Arguably the best division in all of HBD, only 3 games separated first and fourth place last season. 12 playoff appearances, with 1 WS win and another WS appearance in ten seasons. OK, maybe we suck.
Not a single playoff appearance in ten seasons, Colorado loves playing .500 ball. After two really bad seasons to start the franchise, new management came in and brought the squad up to some decent standards. Lots of second and third place finishes in the division during the next eight seasons, but.....no playoffs. This offseason saw them trade away a setup guy for a catcher, but that was about it for movement. Washington and McCormick are still good. Bringing in Mo Nathan was a good move. And slowly but surely, management has brought in a pitching staff that won't get shelled in Colroado. Is it good enough to finally get them a playoff spot in this tough division?
Batting - B
Pitching - B
Fielding - B+
Prediction - 80 wins, 3rd in division
After winning the division during four of the first five seasons, Albuquerque has only made the playoffs twice in the last five seasons. On paper, guys like Cain, Alarcon, Cairo, Jumbo and Rico look great. But can they finally get this team a first round win? It's painful how bad these guys have been in the playoffs during their history. Losing Spahn and James to free agency does not help matters, but signing Mesa and Miles might even it out.
Batting - B+
Pitching - B
Fielding - C
Prediction - 88 wins, 2nd in division
Always a favorite to move deep into the playoffs, the Ownage moved to Salem this year, a city where I won a WS in another world. Other than losing their closer to FA, and trading away a 1B for a defensive specialist, Salem was very quiet during the offseason. They don't seem quite as scary on paper as they were a season or two ago, but they still have plenty of depth, with Ramirez, Singleton, Collins, etc. The hitting is there. The pitching is still top notch. They've improved defensively. Do they get back to the WS this year?
Batting - B
Pitching - A
Fielding - B+
Prediction - 90 wins, 1st in division
Las Vegas got 84 wins in S9 and finished 2nd in the division. In S10 they got the same number of wins, but finished 4th in the division. Goodness. Floating the largest budget in franchise history, the Bandits are clearly not content with 4th place. Aguilera and Canseco are studs, and management brought in Brooks, Hong and Parrish to help out this year, while feeling confident enough in the current roster to trade away Green for three prospects. Hopefully that last move doesn't blow up in their face this season.
Batting - B
Pitching - B-
Fielding - B-
Prediction - 78 wins, 4th in division
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