I should've known better. Every time I predict good things for Bedford they disappoint. The team headed into 2012 with three big free agent pitchers but barely managed a winning record by season's end. The offense was dormant, scoring just 10 more runs than Scotland, despite great years from Abreu, Chavez and Drew. Escobar and Willis were worth every penny of their contracts, posting superb ERA's (but suffering from poor run support), but Danny Haren started slow, got hurt, and was eventually left exposed for expansion. The team finished in second place in the North; nothing to be ashamed of, but less than fans hoped for.

GM Richard Gin addressed his offensive woes head on this winter, signing a trifecta of big bats in Glaus, Tejada and Wells. They cut ties with Haren, letting him go to San Juan in the expansion draft, and rebuilt the bullpen late in the auction. The team made a major roster oversight, leaving last year's first round draft pick, Yadel Marti, exposed in the Rule 5 draft (he turned 27 late last season), but quickly remedied the situation by trading two pitching prospects to Chiang-Mai to get him back. The roster certainly looks improved. 

I can't believe I'm saying it again, but the Crunch look like playoff contenders. The starting pitching is good top to bottom, and the retooled offense HAS to score more than 650 runs, right? Time's a' tickin' though, as the roster is looking mighty old. The average age of the starting lineup is over 33 years, most are moving past their primes. The window is open here, but could slam shut quickly. Watch your fingers. 

Offense:

Veterans a-go-go! Oreste Upchurch and rookie Toddy Koovitz represent the only "under-30" players in a good looking lineup. This offense always starts with Eric Chavez, a first ballot HoF'er who is in the top 10 of nearly every career offensive category. He's a fixture at third, meaning Troy Glaus will man first base (and David Ortiz will grab some pine). Vernon Wells leads off, and though not a typical speed burner, gets on base a lot and can make things happen on the base paths. Ramon Hernandez is a good hitting catcher, and fits in well in the lower part of the order. Toddy Koovitz should be fun to watch. Tommy LaSorda has plugged the free swinger in the 8-hole, which could lead to a ton of strikeouts with no one protecting him in the lineup. 

Pitching:

Escobar and Willis at the top sets up what looks to be a very good pitching rotation. Both were outstanding last year, posting ERA's of 2.01 and 2.86 respectively. Rookie Yadel Marti gets the nod for #3, mostly due to an eye-popping spring. He can't be that good, can he? Probably not, but he could make Chiang-Mai look bad for trading him back to Brooklyn. Myers and Bray are just fine for back-end starters, giving the Crunch arguably the most consistent rotation in the division. The bullpen is a real mystery, with only three holdovers from a year ago. Rookie Jason Ray has won the closer role after 10 1/3 scoreless innings this spring. Ryan and Lopez were very good last year, and Taylor is a serviceable middle reliever. Does Osuna have anything left?

Man on the Spot:

This is a tough one. I'll go with Troy Glaus here, as the team sorely needs him to put up All Star numbers to wake up this offense. He's been prone to having a low batting average some seasons, and the team can't afford that. 

We keep thinking that Bedford is about to put it together and be a top team, but 2012 proved it may not happen anytime soon.  Frankly, I’m tired of getting my hopes up for these guys and I’m sure their fans are, too.  Granted, they did finish above .500 and were only 8 games out of the wild card, but you have to view 2012 as a bit of a disappointment.  The positive side of 2012 was that the Crunch was doing a pretty job of hitting, especially Bobby Abreu, who put in one more fine year before hanging up the spurs and JD Drew, who is finally up there in the elite of OF.  Kelvim Escobar also seemed to be a good fit for Bedford as he was dominating and garnered a few CY votes.  On the downside, Ramon Hernandez fell off the charts as a top catcher, Furcal and Podsednik failed to get on base often enough and too many trips to the Golden Corral caught up to David Ortiz, who now has been relegated to pinch hitting duty (at $3.5mil a year—wha?).  On the pitching side, Escobar was da man, and D-Train pitched well, though didn’t get decisions in many of his better starts.  After that is was pretty spotty.  Haren, Myers and Jeff Weaver were all losing pitchers and the bullpen, outside of some decent middle relief was pretty much a liability, especially Braden Looper who blew more than his share of saves.

Off Season Analysis:

Not a young team, the Crunch lost some big names to the links-Abreu, Looper and Chipper Jones, though “Larry” hasn’t been a contributor for many a season.  They let Danny Haren go, seeing him as overpaid and chose not to re-sign Jeff Weaver.  Neither is a big loss, but it does mean that Yadel Marti has a lot riding on him and eithr Bray or Myers has to be a winning pitcher.  GM Richard Gin snoozed on the Rule V rules and left Yadel Marti out there, though a trade saved them from having their #3 starter in the Far East.

Season Preview:

Pretty much expecting .500 ball here.  But that could be optimistic.  They don’t have speed at the top of the order, can’t be expected to deliver to many HR with guys like Upchurch in the middle of the order and the bullpen looks pretty grim unless Jason Ray is lights out.  Not really convinced that 3-5 in the rotation is gonna be pretty either.  90 losses wouldn’t shock me.

Offense:

You might want to think the offense got a real juice by adding Troy Glaus and Miguel Tejada in the offseason, but big name stars have a pattern of going to Bedford to crash.  Vernon Wells is hardly an ideal lead off guy.  I mean, this was the 2^nd worst offense in the league, so are you really buying this is going to rock anybody’s world?  Toddy Koovitz will be fun to watch—he’s been good in AAA and could give the Crunch a real boost if he can pop out 25 batting 8^th.

Pitching:

The Crunch tied for the 2^nd best team ERA last year, and they are usually pretty far up there, though that seems to be environmental rather than talent based since the offense is usually pretty much one of the worst.  This year probably swings on the rookies—Yadel Marti and Jason Ray.  Still, I’m thinkin’ a team ERA around 4.15 this year, so a little worse.

Man on the Spot:

It would probably be easy to say rookie Yadel Marti, but I’m going with Troy Glaus.  He had a couple of MVP type years in Paris and after that has failed to be the guy to anchor the lineup, putting up so-so years in Ireland and Tennessee.  For Bedford to have a 90 win offense, he’ll have to go back to hitting 45+ HR.

First to worst, that was the story for the 2012 Cleveland Dawgs. The team won the North Division in 2011, but dropped from 90 wins to 70 in the next season, tying Philly for last place and left to regroup this off season. Outside of Grady Sizemore, no one was that great on offense, especially after trades sent Choi and Drew to new teams. Alex Gordon got an extended look at third and looks to be a solid hitter. Daniel Pursel also got some innings and proved to be ready to join the rotation fulltime in 2013.

A typical winter for GM Mike McAvoy. Lots of turnover, some big signings, a few trades. It wasn't quite so severe as the year that the entire starting lineup was new, but there are plenty of fresh faces here. The offense reloaded with Betemit, Huff, Gerut and Bradley, while the pitching rotation improved with Jason Jennings, Jeff Weaver, and the triumphant return of Jake Peavy (who I think has been on this team about 19 times). McAvoy grossly overspent for K-Rod and John Riedling, resulting in a salary dump trade of the latter in order to fit under the cap. 

In a division where 88-90 wins might win it, this team looks good to stay in the race. The offense should be pretty good and the pitching is middle of the pack. It's always tough to project how the Dawgs will do, as it's certain that McAvoy will make 10 more trades before the All Star break. As the roster stands now, you're probably looking at an 84-86 win team, but a run of bad luck could dip them below .500. Hard to say. 

Offense:

Rather than spend big bucks on a 45 HR hitter this winter, Cleveland built its offense around high average hitters who have decent power and the ability to hit doubles. Bradley, Huff, Gerut and Sizemore are all .285 or better career hitters, meaning no easy at-bats for pitchers. Alex Gordon fits the same mould. Neil Walker batting ahead of Wilson Betemit? That will probably change, as Walker barely hit .200 last season. Without a big basher, the lineup will truly have to put forth a team effort to score runs, but it looks like its built to do just that. 

Pitching:

This looked like a real problem area post-auction, with just Jason Jennings added, but McAvoy added Jake Peavy via trade, ridding himself of Chris Lambert and giving himself two good starters at the top of the rotation. Jeff Weaver is good for .500 but won't wow anyone, and then the questions begin. Pursel did well in his first 7 major league starts, but does that mean he's ready for a full workload? And Joel Hanrahan managed a 12-12 record last year, but is that a repeatable feat? McAvoy seems confident that these guys will be fine, so we'll reserve judgment until we see some hard stats. The late innings should be in good shape with K-Rod being set up by Fuentes and Julio. Middle relief looks bad. Real bad.

Man on the Spot:

I'm giving this one to Pursel. Similar to Marti in Bedford, a good season by Pursel changes the complexion of the rotation and puts the team in better shape for the long season. If he stumbles, the team doesn't have many options to replace him. 

Darin and I both thought the 2012 Dawgs would end up with about 86 wins and be in the playoff hunt. But it didn’t work out that way, they had some miserable pitching and ended up tied for last in the North.  The team lacked a real offensive star in 2012, where Grady Sizemore’s 21 HR wound up being the team lead by season’s end.  Guys like Ronny Boa, Coco Crisp and Jose Castillo did not make for much of an explosive offense.  The catching situation was morbid.  Nobody pitched all that well either.  Jeremy Sowers had a winning record but not a stellar ERA.  Russ Ortiz, of all people, was probably the bright spot as he had his best year in SLB mopping up in middle relief.  Christopher Lambert’s SLB hopes are hanging by a thread after a 16 loss season that got him shipped to Scotland.  Dennis Tankersly also lost 12 games but that earned him a $7.25 mil contract for the Ronin in this league.

Off Season Analysis:

The money was really burning a hole in GM Mike McAvoy’s pocket, it seemed, since he was throwing cash around like a fiend.  I can’t say I approve of the choices either.  It’s hard to imagine how a reliever can justify $8mil a year, but Cleveland will be paying K-Rod that and more.  Jeff Weaver, Milton Bradley and Wilson Betemit all got $4mil or more and all of them are pretty much average performers.  Even Brian Fuentes (?!) got $3.25mil.  John Riedling also cashed in, potentially making the Dawgs the most expensive pen in SLB history, but he was dealt away.  It looks like a lot of money was pissed away and in deals that could put the team in long term financial handcuffs, but, I guess we’ll have to wait and see on all that.

Season Preview:

The Dawgs have enough turnover to make it possible that they’ll have a major turnaround, but with Pursel and Hanrahan in the rotation and Huff batting clean up, I don’t see where that 20 games or so comes from.  Frankly, I can see this year being a real catastrophe.  Jake Peavy absolutely sucked it big last year in Scotland, so his days of being a lockdown ace are over.  Jennings was helped by the offense in Athens and Jeff Weaver seems to have been a fluke for a couple years in Bedford.  Don’t be surprised if by the end of the year that 8mil they forked over to Francisco Rodriguez is a real sore spot.

Offense:

Cleveland’s offense was good for 753 runs last year, which put them in the middle around Halifax, Baltimore and Havana.  They lost a big bat in Adam Dunn, but added some solid production in Huff and Bradley.  The big question marks are whether Huff, more a contact guy, can bat clean up, and whether Jody Gerut, who hit a butt-sniffing .471 last year, can ever get back to his Pimpernel glory days.  If not, 5-9 could all be easy outs, and you don’t win much when that’s the story.

