I've been in 13 worlds in HBD, some longer than others. It's a coin toss between this one and Warning Track, as to which is my favorite. And in both cases, I think my preference for these two leagues is based on how competitive my division is. Nobody is winning the division by 20 games at the all-star break. Nobody loses 100 games (at least not lately). It's just so much more entertaining when the division is tight.
Oakland Ownage -- Division winner each of the last four seasons, and WS winner last year, the Ownage are the NL favorites again. And with $139M in payroll, anything less than another deep run into the playoffs will be disappointing. Much like my marriage. Wait, what? With no big transactions during the offseason, ownership is assuming the squad can get the same results as last season. Hall, Wayne, Ramirez, Greenberg, blah blah blah, those guys are still there obviously. Hitting wise, these guys are off the charts. Their pitching ain't too bad. The defense might be the one area that they aren't at the top of the league. They're the favorites, everyone is chasing them.
Offense: A
Defense: B
Pitching: A
Prediction: 103-59, 1st in the division
Las Vegas Bandits -- Movin' on up, to the east side, Vegas has been progressing since shynent took over, and they're hoping to make another jump this season. Picking up Aguilera last season was a good start. But they were suspiciously quiet this season, not making a splash in FA or in the trade market. But with Aguilera, Krivda, Canseco and Martin, maybe they didn't need to do anything else this year. The pitching is average, but if they can bang out 300 HR's again, maybe they won't need much pitching. They're getting better, that's for damn sure.
Offense: B+
Defense: C
Pitching: C
Prediction: 81-81, 3rd in the division
Albuquerque Sandias -- I haven't been this busy with a team in any world in a while. Three big trades. One huge FA signing. I'm visibly excited about this team, but also not convinced that we'll win anything. Clearly the offense will be led by Cairo, Spahn, Alarcon, Cain, Mairena, and Mendez. We might even finish as a top 3 offense in the NL. Our defense is average. The question is whether or not the pitching can keep the team ERA under 5.00 this season. It was 4.56 last season. Last year's offense scored 5.09 runs per game. I think we're bound to up that number this year, which means my pitching staff can get beat up a little more, and it won't hurt us. Knock on wood.
Offense: A
Defense: B-
Pitching: C
Prediction: 90-72, 2nd in division
Colorado Swingers -- Colorado was 2nd or 3rd in the division every season until last year, when they slipped to the bottom of the division for the first time. So what was their plan for getting back into the fight? Apparently that plan involved not making any significant changes to their roster. Everything looks very similar to last year. So McCormick and Washington are still at the plate. Serrano and Diaz are still throwing the ball. But those same guys finished at the bottom of the division last year. Can they simply do better this year?
Offense: B-
Defense: B+
Pitching: C
Prediction: 75-87, 4th in division
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