All the World News that's unfit for print.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
AL West Preview S26
Vancouver - 100+ wins blah blah blah $100M+ payroll blah blah blah Wascar Rosado blah blah blah. But hey, everyone in the AL, the good news is the Coastals lost a below average bullpen guy. Woooooo, maybe the rest of you will have a chance. The defense is maybe a hair below average, but the pitching and the hitting are some of the best in the league. Good luck AL.
Best Hitter: Wascar
Best Pitcher: Javy Gonzalez
Prediction: 110 wins
Colorado Springs - They've come back down to earth a bit, but they're still quite solid. Can they crack 100 wins? Well with a $100M+ payroll, they'd better. But I'm not sure if I see it. The defense is really good, I like what they've got going on there. The bullpen makes me hard. The starters might be even better. Maybe they're lacking some long relievers, but that's really the only negative I've got so far. And I guess the hitting is just kind of average. Not sure if 100 wins are going to be in the cards for them, but they'll be in the hunt for a wild card spot I bet.
Best Hitter: Ozuna
Best Pitcher: Donte
Prediction: 90 wins
Honolulu - Unfortunate that they are stuck in this division, kinda like the AL North. 90+ wins each of the last four seasons, but only two playoff appearances to show for it. $84M in payroll, they're not exactly going cheap, but I'm not sure if they can keep up with Colorado and Vancouver. They've got a lot of depth and solid defense, but the hitting is very blah, and the pitching is better than average but not great. Maybe they can fight for a wild card, but.......
Best Hitter: Julio Armas
Best Pitcher: Morris Truman
Prediction: 80 wins
Scottsdale - Hovering around .500 the last couple of seasons, we're hoping these guys can get above that mark this year, but again, this is a rough division. Meanwhile, they let some Type B's get away, but made no big signings or trades of their own. But....the youth. Some of it is already there. Some of it is coming soon. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not next season. But it's coming. All over the place.
Best Hitter: Espada?
Best Pitcher: Velazquez
Prediction: 85 wins
Best Hitter: Wascar
Best Pitcher: Javy Gonzalez
Prediction: 110 wins
Colorado Springs - They've come back down to earth a bit, but they're still quite solid. Can they crack 100 wins? Well with a $100M+ payroll, they'd better. But I'm not sure if I see it. The defense is really good, I like what they've got going on there. The bullpen makes me hard. The starters might be even better. Maybe they're lacking some long relievers, but that's really the only negative I've got so far. And I guess the hitting is just kind of average. Not sure if 100 wins are going to be in the cards for them, but they'll be in the hunt for a wild card spot I bet.
Best Hitter: Ozuna
Best Pitcher: Donte
Prediction: 90 wins
Honolulu - Unfortunate that they are stuck in this division, kinda like the AL North. 90+ wins each of the last four seasons, but only two playoff appearances to show for it. $84M in payroll, they're not exactly going cheap, but I'm not sure if they can keep up with Colorado and Vancouver. They've got a lot of depth and solid defense, but the hitting is very blah, and the pitching is better than average but not great. Maybe they can fight for a wild card, but.......
Best Hitter: Julio Armas
Best Pitcher: Morris Truman
Prediction: 80 wins
Scottsdale - Hovering around .500 the last couple of seasons, we're hoping these guys can get above that mark this year, but again, this is a rough division. Meanwhile, they let some Type B's get away, but made no big signings or trades of their own. But....the youth. Some of it is already there. Some of it is coming soon. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not next season. But it's coming. All over the place.
Best Hitter: Espada?
Best Pitcher: Velazquez
Prediction: 85 wins
AL South Preview: S26
KC - After a few down seasons, the ***gots are back. 105 wins last year, after 93 the year before. But.....Wascar is gone.....ouch. But Benny and Hideo still hold down the pitching staff, and the budget is actually over $120M this season, so they're clearly not rebuilding. On top of their not-too-shabby pitching staff, they still have some of the biggest sluggers in the world. But how many wins was Wascar worth? Can they crack 100 wins again this year? I don't think so, but I think winning the division is doable.
Best Hitter: Merrick
Best Pitcher: Benny
Prediction: 92 wins
Richmond - 93 wins last season was pretty impressive, but that's a trend these guys have been on the last few seasons. On the surface, they don't look like much. But the defense and pitching are really good, and the offense ain't nothing to sneeze at either. What can I come up with that is negative? I guess they're kinda slow. And it's kind of a high payroll. That's all I've got.
Best Hitter: Phil Wiggington
Best Pitcher: Jim Hitchcock
Prediction: 91 wins
San Antonio - I just threw up on my computer. Do you know how long it takes to get vomit out from under the keyboard? The defense is just acceptable. The bullpen is decent, and the starters can eat up some innings. But the offense is very meh. They're on pace already for another 100 loss season, but maybe they can get up to 70 wins. Maybe.
Best Hitter: Horton
Best Pitcher: Kurt Piersoll
Prediction: 999 losses
Houston - We still have a problem. These guys might be the only thing keeping San Antonio out of the basement, yet again. I know, I know, I know.....overalls don't mean anything. But there are only five guys on the ML squad at 70+ for an overall. And why is Bittle hanging out in AAA when he could help the ML bullpen? Shockingly, no big FA signings or trades. The defense is sub-par, as is the pitching, while the offense is not as shabby as you would think. But it's gonna be bad news bears.
