NL WEST
And, finally, last AND least, we have those rapscallions and ne'er-do-wells of the NL West. Once upon a time nj's team, wherever it was for that season, was pretty much guaranteed the division, but hard times, baby, hard times. In the past several seasons, rocketcy has carried the banner. In fact since joining BPF rocketman's team has never finished under .500. Last season was close but Albuquerque still won the division and made it's way to the NLCS. And he's done it despite never really blowing me away on paper. Defense is this team's strong point, especially at shortstop. Oklahoma City is also well covered at short, but lacking elsewhere. Catching is especially a concern, but with a bat like Chico Borbon, who gives a muffin? While not incredibly deep in the field, Seattle does have things a little more shored up, overall. The Slew are also relying on hitting to carry the catching position. Man, what is with the West and poor defensive catchers? Arizona ditto, and it doesn't look like the backstops bats can make up for their defensive short comings. Otherwise Arizona looks fairly solid, glove-wise. Boy-o-boy does Seattle have some power, in one of the biggest home run suppressing parks we got. Plus the four biggest smash bats, are, ahem, weak against righties. They will destroy left handed pitching, though. OKC has the same issue, not as big in power and a little stronger against righties. Albuquerque? Same thing. Some good splits against southpaws, but won't have the same success against right handed pitching. There is some speed, though, to help gain an extra base here and there. Offensively weak against everyone is Arizona, maybe the pitching will keep them in games. Ummm...ahhhh...no, no it won't. Things aren't looking good for AZ this season. It's a toss-up between Seattle and OKC for the best pitching in the division. There's little to distinguish between the two, really. Like really little. Alby-Q has decent pitching. Not dominanting but will steal a game once in a while.
Prediction:
OKC: 85-77
Seattle: 82-80
Alby-Q: 80-82
Arizona: 69-93
No girls this time my work comp sucks. So does my home comp.
All the World News that's unfit for print.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Thursday, July 2, 2015
NL Continued
NL SOUTH
The South has long been the NL's, hell, BPF's division of distinction, winning the last three World Series'. One team does appear to have fallen on harder times, that being the AI led Jimmies of Jacksonville. Beyond Louie Graham in the bullpen, pitching ranges from tslightly above mediocre (Ryan Crawford) to abysmal (Esmerling Rosales, ugh). Atlanta continues to put together a tight staff of hurlers with some dominance. Jackson isn't far behind, with some very good starters and an excellent bullpen. Defending BPF champ, New Orleans looks a kinda weak against left handed batters, but is otherwise extremly solid. Wheres Atlanta's pitching remains strong, the hitting has taken several steps back. Especially losing multi-MVP fella Joel Harvey. There's really not much to get excited about. If Atlanta can win a whole bunch of 1-0, 2-1 games it should work out. Jackson looks pretty potent, though the best hitter is a pure DH, plying his trade in the NL. The Jimmies still boast an intimidating line-up that if Jacksonville can win a lot of games 8-7, 10-8 should be alright. The Chin Music don't seem as threatening at the plate as the Jackson, or the like named ville. But I thought that way the past two seasons and I have had my prediction's ass handed to me. The one thing that will help the Bullochs is the defense. It's very good, and will definitely boost the pitching's fortunes. At the other end of the spectrum, we find Jacksonville. Not very good at all in the field. If those games were televised they would be fun to watch, if you like offense, wild pitches, and errors. New Orleans is capable at getting to balls and making the play. Jackson is unremarkable, but solid.
Prediction:
Jackson: 96-66
New Orleans 88-74
Atlanta: 82-80
Jacksonville: 75-87
And now girls in short shorts:
The South has long been the NL's, hell, BPF's division of distinction, winning the last three World Series'. One team does appear to have fallen on harder times, that being the AI led Jimmies of Jacksonville. Beyond Louie Graham in the bullpen, pitching ranges from tslightly above mediocre (Ryan Crawford) to abysmal (Esmerling Rosales, ugh). Atlanta continues to put together a tight staff of hurlers with some dominance. Jackson isn't far behind, with some very good starters and an excellent bullpen. Defending BPF champ, New Orleans looks a kinda weak against left handed batters, but is otherwise extremly solid. Wheres Atlanta's pitching remains strong, the hitting has taken several steps back. Especially losing multi-MVP fella Joel Harvey. There's really not much to get excited about. If Atlanta can win a whole bunch of 1-0, 2-1 games it should work out. Jackson looks pretty potent, though the best hitter is a pure DH, plying his trade in the NL. The Jimmies still boast an intimidating line-up that if Jacksonville can win a lot of games 8-7, 10-8 should be alright. The Chin Music don't seem as threatening at the plate as the Jackson, or the like named ville. But I thought that way the past two seasons and I have had my prediction's ass handed to me. The one thing that will help the Bullochs is the defense. It's very good, and will definitely boost the pitching's fortunes. At the other end of the spectrum, we find Jacksonville. Not very good at all in the field. If those games were televised they would be fun to watch, if you like offense, wild pitches, and errors. New Orleans is capable at getting to balls and making the play. Jackson is unremarkable, but solid.