Pitching:

Yeah, I’m not too stoked on this bunch.  Depends on which Jake Peavy shows up, for sure.  If he wins 15 and is back to being an ace, this is do-able, but if he’s got an ERA over 4.75 again, helllloooo basement.  Add in a Jason Jennings who was pretty iffy before becoming an Evzone and Jeff Weaver, who was also reclaimed off the scrap heap like Peavy and you’ve got a top 3 that all have shown they are capable of 5.00 + ERAs.  Add in Pursel (who?) and Hanrahan, who had a 4.63 ERA last, albeit while winning 12 games, and you’ve got some real chances for a few “aw, hell” kinda weeks.  The pen has some guys, notably Julio, Fuentes and K-Rod, who had good seasons in 2012, but they all have also had crappy years.  So, I’m jus’ sayin’, there’s a lot here that “could” go wrong, right?  So what will?

Man on the Spot:

Pursel…Pursey?  Can you keep these guys straight?  Yeah, I don’t know who they are either, but with a 4 man rotation, they both are gonna get a lot of work.  If either one is a 6.00 ERA dude, that spells trouble.

2012 Recap:

Oh look, another bad prediction by yours truly. I had this team going 80-82 and finishing in third place, mostly due to bad roster turnover and a lower cap number. But my write up must have been posted on the team bulletin board as the Sailors won the division, and then came back from 3-1 down to beat the Sabers and win their second SLB Championship. Delmon Young came back in a big way, and most of the starting lineup hit in the .290's. Sabathia was awesome, Beckett was solid, and Paul Phillips pulled a "John Webb", coming out of nowhere to win 16 games. The bullpen held it together and the team won 93 games.

Very interesting goings on north of the border. With just two free agent restrictions available, GM Lars Cain opted to keep Niemann and Barfield and leave Sabathia exposed in the expansion draft. Wainwright and Marquis were signed to take up the slack, but neither is in C.C.'s league. Sean Burroughs, who was a great hitter and team leader, was traded to Savannah on the last day of spring training for up-and-comer Mark McCormick, leaving the offense a bit weaker as a result. It's tough to say the team is any better than last year, and may be a bit worse. We'll see.

Expectations are high once again for the defending champs. The 2012 offense returns intact (minus Burroughs) and has proven that it can put up good numbers when healthy. The pitching also looks to be in pretty decent shape, especially if Marquis or Wainwright are aided by the cool climate in Nova Scotia. It's going to be a tough race in the North, but the Sailors have as good a shot at it as anyone. Will Cain continue to make moves to improve the roster?

Offense:

We've seen this lineup before, so we know what they are capable of. Mackey, Fielder, Barfield and Young are all great hitters, but health is always a concern on this team. A thin bench means another long term injury could put the team into a tailspin. Sean Burroughs and his .336 average are being replaced by Matt Holliday....not so great. Luckily the team has a good hitting catcher in Johjima and a good looking young leadoff man in Dyche. Losing Burroughs was a calculated risk, let's hope it doesn't come back to haunt Cain.

Pitching:

The departure of Sabathia puts added pressure on Josh Beckett. Beckett has put up good numbers the past few years, but hasn't benefited from good team play behind him. Can he return to 18 win territory? Jeff Niemann won 17 games last year and looks to continue that this season, especially of he keeps getting the good run support. We ragged on Horacio Ramirez last year, but he did everything but win last year. Marquis and Wainwright were both pretty bad last season, the latter winning just 2 games for Tennessee. Can pitching coach Dave Stieb work some magic with these two? And why is Paul Phillips in long relief? 16 wins wasn't enough to earn a spot in the rotation? Weird. Benitez and Hansen are rock solid in relief, while Towaki, Gatsby and Bradford managed to win games despite poor ERA's. 

Man on the Spot:

Clearly it's Adam Wainwright. Is he a #3 starter for a playoff team? Not likely. Maybe he can be sent to Scotland for Rich Harden (more on that in the Rebel's write up). 

2012 Recap:

The 2012 Sailors were one of those “they won’t be denied” teams.  Down 3-1 in both the LCS and the WS, they clawed back to win both series 4-3.   Sean Burroughs and Delmon Young carried the offense, but it was a pitching team, first and foremost, with 4 superior starters: Sabathia, Niemann, Josh Beckett and Paul Phillips plus an effective bullpen that got things done sans any big stars.  Goes to show how far a couple of good starters can take a team in October.

Off Season Analysis:

They defintely came out the worse for it.  Sabathia wasn’t protected in the expansion draft, probably on the assumption a new team couldn’t afford him, but that gamble didn’t pay off, San Jose ponied up the dough and kept him.  They also took some bullpen hits losing Vizcaino to retirment and Dante Inferno to free agency.  Probably not enough to wreck the team, but certainly a downgrade in pitching.

Season Preview:

You have to imagine this is the team that wins the north unless they get ravaged by injuries (which isn’t unknown for this team) or unless Lars chooses to go rebuilding.  Cleveland is usually their main rival, but that team is full of holes.  Bedford seems like they are not a real threat and Philly, while improving, is a ways off from playoff caliber.  Who else could it be?

Offense:

Adding Kenji Johjima last season gave the Sailor’s a pretty solid line-up all the way through the order.  They might have some problems at the lead-off spot as Mackey and Dyche are a little iffy.  Graham Koonce will be one of the key deciding factors as he’s capable of 35+ homeruns even in a platoon, but has been very inconsistent throughout his career.  Halifax is never a good place for offense, but this line-up should be adequate if the last three pitchers in the rotation have decent years. 

Pitching:

Losing CC Sabathia stings like a mutha’, but Halifax always puts together a good pitching staff.  Josh Beckett is an ace capable of winning 20 games and Niemann could also chip in 15 or more.  The last 3 now are much more uncertain.  Wainwright and Ramirez have gotten roughed up often in the last couple of seasons.  If they suck it’s gonna be a long year.  The bullpen looks really strong with nobody a clear likelihood to post an ERA of 5.00 or more.   

Man on the Spot:

Jason Marquis has been an off and on starter for most of his career, but with the expasion meaning 10 more SP have to be scrounged up somewhere, it makes sense he’s back in a rotation.  His 5-9 5.22 year in 2012 doesn’t exactly inspire much confidence, though.

2012 Recap:

It's been rough going for the Fever these past several years. Philly finished with its third last place finish in a row, struggling to keep up with the rest of the North. They've had one winning season (82-80) in the last seven years. There were good individual performances, notably the continued brilliance of Will Hunting, the strong numbers of Hank Blalock,  and the emergence of Craig Brazell and Cooper Osteen on offense, but clearly it wasn't enough. The pitching struggled, as no starter had a winning record and the bullpen gave up runs in bunches. 

This is a team with an identity crisis. Clearly management doesn't want to go into rebuild mode, but the roster moves were very minimal for a team that hasn't been very good for years. Bobby Brownlie was a great signing, but he can't turn this team around on his own. This team is going to need to do a lot more than this to get back into the North race.

In this long streak of mediocrity, the Fever have never been horrible. They've pretty consistently won 72-78 games, and that looks about right for 2013 as well. With just three new faces in the lineups, it's easy to say that we're going to see more of the same this year, even with an actual ace pitcher on the mound. This looks like a year where GM Brian B will have to either let it all hang out and go for broke, or sell off the vets and formulate a plan to build with youth.

Offense:

Looking at the individual performances in this lineup from a year ago, it would look like they could do some damage in 2013. Jay Bruce and Cooper Osteen are quality young hitters who both hit for high average and have good speed. Will Hunting continues to be a unique hitter; he's the rare player who can put up 100+ RBI without hitting home runs. It helps that he smacked 66 doubles and 15 triples last year. Craig Brazell also had over 100 RBI in 2012, so why is he stuck batting 6th....and platooned with Wes Helms? If Blalock and Pena stay healthy, you're looking at a potentially great lineup here. 

Pitching:

So, you've got Bobby Brownlie now. The guy won 87 games in his career with Havana, and now looks to turn around a Philly staff that has been pretty mediocre. Webb and Penny have had good seasons in the past, but seem mired in 4.50 ERA, 10 win territory on this club. Can they do better with this offense? Neal Cotts and Dewon Brazelton are less than convincing as 4th and 5th starters...weren't Affeldt or Guthrie good enough last year to deserve another shot? The bullpen needs a shot in the arm, and maybe rookie closer Mark Romanczuk can provide that. Last year's Top Relief Prospect got lit up in spring training, so we're not holding our breath. The rest of the bullpen goes from bad to worse. Can Calvin Trest rebound from his sophomore slump?

Man on the Spot:

I'll saddle Brandon Webb with this burden. He was 17-10 for Ireland several years ago, but has been less than inspiring since. Can he put it together and provide this team with a second quality starter? 

2012 Recap:

Not much was expected and not much was achieved.  Philly sort of accepted their last place destiny and lied down to die down the stretch.  They did get some unexpected years out of Craig Brazell and surprising Rookie of the Year Cooper Osteen.  But disappointing seasons from Jack Schalk, who didn’t cut it in the big leagues like he does feasting on AAA chumps, and Brandon Webb, who is prone to a bad year, doomed an already talent thin squad.

Off Season Analysis:

Swapping Bobbie Brownlie for Jason Marquis seems like a good upgrade unless his numbers were all some Cuba fluke.  Not much else major going on as the team is focused on phasing in the youngsters.  Let Jack Schalk go, which, I have a suspicion will one day be regretted.

Season Preview:

There’s hope this year, more so than in the past.  None of the division’s teams looks unbeatable and finishing 2^nd is a realistic goal given the fact that the Dawgs look shaky and Bedford is probably going to tank again.  Winning the North would be a real long shot, but if Browlie can give them an 18 game winner and the new pen aces, R and R, can be lights out, anything is possible.  They need somebody like Pena or Blalock to have a career year, probably.

Offense:

I never seem to think Philly’s offense is loaded with enough stars to compete, but the last couple of season’s teams like the Sabers have proven that you don’t need a bunch of Darren Lemmings to carry you all the way.  Will Hunting is the stud in this offense and could be at least a division MVP winner.  Jay Bruce and Joe Mauer are pretty undesirable as your number two hitters and you don’t expect a lot out of Valpasucci, but if Wily Mo Pena and Hank Blalock have better than expected years, Philly could hang around a long time. 

Pitching:

Adding Bobby Brownlie gives this team a competitive pitching rotation, providing he carries his winning ways over from Havana.  Brandon Webb had a pretty rough season in 2012, losing 15 games and posting a .318 winning percentage, but he could have just the opposite record in 2013.  Brad Penny is probably one of the most underrated pitchers in SLB.  Likewise, Neil Cotts and Dewon Brazleton are also just as likely to have winning seasons as not.  Outside of the long relievers Philly probably has as good a bullpen as anyone.  Much will be riding on rookie closer Mark Romanczuk.  Provided the Fever can hand over leads to these guys, they should close out a lot of close games. 

