Spotlight on: AL Playoffs

Since I'm finally at the end of this, I'm just going through my playoff predictions no-frills style.

The teams:
1. Milwaukee
2. Monterrey
3. Las Vegas
4. Louisville
5. Nashville
6. New York

Round 1
- Las Vegas over New York in 3
- Louisville over Nashville in 4

Round 2
- Monterrey over Las Vegas in 5
- Milwaukee over Louisville in 3

Round 3 (ALCS)

- Monterrey over Milwaukee in 7

World Series

- Monterrey over Cincinnati in 6

Spotlight on: AL West

We finish the wrap-up of season previews in the AL West. Currently we have the Las Vegas Gamblers (you were expecting maybe the Las Vegas Mother Teresas?) in first at 11-9, the Colorado Springs Chickens (I hereby request residents of the state of Colorado to start a petition to get the town of Colorado Springs to drop the "s" at the end of its name for the sole purpose of renaming their real-life minor league team the Chickens) tied with the Vancouver Fighting Moose (not mooses) at 10-10, and the Anaheim Sleepers have yet to wake up at 8-12. Well, that's where we are; let's see where the division is heading, starting with the position players. All 4 lineups are solid and no one team seems to stand out above the others.

- We'll begin in Vegas, where the Gamblers have a solid offense. William Nomo, 1B Adrian Sheldon, CF Emmett Yearwood, and SS Walley Harvey form a good nucleus in the lineup.
- Anaheim checks in next with some good offensive talent of its own. 2B Chip Loiselle is a good average hitter, while Bruce Kroger, Alex Vazquez, and Jamie McInerney provide the power.
- Vancouver's attack will be led at the top by 2B Curtis Rooney. CF Cody Lincoln and C Red Small behind him will drive in runs, as will Clement, Witte, and Nakajima.
- Colorado should be led by RF Jay Walker, SS Scot Huttton, LF Alex Lim, and 1B Terry Mitchell.

We go to the pitching staffs. This could get ugly.

- Las Vegas has the deepest staff in the division. Stephen Tucker is a bonafide ace, and he has Louie Martin and Buster Charles behind him. Gerald Thompson could end up being the X-factor of this division- if he can close games the Gamblers are easily a playoff team; if not, they could be in trouble. Ernest Lee and Timothy Wolf are solid setting up Thompson.
- The rest of the division is very shaky. - Anaheim is next only due to the presence of Ajax Drabek, who is an ace. Quentin Hernandez will close, but the quality of his pitches are the question. He will have little setup help.
-Vancouver has very little left after the recent trade of ace Matty Eusebio. Jerry Terry is maybe the best starter, but his pitchesm like Hernandez in Anaheim, could be a question mark. Dave Stewart should be solid at the back end of the bullpen, and Trent Bollea is a good setup guy.
- Colorado figures to struggle to get hitters out this year. Ozzie Earley would be a #4 or #5 starter (if that) on a good team- here he is by far the best starter. Virgil Castro and Kevin Li out of the bullpen are the only bright spots.

Predictions (don't hold me to any of this):

1. Las Vegas is the odds-on (get it?) favorite to win this division.
2. Vancouver, Anaheim and Colorado will score runs and give up more. The Sleepers barely beat out the Fighting Moose for 2nd place, but nowhere near wild card contention.
3. Drabek will be sought after by several teams near the deadline.

Spotlight on: AL South

Our trip around the league finds us in the AL South today. The division currently has the Nashville Sounds at the top at 12-8, the Monterrey Sultans close behind at 11-9, the Durham Entombed Spiders (someone needs to explain that one to me) at 8-12, and the Texas Double Trouble in some trouble at the bottom with a record of 7-13. Will this continue, or will we have a change at the top? We'll get to that at the end, and we'll start by looking at the position players.

