Thursday, April 29, 2010

Top SS

1. Juan Berroa (Bur) Last Season Unranked at 3rd. One of the weakest fielders at SS he is far and away the best offensive player. A move back to 3rd or possibly 2nd would do wonders for his overall game. At only 24 is one of the bright spots in the league.
2. Julio Duran (Fre) Last Season Unranked. Having a great bounce back season. Fielding like he always could, is also having a solid season with the bat on pace for 20 homers 20 steal and 80 rbi and a solid .290 avg.
3. Julius Serrano (Sct) Last Season Ranked 2nd. Having another strong season, perhaps better than last season as he has upped his average and OBP. Is making his claim as one of the worlds best Short Stops of all time.
4. Nash Metcalfe (Hart) Last Season Ranked 1st. Having another strong season with the bat but his defensive woes are holding him back. Another guy that could use a move to 3rd base or 2nd.
5. Ricky Lawton (Det) Last Season UnRanked. Finishing off a great career with a strong season. Making all the plays with the glove and is among the better hitters as always. Potential hall of famer.
6. Dolf Titan (Mon) Last Season Unranked. Playing better defense then most would have expected. If he could steal he would the best offensive player at SS. But because he cant he ranks behind Berroa in that case.
7. Angel Castillo (Dur) Last Season 5th. Young player that has taken a bit of a step back. His fielding is slightly improved but his offense has kind of leveled off. With his skills however he should be part of the top ten for years to come.
8. Max Gutierrez (NwB) Last Season Unranked. Played all over the diamond last season. Now a solid SS that is one of the top fielders in the game.
9. Max Chavez (Boi) Last Season 8th. While his ranking has gone down, I feel he is actually getting better. Offense is improved slightly, as has his defense. Just needs to run a little more and he will break the top 5.
10. Derrek Beltre (Aug) Last Season Unranked. Winding down a very solid career. Still runs well and his glove isn’t awful. This may be his last stand on the top ten.

The Worst Three.
3. Claude Seaton
2. Francis Bennett
1. Ewell Hansell

Saturday, April 17, 2010

AL WEST SNAPSHOT

AL WEST

BOISE BROWNCOATS- Evan43 is the reigning AL champ, and he's got the Browncoats off to another good start this year. As of this writing they are 21 games over .500 at 47-26 and leading the West by 3 games. Made a splash by signing 2B Carlton Roosevelt, who has hit 14 HRs but is hitting only .244. FA RP Patrick York(3-0, 1.99 ERA) has bee effective. Boise is in the top 5 in the league both on offense and in pitching. Evan's club is led by a number of hitting stalwarts. Gold Glove CF Clayton Hairston(.322, 15 SB) has moved over to LF, but is still effective. 4 time MVP C Olmedo Rivas(.322, 17 HR) is now the full time DH. Former LF Alfonso Tejera(.304, 15 HR) has a great resume(6 time AS, 4 time Silver Slugger, 3 Gold Gloves) and is still at the top of his game. Trade acquisition 3B Jumbo Neruda(.303, 18 HR, 24 SB) has been a big plus. Staff leader Bobby Stephenson(7-1, 3.29 ERA) has 2 Cy Young awards and 5 AS appearances. Closer Felipe Cairo(18 Svs) has 12 AS appearances and 3 Fireman of the Year awards. Boise took a big hit to it's staff when SP Artie Dimaggio went down with a season ending, career threatening elbow injury. While this team is still one of the best in the league, more than half of it's roster are on the wrong side of 30, with all-time stars like Rivas(34), Hairston(35), Cairo(34), Stephenson(32), and Tejera(31) all logging more than 10 ML campaigns. That may require some attention in the near future, but for this year they are well able to defend their title.

SAN JOSE GIANTS- nzballa has his Giants lurking just 3 games off the division lead. Picked up Darrin Lee(.304, 19 SBs) to man 3B. Also signed Julian Young(.303) to patrol CF. Just traded 3 players to acquire C Sidney Martin(.356) to help handle the pitching staff. SJ has led the league in ERA for 3 years running and they are among the best again this year. I don't think here is a team in the league that can rival their starting staff. Dave Wilkinson(8-3, 2.43 ERA) is a 6 time AS and even won a Fireman of the Year award before becoming one of the league's top SPs. Last year' ROY Phil Corino is 7-6 with a 2.53 ERA. Sean Brown(7-3, 2.44 ERA) is a 2 time AS. SP/LR Shane Rolls is 9-1. Closer Alberto Aparicio has 12 saves but a 6.00 ERA. The Giants are not exactly lacking in offense either. They already have 5 players with double-digit HRs. Slugging rookie 1B Pepe Nunez(.326, 17,60) is a ROY candidate. Harry Owen(.316, 15 HR) mans LF. Darin Watson(.295) is an excellent defensive SS, but is hitting over his head. After missing the playoffs last season, nz is a good bet to return this year.

