improved with the 2 FA additions, but Nunez and Reidling are still going to be trying for the fans. The pen is stable and shouldn't cause too many fires, but don't expect them to save a lot of clutch games either. Overall better than last season, but the process is still very far off.

Chicago Wolves
63.9M(66M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
OFFSEASON MOVES: FA LEFT: RP Kris Aspromonte- could be a solid Right hand Specialist, RF Tony Jacquez- Still a solid RF option
SUMMARY: The Wolves have a lot of young Talent to work with and their lineup should be very good yet again. They didn't look to bring in a starting CF'er until prospects were ready though and that surprises me because it leaves a large hole up the middle of the field. The Starting pitching returns from last season another year old and better. CL Orlando Martinez took home the hardware last season as Fireman of the year, given the right opportunity; I can't see why that won't happen again. Bottom Line is this team is quickly becoming a force, with minor tweaks and adds they could be challenging for the World Series.


Washington D.C. old school warriors
75.7M (80M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
OFFSEASON MOVES: FA LOSS: SP Theo Gibson- his career has been long enough time to shoot this horse, 2B Charles McEnroe, LF Paulie Duran- he played long enough, LR- Wilson Marshall- surprisingly has had no success as a long reliever. RELEASED: SS Kennie Ramirez- not good enough for SS, can't hit enough for anywhere else, RP Alex Colon- highly effective for 1 batter every 3 games, 2B Benji Lugo- average 2B, 1B Einar Lopez- light hitting 1B, ADDED: FA ADD: 1B Dmitri Miller- has the bat to give your lineup pop. LR Sherm Taylor- still useful in long relief. PROMOTED: RP John Cheng- When he finds the plate he will be effective for at least 10 pitches
SUMMARY: Replacing Theo Gibson with Sherm Taylor is a great start to the off season. They added a solid bat in Miller as well. Both moves could be key to solidifying the Warriors back into relevance for S16. Pitching should be beyond ordinary with Perry, Ritz and Dunn this season. The Pen should also provide stability in the close games. The one thing Washington might lack is depth outside their starts the team gets thin very quickly around the diamond. If they avoid injuries to key players they should thrive.

AL South Season 16 Preview

ML AL South (Season 15 Projected Standing)

Texas Tornadoes 85-77 The youth on this team will make them good for the long haul, This season will be a learning yea, but they could surprise

Houston Buffs (AL) 75-87 To many holes to fill in the field, they need to get guys in the right positions and bring in a name for the pitching staff to settle things some.

Louisville Loud Mouths 87-75 made the playoffs and won the division with a sub-.500 record. They should not have to more about being under .500 this season

St. Louis Rustlers 62-100 WANTED STARTING PITCHING; IF YOU CAN GET THE BALL OVER THE PLATE INQUIRE WITHIN.

St. Louis Rustlers
44M (56M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
KEY OFFSEASON MOVES: SP B.J. Kipling- Bottom of rotation starter, C Kevin Martin- offensive catcher, LRP Roger Forbes- spot starter, no longer a guy for the rotation, SP Harry Palacios- average starter, RF Gerald Monroe- has been ML'er, 2B Fausto Solano- still have speed and defense to offer. ADDED: RP Teddy Kline- 4A Player.
Offense: with 4 spots left on the roster and a lot of holes to fill, it is hard to evaluate the Rustlers. They have a solid CF in Hutton who should be able to build on his freshman effort. The true start of the show might be Steven Driefort, who should again lead this team's offense. They might look to free agency or Rule 5 to pick up a starting 3B.
Defense: On a hole the defense is strength, Schmitt is capable at Short, Hutton holds up well in CF, Driefort is great at 2B. Perez will make a fine LFer. The biggest Question marks are at 3B and at Catcher where Will Stone can't throw out anyone.
Rotation: I'm not sure which 5 pitchers St. Louis will throw up on the mound each day. They have a staff of solid long relievers lead by Newhouse, but not a whole lot of guys who can give the team 5+ innings. Unless they pick up a few veterans or a couple of rule 5 guys these pitchers will be destroyed.
Bullpen: Orlando Frias is more than capable as the closer, but like the rest of the bullpen they get to much work and get worn very quickly. Better starters will make this Pen shine.

