NL West: Tight Race Expected

Oakland Killdeer (NL) broadwayevns View Hardball Dynasty Profile

GM Broadwayevns took over the Killdeer and thought one thing--start the youth movement now. The new GM has had success with his other franchise, making the playoffs 50 percent of the time and saw the talent there to win now. Al Sutton is one of the call-ups and has the makings of a go to closer. Miguel Lopez is the final key call-up as a player who has been up and down for the franchise, but should be there to stay as a competent catcher and big bat.

Position Players

Lopez is a nice part of a lineup which also includes a classic CF contact hitter Erik Graffanino, along with steady bats SS Allen Harris, 3B Ted Haynes, and their best player who has already signed an extension LF Duke Shunick. The Bloomfield, NM native doesn't provide much help defensively and will play in left, but he is a balanced bat with nice speed. Les Clark is really the only power threat in the lineup, but this team is built to play in the wide open spaces of Network Associates Coliseum (-1, -2, -2, -1, -1)

Pitching Staff
The youth movement applies to the pitching staff as well. Vic Cruz is call-up to the rotation, and while he gives up a lot of flyballs he should do okay with the extra room in the ballpark. Oswaldo Franco is also another key starter in the youthanization movement, Franco rates pretty well in GW2 and should see his fair share of innings with the Killdeer. Although the true strength of this team is its international aces Pascual Esposito and Fausto Castillo. The Dominican and Venezuelan are both young and should give division rivals fits seeing them every couple days.

In the System
While there's not a lot of power in the bigs, there is some sitting in AAA. Randy Stewart was left in the minors to delay his ML service time and will likely be called up sometime during the season. The Hobart, OK native has patiently been bidding his time in the minors for 7 years and should contribute quickly if the Killdeer can find a position for him to play.

Prediction 90-72

Honolulu Anuenue Koa Pu'ali (NL) morneau33hr View Hardball Dynasty Profile

While some GMs like to sit back and try not to over-manage their rosters, GM Morneau33hr loves to tinker. Building his lineup for his first season as GM, he called up six prospects from the system, signed five free agents, acquired three major leaguers by trade, and claimed a player off the waiver wire. He even found time to lock up two of his players to long term deals. Time will tell whether he regrets parting with Albert Gonzalez, but a balanced lineup and strong staff will have the Koa Pu'ali competing from opening day.

Position Players

Louis Sikorski is a great player to have behind the plate, Sikorski has great fielding skills for a player with his bat although he might strikeout more than a manger would like. 2B Chuck Karl, 3B Ron Francis, SS Eduardo Ramirez, and MIF Horacio Rodriguez make up a solid infield for the Koa Pu'ali--all bring good gloves and good bats. The outfield might be a weakness in Honolulu, but not because of Mariano Lee. Lee has tremendous glove and rare power for a center fielder--he'll sure make a lot of plus plays in the field and pound out HRs at the plate.

Pitching Staff

Wilfredo Nunez is the big man out of the pen, but he may suffer from being rushed to the bigs. The rotation is headed by Neil Castillo, Troy Rivers, and Esteban Flores. The trio form a nice potential playoff rotation, although they are all very young and don't have a lot of support after the first five innings.

In the System

The Koa Pu'ali were blessed with a lot of talented middle infielders, and the best might be Ernie Lowell. The Iowan native has played three years of minor league ball and there's no need to rush the young man up to the majors as the five-tool SS develops his fielding to an acceptable level.

Prediction 89-73

Helena Handbasket (NL) frymaster23 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Helena GM Frymaster23 was one of the more active franchises in the offseason and maybe they did enough to make something happen. The franchise brought in five players by trade and seven by free agency.

Position Players

Gookie Michaels is the captain of the infield for Helena and provides a pretty steady bat and glove for GM Frymaster's squad. He has the ability to play all 162 games, but will struggle a bit against righties. Marc Stephens came in a trade during the Anteaters of Irvine Firesale 2009 and should provide solid offensive production in LF for years to come. Zachrey Daniels is a competent bat in the other corner outfield spot and will provide similar production. Scott Lowry might be the team MVP though as he will compete for a gold glove and hold his own at the plate.

Pitching Staff

The problem for Helena will be pitching and the GM knew it coming into the season. Four arms were brought in via trade and seven through free agency, but when Buster Riske is your number one starter there could be issues. Time will tell whether the 13-man staff can keep Helena in the division race, but there's not a lot of sand in the hourglass.