VANCOUVER VILLAINS- jvburns club won this division last season, but is hovering just over .500 at 37-36, 10 games back. Trade acquisition SP Andres Cabrera(7-4, 3.13) has been good. David Clark(2-4, 4.53) not so much. The pitching is in the top 1/3 of the league, but the offense is decidedly average. There are some offensive bright spots. 3B Al Canseco(.324, 23,64, 17 SB) is a 5x AS with 5 Silver Slugger awards. RF Alton Buckley(.321,17,60) is a former ROY and 7x AS, with 2 Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove. Speedy CF Alton Buckley has 20 SB. DH Bump Sabel has 16 HRs, but is hitting well below his career average. SPs Johnny Richardson(8-4), Shane Coffman(6-5, 3.51), Andres Cabrera(7-4, 3.13), & Harry Seneca(4-3, 3.74) are all doing a good job. Closer Willie Alarcon(2.16 ERA) is 14-15 in saves. This is still a talented team, but it's going to be hard to make up 10 games in this tough division.

SCOTTSDALE SUNNY- mdtiger showed improvement last season in his 2nd year at the helm, but seems to have taken a step back this year. Currently, the Sunny is 20 games out at 27-46. Signed a few FAs, the best of which are LF Ronn Hall(.287, 15 HR) and closer Carson Hoffman(3.06 ERA, .227 OAvg, 10-11 Svs). Rule 5 pickups Willie Alexander and Roland Douglass have played sparingly. The pitching ranks last in the league with a 6.04 ERA. Team BA of .263 ranks 14th. The team does have some power(109 HR, 5th). DH Jumbo Flores(.339, 11 HR) leads the offense. 1B Wayne Smalley(.281, 21,59) leads the club in HRs. SP Jesus Benitez is 7-4. Highly paid FA Placido Hernandez($13M+) is 1-9. With 14 players on the roster 30 or older, it may be time to sell off some older talent to contenders for some prospects.

Monday, April 12, 2010

AL SOUTH SNAPSHOT

AL SOUTH

LOUISVILLE SLUGGERS-davidbutler9 took over this team 5 years ago and it was in terrible shape. david had a plan and he has shown constant improvement. Now all his work appears to be paying off. His Sluggers are now a legitimate contender. Louisville currently sits atop the division with a 35-23 record. Much of that success is due to a stellar 17-8 home record. Swung a few trades that will help. SP Emil Pena(4-2, 3.09 ERA), All Star 3B Mark Jones(12 HR, .274 BA), former MVP LF Billy Ledee(.282, 11 HR), RF Bey Morris(11 HR) have all been a plus. 3 time All Star RF Ivan Gonzalez(27 SBs) is hitting .371. Aurelio Zorrilla(.317, 11 HR) is handling DH duties. 1B/2B Virgil Rodriguez(17 HR, .311) is a 5 time All Star. SPs Brandon Dale(8-3, 3.42 ERA) leads the pitching staff. Vin Guevara(9 Svs, .246 OAvg) is handling closer duties. david has his club in the top 5 in offense, pitching, and fielding. That will be good enough to be a solid contender for the division title and who knows how much more.

FLORIDA FIRE SAILFISH- jmercer77 won 90 games last season and looks to be on a similar pace this year. The Fish are currently 32-26 and 3 games back. The offense and pitching rank about the middle of the pack, but the fielding is a little sub par. Invested a lot of money in the FA market in the hopes of pushing the club to the next level. Signed 3 time AS and former ROY Luis Guillen(.319, 10 HR) to a LT contract and so far he hasn't disappointed. Also signed CF Toby Douglas(.293, 9 SB), who has won Gold Gloves at 3 different positions. So far in this young season, he already has 13+ plays in CF. Also signed LF Darron Pierce(.323, 11 HR). Traded for defensive C Trenidad Carrasquel platoon vs LHP. RF Miguel Palacios(14 HR, .306) has won 2 MVPs, ROY, 6 Silver Sluggers, and has made 6 AS teams. He's a sure-fire HOFer. DH Lance Kelleher(.297, 8 HR) and 2B David Olivo(.290, 11 HR) are solid contributors. Every SP is at .500 or better, led by Al Iglesias 6 wins. RP Greg Shelley is 7-1. Closer Diego Garza(16 Svs) was last year's Fireman of the Year. This core group should keep the Saifish in contention all season.