Best Hitter: Borbon?
Best Pitcher: Soriano?
Prediction: 1000 losses
Best Hitter: Merrick
Best Pitcher: Benny
Prediction: 92 wins
Richmond - 93 wins last season was pretty impressive, but that's a trend these guys have been on the last few seasons. On the surface, they don't look like much. But the defense and pitching are really good, and the offense ain't nothing to sneeze at either. What can I come up with that is negative? I guess they're kinda slow. And it's kind of a high payroll. That's all I've got.
Best Hitter: Phil Wiggington
Best Pitcher: Jim Hitchcock
Prediction: 91 wins
San Antonio - I just threw up on my computer. Do you know how long it takes to get vomit out from under the keyboard? The defense is just acceptable. The bullpen is decent, and the starters can eat up some innings. But the offense is very meh. They're on pace already for another 100 loss season, but maybe they can get up to 70 wins. Maybe.
Best Hitter: Horton
Best Pitcher: Kurt Piersoll
Prediction: 999 losses
Houston - We still have a problem. These guys might be the only thing keeping San Antonio out of the basement, yet again. I know, I know, I know.....overalls don't mean anything. But there are only five guys on the ML squad at 70+ for an overall. And why is Bittle hanging out in AAA when he could help the ML bullpen? Shockingly, no big FA signings or trades. The defense is sub-par, as is the pitching, while the offense is not as shabby as you would think. But it's gonna be bad news bears.
Best Hitter: Borbon?
Best Pitcher: Soriano?
Prediction: 1000 losses
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Rules rule!
So, ya. Some of you's guys wants a prospect cap. Some of you's guys wants a minimum win requirement. Well, I've got some things to say about these matters.
First off, let me point out two examples of what I absolutely don't ever want to see in this world:
Toronto FivTs
This team is in Hometown. He tanked his first couple seasons, back in the prospect rich days, then has proceeded to systematically trade rape, season after season, possibly with aliases in the early days. This situation doesn't happen in good worlds, Check out his AAA team. Now some might say he's a savvy owner. I think it's bullshit. I was in that world but left after a couple seasons when it just seemed pointless.
And:
Tacoma Tomahawks
Yes, that's right 60 million spent on prospects this season. Less than 17 million in payroll, and shockingly just a .337 winning percentage. I just threw up in my mouth.
Oh, and this:
Baltimore Blue Crabs
Last season we saw a 154 million payroll with 0s in all scouting and medical. Same story season before, and to slightly lesser degrees the previous few seasons. Consequently there is nothing in the system, and when the owner bailed, the new owner is left with a first season budgeting nightmare.
I don't want to see any of that in BPF.
Now all these calls for a prospect cap/minimum win floor, seem to miss the point of the 60/40 rule. As nj mentioned earlier, we had an owner, mira21, who was able to field very competitive ML teams while keeping his payroll really low. Now he tanked his face of the first season and if the 60/40 rule was in effect then, he'd would've been here for the one season. But the franchise won 95 games with a sub 15 million payroll and often won 100+ sub 30 mil. To me, that's good management. He kept his other budget departments really high, which I respected. That's why I'm not so excited to enact a minimum payroll on it's own. I want owners to play many ways, and allow for some freedom. If you think you can compete and still add young talent, more power to you. What gets me is when I see decent FAs go unsigned while some team fields lesser, but cheaper, talent in a concerted effort to lose. While saving on the payroll, they load their prospect. I also hate seeing prospects being kept down when they are ML ready. No team in real life, would keep a player ready for the bigs, in the minors. When a player is ready, he plays, it's that simple. Whether the team is bad or good. In fact, he's more likely to in the Bigs earlier the worse the team is. And sometimes there are situations where an owner takes over a team with awful, awful contracts. This hampers efforts to improve quickly, so the owner just has to ride it out for a few seasons while the contracts expire. I know, I've taken over reigny teams. This might mean some terrible records, but the payroll is, say 80 million. That to me is not tanking. So it just seemed fair to say "spend less than 40, win more than 60". It accomodates for poorly run teams to get their shit together, and for freedom to budget for prospects while remaining competitive.
One thing that I don't like to see though is both declining records and payrolls. I've rebuilt, but my rebuild history shows a general pattern of declining payroll with increasing wins. What is crap is having, say, a 33 million/56 win team that next season has an even lower payroll and worse record. That, folks, is tanking. Not rebuilding, but balls out tanking. I do disagree with bluegreyjay that a team should never lose more than a hundred. Hey, it happens. it just shouldn't happen more than two seasons in a row. But I'm open to what the world thinks so let's get voting.
First off, let me point out two examples of what I absolutely don't ever want to see in this world:
Toronto FivTs
This team is in Hometown. He tanked his first couple seasons, back in the prospect rich days, then has proceeded to systematically trade rape, season after season, possibly with aliases in the early days. This situation doesn't happen in good worlds, Check out his AAA team. Now some might say he's a savvy owner. I think it's bullshit. I was in that world but left after a couple seasons when it just seemed pointless.
And:
Tacoma Tomahawks
Yes, that's right 60 million spent on prospects this season. Less than 17 million in payroll, and shockingly just a .337 winning percentage. I just threw up in my mouth.