Man on the Spot:

Wily Mo Pena has been frustratingly inconsistent over the life of the league.  He’s got the so-called “five tools” but he’s been more promise than performance, including last season where he hit .243.  Now he’s got to protect Will Hunting in the lineup.  If he can’t do it, expect a lot of pitch arounds.

2012 Recap:

Dominating. That's the best way to describe the 2012 Flyers. Led by MVP Darren Lemming, Atlanta pretty much mowed down everyone in the league...until the playoffs. Division rival Savannah killed their dreams of back-to-back championships, but the team had nothing to be ashamed of. Lemming was a beast: .372/.432/.756, 46 HR, 136 RBI, 121 extra base hits, 45 steals, 133 runs. Best season ever? Dennis would have been right there had he not missed nearly 20 games. Overall, the team lead the league in average, runs, hits, OPS....dominating. Oh, they had the best pitching too. Bailey won the Cy Young, Prior kicked ass....alright, enough gushing, on to this year.

The team took some hits this off season, losing four starters. Matt Morris retired, but Carl Pavano was signed to replace him and is probably a comparable player. Fullmer, Hairston and Rollins comprised 3/4 of the starting infield in 2012, and it's uncertain that the replacements are going to reproduce those players' numbers. 

So the 2013 Flyers are ready to rock and roll, and though they don't look quite as menacing on paper, are pretty much locks to win another South Division title. All the key players are back, so if the supporting roles aren't quite as good it's not so bad. The team is a bit younger, especially on the bench, so injuries will be a bit harder to overcome, but it's clear that this is the best roster in the division, and the depth in the minor leagues can overcome any disaster. Print your playoff tickets now.

Offense:

When you have Lemming and D2J, what else do you need, right? Okay, they need some support, but any offense is going to be great when it has arguably the two best hitters in the league hitting in the first inning. A real interesting tactic employed by manager Tony LaRussa this year is batting Dennis (and his high OBP) at leadoff. With the speedy Rollins gone, LaRussa may be banking on Junior's ability to get on base to spark the offense. Plus he stole 37 bases last year, so he's no slowpoke. There's a rookie in the lineup, but not the one everyone expected. The buzz around the league was that Jeffrey Clement was going to be the starting catcher this year, but Paris is back and Clement is in AAA again. Instead, GM Jim Masters chose to promote 2B Jed Lowrie. Lowrie hit .340 in AAA last year and looks ready for the challenge. Ensberg and Valent are solid in the middle of the order, but it looks like we'll see a drop off at the back end. Carlos Pena and Ramon Santiago were lured away from their used car dealerships to play ball again...can either produce?

Pitching:

Outstanding. Prior and Bailey are probably the best two pitchers in the league, combining for 5 Cy Young awards (plus a ROY for good measure). Ironically, neither is getting the ball on opening day. That honor goes to Carlos Zambrano, another ace in a rotation seemingly full of them. Newcomer Carl Pavano slots in at #4 after a ho-hum 8-7 year in Baltimore, and Mahara rounds things out. The bullpen is good, starting with Brad Lidge (and his 186 career saves) at closer. Wunsch is a great lefty setup man and Wade Townsand was good in middle relief. Rogers, Waechter and Rodney are question marks and could cost the team a few wins.

Man on the Spot:

Troy Paris. Clearly he's not as good as Clement, and yet here he is, back behind the dish. Some thought LaRussa would move Paris to first base to accommodate the rookie, but that didn't happen, so Paris had better produce big if he wants to shut up his critics.

2012 Recap:

The only thing they failed to do was repeat as champions, a failure that will likely always be blamed on Jim Master’s not resting the starters, leading to crucial injuries during meaningless games after the division was clinched.  Oh, well, hindsight is 20/20 and all that.  They still were the best team, had the best hitter and the best pitcher and can hardly call the whole thing a bust just because they lost in the playoffs. 

Off Season Analysis:

You figured this team was going to get reamed in the expansion draft, but it didn’t work out that way with only Chris Kohlkorst, who had become a bench stud, getting taken away.  Matt Morris retired, which stings, but he’s replaceable.  The big loss was Jimmy Rollins, who as a lead off guy is pretty hard to beat.  But that isn’t going to mean much to this offense.

Season Preview:

They’re going to stomp on people and you know it.  Much like the Pimpernel dynasty, though, you can slowly see how this team is going to be picked apart and average talent will have to do instead of having a star at every position.  Much will be expected of Jed Lowrie and Ramon Santiago, who have big shoes to fill.  Pavano is a real gamble in the rotation, but he can be replaced I’d think, if necessary.  I’m not sold on the bullpen, but Waechter and Rogers could be fine on a team that often is just blowing people out anyway.

Offense:

Some scary bastards!  Darren Lemming is just sick.  If he doesn’t go down with a three month or more injury, he’s almost a lock for the MVP.  Putting D2J at the top of the order means the Flyer’s lead off with a guy most of us would be happy to have bat clean-up.  Troy Paris is one of the top three catchers in SLB and he’s probably not even the best catcher in the Atlanta organization.  Adam Lind and Jacque Jones are below Atlanta standards but both can be expected to kick it up a notch in this line-up.  Ramon Santiago probably is the first easy out in the Flyer’s order in three seasons.  

Pitching:

And these guys are scarier bastards than the hitters.  It’s hard to imagine any other pitching staff can carry these guy’s water.  The top three are frightening.  And now Mark Prior is number 2 in the rotation, for chrissakes!  You don’t really know about Carl Pavano and Mahara as much as the top three, but as number four and number five starters they are probably better than what anyone else has in this thinned out league.  Brad Lidge rebounded as a closer last season and if he stays consistent, the bullpen shouldn’t be costing them too many games. 

Man on the Spot:

Jed Lowrie or Ramon Santiago is going to have to pick up the slack from where Jimmy Rollins provided great top of the order production.  Lowrie is up there for now, so I’ll pick him.

2012 Recap:

Another year, another failed season for Baltimore. The team finished in fourth place for the third straight season (after a last place finish in 2009), thanks mostly to a rebuilding Tennessee team. Yes, the team improved some from 2011, but the team was never really a contender. One bright spot was Dallas McPherson, who came back in a big way after a down year in Havana. His 41 HR and 138 RBI were easily the best on the team, outshining guys like Guerrero and David Wright. The team lead the league in steals with some speedsters at the top of the order, and catcher Frank Coogan was an unlikely All Star with some surprising hitting numbers. The pitching was, more or less, a complete mess.

A few new faces were added to the team this off season, but not nearly enough to get this team above .500. The team was smart to resign Lohse, and replacing Pavano with Sowers was an upgrade. The best moves of the winter were the promotions of Mayberry and Ubardo, two rookies who are likely to make a bigger impact than any free agent signings.

GM Jose Gutierrez is on the hot seat in 2013. Aside from a .500 season in his first year with the team, his Panthers have had a losing season every year of his tenure. The team is 419-553 under Gutierrez's regime (good...or bad... for a .431 winning percentage). All those high draft picks haven't turned into anything yet, and it's unclear exactly what the plan is in Baltimore. Clearly the team isn't rebuilding, yet the team they field always seems sub par. Now, with the division down to four teams, there is very little room for error. If the Panthers want to avoid taking cap hits, they need to figure things out in a hurry.

Offense:

It's a pretty solid offense that plays in a pitcher's park. The speed is there with Joseph "Mr. Triples" Kemp and Paul Matthew at the top, followed by McPherson, Guerrero and Wright. How much more does Vladdy have left in him? Can David Wright start producing like the superstar he was projected to be? John Mayberry is a rock solid hitting prospect who will slot right in at #5 in this lineup. His AAA numbers weren't off the charts, but he got on base at nearly a .400 clip and has major league power. Coogan and Castro are both above average hitters for their positions, so there are no real easy outs here.  

Pitching:

Hit or miss. Sowers and Lohse are two reliable major league starters, though neither will be mistaken for a bona fide "ace". The rest of the rotation is real iffy. Willie Montgomery was 10-12 last season, but his ERA was kissing 6.00, so he's not a guy that any contender would pitch #3. Carl Sadler was picked off the scrap heap to eat innings at #4 but isn't a whole lot better. The interesting guy to watch will be rookie El Ron Ubardo, a right-hander who was just drafted last year and had great control numbers in Rookie League. The bullpen is young and unconvincing. Mitchell Atkins wins the closer job after 18 strong innings last year? 

Man on the Spot:

It's not nice, but I'll heap the pressure on Ubardo. If he pitches well it gives the team three good starters and a chance to stay out of the basement. If he fails, there aren't many internal options to turn to. Good luck rookie! 

2012 Recap:

They kept heading south.  This time they were in 90 loss territory and only were spared having the worst pitching record by the “we’re not even trying” Thunder.  Dallas McPherson was every bit as good as he was in Paris and the team ran like hell, but stolen bases are a pretty cheap thrill when your pitchers are getting tagged for 5 and a quarter runs a game.

Off Season Analysis:

Nothing really strikes you as a big, change the standings move.  Jeremy Sowers is a top 20% pitcher, but they also lost Randy Wolf, who can turn it on and Carl Pavano who was, sadly, their best pitcher in 2012.  They also lost a pretty promising prospect in Cam Johnson, which was surprising for a team this crappy to lose one of the best guys in the expansion draft.

Season Preview:

I suspect they are going to get whacked around like a pinata a lot of games.  With no Tennessee to save them from the basement, they could be spending the first of many seasons there.  The only big “if” would be if the rookies, especially Mayberry and El Ron Ubardo, the flaky righty, turn out to be gold.  But the safe money is more of the same from last year:  lots of running on the bases and lots of running after line drive lasers for the outfield while Panther throwers are on the hill.

Offense:

GM Jose Gutierez seems to get a little obsessed with the speedsters.  In this league that can be a dangerous indulgence.  Sure, almost no one ever gets thrown out, but it’s hard to hold your own against teams that have three run homerun instant offense.  Getting the all-star version of Dallas McPherson back was a big boost to the Panther attack.  If they get the same seasons Paul Matthew and Vladimir Guerrero have been cranking out the last couple of seasons plus a good rookie debut from John Mayberry.  They could get it done.  6 through 8 in the order are a little weak in comparison to the league average, but at least Bernie Castro can run if he gets on. 

Pitching:

Unless El Ron Ubardo has a monster rookie year and Carl Sadler has a spectacular comeback year.  This team could be in deep shit.  And who thinks that’s gonna happen on the Panthers?  Willie Montgomery got torched for 35 homeruns in 2012 and only put up 12 quality starts in 33 games.  That could get ugly, right?  And I’m not really convinced Sowers or Lohse will win consistently for this franchise.  Drysden and De La Cruz give this team some decent arms in middle relief, but Mitchell Atkins at closer could be a freakin’ nightmare. 

Man on the Spot:

Carl Sadler is one of those guys who has the stuff to be a winning guy at the back of the order, but he’s never matched any of his minor league numbers in the majors.  With Willie Montgomery pretty much a lock to suck, it’s up to Sadler to give this weak 4 man rotation some solid innings. 

