NL East S12

St Louis Oxbows: 85-77 in S11, 1st in division
I had to google "oxbows" to figure out what the fuck this team name was.  It brought me back to fifth grade, when I probably first heard the word in class.  Can't imagine why I would forget a vocab word like that.  jstnklly is running another big budget this year, with nearly $116M in player salaries right now, and room for a few more million if necessary.  Other than the advanced scouting department, every other scout in the building was thrown out on their asses after S11, with the team running 0's across the board for college, high school, and international scouting.  They instead chose to spend that money on David Canseco, who is likely their opening day 3B.  Tex Lombardi was also a big winner in the FA market, getting a hair over $100M over the next five seasons.  In order to make room for those guys, the Oxbows had to ditch Spahn's contract, so he and Hamilton went to Milwaukee for a shitty prospect and Brandon Carter.  Big losers in that deal, St Louis is hoping Canseco and Lombardi can put up better numbers. 
Batting: B+
Pitching: B+
Fielding: A-
Prediction: 81-81, 1st in the division

Durham Bulls: 73-89 in S11, 2nd in the division
I'd love to see a poll of which owners in all of HBD have had a team named the Durham Bulls during their time playing this game.  I've probably had two or three teams named after the Bulls.  Is there a more popular team name?  Maybe the Yankees or the Red Sox?  Well after four really bad seasons in a row, the Bulls started to play near .500 ball the last two seasons.  Going after Bubba Coles this offseason was certainly a sign that the franchise wants to make some noise in their division.  They also brought in Dean Bailey to help their bullpen, and despite his AARP card, he should contribute to those late innings.  Trading for Brent Singleton also gives some help to the bullpen.  Bud Perez is hoping for a good sophomore season, and everyone in Durham is excited about his potential, along with that of Alexander Kelley.  This young team is pretty scary already, and they're only going to get better with age. 
Batting: B+
Pitching: B-
Fielding: C+
Prediction: 80-82, 2nd in division

Baltimore Terrapins: 71-91 in S11, 3rd in division
Slip sliding away, these guys have moved further and further down the standings each of the last few years.  A world series appearance in S8, they then couldn't make it out of the first round the next season, and missed the playoffs altogether in seasons 10 and 11.  Slashing salary left and right, they come into opening day with only $45M committed to player salaries.  They stayed out of the FA market, but made a trade with KC that netted them the much sought after Dick King, along with Rich Moore and Ralph James.  Hello rebuild.
Batting: C
Pitching: C-
Fielding: C-
Prediction: 65-97, 3rd in division

Hartford Insurance Men: 62-100 in S11, 4th in division
The first 100 loss season since the days of hbdgirl and her tank jobs, last season was the low-light for this proud franchise, and I was really crossing my fingers that I would find a big time FA signing or a major trade that I might have missed.  But alas, the Insurance Men are still resting their hopes on the supple shoulders of Alejandro Lee, who was recently quoted as saying "I can't wait to get the fuck out of here.  Have you ever been to Hartford?  It's a shit hole.  My salary this season is enough that I could probably buy ten city blocks of this town, and all of the people living there.  All I do is win silver slugger awards and MVP's, and these assholes can't get me any help.  I love Vin, but he can't pitch everyday.  Neil and Starr are gone.  I wish they had traded me instead of Pizzaro, then maybe I'd have a world series under my belt."  Sad, sad days in Hartford.
Batting: C
Pitching: C-
Fielding: D-
Prediction: 55-107, 4th in the division