Oh, and this:
Baltimore Blue Crabs
Last season we saw a 154 million payroll with 0s in all scouting and medical. Same story season before, and to slightly lesser degrees the previous few seasons. Consequently there is nothing in the system, and when the owner bailed, the new owner is left with a first season budgeting nightmare.
I don't want to see any of that in BPF.
Now all these calls for a prospect cap/minimum win floor, seem to miss the point of the 60/40 rule. As nj mentioned earlier, we had an owner, mira21, who was able to field very competitive ML teams while keeping his payroll really low. Now he tanked his face of the first season and if the 60/40 rule was in effect then, he'd would've been here for the one season. But the franchise won 95 games with a sub 15 million payroll and often won 100+ sub 30 mil. To me, that's good management. He kept his other budget departments really high, which I respected. That's why I'm not so excited to enact a minimum payroll on it's own. I want owners to play many ways, and allow for some freedom. If you think you can compete and still add young talent, more power to you. What gets me is when I see decent FAs go unsigned while some team fields lesser, but cheaper, talent in a concerted effort to lose. While saving on the payroll, they load their prospect. I also hate seeing prospects being kept down when they are ML ready. No team in real life, would keep a player ready for the bigs, in the minors. When a player is ready, he plays, it's that simple. Whether the team is bad or good. In fact, he's more likely to in the Bigs earlier the worse the team is. And sometimes there are situations where an owner takes over a team with awful, awful contracts. This hampers efforts to improve quickly, so the owner just has to ride it out for a few seasons while the contracts expire. I know, I've taken over reigny teams. This might mean some terrible records, but the payroll is, say 80 million. That to me is not tanking. So it just seemed fair to say "spend less than 40, win more than 60". It accomodates for poorly run teams to get their shit together, and for freedom to budget for prospects while remaining competitive.
One thing that I don't like to see though is both declining records and payrolls. I've rebuilt, but my rebuild history shows a general pattern of declining payroll with increasing wins. What is crap is having, say, a 33 million/56 win team that next season has an even lower payroll and worse record. That, folks, is tanking. Not rebuilding, but balls out tanking. I do disagree with bluegreyjay that a team should never lose more than a hundred. Hey, it happens. it just shouldn't happen more than two seasons in a row. But I'm open to what the world thinks so let's get voting.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
AL East Preview: Season 26
Syracuse - World Series champs last year, they're back again this year, just as strong as before. The only problem is that if you're not moving forward, then you're moving backwards, and they made no moves during the offseason. But they have a nice mix of youth and veterans on their squad, and the roster clearly didn't slow them down last year. I think they'll back in the mix again this year, but maybe not fighting for the WS this time around.
Best Hitter: Walter Atkins
Best Pitcher: Casey Becker
Prediction: 90-72
Cincy - 88 wins last year, and they still missed the playoffs. Playing in the AL must suck. But these guys are so young, they're going to be solid for a long time. They made the playoffs two seasons ago, can they get back this year? I'm thinking maybe. Possibly? I dunno, the AL is tough. They won't jump over Syracuse, so they need to get one of the wild cards, which ain't easy.
Best Hitter: David Moreno
Best Pitcher: Alex Hernandez
Prediction: 82-80
Chicago - The boys have been down for quite a few seasons, with sub .500 records seven seasons in a row. They should be due for a big one, right? I dunno, and I don't care, I'm just excited that they have Uncle Ben on their team. The hitting is pretty solid, and the pitching is above average, so they are improving, but.....not enough yet.
Best Hitter: Odalis 'Pablo' Escobar
Best Pitcher: Bobby Slaughter
Prediction: 81-81
New York - Car fire. Dancing With the Stars. A man plunging to his death from a skyscraper. All go under the category of "things I would rather watch than a New York game."
Best Hitter: Travis 'Tritt' Tresh
Best Pitcher: R.J. Arredondo
Worst Contract in BPF: R.J. Arredondo (seriously jubs, why was this not done with an option?)
Prediction: sadness and despair
Best Hitter: Walter Atkins
Best Pitcher: Casey Becker
Prediction: 90-72
Cincy - 88 wins last year, and they still missed the playoffs. Playing in the AL must suck. But these guys are so young, they're going to be solid for a long time. They made the playoffs two seasons ago, can they get back this year? I'm thinking maybe. Possibly? I dunno, the AL is tough. They won't jump over Syracuse, so they need to get one of the wild cards, which ain't easy.
Best Hitter: David Moreno
Best Pitcher: Alex Hernandez
Prediction: 82-80
Chicago - The boys have been down for quite a few seasons, with sub .500 records seven seasons in a row. They should be due for a big one, right? I dunno, and I don't care, I'm just excited that they have Uncle Ben on their team. The hitting is pretty solid, and the pitching is above average, so they are improving, but.....not enough yet.
Best Hitter: Odalis 'Pablo' Escobar
Best Pitcher: Bobby Slaughter
Prediction: 81-81
New York - Car fire. Dancing With the Stars. A man plunging to his death from a skyscraper. All go under the category of "things I would rather watch than a New York game."
Best Hitter: Travis 'Tritt' Tresh
Best Pitcher: R.J. Arredondo
Worst Contract in BPF: R.J. Arredondo (seriously jubs, why was this not done with an option?)