Expansion Recap:

GM Bill Gluvna had a clear plan when starting his San Juan franchise: Pitching, speed and defense. We've heard that before (right Jim?) but Gluvna has the advantage of 9 years worth of statistics to make sure he's building with the right players. Unlike Taipei's "play it safe" approach to expansion, Gluvna was aggressive, grabbing big-ticket players in order to build a team that isn't willing to settle for last just because it's their first year. San Juan's first player was lefty Scott Kazmir, and when Taipei focused on offense in the Supplemental Draft, Gluvna ended up with both Papelbon and Street for his pen. The expansion draft saw both C.C. Sabathia and Danny Haren join the Senadores, giving the team quality arms but leaving the offense lacking.

The team was willing to pony up the cash to keep Sabathia, limiting the amount of cash available to put together the rest of the roster. Very little action in the auction otherwise (just Travis Hafner and Edwin Jackson), leaving Gluvna to pick through the free agent pool to fill his roster spots. It's surprising that no trades have gone down yet, as Gluvna is known for his wheeling and dealing.

If it's true that a good pitching staff can carry a bad offense, then these Senadores could manage a third place finish right out of the gate. The arms are clearly better than those in Baltimore, but the offense isn't nearly as good. So which is more important? To me, pitching is invaluable, so I give the nod to San Juan to just miss a last place finish. If Gluvna lives up to his reputation, expect a lot of changes to this roster via the trade market. It'll be interesting to see what the lineups look like come mid season.

Offense:

What the team has in pitching it definitely lacks in hitting. There is some good speed here in Lastings Milledge and rookie Cameron Johnson, but there is a severe lack of power, and that will really cut into the run production. Travis Hafner is alright, but would you want him as your primary run producer? Brian McCann looks to be a good hitter and Rocco Baldelli could use a full year of at-bats, but other than that, it's all speed. Izturis, Uribe, German....you can only play so much small ball, you know? Can Gluvna pull off a deal to get a true thumper into this lineup? 

Pitching:

You have to hand it to San Juan. They put together a far better pitching staff than anyone could have predicted. Sabathia, Haren and Kazmir is about as good a 1-2-3 punch as any rotation in the league, and Street and Papelbon in the end should be lights out. The success of the team will hinge on how the other guys do. Brown and Davis had real nice springs, but it remains to be seen if they can be that effective over 30+ starts. Middle and long relief is likely to get clocked, but c'mon, this is the team's first year. 

Man on the Spot:

For now it's Travis Hafner. The guy is pretty good, but he managed just 68 RBI in 479 AB's last year for Savannah. That won't cut it from the cleanup spot. 

Expansion Recap:

Expansion teams are expected to finish in last, but when Bill Gluvna was named as the GM, that expectation went out the window.  When he landed plenty of speed and the core of a bullpen as good as any other team by getting Huston Street and Johnathon Papelbon, you got the sense this was going to get interesting.  Then they managed to ink CC Sabathia and you could hear Jim Masters yelling “Aw, Shit” from clear out there in Columbus.  I couldn’t have done it any better, that’s fo’ sho.

Off Season Analysis:

*

Season Preview:

First the bad news:  they are in Atlant’s division, so you can forget about first place.  The good news: they are the Panthers’ division, so an inaugural season out of the basement is also pretty likely.  The bigger questions: winning record or no?  Playoffs, really, in the first year?  Stranger things have happened.  All the guys nabbed in the supplemental draft are unknown, so Scott Kazmir could win 20 games or be lit up.  Same for Street and Papelbon, Milledge, you get the picture.  Best guess is they’ll be in the top half of the league in pitching and the bottom half in pitching which should get them about a .500 record.

Offense:

This is another team that’s going to run like hell and could finally give the Panther’s some competition in the team’s stolen base category.  I’m predicting Rocco Baldelli can turn it around, but if he bats around the Medoza line these guys are pretty much screwed sideways.  I’m expecting Johnson over the long run to look like the best pick-up in the expansion draft.  If he and Milledge can hit over .280 then this team has a shot at eeking out some wins.  The middle infielders blow goats, especially when you have Esteban German sliding over to 3^rd base. 

Pitching:

Doesn’t it just piss you off that an expansion team put together this good of pitching staff?  I’d take Sabathia, Herron, and Kazmir as my top three, wouldn’t you?  Andrew Brown and Jason Davis are more of what you’d expect in an expansion rotation, but neither is guaranteed to drag this team down.  The bullpen isn’t deep, but with Jackson, Street, and Papelbon, it has some legitimately solid innings to be expected.  All in all, you’d think this team would have a team ERA in the top half of SLB, which is a hell of an accomplishment for an expansion franchise. 

Man on the Spot:

Kind of a tough call for these expansion teams, ain’t it?  Kazmir would be an obvious choice, as he’s totally unknown, but I’m saying Baldelli for this reason: he’s always looked like he ought to be good, but he never has been.  Maybe with the talent thinned out one more time, this will finally be his year.  Hitting at the top of the order he’ll get some serious AB, so let’s say 100 runs is the mark to shoot for.

2012 Recap:

The Sabers made both Tom and I look real bad last year. Neither of us had them finishing .500 much less making the playoffs...boy were we wrong. Savannah finally made the post season, upset the Flyers in the first round, and were up 3 games to 1 on the Sailors in the World Series before losing the final three. The team pitched their way to success, sporting three players with 15 or more wins, highlighted by Phillip Humber's 20-4 campaign. The offense scored the 5th most runs in the league despite no 100 RBI performance from anyone. Team play at its best. 

The biggest loss of the off season was SS Wilson Betemit and his 84 extra-base hits. Otherwise, it was a winter of addition, with Angel Berroa taking over at short and Victor Martinez, Joe Crede and Sean Burroughs upgrading the infield. Oswalt and Halladay signed on for another tour of duty in Georgia, keeping the primary pitching intact. Inferno was a nice pickup for the bullpen. Good off season all around.

Savannah won't sneak up anyone this year, but they're still built to compete for the post season. The pitching looks strong, and the retooled offense might score even more runs than a year ago. It will take a lot of luck and some good breaks to surpass the juggernaut up-state, but Savannah is looking good for a wildcard spot in 2013.

Offense:

We've harped on the team for lacking a big power bat, but they proved last year that it isn't necessary if you're getting run production from several spots in the lineup. It looks like the same formula is being applied this year, but with some nice upgrades in key spots. Sean Burroughs is going to have a big impact on this lineup (if he stays healthy), bringing his high average and above average speed to the #2 spot in the order. Todd Linden lead the team offensively last year and bats third, followed by Jay Gibbons, who exemplifies "professional hitter". Hawpe, Martinez and Berroa are all good hitters in their own right, and if everyone averages 70-80 RBI, the team will be in good shape.  

Pitching:

The big three are back and hope to match their 50 combined wins of a year ago. Mark McCormick is gone (dealt for Burroughs) and Carlos Hernandez starts in the pen, opening spots for lefties Randy Wolf and Victor Alvarez. Why on earth is Phillip Humber the #4 starter? I'm sure there is a method to manager Lou Brown's madness, but I sure don't see it. Expect Hernandez back in the rotation if Alvarez falls flat. The bullpen isn't terribly impressive (outside of Gagne) so any upgrade there would go far. 

Man on the Spot:

Jay Gibbons is a career .305 hitter, but he's never been counted on to be a big time run producer. His career high in RBI is 72, and that was back in 2006. Can he add 20-30 RBI to his normal stat line, or is he better suited to bat 2nd with Burroughs protecting him?

2012 Recap:

The Sabers were the second most surprising team, behind the Knights, but what they lacked in shock they made up for in accomplishments as they went all the way to the World Series, a feat many teams have yet to match, and took it to 7 games before the determined Sailors put them down.  It was all about the starting pitching, with Humber, Oswalt and Halladay being arguably the best 3 going.  Career years out of Erstad and Betemit didn’t hurt.  But, it was a good season made great at the by the ever fearsome 3 man playoff rotation.

Off Season Analysis:

They didn’t lose Halladay or Oswalt, which was the big concern.  If you had to look at the scales, you’d have to think on balance it was an improvement.  Adding Inferno and Wolf seem like good moves if Wolf can have one of his “wins for whatever reason” years.  Losing Betemit could be significant, but Angel Berroa seems capable of filling in at least 75% as well if not just as good.

Season Preview:

I wouldn’t have predicted these guys to go to the WS last year and I’d have to say the same this year, even though it’s pretty much the same team or better.  I just can’t get past Todd Linden being your top HR hitter.  It also doesn’t help that Jeremy Jirschele, a guy I canned as unfit for AAA duty is starting some games.  But, it’ll all come down to starting pitching again, and you can’t say anthing bad about this crew.  If McCormick and Wolf have winning records, this is probably one of the wild card teams.

Offense:

I don’t know how this team did it last year, but this is pretty much the same line-up that got to the World Series. So these no names seem to get it done.  That said, Darren Erstad had a career year and can’t be expected to produce at the same level.  I’d also have to put Jay Gibbons as one of the least productive clean-up hitters in the league.  Angel Berroa protecting him against righties isn’t too impressive either.  But what the hell do I know anyway? 

Pitching:

What you’ve come to expect as the rock of consistency for the Sabers is Roy Oswalt and Ray Halladay coming out and pitching great baseball.  Last season, Phillip Humber exceeded the wildest expectations of anyone going 20 and 4.  Between them, they racked up 50 wins.  Any team that can do that with the top 3 in their rotation is a threat to at least take a wildcard spot.  I’m not so sure about Wolf and McCormick, but McCormick was a winning pitcher last year and Wolf could be solid pitching for this team.  With Dante Inferno added to the bullpen to go along with solid inning eaters, Valverde, Cordero, and Feliciano, the bullpen is good enough to get the job done and get things to closer extraordinaire, Eric Gagne.

Man on the Spot:

Well, we know this team can pitch, so it’s a question of who will provide the offense.  Brad Hawpe hit 22 HR in 338 AB in 2012, so he could be a 45 HR guy in a full year.  That would help.

2012 Recap:

Things broke bad for the Invaders last season, finishing in last place just one year out of Game 7 of the World Series. The pitching was pretty good (6th in team ERA) but the offense was out to lunch, scoring less runs than only Bedford and Scotland. Ireland has been through its ups and downs before, so no one in the front office is panicking just yet. It was an ugly year, but not one that raises any red flags for long term problems.

The team lost very little in terms of key players, leaving GM Tony Blake some flexibility in improving the roster. The big addition seems to be Adam Dunn, who went absolutely berserk in Spring Training. The Invaders need his bat badly. Orlando Cabrera will more than make up for Berroa or Tejada provided he stays healthy (no guarantee on this team). Kerry Wood and Ugeth Urbina are two big improvements for the pitching staff, pushing less talented players out of important roles. 

I have to say, this is an awfully tough team to predict. Are they going to be as bad as last year? Probably not. Are they going to contend for a championship? Probably not. The team has good players, but overall you're just not convinced that there is enough here to keep up with the great teams in the league. Blake needs to keep adding pieces during the season if he hopes to contend this year, otherwise it may be wise to play it safe and formulate a plan for 2014.

Offense:

Decent, but probably the weakest in the division. Adam Everett leads off despite a recent drop in speed while high OBP guys like Scott Hodges and Mark Kotsay set the table for Dunn. Jason Lane needs another performance like last year's to help Dunn see some good pitches, while Austin Kearns needs to step it up a lot from his meager 35 RBI campaign a year ago. While Bowen and Cabrera aren't bad hitters for defensive positions, the team is clearly lacking at least one more big offensive weapon in the middle of the lineup. 

