Buffalo Wooden Nickel -- 92-70 last year won them the division, and they managed to move on to the NLCS for the first time in franchise history. 35-year-old Roosevelt Brower is back for the final year of his $20M/yr contract, after having one of his finest seasons in recent memory last year. Missing a little pop now in his advanced age, can he have the same sort of season? Will he get another contract during the season, or will he be a really old Type A next year? But Brower is a small story relative to Crawford and Johnson, who are coming into their own, and are arguably the MVP's for this Buffalo squad. A close second in that MVP race is the entire Buffalo bullpen. While the starters leave a little to be desired, the manager will never think twice about handing the ball to someone from the pen. The question is whether or not the offense can do enough to have a lead when the bullpen comes in.
Offense: B+
Defense: D+
Pitching: starters - D+, bullpen - A
Prediction: 84-78, 2nd in division
Iowa City Cornish Hens -- Up and down, up and down, this team seems to be always hovering around that .500 range. Led by the pitching of Kojima and Miranda, they get some offense from Sizemore and Matthews, and the potentially great Vinny Bong closing games. The question mark for the team is if they are deep enough in those areas to make any noise. I'm gonna go with 'no.'
Offense: C
Defense: C+
Pitching: C
Prediction: 74-88, 4th in division
Cincinnati Red Thumpers: After spending the first four seasons at the bottom of the division, the squad has made the playoffs three of the last five. Flash Bass is the man. Howry, Payton, and Stewart don't suck. Do these guys have a division title in them this season? The problem is that their top guys aren't 162-gamers. Can the subs keep up the level of play while the stars get some rest?
Offense: B+
Defense: A-
Pitching: A-
Prediction: 95-67, 1st in division
Helena Homies: After a huge upswing from the chadtv days, these guys are poised to make even more noise this season. Rivera, Cheng, and Valentin are not slouches. The pitching is not amazing, but it's not bad either. The defense is good where it needs to be good. Can these guys fight for a wild card after seven seasons of sub .500 ball?
Offense: C+
Defense: B
Pitching: C+
Prediction: 78-84, 3rd in divison
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