MONTERREY CHEESEHEADS- currently treading water at 29-29, 6 games behind. Leads the league in Runs and is 2nd in BA, but that is offset by a 5.76 team ERA. Tough to have to outslug other teams all the time. No major trades but vector21 was pretty active in the FA market. Unfortunately, the only one to have a positive impact so far is former Gold Glove C Aaron Bradshaw(.317, 6 HR). Rookie DH Vin Escobar(20 HR, .332, 1.023 OPS) has been stellar so far. SS Dolf Titan(.317, 17 HR), 1B Glen Sheets(16 HR), LF Ernest Payton(22 HR), and IF/OF Gary Hardy(15 HR) have all helped make this the most potent offense in the league. On the flip side, no SP has a winning record. RPs D'Angelo Figureoa(6 Svs, 2.11 ERA) and Felipe Vincente(1.83 ERA) have been bright spots on a disappointing pitching staff. Unless that turns around the Cheeseheads may find themselves continuing to have a mediocre season.

NEW ORLEANS FREEBEADS- last year's division champs are coming off a 92 win season. This year is a different story, as joshoakley's club is currently bringing up the rear, 11 games back with a 24-35 record. And with good reason, since both the offense and the pitching are near the bottom of the league. A .263 team BA and a league worst .397 SLG combined with a 5.86 team ERA is a far cry from the success of last year. josh stood pat and made no trades or Rule 5 pickups, and only one middling FA signing. It hasn't been all bad. DH Fred Wells is hitting .348 with 15 HRs. Reliable 2-time AS C Hector Gonzales is hitting .317 with 11 dingers. CF Red Sellers has 23 SBs. No SP has a winning record. The 5 main SPs are 14-23. As a matter of fact, the only pitcher with a winning record is RP Delino Castillo(4-2), but he sports a 9.82 ERA. It's a strange quirk of HBD where a team that wins a division one year can come back with virtually the same crew and finish last. I know. I'm currently doing the same thing in another league. But josh is an experienced owner and I'm sure he'll find a way to turn this thing around.

Friday, April 9, 2010

AL NORTH SNAPSHOT

AL NORTH



MONTREAL MOUNTIES-winmyron holds a slim division lead, albeit with a sub .500 25-26 record. Trade acquisition SS Francis Bennett has been sold defensively but has hit just .208. Picked up 3 FA pitchers-Slim Shouse, Donatello Poole, and Fred Collins, but none have gotten the job done to date. FA C Antonio Miller has hardly played. DH Delino Marin(1.113 OPS) is leading the AL with a .398 BA. C Albert Guerrero(.320 BA), 3B Pablo Chavez(.320, 11 HR), 1B F.P. Koskie(.309, 14 HR) and last year's MVP 2B Abraham Fonda(315, 13 HR, 9 SB) lead one of the league's more potent offenses. Pitching is another story. The Mounties currently have a 5.87 team ERA, 3rd worst in the AL. Closer Heath Donovan(11-13 Svs, 1.98 ERA) has been fine. SP Esteban Lee, a 20 game winner last year, is 2-6, 7.20 ERA. Omar Navarro is 6-2. Along with Dennis Boggs, winmyron's top 3 SPs are performing well below last season's levels. If the pitching can improve, the Mounties are a good bet to repeat as division champs.



MADISON MEEK MADNESS- sccrplyr16 is currently in the middle of the fight, just one game back at 24-27. FA signee LF Vic Rijo(.356, 7 HR) is off tho the best start of his career. MMM has a good offense, but it can't overcome their 5.73 team ERA. In addition to Rijo, 3B Ryan Darling(.333), and RF Dom Coscarart(.307, 19 HR) lead the offense. SPs Jin-Chi Shin and Julio Cedeno have 5 wins each. Closer duties are being shared by 3 pitchers, none of whom have been spectacular. If they can turn the pitching around, they may stay in the race all year.