Pitching:

Should be a good year on the pitching side of things for the Invaders. AJ Burnett returns after posting a sparkling 2.85 ERA in 2012 and is joined again by Vazquez and Clement. Kerry Wood joins the team via free agency after posting 14 wins for Ellas and could be quite a force in the cold weather on Ireland. Manager Bob Ueker surprised everyone by naming Luis Martinez as the 5th starter (over Tim Redding), but maybe he knows something we don't. This bullpen looks really good, especially with Urbina added in middle relief. Ricky Stone is one of the most underrated closers in the league and is being set up by Liriano and Anderson (who combined for 10 wins out of the pen last year). 

Man on the Spot:

Adam Dunn teased Invader fans with a ludicrously hot spring training, so he better bring it when the games count. This team cannot go far without some thunder from the cleanup spot. 

2012 Recap:

Faced with some financial belt tightening, the Invaders took some gambles—Casey Fossum, Kevin Millwood, Matt Clement, Matt Mantei—guys that you’d think might be good or had been, but were low valued thanks to some bad years.  Well, the gambles didn’t pay off.  Add in an inexplicably bad year from Miguel Tejada and the end of the Scott Hodges magic and you have the makings of a long year.  A last place year to be exact.  It was a rough year for a team whose fans had grown accustomed to having something at stake in September.

Off Season Analysis:

The Invaders knew they had to do something about pitching, and they did, picking Kerry Wood and Ugeth Urbina up, both formerly on the Evzones.  They also added all or nothing swinger Adam Dunn and held onto their own pen guys.  They lost a seemingly above the cut middle IF in Berroa and Tejada, but neither of them did jack for Ireland last year, so good riddance, I guess.  Team looks better, but that’s not saying much after a 68 win season.

Season Preview:

Few teams will be happier to see the Greeks pack up and move out than the Invaders.  That at least gives them a shot.  But for now, you have to figure the team to beat is London and you also figure Paris can’t be that bad that long with all that cash.  I think Ireland is in the bottom half of the Euro, but 3^rd or 4^th is anybody’s guess.

Offense:

I’d be depressed if I were an Invader fan.  It’s not like Ireland is a launching pad anyway, but with these scrubs in the order you’d think a high offense game will be as rare as a sunny day in Ireland.  Granted, Adam Dunn and Jason Lane have legitimate homerun power, but they’re both free-swingers and will strike out a lot, too.  Mark Kotsay and Scott Hodges have put up .300 seasons in the past, but neither is guaranteed to do so, and Hodges took a dive last year.  Adam Everett is one of the worst lead-off hitters in SLB and catching is craptacular.  It definitely has the makings of a last place offense.

Pitching:

Adding Kerry Wood gives this team a competitive top 3 so long as Javier Vazquez continues to enjoy pitching in Ireland.  Clement and Martinez are pretty much par for the course for 4^th and 5^th starters, which isn’t good enough for a team with bottom of the barrel offense.  With Urbina added, the bullpen should be okay if Matt Anderson isn’t giving up gopher balls on a regular basis.  Ricky Stone could contend for the Rolaids Award even on a last place team, because you expect the Invaders to be in so many close games. 

Man on the Spot:

Adam Dunn is a solid guy to have on any team, but in a weak offense, he’s being asked to do a lot as the clean up man.  He’ll probably have a good year, but he needs a great one, like 120 RBI + to make this season happen.

2012 Recap:

The London Knights have been the easy pick for last place the last several years, but I'm here to say that the team is poised to turn things around in a big way. The team win total has improved every year for the past 5 seasons, with an 11 game jump to 86-76 last year. The offense gelled last season, and the pitching staff started to take shape, meaning big trouble for the rest of the Euro Division. Lance Broadway was Comeback Player of the Year, Joe Mays won 18 games, and rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka had a strong debut. Kendry Morales showed that he will one day win the MVP. London fans finally finished a season looking forward to the next spring.

Sean O'Hallaran's primary goal this off season was to keep his 2012 intact, knowing that some rookies would be the key additions for 2013. Mateo, Mays and Johnson all returned (and for pretty cheap contracts), meaning the team could add a few marginal veteran arms and call it done. London probably had the lowest turnover of any team in the league.

For the first time in half a decade, London fans have a season to look forward to. The offense returns fully intact while the rotation now looks to be among the best in baseball. There is no reason to think the team won't win at least as many games as last year (86), and the call up of Chris Volstad should push the Knights past 90 wins and into playoff contention. Remember, London is the only original SLB teams to have never made the post season, but it looks like a safe bet that the streak will finally snap here.

Offense:

The team has put together a pretty damn scary lineup. All eight starters return from an offense that was third in the league in runs, HR and RBI, and (impressively) #1 in walks while dead last in strikeouts. Kendry Morales is for real folks. 51 HR and 119 RBI (to go with his .311 average) in 2012 earned him Euro Division MVP honors....and he's just 23. Reyes, Reed, Estrada, Rios, Upton....all hit .270 or better last year. Hinske did not, but chipped in 100 RBI, so all's good, yeah? If the team can keep getting great hitting from Estrada and Reed while Upton continues to develop (the kid can't drink legally yet), then this lineup is going to produce again. 

Pitching:

To think, this team put a rotation with Oliver Perez, Randy Wolf, Kyle Newby and Paul Davis out there just 2 seasons ago. Those days are long gone, as the London pitching rotation is now the jewel of SLB. Johan Santana aces a ro' that now includes three first round picks (two #1 overall) in Broadway, Matsuzaka, and the latest addition, Chris Volstad. Oh, and the fifth starter won 18 games last year. It's an exciting group of players, and they have the luxury of pitching in front of an offense that is going to score them a lot of runs. The bullpen could be the real issue this season if nothing is done to improve it. Not a single player in the pen posted an ERA under 5.00 last year, which could mean too many blown saves for the starters. Can the GM fit the final piece in the puzzle?

Man on the Spot:

Volstad is just 19 years old but is expected to win 14+ games right out of the gate. His minor league numbers aren't overwhelming, so is he being rushed to the majors too soon?  

2012 Recap:

What the…?   The Knights were the darlings of 2012, finally shaking off years of last place certainty and making a serious run at the playoffs, if not really giving a scare to Ellas after about midseason.  Kendry Morales has evolved into an absolute beast, with his 51 HR last year only putting him behind Thurman Murman, who is hardly his equal as a total ballplayer.  Jose Reyes was arguably the top lead off guy in the league and with C Johnny Estrada and 2B Justin Upton having good years, the Knights had one of the most feared offenses in SLB.  Daisuke Matsuzaka might have getton this team to October if he had been there all year, but a totally crap bullpen kept the Knights from being serious contenders to do much other than get out of the basement.  But that’s more than enough to create excitement for 2013. 

Off Season Analysis:

Lead the league in boring.  Ponson is the big addition, Soriano the big loss.  Whoa.  The only thing of note is that Chris Volstad got the call up.  If he’s for real, look out.

Season Preview:

You have to look twice when you pick the Knights to win the Euro.  You’re still thinking to yourself “Wait, that can’t be right…”   but, with Ellas gone, it’s theirs to lose, right?  The team is going to hit, there’s not much to worry about there, but the pitching is a real crapshoot outside of Johan Santana.  Matsuzaka looked like a legit #2 guy last year with a 3.51 ERA, but we’ve seen that before from these Japanese pitchers—half a season of wow, the rest of their career “ow.”  Lance Broadway was great in 2012—for the first time ever.  Then you’ve got a rookie, albeit a promising one and Joe Mays, who won 18 games last year, but could have just as easily lost 18 with his 4.62 ERA.  The bullpen is hardly any more convincing.  They aren’t much better than last year, and that’s pretty damning in itself.  They’ll have to pitch above expectations or make some trades, but this year is probably their best chance at doing something big.

Offense:

WTF got into this team?  Last season the Knights exploded for 837 runs only putting them behind the Flyers and the Pimpernels for team offense.  Jose Reyes had a monster year with over 100 extra bases, 125 runs, and 47 stolen bases.  I’m not sure you can expect that again, but he’s emerged as one of the top table setters in the league.  Have we said Kendry Morales is a badass enough times yet?  The question marks as expected are mostly at the back of the order with Rios and Reed hard to predict.  I’m not sure Eric Hinske is who I’d want batting clean-up most of the time, but he did drive in 100 runs last season.  Expect this team to be in the top 5. 

Pitching:

Probably even more surprising was the turn around in pitching for the Knights in 2012.  Landing Johan Santana as their ace wound up being a good move even though he seemed to be the only guy that the Knight’s offense wouldn’t score runs for last year.  All of the offense seemed to come when Joe Mays was on the mound allowing him to go 18-7 while posting mediocre 4.62 ERA.  Out of the blue, Lance Broadway became a reliable starter.  Had the team not waited too long to throw Kyle Newby under the bus, they might have made it to the post season.  He got slammed for a .887 OPS, which is sort of like making every hitter in the league look like Darren Lemming.  But he’s gone, and rookie Chris Volstad  can hardly be worse.  The bullpen which, God help them, includes Kyle Newby, can only brag of William Buckner as reliable arm.  They’d better hope they just blow people out or one of these guys might take home a Goat of the Year Award.

Man on the Spot:

Joe Mays went an unbelievable 18-7 last year, despite a 4.62 ERA.  That ain’t gonna happen again, but the Knights probably still need him to have a .500 record or better.  If the ERA gets any worse, they won’t get it and the playoffs might be the price they pay.

2012 Recap:

SLB's most successful franchise had another fine year in 2012, finishing second in the Euro and just missing the playoffs. Despite the fact that the offense always seems to get thinner, the team still scores runs in bunches, and the consistency in the pitching staff provides stability year in and year out. To no one's surprise, Lance Berkman came in and put up great numbers, but the guy that had people buzzing was Justin Morneau. 46 HR and 132 RBI was much, much more than anyone could have hoped for, and his leadership drove the offense to score the 2nd most runs in the league. 10 players hit .285 or better! Jerome Williams continued his march towards the Hall of Fame, adding to his unbelievable career winning percentage by going 16-7 and leading a rotation that all won at least 10 games. 

Seemed to have lost a lot, but every time we say that, the team finds another diamond in the rough and turns them into an All Star. Still, Rolen, Cabrera and Gerut were all key contributors the last few years, and Riedling and Fuentes were two of the team's best pen men. The replacements look less impressive, though it will surprise no one if Valderrama suddenly drives in 120 for the Pimps. 

Paris looks poised to battle London for the division title in 2013. Last year's 89 win team returns more or less intact, so it's probably good odds that you're looking at a team that will be a wildcard at the very least. All of the rotation is back, a few new faces are in the pen, and the offense is ready to rock. If the team stays healthy and the bullpen holds, Paris fans will enjoy another postseason. 

