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2008 SPIBL Division Previews by Peter Jammins
Now that the dust has settled and all of the draftees settle into their new homes, it’s time to prognosticate what is to come in the 2008 season. Will the Sharpshooters 3-peat? Can David Ortiz and Alfonso Soriano improve on 60 HR seasons? Can any rookies make significant impacts? We’ll attempt to answer all of these questions in our team-by-team capsules. (Previous year records in parenthesis)
AL EAST The AL East flourished in 2007, as New York and Pittsburgh had the top two records in the AL, and also is the home of the defending AL Champion (New York). This season it will likely go from best to worst in the AL, and could possible produce some new faces and jerseys in the postseason. Look for it to be very competitive all season long, as this looks to be the only division where any four teams could win it if the pieces fall together. 10 games might separate 1st and last place. 1. Boston Blizzards (58-104) After finishing a league-worst 49 games out of first place in 2007 and sporting a putrid ERA of 5.88, the Boston faithful have good things to look forward to in 2008. Boston’s management has promised to improve by spending millions on Gary Sheffield, Tom Glavine and Troy Glaus, and young emerging stars such as Jeremy Hermida and Ian Kinsler look to show promise in their first seasons. Put veteran Matt Holliday in the mix and you have a formidable lineup. The rotation will be the big key, as newly acquired Tom Glavine will need some help from Scott Baker, AJ Burnett, Matt Garza and others. The Blizzards also will move Jorge Julio to earlier relief after a dismal year as closer and welcome in Kevin Gregg to finish games. X-Factor: Will Yuniesky Betancourt and Coco Crisp be productive? The middle of Boston’s lineup is solid, but production from these two could help secure Boston’s first franchise playoff appearance Projected Wins: 85-90 2. Pittsburgh Conspiracy (107-55, lost to New York in division round) It’s hard not to pick the Conspiracy after they snuck their way into a division title in 2007, but they will have to deal with some injuries to repeat. Pittsburgh sported 6 starters with more than 15 starts and an ERA under 4.3 last season, but it will be hard to duplicate that in 2008. News has circulated that emerging ace Francisco Liriano will sit out 2008 due to injury, Tony Armas and Jose Contreras have moved on, so Kyle Davies will return with his 8.03 ERA in 8 starts to try and fill in a bigger role. The bulk of their lineup returns this season to work on the back-to-back campaign, but they will have to do it without the 2007 league leader in runs Hanley Ramirez X-Factor: No one knows how effective rookie Brendan Harris will be filling in for the departed Ramirez. Will he or someone else be able replace the runs lost from Ramirez departure? Projected Wins: 80-85 3. Cleveland Clubbers (62-100) “Intimidating,” said new Clubber Jack Cust, when asked about batting in a lineup with Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. “But I hope to either get a bunch of runs or give them some protection. I look forward on doing whatever I can to help bring a championship to Cleveland.” Cust brings another bat to what was already a formidable lineup, but they are hoping to improve on a .255 team average in 2007. Draftee Jeremy Guthrie will come right in and lead a rotation with other solid arms including Wandy Rodriguez, Carlos Silva and another newcomer Matt Chico. X-Factor: Who is going to close for the Clubbers? 2007 closer Billy Wagner has come and gone, and a replacement is yet to be named. They’ll need to be able to finish the close ones to have a shot at winning the division. Projected Wins: 75-85 4. New York Flatirons (105-57, defeated Chicago in wildcard, defeated Pittsburgh in the divisional round, defeated Los Angeles in the ALCS, lost to Toronto in the World Series. The defending AL Champions will difficulty sustaining any of the success they experienced in 2007 as management made a decision to get younger and solidify a core for the future instead of making a big push to contend. In 2007 they hit an absurd 286 homers, with 6 players over 20. Expect their total to still be among the top of the league with Beltran, Aramas Ramirez, Matt Stairs and new face Sammy Sosa mashing, but losing big bat Travis Hafner will diminish the overall power of the team. In addition to losing Hafner, the Flatirons lost their #1 and #2 starters in Chris Carpenter (injury) and Curt Schilling (free agency). Look for Manny Corpas to take over for Dan Wheeler closing out games. X-Factor: As mentioned, the Flatirons will score runs in 2008, but they have three new faces expected to come in and contribute in the starting rotation: Micah Owings, Lenny Dinardo, and Kyle Kendrick. If these three put up good numbers, the Flatirons could still possibly compete for the division. Projected Wins: 70-80 AL Central This division has been historically very strong, with 3 teams over .500 for two straight seasons. In 2006 it was especially strong, giving the league one of the best divisional series in a while as Chicago outlasted division rival Milwaukee in 7 games. Last year the Blue Knights and Black Dogs tied for the division, and both made strong showings in the postseason with the Blue Knights taking the eventual AL champs to 5 games in the wildcard round, and Houston taking Los Angeles to 6 games in the divisional round. 2008 looks to have a clearer favorite than in past seasons, but with the rivalries that have formed wins will not be easy to come by. 1. Houston Black Dogs (92-70, lost to Los Angeles in the divisional round) The Black Dogs rotation is pretty downright scary. Brandon Webb, Josh Beckett, Kelvim Escobar, newcomer Kyle Lohse and pretty much ensure that Houston will be in almost every game. Houston also added Billy Wagner this offseason, who will likely be the team’s everyday closer, something they rotated through multiple players in 2007. Alfonso Soriano, Vladimir Guerrero, Adrian Beltre, and Jose Reyes are all coming off great years and should continue to give Houston some of the best run production in the league. The pen is set up with Brad Lidge, David Riske and Bob Howry ready to setup Billy Wagner, or even close a game out if called upon. The Dogs are set up to compete with any pitcher and have guys in the rotation that know how to win. Expect the Dogs to once again compete for a top spot in the AL. X-Factor: Edwin Jackson. The Black Dogs are expecting the rookie to come in as their 5th starter and keep games reasonable so their offense and bullpen can win his games. If he’s able to get 5-6 quality innings on a consistent basis this might be the team to beat in the AL. Projected Wins: 95-100 2. Texas Missions (61-101) After two straight basement dwelling seasons and three straight losing seasons, the Missions have an chance at not only posting their first winning season, but also possibly landing a berth in the post-season as a wildcard. Texas, or you might say, “The New Orient”, is starting to see the benefit of their consistent and in-depth scouting of Japan as Kenji Johjima is coming off of a great season as the Missions everyday catcher, and prized pitcher Takashi Saito, a former 1st round draft pick, is expected to come right in and close the door on close games for Texas. Saito, along with this year’s 1st round pick Joakim Soria will give the Missions one of the the best bullpens in the league. Handing the ball to the pen will be an average rotation, with Aaron Harang and Gil Meche expected to anchor the front end. The lineup will be almost identical to what it was in 2007, with Johjima, Gary Mathews Jr. Justin Morneau and new face Adam Dunn the key run producers. X-Factor: Akinori Iwamura is another Japanese import drafted by the Missions who could step right in at thirdbase and contribute. Projected Wins: 75-85 3. Milwaukee Maulers (82-80) While the Maulers still have big names such as David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Garrett Anderson in the middle of their lineup, little has been done to add to the lineup to support these veterans who may start to show the wear of long careers. Chipper Jones departed to Toronto for a whole slew of players who won’t see much playing time this season, and while Mark Teahen will be effective in RF, the Maulers HR production will likely drastically decrease from a powerful 2007 (264 HRs). They should compete well with their returning #1 and #2 starters Tim Hudson and Joe Blanton, but the rest of the rotation is unproven. The Maulers will still have a top closer in Jonathon Papelbon to help win the close ones, so if they can put together some runs and keep games close, the Maulers could still be a team to watch out for and could fight for a wild-card berth. X-Factor: Bill Hall was the key player to come over from Toronto for Jones, and if the Maulers can get production from him in the Outfield it will help make up for the loss of Jones. Projected Wins: 70-80 4. Chicago Blue Knights (97-65, lost