NL North Preview

Chicago Cubs (NL) littlejim View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD: 95-67; Wild Card/NLCS

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Cubs must have read the blog last year. Many changes were made to the team during the year and little by little the Cubs became more and more competitive. Overall, I think this team is ready now. The Cubs are a team to watch Prediction: 92-70

OUT: Sid Sherman, Cesar Trajano, Justin Spencer
IN:  Kevin Miller
PREVIEW:
The Cubs ALMOST made me look like a genius last year. They made it to the NLCS, but fell just short. Littlejim did an amazing job with his Cubbies, and was able to turn the franchise into a perennial contender.
To start the season, the fat was trimmed allowing the core group to continue growing. This team could actually be better than last year’s version. Yunel Park turned out to be a decent pickup (not like Puig, but decent). Leading the way was Trayvon Hammond, Ken Reagan, and Jason Descalso. They did enough to score 781 runs. Not a lot, but with an average defense and stellar pitching more than enough to win consistently.
The top four starters were a sight to behold. Vernon Broadway, Luis Bravo, Jim Becket, and Orval Crandle were all excellent. From the pen, Ben Nicholson and Burke Melton were devastating.
Overall, I still see this team as a title contender. THE title contender? Not sure yet. I think they score anywhere from 770 to 820 runs, and give up 700 to 670. With one more bullpen arm, and maybe one more bat this team could take it all.

PREDICTION: 88-74

Milwaukee Brewers (NL) mongoose_22 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD: 68-94, last

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Brewers should begin to round back into shape soon.
The entire pitching staff has been gutted. Only the young and Lariel Chavez remain. The same could be said of the offense. A lot of new faces. We will have to see where this team goes from here. PREDICTION: 70-92

OUT: Andrew Rudolph, Edinson Martinez, Al Santana
IN:

PREVIEW:

The Brewers made several big moves last year in preparation for this year. Lariel Chavez was traded for a couple mediocre minor league prospects, Boone Rivera was traded for a relief pitcher. Those trades were probably losses in hindsight. But in two other trades mongoose netted Edgard Nunez and Cesar Molina. Both of which contributed nicely.

Unfortuneatly, the offense spent another year in the crapper (not even reaching 600 runs), while the pitching staff went from 806 runs all the way down to 721. This year, the Brew Crew hit free agency HARD, but no one that really makes this team much better.

Overall, the offense is still searching for anyone that can get an OPS .800 (Okay, Bobby Simmons was .804 but only in 389 PA). They should score 590-610 runs. The runs allowed has bottomed out for this team so runs allowed should be about 750-720.

PREDICTION: 65-97

Montreal Expos (NL) ssauve25 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD: 70-92

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Expos one of the top tier teams of Kinsella, and have been able to do so by not being afraid to make changes. At the end of last year, Vic Villafuerte joined the club for the home stretch and playoffs. This year ssauve made a few more brilliant moves to hopefully snag that elusive championship.
Can the Expos be better than their 109 win team last year? With the group being brought in, the answer is…only if they win the World Series. Prediction: 113-49

OUT: Trevor Tyner, Erick Linton, Glenallen Gagnon, Julio Callaspo
IN: Ken Kraemer, Erik Cosby, Mendy Mathews, Bernie Hampton
PREVIEW:
Ssauve has never been shy about trying to upgrade his team. He does have a new nickname…Maverick. He knows when to hold’em, when to fold’em, when to walk away, and when to run. A couple players were picked up on waivers, the trade that sent Linton to hell and Cosby to heaven, and some smooth free agent pickups.
This year’s version still looks sharp, but there are cracks. Age will bite this team, or an injury. Although Ssauve won’t want to hear this, I think the Expos reign is coming to an end in the NL North. They should score between 710 and 730 runs, while allowing 650 to 620 runs.
PREDICTION: 93-69

Cincinnati Reds (NL) Sockless_Joe View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD: 82-80

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Reds were not to be feared last year, winning 10 games less than predicted. The pitching staff got ROCKED to the tune of 974 runs (that’s 6+ runs per game…OUCH).
At this time I don’t see any involvement by sockless_joe. No free agent signings. Only a rule V pickup.
Once again, the league questions the commitment that the ownership has to the franchise in Cincinnati. Prediction: 54-108

OUT: Lonny Sierra, Manuel Johnson, Ugueth Pulido, Alfredo Uribe, Morgan Newson, Marty Browne
IN: Erick Linton, Douglas Hodges, Warren Hume, Phil Tracy, Sammy Redondo

PREVIEW:

Sockless Joe made me EAT MY WORDS with his body of work last season. The Reds finished with a winning record instead of in the toilet. How did they do it???

