NL South

Last Year's Standings:

Team	GM	Record
Texas Cow Pies	Timo1964	97-65
Jackson Jellyfish	Gapattack8	75-87
Charlotte Black Knights	Wilhammer	71-91
Monterrey Vatos Locos	Mcauley	62-100

 

The Cow Pies still look to be the class of the South. Currently, on three straight division championships including a World Series win 3 years ago. Kyle Kipnis has been their man in RF for quite a while, but over the last three years he has been good for 22 HR, 34 SB and .323 average, helping Texas continue their run at the top. Behind Kipnis in the lineup is emerging 3B Rubby Callaspo. The 25 year old will be in his fourth ML season this year and looks to get over the 40 HR mark once again. But their competitiveness for years to come will come from 22 year old Edwin Riley. Riley, who is in his first ML season and who has the fielding ability to play SS, is currently pegged at CF for the club. The rotation might be the biggest weak point of this roster, behind 17 game winner Morgan Flier. The bullpen features closer Alex Flores who has 82 saves over the course of the last two seasons. I'd expect much of the same from Texas this year, a division title is well within their grasp.

The Jellyfish have some young players that will start to make an impact at the ML level, this year and going forward. So watch out Texas! 3B Dan Bold, who is a solid defender and sees pitches well, is making his ML debut this year. Dorian Wells is another player to watch, his promotion to ML would give the club more pop for their lineup. SS Marcus Elarton is in his second season in the ML and looks to improve upon a successful rookie campaign. SP Cookie Yamada who went 3-6 with a 5.19 ERA last year needs to improve for this club to take the next step. Everth Perez currently sits as their #1 starter, and he showed some very good stuff going 7-6 with a 1.00 WHIP and 1.97 ERA last year, but only managed 100 innings in 17 starts. He needs to go deeper in games, and convince someone to give him some more run support. This team has a future, I'm just not sold that the future is now.

Texas and Jackson don't have to worry about Charlotte catching them, at least not this year. The team has a farm system that will produce some good ML players, but at the ML level right now they just don't have the talent needed to compete. Victor Brewington is a player I would imagine would get shopped around at some point this year or next, he's a great player, on a team that doesn't have a chance to complete. C Kory King looks like a nice catcher, likely seeing his ML debut next season, but he isn't an everyday catcher. Takahiro Donald looks to be a mid-rotation starter with a debut around two years from now. RP Philip Corbin looks to be an above average closer, again making a debut sometime in the next two years. Their most promising prospect looks to be Anthony Beech, who needs to overcome his inability to see the ball from righties, but should turn into a really nice corner outfielder. I don't see this team being super competitive for at least three more seasons, barring some solid FA signings or good trades.

The Vatos Locos are in a similar boat as Charlotte. At the ML level, they almost have less to make solid deals with though. They've built their rotation around 24 year old SP Charlie Stock. He is 12-12 with a 3.54 ERA over the last two seasons, he will need to continue to improve for the VL. Henry Baldelli is their best pitching prospect, scouts have been pessimistic that he'll hit his full potential, but even so he looks to be a lock for a solid #3 starter. 2B Pinky Maxwell is their best IF at the ML level. He has the stats to play SS and it's a surprise he isn't. His bat leaves more to desire, especially at 2B (another reason why he should be playing SS). Delino Rodriguez is their best OF at the ML level, playing CF and having the defense for the position as well as the bat, he should be a player that buyers look to during trade season this year as potential bait. Between Charlotte and Monterrey, I don't see either contending in the near future due the current state of their ML teams.

My Projections:

Team	GM	Record
Texas Cow Pies	Timo1964	97-65
Jackson Jellyfish	Gapattack8	82-82
Charlotte Black Knights	Wilhammer	65-97
Monterrey Vatos Locos	Mcauley	55-107

Winter Re-cap

Another season is upon us, and while we're all deep into Spring Training and awaiting Opening Day, let's take a look back on one of the most interesting Free Agent Markets we've seen and a short list of trades that will affect this year's pennant race.