Prediction:
Jackson: 96-66
New Orleans 88-74
Atlanta: 82-80
Jacksonville: 75-87
And now girls in short shorts:
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
half of the Season 29 NL preview and attractive women with a loose association to baseball
Season 29 NL Preview!
Hi, my name is Mark aka Beloved Former Commish, Previously Most Gracious and Wise. I still have authority as World Founder, and Overall Great Guy, so watch it, assholes!
It's time to bang out another tragically flawed prognostication based on what I see as your team's strengths and weaknesses. Going to borrow from nj's format and look at each division as a whole and determine who has the best fielding, offense, and pitching, as well as quirky things and best players in the division. Expect both tears of laughter and rage.
So without further ado...
NL NORTH:
In a surprising turn of events, Philadelphia scratched out the division title last season, to the apparent incredulity of indy_angels and his seemingly much more talented ABCs of Pittsburgh. We have a full on intra-state rivalry. The two best players in the division play for Pittsburgh and they are both really fine top end talent, Paco Amezaga and Vic Hoiles. In addition to those two there's a couple other fearsome bats. There's a couple prospects on the near horizon, as well, to upgrade, and in a few seasons there will be an absolute masher to compliment Hoiles and Amazega in Season 27 stud IFA Gorkys Duran. As it is the ABCs have the best line-up in the North, in a couple seasons, they may have the best in BPF. New Britain has three Dave Kingman/Mark Reynolds types, the aging and fading Wascar Rosado, the somewhat robust Vitas Fields but not much else. The Philth boast an order of deeply flawed hitters that will scare no one. And in his first season in BPF, thundercat's Dirty Pussies hope to queeff out a few hits from a manky twat of a line-up. Pittsburgh can also claim the best pitching staff in the NL North. Deep with top end talent, and more in the system, the ABCs look pretty intimidating. Livan Nunez is the absolute ace, and there several arms not far behind, quality-wise. New Britain has Stephen Watson and Jacoby Guerrero, as well as some other fine pitchers, but they can't match Pitts. Philadelphia won't dominate hitters. Douglas Reynolds is good, though. Montreal lacks a dominating 200 inning guy, but the staff is a little above the bats. Pittsburgh also has the best set of gloves of the group, how did they not win the division last year?
Prediction:
Pittsburgh 94-68
New Britain 82-80
Montreal 72-90
Philadelphia 72-90
NL EAST:
Nice to see the gentlemen (or so I assume) who make up the national league's redheaded stepchild all returned. Why not, you don't even need to win half your games to make the playoffs. Take that! Norfolk was busy in the off-season and appears to have made improvements overall, though may regret trading away Pat Penny. Made several deals and signed a bunch of FAs, this team should finish above
.500. Except behind the plate, where the bat carries the load, the Tides have astounding defense, provided the SS, Johnson doesn't get hurt. Florida has some huge holes in the field and I don't mean the turf. The Boston Brewers have better glove men than Florida, but nobody really dominant. Colombus will also kick the ball around just a little less than the Sunshine State franchise. What the Crusaders of Columbus do boast is the division's best player in Gordon Maranville, who just hit the 15 day DL.
Maranville anchors a fairly dangerous looking batting line-up with some biggish bats that will use the long ball to do mass damage. Ben Grey should score a ton of runs at the top of the order. Norfolk's order would have been a lot more threatening with the aforementioned Penny. After defying my expectations for a couple of seasons, what I thought was reality finally caught up with the Brewers last season. Not sure this team has the group of hitters to carry it to the NLCS as it had in the two previous seasons to last. The 66ers line-up is complimentary to it's fielding. As does it's pitching.
While not blessed with great command overall, the Crusaders do have a staff of effective hurlers including former Cy guy Pascual Castilla. Not sure Norfolk currently has enough innings amongst it's pitchers, in fact, it doesn't. But what it does have is pretty freakin' good. Even it's most suspect pitcher, mr. Cooper Lincoln has a Nolan Ryanish walk rate with a Nolan Ryanish OAV. They just need more innings, maybe there's help on the way. Boston, on the other hand, is in trouble with it's pitching staff. This division will come down to Norfolk's pitching and fielding against Columbus' hitting and pitching. See below for who I think will win out.