-We begin south of the border in Monterrey. The Sultans not only have a good lineup they also have solid defensive players at key positions. CF Benito Tavarez is the X-factor in this lineup at leadoff- if he can get on base, he's got plenty of help behind him in the order. 3B Moose Coleman has MVP potential, and Felipe Ortiz, LF Haywood McDonald, and SS Sammy Castro are solid hitters behind the Moose. Tavarez, Castro, and C Bum Casey are very good defenders; Casey may not hit much but his defense and pitch calling make him well worth penciling into the lineup.
- Nashville should score its share of runs. 2B Gregg Black also has potential to put up MVP type numbrs, and 1B Midre Santiago, 3B David Lyons, and Tyler Post should help Black drive in runs.
- Durham and Texas are a toss-up at 3rd- I'll take Durham. Their middle of the lineup is solid with 1B Davey Barrios, Ricky Beech, C Peter Sosa, and 2B Ed McConnell. SS Alex Adams and CF Juan Sosa are very good defenders.
- Texas's offense could waver at times. They do have 2-way player SS Alex Li at the top and slap hitting CF Hal Bryant followed by CF Pete McGowan and C Emmanuel Guzman; those 4 are the beginning of a good lineup. The next 3 hitters, Chavez, Zurbaren, and Nelson, have home run capabilities but could also kill rallies at times with lack of contact.

On to the pitching staffs.

- Monterrey has a lot of depth both in the rotation and out of the bullpen. Staff ace R.J. Toca was the staff's big acquisition this offseason, but he has plenty of help in Phillip Allensworth, Dennys Fox, Albert Gonzalez, and York Watson. If they can't finish the game, they have Larry Stokes closing and should be set up by Vern Baez, Parker Mashore, Pat Sullivan, and Ed Atkins. This is possibly the deepest pitching staff in The Bigs.
- Nashville checks in next, with 3 solid starters at the top. Ham Bruske is probably a solid #2 (maybe not a true ace), and Damon Thompson and Jesse Bridges should give quality innings. Mendy Richardson may struggle to get out good hitters. Enrique Chantres is a question mark to close out games, but long man Miguel Gonzalez should be a bright spot.
- Durham has Esteban Diaz and Lenny Durham to anchor the staff. Lenny Bradley is a pitcher who could use another year in the minors, but he's a Rule 5 guy. Banana Stein is the closer, but might struggle against lefties. Cristian Lyons and Clay Bell are decent arms out of the bullpen.
- Texas has few pitching options. Mendy Blackley and York Burnett are possibly the only two quality arms. Tiny Mayne would be very solid if his fastball was a little better, but he might be able to get outs. Don Tyson is the closer but his control maybe an issue.

Predictions (Don't hold me to any of this):

1. Monterrey takes the division. Way too much talent.
2. Nashville stays in the wild card race, although I'd feel much more comfortable about penciling them in as a playoff team if they had another arm or two.
3. Durham beats out Texas for 3rd.
4. Miguel Gonzalez ends the season in Nashville's starting rotation.

Spotlight on: AL North

As we eagerly await the well-ballyhooed list of the top 100 Minor League prospects, scheduled to appear on this blog at some point tonight, we continue our ML "previews". We head up north today, as currently we have the Ottawa Naughty Kitties tied for first place with the Milwaukee Maniac Maulers at 8-4, and the Pawtucket Patriots and Cleveland Skidmarks tied at 6-6 (not a good day to have a team nicknamed the Patriots).



Will the Naughty Kitties continue to purr, or will they get Mauled? Will Peter Griffin's favorite brewery catch the two at the top or will Cleveland cause the rest of the division to skid? Let's start with the offense.



-We begin in the Land of Brats. The Maulers have a very balanced attack. starting with SS Ray Buchanan at the top. 2B Tim Harding is next- if he could only hit a little more he'd be a big-time offensive threat, as he draws walks and is already wreaking havoc on the basepaths. 1B Andre Eckenstahler is a professional hitter, but must be pitched to, as possible MVP candidate CF Luis Martinez (acquired in the big Henriquez deal) bats behind him. Pep Osborn and Homer Treadway should have plenty of RBIs and even the best defensive catcher in the division, Victor Gonzales, is not going to be an easy out.