In the System

There are two young arms in the system though worth being patient for to develop. Ruben Alicea has two years under his belt and has some solid stuff coming together this year in LoA. Clint Darnell came into the system at the same time and has the makeup to contribute in the show.

Prediction 80-82

St. Louis Belgians (NL) bryanbecker View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Belgians are loves of high alcohol beer and their roster. GM Bryanbecker didn't do much to his roster in the offseason adding a CF in the free agent market, but staying away from the trade market and focused on browsing the beer selection at the Four Firkins. Still, the Belgians have enough talent on their roster to be competitive.

Position Players

The Belgians have few quality bats which will hold them back, they have a few good on-base guys, but they lack the slugging guys to get 'em in. 2B Orlando Campos, 3B George Shaw, and free agent signing CF Brian Perry can all get on base. Yet they'll be relying on 1B Jim Rooney to drive them in... time will tell if that lineup can generate enough offense, but this pundit thinks it won't.

Pitching Staff

GM Bryanbecker is going to have some tough decisions come the trade deadline. He's got some good aging arms, but whether they be pitching will enough leads is TBD. Tito Veres and Miguel Herrera are the top two starters for the Belgians and both are steady veteran arms. The strength of the staff is in the bullpen though. Don Murray, Red Reed, and call-up Frank Shigetoshi can all come into tough situations and deliver--so any leads the Belgians happen to have should be safe.

In the System

While they might be faced with having to decide if they're buys or sellers at the deadline, they already know they have at least one player with a great chance at the show. Ted Park looks to develop into a fine option out of the bullpen with some nasty pitches and great movement.

Prediction 70-92

GW2 AL East Preview: Season 1

The AL East is an early contender for the worst division in GW2. Two of the teams are openly rebuilding and the other two appear to be mediocre at best. Here's a look at how the division should shake out.

Augusta Whitewash

Unhappy with the talent at the ML level, GM sickchangeup went about unloading some of his best players, trading Hal Price and George Bailey for prospects. But Augusta hasn't completely blown up its big league team, and the Whitewash made a savvy trade for Jose Belliard while also signing discount deals for Steve Sweeney, Corban Thompson and Tracy Gaillard.

While the Whitewash won't be contending for a playoff spot, the team isn't completely devoid of talent. The rotation has three quality starters in Richie Wolf, Andy Reagan and Thurman Brown, though none of them will be able to shoulder a ton of innings. The back of the rotation will be more problematic and the bullpen is a two-man show, with Belliard and Paul Wanatabe.

The lineup has only one complete hitter: DH Ed Howell, who likely will spend the first 20 or so games of the season in AAA. 2B Barry Peterson is a nice hitter for his position and could grow into a true star. Outside of that, the team will rely on flawed sluggers like Luis Pizzaro, Andre Fitzgerald and Eric Witt. And you don't even want to consider how bad a hitter CF Virgil Wright is going to be.

Augusta has pockets of talent here and there, but probably not enough to be even average on either side of the ball.

Prediction: 68-94

New York Yankees

The Yankees didn't have an overly active offseason, although they did make a few moves. They traded away a couple talented players in Charlie Moran and Frank Chen and acquired a nice starting pitcher in Ray Hall, and they also signed a couple minor free agents.

Hall joins the clear strength of the team: a starting rotation that also includes Antone Hill and Bert Hughes. Even the back end of the rotation isn't terrible with Kenny Bollea and Gene Doyle.

The bullpen also has several promising pitchers in it, including Javier Romano, Kirk Relaford, Luther Brock and Wilt Root.

The starting lineup has strong hitters where you would expect them: 1B Orber Johnson and DH Vic Javier. But it has serviceable hitters, at worst, throughout the rest of the field and the defense seems competent as well.

All in all, the Yankees should be an above average pitching team and maybe average or a bit above on offense.

Prediction: 86-76, AL East champions

Tampa Bay PoisonArrowDartFrogs

Tampa Bay's biggest moves in the offseason were to trade away one of its better hitters in Jesus Arroyo and to sign a decent aging OF in Lucas Hunter.