·         27-17 in one run games

·         A very productive offense that scored 858 runs

·         A pitching staff that held on for dear life

This team really should have finished at least four games under .500. But those one run wins turned out to be huge in the grand scheme of things.

So, what will this year bring? Three of the five starters were sent packing (Sierra, Johnson, Pulido). The loss of all three will hurt. Left behind is ace Spike Smoltz and relievers Stew McFeely and Daryle Smith. At this time I see NO new additions, so I have no idea what Sockless has up his sleeves this time. There are some good free agents still available in free agency with prices going down after the start of the season.

I won’t get burned twice when my good name is on the line. So, for runs scored we should see 850-880. In runs allowed I’m going to assume someone will be brought in to pitch at some point and they will be better than what was dumped. So, put them anywhere from 850 to 890 runs allowed.

PREDICTION: 77-85

Season 26 Previews: AL WEST

Oakland Athletics (AL) mikebr13 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD: 105-57, Division Champions

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: This is the same dangerous team, but can they finally make it back to the World Series? Prediction: 103-59

OUT: Willie Boyle, Vance Cora, Quinton Brand, Will Lange, Elvis Raymond, Esteban Iglesias, Sid Cameron

IN: Cesar Toca, Earl LeMathieu, Ivan Megias, Hipolito Matos, Jeurys Valdes,

PREVIEW:
Despite dominating the regular season year after year, the Athletics only have their Division Titles to hold up. Mikebr wants a ring. Period. To make that happen he pulled off several trades, released some dead weight, and promoted from within.
Guys to watch out for this year are defending MVP Luis Baez and his sidekick Anibal Maduro. The pitching staff features four of the best pitchers in the AL: Richard Cameron, Lawrence Rosales, Endy Miller, and new addition Ivan Megias who holds a CY and seven all-star appearances. Losing Elvis Raymond could be a mistake considering his value out of the pen.
Overall, the moves bring in new faces without really changing the production that much.I still think the offense scores 750-800 runs. The defense and pitching should hold their runs allowed below 600 easily barring any major injuries.

PREDICTION: 96-66, 1^st Place

Anaheim Angels (AL) sweetnss355 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD: 80-82

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The team was overhauled from top to bottom. “We will be relying on a number of guys this season who are in the minors and/or have no major league experience.” The Angels seem very optimistic, and as always sweetnss will be looking to add a piece or two. PREDICTION: 77-85

OUT: Paxton Banks, Benji Limon, Alex Cabrera

 
IN: Bill Thompson, Sam Long, Ebenezer Lloyd, Miguel Colombe, JP Cabrera

PREVIEW:

The Angels finished pretty much where I thought they would. The offense was one of the best, scoring an outstanding 830 runs. However, the pitching staff was underwhelming by allowing 789. It was smart of sweet to keep his offensive core group together, since they ripped the cover off the ball. I’m not sure how much of a difference the overpriced JP Cabrera will help the Halos coming over from Charlotte. Rodney Magee is the guy to keep an eye on, and should be considered and MVP contender.

The starting pitching staff remains largely intact, minus Paxton Banks. Albert Maradona and Joe Maloney posted excellent numbers and fit nicely as a one and two. It’s unclear if Sam Long will move into the rotation. The bullpen is MUCH stronger, and could help the Angels win those close games (they were 19-28 in one run games). Ebenezer “Scrooge” Lloyd, Tony Campbell, and Fernando Carrasco should be able to get them through the 7^th-9^th.

My overall assessment of this team is that sweet has gotten his team a step closer to the playoffs this year. He took a good look at his glaring weaknesses and addressed those without messing up the chemistry. I think the offense will be just a little better (they had a low babip last year), and the pitching staff is looking good. Runs scored should be between 830-870, with the runs allowed improving to 740-770 range.