TORONTO TOROS- This division has been turned on it's head. For many years you could flip the current standings and that was how they ended the year. I'm sure new commish goldenboy69 yearns for those halcyon days. The season started out OK, but then a long losing streak dropped the Toros to their current 21-31 record, but still only 5 games off the lead. But a 5.52 ERA coupled with a league worst .252 team BA does not bode well, and gb may have already decided to go into rebuilding mode. Signed a couple of FA RPs in Jack Lawton(2.42 ERA) & Miguel Acevedo(2.96 ERA, .198 OAvg) who have done well but at 36 & 38 years old, are not the answer for the future. Trade acquisitions 2B Tomas Franco(.208), CF Freddy Franco(.263, 7 HR), and 3B Howie Dickson(.228) are young enough to fit into a rebuilding plan, but none are superstars. It's not all bad, though. SS Eddie Post(.294) is OK defensively. RF Trevor Thebeau(.285, 16 HR) & Rookie DH Tim Logan(.284, 7 HR) provide some hope. No SP currently has a winning record. Alexander Lawrence(3.67) has a good ERA. Young Delino Morales(23) could have a good future, but Branch Hill, Olmedo Molina, and Mac Morris appear no better than average. Closer Eugene Carlson(12 Svs), a former #1 draft pick, is only 24 and had 39 saves last season. LR Miguel Acevedo(2.92 ERA) has been a plus. With only 6 players over 30 on the ML roster, the rebuilding process is underway.

MINNESOTA TWINKIES- How the mighty have fallen. brentnet has been the sole owner of this storied franchise that has finished 1st or 2nd in this division 11 times in 14 season, with 2 WS championships to his credit. Last season things fell apart and the Twinkies finished last for the first time in their history with a 67-95 record. Things aren't much better this year with a 19-33 record, but that still leaves them only 7 games back. Lone FA signee RP Roy Peters is 5-5 in saves, but a 6.08 ERA and .312 OAvg is not what brent is paying for. Rule 5 pickup RP Dernell Spivey(11.02 ERA, .367 OAvg) hasn't panned out so far. One thing the Twinkies have always been known for is their power, and they are still 2nd in the league in HRs(93). But that WIS power adjustment update may have really taken it's toll on this team. Even with all the HRs, they are next to last in RS. Young 1B Billy Corey(3.14, 15 HR) is a keeper. DH Gerry Allen(.284, 12 HR) has won 5 Silver Slugger awards and is still only 28. 24 year old 3B Scott Coles(16 HRs) has prodigious power. C Omar Mercedes has been a solid 20+ HR guy in his career. The pitching staff has been bad, sporting a team ERA of 5.83, and that's hard for any offense to overcome. One bright spot has been SP Mel Pearson(7-1, 3.41 ERA) and he's only 25. But with more than half the ML roster over 29, there's some work to be done to return this franchise to greatness.

Early Season Snapshot

With about a third of the season gone, let's take a look at how things stand.

AL EAST

NEW YORK TORRONES- Currently sporting a league best 32-17 record. This is a club built to contend. Not many changes from last year. Time is getting short for this mix to get it done. Rule 5 pickup Stu Wunsch(.283 BA) was acquired to backup at CF and SS and has done a fine job so far. Tanner Magnante(.372, 15 HR, 1.128 OPS) has been his usual stellar self. Hot hitting CF Chad Wolf(.325, 11 SB) picked up where he left off last season. DH/C Neifi Espinosa(13 HR) has provided pop, and LF Dan Jones(11 HR) seems to have regained his power stroke after a subpar season last year. Ace A.J. Freeman(7-2, 2.60 ERA) is in the last year of his contract and it looks like he's serious about earning a big deal. SP Victor Colome(6-2, 2.47 ERA) has been excellent. Closer B.C. Garland(16 Svs, 1.53 ERA) is among the best in the league. This club is built to win now and needs to come though before the core players get too old.