Hunter, despite his diminished range, appears to be the team's starting CF. The defense will be much better in the middle infield with Paul Bang and Juan Lee. The team lacks a true star hitter, though, as corner outfielders Miguel Alcantara and Jeffrey Morgan are merely OK and 1B Johan Bates and Arnold Abbott both have flaws that will detract from their obvious strengths.

The rotation is fine at the top with Hideo Tamura and Randy Thurman, and even Zeus Webster and Greg Levis have the potential to be serviceable. Carlos Silva, however, is a disaster waiting to happen in the fifth spot.

The bullpen has a couple respectable pitchers in Troy Anderson and Willie Sierra, but not a lot else.

Depending on how much they can limit Silva's innings, the PADFs could be a solid pitching team with a just below average offense.

Prediction: 77-85

Trenton Dirty Jerz

Trenton had one of the busiest offseasons of any team in the league. The Dirty Jerz traded away some of its best players, including J.P. Alonso, Rob Kirby and Cliff Carter and traded for solid but unspectacular infielders Pedro Perez and Louie Cabrera. They also made a whole slew of discount free agent signings: Cristobal Sanchez, Allen Hamilton, Jesus Rivera, Dee Butler, Ricardo Posada, Louis White, Art Newson and Carl Moran, each for less than $2.5 million a year.

The end result isn't pretty, but it shouldn't be the worst team in the league either.

2B Chan Dong is far and away the best player on the team and the only really good hitter. Of the players above who were acquired in the offseason, Newson, Perez, Cabrera, White and Hamilton all figure to find their way into the starting lineup.

The rotation features just one quality pitcher, and he's still in AAA at the moment: Justin Brooks. It gets ugly quickly after that with the above-mentioned Sanchez, Jack Barry, Pete Wilkerson and an as-yet-unknown fifth starter.

The bullpen's just as big a mess, with Keith Moss probably the only decent pitcher out there.

Trenton can expect to be significantly below average on the pitching side, and just slightly better offensively.

Prediction: 64-98

GW2 NL North Preview: Season 1

Minnesota Bloggers (NL) aarongleeman View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Outside of a controversial trade with Honolulu that was ultimately vetoed, the Bloggers had a fairly uneventful offseason. Regardless, the team is certainly capable of going deep into October with its current roster, where the 3-headed monster of Yoo-Nah Chen, John Sung, and Willie Bennett should prove to be intimidating, to say the least. Beyond that, the Bloggers have plenty of depth; they have as many as 5 pitchers on their active roster that could do an admirable job of holding down the last two slots in the rotation. The pen could prove to be a bit of a problem, though, as only FA acquisition Kevin Pryce really stands out. The lineup isn't quite as strong, especially at shortstop. Mike Cashman is the only credible defender there, and he isn't much of a hitter; options like Micah Purcell or Miguel Nunez provide considerably more offense, but are serious liabilities with the glove. Outside of Chico Rincon (and maybe Harry Oliva), the team doesn't really have any other quality bats. Still, the pitching looks good enough to merit a playoff berth, and they could prove to be as dangerous as anyone if they make it.

Prediction: 91-71, NL North Champs

Scranton Northern Attack (NL) sdedalus View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Northern Attack have talent, but a couple of fatal flaws may doom them in the end. For instance, take the rotation. The starters, on paper, are Paul Dong, Solly McKnight, Tiny Kelley, Barney Hughes, and Jackson Shermann. Talent-wise, that's a solid group of pitchers, despite the lack of a star performer among them. The problem here is that aside from Kelley, none of them can be counted on to go past the 6th (or even 5th) inning on a regular basis, and the bullpen isn't nearly strong enough to make up for this. Fausto Martin will be a godsend when he gets called up, but it's not clear if he'll be enough. As for position players, the team, led by Brendan Borland, has its share of good hitters. However, the only SS on the roster is Les Bradley, and he's a butcher at the position. Conversely, the only 2B on the roster is Cliff Heffner, a smooth fielder with all the hitting prowess of your average beer leaguer. AAA shortstop Brandon Redding could prove to be a big defensive upgrade, but he's helpless against lefties, and there are no viable in-house alternatives at 2B.