Offense:

Carlos Valderrama is the only new face in this lineup, and he's platooning with J.J. Davis in RF. Otherwise, you know what you're getting here. Alex Sanchez and Derek Jeter set the table for Berkman and Morneau, thus scoring about 27 runs a game. Some interesting twists to the opening day lineups this year, with Hal Kelly batting 3rd and Nic Jackson playing 3B full time. I'll never question Michael Taylor's methods in constructing an offense....his teams are always in the top 3 in runs scored. Expect more of the same in 2013.

Pitching:

Again, very little turnover from last season. It seems like you can pretty much write Jerome Williams in for 15 wins, then you're going to get the benefit of a lot of run support for guys like Day, Kim and Thompson. Tim Hudson gets the nod for Opening Day starter after going 12-6 a year ago. Is he better than Williams? Does it matter? The pen has seen some turnover, but Travis Harper had a good year for London and Rafael Soriano isn't too bad. As long as Scott Stewart doesn't blow and middle relief stays the course, the team will be in fine shape.

Man on the Spot:

For now, I'll go with Hal Kelly. Yeah, he's been an above average hitter for a catcher, but conventional wisdom says you put your best hitter in the 3-hole, and Kelly is far from that.

2012 Recap:

Paris actually finished 2^nd in the Euro in 2012 and missed the playoffs by a game.  Somehow, it feels like the year was worse than that.  Probably with this team’s history, you feel with Glaus, McPherson, Rollins, Lee all gone, there’s just something missing.  A 4.39 team ERA doesn’t impress too much either.  But, look at the stats, Justin Morneau was MVP-esque, were that Lemming guy not around.  Michael Taylor did what he does best: get average hitters to go berserk, see Orlando Cabrera and Hal Kelly.  Alex Sanchez made you forget J-Roll, and then Williams and Hudson were a really solid 1-2.  So what gives?  Paris of now just can’t avoid comparisons to Paris of the past and that means it’ll take another trip to the playoffs for them to shake off the “disappointment” label.

Off Season Analysis:

They didn’t sign any big name guys that might get you thinking about another championship season.  Of course that has something to do with the big time financial hit they took for missing the playoffs 2 years running as the fickle French fans cancelled season tickets and returned to usual past times of taking their pigs out to dig for mushrooms and watching Jerry Lewis movies.  That one game was a real bitch, actually.  Lost Hillenbrand, who has been replaced by Hal Kelly anyway, but bigger hits from Orlando Cabrera and John Riedling taking better offers elsewhere.  Cabrera was a run scoring machine in 2012 and Riedling is one of the few guys that the Pimps have managed to get consistency out of in the pen—though you can’t blame them for thinking that wasn’t worth $6mil a year.  Looks like they got worse.

Season Preview:

You know they are going to score runs, but that’s something you need to put in the context of what they did in the past, not the rest of this division, which has dead ball fields in at least 2, if not 3 of it’s parks.  Paris seems to need to be A LOT better on offense than everyone to be a top team.  And I don’t really think they are.  I see them in 2^nd, but maybe even 3^rd.  No way they are getting predicted to be champs again until some more fearsome hitters are in the lineup again.

Offense:

They aren’t the best in the league anymore, which probably tells you more than the fact that they eeked out 2^nd place, if you know what I mean.  This is a team that has to shellac other teams to be among the league’s elite.  Every year they seem to slide down another peg.  Now they’ve got catcher Hal Kelly  batting 3^rd and some pretty average middle infielders if you factor in that Derek Jeter is on the cusp of retirement.  Expect some stupid numbers out of Berkman and Morneau again.  Morneau put up a .326/46/132 season with 61 2Bs proving yet again anybody can go bonkers in Paris. 

Pitching:

You never really know with Paris, but they’ve got the sort of guys who’ve gotten it done for them in the past in there this year.  Jerome Williams is Mr. Pimp as he’s been the cornerstone of this rotation since day 1 of SLB.  He could bust out 20 wins in a year.  Thompson, Hudson, and Day all cranked out 12 or more wins last year and Kim survived for a winning season.  With all of them back, you’ve got the makings of a playoff team.  The bullpen is just as much an eye sore as it has been in the past, unless for some reason Danys Baez decides to stop sucking.  In the good ol’ days, Billy Wagner and crew gave this team a respectable bullpen, even if the Paris conditions inflated their ERAs.  Now you can’t blame it on the conditions, they just stink and could end up getting enough decisions to make the Parisians enough to throw their Perrier bottles on the field. 

Man on the Spot:

There have been some pretty special players holding down the #3 spot in the Paris lineup.  Now it’s—drumroll please—Hal Kelly.  Hal Kelly?  OK, he hit .327 with 27 HR last year, for a .584 Slg.  But, I mean, seriously…do you think this guy is going to keep that up? 

2012 Recap:

Scotland took a step backwards in 2012, losing 90 games and just staying out of last place. Once again the cold and soggy weather stunted the offense, but it didn't really seem to help the pitching much either. GM Carmelo Guarneri made some interesting trades to try to get the team going, bolstering the lineup at the expense of the pitching rotation, but it wasn't enough to help in the long run. There were positives, most importantly a good year from Jered Weaver and the continued dominance of Shane Mungitt. Hee Seop Choi was an offensive addition who didn't seem to be slowed down by the climate. 

I'm really not sure what's going on with this team. On the one hand, they've built an offense that is built to compete now, with a core of great players entering their primes. On the other, the pitching staff has been dismantled and filled with an All Star team of the league's most disappointing pitching prospects (all they need is Wainwright to complete the team photo). Yes, they had serious financial problems, so some of these moves were based purely on the bottom line. On paper, the team seems to have lost a whole lot more than they've gained.

I think the biggest factor in how this team performs this year will be the new ballpark. Frustrated with year after year of lackluster offense, Guarneri chose to move in the fences and build a roof, eliminating the cool weather and heavy air of Edinburgh from the equation. The obvious assumption is that the offense will improve, but what of the pitching? If the young guns can actually turn it on and pitch like the scouts predicted, then maybe the team will be alright. If they get shelled, it's going to be a LONG year for the Rebels.

Offense:

With the new stadium, the team looks to have three viable 100 RBI candidates in Beltran, Cabrera and Choi. Jimmy Rollins came over from Chiang-Mai in the Justin Verlander trade, giving the team a proven veteran at leadoff. The bottom half of the order is far less impressive, with holes at 2B and C and a big question mark in LF. Is Sean Boatright ready to be a full time player, or will he be stuck in a platoon with Smitherman all year? How will Phelps' production be helped by the dome? All interesting questions.

Pitching:

I joked about this already, but seriously, is Guarneri trying to assemble a rotation of all the failed first round draft picks? Romero, Weaver, Lambert...all came into the league with great expectations, but their combined major league record stands at 26-71. Is it impossible for them to get better? Of course not. We saw Lance Broadway turn the corner last year, and their average age is just 26. But enough about those guys, who else is pitching here? Rich Harden is a nice pitcher at the top, and the team has added Runelvys Hernandez as well. Mungitt is a great young closer, but Brock Landers is pretty inconsistent at setup. This could be a rough year. 

Man on the Spot:

Jered Weaver. He seemed to finally be getting it at this level in 2012, but will he adapt well to the smaller stadium?  

2012 Recap:

They didn’t finish in last, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t ugly.  For all the crap we’re talking about Baltimore the Rebels record was worse.  And they were the worst offense in the league.  It’s sort of surprising, because there were some guys on this team that could hit—Miguel Cabrera, of course, but also Hee Seop Choi and Carlos Beltran.  It’s just a matter of scoring more than the other team, and, by all the .500 or thereabouts records for starters with good ERAs shows, the Rebels just couldn’t do it.

Off Season Analysis:

Quite a bit of turn over as they let a slew of big name pitchers:  Joe Nathan, Justin Verlander, K-Rod and Jake Peavy go or traded them to get younger.  Maybe that’s the plan as they are as due for a rebuild as anybody in the Euro.  Still, are Christopher Lambert and Ricardo Romero the guys you want to build around?  Hmmm.  Can’t say anything bad about adding Jimmy Rollins, who is a great fit here, where BB Boo-Ya used to be the show.

Season Preview:

Well, I mean, I figure they’re gonna be in last, don’t you?  Runelvys, Romero and Lambert?  Yikers.  Not like Rich Harden is Mark Prior either, so, the whole rotation could, in theory, blow.   Not good.  1-5 the offense looks OK, but that’s before the climate takes effect.  The pen looks pretty good, but it is short handed and Erasmo is getting a little long in the tooth.  It’d blow me away if this team is above .500 frankly, though.

Offense:

Based on name value, the top 5 in the order here look like they oughtta be pretty mean.  Miguel Cabrera manages to put up MVP numbers even in Scotland’s deadball park. He’s be a terror anywhere else.  Same goes for Hee Seop Choi.  Carlos Beltran expected to be tanked badly after his career year in Havana.  5 through the pitcher’s slot this team provides a lot of easy outs, which is probably why they had the worst offense in the league.  They don’t need to go crazy to win, but they do need to do better.

Pitching:

In theory, Scotland’s weather should turn anybody into a decent pitcher.  But in reality, I don’t know if playing a mile underground would help Romero and Lambert.  Rich Harden is the only consistent guy in the rotation.  Scotland’s ERA needs to be under 4.00 and probably under 3.75 for them to avoid a sub .500 season.  There are some good arms in the bullpen, but with only 5 guys they’ll be stretched a little thin. 

Man on the Spot:

Lambert and Romero are both on their last legs as major leaguers.  I’ll put the bullseye on Lambert, FWIW.  His season was really worse than Romero’s, W-L aside, as he got hit hard, at a .306 clip to be precise.  If he does that again, you have to figure there’s somebody in the FA pool who’s worth a shot, instead.

2012 Recap:

The rebuilding project took a big step forward in 2012 for the former Tennessee Thunder. The team improved by 23 wins while adding some quality players via trades and the draft. The process has mirrored Atlanta's in many ways, including the acquisition of veteran starting pitching to compliment the roster of young rookies and former draft picks. Another year of separating the wheat from the chaff has cleaned the roster of players who weren't going to help the team this season, opening spots for better, more experienced players.  

Unlike past years, GM Ben Royer kept it simple this off season. Much of the work building the 2013 roster was done last season with trades for Andruw Jones, Eric Ridener and Les Beltre. Royer chose to let Troy Glaus go in the auction, spending his money on signing veteran Joe Nathan and matching LF Carl Crawford instead. He then offloaded the promising (but slow developing) Ric Romero for fireballer Justin Verlander, giving the team it's most solid pitching rotation in years. 

Chiang-Mai looks built to compete in 2013. Gone are the days when marginal prospects filled the lineups. Royer has found his players and has built a team that will, at the very least, be able to stay in games with every team they play, and could even surprise with a run at the wildcard. They are ahead of Atlanta's pace for rebuilding (thanks to a more aggressive management style), but the team is still a "Brad Lidge Trade" away from being in serious contention. Look for continued improvement from the Kwaan, who look good to finish out of last place for the first time in four seasons.

Offense:

Interesting. I'm not sure I've seen a lineup that stacks three speedsters at the top followed by two free swingers before. Crawford, Boo-Ya, and last year's #1 draft pick Cap Jackson could all bat leadoff, but manager Willie McGee is counting on them to wreak some havoc on the bases early so Montana and Murman can drive them in. Andruw Jones would have been an ideal #3 hitter in his prime, but looks better slotted here at #6 late in his career. In a year or so (when his power increases) Cap Jackson will be a fixture at #3, but McGee has Boo-Ya there, hoping to give him his first season of big run production numbers. The lineup has real potential to be a high scoring unit, especially if the bottom of the order contributes. 

