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LAST YEARS RECORD:92-70
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Utes are young and talented and they won 84 games. They did make the playoffs as the #5 seed and beat the under .500 Tampa Bay Stars in the first round but lost to their division nemesis Kickapoos in the DCS. Hoopcoach's team had excellent pitching (4.06 ERA-4th) and good fielding (89 errors, .985 FPct-9th) last year. If Salt Lake City can improve a average offense (.271 BA-19th) then this team will have a breakout year.The Utes are young with a 3.0 average ML years and 7.7 average pro years. They will have ups and downs but they have the talent to win this division. And with San Fransisco out of the way they are the favorites to win it. PREDICTION:94-68
OUT: Harry Ontiveros , Joseph Hyun , Bo Mercedes , Diego Sanches
IN: Gerardo Bonilla , Flip Clark , Wayne Barclay
PREVIEW: When I was writing last years preview on the Utes I could see this team had a ton of talent. With the re-build going on in San Francisco it was a easy call to pick them as division winners.They won 92 games with good defense (77 errors,.987 FPct-6th) and pitching (4.08 ERA, 1.33 WHIP-9th) and average hitting (.271 BA-12th). The Youthful Utes went into the playoffs and had some success getting by the Moose in the first round. But they ran into a young and hungry Black Bear team in the DCS, there they got mauled and buried in 3 games. In the off-season the Utes re-signed Alex Black and let Ontiveros and Hyun go to free agency. He then traded away Mercedes and Sanches. Hoopcoach signed free agent Bonilla and picked up Clark and Barclay in the R-5. The Utes are a year older and very good. They should win this division and last years playoff experience may take em all the way.PREDICTION:96-66
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LAST YEARS RECORD:79-83
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Bandits win totals are stuck in the mid-70's. I predicted they would finish above .500 last year but that didn't happen. I still believe this team is on a upswing and the addition of Wascar Almonte in last years draft should pay dividends in the near future. And last years average offense (.270 BA-21st) can use him, but Ressda's team will have to look somewhere else to shore up a average defense (97 errors, .984 FPct-14th) . Pitching (4.35 ERA-8th) was the star last year and it is a great foundation to build on.The signing of Hydzu along with the promotions will help the offense . If the defense can hold and the pitching can repeat last years great run.....well....the Bandits may make a run for a wildcard. I think they have a shot with San Francisco in a re-build. PREDICTION:86-76
OUT: Joe Valdes , Tim Powell , Kimera Oliver , Ryan Olshan , Rick Surkamp , Pat Clark , Tarrik Erving , Ricardo Johnson , Pat Shelley , Josh Stuart
IN: Curt Jamison , Rob Stults , Efrain Redmond , Matty Guerrero , Zachrey Coleman , Jose Lugo , Thumper Smart , Hipolito Maduro , Danny Chapman
PREVIEW: The Bandits almost made it to the elusive 80 win mark...so close! They won 79 games with average pitching (4.35 ERA,1.33 WHIP-15th) and good defense (85 errors,.986 FPct-9th). The hitting (.260 BA-26th) was the culprit and was the main reason Ressda's guys fell short. In the off-season Ressda re-signed Art Stewart and let Valdes, Powell, Oliver, Olshan, Surkamp and Clark go to free agency. He released Erving, Johnson and Shelly and traded away Stuart. Ressda signed free agents Jamison, Stults, Redmond and Guerrero. He promoted Coleman, Lugo and Smart, then traded for Maduro and Chapman. The big story here is the trade that sent Stuart to New Britain and brought in Maduro and Chapman. The Bandits have a offensive problem and this trade helps fix that. I think Colorado Springs will give Salt Lake City all they've got and then some. Ressda has done a great job with this team.PREDICTION:88-74
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LAST YEARS RECORD:78-84