The first major transaction this Winter was the quick deal between the Wichita Black Lightning and the Austin Alamos. The Alamos, realizing they needed more than one 20 million dollar man to compete, agreed to deal max contract SP David Unamuno to the Lightning for 2B Benjamin Jackson and 3B/SS prospect Davey Cora. Cora however, was not protected for the Rule 5 draft and ended up being the first selection by the Pittsburgh Pranksters. It had been rumored throughout the league that Jackson had lost the favor of Lightning GM zhawks last season, when a conversation rumored between the two held zhawks as telling Jackson and his Agent (consequently his mother) that new scenery might be needed. And it has long been known that zhawks had been trying to improve the rotation since last winter.

"We'd really pursued Una last year in Free Agency but just weren't able to get an agreement in place," said Lightning GM zhawks, "We were very fortunate to get an opportunity to add him to our rotation this winter."

This was followed up very quickly by the Las Vegas seven out making two quick moves. First, agreeing to a deal with the Helena Hellcats for C Billy Robertson. Robertson has yet to hit the Majors, but projects to be a top five catcher in the league with the bat when he does. The club gave up Johnny Wilson, who projects to be a fringe #1, most likely a good #2 starter.

But the biggest move the seven out made was likely the least expected (at least from this sports writer). The team went out and secured a deal with the top position player on the market in 3B Heath Sanders. The contract is heavily front loaded, but for a franchise that has a lot of young talent that doesn't matter. Sanders may be on the downside of his career in terms of age, but the seven out is counting on their training staff and Sanders work ethic to make this work long term. Sanders total contract was $49.5m over 5 years, coming out to just under $10m a year and only counting $6.9m towards the cap in the final year. (Like I said a STEAL).

Las Vegas also went out and signed veteran SP Billy Puckett to anchor the back end of their rotation after the Wilson/Robertson trade. Puckett brings veteran leadership to the clubhouse and gives gm taz21 a role model for his younger pitchers. While taz21 said "The contract had to be back loaded, which usually isn't my philosophy", he realized that any small consequences of this deal were outweighed by the phenomenal signing of Sanders.

The trade with Las Vegas wasn't the only deal that Helena made. They were also active with the Texas Cow Pies, sending SS/3B prospect Alex Borbon and Willie Cano to Texas for three players, Edgard Manzallio, Eugene Parker and Gaby Lewis. In a move that signaled Texas' changing philosophy three years after winning the World Series, the team decided to add a few more parts for the future, even if sacrificing a few wins today. For Helena, it showed that they recognize threats in their division to their 11 year stint in the top two, yet at the same time their need to realize that top two in their division doesn't get you into the playoffs, thanks to the stacked NL North. Overall, the trade filled a need for both sides and really was a win for both.

The Minnesota Conspiracy were also in the trade market earlier this winter, receiving one of the final pieces that the Pranksters had to offer, Jeff Bradford. The team gave up Jimmie Hague, who is a solid prospect. But really a win for both sides as Minnesota continues to fight for a spot in the NL North and Pittsburgh rebuilds.

Heading back to the FA market, there were two starting pitchers who project to be top two starters for whoever signed them; Oscar Fox and Vinny Bong. And boy did they have different market value. Bong ended up signing with the Salem volcanoes for $45.5m over 5 years along with 2B Chip Glynn who signed for $30.5M over 5 years.

But Fox, now things were different there. I'm not sure if it was agent, demand or just the outright craziness of Lightning GM to improve his rotation this year, but Fox ended up getting a contract worth $70m over 5 years, the richest contract this FA period. And to put the this into Laymen's terms for those Lightning fans who just saw their season tickets price double, your team just spend $150,000,000 on two players over the course of the next five years!

And not to be outdone, Lightning division rival, Helena went out and spent on a pitcher too, however, this was of the bullpen type. The team secured the service of longtime bullpen arm Keith Bold for $58.5m over 5 years. However, this contract was back loaded; worth $8m this season and $14m when Bold is 36. Helena made a strong move for the present, but what might it cost them tomorrow?

Finally, I couldn't go the entire article without mentioning my friends up in Buffalo.