Prediction: 75-87, 4th place

Fargo Woodchippers (NL) calolson View Hardball Dynasty Profile

By signing seven different ML FAs and promoting four others from their minor league system, Fargo is clearly looking to win now. The rotation, headed by Charles Franco is decent, but is bolstered by a strong pen. Relief aces like Wesley Cook, Raul Trevino, and Carl Lee won't blow many leads between them. Star RF Roger Barclay has plenty of help in the lineup; along with Carlos Martinez and Andres Escuela, the Woodchippers have a solid core of hitters in place. Felipe Martin and Quinn Vernon aren't half bad, either, although both of them play positions currently filled by superior players. Regardless, they'll certainly make their way into the lineup, one way or another.

Prediction: 88-74, 2nd place

Vancouver Rubes (NL) evegoe View Hardball Dynasty Profile

During the offseason, the Rubes traded for relievers George Bailey and Frank Chen, while also signing reliever Richie Martin. That's good, because every starting pitcher on the roster outside of Darwin Duran comes with a question mark (Is Matty Wright's stuff or control good enough? Can Matty Whitaker find the strike zone? Does Yonder Duran have the stamina to go more than 5 innings?). The lineup is interesting; Ramiro Rijo is an atypical hitter for a right fielder, with excellent bat control and outstanding plate discipline, but very little power. Al Surkamp is a rising star, and a decent bet to finish in the Top 5 in MVP voting a couple of times in his prime. The defense should also be solid, with plus defenders patrolling shortstop and centerfield, although the Rubes could really use a backup for James Rose, and Dante Pong's defense looks pretty iffy at best. They're not the best team in the division, but Vancouver should be good enough to make things interesting, at the very least.

Prediction: 83-79, 3rd place

GW2 AL West preview: Season 1

The AL West is one of the more fiscally responsible divisions in GW2, as none of the teams have committed more than $79 million to their player payroll so far for Season 1. Here's a look at how this season should shake out for the four teams.

Cheyenne Morning Stars

The Morning Stars didn't do anything crazy one way or the other in the offseason, which is probably a good idea for a novice GM. Cheyenne traded away an intriguing pitcher (Amp Dickerson), traded for a few pitchers (Rafael Bonifacio, Eduardo Ortega and Orval Merrick) and signed a couple infielders (Carlos Rodriguez and Trent Schmidt).

The only certainty about the Morning Stars is that their games are going to be long and sometimes frustrating for their fans to watch. The rotation to start the season is Earl Ferrell, Butch Parker, Ivan Rodriguez, Bonifacio and Willie Saenz. While some of them have the potential to be solid pitchers, their control ranges from mediocre to terrible and there figures to be a lot of Cheyenne opponents taking a casual stroll down to first base this season.

The bullpen is a little better, with Rafael Elcano, Virgil Aguilera, Tony Keats and Ortega. B.C. Baez could also help at some point this season.

The lineup has some very impressive players, led by MVP candidate Jimmy Forsch, a solid defensive SS who can hit for average, has good power and patience and is a big threat on the basepaths. He should get help from 1B Tony Viriato, LF T.J. Simpson, OF Al Baerga and C/DH candidates Artie Harris and Albert Ortega.

Defense may be a bit of an issue for Cheyenne, as well. Baerga doesn't really have the range for CF, but he doesn't have the arm for RF either and Cheyenne's best defensive option for CF (Zephyr Mattes) is a huge liability against righties. Also, the Morning Stars need to decide which of Harris and Ortega is the least bad option to catch.

Overall, the offense appears to be above average and the pitching staff seems below average.

Prediction: 81-81

Colorado Springs Eternal

The Eternal had a pretty quiet offseason, with the only move a trade for decent SS Alex Izquierdo. Izquierdo joins a lineup that might be a bit on the weak side.

1B Earl Mulholland and DH Nash Stephens are the team's best hitters, but neither one looks like a real star at the plate. The catching tandem of Ricardo Rincon and Gail Meyer is solid and Bob Walbeck is a fine hitter for a second baseman.

The outfield is the real problem spot, though. RF Vic Rodrigo should hit a bunch of homers, but might not provide much else. LF Troy Oliver and CF Bruce Davis are fantastic defenders, but their bats leave something to be desired.

The rotation would have three very strong pitchers if Alex DeSoto, Theodore Walters and Quilvio Garrido had a better assortment of pitches. Instead, they just have the potential to be solid mid-rotation types.

Those three will be joined by Matt James, with Jeff Meadows and Vladimir Marrero also available to start.

The bullpen features a solid trio in Octavio Sardinha, Stu Coffman and Luke Owen.