- After Milwaukee there is a bit of a dropoff. I'll take Cleveland next, as CF Walter Guerrero is not a prototypical leadoff hitter- probably not a great average but does provide some pop. While not having as much depth as Milwaukee, they do have good hitters in C Marc Strange, LF Bret King, SS Orlando Franco, and DH Hal Brinkley.

- Pawtucket is going to be a feast or famine team. C Mac Schalk is maybe the only true well-rounded hitter in this lineup. After him are 3B Richard Little, 1B Francisco Javier, and DH Dicky Takahashi, who will all hit their fair share of home runs but can't be counted on to hit for a high average. If these 3 are going well Pawtucket can score enough runs- if not, they'll struggle.

- Ottawa has some question marks in the lineup- they have solid defensive players who may not hit enough to keep up with the likes of Milwaukee. C Hector Borland and 1B Clark Johnstone are the best all-around hitters in this lineup.



Now on to the pitching.

- I like Milwaukee's pitching the best out of the 4 teams here. They have 4 solid starters in James Morton, Graham Costello, Woody Hiller, and Vic Chavez. The have Vin Serano at the closer position and I like Quentin Hughes and Wally Lawton coming out of the pen to set up Serano. Although I can't fault them for making the deal, would anybody else like to have seen what this rotation would have looked like with Henriquez?
- Cleveland is the best of the rest. I like 3 out of their starting 5; Carlton Fleming, Orber Marin, and Steven Michaels can give quality innings to the Skidmarks. I think Hi Nolan maybe needs some better quality pitches but other than that, he's another solid pitcher. Pablo Rijo is the closer; although he is quite capable of getting righties out, he will be extremely nasty on lefties with his biting slider and big-time changeup. Tony Frank is the best setup arm in Cleveland's pen. That being said, a lot of pressure falls on Marc Strange, as he's not gifted at handling the staff.
- Ottawa has a deep bullpen but is not as deep in the starting staff. Brad Clapp and Jim Arnold are probably the two best pitchers for the Naughty Kitties, but I think Jerome Frank and Julian Gonzalez might have control issues. The pen has quality arms in closer Carlos Canseco and setup men Miguel Park, Benito Martin, and Craig Hughes.
- Pawtucket has question marks in the rotation from the top all the way to the bottom. The Patriots will be counting on Pete Rubel and Jared Bellhorn to anchor their staff; Rubel is unproven- he'd make a nice #3 or 4 starter, but I don't think he was given a 5 year- $73.5 million contract to be anything other than an ace. Time will tell if that's what he will become. Bellhorn may struggle to retire hitters. In the bullpen they have Vic Lee to close and Enrique Rijo to setup; both are solid.

Predictions (Don't hold me to any of this):

1. Hmmmm, best lineup and best pitching in the division? I think I'm going to have to go out on a limb and take Milwaukee to win the division here.

2. Cleveland could be an interesting team: if all goes well for them I think you'd have to at least throw them in the discussion for making the playoffs. They are going to need that top of the lineup in Guerrero and Strange to produce and could use another arm or two, particularly in the pen.

3. I think Ottawa finishes ahead of Pawtucket because of pitching.

4. Pete Rubel becomes our league's Barry Zito- decent pitcher who is way overpaid.

Top 100 Prospects in The Bigs

TOP 100 Prospects In The Bigs

There is a bulk of talent at the minor league level as we start season 1. The Fargo Dirtbags are the envy of the league as they have the top 2 prospects in the league. It was Ottawa however that claimed the most prospects in the Top 100 with 8, followed by Milwaukee and Pawtuket with 6 and 5 respectively. I have included a mini statline which has the key ratings in judging a player. I also took into account the most under-rated rating in HBD, durability. Baserunning and speed also increased the players rating sligtly. If the health was below 55 or so there was a slight decrease in the players' rating as well. Makeup also played a minor role. Good/great defense also made a significant difference.