Prediction: sadness and despair
AL North Preview: S26
Milwaukee - How many years in a row have I talked about Milwaukee talking about how they want to talk about rebuilding? So much talking. Yet they won 102 games last year, and are likely to do the same again this year. They didn't give up anything big, and didn't acquire anyone too big, just lots of small pieces and small deals this offseason. So Jarvis will hit another 50 HR's, Roque will get 20 wins this year, the defense will continue being solid, blah blah blah. This town needs an enema.
Best Hitter: Alfredo Jarvis
Best Pitcher: Jose Roque
Prediction: 105-57
Minny - You know how I keep saying I miss domi? I lied. Ruffles is twice the owner domi ever was, even though he's not half as entertaining. But I'm not sure if this season is in the cards for the PPE. They were a .500 squad last season, lost a couple of Type A's, and didn't really replace any of them. It all does not bode well for a team playing in the same division as Milwaukee.
Best Hitter: Malik Nathan
Best Pitcher: Marino Ramirez
Prediction: 70-92
Madison - Last year's 73 wins were a big jump from the prior year's 57(!!!) wins, which was a big drop from the prior year's 88 wins. Talk about all over the place. Based on that pattern, I would assume something like 50 wins this year. But.....they did make a couple of moves, picked up a few small pieces, and maybe will improve instead of declining. But.....not nearly enough to catch Milwaukee, and most likely not enough to even make a wild card spot. But.....a valiant effort.
Best Hitter: Kurt Williams?
Best Pitcher: DJ Priest
Prediction: 80-82
Fargo - Big news, guys......the Goats didn't lose 100 games last season! The franchise hasn't been to the playoffs since Season 3. Holy shit balls. And come on Fargo, why couldn't you pick a city that begins with an M? Did you not get the memo? Milwaukee, Minnesota, Madison......Fargo. I do like the youth that these guys have, if they're not good this year, it'll be very soon. But again, they've gotta play Milwaukee and fight with them, which just ain't happening this season.
Best Hitter: Carl Washington
Best Pitcher: Yunel Iglesias:
Prediction: 75-87
Season 26 National Fucking league Preview, Beeeoo-tch.
NL NORTH
New Britain Rock Cats
PAYROLL: $70.4 MIL
Wow, someone has been tinkering since the last preview. This looks like an AL squad, and yes, that's a compliment. Stephen Watson is as dominant as they come, too bad he can't get 200 innings in. What he does give you is very impressive. Throw in Carlos Gonzalez and several other very competent arms, and you've got a fairly good staff. Offense is pretty balanced, though a little weak against righties. there is power and speed though. Cfer Nathan Mailman is the defensive star of the team, and can hit a little, plus burn the basepaths, albeit fairly cluelessly. Expect a much improved won-loss record, this season, even with the signing of The Chief.
BEST HITTER: Vitas Fields
BEST PITCHER: Watson
BEST PROSPECT: Osvaldo Tejeda
LAST SEASON: 77-85 1ST
PREDICTION: 90-72
Dover Deadspin
PAYROLL: 88.6
seed21 takes over from the rather flighty tomhighway. Speaking of seed, do you know how awkward it is provide a sample after a vasectomy? Even with a tongue on your balls. Every time we'd get the cup ready I would lo...oh....waaaaay too much information. Sorry 'bout that. Better defence than New Britain, especially up the middle, about equal offensively, though this line-up will be hard on righthanders but won't feature as much pop. Pitching isn't the measure of the line-up but a big trade addition will help.
BEST HITTER: Emil Manuel
BEST PITCHER: Douglas Reynolds
BEST PROSPECT: PASS
LAST SEASON: 75-87 2nd
PREDICTION: 85-77
Wichita Jack Straws
PAYROLL: 63.4 mil
This is a team hoping speed and pitching will be the road to the post season. My feeling is the road is full of potholes and very slippery, for Wichita. The only real fearsome bat in the line-up is Pat Penny. It's a group that won't be easy to strikeout, and is hoping to beat a lot of throws to first. The fielders are capable, a little short at shortstop maybe. While not deep in arms, the staff isn't awful, by any means and features an extremely devastating closer. Won't threaten for the division, or a wildcard spot, but should be a little better than last season>
BEST HITTER: Penny
BEST PITCHER: Christopher Garcia
BEST PROSPECT: Del Cordero
LAST SEASON: 71-91 3rd
PREDICTION: 76-86
Pittsburgh ABC's
PAYROLL: 21.8
Last season we had our first casualty of the 40/60 rule. Missed the wins by two and the payroll by about 7 million. Now the payroll is down even further. As it stands now it's dicey whether 60 wins can be achieved. There's three guys in AAA that are ML ready and could even help this team challenge for the division. Will we see them in Bigs this season? We should. The defence is passable, brittle Conor Stairs the best of the bunch. I like getting hitting from defensive positions and Willis Fisher definitely provides that, but sacrifice's fielding. Pitching is most notable for it's quality of first pitch, and overall mediocre control. Not a staff to win 60 plus with. Offence is lacklustre, but would be much better with three key call-ups, no reason to spend three season at AAA when you are currently a 90 overall. Not going to improve signifcantly
BEST HITTER: Fisher
BEST PITCHER: meh
BEST PROSPECT: (tie) Francisco Ramirez and Kory Carson
LAST SEASON: 58-104 4th
PREDICTION: 55-107 (without the AAA help)/ 65-97 (with)
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
NEW BRITAIN
DOVER
WICHITA
PITTSBURGH
NL EAST
Florida 66'ers
PAYROLL: 87.5
Hey look, this team is saddled with some lousy contracts for ex-players of mine. R.J. Jacquez and Louis Christman are grossly overpaid. Good players, but not worth their salaries. Contracts like that inhibit teams from doing things to improve quickly. Patience is the word for this franchise. Right now there's not much to get excited about in the system. The team itself is ok at the plate, decent in the field and on the mound.