to New York in the wildcard round) Little will feel the same for Blue Knight fans in 2007. Key returning contributors are closer Joe Nathan, starters Johan Santana and Mike Mussina, and key bats Melvin Mora, Luis Castillo, and Paul Lo Duca. But gone are the top two run producers from 2007 Nick Johnson (injury) and Pat Burrell (Free Agency), along with starter Brad Penny. Mix in the fact that Pedro Martinez, their #2 starter, is dealing with off-season injuries and this will be a very different team in 2008. It will be interesting to see what is done with their infield, as management has hinted at rookie Yunel Escobar seeing significant playing time in what is already a jam packed infield with Felipe Lopez, new addition Carlos Guillen and Luis Castillo. But with the turnover in general, it will likely take a season or two for the new faces to meld together. X-Factor: Derrick Turnbow, Mike Wuertz and Matt Capps. If these three can keep games close and hand them off to dominant closer Joe Nathan, the Knights may make some noise in the wildcard hunt. Projected Wins: 65-75 AL West The AL West was statistically speaking the worst division in baseball last year, sporting the team with the worst record (San Diego) and while Los Angeles and San Francisco both made the post season, they had the two worst records of all AL playoff teams. This year will prove to be some of the same as Los Angeles and San Francisco will once again battle for #1 and the other two will likely be fighting for draft position. But expect this division to gain credibility up top as San Francisco is a likely favorite to win the #1 seed. 1. San Francisco Sea Lions (84-78, lost to Los Angeles in the wildcard round) After two straight seasons in which San Francisco lost their first playoff series, this may be the year they go on to the ALCS and compete for a birth in the World Series. In 2007, the Sea Lions ranked in the top 10 in BAA, but bottom 5 in HRs. That comes of course with the territory in San Fran, but the Sea Lions have added two big bats in rookie Ryan Braun and big off-season acquisition Jim Thome. Adding those two to an already solid lineup that includes Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson their run production should go up. In addition to adding big bats, Chien-Ming Wang comes over to help Justin Verlander at the front of the rotation. Bobby Jenks returns to compete for a Cy Young award, and in general the San Francisco faithful have reason to be optimistic in 2008. The Sea Lions will benefit from playing the Oaks and Black Sox many times and is the preseason favorite for the #1 seed. X-Factor: Defense. While Braun and Thome both bring big bats to the club, they also bring big lanky gloves to the field where it’s no secret they struggle. And unless the league installs a double DH rule, one of them is going to have to play the field each game. Therefore management will have to be smart in using defensive subs at the correct time and will have to hope pitchers can get batters to hit balls elsewhere. Projected Wins: 95-105 2. Los Angeles (89-73, defeated San Francisco in the Wildcard round, defeated Houston in the divisional round, lost to New York in the ALCS) The Skyhawks kept mainstays Ichiro Suzuki, Todd Helton and Jason Bay despite trade rumors swirling, and instead brought new faces to try and help them compete for another division title. Management has already announced newcomer Corey Hart as their starter in RF, and fan favorite Dmitri Young comes back to DH. The big question in Los Angeles is about who will replace Cy Young candidate John Smoltz, who was lost to Free Agency this season. After a great year in the minors, it looks as if Yovani Gallardo will get a shot to fill his shoes and come up with some quality starts. LA will likely once again compete for the highest batting average in the league, but their power looks to fall off after trading Troy Glaus. Overall Los Angeles has a few holes but should compete for a tope wild-card spot. X-Factor: Al Reyes, who was drafted in the 3rd round, is said to come in and give some pressure to last years closer Chad Cordero. If the two of them can close games out with consistency the Skyhawks could threaten to steal a playoff series or two again this year. 3. San Diego Black Sox (43-119) It’s been a tumultuous off-season for the Black Sox, dealing with league scandal and the backlash from fans who were not prepared for a basement dwelling season a year removed from playing in the world series. Management made one step towards appeasing