ABREV:	MEANING
c	contact
p	power
i	batting eye
++++	> 90 pitch rating
+++	75-90 pitch rating
++	60-75 pitch rating
+	40-60 pitch rating
glove	overall defense

RANK	PLAYER	POS	RATING	FRA	PROJ	NOTES
1.	Javier Henriquez	SP	9.9	FAR	99	100/95 Splits, 2+++2++, 93 control
2.	Sammy Pierce	SP	9.4	FAR	90	100/80 splits, 2+++1++1+, 93 control
3.	Dwight Salmon	SP	9.35	SAL	87	84/90 splits, 1+++2++ 93 control
4.	Fred Carter	SP	9.3	ATL	87	83/82 splits, 3++1+, 100 control
5.	Wendell Durrington	SS	9.2	TEX	94	c83, p78, 77/88 splits, i70, B+ glove
6.	Steve Elster	SP	9.0	LV	81	98/84 splits, 2+++1+, 80 control
7.	Burt Stevenson	1B	9.0	CHI	86	c91, p95, 91/85 splits,i93,D+glove
8.	Kenneth Graves	SP	9.0	NY	78	89/92 splits, 3+++2++, 89 control
9.	Sean Simpson	2B	9.0	MIL	93	c70, p81, 95/98 splits,i82,B--glove
10.	Tony Rowan	SP	8.9	OTT	81	87/83 splits, 1+++2++, 90 control
11.	Alex Samuel	CP	8.9	DUR	77	96/99 splits,3+++1+, 86 control
12.	James Dixon	SS	8.85	ANA	91	c78, p83, 82/73s, i86,B-glove
13.	Daniel Koch	SS	8.75	TRE	91	c74, p90, 72/72 splits, i71, B+ glove
14.	Jason Sprague	SP	8.65	MEM	82	76/93 splits, 1+++1++2+, 90 control
15.	Jocko Keats	SP	8.5	MNT	78	89/81 splits, 1+++4+, 83 control
16.	Joe Gleason	SP	8.45	HOU	78	84/79 splits, 2+++1++1+, 93 control
17.	Marty Lane	SP	8.4	COL	90	68/71 splits, 2+++2++, 99 control
18.	Albie Torres	SS	8.4	N.O.	88	c67, p75, 78/73 splits, i75, A- glove
19.	Lewis Graham	SP	8.35	OTT	72	80/71 splits, 2+++2++, 98 control
20.	Bret Pierre	SP	8.35	NY	76	86/83 splits, 1+++1++1+, 79 control
21.	Ryan Martin	SP	8.3	OTT	78	74/71 splits, 2+++1+, 99 control
22.	Miguel Cerveza	SS	8.3	BOI	91	c76, p60, 81/65 splits, i75, A- glove
23.	Luther Brush	SP	8.25	MNT	86	64/80 splits, 1+++3++, 83 control
24.	Ted Reese	CP	8.25	CHI	81	100/70 splits, 1+++1+, 96 control
25.	Orber Holt	SP	8.2	MIL	83	82/73 splits, 2+++1+, 92 control
26.	Trever Russell	2B	8.2	CHI	84	c88, p100, 68/69 splits, i82, C- glove
27.	Norm Edwards	SP	8.2	MNT	78	80/70 splits, 2+++2++, 96 control
28.	Derrick Mathews	SS	8.2	MNT	84	c52, p66, 70/56s, i68, A glove
29.	Turner Darr	SP	8.15	CIN	91	79/65 splits, 1+++3+++, 97 control
30.	Perry Herman	SP	8.15	TRE	81	76/81 splits, 1+++2+, 80 control
31.	Johnnie Reagan	SP	8.15	TRE	76	77/77 splits, 2+++1++1+, 98 control
32.	Del Lopez	CF	8.15	MIL	87	c57, p76, 73/73 splits, i92, B++ glove