BEST HITTER: J.J. Thompson
BEST PITCHER: Jacquez
BEST PROSPECT: Watty May
LAST SEASON: 72-90 4th
PREDICTION: 70-92
Chicago Wet Bandits
PAYROLL: 110.9
Not often you see a team with two 20 mil players on it's roster. Let's see what 40 mil buys: Virgil Olmedo and Dave Newman. oooh. This is a very good squad, though. Not a lot of top end power, someone will have to have a very good year to hit 35 bombs. But solid in other categories. Pitching is the talk of Bandits fan and the cause of excessive dampness within their groins. Would be shocked if there are six better teams in the NL, should be a lock for a return to the post-season.
BEST HITTER: Wilfredo Alonso
BEST PITCHER: Jerry Perez
BEST PROSPECT: PASS
LAST SEASON:83-79 2nd
PREDICTION: 93-69
Baltimore Lake Trout
PAYROLL: 64.5
We have a doctor in the house, maybe. Either way, there's this pain in my elbow. Pep Choo is on his decline
in a big way, but still produce a few doubles and play passable firstbase. The rest of the line-up has a little of everything, but also not enough of anything. Some nice top end power, though, Falls off after that. Pitching and defence will struggle to prevent runs.
BEST HITTER: Gordon Maranville
BEST PITCHER: Theo Leverton
BEST PROSPECT: Ben Grey
LAST SEASON: 73-89 3rd
PREDICTION: 68-94
Boston Brewers
PAYROLL: 90.4
Another player, Max Andino firmly in his career slide (the link being I was once offered Andino AND Choo, and I rejected the offer. I rejected it!). Not so much a shortstop anymore, but still a quality bat with Glove Glove calibre D at, say, 3B. Andino is part of a quartet of 35-40 home run guys with some flaws in the rest of attributes. The rest of the line-up is sub-dominating. Defence has some holes, namely at the catcher position, which is to say they have a DH, which is great for a NL team. Pitching will provide a challenge to right handed heavy orders, but and has some quality in it, to be sure. If only they had someone to throw it to.
BEST HITTER: Andino
BEST PITCHER: Julio Manzanillo
BEST PROSPECT: Terrence Franco
LAST SEASON: 84-78 1st
PREDICTION: 82-80
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
CHICAGO
BOSTON
FLORIDA
BALTIMORE
NL SOUTH
Tampa Bay Grays
PAYROLL: 40.3
With this team's range they might actually be catching foul balls in the stands. Great team speed, too. Throw in some top end power, you might say "whoa, these guys gonna score some runs". Then you look at the line-up's splits and you say "not so fast". But I am noticing that splits may less of a factor than I had first thought. High contact and power, combined with batting eye, seem to overcome lowish splits. And that seems to be something keithjs is working on. This is a franchise with but two playoff appearances, mind you. And it shares a division with Atlanta and J-ville. It is improving, but still has a way to go. Might challenge for the last wildcard spot. Excellent defence, and solid pitching, should be an interesting season in T_Bay.
BEST HITTER: Jesus Gabriel
BEST PITCHER: Dick Bruce
BEST PROSPECT: Damaso Prieto
LAST SEASON: 83-79 4th
PREDICTION: 86-76
Jackson Generals
PAYROLL: 78.6
Could the seasons of misery finally be paying off? Well, could they? Yes! Aside from playboy's disdain for fielding, aside from shortstop to be fair, this is quite a solid team with very good pitching and a fairly balanced attack. And the seasons spent riding in an armored vehicle equipped with a large gun means there is still some goodies in the system. The NL South is now the toughest division in BPF, I think it's fair to say.
BEST HITTER: Quentin Wieland
BEST PITCHER: Rob Ramsey
BEST PROSPECT: Randall Mahaffey
LAST SEASON: 86-76 3rd
PREDICTION: 91-71
Atlanta Bullochs
PAYROLL: 60.4
Two straight trips to the World Series, two straight defeats. I thought for sure the Bullochs had won a title here, but, no, they haven't. This, despite being one of the most successful NL team over the past several seasons. This season brings us more of the same. Some very big bats, some very strong arms blstered by excellent fielders. And there's still help down on the farm.
BEST HITTER: Joel Harvey
BEST PITCHER: Albert Salinas
BEST PROSPECT: Frank Nixon
LAST SEASON: 99-63 2nd
PREDICTION: 102-60
Jacksonville Jimmies
PAYROLL: 85
It's going to be a battle all season between J-Ville and Atlanta. The Bullochs are defnitely stronger in the field, but pitching and offense aren't separated by much. The order is deep, balanced, and powerful. Pitching is likewise. Didn't realize bnags has won three World Series titles with this franchise, joining devonjain as the only three time Champions here. Which just goes to show how much I've been screwed.