Pitching:

Any rebuilding project is going to see some lag on the pitching side of things, but Royer has filled some big spots in the staff this year. The front office lost patience with Ric Romero, moving him to the Rebels for Justin Verlander, a power pitcher who is just now entering his prime. He slots in nicely behind veteran (and former Cy Young winner) Joe Nathan, leaving hot prospect Kevin Thompson in a lower pressure #3 spot in the rotation. Les Beltre and Eric Ridener were both .500 pitchers a year ago, just fine for the back end of the rotation. The bullpen here is still full of question marks, but at least there are new faces. Koch and Quinonez were the team's most successful pen arms in 2012 and both look to repeat their numbers in key slots in the pen. David Riske was added as a veteran presence in the setup role, and MacDougal and Lee have been pulled out of semi-retirement to eat innings in the 6th and 7th. How they (plus rookie Goyen) perform could mean the difference between contending and pretending.

Man on the Spot:

I'll spare the rookies and go with Joe Nathan. The 2011 Cy Young winner struggled to just a 12-12, 4.29 record with Scotland last year. Does this 37 year old still have it in him to be a staff ace?

2012 Recap:

As the Tennessee Thunder in 2012, this team seemed pretty much to be shooting for the #1 draft pick again.  And they got it, but, on the flip side, their 102 losses, while ugly, were 23 less than in 2011, meaning this was the team with the biggest turnaround. Not that that gets Ben Royer GM of the year or anything, but, still, it was at least a season with some bright spots.  Chief among them was Thurman Murman winning the HR title, at least giving the fans a few thrills.  He and Tony Montana are 2 of the top catchers in baseball and provide some attractive trade bait.  BB Boo-Ya showed he can bat down the order, too, knocking in 70.  On the down end, Troy Glaus just sucked hard, end of story.  And if you were looking for the future of the pitching here, you didn’t get it.  Romero, Rollins, Lambert—they’ve all be busts.  At least that told Royer where to put the money he’d been hording.

Off Season Analysis:

Royer finally cracked open the checkbook after years of Salvation Army baseball and inked Joe Nathan and Justin Verlander.  That gives the Kwaan two proven starters plus Ridener who’s been a pretty good SP all things considered over his career.  If Volstad pans out, the team could get out of the cellar.  Glaus is the only big FA they lost, but he won’t be missed in this town.

Season Preview:

Sucking by design is not the plan, so the pressure is on this team to start proving that the Royer rebuilding strategy was well-thought-out.  It certainly helps to have an expansion team to kick around if just staying out of last is the goal.  I think they can pull that off, but with the Commish and the Deputy Commish’s teams now in the Far East, winning getting a division title won’t be any too easy.  Another 20 game improvement from this team is entirely possible, though.

Offense:

Oh I forgot, this team is gonna run like hell too.  So, they might lead in stolen bases.  Ah, whatever.  So…it’s all pretty much the Cap Jackson 64 thousand question, isn’t it?  Or maybe the 64 million dollar question is more like it.  If he lives up to his “future MVP” status, this team could do about anything.  If he and Royster are batting under .250, we’re just going to watch a lot of Murman and Montana solo dingers.  I’m expecting this team to finish towards the upper end of the stack.  But if they don’t, the rebuilding plan has hit a major league snag. 

Pitching:

There’s no way in blue blazes that this team can be any worse than they were last year.  A 5.84 team ERA is just cringe-worthy.  Rolling out Kevin Thompson should help and with full years from Verlander and Ridener.  They could shave a whole run off the team ERA.  The bullpen is an embarrassment.  They’ve even re-enlisted the service of Mike MacDougal.  Yikes!  Koch has worked out pretty well for them, but if he heads south that call to the bullpen is going to be about as fun as calling Dell for customer service support. 

Man on the Spot:

Cap Jackson, duh.  The most hyped player in the history of SLB.  If he doesn’t lead the league in runs and SB, expect some Kwaan fans to be grousing about taking him instead of Matsuzaka.  But, overhype aside, if he’s not in the top 10 in SB and runs, it’s probalby not gonna be the year this team turns it around.

2012 Recap:

The Diablos did not leave Cuba on a high note. The team struggled to contend for the third straight season (76-86), leading to sagging attendance and a blow to their confidence. There were some great individual performances from guys like Eric Dalton, Albert Pujols and Bobby Brownlie, but overall the offense was sub par (by Havana standards) and the pitching fell apart. What do Kyoto fans have to look forward to as this team limps into town?

Another season of bad ticket sales lead to a decrease in payroll, meaning GM Darin Keesing had to play it conservatively this off season. The team's key free agents (Brownlie and Pujols) got rich offers from other teams, leaving management with many key roles to fill without much money. As it turns out, the roster was filled with so many bargains that there was money left on the table come Opening Day. Should Keesing have opened up the checkbook for Brownlie? Hindsight is 20/20 of course, so Kyoto fans need to hope that the front office can continue improving the team via trades (where the Bushido have already added Howard and Riedling). 

What can a change of scenery do for the former Diablos? The team was once the undisputed King of the South Division, but a failed fire sale coupled with Atlanta's rise to prominence left the team third best the past few years. Now in Kyoto, the team finds themselves in a division with three teams that closely resemble their own; solid offense, a few veteran starting pitchers, and question marks everywhere else. Does this mean they can contend? Anything is possible of course, but too much of the roster (particularly the pitching staff) are uncertain to make any bold predictions. A few surprise performances and career years could push them to the top, but things would really have to break bad for them to finish last. 

Offense:

This team will score some runs, no question. It's simply a matter of whether they can outscore their division foes. Eric Dalton has emerged as one of the premier run producers in the league, following his Rookie of the Year season with a .331, 47, 120 line in just 144 games. How many teams passed on this guy? Utley is among the best offensive second basemen in the league, Josh Hamilton is an ideal #3 hitter, combining average, power and speed, while newcomer Ryan Howard protects Dalton in the #5 hole. The question marks come at leadoff and catcher. Matt Bush is being given another chance to leadoff despite poor OBP numbers in his young career. He projects to be a run producer down the road, and leading off doesn't seem to be a natural fit, but where else do you bat him? Efforts to trade an outfielder and get rookie speedster Peter Bourjos in the top slot have failed thus far, so it's Bush's job to lose. Rookie Kiel Thibault takes over behind the dish, hoping to continue his good power numbers from AAA. The back of the order is old but could still produce decent numbers.

Pitching:

Oh boy, who knows? Mulder and Zito return too a staff that has 6 new faces. Both are capable of good things, but either (or both) could struggle; it's impossible to predict. The loss of Bobby Brownlie is huge. He was a Diablo his entire career, posting a .621 winning percentage before heading to Philly and an 8-figure contract. Management was looking at just 3 starters and 2 relievers this spring (after trading Mexico and Strickland for Howard), meaning it was truly an open audition for pitching roles in Spring Training. Benson, Cruz, Eaton and Matthews all earned spots with nice stats, while Riedling was added for some stability late in games. With two starters in the pen, the team has the flexibility to mix and match in the rotation to get the best results, but it's really anyone's guess as to how this will work over 160 games. When was the last time Cruz or Eaton pitched in pro ball? Can Kris Benson's recent seasons be believed, or will he revert to some his mediocre career line? This will be one of the most interesting staffs to watch this year.

Man on the Spot:

Kris Benson. A #3 starter on a contender? He's 14 under for his career, but has been pretty good the past few seasons. A bad year here would be disaster for the Bushido. 

2012 Recap:

GM Darin Keesing embarked on a rebuilding program a few years back, and if 2012 was the result, it wasn’t a brilliant plan.  13 games worse than in 2011, the Diablos couldn’t wait to get the season over and get out of Fidel Castro’s stifling micromanagement (and none too soon we might add, since the old man is one foot in the grave, anyway).  On the offense side, this team was still fun.  Poaching Chase Utley from the Evzones worked pretty well, though you expect more than 57 RBI out of him.  Pujols fit well here, with 117 RBI.  Eric Dalton is just goddamn mean.  But, alas, they can’t pitch outside of Brownlie, who is, BTW, gone.  None of the arms Keesing traded the team for way back have amounted to beans.  Ron Mexico, David Asher, David Bush, Larry Brush, Ted Striker—just a parade of losers in the Havana nights. 

Off Season Analysis:

They decided Brownlie and Pujols weren’t worth what others were willing to pay for them and let them go.  It would be OK if they were replaced but Kris Benson and Ryan Howard don’t seem like equivalents, though we don’t know on Howard just yet.  Got Mike Lowell back, who liked playing under Keesing.  Riedling was landed in a trade but mostly because Keesing had the cash to burn on a guy who got in a bidding war.  I don’t think I’d grade them too high, but on the other hand, a better year than 76 losses is the standard and they might pull that off.

Season Preview:

It’s hard to say what Keesing views this year’s objectives as being.  On the one hand, Osaka is a mature team that would be hard to compete with right now.  You might want to give them this year and work on the youths.  On the other, Chiang Mai is a team that, if all goes according to plan, will blossom in a year or two and be another Atlanta.  Then there’s the expansion team, which should also be a team of the future.  Not a good situation to wait out.  With some tweaks and trades they could slug their way to 90 and the playoffs, but I see .500 ball as more realistic.

Offense:

You’d really think the Bushido, last season the Diablos, among the top in the league in offense, but in 2012 they weren’t.  Six teams were better, and Havana probably needed to score over 800 runs to have a dim shot at the playoffs.  This year they’ve added Ryan Howard and rollout rookie Kevin Thiebault as welcome additions. So we have ever reason to expect good things out of this squad.  Though, a couple of sub-par years could drag this team below the threshold they need to meet to give the Ronin a run for their money.  Look for Matt Bush or Mike Lowell to do the honors there. 

Pitching:

GM Darin Keesing keeps trying to land that FA pitcher that can give this team a competitive rotation.  But this year, he added Karis Benson and Juan Cruz.  Atta boy!  Plus, he lost Bobby Brownlie who had won consistently, if not with overwhelming stuff.  Mulder and Zito have had impressive and mediocre seasons at random in the past.  If age catches up to them, the Bushido might not have anyone to trust out there.  The bullpen is improved by a late trade to add John Riedling.  But then again, they picked up Mike Matthews from his job at the Krispy Kreme.  So, there are likely to be some blown games from the pen. 

Man on the Spot:

Man, there are so many to pick from here—Bush, Thiebault, Benson, Howard—I’ll go with Benson.  His 4.96 career ERA is a pretty discouraging number, but Darin Keesing has had a history of turning mediocre SP into winners, so let’s predict that Benson wins 14 games here.  If so, Kyoto might wind up winning this division.  But I don’t think the season rests on the guy, however, but if he can be a Comeback candidate, the Bushido could surprise some people.