Prediction:
Columbus 86-76
Norfolk: 84-78
Boston 70-92
Florida: 56-106
And now the girls...
Hi, my name is Mark aka Beloved Former Commish, Previously Most Gracious and Wise. I still have authority as World Founder, and Overall Great Guy, so watch it, assholes!
It's time to bang out another tragically flawed prognostication based on what I see as your team's strengths and weaknesses. Going to borrow from nj's format and look at each division as a whole and determine who has the best fielding, offense, and pitching, as well as quirky things and best players in the division. Expect both tears of laughter and rage.
So without further ado...
NL NORTH:
In a surprising turn of events, Philadelphia scratched out the division title last season, to the apparent incredulity of indy_angels and his seemingly much more talented ABCs of Pittsburgh. We have a full on intra-state rivalry. The two best players in the division play for Pittsburgh and they are both really fine top end talent, Paco Amezaga and Vic Hoiles. In addition to those two there's a couple other fearsome bats. There's a couple prospects on the near horizon, as well, to upgrade, and in a few seasons there will be an absolute masher to compliment Hoiles and Amazega in Season 27 stud IFA Gorkys Duran. As it is the ABCs have the best line-up in the North, in a couple seasons, they may have the best in BPF. New Britain has three Dave Kingman/Mark Reynolds types, the aging and fading Wascar Rosado, the somewhat robust Vitas Fields but not much else. The Philth boast an order of deeply flawed hitters that will scare no one. And in his first season in BPF, thundercat's Dirty Pussies hope to queeff out a few hits from a manky twat of a line-up. Pittsburgh can also claim the best pitching staff in the NL North. Deep with top end talent, and more in the system, the ABCs look pretty intimidating. Livan Nunez is the absolute ace, and there several arms not far behind, quality-wise. New Britain has Stephen Watson and Jacoby Guerrero, as well as some other fine pitchers, but they can't match Pitts. Philadelphia won't dominate hitters. Douglas Reynolds is good, though. Montreal lacks a dominating 200 inning guy, but the staff is a little above the bats. Pittsburgh also has the best set of gloves of the group, how did they not win the division last year?
Prediction:
Pittsburgh 94-68
New Britain 82-80
Montreal 72-90
Philadelphia 72-90
NL EAST:
Nice to see the gentlemen (or so I assume) who make up the national league's redheaded stepchild all returned. Why not, you don't even need to win half your games to make the playoffs. Take that! Norfolk was busy in the off-season and appears to have made improvements overall, though may regret trading away Pat Penny. Made several deals and signed a bunch of FAs, this team should finish above
.500. Except behind the plate, where the bat carries the load, the Tides have astounding defense, provided the SS, Johnson doesn't get hurt. Florida has some huge holes in the field and I don't mean the turf. The Boston Brewers have better glove men than Florida, but nobody really dominant. Colombus will also kick the ball around just a little less than the Sunshine State franchise. What the Crusaders of Columbus do boast is the division's best player in Gordon Maranville, who just hit the 15 day DL.
Maranville anchors a fairly dangerous looking batting line-up with some biggish bats that will use the long ball to do mass damage. Ben Grey should score a ton of runs at the top of the order. Norfolk's order would have been a lot more threatening with the aforementioned Penny. After defying my expectations for a couple of seasons, what I thought was reality finally caught up with the Brewers last season. Not sure this team has the group of hitters to carry it to the NLCS as it had in the two previous seasons to last. The 66ers line-up is complimentary to it's fielding. As does it's pitching.
While not blessed with great command overall, the Crusaders do have a staff of effective hurlers including former Cy guy Pascual Castilla. Not sure Norfolk currently has enough innings amongst it's pitchers, in fact, it doesn't. But what it does have is pretty freakin' good. Even it's most suspect pitcher, mr. Cooper Lincoln has a Nolan Ryanish walk rate with a Nolan Ryanish OAV. They just need more innings, maybe there's help on the way. Boston, on the other hand, is in trouble with it's pitching staff. This division will come down to Norfolk's pitching and fielding against Columbus' hitting and pitching. See below for who I think will win out.
Prediction:
Columbus 86-76
Norfolk: 84-78
Boston 70-92
Florida: 56-106
And now the girls...