BEST HITTER: Yamil James
BEST PITCHER: Pascual Castilla
BEST PROSPECT: Brook Hull
LAST SEASON: 105-57
PREDICTION: 102-60
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
JACKSONVILLE
ATLANTA
JACKSON
TAMPA BAY
NL WEST
Las Vegas Corn Dogs
PAYROLL: 88.3
Wowzers, this team is all about pitching and defense. Offense, beyond Louie Twitchell and a couple less powerful swings, isn't much to be overly excited about. This is team hoping to keep it's opponents under 3 runs a game, in order to win more than they lose. And with this pitching and fielding it might work. buffrobby sure hopes it's the formula for success. Will be in the wildcard mix, but the bats will, most likely, come up short.
BEST HITTER: Twitchell
BEST PITCHER: Midre Brandt
BEST PROSPECT: Mitch Jensen
LAST SEASON: 80-82 4th
PREDICTION: 84-78
Oklahoma City Victory Dolls
PAYROLL: 53
The Victory Dolls may be misnamed this season, as victories will be hard to come by. This isn't a team that misses the post season very much (only 6 extended summers against 19 trips to the dance, great ratio), so I'm not expecting an extended rebuild, it's just not in nj's DNA. If this team had radio and TV play-by-play guys, they would be exclaiming "a swing and a miss" frequently at the end of OKC's at-bats. Pitching is OK, but not enough to rule the world.
BEST HITTER: Lance Foster
BEST PITCHER: Thomas Freeman
BEST PROSPECT: Chico Borbon
LAST SEASON: 83-79 2nd
PREDICTION: 74-88
San Francisco Barking Seals
PAYROLL: 75
Season after season, rocketcy blows me away with the performance he gets with his team. It never looks all that exciting to me on paper, but he always finishes above .500 and, historically, has a 50/50 chance of making the post season. And again, I don't see a ton of offense, and the pitching is definitely in the not upper tier. There's something to be said for great defense, and this team has that in an almost excessive amount, but you also have to score runs, and try and keep balls out of play. They'll probably win it all.
BEST HITTER: Matt Stokes
BEST PITCHER: Andrea McCartney
BEST PROSPECT: Houston Quinn
LAST SEASON: 85-77 1st
PREDICTION: 82-80
Arizona Outlaws
PAYROLL: 90.8
Another former luminary is playing out his dying days in the hot, dry desert air: Daryl Hawksworth. He joins another four time MVP, and all BPF hero Buck Cain. If only they were in their prime, this team might have a shot at the playoffs. Too little, waaay too late, though. Still, two future first ballot Hall of Famers would get bums in seats if there actually were bums to put in seats. There's only one power bat and both pitching and hitting will struggle against righties> Defense is solid, but won't get them too far, on it, alone.
BEST HITTER: Jack Bergen
BEST PITCHER: Terry Wilhelm
BEST PROSPECT: Chet Leary
LAST SEASON: 81-81 3rd
PREDICTION: 70-92
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
LAS VEGAS
SAN FRANCISCO
OKLAHOMA
ARIZONA
New Britain Rock Cats
PAYROLL: $70.4 MIL
Wow, someone has been tinkering since the last preview. This looks like an AL squad, and yes, that's a compliment. Stephen Watson is as dominant as they come, too bad he can't get 200 innings in. What he does give you is very impressive. Throw in Carlos Gonzalez and several other very competent arms, and you've got a fairly good staff. Offense is pretty balanced, though a little weak against righties. there is power and speed though. Cfer Nathan Mailman is the defensive star of the team, and can hit a little, plus burn the basepaths, albeit fairly cluelessly. Expect a much improved won-loss record, this season, even with the signing of The Chief.
BEST HITTER: Vitas Fields
BEST PITCHER: Watson
BEST PROSPECT: Osvaldo Tejeda
LAST SEASON: 77-85 1ST
PREDICTION: 90-72
Dover Deadspin
PAYROLL: 88.6
seed21 takes over from the rather flighty tomhighway. Speaking of seed, do you know how awkward it is provide a sample after a vasectomy? Even with a tongue on your balls. Every time we'd get the cup ready I would lo...oh....waaaaay too much information. Sorry 'bout that. Better defence than New Britain, especially up the middle, about equal offensively, though this line-up will be hard on righthanders but won't feature as much pop. Pitching isn't the measure of the line-up but a big trade addition will help.