the fans by signing the top free agent available, John Smoltz to a large deal. The top of the Sox lineup is formidable, with #1 overall draft pick Carlos Pena and returnees Khalil Greene and Shannon Stewart will get some runs across, so look for Smoltz to win some games. But the rest of the rotation (Matt Belisle, Justin Germano, Sergio Mitre, and Pat Maholm) will likely struggle. But the good thing is that they can only improve after finishing in the bottom five in ERA, runs, HRs, and BAA last year. X-Factor: Kevin Kouzmanoff has been talked up by San Diego since drafting him last season, and he will likely see lots of time at the plate in 2008. If he can step into the 5 or 6 hole and give the Sox production, they might give trouble to some opposing pitchers. 4. Oakland Oaks (74-88) While Oakland fans may be in for a less than stellar year in 2007, the fans should be excited about the future of the franchise. First, they will get to see the continued improvement of John Maine, who looked very promising in 16 starts last year, and they have solidified their future with top-prospects Asdrubel Cabrera, James Loney, Jacoby Ellsbury, Josh Willingham and Conor Jackson. Adam Wainwright will also put together a good season for the Oaks, but in general they are a year or two from really turning the division upside down as teams like Los Angeles struggle with their finances and Oakland’s youth emerges. X-Factor: John Danks was a mid-round draft pick, but he is likely to hit the ground running this year and be the #3 or #4 guy in the rotation. No one knows exactly what to expect from this tall lefty, but he could be a sleeper ROY candidate. NL East The NL East turned into a two-horse race down the stretch last year and it will likely end up being much of the same in 2008. 1. Baltimore Stars (84-78) The youth movement has started to come of age in Baltimore. Two years removed from an SPIBL record 121 losses, the Stars look towards winning what could be the first of many division titles. Their lineup could really be called Miggy, Pudge and the Kids, as it’s Miguel Tejada, Pudge Rodgriguez and a bunch of players that are coming into their own: Prince Fielder, Alex Gordon, BJ Upton, Alex Rios, Rickie Weeks just to name a few. Complementing this group of solid bats is a group of starting pitchers that are maybe a year away from being a full year force, but Daiske Matsuzaka, Tim Lincecum, Chad Billingsley, Zack Greinke and Felix Hernandez create a more than adequate core and will put together some great starts for the Stars in 2008. The Stars also took on Mariano Rivera in his contract year, paying him a big chunk of change. The Stars are a sleeper WS contender, but will need a young group of guys to mesh and mature quickly. X-Factor: Scott Olson will be handed the ball every 5 of 6 games and will feel the pressure to maintain the 17 win pace established in 2007. If he can handle the pressure the Stars may be able to compete with the NL Central juggernauts. Projected wins: 85-90 2. Philadelphia Phanatics (88-74, lost to Seattle in the wildcard round) The Phanatic fans are another base that will need to really study their programs to figure out who is who on the revamped Philly squad. Gone are MVP Jermaine Dye, all-stars Torii Hunter and young stud Miguel Cabrera, SS Carlos Guillen, as are #1 starter Javier Vazquez and closer JJ Putz. Trading these players allowed Philadelphia to retool, get younger to compete with the future of Baltimore, and in the meantime they still have a formidable squad that will fight for the division and for a playoff berth. Fans will have to get used to Michael Cuddyer doubling home Chone Figgins instead of Jermaine Dye blasing 3-run HRs scoring Cabrera and Hunter. It’ll be Dan Uggla and Alex Gonzalez turning double-plays instead of Guillen to Counsell. Jeremy Accardo will be called upon in Putz’ place. Within all of the trading Philadelphia did upgrade the front end of their rotation, with Bronson Arroyo taking the #1 starter slot. Only time will tell how the new-look Phanatics will perform, but look for them to compete with Baltimore for the division and for a wild card spot. X-Factor: #2-#5 starters. The Phanatics landed with a mix of veterans, rookies, and new faces to fill their non-Arroyo starts. It’ll ultimately be up to guys like Brad Thompson and Jason Bergmann to fight for a playoff spot in 2008 Projected wins: 75-85 3. Atlanta Mets (64-98) Atlanta-Florida could really go either way, but there is a very good chance they will end up 3-4 in the division. Atlanta