PREDICTION: 87-75

Portland Beavers (AL) dakar View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD: 70-92

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: It looks like The Beavers has plateaued. I don’t see them moving forward, but no one is there to push them back either.  Prediction: 73-89

OUT: Andres Tatis, Greg Hewson, Paulie Winn.
IN: none

PREVIEW:

The Beavers started the offseason on a positive note, dumping unproductive players. But that is where the momentum stopped. At this point I don’t see any young guys coming up, and Dakar hasn’t let me know any of his plans this year.
The offense was subpar, and is now a year older. Patrick Kipling, once a dominating force, is starting to feel the effects of his 12 major league seasons. Portland didn’t have a good pitching staff outside of starter Hunter Young and reliever Louis Thomas.
Overall, this team seems to be ready to stall in the 70 win range for a second year, and is projected to drop into the 60’s. The offense will take a step back and score between 610-630 runs. The pitching staff won’t improve either allowing 770-740 runs. Not a fun year in the city of weird.
PREDICTION: 65-97

 

Seattle Mariners (AL) suginamiku View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD: 54-108

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Two 100+ loss seasons puts you in the hot seat. Things are warming up in Seattle, and not in a good way.

Very little has been done to fix the problem. One free agent signing doesn’t make this team better. And once again, the Mariners are looking at 100+ losses. Prediction: 52-110

OUT: Erik Cosby, Ruben Valdes, Ed Curtis, Ricky Page
IN: Erick Linton, Douglas Hodges, Warren Hume, Phil Tracy, Sammy Redondo

PREVIEW:

At some point, Seattle has to start improving. Right????

The offense was anemic (603), and the pitching staff improved from horrifying to simply awful. Still…it’s an improvement. I’ve been saying for awhile now that The M’s are a terrifyingly bad defensive team. They proved it again last year. Cliff Fox, Russ Byrne, Mendy Williams, and Gary Richardson requested a meeting to talk about the lack of defense. All attempts were rebuffed. All of those pitchers had average to very good FIP (fielding independent pitching). But it’s obvious they don’t get any help from their fielders that averaged over an error a game, and turned only 127 double plays (about one every three games). Pitchers HATE that stuff.

So, what’s new now that it’s three years of 100 losses in a row??? The only offense they did have, Erik Cosby, was traded for another overpriced veteran pitcher in Erik Linton. Warren Hume was overpaid to be the #4 starter. Sammy Redondo was picked up, but God only knows if Sug will try to play him at SS. And Phil Tracey was paid huge bucks to close (when the team probably won’t see many close situations.

In the meantime, the defense still sucks and the offense is WEAKER than last year. Ugh. To answer the initial question…no…things will not be improving. They are going from BAD to WORSE. Runs scored should be 510-550, runs allowed 850-800.

PREDICTION: 47-115
 

Top 10 power Rankings!

50 Game Power Rankings

1. Oakland Athletics 35-15
The A's are having a solid season thanks to great pitching. Lawrence Rosales is 8-3, and Richard Cameron is 9-1. Most important has been the bullpen led by Esteban Iglesias who is 13 for 13 in saves. Luis Baez is having an MVP season with .326/.390/.668 line with 19 homeruns. The A's are 15-4 in their last 19 games.

2. Montreal Expos 31-19
3. Toronto Blue Jays 32-18
4. Detroit Tigers 30-20
5. Texas Rangers 32-18
6. Philadelphia Phillies 30-20
7. Chicago Cubs 30-20
8. Minnesota Twins 29-21
9. Florida Marlins 28-22
10. San Diego Padres 27-23

Moonlight Graham Award Winner!

The "Moonlight Graham GM of the Year" award was created to recognize and memorialize the top contributing GM in Kinsella. The award is named for a character in the book "Shoeless Joe" and the movie "Field of Dreams". In the story, as in real life, Moonlight Graham really did exist. He only got one chance at the majors, and after his one chance he went to practice medicine. He lived a long life, loved one woman, and was a remarkable man according to all that knew him.

In the movie Graham gets a chance to go back with the greatest players of all time after he saves a little girl. He made the choice between playing ball, and being a good man. For all that encompasses Moonlight Graham's character and the real man, the award is named for him.

The winner of this years award is....

Texas Rangers owner, AKGSPORTS!!!!!!