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Thursday, April 16, 2015
*Breaking News*
April 16th, 2015
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Today, Ballpark Franks Beloved Commish, Most Gracious and Wise, held a press conference to announce the institution of a Minimum Win Rule. To a room packed full of reporters, the devilishly handsome, camden68 announced that beginning next season the one season minimum win threshhold is 55 wins, with a multi season, progressive MWR of 55/120/195/270. The aim, he stated, was to create a more competitive world, where long spells of team suckageness, over many seasons will no longer be tolerated. another goal is to use the rule as an attractant to potential future owners at rollover. The Beloved Commish, Most Gracious and Wise, made it clear that, while no fan of rules, the situations where a team just loses and loses and loses and actually gets from horrid to fucking atrocious over an extended period is detrimental to the stability of the world. When asked if there will be a maximum win total, camden68 clearly asserted, in a commanding tone that there will not be, even though many HBDers seemingly disavow the D part of HBD and claim that hugely successful teams are a sophistacted society's greatest evil, and that just like crappy teams, they must be eliminated. Teams are protected this season from the one season MWR, but will be subject to the progressive total for next season. So if your team is on pace for 45-55 wins, better start planning for next season because you will need to improve on that record significantly. Asked if this will impact the 60/40 rule the Greatness that is He, said no, the 60/40 rule stands as is, because it works extremely well. When pressed, His Fantasticality acknowledged that in the current recruiting climate of HBD, banishing owners will create longer wait times for BPF at rollover, due to potentially increased openings, and that this is a serious concern. He iterated that banishment will be automatic for any new owner, or owner with less than three seasons. More established owners will receive a warning if they are with 5 wins from the minimum, or have extenuating circumstances like a devastating in jury, or collective, inexplicable underperformances. Bit his Graciousness does have limts of what's tolerable and there are some pointed cases (or just case) currently in BPF that need to be avoided going forward.
The Commish then launched into a medley of Norwegian death Metal songs, bit the head of a dik-dik, urinated on the podium and recieved enthusiastic fellatio from a bevy of nubile college girls, dropping the mic afterwards, and abruptly departing, shouting "you have been served, fuckers!"
by Buck Cub, sports reporter
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Today, Ballpark Franks Beloved Commish, Most Gracious and Wise, held a press conference to announce the institution of a Minimum Win Rule. To a room packed full of reporters, the devilishly handsome, camden68 announced that beginning next season the one season minimum win threshhold is 55 wins, with a multi season, progressive MWR of 55/120/195/270. The aim, he stated, was to create a more competitive world, where long spells of team suckageness, over many seasons will no longer be tolerated. another goal is to use the rule as an attractant to potential future owners at rollover. The Beloved Commish, Most Gracious and Wise, made it clear that, while no fan of rules, the situations where a team just loses and loses and loses and actually gets from horrid to fucking atrocious over an extended period is detrimental to the stability of the world. When asked if there will be a maximum win total, camden68 clearly asserted, in a commanding tone that there will not be, even though many HBDers seemingly disavow the D part of HBD and claim that hugely successful teams are a sophistacted society's greatest evil, and that just like crappy teams, they must be eliminated. Teams are protected this season from the one season MWR, but will be subject to the progressive total for next season. So if your team is on pace for 45-55 wins, better start planning for next season because you will need to improve on that record significantly. Asked if this will impact the 60/40 rule the Greatness that is He, said no, the 60/40 rule stands as is, because it works extremely well. When pressed, His Fantasticality acknowledged that in the current recruiting climate of HBD, banishing owners will create longer wait times for BPF at rollover, due to potentially increased openings, and that this is a serious concern. He iterated that banishment will be automatic for any new owner, or owner with less than three seasons. More established owners will receive a warning if they are with 5 wins from the minimum, or have extenuating circumstances like a devastating in jury, or collective, inexplicable underperformances. Bit his Graciousness does have limts of what's tolerable and there are some pointed cases (or just case) currently in BPF that need to be avoided going forward.
The Commish then launched into a medley of Norwegian death Metal songs, bit the head of a dik-dik, urinated on the podium and recieved enthusiastic fellatio from a bevy of nubile college girls, dropping the mic afterwards, and abruptly departing, shouting "you have been served, fuckers!"