The pitching looks like it has a chance to be a bit above average, and it will be helped by what appears to be an excellent defense. The offense is more questionable, although the only player who looks like a truly easy out is Davis against lefties.

Prediction: 84-78

Los Angeles Anteaters of Irvine

The Anteaters didn't have much talent to start with, and they traded away most of what they did have. Tiny Kelley, Cap Vernon, Chief Lewis, Juan Manzanillo, Marc Stephens, Joe Benson and others were all sent packing. What's left is a motley crew of misfits, rejects and Rule 5 picks.

The lineup is built around a bunch of one- or two-tool players. 1B Tony Pena is probably the team's best hitter, but he doesn't have much power for a first baseman. LF Julio Palmeiro, RF Jorge DeSoto and DH Emilio Moya all have power, but they're all flawed in at least a couple areas.

Not only is the offense lacking in the lineup, the defense isn't anything great either. 2B Tony Gibson, 3B Kareem Wright and SS Ross Mills all appear to be significantly below average defenders.

The rotation doesn't have any truly terrible pitchers, but it also doesn't have anybody who'd be anything more than a No. 3 starter on a good staff. Eric Howard, Marc Rolison, Buzz White, Vladimir Cedeno and Garrett Gordon shouldn't be the worst rotation in the AL, but it's certainly not good enough to prop up such an uninspiring lineup.

The bullpen is more of the same: pitchers with some talent but with serious flaws as well. Davey Marichal, Juan Castro and Chuck Mullin will pitch as much as they're able to, and Wallace Watson will be asked to eat up a lot of innings.

Prediction: 57-105

Salem Trout

The Trout had an exceptionally quiet offseason, declining to add even a single player from outside the organization to the ML roster. Instead, they'll take their chances with a strong rotation, a solid lineup and an acceptable bullpen.

The rotation is clearly the best in the division with Cord Thompson, Neifi Maradona, Rafael Benitez and Cole Perkins. The only problem is that there isn't a workhorse in the bunch. The good news is that Salem has plenty of help available in AAA, including Junior Spencer, James Martin, Peter Larson and J.C. Black. If anything, Salem probably has a surplus of starting pitches.

The bullpen features Luis Cruz, Alex Mateo, Sid Kingland and Carlos Terrero. Again, there's help available at AAA from George Stearns.

The lineup has a couple big boppers in C Yeico Carreras and 1B Lance Frazier, as well as a few good all-around hitters in LF Ricky Hernandez, Carlos Valentin and DH Pedro Ontiveros.

The Trout also have one of the most intriguing players in GW2 in SS Brandon Key. He's an elite defender with good contact and power and excellent patience. Unfortunately, his approach at the plate is terrible against lefties and even worse against righties. It will be interesting to see how much he can produce.

In all, Salem seems to have an above-average offense and an above-average pitching staff, making it easily the most complete team in the AL West.

Prediction: 92-70, AL West champion

NL South: Differences From Top to Cellar Dweller

Mexico City Feathered Serpents (NL) coolio4433 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Feathered Serpents are the team to beat in the the NL West. Coolio4433 already has two world series titles in his trophy case and has tried to make enough improvements to the FS roster to make a run for a third.

Position Players
Coolio inherited a roster with a farily solid position infield: Brad Ramsay, Aaron Coles, Rob Koch, and Bud Terry. All of them are under 30 and none of them have atrocious contacts--something not all teams in GW2 can say. Unfortuantely the FS outfield isn't as talented, could hold the franchise back from making any real progress, so much so that management took a rule 5 flier on Mike Cedeno.

Pitching Staff
GM Coolio recognized that to make his team viable he needed to make some moves to improve his staff. The first step in the process was acquiring Juan Manzanillo from the Anteaters of Irvine, who were in sell mode before they even set their budget. The deal forced the Feathered Serpents to move their best assest, Adam Ducey, which they could regret down the road. However, combined with their $60 MM FA signing Sean Benson the Feather Serpents aren't looking ahead to the future, because the future is now. Mix in Ben Gose and Michael Kobayashi and you've got a pretty nice rotation going, maybe even a good playoff rotation considering the talent level in GW2.

In the System
Pat McGee might be one of the better prospects in the system since they've already moved Ducey, but there don't appear to be any players immediately ready to step up to the bigs. With the 24th pick in the draft, $16MM in prospect money, and $13MM in college and high school scouting--GM Coolio is hoping that he can add a few more players in season one.