has the better rotation, with the combo of Barry Zito, Brian Bannister, Ian Snell, Jake Westbrook and James Shields putting together what should be many quality starts. The issue will be scoring runs consistently. Last year their team .242 average was last in the league, and it will be up to draftees Josh Hamilton and Greg Dobbs, and new Met Tad Iguchi to help bolster a decent lineup that includes Brian McCann, Mike Lowell, and Aaron Rowand. They will also be hurt by B.J. Ryan’s injury, as Bob Wickman will try to step in and close games. X-Factor: Tony Pena Jr. will likely be asked to step in and full time at SS. No small task for an unheralded rookie, so time will tell how he adapts to the work right away. Projected Wins: 60-70 4. Florida Invaders (74-88) Again, I struggled ordering Atlanta and Florida. Florida has the better lineup while their rotation leaves more to be desired. The invaders return almost the exact same team as last season with a couple new drafted players. Victor Martinez and Lance Berkman will continue to produce runs with Scott Rolen and Brian Roberts also pitching in. Braden Looper will be making a jump to the rotation after a year in the bullpen, but in general after Jon Garland the starting pitching will be a problem. Joe Borowski will try and improve on his 80% save percentage. X-Factor: How will Mark Reynolds fit into the 2008 plan? The much sought after rookie landed in Florida, but he will be fighting Scott Rolen for playing time. Projected Wins: 60-70 NL Central I hope each player in this division realizes the intensity and level of play that will be necessary to win this division in 2008. One could really argue that the three best teams in the league reside here, not to mention some bitter rivalries that have formed from Toronto’s back-to-back World Series Championships. This will be the race to watch in 2008. 1. Kansas City Monarchs (108-54, defeated Seattle in the divisional round and lost to World Series champion Toronto in the NLCS) If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That’s going to be Kansas City’s motto this season as they come back even stronger in 2088 to try and bounce Toronto from their throne. Bottom half of the league in HRs? No problem, let’s add Magglio Ordonez. Lacking that shutdown #2 starter? Enter Fausto Carmona. The Monarchs have traded away many top prospects to get to this point, but they have almost no holes. Grady Sizemore and Carl Crawford will once again compete for the runs title with Ordonez and Texieria hitting them home. The rotation is arguably the best in the league with Carmona joining Eric Bedard, Roy Halladay, Jeff Francis and Kevin Millwood rounding it out. And if you happen to keep it close through those 5, the Monarchs will shut down rallies with CJ Wilson and K-Rod finishing things out. Kansas City will be competing with Toronto, St. Louis and San Francisco for the top record in the league and anything less than a World Series berth will be disappointing to the Monarch faithful. X-Factor: Stephen Drew was so impressive in an 100 AB 2007 season, Omar Vizquel, Brandon Phillips and Freddy Sanchez are now all gone, making way for Drew to step in to the starting role. He’s raw and will be viewed as a hole in the lineup. If he can get some big hits it could be the difference between a #1 and a #4 seed in the playoffs. Projected Wins: 105-110 2. Toronto Sharpshooters (96-66, defeated Colorado in the wildcard, Anaheim in the divisional round, Kansas City in the NLCS, and New York in the World Series for their 2nd straight championship) Devotion is a word that is associated to this fanbase, but not so much the ownership. Fans are scratching their heads as players that helped win Toronto it’s second straight championship were shipped off for a new batch of players. Gone are 40+ HR hitters Jim Thome and Bill Hall. Filling that void in the lineup is new catcher Jorge Posada, 2B Placido Polanco and 3B Chipper Jones. Returning from injury is Derrek Lee, and Toronto hopes to get a full year from him that mirrors 2006. What has not changed is a very solid rotation that included Jake Peavy, Carlos Zambrano, John Lackey and newcomer Derek Lowe. Roger Clemens also is rumored to stay around, although no official word has been made yet. The bullpen is also again quite solid with Todd Jones, Jason Isringhausen and Santiago Casilla setting up Huston Street. Toronto could finish anywhere from 1 to 3 in the division, but you can assume that they will be fighting hard for that three-peat. X-Factor: Oliver Perez