by Buck Cub, sports reporter
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
So...Minimum win requirement. 14 of you voted and 13 of you said yes, which leads us to another question. What sort of MWR, a hard single season basement, or a multi-season progressive, or, hey, a combo of both? In this current recruiting atmosphere of HBD, it seems somewhat self-defeating to be booting owners, and then having to wait to fill the spots. On the other hand, extensive, season after season, ardent 100+ loss seasons starts looking bad. Especially to HBD veterans looking for worlds to join.Now, I'm not one who is dead set against rebuilding, and I don't think taking a couple seasons to retool is an afront to my humanity. But there is tanking, it does exist, and even in my worst seasons I always looked to field the best team I can, and if it meant sacrificing some propspect budget, or later draft picks, I would do it. I also don't understand why many veteran HBD, and frequent forum posters, look down on 100 win teams or multiple title winnings franchises, it is call Hardball Dynasty after all. Is a perfect HBD world one where all 32 teams finsih 81-81? Boring. But I digress. So on to the next question....over there<----->
And now girls in grey bikinis and stuff:
And now girls in grey bikinis and stuff:
Monday, March 16, 2015
AL West: Season 28
Now THAT'S what I call an active winter. So many free agents and trades, everyone in this division made moves to try and put themselves at the top. Love it. The question is whether these moves will lead to improvements from team to team, or were they all just reshuffling of talent?
Defensively, I love what Oakland has got going on. Gloves and range all over the place, and it's not just coming from backups who will only go in during a blowout. Vancouver is in the same proverbial ballpark, with a bunch of starters who can more than field the ball, along with a bunch of backups who won't make a ton of errors when they come in to relieve the starter. Honolulu doesn't quite have the gloves that the others do, but man, they will get to every ball that is put into play. Some of them might drop it when they get to it, but at least there won't be too many extra base hits. Colorado Springs isn't a huge park, but they've got rangy guys as if they worry about having to get to balls. Really, these four teams together might have the best overall defensive ratings of BPF. Take any other four teams, whether they are from the same division or not. I bet they won't have the range and gloves that these four do, and these four are all in one division. Not sure if I can really rank them, but let's throw some darts and say CS, Vancouver, Honolulu, then Oakland.
As per usual, Vancouver has a stud pitching staff, with Lee, Cho, and acquisitions Lopez and AC leading the way. The bullpen is nothing to sneeze at either, and the whole staff might be able to actually improve on the 3.65 ERA from last season. The Oakland staff has a few too many lefties for my liking, but they are still strong, and might improve on last year's numbers if they can get the hitters to put the ball on the ground to their solid defense. I want to get excited about Honolulu, but their staff just won't be able to keep up in this division. The bullpen is solid, and they have a couple of above average starters, but that's not enough in this division. Speaking of "not enough," CS has a couple of stud lefties to start for them, and an above average bullpen, but they're in the same situation as Honolulu, where their staff would look much better in another division. Vancouver gets the nod, with Oakland next, then CS, with Honolulu rounding it out.
I love that arguably the best hitter on CS is a guy named Juan Valdez. Why does that amuse me? Anyway, they've got some power and will get on base a fair amount, but they're not scary from top to bottom. Again, part of the problem is the division that they're in. jc has himself in a good spot with this Oakland team. They weren't a bad hitting team last season, but they weren't good either. Bringing up Malone from the minors and acquiring Burrell should be a big boost to the offense. Meanwhile, in Honolulu, you know you're in trouble when three of your top five home run threats are C/DH type guys. Maybe you can put one of them in RF and hope he doesn't give you a minus play every game, but otherwise you have to split their time at C/DH, and then only one of them gets to play during inter-league games. Yikes. And then there's the pride and joy of the AL West, with Vancouver and their re-vamped offense. The Rosado/Lance deal gave Vancouver some more defense, but took away some offense. Neruda/Figureoa kind of washed the trade out, as KC took on a guy who could play RF, and Vancouver got a DH bat. Did either team really improve with that trade? I guess KC got ride of a few years worth of a big contract. Then the Jarvis for Iglesias/Chang was another big contract on the books for Vancouver, but a massive bat for now. In the short term, I think those two trades are huge for Vancouver. The offensive potential, much like the team's payroll, is through the roof. Six guys hit 30+ HR's last year. Three of those guys are gone now (39, 32, and 32 HR's), and have been replaced by 61, 38, and 38 HR guys. Hey AL West, good luck with that. The clear winner here is Vancouver, with a big gap back to Oakland, then CS, follwed by Honolulu.
The division winner and likely 120 game winner is Vancouver, but then Oakland could mess around and get 90 wins and a wild card spot. Both Honolulu and CS slipped a little bit last year, and I think they'll slip a little more again, but with CS being in the 85 win area, and Honolulu hanging around the .500 region. And then everyone is crazy if they're not looking at Vancouver as the AL Champ and favorite for the World Series as well.