Buffalo was rumored to be in on Bold, only to pull an offer late. In doing so it left the team to make a deal for a relief pitcher that GM indiansrck27 called "critical addition" earlier in the winter. The Buffalo Black & Blue Brachiosaurus sent CF Jin Ho Shibata to WIS' very own hometown team Cincinnati Clowns in exchange for Cookie Suzuki and Dorian Adams. In a very close trade, I like this a bit more from the Cincy side of things, but understand all the drivers in Buffalo's decision. They had a backlog at CF/2B and got the most they could out of it to improve their team to make the playoffs this year. Cincy got a very good player that they can build into both today's and tomorrow's lineups.

That's all folks.

NL North

Last Year's Finish:

Team	GM	Record
Pawtucket Trash Monsters	Erikf29	102-60
Minnesota Conspiracy	Japheth007	97-65
Buffalo Black & Blue Brachiosaurus	Indiansrck27	82-80
Pittsburgh Pranksters	Idigapygmy	33-129

 

Pawtucket has won the division each of the last three seasons, but Minnesota closed the gap last year. Pawtucket is led by some serious bat power in Enrique Piedra, who hit 40 HRs and batted .339 last season and Alex Rosa who belted 49 long balls with a .332 batting average, taking home the MVP award last season. But Sammy Diaz might be the biggest addition to this team's continued success over the next few seasons. Having played in only 127 games last year after being called up to the majors, he turned in an average campaign but Pawtucket is looking for solid improvement out of Diaz going forward. If batting was the only thing you thought Pawtucket had, you'd be wrong. They boast a pair of sub 3.00 ERA starters in Pedro Saenz and Adrian Wyatt. Pawtucket looks like a strong contender not only to win the NL North, but also to go deep into October.

Minnesota has been a consistent team over the last decade, failing only once in 10 years to not post a record over .500. However, just being over .500 doesn't always get you into the postseason, especially not when you have Pawtucket in your way. Minnesota made it back to the post season last year for only the third time in the same stretch. This team is solid all around, just like Pawtucket. Unfortunately (for Minnesota fans) their bats just don't quite match up to the power that Pawtucket brings. Nick Bolton is their franchise position player and he can hit the long ball with the Pawtucket trio, as can Alfonso Santiago, the man behind the plate, but after Bolton and Santiago their lineup lacks much more pop and is aging. Edgard Blanco is on the downside of his career and while he can make good contact, he hasn't always been reliable about seeing the ball out of the pitchers hand. That said, he has had two straight career years with batting average and Minnesota hopes he can keep it up. Even in the case of Santiago he has issues with Righties. Ronnie Brown is one of the key's to their success this year. If he can continue to improve in his 5^th ML year, they could push Pawtucket. They also need a strong year from Philip Pittinger, who has had an up and down career from year to year and never really broke out with a huge win season, despite strong ERAs. All in all I wouldn't be surprised if Minnesota put together a playoff season, I'm just not sure I see them taking the division crown.

Ah – Buffalo. My personal rivals to the North. GM irck claims they're ready to compete, in something other than the International Free Agent market. They have a lot of talent, but talent doesn't always equate to wins, especially when it's young and unproven. Last year's ROY winner Joey Parkinson looks to be ready for another stellar year. After knocking 42 balls over the fence Buffalo is expecting more of the same this year. This team brings up a plethora of new kids to the ML level this year, hoping to move past Minnesota (and I'm sure irck thinks he can move past Pawtucket too) and into the playoffs. Last year's monster IFA signing, Paul Masato, starts the year at 2b for Buffalo. Word on the street is he's ready for the big time, but he isn't proven yet. Same can be said about SS Hector Tavarez, who is getting his first ML action this year. But the player Buffalo is most counting on is #2 draft pick, Buddy Uribe, from just two seasons ago, who has Ace potential. Uribe is the guy that could make or break the season for Buffalo.

Finally, Pittsburgh. The once perennially powerhouse has had it rough the last few seasons. After multiple horrific injuries the team went into rebuilding mode. Nearly everyone from the glory days has been moved for whatever price could be had. There isn't much to talk about on their ML roster other than Rule 5 Draftee Davey Cora. Cora should help a lineup that desperately needs defense and any type of bat. The future looks better for Pittsburgh, with quite a few players that project to break into the majors within the next two years, including RF Mark Montgomery, CF Jimmie Hague and 1B/CoF Aaron Cooper. But none of that is helping them this year.