is said to be coming back from injury to be the #5 starter for Toronto. If he is able to come back to form, there will be no holes in the starting rotation. Projected Wins: 105-110 3. St. Louis Red Birds (80-82) Whitey’s foul mouth might be even more prevalent in the media this year as the Red Birds improved their squad maybe more than any other team this offseason. The Red Birds quickly parted ways with Greg Maddux and filled that hole with young Dustin McGowan who has been dominating in the minor leagues. The Birds also parted with their prize prospect Andrew Miller to acquire veteran Brad Penny. They might not size up spot to spot with the other two teams in the division, but they are close. C.C Sabathia returns and can smell victory. Or a cheeseburger. Either way he has found a renewed passion this offseason and looks to be in top form in 2008 (pitching anyway). Francisco Cordero returns to close games after his 38 save 2007. But the most talked about off-season signing was that of Barry Bonds. St. Louis was 2nd to last in HRs in 2007, second only to Florida. This year will likely be much different with the addition of Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. to an already solid lineup that included Paul Konerko and David Wright. The St. Louis Red Birds would likely win any other division in baseball, but they will instead be pushing hard to hold pace with the two juggernauts at the top. X-Factor: Troy Tulowitzki and Chris Young both have been given the starting jobs in spring training after short stints in the majors last year. They both are multi-tooled prospects but still have yet to play a full season. If they produce in 2008 the Red Birds could very well be looking down on Kansas City and Toronto by season’s end. Projected Wins: 95-100 4. Detroit Outlaws (63-99) If the Outlaw faithful is getting discouraged by Detroit continually showing up in last in the division, they shouldn’t be. The Outlaws are going to be ready to pounce on the division once Kansas City and Toronto run their course. They were able to dump Mariano Rivera’s salary this off-season, acquire two future studs in Philip Hughes and Ubaldo Jimenez, and is tooling up to compete with Baltimore in future years. 2008 doesn’t look all that promising for Detroit, as it’s rotation will be anchored by new Outlaw Ted Lilly, and otherwise it’ll be a mix of aging veterans and unproven young guns. Brandon Phillips and Jhonny Peralta could very well be the best middle infield in the league, and should be a mainstay there for years to come. There are building blocks here and Detroit will work to eventually compete in the division, but 2008 won’t be it. X-Factor: Lots of them, but the most highly anticipated story from Detroit camp will be whether or not fireballer Ubaldo Jimenez makes the team. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t make his MLB debut this season, and he’s going to likely be pretty special. Projected wins: 55-65 NL West While all the focus is on the NL Central, the NL West could have a decent race as well in 2008. After both Seattle and Anaheim made a splash in the postseason in 2007, we will likely be seeing more of the same. Also, don’t count Anaheim out in the race for the World Series… they are as solid as any team in the Central. 1. Anaheim Ants (94-68, lost to Toronto in the divisional round) The Ants bullpen is ridiculous and if managed properly, and if Fuentes/Putz/Hoffman can stay happy, teams will simply not be able to make up many deficits. Anaheim bolstered what was already a great rotation with the addition of Javier Vazquez, making it one of the top 2 or 3 rotations in the league. The Ants will definitely have the most RBIs by walks this year, as they have an extremely patient lineup with the return of Bobby Abreu and Chase Utley, and the addition of Pat Burrell and Hanley Ramirez. Anaheim could be the only team with 9 players with more than 10 HRs this season if everyone stays healthy, and looking 1-8, there really is not an easy spot anywhere to be found. You could really argue that this is the most complete team in the league and I wouldn’t give a rebuttal. They may possibly not have that ultimate masher that others have, but the strength they have 1-8, the great rotation and dominant back end of the bullpen makes Anaheim a favorite to compete for the World Series. X-Factor: Team chemistry is really the only thing that is yet to be determined… lots of new faces along with a logjam at the back end of the bullpen could create some hostility in the clubhouse. But