Defensively, I love what Oakland has got going on. Gloves and range all over the place, and it's not just coming from backups who will only go in during a blowout. Vancouver is in the same proverbial ballpark, with a bunch of starters who can more than field the ball, along with a bunch of backups who won't make a ton of errors when they come in to relieve the starter. Honolulu doesn't quite have the gloves that the others do, but man, they will get to every ball that is put into play. Some of them might drop it when they get to it, but at least there won't be too many extra base hits. Colorado Springs isn't a huge park, but they've got rangy guys as if they worry about having to get to balls. Really, these four teams together might have the best overall defensive ratings of BPF. Take any other four teams, whether they are from the same division or not. I bet they won't have the range and gloves that these four do, and these four are all in one division. Not sure if I can really rank them, but let's throw some darts and say CS, Vancouver, Honolulu, then Oakland.
As per usual, Vancouver has a stud pitching staff, with Lee, Cho, and acquisitions Lopez and AC leading the way. The bullpen is nothing to sneeze at either, and the whole staff might be able to actually improve on the 3.65 ERA from last season. The Oakland staff has a few too many lefties for my liking, but they are still strong, and might improve on last year's numbers if they can get the hitters to put the ball on the ground to their solid defense. I want to get excited about Honolulu, but their staff just won't be able to keep up in this division. The bullpen is solid, and they have a couple of above average starters, but that's not enough in this division. Speaking of "not enough," CS has a couple of stud lefties to start for them, and an above average bullpen, but they're in the same situation as Honolulu, where their staff would look much better in another division. Vancouver gets the nod, with Oakland next, then CS, with Honolulu rounding it out.
I love that arguably the best hitter on CS is a guy named Juan Valdez. Why does that amuse me? Anyway, they've got some power and will get on base a fair amount, but they're not scary from top to bottom. Again, part of the problem is the division that they're in. jc has himself in a good spot with this Oakland team. They weren't a bad hitting team last season, but they weren't good either. Bringing up Malone from the minors and acquiring Burrell should be a big boost to the offense. Meanwhile, in Honolulu, you know you're in trouble when three of your top five home run threats are C/DH type guys. Maybe you can put one of them in RF and hope he doesn't give you a minus play every game, but otherwise you have to split their time at C/DH, and then only one of them gets to play during inter-league games. Yikes. And then there's the pride and joy of the AL West, with Vancouver and their re-vamped offense. The Rosado/Lance deal gave Vancouver some more defense, but took away some offense. Neruda/Figureoa kind of washed the trade out, as KC took on a guy who could play RF, and Vancouver got a DH bat. Did either team really improve with that trade? I guess KC got ride of a few years worth of a big contract. Then the Jarvis for Iglesias/Chang was another big contract on the books for Vancouver, but a massive bat for now. In the short term, I think those two trades are huge for Vancouver. The offensive potential, much like the team's payroll, is through the roof. Six guys hit 30+ HR's last year. Three of those guys are gone now (39, 32, and 32 HR's), and have been replaced by 61, 38, and 38 HR guys. Hey AL West, good luck with that. The clear winner here is Vancouver, with a big gap back to Oakland, then CS, follwed by Honolulu.
The division winner and likely 120 game winner is Vancouver, but then Oakland could mess around and get 90 wins and a wild card spot. Both Honolulu and CS slipped a little bit last year, and I think they'll slip a little more again, but with CS being in the 85 win area, and Honolulu hanging around the .500 region. And then everyone is crazy if they're not looking at Vancouver as the AL Champ and favorite for the World Series as well.
Friday, March 13, 2015
NL pt4
Howdy stranger! Now let's turn our steely, or, perhaps, fawning eyes to the NL West. Gone, long gone, are the heydays of the former San Diego/Albuquerque now Oklahoma City franchise. This is a team in retool modus. Ya, I said modus. Not much to get excited about. Defensively, the team is sharp at short. Speaking of "Yikes", let's look at the catching. Yikes! They do have a Piazza type in Chico Borbon, with a better arm, but won't help the pitching much, Hope the pitching coach is good, if that even helps, which I don't think it does. Aside from Borbon the offence is swing and a miss or boom, ball go bye-bye types. There's a really fast guy, but he's not the best baserunner. I find that this world has a thing for power bats, noticing a lot more power in line-ups, this season. They did sign Santiago Lee to keep opposition from piling runs on, late in games, which is good. I suppose. To be fair, the pitching isn't bad at all. It's just that they won't get much help, and they have two catchers that tend to shrug when the pitcher looks in for a sign.
