AL NORTH S12 Preview

AL NORTH

Fargo Favola's PAYROLL 24.6M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 69-93
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
				Tony Kelly	DH	34
				Tito Ramsay	SP	29
				Kenneth Gutierrez	CF	31

Opening Day Lineup
C Alan Beckwith (R)

1B Albert Oquist (R)
2B Ralph Lee (R)
3B Turk Thornton (S)
SS Kevin Hatcher (R)
LF Albert Mesa (R)
CF Benji Adkins (L)
RF Bill Stephenson (R)
DH Max Ibarra (R)
Starting Pitching: Clarence Witt, Thomas Lewis, Ray Piersoll, Marty Hooper, Hank Brow
Closer: Artie Luebbers
SUMMARY: Pitching is the key to the success in Fargo and they are lacking in that department. Young Phenoms Hooper and Luebbers are buried beneath the glutten of mediocre or below pitching. Overall the Lineup is strong with the exception of the outfield which badly needs an upgrade.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Pitching pitching and more pitching get a quality cheap LF and the team will add 5-10 wins.
VEGAS ODDS: 55-1

Madison Massa's PAYROLL 65.7M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 113-49
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
				Andre Thornton	CF	34
				Jim Larkin	SS	29
				Roosevelt Hanson	1B	32
				Vinny Hernandez	SS	31
				Wil Dorsey	C	29

Opening Day Lineup
C Carter Lowe (R)
1B Casey Kaline (L)
2B Alejandro Perez (R)
3B Scott Biddle (S)
SS Bo Nitkowski (R)
LF Marcus Thompson (L)
CF Fritz Lowe (L)
RF Doyle Twitchell (L)
DH Dave Stovall (R)
Starting Pitching: Darwin Power (R) Hal Buchanan (S) Albert Telford (R) David Hernandez (L)
Pablo Javier (R)
Closer: Ellis Watson (L)
SUMMARY: Losing the man of glass would hurt more if he played more than 50% of the games the last 2 seasons. The bgger loss could be Hanson who is the ultimate warrior at 1B and the heart of any batting order. Kaline started his career at 1B and looks to end it there now. Pitching is a challenge in the Bandbox in Madison, but Buchanan did ike out a Cy Young with Powers, Telford and Javier following the roation has spunk. Watson and his setup man McGee can be unhittable at times.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: No True starter at CF and a young outfield might allow for a youth movement but will cost a few wins this year.
VEGAS ODDS: 12-1

NY Bombers PAYROLL 44.5M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 115-47
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Juan Henriquez	1B	29		Moises Tavarez	P	40
Daryle Davis	SP	30		Dennis Robinson	3B	32
				Bill Darwin	1B	36
				David Liang	RF	31
				Trenidad Beltran	1B	36
				Wilson Marshall	SP	33

Opening Day Lineup
C Yorvit Castillo (R)
1B Bartolo Ozuna (L)
2B Carlos Feliz (R)
3B Max Mills (R)
SS Geraldo Tarraga (R)
LF Timothy Dye (R)
CF Jason Tankersley (L)
RF Bill Sheehan (L)
DH Mark Snyder (R)
Starting Pitching: Daryle Davis, Everett Roosevelt, Doug Tobin, Rudy Atchley, Virgil Diaz
Closer: Kyle Laker
SUMMARY: late season trades brought the team Carlos Feliz and pretty much sealed but both the division and the Al championship. This is as complete of a team as possible without a WS ring to show for it. The Starting pitching is intact and although they are a year old and have lost some skill. They should compete very well again this season though. The bullpen lost a number of arms and brought back Kyle Laker to close which was a good move to solidify the back end of the team..
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Dye should move back to the bench and limit his AB's he is a capable utility player but I'm not so sure he's a guy you want in the lineup everyday.
VEGAS ODDS: 6-1

Toledo Holy

LAST YEARS RECORD: 94-68
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Tomas Mateo	SS	29		Homer Pressley	C	37
Tony Jacquez	2B	27		Peter Feng	2B	34
Lee Adkins	LF	29		Al Leskanic	SS	31
Gary Osik	SP	24		Todd Neill	CF	28
Aubrey Kell	SS	30		Artie Hausmann	C	27
Kevin Yamaguchi	SP	27
Tyler Sele	2B	29
D.T. Hutch	SS	28
Paul Bell	RP	31

Opening Day Lineup
C Victor Navarro (L)
1B Tyler Sele (R)
2B Stephen Dreifort (S)
3B D.T. Hutch (R)
SS Aurelio Espada (S)
LF Dmitri Miller (R)
CF Minnie Coleman (R)
RF Aaron Mohr (L)
DH Fernando Nunez (R)
Starting Pitching: Jimmie Eusebio, Calvin Coco, Angel Duran, Gary Osik,
Kevin Yamaguchi
Closer: Joel Byrne
SUMMARY: an ever evolving lineup. The offense has strengths with SS Espada and 3B Coleman. Any Rotation that features 3 top starts should have a successful club, but on this team no one holds their job for long. Toledo is the revolving door of the league sI'm sure tomorrow this will be a different story. Last year they were the surprise AL team with 94 wins not sure if they can match that this year. .
HOLES TO ADDRESS: The team is in such a state of flux it's hard to tell where they are going at times, strengthening the bullpen and adding a true CF would be a start
VEGAS ODDS: 35-1

AL WEST SEASON 12 Preview

AL WEST

Kansas City McCoys (AL) PAYROLL 81.9M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 101-61
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS

:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Stephen O'Connor	RP	24		George Harding	3B	36
Sammy Everett	SS	22		Reid Heredia	SP	33
				Butch Brush	P	33
				Ariel Estrada	RP	37
				Grant Febles	RP	28
				Socks Gonzales	SS	27

Opening Day Lineup
C Phil Tabaka (R)

1B Al Vazquez (R)
2B Vic Ramirez (R)
3B Bono Crede (R)
SS David Seanez (R)
LF Al Astacio (S)
CF Dennis Gilbert (R)
RF Dick Sparks (R)
DH Eric Ford (S)
Starting Pitching: Alfredo Velazquez, Pedro Barcelo, D'Angelo Guevara, Andres Ramirez, Jeremy Linden
Closer: Charles Hernandez
SUMMARY: The McCoys have a strong bench, but beyond Seanez they have no superstars in their lineup. Crede, Ramirez and Gilbert are all fading and are not where they use to be. This team might struggle to get offense around the mighty 'stache. The pitching is still very solid and will keep KC is most games, but I think the team will fade some this year.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Moving Gilbert to Left and putting Astacio on the bench would help if they can get a quality CF.
VEGAS ODDS: 18-1

Wichita Sizzlers (AL)

PAYROLL 66.8M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 109-53
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Russell Thompson	SS	27		Steve Smart	ss	31
Alex Wang	SP	31		Gerald Ma	Rp	30
Davey Clark	C	24		Lee Adkins	Lf	29
				Michael Owen	Rp	33
				Rudy Shouse	C	31
				Luis Amaral	2B	36
				Wilfredo Ordonez	SP	33
				Craig Holt	C	27

Opening Day Lineup
C Don Martin (S)
1B Vicente Arias (L)
2B Vic Castilla (S)
3B Deivi Infante (S)
SS Russell Thompson (R)
LF Vicente Montanez (S)
CF Mendy Barfield (S)
RF Edgar Tarraga (R)
DH Roger Iannone (R)
Starting Pitching: Timothy Garcia, Ray Wright, Pedro Espinosa, Mark Cox, Alex Wang
Closer: Luther Matthews
SUMMARY Again should compete for top Al Spot. This team has a good mix of veterans with young superstars and will be difficult to beat with a bat or with a ball. I again understand why I dread facing the Sizzlers. Add Alex Wang and yikes you have 38M invested in 2 of the games top pitchers. Odds on Favorite to go all the way or fizzle out like the New York Yankees
HOLES TO ADDRESS: If they upgrade their catcher they might be close to unbeatable
VEGAS ODDS: 5-3

Salem Lites (AL) PAYROLL: 70.6M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 62-100
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Alfonso Julio	3B	27		Steve Vina	RP	30
Luis Seanez	C	34		Danny Poppell	C	32
Michael Owen	SP	33		Banana Kashmir	2B	28
Brandon Mercedes	CF	30		Jim Walker	CF	28
Bill Darwin	1B	36		Achilles Hayes	RF	35
Bill Williams	SS	29		Diego Mieses	SP	33
Matt Reynolds	2B	25		Kennie Punto	3B	31
Bruce Spencer	RP	23
Marty Andrews	RF	24

Opening Day Lineup
C Sting Leary (R)
1B Bill Darwin (S)
2B Edgardo Almanzar(R)
3B Alfonso Julio (R)
SS Placido Lugo (R)
LF Michael Ramirez (R)
CF Brandon Mercedes (S)
RF Johnny McNeil (R)
DH Pedro Rodriguez (S)
Starting Pitching: Andy Washington, Josias Martin, Bruce Spencer, Michael Owen
Closer: Harry Lopez
SUMMARY: This team is based on good speed, but overall poor hitting, beyond Almanzar and Leary this team will struggle to get the RBI consistently. The pitching got a small upgrade in Owens and Rule 5 Guy Spencer, but still is weak.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Pitching upgrades would be nice an offensive threat might be more needed though.
VEGAS ODDS: 75-1

Las Vegas Gamble (AL) PAYROLL 71.6M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 74-88
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Vicente Martin	C	26		Matt Messmer	RP	34
Clay Cambridge	2B	26		Benito Nieves	RP	26
Catfish Hermansen	CF	28		Steven Latham	SP	30
John Masato	SP	24		Luis Belliard	C	38
McKay Jennings	RP	29		Hector Almanza	SP	32
Keith Fontenot	RP	25		Stuart Baines	RP	33
Ruben Trevino	RP	28		Terrell Welch	DH	31
Sammy Nunez	SP	25		Al James	RP	33
Spike Walsh	SP	27		Fred Lundquist	P	32
Alfredo Feliz	RP	27
Jon Donahue	SP	25

Opening Day Lineup
C Barney Sheffield (L)
1B Brace Miller (S)
2B Emil Perez (R)
3B
Everett Rodgers (R)
SS Mateo Johnson (R)
LF Del Prieto (R)
CF Catfish Hermansen (L)
RF Hugh Prokopec (S)
DH Clay Cambridge (R)
Starting Pitching: Paul Black, Lucas Parker, Archie Clinton, John Masato
Closer: Andres Osuna
SUMMARY: Offense is solid led by perennial all-star Del Prieto. Del's Injury last year showed how valued he is the Offense. Johnson is a good enough ball player to play many different positions, it would probably benefit the team to move him out of Starting CF and get someone who can field the position better. Especially with the pitching staff the Gamble sport. As for the pitching the team has decent not great arms in the rotation. Most of the starters are at their max potential.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Add a starter and bullpen help first, a Defensive CF if they have the space.
VEGAS ODDS: 45-1