Augusta Northmen
RECORD:48-43
PREVIEW: In the off-season Palmer, Brogna, Lee, Delgado, Tavarez and Quinn left for free agency. Washington was released and Marson was traded away. Avantrael had to build a new team so he signed free agents Aguilar, Tabaka, Manuel, Shelly and Conway. He promoted Sano and picked up Galloway and Greinke from the R-5. Finally he traded for Del Lee to fill out this years roster. The only exciting new player here is Sano. He will be a star on the mound for the Northmen. This team will be lucky to reach last years 71 wins. PREDICTION:68-94
AT THE BREAK: The Northmen are on pace to win 85 games and that was way more than my preview predicted. It may be due to the Yankees owner bugging out and the other teams sucking wind. Regardless , Augusta's pitching staff is the best in the American League. If Avantrael can find a way to score more runs ....he may have something here. A division win is too close to call right now.
Pittsburgh Pirates
RECORD:45-46
PREVIEW: In the off-season Ard re-signed Patrick Miller , Carlos Gomez , Juan Pena , Jimmie James after they became free agents. Estrada and Clark were lost to free agency and Camilli and Lira were released. Stern was traded to the Red Light Districts. With a couple holes to fill, Ard signed free agents Liverman and Stevenson and promoted Lee and Rollins. Veteran SP Liverman will help the pitching problem but Rollins is way too wild to be in the majors. Youngster Lee will be a solid hitter but lacks range and glove for 2nd base. Right now the Pirates look like a .500 team.PREDICTION: 81-81
AT THE BREAK: I predicted a .500 record in my preview and the Pirates have not disappointed me. They are on track to win 80 games but in this weak division they are not out of the division race. With 543 runs scored and only 442 runs against........they have a EXP PCT of a .600 team. If Ard starts getting more breaks, they may pull out a #4 seed in the playoffs.
Louisville RedTails
RECORD:43-48
PREVIEW: In the off-season Jmuhtoff re-signed Edgar Guzman after he left for free agency and Coleman, Morales , O'Brien and Sierra were lost to free agency. He released Black and Perry and traded away Lee. With a bunch off holes to fill, Jmuhtoff claimed Gipson off the wire and signed free agents Camilli, Clark, Tyson, Long, Moses,Sullivan, Kershaw and Troncoso. Finally he traded for Marson and Fedroff. Everyone .....meet the new Red Tails. There is only one super-star on this team (Kyle Romero) and the rest are mid-level M L players. They are in the middle of the pack defensively and offensively they will hit some homers without allot of strikeouts. The pitching will be the middle of the road. All signs point to a 80 ish win team.PREDICTION:84-78(Division Winner)
AT THE BREAK: I picked the Red Tails to win this weak division with 84 wins. With 3 teams in this division close together in mediocrity , it was a toss-up who was left with a playoff chair. So I went with Jmuhtoff because of a great spring training (14-4). Louisville has a good offensive team...if they can shore up the pitching.....they may redeem my division winner pick.
New York Yankees
RECORD:29-62
PREVIEW: In the off-season Mercedes, Arredondo, Henry, Tyson, Flair, Nieves, Harris, Crawford and Aguilar went to free agency. He traded away Pena to complete the purge. To field a team this year , Ramonsfan promoted Murphy and Duran and Ruth was acquired thru a earlier trade. Ramonsfan has disappeared and his M L roster is only at 15 . Not sure what happened but I hope he comes back soon. This team is in Dire Straits. PREDICTION: Money for nothing and the chicks for free.
AT THE BREAK: Not much to say here except ....Thank you fencer for coming to the rescue. You have been amazing in getting the ship righted. I hope you stick around after this year. We can use owners like yourself in Wrigleyville. And I would look forward to seeing you build a great franchise.
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