33.	Hipolito Maradona	SP	8.15	LOU	85	67/73 splits, 2+++2++, 100 control
34.	Louie Bolivar	SP	8.15	PAW	86	72/66 splits, 2+++3++, 81 control
35.	David Rushford	3B	8.1	PHI	87	c52, p95, 73/90 splits, i78, C+ glove
36.	Monte Duvall	SS	8.1	MEM	83	c71, p98, 67/52 splits, i46, B- glove
37.	Jorge Guzman	SP	8.05	CHI	84	84/67 splits, 2+++2+, 96 control
38.	Hideo Nakano	CF	8.05	TEX	84	c91, p61, 47/65 splits, i60, A- glove
39.	Erik Baker	SS	8.0	OTT	76	c56, p66, 64/72 splits, i55, A- glove
40.	Willy Williams	SP	8.0	FAR	81	72/77 splits, 2+++1++2+, 91 control
41.	Rob Cepeda	SP	8.0	LA	86	84/73 splits, 2+++2+, 67 control
42.	Damion Mays	SP	8.0	HUN	77	86/76 splits, 1+++1++2++, 73 control
43.	Steve Sweeney	RF	8.0	SJ	90	c68, p80, 77/96 splits, i83, D+ glove
44.	Oswaldo Astacio	SP	8.0	MEM	84	81/57 splits, 3+++, 95 control
45.	Orber Marin	SP	7.95	CLE	89	77/65 splits, 1+++3++, 85 control
46.	Oswaldo Armas	SS	7.95	MON	85	c71, p59, 61/70 splits, i73, B+ glove
47.	Freddie Hampton	CP	7.9	SAL	70	91/72 splits, 2+++1+, 90 control
48.	Jeremi Gant	SP	7.9	MON	86	73/64 splits, 2+++1++1+, 89 control
49.	Billy Nation	SP	7.85	LV	79	72/69 splits, 2+++2++1+, 80 control
50.	Henry Turner	CF	7.85	OTT	80	c80, p61, 67/60 splits, i61,B glove
51.	Marino Coronado	SS	7.85	ANA	83	c87, p46, 45/26 splits, i76, A glove
52.	Tony Knon	SS	7.8	BOI	83	c71, p68, 84/65splits, i62, B- glove
53.	Coco Hines	CP	7.8	MIL	78	76/84 splits, 1++++1++, 100 control
54.	Lloyd Freel	CP	7.8	OTT	74	73/88 splits, 2+++2++, 92 control
55.	Alex Cornejo	CP	7.8	COL	73	87/69 splits, 2+++, 98 control
56.	Gary Jackson	SP	7.7	LA	84	70/57 splits, 2+++1++1+, 97 control
57.	Vicente Gandarillas	SP	7.7	COL	75	82/74 splits, 1+++3+, 83 control
58.	Tom Hernandez	CP	7.7	N.O.	78	79/78 splits, 2+++1++, 90 control
59.	Ralph Phillips	SS	7.7	PHI	79	c44, p57, 59/72 splits, i62, A glove
60.	Jonathan MacDougal	SP	7.65	NOR	80	53/75 splits, 2+++2+, 10 control
61.	Footsie Lewis	SP	7.65	BOI	77	84/49 splits, 2+++2++1+, 72 control
62.	Felix Pryce	2B	7.65	SJ	80	c79, p56, 47/63 splits, i78, B- glove
63.	Corky Maranville	C	7.65	BAL	76	c80, p82,84/56 splits, i37,C+ glove
64.	Al Carrasco	3B	7.65	LV	81	c89, p89, 48/48 splits, i69, C+ glove
65.	Earl Hall	SS	7.65	PAW	81	c56, p65, 61/83 splits, i56,B glove
66.	BC Thompson	SS	7.5	NY	77	c66, p33, 79/61 splits, i68, A- glove
67.	Nerio Branson	SP	7.5	MIL	76	64/66 splits, 2+++2++, 92 control
