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LAST YEARS RECORD:78-84
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: When the music stopped last year. The Tabaky Farmers won the tie breaker against Memphis. That put Charleston in the playoffs with 82 wins and a 3rd division crown.Charlestons long balls powered this team with 234 taters(5th best) but they were 23rd in overall hits (1469) ,Curious? The hole in the Tabaky Farmers game is defense. They were ranked 26th overall with a FPct of .982.This doomed them in the playoffs when they met the Moonbats with the #1 ranked offense. In the offseason Charleston re-signed William Tabaka , then let George,Calles,Caufield,Ordonez and Phillips go to free agency. Franco and Velazquez were released outright to complete the purge. With several holes to fill Nwsheehy signed free agents Scanlan, Gil, Martin and Gandarillas. Then he promoted Marmol, Bailey, Cervelli and grabbed Wallace and Span in the R-5. While the 3 prospect promotions will help out the Tabaky Farmers in the long run. They still haven't fixed their defensive problem. The Tabaky Farmers will try to outscore their opponents again this year. PREDICTION:84-78
OUT: Stretch Daly , Raul Iglesias , Luis Gil , Sandy Hiatt , Enrique Mangual , Ivan Cortes
IN: Miguel Martis , Chris Taylor , Sean Beckett , Oswaldo Tabata
PREVIEW: The Tabaky Farmers were a sub .500 division winner. But hey! Thats worth a $4.00 credit. Then Nwsheehy went into the playoffs and were swept by the Cobras. Charleston is a good hitting team with a team average of .271(11th). But the team ERA of 5.19(31st) and the123 team errors(28th) let them down. In the off-season Nwsheehy re-signed Andre Scanlan . Then he let Daly, Iglesias, Gil, Hiatt and Mangual go to free agency and released Cortes outright. With just a few spots to fill Nwsheehy signed free agents Martis, Taylor and Beckett and picked up Tabata in the R-5. The addition of Martis will help the defense alot and The Tabaky Farmers still have 10 million left in the cap budget. They will be around .500 or better so they may still win the division. But the other teams have improved also and it will take more than a .500 record to win this division. PREDICTION:85-77
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LAST YEARS RECORD:74-88
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Sometimes you feel like a nut,sometimes you don't. Well I feel like a nut after I predicted a .500 season for Charlotte. Hattons young team had improved every season till last year. Hattons pitching(5.03 ERA- 29th) was the big culprit in his 101 loss season.The hitting ( .286 BA-14th) and defense (.984 FPct-16th) was average so its not all bad for Charlotte. In the offseason Hatton let Malone, Catalanotto and Kerr go to free agency. He released Quixote,Hendrick,Hunt and Lopez, then traded away Lima,Byrdak and May. With many holes to fill Hatton brought in free agents Caseres,Stankiewicz,Riggs and Rodriguez. He then promoted Glynn,Chang,Janish,Valdes and picked up Figureoa in the R-5.I like the direction the Sometimes are going this offseason. Bringing up some young talent while keeping salaries low.This team could be good in a few years, but for now they will do well to hit even steven.PREDICTION:70-92
OUT: Emmanuel Caseres , Pablo Aramboles , Tony Rosado , Sean Beckett , Benny Wainhouse , Buck Jodie , Rickey Tucker
IN: Ross Griffin , Albert Mendoza , Mark Brock , Chris Sosa , Grant LaRocca , Antonio Huang , David Cerda , Buddy Koloff , Louis Ramirez , Arthur Tolar
PREVIEW: Like I said in last years preview. This team will be good in a few years just not yet. The Sometimes are still cooking them prospects and perhaps they will be ready to serve soon. The Sometimes won 13 more games than last season with 4th best defense (75 team errors) and average hitting (.262 team BA). Hattons Hurlers were the 7th worst pitching team(4.83 team ERA) and that is probably why they finished below .500. In the offseason Hatton let Caseres ,Aramboles and Rosado go to free agency and he released Beckett, Wainhouse, Jodie and Tucker. With many holes to fill, Hatton grabbed a bag of cash and signed free agents Griffin, Mendoza, Brock, Sosa, LaRocca, Huang and Cerda. Then he promoted Koloff, Ramirez and Tolar to complete the roster. Looks like Hatton is making a move with a combination of the free agents and promotions. One thing is apparent , The Sometimes are a better team talentwise. Now can they play like it?? This division is weak and they could take it. PREDICTION:85-77