BEST HITTER: Emil Manuel
BEST PITCHER: Douglas Reynolds
BEST PROSPECT: PASS
LAST SEASON: 75-87 2nd
PREDICTION: 85-77
Wichita Jack Straws
PAYROLL: 63.4 mil
This is a team hoping speed and pitching will be the road to the post season. My feeling is the road is full of potholes and very slippery, for Wichita. The only real fearsome bat in the line-up is Pat Penny. It's a group that won't be easy to strikeout, and is hoping to beat a lot of throws to first. The fielders are capable, a little short at shortstop maybe. While not deep in arms, the staff isn't awful, by any means and features an extremely devastating closer. Won't threaten for the division, or a wildcard spot, but should be a little better than last season>
BEST HITTER: Penny
BEST PITCHER: Christopher Garcia
BEST PROSPECT: Del Cordero
LAST SEASON: 71-91 3rd
PREDICTION: 76-86
Pittsburgh ABC's
PAYROLL: 21.8
Last season we had our first casualty of the 40/60 rule. Missed the wins by two and the payroll by about 7 million. Now the payroll is down even further. As it stands now it's dicey whether 60 wins can be achieved. There's three guys in AAA that are ML ready and could even help this team challenge for the division. Will we see them in Bigs this season? We should. The defence is passable, brittle Conor Stairs the best of the bunch. I like getting hitting from defensive positions and Willis Fisher definitely provides that, but sacrifice's fielding. Pitching is most notable for it's quality of first pitch, and overall mediocre control. Not a staff to win 60 plus with. Offence is lacklustre, but would be much better with three key call-ups, no reason to spend three season at AAA when you are currently a 90 overall. Not going to improve signifcantly
BEST HITTER: Fisher
BEST PITCHER: meh
BEST PROSPECT: (tie) Francisco Ramirez and Kory Carson
LAST SEASON: 58-104 4th
PREDICTION: 55-107 (without the AAA help)/ 65-97 (with)
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
NEW BRITAIN
DOVER
WICHITA
PITTSBURGH
NL EAST
Florida 66'ers
PAYROLL: 87.5
Hey look, this team is saddled with some lousy contracts for ex-players of mine. R.J. Jacquez and Louis Christman are grossly overpaid. Good players, but not worth their salaries. Contracts like that inhibit teams from doing things to improve quickly. Patience is the word for this franchise. Right now there's not much to get excited about in the system. The team itself is ok at the plate, decent in the field and on the mound.
BEST HITTER: J.J. Thompson
BEST PITCHER: Jacquez
BEST PROSPECT: Watty May
LAST SEASON: 72-90 4th
PREDICTION: 70-92
Chicago Wet Bandits
PAYROLL: 110.9
Not often you see a team with two 20 mil players on it's roster. Let's see what 40 mil buys: Virgil Olmedo and Dave Newman. oooh. This is a very good squad, though. Not a lot of top end power, someone will have to have a very good year to hit 35 bombs. But solid in other categories. Pitching is the talk of Bandits fan and the cause of excessive dampness within their groins. Would be shocked if there are six better teams in the NL, should be a lock for a return to the post-season.
BEST HITTER: Wilfredo Alonso
BEST PITCHER: Jerry Perez
BEST PROSPECT: PASS
LAST SEASON:83-79 2nd
PREDICTION: 93-69
Baltimore Lake Trout
PAYROLL: 64.5
We have a doctor in the house, maybe. Either way, there's this pain in my elbow. Pep Choo is on his decline
in a big way, but still produce a few doubles and play passable firstbase. The rest of the line-up has a little of everything, but also not enough of anything. Some nice top end power, though, Falls off after that. Pitching and defence will struggle to prevent runs.
BEST HITTER: Gordon Maranville
BEST PITCHER: Theo Leverton
BEST PROSPECT: Ben Grey
LAST SEASON: 73-89 3rd
PREDICTION: 68-94
Boston Brewers
PAYROLL: 90.4
Another player, Max Andino firmly in his career slide (the link being I was once offered Andino AND Choo, and I rejected the offer. I rejected it!). Not so much a shortstop anymore, but still a quality bat with Glove Glove calibre D at, say, 3B. Andino is part of a quartet of 35-40 home run guys with some flaws in the rest of attributes. The rest of the line-up is sub-dominating. Defence has some holes, namely at the catcher position, which is to say they have a DH, which is great for a NL team. Pitching will provide a challenge to right handed heavy orders, but and has some quality in it, to be sure. If only they had someone to throw it to.
BEST HITTER: Andino
BEST PITCHER: Julio Manzanillo
BEST PROSPECT: Terrence Franco
LAST SEASON: 84-78 1st
PREDICTION: 82-80
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
CHICAGO
BOSTON
FLORIDA
BALTIMORE
NL SOUTH
Tampa Bay Grays
PAYROLL: 40.3
With this team's range they might actually be catching foul balls in the stands. Great team speed, too. Throw in some top end power, you might say "whoa, these guys gonna score some runs". Then you look at the line-up's splits and you say "not so fast". But I am noticing that splits may less of a factor than I had first thought. High contact and power, combined with batting eye, seem to overcome lowish splits. And that seems to be something keithjs is working on. This is a franchise with but two playoff appearances, mind you. And it shares a division with Atlanta and J-ville. It is improving, but still has a way to go. Might challenge for the last wildcard spot. Excellent defence, and solid pitching, should be an interesting season in T_Bay.
BEST HITTER: Jesus Gabriel
BEST PITCHER: Dick Bruce
BEST PROSPECT: Damaso Prieto
LAST SEASON: 83-79 4th
PREDICTION: 86-76
Jackson Generals
PAYROLL: 78.6
Could the seasons of misery finally be paying off? Well, could they? Yes! Aside from playboy's disdain for fielding, aside from shortstop to be fair, this is quite a solid team with very good pitching and a fairly balanced attack. And the seasons spent riding in an armored vehicle equipped with a large gun means there is still some goodies in the system. The NL South is now the toughest division in BPF, I think it's fair to say.
BEST HITTER: Quentin Wieland
BEST PITCHER: Rob Ramsey
BEST PROSPECT: Randall Mahaffey
LAST SEASON: 86-76 3rd
PREDICTION: 91-71
Atlanta Bullochs
PAYROLL: 60.4
Two straight trips to the World Series, two straight defeats. I thought for sure the Bullochs had won a title here, but, no, they haven't. This, despite being one of the most successful NL team over the past several seasons. This season brings us more of the same. Some very big bats, some very strong arms blstered by excellent fielders. And there's still help down on the farm.
