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LAST YEARS RECORD:83-79
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Jmuhtoff's team was in a re-tool year last year and they aren't in a full re-build. And they did pretty well by winning 74 games with good hitting (6th in the A L). The pitching (14th in the A L) and defense (12th in the A L) need work, but he did pick up Artie Ward ,Wayne Lo Duca , Tony Spence and Cookie Armas in the draft. 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)
OUT: Ivan Troncoso , Marty Allen , Walt Lieberthal , Benny Kershaw , Adam Broxton , Khalil Pryce
IN: Benny Wood , Chien-Ming Chang , Yank Hill , Edgardo Rivera , Jose Gutierrez , Adam Green , Erubiel Garces , Yannick Earley , Carlos Tatis
PREVIEW: When I picked Jmuhtoff's RedTails to win the division with a mid-80's record, many thought I was Mad, And I am! But This division is one of the weakest right now and Jmuhtoff's team was the strongest. They went into the playoffs as the #4 seed and gave the 93 win Blues all they could handle. But ended up losing game 5 at home....I feel your pain! In the off-season Jmuhtoff let Troncoso, Allen, Lieberthal , Kershaw go to free agency. He released Broxton. and traded away Pryce. Jmuhtoff claimed Wood off the wire and signed free agents Chang, Hill and Rivera. He promoted Gutierrez, Green, Garces and traded for Earley and Tatis. The only free agents I like are Green and Garces. Early is a great add but Tatis will only be effective against lefties. I think the Red Tails are a sub .500 team this year. PREDICTION:77-85
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LAST YEARS RECORD:82-80
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Oh ...the Pirates . Just when you think it's gonna be smooth sailing all the way to the playoffs. They hit a reef and have to bail out the bilge tanks to make it to the end of the season. In fairness Ard lost several players to free agency and retirement, so maybe it's just a hiccup until he can whip the replacements into shape. Last year this team won only 79 games with decent pitching ,ranked 5th in the A L. But the hitting (13th in the A L) and defense (9th in the A L) was the barnacle on the butt of the Pirates, and was the reason they floundered. 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
OUT: Juan Pena , Jimmie James , Bob Liverman , Patrick Miller , Arthur Blackburn , Jerry Rollins
IN: Charlie Lockwood , Haywood Leslie , Bernie Richard , Bert McKnight
PREVIEW: I predicted a 81-81 record for the Pirates and in true Pirate fashion they won 82 games. AAARRGGHH! Ardthomp did pick up Wilin Matos and Oscar Ross in the draft so last year wasn't a total loss. In the off-season Ardthomp let Pena, James, Liverman, Miller, Blackburn go to free agency and released Rollins. He signed free agents Lockwood, Leslie, Richard and McKnight. Ard brought in 4 veteran pitchers thru free agency. But the real story here was last years promotion of Hipolito Hernandez. The kid looks good and he could make all the difference in this weak division. The Pirates will be raping, pillaging and plundering all the way to Madagascar.PREDICTION:89-73(Division Winner)
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LAST YEARS RECORD:77-85
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Last year Avantrael added some new pitching and I predicted a sub .500 year for lack of offense. And they ended up as the worst offensive team in the A L by scoring only by scoring only 634 runs. It's a shame because Augusta has good pitching (4th in the A L) and defense (6th in the A L). 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
OUT: Jose Lee , Cristobal Fernandez , Andrew Halter , Alexi Hernandez
IN: Willie Alonso , Albie Romo , Kenta Saito , Al Moreno
PREVIEW: I stated that the Northmen would be lucky to reach 71 win and they went out and won 77. Take that Mad! Avantrael added some talent to the farm system by picking up Matt Norman , Victor Rodriguez and Brett McCorley in the draft.In the off-season Avantrael re-signed Davey Wise and let Lee and Fernandez go to free agency. He released Halter and Hernandez Then Avantrael signed free agents Alonso and Romo and picked up Saito and Moreno in the R-5.Augusta lost a good bullpen pitcher in Frenandez and their GG center fielder, Hernandez. To replace the Dez's, they picked up some R-5 pitchers(Saito, Moreno) and will plug Del Lee in CF. They are not upgrades and the Northmen will hope that Junior Sano and Alex Olivares can overcome their loss. Methinks not. PREDICTION:70-92
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LAST YEARS RECORD:56-106
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: I predicted it would be a 2 team race for the division,( Richmond and Pittsburgh). And it was a toss-up which would prevail. I chose Pittsburgh and of course it was Richmond that won it in the end. They went into the playoffs as the #4 seed and the only sub .500 team in the playoffs. So it's no surprise they lost in the first round to Salem. This was too much for Ihateunc to take and he packed his bags and entered a Anger Management facility to work on his hate issues. Ramonsfan bought the team and moved them to New York and named them the Yankees.....What?? Talk about Hate! 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 tru 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.
OUT: Jackson Reed , Bob Hines , James Lee , Domingo Delgado , Danny Barker , Kevin Jang , Haywood Leslie , Sam Price , Paul West
IN: Al Acosta , Danny Baker , Gerardo Martinez , Juan Torres , Malcolm Xavier , James Dickerson , Willie Ochoa , Bill Medlen
PREVIEW: Thank God or Mark Knopfler for that matter that Fencer came in a rescued this team. The team was in a shambles and he righted the ship with the help of some owners that traded some badly needed farm hands. Fencer was able to add some prospects in this years draft, he grabbed Terrence Gibson , Harry Mujica , Otis Holdridge , Ray Grey and Richard Stanley . He also added many IFA's to shore up farm with Tony Molina being the best of the bunch. In the off-season Fencer re-signed Geronimo Cruz and Cristobal Beltran and let Reed, Hines, Lee, Delgado and Barker go to free agency. He released Jang and Leslie and traded away Price and West. Fencer signed free agents Acosta, Baker, Martinez and picked up Torres and Xavier in the R-5. And he made a Blockbuster trade that brought in Dickerson, Ochoa and Medlen. Fencer raised some eyebrows with his trades and I wont criticize them. But according to the franchise standings, this team is weak defensively but will hit for a high average with not many homers. The rotation will walk many a batter and get hammered by right handed hitting.The bullpen is near the bottom in all categories. This adds up to another losing season in New York, But it will take time for Fencer to right the ship. And thanks for sticking in there Fencer. PREDICTION:67-95
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