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LAST YEARS RECORD:70-92
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Posse were run out of Nashville. Illicit and his players were chased out by unruly fans hoisting pitchforks and yelling "The Posse Stink". So the Posse sprayed on some deodorent and moved to Little Rock where the fans recieved the club with open arms. Last years team wasn't too bad. They won 74 games with a average offense(.270 BA-13th) and horrid pitching(4.86 ERA-24th) and defense(.977 FPct-31st). In the offseason Illicit let Buckley,Byrne and Davidson go to free agency. Then he replaced them with free agents Roundtree and Walker. Will the new digs be kinder to the Posse? Probably not. Weak pitching and Defense is always a killer no matter where you play or how you smell.PREDICTION:72-90
OUT: Yeico Ramirez , Andres Romo , Matthew Eckenstahler , Rollie Bechler , Jesse Buhner , Juan Flores , Terry Oliver , Kevin Poole , Richard Dupler
IN: Rudy MacDougal , Eugenio Gutierrez , Timothy Person , Jerome Aumont , Alex Johnson , Clinton Goodwin , Angel Baerga , Matt Fedroff , Kenshin Suzuki
PREVIEW: The Posse finished pretty close to last years prediction. And It gives me no comfort for I love Posse and I want them to succeed. With Wrigleyvilles worst defense (.987 FPct-32nd and 136 team errors-32nd) It's easy to diagnose what went wrong last year. In the offseason Illicit let Ramirez, Romo, Eckensthler, Belcher and Buhner go to free agency. Then he released Flores, Oliver and Poole and traded away Dupler. With many holes to fill Ilicit signed free agents MacDougal, Gutierrez, Person and Aumont. Then he promoted Johnson, Goodwin, Baerga, Fedroff and picked up Suzuki in the R-5. All the free agents were good defensive players and the promotions of talented pitchers should improve this team. Can they win the division....yes. It depends on how the youngsters play. PREDICTION:84-78
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LAST YEARS RECORD:68-94
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The short timers almost helped Tchagnon and his Blues reach the playoffs. The Tie-Breaker just wasn't in their favor. Memphis still finished above .500 with a good defensive club(.985 FPct-9th). But they will have to work on the average pitching(4.58 ERA-18th) and hitting(.266 BA-15th) if they want to make it back to the playoffs. In the offseason, Tchagnon re-signed Felipe Jose , Ossie Hyers and let Astacio,Fernandez,Mateo,Stankiewicz and Conner go to free agency. Then he released Tavarez,Coleman and Gil to finish the exodus. He filled the gaps with free agents Oropesa,Maeda and Cepeda, then traded for Byrdak. Memphis helped pitching and offense with the aquisition of Byrdak and Oropesa. but will it be enough?? Anything is possible in this weak division. Right now it's a two horse race with the Tabaky Farmers and the Blues. Hopefully it won't come down to a Tie-Breaker...again.PREDICTION:84-78
OUT: Will Byrdak , Ezdra Canseco , Benito Ozuna , Glen Hughes , Ahmad Burns , Emilio Rios , Bob Hines , Oscar Driskill
IN: Charlie Forster , Tito Brea , Rico Trevino , Luis Gil , Emmanuel Caseres , Cedrick Meyers , Pedro DeLeon , Thumper Smart , Julio Palmeiro
PREVIEW: What happened to the Blues??? I have no Clue?? TC's team suffered a power outage (only 155 Homers-26th) with the 4th worst hitting team (.249 team BA-29th) in Wrigleyville. In the offseason Tchagnon re-signed Jorge Blanco and let Canseco, Ozuna and Hughes go to free agency. Then he released Burns, Rios, Hines and Driskill to complete the purge. To fill the empty roster spots Illicit claimed Forster and Brea off the wire and signed free agents Trevino, Gil, Caseres, Meyers and Deleon.Then he picked up Smart and Palmeiro in the R-5. The Blues lowered their overall payroll by 20 million so it looks like a rebuild . While I believe this started last year with a couple trades it's still to early to say wheather this is a complete overhaul. Right now this team will finish about the same as last year.PREDICTION:74-88
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