"What a bullpen!" That's what the imaginary fans of Las Vegas are saying. Too bad about the rest of the team. Not very dissimilar to OKC. Pitching is the strength, defence is weak, but with better catchers. The offence is worse. The line-up features Louie Twitchell, who can hit when not striking out, and some speed, but is not very threatening. The pitching is, actually, pretty good. Though he's the number 2 starter, the best in the rotation is Mitch Jensen, starting his sophmore season. I'm not certain that this squad will see a turnaround from last season's downturn, and this could be the start of a rebuild.
Ok, now we got a team that can get to the ball and make a play on it. Wow, so very strong up the middle. except at catcher. what's with the West and their disdain for capable backstops? I dunno. Run production will be somewhat of an issue. Season 26 MVP, Andres Silva will slug 40, as usual, and there's a couple other guys, but this won't be a team that piles up runs. Pitching is notch below the other teams in the West, and might struggle with control out of the bullpen. Andrea McCartney has two brothers. Their names are Elizabeth and Margaret. true fact. The rest of the rotation ain't shabby, especially Wayne Payton. I always marvel at rocketcy's ability to get the max out of his team, and season after season, and has been the division champ three out of the past four seasons, winning 94 games last season. I can't see it happening this season, but I'll not be shocked in the least if rocket guides this squad to 100 victories this season.
Hmm, I think I know which team won't win the division, theArizona BOO-YAHS. Sorry bbwinks, just saying like I sees it. Scoring runs is going to be a huge challenge for this team, with the best hitter, I s'pose, being the fading Jack Bergen. There's not a lot of power, but there's a couple high contact guys. But, yah, three runs a game would be awesome for this line-up. Pitching is the equal of the hitting, so yah, keeping the opposition to five runs a game would also be awesome. Weak, as well, are the gloves. It's just not going to be a good year for the Season 13 World Series winning franchise.
The MidWest farmer's daughter really make you feel all right
"What a bullpen!" That's what the imaginary fans of Las Vegas are saying. Too bad about the rest of the team. Not very dissimilar to OKC. Pitching is the strength, defence is weak, but with better catchers. The offence is worse. The line-up features Louie Twitchell, who can hit when not striking out, and some speed, but is not very threatening. The pitching is, actually, pretty good. Though he's the number 2 starter, the best in the rotation is Mitch Jensen, starting his sophmore season. I'm not certain that this squad will see a turnaround from last season's downturn, and this could be the start of a rebuild.
Ok, now we got a team that can get to the ball and make a play on it. Wow, so very strong up the middle. except at catcher. what's with the West and their disdain for capable backstops? I dunno. Run production will be somewhat of an issue. Season 26 MVP, Andres Silva will slug 40, as usual, and there's a couple other guys, but this won't be a team that piles up runs. Pitching is notch below the other teams in the West, and might struggle with control out of the bullpen. Andrea McCartney has two brothers. Their names are Elizabeth and Margaret. true fact. The rest of the rotation ain't shabby, especially Wayne Payton. I always marvel at rocketcy's ability to get the max out of his team, and season after season, and has been the division champ three out of the past four seasons, winning 94 games last season. I can't see it happening this season, but I'll not be shocked in the least if rocket guides this squad to 100 victories this season.
Hmm, I think I know which team won't win the division, theArizona BOO-YAHS. Sorry bbwinks, just saying like I sees it. Scoring runs is going to be a huge challenge for this team, with the best hitter, I s'pose, being the fading Jack Bergen. There's not a lot of power, but there's a couple high contact guys. But, yah, three runs a game would be awesome for this line-up. Pitching is the equal of the hitting, so yah, keeping the opposition to five runs a game would also be awesome. Weak, as well, are the gloves. It's just not going to be a good year for the Season 13 World Series winning franchise.
The MidWest farmer's daughter really make you feel all right
I wish they all could be California girls
Thursday, March 12, 2015
AL South, Season 28
You guys really need to thank sergei for making so many moves during the winter, otherwise this would have been the most boring division. Six trades from KC, none from the other three. Two free agents from KC (a Type A and a Type B), while Richmond had two Type B's, San Antonio had one Type B, and Houston made no big noise in free agency. It's like there's no heartbeat in that division! Come on, do something! Entertain us!
Anyway, KC has thrown all of their chips on the table, as they roll into the season with a massive budget and one of the weirdest pitching staffs I've seen so far. Hamilton, Fuentes, Chang, and Valent are lights out when they come out of the bullpen, but combine for about 200 innings a season, while costing the team a total of about $14.6M. Maybe I'm a cheap bastard, but it seems like a lot of money for four guys who account for less than 15% of your innings in one season. Santos, Roque, and Little lead the staff over in Virginia's capital city, with a pretty decent bullpen to back them. Houston is making a decent effort, but they're not exactly making a run at a playoff spot or anything. They've got a couple of good lefties, but the vR split leaves a little to be desired. Same deal in SA, where young stud Griggs has been called up after getting the requisite 500 innings in the minors, but the rest of the staff is just kind of average. We'll give the edge to KC, with Richmond behind them, then SA a bit ahead of Houston.