My Projections:

Team	GM	Record
Pawtucket Trash Monsters*	Erikf29	95-67
Buffalo Black & Blue Brachiosaurus*	Indiansrck27	89-73
Minnesota Conspiracy	Japheth007	88-74
Pittsburgh Pranksters	Idigapygmy	60-102

*Denotes Playoff Team

The Voting Begins

It's Hall of Fame season again, and this year we have quite a few new retirees that are up for their first vote, including Ed Donovan, Rod Young and Pat Politte. All these players seem to be locks to make the Hall of Fame one day, but only Politte appears to be a first ballot lock. It might take Young and Donovan another cycle to get in, however both are well deserving. All three got my vote. So here's my ballot (in order of deservedness):

Hardball Dynasty's

Pat Politte

Politte is a lock for the Hall of Fame and easily should be a first balloter. He was a 13 time All Star, won six Cy Young Awards and has 5 World Series Rings. Impressive doesn't even begin to collect the magnificence of his career. He had a career 2.93 ERA and is the only member of the 300 win club, has the 5^th best career ERA and 4^th highest Win percent (.751). Politte also ranks 4^th with 3,246 Strikeouts and had 31 Post-Season wins.

Hardball Dynasty's

Pablo Bonilla

Bonilla was a beast and in my opinion he should have been a first ballot guy. Bonilla's career ERA of 2.79 is the career record and his 1.10 WHIP ranks second. He was downright nasty, nobody wanted to see him coming out to the mound, ever. Bonilla was an eight time All Star with two World Series Rings and a Cy Young Award. His 441 Saves rank second and he appeared in 1,372 games, nearly 300 more than anyone else.

Hardball Dynasty's

Rod Young

Rod Young, the Strikeout King, recording 3,859 K's in his career, more than 400 more than any other pitcher. And if you thought that also made Young a walk machine, you'd be wrong. He ranks 4^th all-time with a 3.29 Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio. Rod turned all these K's and 578 games started (another career record) into a masterful 271 win career, currently 5^th all-time.

Hardball Dynasty's

Ed Donovan

Ed Donovan (admittedly some bias here), was one of the first great bats this game saw. He was an everyday 2B, with great contact and solid power, but what Donovan was really known for was his base running, racking up 708 steals in his career, 113 triples, 601 doubles and scoring 1,898 runs landing himself at the top of the career leaderboard for all four. He managed to hit for three cycles in his career, win seven Silver Sluggers (six at 2B and one at RF) and two Gold Gloves (one each at 2B and RF). Donovan appeared in ten All Star games and won a single MVP.

Hardball Dynasty's

Jesus Fernandez

Jesus Fernandez only got to pitch 16 seasons. He missed out on 3-4 years of prime ball due to political nature of the Dominican Republic during his 20s and not being able to leave for the MLB. Even so, he had 92 complete games, which is a career record. He also managed to win 274 games, an average of over 17 a season. Winning 26 in his third season of professional ball in the states. Fernandez also threw one no-hitter, won two World Series Rings and had eight All Star Game Appearances.

    Those are my five votes, four pitchers and one position player. A few other players I considered voting on, but just didn't break through for me for varying reasons are…

Damaso Peron, he might be able to get in. He was a very unquie player in his days and one of only a few players that have been able to reach the 40/40 club. He racked up 626 HRs and 504 SBs. Peron won two MVPs and was an eight time All Star selection.

Vic Sosa, hit 483 HR and had a career .302 batting average. Sosa was an eight time All Star selection.

Steven Munson, was a good player in his day, winning two MVPs and seeing seven All Star games. Munson had a .305 career batting average and hit 432 HRs.

Ryan Carr, was a five time All Star who also won two World Series Rings in his playing days. He had a career .304 batting average and hit 420 HRs.

Keith Bagwell nearly got to the 250 Win Club, falling just three games short in his 247 Win career. He ended with a 3.60 ERA in 3037.2 IP. He was a six time All Star and winner of one Cy Young.

Walter Miller was another different player cut from the same mold as Peron, but with a much less decorated career. He failed to win an MVP (although he came close one year) and only managed three All Star games. He is one of the few members of the 40/40 club.