Houston Buffs (AL)
58.5M (71M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
KEY OFFSEASON MOVES: SP Francis Charlton- probably not worth 20M, but still quality, RP Luis Camacho- has shown improvement last 3 years, CF Peter Hunter- could be a solid OF'er, RP Winston Ryan-solid middle inning option, RP Julio Vargas- good long relief guy, DH Slim Edwards- all hitter, no fielder, 2B Harry Vosberg- over 2000 career hits and still has a few left to swing, DH Willie Torrealba, probably a DH at this point. ADDED CF Al Rincon- solid defense and speed, but no bat, C Victor Navarro- defensive catcher, SS Kiki Guerrero- could be a great Right handed platoon defensive wiz, SP Steve McDonald- solid starting pitching option.
Offense: off-loaded a lot of the big guns last season and whittled off a few more this year. Dubois, Duran, Richie and Parks should provide enough offense to keep the Buffs in games.
Defense: Donnie Dubois should not be in the field at this point in his career, He still offers a lot at the plate, but his glove and range will not cover enough fields and he won't help the pitching, Duran's arm probably isn't good enough to be full-time in Right, but he should at least get to the ball. The rest of the defense might be close to stellar at their positions.
Rotation: Ace Charlton is gone in his place comes Steve McDonald, a green rule 5 guy from s15, Joining McDonald are Darrin Powers and Winston Franco all are solid, but unspectacular. Done will take control of the game, but should at least pitch well enough to give the Buffs a chance.
Bullpen: Skeeter Nelson might be my pick to lead this bullpen; he has amazing durability and stamina for a setup guy and should eat a lot of innings as the key setup man for the Buffs. I'm not sure who you let close though.

Texas Tornadoes
63.7M (75M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
KEY OFFSEASON MOVES: P Max Milliard- better suited in Long Relief at this point, 1B Eric Ford- long solid career could be at an end, SS Alex Zorrilla- great defensive option still, RF Victor Mondesi- still a viable option, SS Arthur Dunn- solid defensive option, RP Vic Rijo- still a solid pickup. P Alfredo Velazquez- solid long reliever pickup.
Offense: Aurelio Espada is still the man, but he has 3 capable 3rd basemen in the ML behind him (crespo, Martin, Salinas). With this kind of depth it allows Texas to either trade away some of this talent to improve other areas or even have a bunch of killer bats on the bench. The Offense should be able to make noise.
Defense: Defense is going to be good around the infield if they spread out their logjam correctly at 3B, they still might need an upgrade at Center, but they could get away with the talent they have without too much issue.
Rotation: Leach, Gonzales, and Young showed flashes of their skills and will build on their rookie seasons and should be a great backbone for seasons to come.
Bullpen: CL Benito Cortez struggled as a closer in s15; I would not expect him to have as many issues this season in that role. . RP Andres Coronado should also be better. This is a young and capable team in the pitching department. A Team to watch out for in S16 and beyond.

Louisville Loud Mouths
55.9M (70M) Estimated Opening Day Payroll
KEY OFFSEASON MOVES: SP Roy Robinson- Solid Middle rotation guy, CL Walter Gentry- solid pen guy with Closer experience, SP Yannick Fonville- he has had success through a long career, RP Dicky Chen- should be retirement soon, RP Gerald Ma- still solid, SS Carlos Garza- solid backup option.
Offense: Stubby Wilson was the only guy last season to break the 100 RBI club that is hard to believe with talent such as Ivan spehr, Roger Post, and Louie Rosario in the lineup. The latter all settled in with 80+ RBI seasons. With the right combination this lineup should pound out the runs and stay very competitive.
Defense: All the key positions are covered fairly well; they have a deficit at Catcher, but nothing to be afraid of.
Rotation: Tino Chang replaces Fonville and should have better success; the rotation still has a few guys who will give up to many walks for my taste as everyday starters, but the staff should hold its own every day. The rotation has good upside and should keep things close for Louisville.
Bullpen: Small, Wayne and Hernandez should make for good competition to close out games for the loudmouths. They will also make a great pen no matter how things shake out.