Prediction: 92-70 NL South Champs

Louisville Lugnuts (NL) scottie3234 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Predicted to finish a close second to Mexico City is GM Scottie3234's Lugnuts. Wasting no time in changing the roster, the Lugnuts brought up three players from its minor league system, signed two free agents, and added two players via trade. It's hard to say whether the prospects have been rushed too soon into action or whether it'll be enough. Either way it'll be fun to watch.

Position Players
Dan Healy was brought over to be a threat at the top of the order in a trade with August for Octavio Cordero. The young arm might be a contributor down the road, but Louisville does need help in their lineup now which is why they also added Dan Healy with a four year $16MM deal. Those two join Lance Jenkins and Hal Price to form a decent top half of the order.

Pitching Staff
Bucky Kelly is the headline act of a staff that depends on its starting pitching and Gary Hawkins is the man coming out of the pen--the only man as there isn't much else for Sparky to go to back there. Tom Kraemer, Earl Lofton, Al Osuna, and Darby Butler round out the staff. It's a good mix of young and old, but the cupboards might be too bare in the bullpen to make it through the season.

In the System
Lucas Spence is the future star in waitng within the Lugnuts system. It'll be tough to hold back the young left fielder who is in his second year of pro ball.

Prediction: 88-74 NL Wildcard contender

Wichita Worgs (NL) illinidrew View Hardball Dynasty Profile

It's time for a youth movement in Wichita. Illinidrew avoided the free agent market and the trade market, and promoted from within. The Worgs brought up seven players from the minors and have parted ways with five veterans. It looks like with Mexico City and Louisville making moves that Wichita will have to wait a season or two before making an impact.

Position Players
Raul Flores is the big threat in the Worg lineup and Jose Gonzalez is a nice SS to have, but there isn't much to make opponents worry when seeing WIC on the schedule.

Pitching Staff
Michael Brennan is the ace of the staff, but Sparky will be going to the bullpen pretty quickly considering the talent of the other four projected starters. Luckily the bullpen is fairly decent. Denny Floyd, Zoltan Perez, and Rob Hayes make up a pretty competive trio of arms to turn to this season.

In the System
Alfredo Vega might just be a future fireman for the Worgs if they stay patient with the youngester. The second year pro hasn't officially been promoted to the LoA squad, but time will tell if the 20-year-old develops. Wichita has maxed their scouting budgets for the season, had the 14th and 56th picks in the draft, and has $18 MM to spend on prospects--time will tell how many quality players they can add.

Prediction: 70-92 3rd place in NL South

Austin Paradise (NL) sl__72 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Austin will be anything but a paradise in season one of GW2, and sl_72 hasn't done much to change that so far. The team has some pretty good prospects in the system who have a chance to develop faster than expected, and maybe a few potential all-stars.

Position Players
Chad Skinner looks like the best player on the Austin roster and the only question seems to be how long will he stay in Austin. Younger postion players Happy Thurman and Armando Tatis will probably still be with the team for the future, but this squad will definitely go through some growing pains.

Pitching Staff
The Paradise don't have their official staff quite figured out yet as only eight arms are currently on the roster, and fans might want to follow the advice of Theo Ransom and wear shades before watching the Austin staff take the field. There aren't many brightspots to focus on here, so lets move on to the minors.

In the System
Sam Ganzel is one to watch this season. The 22-year-old is in his fourth season of pro ball and is scheduled to start the season in High A. Ganzel has tremendous control, velocity, and two great out pitches. Lucky for Austin they get to add to their system with the 15th, 40th, and 57th picks in the draft. GM sl_72 has set aside $20 MM to spend on propsects for which they've invested $12 MM in their high school and college scouting, and $8 MM on international scouting.