68.	Karim Ortiz	3B	7.5	MEM	83	c81, p81, 70/66 splits, i66, C+ glove
69.	Juan Cabrera	SP	7.5	MNT	82	67/73 splits, 4+++, 79 control
70.	Derrek Bedard	2B	7.5	SAL	81	c79, p79, 67/58 splits, i81, C- glove
71.	Ray Cepicki	2B	7.5	N.O.	83	c61, p93, 51/66 splits, i73, C+ glove
72.	Kenneth Schalk	CP	7.5	SJ	80	81/78 splits, 2+++, 90 control
73.	Ivan Castilla	SP	7.5	COL	84	62/77 splits, 2+++1++1+, 72 control
74.	Tony Merced	CP	7.5	BAL	80	69/78 splits , 2+++, 92 control
75.	Russell Newton	SP	7.45	PAW	79	56/74 splits, 2+++2++1+, 86 control
76.	Nick Hernandez	LF	7.4	OTT	80	c100, p36, 48/91 splits, i100, D+ glove
77.	Brooke Teut	3B	7.4	DUR	84	c50, p84, 79/70 splits, i55, B- glove
78.	Stephen Mills	1B	7.4	TRE	79	c83, p89, 81/82 splits, i77, D- glove
79.	Tom Cummings	CP	7.4	DUR	75	85/67 splits , 2+++1++, 89 control
80.	Willie Sierra	C	7.35	BOI	74	c88, p86, 100/62 splits, i71, D glove
81.	Vance D'Amico	SP	7.35	CLE	81	82/89 splits, 2+++, 64 control
82.	Russ Dawkins	SP	7.35	MON	80	71/50 splits, 3+++1+, 90 control
83.	Albert Martin	2B	7.3	OTT	79	c77, p92, 58/69 splits, i60, C- glove
84.	Orlando Diaz	SS	7.3	AZ	81	c71, p73, 68/58 splits, i56, B- glove
85.	Ismael Polanco	1B	7.3	LOU	73	c95, p82, 62/66 splits, i80, D glove
86.	Steve Bako	2B	7.25	HOU	83	c62, p74, 73/63 splits, i71, B glove
87.	Matty Matos	1B	7.25	MON	77	c84, p88, 68/61 splits, i71, F+ glove
88.	Tony Steib	C	7.25	NAS	85	c100, p58, 86/83 splits, i69, C glove
89.	Tony Mays	3B	7.25	NOR	77	c48, p81, 67/67 splits, i73, B+ glove
90.	George Spencer	2B	7.2	ANA	79	c78, p70, 64/58 splits, i76, C- glove
91.	John Baldwin	CF	7.2	SJ	81	c51, p76, 53/88 splits, i58, B- glove
92.	Victor Lloyd	SS	7.2	BAL	74	c48, p69, 66/52 splits, i62, B glove
93.	Paul Saarloos	SP	7.15	TEX	78	59/81 splits, 1+++3+, 85 control
94.	Tom Ontiveros	SP	7.15	VAN	74	63/76 splits, 1+++1++2+, 83 control
95.	Placido Cela	SP	7.15	MIL	73	68/47 splits, 3+++1++, 94 control
96.	Jared McMahon	CP	7.15	PAW	78	69/78 splits, 2+++1++, 80 control
97.	Jimmy Cole	SP	7.1	DUR	77	63/78 splits, 2+++1+, 59 control
98.	Ryan Snyder	RF	7.05	ATL	83	c45, p85, 66/80 splits, i94, C glove
99.	Jordan Ball	2B	7.05	CLE	82	c85, p42, 78/81 splits, i80, C++ glove
100.	Raymond Lamb	2B	7.05	PAW	78	c66, p46, 64/61 splits, i85, B- glove
101	Wayne Wilson	SP	7.0	NAS	73	77/73 splits, 1+++2++, 63 control