The KC defense is really solid, but like someone else I wrote about earlier whose name escapes me now, I'm not sure how much playing time some of those gloves will get. And then the drop-off from those top gloves to the second tier is pretty severe, which would greatly impact my ranking here. We'll just average it out and say they're average. Richmond is adequate at the main defensive positions we worry about, but nothing to write home about. If you've got a CF that you're looking to move, Houston would love to talk to you about him. Six different guys played CF last year (in fairness, two of them combined for nine innings total), combining for 23 minus plays and only 1 plus play. The team as a whole had 88 minus plays to 39 plus plays. SA might actually be the most solid of this division when it comes to defense. Yikes. Richmond is behind them, then KC, then a big drop down to Houston.
Wow, the Houston offense is really old. A dozen position players, and eight of them are 30 or older. Not that overall rating is the be-all to end-all, but only two of those dozen players have overalls of 70 or higher. San Antonio is upping their offense game, with guys like Zhang and Paco helping out, and Mahaffey being the center of the offense. Richmond has guys like Rodriguez, Gonzales, and Moreno leading the way, which makes them a decent offense, but nothing that scares pitching staffs like Cincy and Milwaukee and Vancouver. The Rosado trade is likely what puts KC at the top of the offensive pile in this division. Between him, Malik, Diory, Dwayne, and Shea, they should have the most powerful offense in the division, by far. We've gotta give them the top spot in this category, with Richmond trailing behind, SA not too far off of those guys, and then Houston rolling behind in their wheelchairs.
Overall, KC is the clear favorite to win the division, with Richmond pushing for a wild card, San Antonio possibly not losing 100 games this season, and then Houston most certainly losing well over 100 games.
Anyway, KC has thrown all of their chips on the table, as they roll into the season with a massive budget and one of the weirdest pitching staffs I've seen so far. Hamilton, Fuentes, Chang, and Valent are lights out when they come out of the bullpen, but combine for about 200 innings a season, while costing the team a total of about $14.6M. Maybe I'm a cheap bastard, but it seems like a lot of money for four guys who account for less than 15% of your innings in one season. Santos, Roque, and Little lead the staff over in Virginia's capital city, with a pretty decent bullpen to back them. Houston is making a decent effort, but they're not exactly making a run at a playoff spot or anything. They've got a couple of good lefties, but the vR split leaves a little to be desired. Same deal in SA, where young stud Griggs has been called up after getting the requisite 500 innings in the minors, but the rest of the staff is just kind of average. We'll give the edge to KC, with Richmond behind them, then SA a bit ahead of Houston.
The KC defense is really solid, but like someone else I wrote about earlier whose name escapes me now, I'm not sure how much playing time some of those gloves will get. And then the drop-off from those top gloves to the second tier is pretty severe, which would greatly impact my ranking here. We'll just average it out and say they're average. Richmond is adequate at the main defensive positions we worry about, but nothing to write home about. If you've got a CF that you're looking to move, Houston would love to talk to you about him. Six different guys played CF last year (in fairness, two of them combined for nine innings total), combining for 23 minus plays and only 1 plus play. The team as a whole had 88 minus plays to 39 plus plays. SA might actually be the most solid of this division when it comes to defense. Yikes. Richmond is behind them, then KC, then a big drop down to Houston.
Wow, the Houston offense is really old. A dozen position players, and eight of them are 30 or older. Not that overall rating is the be-all to end-all, but only two of those dozen players have overalls of 70 or higher. San Antonio is upping their offense game, with guys like Zhang and Paco helping out, and Mahaffey being the center of the offense. Richmond has guys like Rodriguez, Gonzales, and Moreno leading the way, which makes them a decent offense, but nothing that scares pitching staffs like Cincy and Milwaukee and Vancouver. The Rosado trade is likely what puts KC at the top of the offensive pile in this division. Between him, Malik, Diory, Dwayne, and Shea, they should have the most powerful offense in the division, by far. We've gotta give them the top spot in this category, with Richmond trailing behind, SA not too far off of those guys, and then Houston rolling behind in their wheelchairs.
Overall, KC is the clear favorite to win the division, with Richmond pushing for a wild card, San Antonio possibly not losing 100 games this season, and then Houston most certainly losing well over 100 games.
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