Prediction: 50-112 NL Cellar Dweller

GW 2 NL East Preview: Season 1

Rochester Garbage Plates (NL) benj13blue View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Garbage Plates are old. Plain and simple. Only 5 players on their 25 man roster are under the age of 30; the team is clearly built to win now, not later. Appropriately, Rochester GM benj13blue signed star veteran Tom Beckett to a monstrous 5 year deal worth a whopping $91 million. Along with F.P. Wall and Quentin Cepicky, among others, the Garbage Plates should be well equipped to give the rotation plenty of run support. Not that they'd need all that much; headed by emerging ace Benji Juarez and recently acquired vets Bob Trammell and J.P. Alonso, Rochester should have no problem getting deep into games with the lead. Then it'll be up to mustachioed menace Fred Ohman and setup ace Chief Lewis to clinch the victory. You could argue that the team's a bit thin on the margins, especially concerning the pitching (there are no obvious in-house candidates should one of the starters get hurt, and the 'pen is very top-heavy). Still, the star talent on this team is as good as any in the league.

Prediction: 101-61, NL East Champs

Baltimore Bunks (NL) mattwithanh View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Bunks probably won't win the division, but they might be good enough to sneak into the playoffs regardless. They aggressively traded away some of their starting pitching (plus a prospect) in order to acquire up-the-middle players Bob Gilmore, Fred Washington, and Joe Benson. Combined with other notable position players Pete Matthews and Oswaldo Javier, the Bunks should be able to hold their own on the offensive end, although the defense might be a bit shaky at shortstop, as no one on the roster can be considered an average defender there. The rotation is headed by ace David Flores, who has Cy Young-worthy talent. A concern is the general lack of stamina from the starters, though, as only Glen Herzog can be classified as a workhorse, and the bullpen looks shaky at best. Still, despite their shortcomings, expect Baltimore to be in the race until the very end.

Prediction: 84-78, 3rd place

Charlotte Knights (NL) pic27 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

On a per-inning basis, the Knights may have one of the best rotations in baseball. With a quartet of pitchers like Lewis Neill, Lon Cashman, Pedro Bournigal, and Frank Battle, it's hard to see the Knights giving up very many runs in the first 5 or 6 innings of any ballgame. The problem is, other than Battle, none of the other three can be expected to pitch past that point. And, to put it charitably, the bullpen is a mess. Ebenezer Randa should hold his own, but arsonists Jacque Cox and Dean Moeller are strangely still on the ML roster. And then there's the lineup, which has its own set of problems. Omar Gutierrez can hit, and Darrin Sanders isn't bad despite his hacktastic approach. Outside of those two, you're left with a squad that may struggle to outhit a good AAA team. Charlotte GM pic27 had a very quiet offseason, with nary a free agent signing, trade, waiver wire pickup, or Rule 5 selection. All moves were done in-house; whether such an approach will pay off remains to be seen.

Prediction: 72-90, 4th place

Chicago Apple Hurlers (NL) themoff02 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Apple Hurlers are a young squad (2nd youngest in the NL), but the kids certainly have talent. The lineup looks like it might be short on OBP, but they're hardly short on pure sluggers. Guys like Francis O'Brien, Gus Harris, Aaron Poole, Ossie Heredia, and Henry Donahue rank among the more powerful sluggers in the league; all are capable of slugging well above .500 in any given season. The pitching staff is led by starters Jonathan Walker and Kevin Miles, both very talented hurlers. Clarence Hurst could either be an excellent closer or a quality 5 inning starter. The rotation after that looks dangerously thin; Woody Roberts and Harry Trevino are hardly sure things in the back of the rotation, and neither Bert Witt nor Francis Shea belong on an ML roster. The bullpen is playable, though not really a strength. It'll be interesting to see if Chicago can improve on the margins; GM themoff02 has had an uncharacteristically quiet offseason.

Prediction: 86-76, 2nd place

GW2 AL North Preview: Season 1

How silly is it that I'm doing a preview writeup? Very silly. In nautical terms I don't know a mast from a poop-deck yet. I'm not even sure if salty sea-hands use that as a phrase, I just waned to say 'poop.' So without knowing hardly anything about what I'm doing, here are my ironclad, irrefutable, unimpeachable expert picks:

It’s the best of times and the worst of times in the AL North as two of GW2’s highest paid rosters group up with two of the worst paid. The Toledo Blades lead the league by a wide margin with their $118 million dollar payroll and the Chicago Manual of Style follow them with $107 million committed to players’ salaries. On the other side of the channel, the Seattle Slews and the Milwaukee Harleys are only paying their players about $70 million each. While revolution isn’t likely in Settle or Milwaukee, neither is a division title.