AUGUSTA ABENAKI- After a rookie owner took this team over last year and managed it into the ground, AU alum optistrat came back for a second tour and looks to have this historically fine team back on the right track. Currently at 28-21, 4 games off the pace. FA signees RP Vicente Domingo(.176 OAvg) & SP Yamil Diaz(.212 OAvg) have been a plus, while 2B Tony Vizcaino(.224) has been good defensively but contributed little at the bat. Former MVP 1B Dennis Newfield(.348, 14 HR, 43 RBI) hasn't lost a thing at 32. Former C Joey Cannon(.340, 12, 43) has been an excellent fulltime DH. Traded for RF Ismael Julio(13 SBs), & RPs Pete Hartman (5.12 ERA) and Santiago Morales(3.16 ERA). Pitching staff is led by 2 time Cy Young winner Pedro Alarcon(7-2, 2.52 ERA), one of the leagues best. SP Louis Maxwell(6-2, 2.52 ERA) has been just as good. Closer Rob Patrick is 10-10 in Saves. optistrat has this club back to being a solid contender. But with more than half the ML roster 30 or older, the clock is ticking on this club too.

NORFOLK NAVIGATORS- cspring is back for his 2nd season at the helm. The Navs are currently 23-26 and 9 games back. cspring was very active in the FA market, signing or resigning 13 players. All but 2 are on the wrong side of 30. The results have been mixed. SPs William Ross(6-2, 3.47), Alan Lowell(3.49), and Earl Slaughter(3.52) have been good. LF Cristobal Castillo(.299) too. CF Enrique Henriquez(.281), DH Carlos Ibarra(.277, 6 HR) & RF Pedro James(.279) have been adequate. C Stevie Bonilla(.232, 7 HR) has struggled at the plate and in the field(.200 CS Pct, 5.16 ERA). 2B Roosevelt Abbott is good defensively but he's hitting .217. 1B Ramiro Guevara(.251, 8 HR) has been barely adequate. 5 time All Star Vin Austin is hitting .314, but his ratings are on a definite downward spiral. It will take a few more years for cspring to turn this club into a contender, but at least he's not sitting on his hands.

WASHINGTON D.C. ABNORMALS- diabeticrock took over this team after a clueless first year owner ran it into the ground, and he's got his hands full, but he's giving it his all. Currently at 17-32, this club is definitely in rebuilding mode. He was busy in the FA market and some have had a positive impact like RP Allen Dickerson(.200 OAvg), rookie 1B Pablo Estrada(.318, 8 HR), swingman Harry Torres(3.47 ERA), & RP Tim Shipley(2.32 ERA). LF/DH Bucky Cunningham(.182, 2 HR) has been a disaster so far. Rule 5 pickup RF/DH Robb McEnerney(.276, 8 HR) has been a plus. His other Rule 5 guy, RP Hootie Pritchett(.319 OAvg, 8.67 ERA) not so much. Very active in the trade market too(14 players). Trade acquisition DH/OF Vic Brinson(.342) is hitting up a storm, as is OF Harold Wilson(.331, 11 HR). Among the hurlers SP Al Morlan(5-2, .196 OAvg, 2.32 ERA) has been the best of the bunch. While there is still a long way too go, I'm confident d-rock is up to the task.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Best of the Rule 5 draft

Here is a sample team of players who at one point were taken in the Rule 5 Draft. Allen Dickerson appears twice, once as a SP and once as a RP.

1st Gene Oquist Season 6 609 21-122-0 .343-.413
2nd Alex Escuela Season 6 575 9-61-50 .287-.366
SS Bret Henry Season 6 584 37-125-1 .264-.323
3rd Craig Everett Season 5 585 16-85-9 .328-.375
CF Edgardo Machado Season 8 566 23-90-14 .309-.377
RF Al Ulrich Season 6 498 27-90-0 .305-.393
LF Daryle Green Season 5 641 23-64-47 .271-.337
C Michael McDonald Season 8 478 31-107-0 .316-.405
DH Ernie Thompson Season 6 533 11-91-14 .304-.380





SP Yamil Diaz Season 5 15-7-0 177-131 1.30-3.52
SP Allen Dickerson Season 5 16-7-0 170-125 1.21-3.39
SP Lyle Melhuse Season 5 17-5-0 221-160 1.31-3.96
SP Robert West Season 6 11-5-0 122-93 1.46-4.27
SP Matt Orosco Season 6 10-11-0 220-135 1.41-4.09

RP Allen Dickerson Season 5 5-0-31 58-48 1.11-2.03
RP Wiki Martin Season 5 11-9-5 121-79 1.31-3.64
RP Pasqual Viriato Season 6 6-6-8 73-62 1.36-3.70