2012 Recap:

Ellas had their best opportunity to end GM Tom Hey's lifelong championship draught in 2012, but as things tend to go in this league, the underdogs prevailed, sending the Evzones home to lick their wounds. The offense was #1 in homers but #4 in runs scored, meaning not enough guys on base for the middle of the lineup. All five starting pitchers stayed healthy, resulting in double digit wins for everyone, including John Webb, who continued to perform beyond expectations. One of the better pens in the league helped the team win 99 games. Peppers and Rockwell had eerily similar stats lines, both breaking 40 HR and 100 RBI despite missing some games. All five starters won 10 or more games, and Billy Wagner finished his Hall of Fame career with 25 saves.

Hey wanted a big ticket pitcher in the free agent auction, but as Brownlie, Sabathia and Oswalt became unaffordable, had to settle for Dennis Tankersly. Lefty relievers Billy Wagner and Ed Yarnall retired and Jason Jennings and Kerry Wood departed via free agency, but the replacements are likely not the same quality. Osaka will rely on some rookies to fill the holes. 

The team moves from Athens to Osaka, hoping to keep their streak of division titles alive. The offense is just plain mean, so scoring runs shouldn't be a problem, but the turnover on the pitching side could mean a tougher road to the playoffs than years past. But fans shouldn't overreact; this is, for the most part, the same team that won 99 games a year ago, and when you stack the Ronin up against the other Far East teams, they look good to win the inaugural division title. The window may not be as wide open as it was in 2012, but it's far from closed. 

Offense:

The entire offense is back, meaning another year of beating the snot out of opposing pitching staffs. Peppers, Rockwell and Coon are the meat of this lineup, and all three are entering their prime (while under contract for at least another 2 seasons). A-Rod returns for his 19th season of pro ball, hoping to repeat his MVP caliber performance from a year ago. If Alfonso Soriano can improve upon his .243/.305/.429 numbers at leadoff, the run numbers will get even better, scary as that is to admit. Overall, this is one of the best offenses in the league, and barring a rash of injuries, should be on the leader boards again this season.

Pitching:

Miller, Webb and Sheets return after combining for a 40-22 record a year ago. Dennis Tankersly replaces Jason Jennings, hoping to improve on a poor 5-12 showing in Cleveland last season. His career numbers are solid, so we could see a Comeback Player performance there. Michael Pelfry finally gets his shot in the rotation, if for no better reason than team finances. Kerry Wood got a ton of money from Ireland, so Pelfry gets the shot, ready or not. A .500 season from him would be just fine. Wagner is off to the Hall of Fame, leaving pr0FF3ss0r_f4rnsw0rth as the closer. Rookie Steve Hammond and scrapheap pickup Chris Bootcheck man the setup roles...could be trouble. Tim Spooneybarger was damn near unhittable in 2012, so why waste him in long relief?

Man on the Spot:

Tough to pin the season on any one guy, but Pelfry needs to show that he has been worth the time that the team has put in developing him. 

2012 Recap:

The Evzones set their sights on the title in 2012 and did everything right but win a game 7 when they had 3 chances to do it.  Rested the starters, came in healthy, took a 3-1 lead on the Sailors and choked like Anna Nicole Smith on a Hooters hot wing.  Outside of the usual October meltdown, it was a great year.  5 guys belted 30 HR, 3 got to 40 and might have gotten to 50 had the last couple weeks not been spent on the bench.  4 starters had winning records and Tom Hey managed his yearly reclamation project,this time on Tim Spooneybarger.  Also a game shy of a 2^nd straight 100 win season.

Off Season Analysis:

Sheets, Wood and Jennings were all FA, along with most of the pen, so they knew the pitching situation was dire.  They got Sheets back and replaced Jennings with Tankersly, which is probably a wash, but Kerry Wood’s replacement is rookie Mike Pelfrey, who has taken some lumps when he faces off against major leaguers.  Same deal in the pen where Werth, Hammond and Bootcheck will not likely be the equal of Urbina, Yarnall and Billy Wagner.  They got worse, but they have some room to slip and still be a division winner.

Season Preview:

Heavily favored to win the new Far East division.  Playoff hopes, however are a little dimmer.  They went balls out to get CC Sabathia, who they saw as the key to getting past the next level, but San Juan, shockingly, was willing to put up 16mil to keep him.  So, it’s likely another year of SP not being enough for them.  The season could get ugly if Pelfrey is really, really bad.

Offense:

The Pete Incaviglia way is to swing from the heels and hope for a trot around the bases.  The Ronin lack any real speed, but will likely lead the league in homeruns by a fair margin if they stay healthy and if the Japanese stadium effects aren’t like those in SLB’s colder climate parks.  They have three guys who could tee off for 50 homeruns in Rockwell, Peppers, and A-Rod.  The biggest questions are which Derrek Lee will show up, is Preston Wilson too old, and will Alfonso Soriano work out as a lead off hitter?

Pitching:

The team feels pretty good about their starters, Wade Miller has produced consistently for GM Tom Hey.  And John Webb continues to be the best bargain in baseball, at least until this year when his contract runs out.   Ben Sheets and Dennis Tankersley are typical Hey pitchers.  They keep the ball down and hope to stay in the game.  As usual, the 5^th starter is the make or break spot and rookie Michael Pelfrey will try to avoid being the latest in a long string of catastrophes there.  The bullpen was ravaged by free agency, meaning Urbina, Yarnall, and Wagner are all gone and Hammond, Bootcheck, Werth are all going to have to exceed expectations for this team to do well.  Yeah right. 

Man on the Spot:

Like clockwork, it’s the 5^th starter again for a Tom Hey team.  It seems he’s like a jonesing craps field gambling on 5^th starters every year.  So, this time it’s Mike Pelfrey, the prize of the farm system.  Which, as we all know means he’s going to go down in flames.  Hey won’t have too much patience as he stocked up on “plan Bs” in the offseason with Bootcheck, Lyon, and Ainsworth. 

Expansion Recap:

The new Taipei franchise couldn't be more different than it's expansion partner in Puerto Rico. While San Juan's general manager is a veteran of sim-leagues, Tai Fong GM Dylan Goforth is a rookie, learning the ropes while building his first team from scratch. The difference in managerial styles surfaced immediately, as Goforth concentrated more on offense in the Supplemental Draft, passing up closer Huston Street in favor of slugger Ryan Howard. The team also added Swisher and Youkilis, providing a core for their lineup. In the expansion draft, Taipei went with youth and potential, resisting the temptation of the high-priced superstars that were available. Goforth snagged some pretty good players, including ATL's CF Chris Kolkhorst, HAL's SS Rian Luiz and BAL's RF Craig Johnson. Taipei took some developing pitchers, hoping to cash in on the improvement of guys like KYO's Ted Striker and BAL's Josh Palm. 

The Tai Fong's only big splash in the free agent auction was the signing of Albert Pujols, which served to both strengthen a promising looking lineup as well as weaken a division foe. The pitching staff was rounded out with veterans like Freddy Garcia and Nick Neugebauer, while the offense added depth with Michael Barrett, Paul Konerko and Luis Castillo. With their overflow of bats, Goforth connected for his first SLB trade, sending Ryan Howard to Kyoto for a trio of pitchers, notably young right-hander Ron Mexico. 

Taipei enters its inaugural season with a chance to be fairly decent, especially if it hits the ball. The roster has an impressive amount of offensive depth, so for now, the lineup seems to be in good shape, even with an injury or two. Barring a string of breakout seasons, the pitching doesn't yet look ready to put this team into a serious type of contention, but no one expects instant success out of an expansion team. Overall, the team is likely to finish in last place this year, but won't lay over and die. Expect a fight when you're playing the Tai Fong.

Offense:

While it's not going to break any records or challenge Atlanta or Osaka for run production, this is a lineup that's already better than several in the league. Goforth's attention to offense has produced a lineup that has the right blend of speed and power to get things done in SLB. It's nice to see Chris Kolkhorst finally get his shot at starting every day; this career .298 hitter has never gotten his fair shot in Atlanta, due mostly to the dominance of Lemming and Dennis. We know what Pujols is capable of, and if Swisher and Konerko pull their weight, the middle of this order looks solid. Kevin Youkilis is a question mark, if only because his lack of speed seems to be keeping his average down (at least in spring training). Up and down, a very good lineup that has enough depth to survive the inevitable DL stints a full season presents.

Pitching:

Looks iffy on paper, but some very good Spring Training numbers give Tai Fong fans hope. "King" Felix Hernandez is the di facto ace (despite never throwing a pitch in SLB) with his strong arm and great curveball. Freddy Garcia has played on just about every team in the league, meaning he's a good enough guy for the back of the rotation. Ex-Diablo's Mexico and Striker are the guys to watch, as both have tons of promise. Mexico has had better luck at the major league level, while Striker, so far, has been successful only against AAA level hitting. Josh Palm could make his way into the rotation as well, especially if he keeps his ERA down. The bullpen is guaranteed to get throttled, but there is plenty of time to sort that out in the years to come.

Man on the Spot:

Felix Hernandez. He's a real wildcard on this team, entering the league with an impressive resume. You never know how a guy will adapt to a new league, but his high K rate and ability to keep the ball in the park this spring show promise. 

Expansion Recap:

They seemed to be a little less impressive than the Senadores, but mostly on the fact that SJ was willing to blow the wad on Sabathia.  This team is still no joke.  The team has a real offense with Pujols and Konerko lurking around, but pitching is likely to be their Achilles heal.  Picking up Kevin Youklis and Felix Hernandez could end up being better moves in the long run.  WE’ll see, but the nod goes to the Senadores on this one.

Off Season Analysis:

Pretty much covered in the expansion, but did show a desire to think further ahead by trading Howard for young pitching.  Not a move I’d have made, however.  See what happens there.

Season Preview:

Hope seemed pretty dim for the Tai Fong to do anything other than try to hold their heads above water.  It’s hard to get by without decent pitching in this league and  Taipei’s decision to go after hitting in the expansion draft.  Probably means this team will come in last until they can pick up a couple of good arms.  But that said, if they can develop young pitchers Ron Mexico and Felix Hernandez, they could start competing sooner rather than later. 

Offense:

Well they do have Albert Pujols, don’t they?  Really, the Tai Fong tried to draft for hitting so the lineup looks as good as, say, Savannah.  But, the way the game works…bad seems to produce more bad.  So the cumulative effect of a couple bad hitters and a weak pitching staff might mean these guys are even worse than they look on paper. 

Pitching:

With the exception of Freddy Garcia, who keeps bouncing around in his Journeyman career, this is a young and unpredictable staff.  Felix Hernandez has some amazing stuff, but nobody has seen him pitch to a lineup of all major leaguers, so it’s hard to know what we can expect from him.  Nick Neugebauer was dragged off the FA pile, so he’s probably going to stink.  And then you’ve got Ted Striker and Ron Mexico who the Diablos were all too happy to kiss goodbye.  In other words, all 5 of these guys could get smoked like a Tommy Chong bong.  The bullpen is made up of expansion draft cast-offs and FA pool rescues, and therefore could be uglier than a Nathan Lane nude scene.  Expect a long year out of this team. 

Man on the Spot:

Ron Mexico.  If he can stay disease-free and matures a little on the mound, he could put up a winning record as a 5^th starter given how thin most teams’ pitching staffs have become