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: My team sucked so bad that the Vancouver city fathers handed me my hat and showed me the door. Thats fine with me the wet cold climate of the north pacific coast was bad for my lungs . If it wasn't for my Blantons *ahem* Cough Medicine I might be six feet under. So I moved my team to the sunny dry climate of Arizona and It brought forward my sunny side. The dark and gloomy Mad has gone away but still lurks in the recesses of my fractured brain. This is why I named my team the Schizoids ,and knowing you are crazy is the first step to sanity. Last year my team had good pitching (4.42 ERA-11th) and average defense (100 errors, .984 FPct-17th). My woeful offensive (.254 BA-29th) was really bad last year ...Egadds!I found myself with several Type-A and B players wanting new contracts. So I let them go and signed several free agent bats to go with my hitter friendly park. My pitching took a hit but we will see if my new and improved offense can out-score my opponents. Oh, I also picked up 4- top 40 picks in this years draft to go with my # 6 pick. I have flexability if my team falters and I have a firesale. PREDICTION:82-80
OUT: Dan Walker , Santo Prieto , Rob McNamara , Raul Castillo , Sting Hansen , Sam Gray , Sonny McIntosh
IN: Chad Krause , Marc Lawrence , Louie Yoon , Al Martin , Torey Olivares
PREVIEW: Things didn't go as planned last season for my Zoids. I improved this team in every catagory but they still finished below .500. We won 78 games with Great defense (73 errors,.988 FPct-3rd) good pitching (4.23 ERA, 1.43 WHIP-11th) and average hitting (.271 BA-11th). My team seemed to be good in all 3 parts of this game, maybe it's the fact we only scored 735 runs. In the off-season I re-signed Diego Cervelli and let Walker, Prieto, McNamara, Castillo, Hansen, Gray and McIntosh go to free agency. I signed free agents Krause and Lawrence. Promoted Yoon and Martin and I picked up Oliveras in the R-5. I never thought I'd pay 20 million for a player .....but I did. I let several long time Ziod pitchers go to free agency and decided to replace them with 1 really good one and promote Rob Warner from the farm after 25 games. I also lost my catching corp and replaced them with a DITR and a R-5 pick-up. If the 20 million dollar man...Lawrence works out and Warner has a good rookie season....maybe the Zoids give the Utes and Bandits a run for their money. Big IF's .PREDICTION: 84-78
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LAST YEARS RECORD:61-101
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: 19 and counting.....Could Mark win his 20th N L West division pennant? Marks Kickapoos won 108 games last season so this team is still rolling. They went into the playoffs as the #1 seed in the N L and lost in the NLCS to the World Series Champion Burlington Coat Factories. Last season the Kickapoos boasted the #1 pitching staff (2.74 ERA- 1st) and the #2 defense (66 errors, .989 FPct). Add a good hitting team (.274 BA-10th) and you can see why they were the best in the NL during the regular season. This is the End!!.....of a great run for the Kickapoos. They are now in re-build mode and there will be no 20th consecutive division win. Kickapoos will go thru the motions and get a high draft pick next year while picking up some tasty IFA's . PREDICTION:65-95
OUT: Randy Palmer , Johnnie Hurst , Edgar Guzman , Cesar Morales , Rico Mateo , Felix Wang , Roger Montana , Esmerling Sanchez , Mariano Lee , Khalil McNamara , Kevin Owens
IN: Kenny Bennett , Jose Martin , Jose Ethier , Ignacio Sosa , Jae Kojima , Gus Grossman , Wandy Corpas
PREVIEW: I won't spend any time on last years stats because Mark's team is in a re-build. But I will point out some tasty prospects he picked up. He grabbed Yamil Amaro in the IFA market and drafted Humberto Arroyo , Allan Hampton and Cristian Waters in first round of the draft. Not sure if they will still be there or traded away to other teams, but they are nice tasty prospects for the future. In the off-season Mark re-signed Arthur Blackburn and let Palmer, Hurst, Guzman, Morales and Mateo go to free agency. He released Wang and traded away Sanchez, Montana, Lee, McNamara and Owens. Mark signed free agents Martin, Ethier, Sosa, Kojima, Grossman, Corpas and claimed Bennett off the wire. It's really wierd looking at the Kickapoos in re-build mode. They were a force in this division for so long. And it was cool that mark signed Sosa to a contract so that he can go out as a Kickapoo. Look for Mark to be a player in the IFA market. Better bring your checkbook...he has alot of money to spend! PREDICTION: 60-100
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