BEST HITTER: Joel Harvey
BEST PITCHER: Albert Salinas
BEST PROSPECT: Frank Nixon
LAST SEASON: 99-63 2nd
PREDICTION: 102-60
Jacksonville Jimmies
PAYROLL: 85
It's going to be a battle all season between J-Ville and Atlanta. The Bullochs are defnitely stronger in the field, but pitching and offense aren't separated by much. The order is deep, balanced, and powerful. Pitching is likewise. Didn't realize bnags has won three World Series titles with this franchise, joining devonjain as the only three time Champions here. Which just goes to show how much I've been screwed.
BEST HITTER: Yamil James
BEST PITCHER: Pascual Castilla
BEST PROSPECT: Brook Hull
LAST SEASON: 105-57
PREDICTION: 102-60
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
JACKSONVILLE
ATLANTA
JACKSON
TAMPA BAY
NL WEST
Las Vegas Corn Dogs
PAYROLL: 88.3
Wowzers, this team is all about pitching and defense. Offense, beyond Louie Twitchell and a couple less powerful swings, isn't much to be overly excited about. This is team hoping to keep it's opponents under 3 runs a game, in order to win more than they lose. And with this pitching and fielding it might work. buffrobby sure hopes it's the formula for success. Will be in the wildcard mix, but the bats will, most likely, come up short.
BEST HITTER: Twitchell
BEST PITCHER: Midre Brandt
BEST PROSPECT: Mitch Jensen
LAST SEASON: 80-82 4th
PREDICTION: 84-78
Oklahoma City Victory Dolls
PAYROLL: 53
The Victory Dolls may be misnamed this season, as victories will be hard to come by. This isn't a team that misses the post season very much (only 6 extended summers against 19 trips to the dance, great ratio), so I'm not expecting an extended rebuild, it's just not in nj's DNA. If this team had radio and TV play-by-play guys, they would be exclaiming "a swing and a miss" frequently at the end of OKC's at-bats. Pitching is OK, but not enough to rule the world.
BEST HITTER: Lance Foster
BEST PITCHER: Thomas Freeman
BEST PROSPECT: Chico Borbon
LAST SEASON: 83-79 2nd
PREDICTION: 74-88
San Francisco Barking Seals
PAYROLL: 75
Season after season, rocketcy blows me away with the performance he gets with his team. It never looks all that exciting to me on paper, but he always finishes above .500 and, historically, has a 50/50 chance of making the post season. And again, I don't see a ton of offense, and the pitching is definitely in the not upper tier. There's something to be said for great defense, and this team has that in an almost excessive amount, but you also have to score runs, and try and keep balls out of play. They'll probably win it all.
BEST HITTER: Matt Stokes
BEST PITCHER: Andrea McCartney
BEST PROSPECT: Houston Quinn
LAST SEASON: 85-77 1st
PREDICTION: 82-80
Arizona Outlaws
PAYROLL: 90.8
Another former luminary is playing out his dying days in the hot, dry desert air: Daryl Hawksworth. He joins another four time MVP, and all BPF hero Buck Cain. If only they were in their prime, this team might have a shot at the playoffs. Too little, waaay too late, though. Still, two future first ballot Hall of Famers would get bums in seats if there actually were bums to put in seats. There's only one power bat and both pitching and hitting will struggle against righties> Defense is solid, but won't get them too far, on it, alone.
BEST HITTER: Jack Bergen
BEST PITCHER: Terry Wilhelm
BEST PROSPECT: Chet Leary
LAST SEASON: 81-81 3rd
PREDICTION: 70-92
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:
LAS VEGAS
SAN FRANCISCO
OKLAHOMA
ARIZONA
Monday, August 4, 2014
Because you asked it's my personal all time HBD team
So I think this squad could beat any other all time HBD squad, except in the playoffs, where most of these guys just fall, or fell, apart, especially Tannehill, (seriously go check out his playoff stats compared to his regular season performance)> Didn't have to be players I drafted, just the best that I have had. wait does that sound wrong?). Not neccesarily at the position i played them at either, but in positions they could play based on their ratings. Now what would really make this exercise fun is if you could all post me your all time HBD teams with the links. Send them through sitemail. I used the short player text in blog links on the player's card. And what would be really fun, and both an income and interest generator for whatifsports is if we could have one off seasons with these teams. I'd easily pay $25 buck for this squad, plus a few honourable mentions as back ups and best rest of rotation and bullpens, to take on your best. Like the Tournament of Champions type of idea they have for the MLB sim. Might have some of the same players in a world but that wouldn't bother me none. Man, I would love to field this squad.
c: Robbie Trout
1b: Doug Sheehan
2b: Freddie Hornsby
3b: Matt Lunsford
ss:Ricardo Guzman
lf: Kolten Lindor
cf: Pedro Crespo
rf: John Cooper
dh: Rico Guerrero
rhp: Royce Tannehill
lhp: Curtis McMillon
Your turn...
c: Robbie Trout
1b: Doug Sheehan
2b: Freddie Hornsby
3b: Matt Lunsford
ss:Ricardo Guzman
lf: Kolten Lindor
cf: Pedro Crespo
rf: John Cooper
dh: Rico Guerrero
rhp: Royce Tannehill
lhp: Curtis McMillon
Your turn...
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
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