as long as they find their niche they could very well be the #1 seed in the NL. Projected wins: 105-115 2. Seattle Iron Birds (85-77, defeated Philadelphia in the wildcard round, lost to Kansas City in the divisional round) Sometimes it can be a good thing to be the unheralded team in a league. Seattle proved this last year and should compete for another wild card spot this year, along with being a thorn in Anaheim’s side. Chad Gaudin is moving to the starting rotation this year to fill the hole vacated by Jason Jennings at the trade deadline last year, and looks to join Roy Oswalt and Dontrelle Willis as a formidable 1-2-3 starter. But the rotation isn’t going to be the key to winning this year, it will be run production and the bullpen that anchors this team. Doug Brocail, Rafael Betancourt, Chad Bradford and Javier Lopez will be setting the table for Jason Isringhausen who will be handed the closer role after Mike Gonzalez was cut. Expectations are also high for Hunter Pence who will make his MLB debut this season having been handed the starting CF job in 2008. Mark Grudzielanek will also have high expectations after signing a very lucrative deal this offseason. Kevin Youkilis, Geoff Jenkins and Jimmy Rollins will all return to a lineup that will cause problems for any team. Look for Seattle to sneak into the postseason again where they have the talent to make some noise. Seattle is the ultimate sleeper in 2008. X-Factor: It’s got to be Hunter Pence, who is being lauded as the hands down rookie of the year in 2008. He seems to have the maturity to deal with that, but we’ll see how it goes when he takes CF at Safeco. Projected Wins: 85-95 3. Colorado Black Bears (86-76, took Toronto to 5 games in the wildcard round) Colorado gave the eventual champions all they could handle in 5 games last year, but it appears that 2008 will see Colorado on the outside looking in. The culprit for any struggles the Bears have this year will be a retooled and scrapped together pitching staff. Last year it was Anibal Sanchez, Chien Mang Wang, Kenny Rogers, Livan Hernandez and Adam Loewen making the most starts for Colorado. This year it will be free agents Miguel Batista and David Wells, and rookies Andy Sonnanstine, Chuck James and Matt Albers. 100% different than 2007. New management made it clear they were going young and would build from the ground up, trading for draft picks and pieces such as Garrett Atkins at third and Torii Hunter in center. In fact the only real constant recognizable face on the Black Bears is SS Michael Young. Otherwise, this is pretty much a brand new team. David Weathers will take the reigns as closer as Akinori Otsuka deals with some injuries. X-Factor: Rick Ankiel was drafted by the Black Bears after being out of the SPIBL for years. He’s returning as an OFer, and he has been mashing in the minor leagues. He’ll be a fun story to watch for in 2008. Projected Wins: 70-80 4. Minnesota Moose ( 59-102) The pieces are starting to fall into place for Minnesota but they are still a year or two away from competing. The Moose added Miguel Cabrera and Ronnie Belliard to complement Ryan Howard and give him some players to hit home. Andre Ethier will likely see much more playing time this season after a decent rookie campaign. With Colby Rasmus, Jason Heyward and Rick Porcello all in their minor league system, the Moose have reason to be optimistic. But adding some of these pieces did decrease the talent of their 2008 rotation. Jason Schmidt and Bronson Arroyo are gone, and now Livan Hernandez, Doug Davis, Paul Byrd and Jarrod Washburn will have to step it up. Off-season acquisition Jose Valverde will be a mainstay at closer for a long while as well. The Moose may once again see the basement of the NL West in 2008, but look for the team to really surge around 2010. X-Factor: Carlos Marmol was a key acquisition mid-season last year, and played really well in the Dominican this Winter. He could have a breakout year. Projected Wins: 60-70 Playoff Prediction AL 1. San Francisco 2. Houston 3. Boston 4. Los Angeles 5. Pittsburgh 6. Texas Boston def. Texas 3-1 Los Angeles def. Pittsburgh 3-2 San Francisco def. Los Angeles 4-3 Houston def. Boston 4-0 Houston def San Francisco 4-1 NL 1. Anaheim 2. Kansas City 3. Baltimore 4. Toronto 5. St. Louis 6. Seattle Seattle def. Baltimore 3-1 Toronto def. St. Louis 3-2 Anaheim def. Toronto 4-2 Kansas City def. Seattle 4-3 Anaheim def. Kansas City 4-3 WORLD SERIES Anaheim def. Houston 4-1 |
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