1st - Toledo Blades

Off-season Changes – The Blades were extremely active this off-season almost completely rebuilding their starting rotation. Headlined by free agent Hulk Reilly and backed up by FA Anthony Hodges and trade bait Rod Clark and Grant Glynn the Blades turned a bad staff into a solid one. Free agent left fielder Albert Charles should hit for a high average and set the table with his speed.

Why They’ll Win - The Blades lineup is blistering with veteran boppers like Mo Trujillo and Edgar Bautista and could score the most runs in the AL. They will get offensive production up the middle from Donald Wan and likely rookie 2B callup Bob Roberts. Their retooled staff should shoulder a decent load, and the backend of their bullpen, led by closer Pascual Roque will shut down a lot of teams at the ends of games.

Why They Might Not - Those middle infielders that can hit aren’t the greatest gloves, and that goes for most of this team. Their rotation is greatly improved but pales in comparison to division rival Chicago. They’ll give up their share of runs.

The Bottom Line - This team would have to give up a whole lot of runs to eclipse their prolific offense, and even with a shoddy D behind them the GM has assembled a respectable if unspectacular staff that should hand over plenty of leads to the bullpen.


2nd - Chicago Manual of Style

Off-season Changes – After losing out in the Posiedon Lamb sweepstakes they ponied up the cash and gave Wilfredo Martin a huge deal, adding him into a rotation that already had one of the best pitchers in the league in Andrew Burks.

Why They’ll Win – Chicago has one of the strongest one-two punches atop their rotation in the league and should have the best staff in their division. Their defense is very strong all around and their bullpen will be able to hold leads given to them. Ben Byrnes and Jack Nathan will turn two up the middle plenty of times this year. It’s going to be tough to score much against this team.

Why They Won’t Win – Chicago has too many guys that leave the bat at home and just bring the glove. Jack Nathan may win a gold glove, but won’t help much at all with the bat. They aren’t helping their lukewarm lineup by not having first base manned yet. Some of their best hitters like DH slugger Jesus Arroyo won’t give full production against righties, though lefties beware.

The Bottom Line – Runs will be tough to come by against this team and lefty starters will run into trouble, but their offense isn’t going to give the great pitching staff much help. They’ll be a good team, but the high-octane Blades have a more balanced roster that should outrun them.

3rd Milwaukee Harleys

Off-season Changes – Milwaukee stood mostly pat this off-season except for going to arbitration with a number of players. With a win-later $71 million payroll and solid talent on the ML roster, this team may later regret not selling off a bit more major league talent to further bolster their great farm system.

Why They Could Win – First baseman Matthew Forbes is one of the best hitters in the league as well as having one of the best names. The outfield defense could be very good with true center fielders in both center and right. Tom Farrell is one of the better starters in the league per inning. Hot prospect JT Timlin could be ready soon with hot D at SS and a good contact bat. They’ll score a good number of runs.

Why They Won’t – This team could have gone either way with their roster but decided to stand pat. Some tradeable talent is left stuck on a team with big holes that could have been filled through trades from the deep farm system or a little more spending. The whole lineup will struggle mightily against lefties. Outside of Farrell the starting staff isn’t very good and may issue a lot of walks.

Bottom Line – A team that isn’t really dedicated to what it is and when it wants to win. The deep farm system will get bolstered this season when they have the 4th pick in the draft and this team could look great in a couple years if the GM can hold onto some of the ML nucleus until the youngsters arrive. Unfortunately, the GM has not yet returned from his off-season trip into the Amazon and many fear he may have been eaten by cannibals or whacked by morneau33hr so he could get higher prices in his fire sale.

4th – Seattle Slews

Off-season Changes – The Slews did a better hyper-hypo than Mike Myers at the rule 5 draft this year, taking 8 players as they rebuilt their roster.

Why They’ll Win – Young knuckleballer Harry Ordonez is a good pitcher and the team has solid defense all around. Closer Moises Beltre and setup man Benito Sanchez will hold most the leads they are given.

Why They Won’t – The backend of their bullpen probably won’t be handed many leads as the rotation after Ordonez will give up too many runs. Banjo-hitting lineup won’t bail out the pitchers often. No clear-cut option in right field.

The Bottom Line – The Slews are actively retooling their roster and have the 10th pick the this summer’s amateur draft, but the pitching will get hammered by the division’s big hitters and the lineup won’t score much. It’s going to be a long season for Slews fans while the front office finds a nucleus to build around.